Miss Mary Martha Crawford (37 page)

He had never been out of the room, he had never left the couch in fact; yet the whole atmosphere of the place seemed to seep in through the

very walls. How she had stood it all these years he didn't know, yet the truth of it was she would have gone on standing it and been glad to do so if it hadn't been for her dear brother and his burning love for that little vixen. If he had ever observed teeth and claws sheathed in a human being he had observed them in Miss Eva Harkness.

And that young silly idiot was utterly bemused by her. God help him

when he wakened up.

He had met her last evening when the lord of the manor, which pose

Roland was now adopting, had brought her in to show her off. After a prolonged gushing of greeting and sympathy she had become quiet,

perhaps because he had stared, unblinking, at her while she talked, but it was in the look with which she returned his stare that he recognized she was wise to the fact that her charms were being wasted on him.

He now pulled his pain-racked body further up on the couch, and as he lay breathing deeply his thoughts turned to the vile young devil and his friends who had done their work thoroughly, almost too

thoroughly.

What if Clan hadn't

found him when he did? Well, Clan had and he was here and alive, but he was as weak as a kitten and so damned sore. And his head was still muzzy. But he must shake this off and get on his feet and get home for once he was on his way she'd be on her way too. He'd see to it that

she accompanied him, and the sooner the better, because underneath that practised calm of hers she was near breaking point. She was cooking

for the damn lot of them; she was running up and downstairs to Aunt

Sophie; she was attending him; and all the time she was carrying the feeling of rejection because that little upstart of a woman was in the house and already rearranging the whole set-up to her own liking.

The whole situation must be galling in the extreme. He imagined what he himself would have felt had he been in a similar position. There

was one thing he was sure of, he would never have been able to control himself as she was doing, and it was himself in this instance who was the cause of her having to endure it. He paused in his thinking,

closed his eyes and a warm ness crept over his body. He hadn't thought about it that way before. Yes, he was the cause of her still being

here. She was staying on only because he needed looking after. Well, well. His . chin went to jerk upwards but was halted by the pain in

his neck.

What would old Pippin say when he told him what was in his mind? Get the shock of his life, he supposed, and he wouldn't take to the idea of him leaving the house and setting up an establishment on his own, would he? Oh no, not if he knew the old boy. But wait, wait. He'd better

not count his chickens before they were hatched. He'd have to make

sure first that there was need to set up an establishment on his own.

When should he ask her? Before they left the house? Yes, oh yes.

Because that would determine where she was going to stay when they

reached Hexham. If he was to have any say in her life he would see

that she was housed in a comfortable hotel; and if he wasn't. Well

then. The door opened and she entered carrying a tray with a

steaming bowl of soup on it and a plate of bread. As he watched her

putting the tray on the side table near to him he thought. She's too thin, skinny. I'll have to alter that, first go off.

"You shouldn't be sitting right up like that."

"I am going to get up today, so it's wise that I should sit up."

"You're not. You mustn't." She was bending over him.

"Doctor Pippin said you must stay there until he sees you again."

"That could be a week."

"No matter. Now do please lie back a little and have this soup." As she went to put her hand on his shoulder he caught it, stared up at her for a moment, then said, "Will you marry me?"

She started as if she were stung. She did not immediately withdraw her hand from his, but when she did she covered it with her other one and pressed them both against her waistline and her lips trembled as she replied, "I... I don't know whether you meant that as joke, doctor, but..."

"Don't be silly. And I am in no condition to argue with you; I want an answer, and before you leave this house and hit the world head on in your position as housekeeper."

Her chin rose slowly and she continued to stare down at him as she said quietly, "I thank you for your offer, doctor, but I don't need pity; nor do I need to be rescued from becoming a housekeeper, because I'm sure I shall make a very competent one."

