Sentence of Marriage (17 page)

‘Of course, Pa,’ said Lizzie. ‘I was just going to, but I wanted to see that Frank was all right first.’ She smiled at Frank again.

After two helpings of pudding and a cup of tea Frank sat back in his chair feeling deeply content, then he reluctantly said, ‘I suppose I’ll have to go now. That was a wonderful meal,’ he added with feeling. He looked at Lizzie in admiration, then, remembering his manners, turned to her mother. ‘Thank you very much, Mrs Leith.’

‘No need to thank me, Frank,’ she said, looking away from wiping Ernie’s face. ‘I didn’t have anything to do with it, you thank Lizzie. But I’m glad you came,’ she added, smiling at Frank in a way that reminded him for a moment of Lizzie. ‘You come again—soon, too. Arthur, you should ask Frank again soon. He needs a few more good meals.’

‘Yes, you’ll have to come again, lad,’ Arthur said, clapping Frank on the shoulder. ‘We’d all be pleased to see you, wouldn’t we, Lizzie?’ He looked at his daughter with a slight smile, and she stared straight back at him.

‘Yes, Pa,’ she said very innocently. ‘It’s nice to have visitors.’

Arthur and Bill walked Frank back to the horse paddock, and Bill helped him catch Belle and put her tack on. As Frank mounted, Arthur said, ‘Now I meant that, Frank, you’ll have to come again soon.’

‘Thank you, Mr Leith, I’d like that—I’d like it a lot.’ He started Belle off at a gentle walk, and his eyes slipped away from them. Arthur followed Frank’s gaze to see Lizzie standing in the doorway waving and smiling.

What a nice family, Frank thought as he guided Belle towards home. He kept the horse to a walk, feeling too pleasantly full to want to trot. Anyway, he was in no hurry to get home; he was enjoying the memory of his visit too much. Arthur had been so friendly to him; Frank was still a little puzzled as to why Arthur had wanted to give him all that advice, but a lot of it was interesting. Edie had said she wanted him to come again, too, and she seemed to mean it.

And Lizzie. He remembered Lizzie, and felt something he couldn’t put a name to. She had made such a fuss of him, as though he was someone special. She was really quite pretty, especially when she smiled at him like that. And what a cook she was! What a meal. He belched contentedly.

*

‘Well, Lizzie,’ Arthur said when he walked back into the kitchen. Lizzie was clearing the table, and she looked up at him as he spoke. ‘Did you enjoy your visitor?’

‘My visitor, Pa?’ Lizzie said in apparent surprise. ‘But you invited him.’

‘You were very pleased to see him, I noticed—you got dressed up, too.’

‘I just wanted to be polite. You’d gone to the trouble of asking Frank, so I thought I should make an effort to make him feel welcome.’

‘You certainly did that.’ Arthur gave her a hard look, but Lizzie went back to her work and seemed unaware of his scrutiny.

‘He’s such a nice boy,’ said Edie. ‘So polite. He enjoys his food, too—I like to see a boy enjoy his food. Did you get on well with him outside?’

Arthur sat down in the chair next to his wife and took Ernie onto his lap. ‘He’s heavy going sometimes.’ He noticed Lizzie watching him out of the corner of her eye, for all she was pretending to be wrapped up in her work. ‘I wasn’t always sure if he understood what I was saying, though he seemed to be paying attention.’

‘Poor boy,’ Edie sighed. ‘It must be hard for him with no father—a boy needs a father, and he was only fourteen when he lost his.’

‘So, Edie, do you think that’s what he’s after?’

‘What, dear?’ Edie looked puzzled.

‘Do you think young Frank’s looking for a father… or something like that, anyway?’

‘I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, Arthur—what’s “something like” a father?’

Arthur looked thoughtfully at Lizzie. That girl, he decided, was growing up faster than he had realised. She wasn’t quite as grown-up as she liked to think, though; how old was she? Barely fifteen. ‘Well,’ Arthur said, ‘Frank hasn’t got a father, so perhaps the next best thing would be… a father-in-law?’ He had the satisfaction of hearing Lizzie bang a plate down heavily on the bench, as though for a moment her grip had slackened.