"Yes, yes, I know you will; and I want a housekeeper. I... I... Aw, my God!" He put his hand to his head and made no apology for the

blasphemy; then leaning back, he closed his eyes and murmured slowly,

"Martha Mary, as I said I'm in no condition to argue with you. I made that proposal in all sincerity, and don't talk about pity, or

compassion, or any other tommy rot because I'm not the kind of fellow to take up the stresses, and strains of matrimony through any of those virtues. I'm selfish, domineering, and exacting. I think you already have some knowledge of the latter two characteristics.... Now don't

say any more." He lifted his hand and flapped it weakly at her.

"Just think on it, and ask yourself would it be harder to be my wife than say, be a housekeeper and bow the knee and " Yes, maa'm", and "

Yes, sir", and perhaps' he now opened his eyes wide at her 'find yourself in a position of having to say, " No, sir"."

As he watched the flush come up over her face he closed his eyes again, turned his head to the side, and said, "I'm even too weak to control my tongue. Forget it. No'he was staring at her once more 'don't forget

it, I mean except the last bit, but think over the main issue. Please.

Please, Martha Mary."

Her hands were pressing into her waist, her whole body was hot; if she could only have dropped down by the side of the couch and said, "Oh, Harry, Harry, thank you." But no, she could not on the present

terms.

"Will you marry me?" he had said. He wanted a housekeeper, he had said; she'd find a situation with him in his home easier than being a paid servant in someone else's, he had said; but he had not said, "I I care for you, Martha Mary, I have a deep affection for you ... I love you."

As if he had suddenly said what she longed to hear she again gave a

start, but now for the same reason that she had woken in the middle of last night and the night before that when she had imagined she heard Nancy calling her name, for now she was hearing Nancy's voice again

calling, "Martha Mary! Martha Mary!..." She must be dreaming, or had she suddenly become ill with the kind of illness that possessed Aunt Sophie?

She swung round now as the door burst open and her hands flew to her face because there stood Nancy, a strange wild looking Nancy

dishevelled from head to foot, all her clothing mud-bespattered, and her face as white as a piece of bleached linen.

"Nancy!"

They were approaching each other now; the next minute Nancy was in her arms and she was holding her tightly, and as she stroked her hair and tried to soothe her she looked

back over her shoulder to where Harry was once more sitting upright on the couch.

"Oh! Martha Mary, Martha Mary, what have I done?"

"There, there, quiet now. Quiet. Come and sit down."

It was only as Nancy stumbled forward that she became aware of Harry, and she stopped and gaped at him, and Martha said, "It's the doctor; he met with an accident two days ago. Gome . come and sit down. "

"No, no." She shook her head and turned round in a bewildered fashion;

then grabbing at Martha's arm, she gabbled, "I must talk to you, I must. I must explain. There are things..."

"All right, all right, dear."

Before leading Nancy away, Martha glanced towards Harry, and he

returned her bewildered look and shook his head slowly.

Nancy was holding tightly on to her as they went up the passage towards the drawing-room door, but before they reached it it opened and there, preceding Roland from the room, came Miss Eva Harkness, and she and

Nancy stopped and stared at each other.

Then Roland was by his fiancee's side and he too was staring at his

sister. No, glaring at her.

"What is this?" It was the master's voice speaking as he looked her up and down.

When Nancy made no reply he jerked his chin upwards and wagged his head as he said, "So you've come home, have you, found your mistake out?

Well, we'll have to see into it, won't we? We must now consider if you are acceptable. This'he now turned to his fiancee as he shot out his hand towards Nancy 'this is my erring sister, and she'll have to be

dealt with."

"Get out of the way."

The thrust that Martha made at him with her forearm toppled him

backwards against the door stanchion, and he i took Miss Harkness with him. | "How dare you! Now look here, Martha Mary, you have | gone too far." | Martha had pushed Nancy into the drawing-room and |

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she now turned on her brother, hissing, "Gone too far, have I? Well, I'm going a bit further and tell you I've had enough of your

high-handedness and your empty chit-chat over the last two days. I

shall deal with Nancy if she has to be dealt with. And furthermore, if you want your guest's remaining stay to be even partially comfortable, keep your tongue quiet, because I could now order a cab and take the doctor into Hexham, and, for your information' she now poked her face towards him " Peg would go with us, and Clan too, and if this should happen it would give you the opportunity to initiate your fiancee into household chores, such as I've done for years. Start her on the

cooking. " She now turned her furious glance on the red-faced Miss Harkness.

"Then show her how to lift the kettle off. That's an art in itself.

And as I told you she can have my knee pads for scrubbing the kitchen floor. In any case she'll have to come to it sometime if she remains here. Now put that in your pipe and smoke it."

With this last shaft she went into the drawing-room and banged the door on them but she did not immediately go towards Nancy, who was standing now wide-eyed looking at her, but she closed her eyes and told herself she shouldn't have turned on him like that. And to end up with one of Dilly's sayings too. That alone would stamp her as one of the

peasantry in madam's eyes. But what did she care about her? Still she shouldn't have said all that to Roland. Her heart was beating as if it were going to burst out of her breast. With one of them and another

she was near the end of her tether. He had said, "Will you marry me?"

Why hadn't she accepted him on any conditions? No. No. Her mind was

in a whirl. And now here was Nancy flying from her mistake, and if she knew anything the mistake would not be long in presenting himself at the door, and then there would be more scenes. She was tired of

scenes. She was really tired of everything. "Martha Mary--' it was Nancy who had her by the arm now' who is she?"

Martha walked slowly down the drawing-room, her hand

clasped in Nancy's as she said, "That, my dear, is your future

sister-in-law."

"What!"

"Yes. Don't look so surprised. I sent for Roland to try to stop you from doing what you were determined to do, and what you did do. When he arrived he was rather peeved at my hasty summons. The reason? Well, you've just met her, his future wife. Miss Eva Harkness."

"But he can't, he was going to the university and ..."

"Why can't he, dear?" Martha looked straight into Nancy's eyes.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, he's just proposing to do what you did."

Now Nancy bowed her head deeply on her chest and she groaned, "Oh Martha Mary! Martha Mary!"

The sound was so full of pain that Martha put her arms around Nancy's shoulders and, pressing her tightly to her, asked, "Was it so terrible?

Is the place awful?"

Her face showed some surprise when Nancy moved her head against her, saying, "No, no; it... it wasn't the place, in fact it's very ... very comfortable, much larger inside than it looks from out."

"What then? His people?"

Again there was a slow shake of the head and her voice was a mutter

now.

"His... his father's hardly spoken to me, but his mother is kind; she's . she's very like Dilly, and she, too, has a swollen leg. "

Nancy now lifted her head and looked deep into' Martha face, and it was with evident effort that she forced herself to say, "I ... I really didn't know about marriage, Martha Mary. I thought I did, but I

didn't. It's awful." Now her head was turned to the side, her face twisted as she added the last word, "Nauseating."

It was some moments before Martha asked quietly, "Would you have found it so with William?" and to her surprise Nancy's answer was,

"Perhaps."

"Well then, if that is the case you would have been ... nauseated as you say, by marriage with any man. Is he' she did not say 'cruel?"

but 'very unkind? "

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"No. I ... I suppose according to his lights he ... he saw himself acting kindly, considerate."

"Then what is your complaint?" Martha was holding Nancy by the shoulders now and Nancy, her head wagging, swallowed deeply, sniffed; then closing her eyes tightly, muttered, "It's.... Oh, you wouldn't understand, Martha Mary, but it's just... just marriage."

"I... I understand more than you think." Now there was a harshness in Martha's voice.

"You broke your neck to get married, you were terrified of not being married, you were terrified of ending up like Aunt Sophie-; well now, let me tell you this. Since you have come back, should you be allowed to stay by either your husband or Roland, you are going to find

yourself in the position of an unpaid servant.

Under the new order you will be in constant attendance on Aunt Sophie for there will be no one to share the load, and in time doubtless your fears will be realized and you will become like her, and you will have no one to fall back upon but yourself, because I won't be here. "