August 1882

Darkness closed in early on the winter evenings. As Amy worked in the kitchen one afternoon in mid-August she knew the sun would dip below the steep hills that walled the valley before dinner was over.

Amy was enjoying the peace of having the kitchen to herself. Her father and brothers were still out working, and Susannah had taken to having a lie-down every afternoon since she had found that her ankles swelled uncomfortably if she stayed up all day. As Susannah now also stayed in bed late in the morning, with Amy bringing breakfast in to her, Amy could imagine herself once again mistress of the house.

Poor Susannah
, Amy thought. Her stepmother was far too tired now to be bad-tempered, and when she did get out of bed she moped around the house in lethargic misery. Most days she had at least one fit of weeping, and everyone in the house was very aware Susannah had backache, Susannah’s legs hurt, and Susannah was generally uncomfortable and unhappy. And now it seemed the baby was a week or so late, at least by Edie’s reckoning. It seemed unfair that Susannah should have to put up with the whole wretched business for longer than the appointed time.

But Amy could not deny to herself that her stepmother’s condition had made life easier. Her brothers had become more cheerful, too, now that Susannah played such a small part in their lives. Jack sometimes showed signs of weariness from spending his nights with a querulous and restless woman, but Amy sensed he, too, found a weepy Susannah easier to cope with than a snappish one.

Amy decided to make the lemon curd tart Susannah always seemed to enjoy, hoping that might cheer the poor woman a little. She already had stew simmering gently on the range and the vegetables sliced ready for cooking. When the tart was assembled and ready to be popped into the oven, Amy had time to read a few pages from her slim volume of Shakespeare. She closed the book and daydreamed briefly of actually going to the theatre and seeing a real play, then stood to give the stew a stir.

She was halfway across the room when she was transfixed by a piercing scream. She was at Susannah’s bedside before she had time to think.

‘What’s wrong, Susannah?’ Amy asked breathlessly.

Susannah was sitting bolt upright in bed. Her eyes were wide and she looked about her wildly, then clutched Amy’s arm. ‘I felt a pain
here
.’ She put her other hand on her abdomen. ‘The baby’s coming!’

Stay calm
, Amy told herself.
She needs me to be sensible now, she’s so frightened
. ‘I’ll go and tell Pa.’ She dashed from the room.

‘Hurry!’ Susannah wailed after her.

Where are they?
Amy fought down panic. Where had her father said they were going to work that day? Then she remembered: they were fencing in the gully paddock. She set off down the hill at a run.

‘Pa!’ she called as soon as she was within hearing. ‘The baby’s coming, you’ve got to hurry!’

Jack dropped the hammer he was holding. ‘It’s started? It’s about time. Right, one of you boys will have to go into town for the nurse. You’d better do it, Harry, you’re lighter, so you can ride a bit faster.’ For once Harry did not look disposed to argue; he ran up the hill towards the horse paddock.

‘Hurry up, Pa,’ Amy urged, taking hold of her father’s arm and trying to pull him along.

‘No, I’m too old to run,’ Jack said; though he walked briskly beside Amy, leaving an unconcerned John to carry on by himself. ‘There’s no real rush, anyway.’

‘Yes there
is
,’ Amy said. ‘The baby’s coming!’

‘They don’t come as fast as all that, girl. When did it start?’

‘Just now—I ran straight down.’

Jack nodded. ‘That means it’ll be a long while yet. We shouldn’t leave her alone for too long, though. You run on ahead and tell her I’m on my way and so’s the nurse.’

Amy hesitated, torn between wanting to do as her father asked and fear of what she might have to be part of. ‘You’re… you’re sure it won’t have come yet?’

‘It’ll be the fastest child ever born if it has,’ Jack said. ‘I’ve fathered five children—six now—I should know a bit about it by now. Go on, off you go.’ He gave her a gentle pat on the bottom and Amy obediently broke into a run.

Despite her father’s confident assurances, Amy was apprehensive as she went back into the bedroom. She was relieved to see Susannah sitting up in bed looking less wild. ‘Pa’s coming, and Harry’s gone for the nurse,’ Amy reported, then collapsed into a chair to catch her breath. ‘Are you all right?’

‘It hasn’t hurt again, but the nurse won’t be here for hours!’

‘No, it won’t take that long—they’ll canter along the beach, so it’ll only take about half an hour each way.’

‘It’s still going to be ages before they get here, and Edie said the nurse would give me something to stop the pain if it gets bad—what am I going to do?’

‘Will it hurt a lot?’ Amy asked anxiously.

‘Yes… no… I don’t know. Edie said it wouldn’t hurt much because of the chloroform, but if the nurse doesn’t get here I can’t—oh!’ Susannah suddenly clutched her middle, and for several seconds she looked panic-stricken again. ‘That was another pain—it was stronger this time!’ Amy went to her and put her hand on Susannah’s arm, but her stepmother pushed it away. ‘You’re no help! Standing there looking terrified like that—you’re making it worse.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Amy sought desperately for anything that might help. She recalled an incident two years before when John had injured his foot with an axe, and what her father had done while they waited for the doctor. ‘Shall I get you some whisky? That might stop the pain.’

‘Whisky!’ Susannah’s voice was almost a scream. ‘I’m nearly out of my mind worrying about the pain and you offer me whisky! I suppose you think that’s funny. Get out of here—go on, get out of my sight.’

‘I was just trying to help—and I can’t leave you alone, Susannah.’

‘I don’t want you here. Get
out
.’ Her voice rose even higher, and Amy left the room helplessly.

Jack looked surprised when he saw Amy standing in the doorway waiting for him. ‘Why aren’t you with your ma?’

‘She doesn’t want me there—she said I made it worse. She’s frightened of the pain.’ The pain must be very bad, Amy thought, for Susannah to be so afraid.

Susannah’s voice came down the passage. ‘Jack? Is that you?’

‘I’d better go to her, then.’ Jack went in the direction of the voice.

Left alone, Amy looked around for something useful to do. She cooked the rest of the meal so it would only need reheating. She doubted anyone would be interested in eating it very soon, but she couldn’t bear to do nothing. Then she drifted aimlessly around the kitchen, tidying things that did not need tidying and wiping down an already spotless table, listening the whole time for any more cries of pain from Susannah, but all was quiet.

Jack came out a few minutes later. ‘She wants a woman with her. I’d better go and get Edie.’

Amy leapt at the chance of being helpful. ‘No, let me go, Pa—please. What say Susannah needs something? She doesn’t want me to go in to her again.’

‘All right, I’ll sit with her till Edie gets here—I’m better than nothing, I suppose. You’re faster on your feet than I am, anyway—there’s no need to run all the way, though,’ he called after Amy, who had already set off at a brisk pace.

Despite her father’s advice, Amy ran most of the way across the paddocks. She was almost out of breath when she burst into Edie’s kitchen, where Edie and Lizzie were preparing dinner. ‘Aunt Edie, the baby’s coming!’ Amy gasped out. ‘Please could you come over—Susannah wants a woman with her.’

Edie had her apron off in a moment. ‘Right, I’ll walk back with you—Lizzie, you’ll have to finish this by yourself. You can tell your pa where I’ve gone.’

‘Is Aunt Susannah having a baby?’ Lizzie affected innocent amazement.

‘Never you mind. Tell your pa I’ll be back as soon as I can, but it mightn’t be tonight. Come on, Amy.’ Edie put her boots on and they set off together, at a walk this time.

‘How long since the pains started?’ Edie asked briskly.

Amy was again amazed at the difference in her aunt’s manner from her usual vagueness. Babies were definitely Aunt Edie’s favourite subject. ‘About half an hour, I think. Harry’s gone for the nurse.’

‘Good. Nothing much is going to happen before morning, though.’ Edie slowed her pace, and Amy slowed with her. It was a relief to have Edie’s stolid, confident presence alongside her, and she was sure her aunt knew everything there was to know about having babies.

Edie went into the bedroom as soon as they reached the house, shooing Jack out of the room unceremoniously. ‘It’s no place for men in here,’ she announced.

Amy thought her father looked relieved at being dismissed. John had come up to the house by this time, and the three of them sat in the kitchen. Twice in the next half-hour they heard a cry from Susannah and the murmur of Edie’s voice. As dusk began to set in Jack said, ‘We might as well have dinner. You can keep Harry’s warm for him, but I’m hungry now.’