Under the July Sun (42 page)

She lifted the whip and slashed it across his face. The first slash drew blood, and egged on by her success, she whipped him again and again.

He raised his arms and tried to shield his face but when he did she just slashed across them too, pleased when red wheals stood proudly out on his flesh. His shirt split under the assault by the leather thong, blood oozing from the slits.

Satisfied he would bear the marks for all to see, she lowered her arm. Then she stepped towards him and spat in his face.

‘There, that's for me daughter.'

Then she spat on him again.

‘And that's for me Dada, 'cos yer actions robbed him of both his daughter and granddaughter.'

Finally she spat at him once more.

‘And that's for
me
. If ye thought ye were bein' clever coverin' me head with a sack all those years ago, ye
weren't
! I knew all along it was
ye
. Ye great spineless heap. Look at ye! Never able to stand up and own up to what ye've done. Yer nothin' but a murderin' bastard and I hope ye rot in hell.'

Cat turned and strode from the room, along the hall and out of the front door, which she left swinging open.

Satisfied, she climbed aboard the cart and rode away.

Mother Superior had asked Cat to pop in to see her after she finished work, so having put her apron in her bag, she combed her hair and went along to the nun's office.

‘Come in Cat.'

Mother Superior's door was open and Cat saw she was stacking books on her desk from the shelves.

‘Ye wanted to see me, Mother.'

‘Yes, Cat. Sit down my dear; it's a sad day for us all.'

‘What is it, Mother? Is anythin' wrong?'

‘Yes my dear. Now that war has been declared, the convent is being requisitioned by the army and we have to leave. So I'm so sorry, Cat, but this means we have to let you go I'm afraid.'

The news hit Cat like a body blow.

Mother Superior could see that this poor woman, who had stood by them for a number of years, was to lose not just her job but a way of life. They had existed together in such harmony and she knew that in the absence of any family in England, she had been a substitute, a confidant, and a friend.

‘Cat, I can't tell you how sorry I am. You've meant far more to us all than just our cleaner. There will never be another one to take your place and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.'

She opened a drawer and took out an envelope. ‘Don't be offended, I know you are a very proud woman, but we've had a little collection for you as a sign of our appreciation and our love.' She pushed the envelope toward Cat.

Overwhelmed, Cat could not speak. Tears brimmed from her eyes and pushed their way down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her hand, and then pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of her cardigan.

‘Ye know, Mother, I never dreamed the day would dawn when I didn't work here. It's become a kinda home to me.'

‘I know my dear, and you have been our sister all the way along the years.'

She then took another envelope from her drawer. ‘In here, Cat, is a reference for the future should you ever need it, with our address in Surrey where we are to be sent for the duration of the war. But in the meantime, I hope you don't mind but I've spoken to the Father Fitzgerald and he has agreed to employ you for as long as possible. That way, you will not suffer financially.'

‘I don't know what to say, Mother. I'm desolate at the thought of not seein' ye again, ye've been everythin' to me over the years, and to my children. God bless ye for all the kindness ye've shown me.'

‘Well, Cat. I'm afraid we will have to say goodbye. Hopefully we may re-convene after the war, and I'm sure that you will be the first one I shall contact upon our return. Unfortunately the Ministry of Defence has not given me any time to tie up the ends, we have to go immediately.'

‘Goodbye then, Mother. And until we meet again, may God keep ye in the palm of his hand.'

Cat had been in her new job for nine months. It wasn't the same as working for the nuns and her heart wasn't in it.

Father Fitzgerald was kind enough, but she couldn't talk to him in the same way. Often when things were going wrong in her life she yearned to turn to Mother Superior and pour out her heart.

But now, at last, things were about to change for her. Ellie and Michael were on their way home from America.

Their inability to raise the money for the passage home from America had been overcome. The Woolwich Arsenal required an increase in their workforce and so paid the fares of any worker who was employed during World War I. Ellie had the experience to re-convene without too much time wasted.

So when Ellie and Michael arrived they had accommodation waiting for them, and even some furnishings.

Cat's spirits soared. At last, another family member to be with her. She had arranged to be at their new flat when they arrived, having acquired the key in advance for them.

Out of her meagre wages, Cat had bought them the basic foodstuffs and hoped it was enough to get them started until they could provide their own.

On the appointed day, Cat waited at the flat. Around three in the afternoon she heard them arrive in a taxi and flew down the steps to throw her arms around Ellie. Both broke down crying as they hugged each other and Michael stood watching them until Cat finally let go of Ellie and embraced him too.

‘By God, ye don't know how good it is to see ye,' Cat said, helping to lift some of the luggage, but she was breathless and seeing this, Michael took it from her.

‘Thanks, Michael,' Cat said, ‘I'm a little out of practice for weight liftin'.'

Ellie clutched her beneath the elbow and they ran up the stairs like two children.

Michael was glad. It was the first time he had seen Ellie spring to life since Catherine had been killed. Perhaps now, he hoped, she would be more herself.

‘C'mon in and sit yerself down while I make us a nice cup of tea,' Cat said, then turned to look at her sister.

‘My Ellie, ye're awful thin.'

‘New York didn't agree with me at all,' Ellie said.

When she took off her hat, Cat gasped. Ellie's hair was as white as snow. All her lovely auburn locks had disappeared.

Ellie saw Cat's surprised expression.

‘Sure, I look awful don't I?'

‘I don't care if ye had two heads. I sure am pleased to see ye. Both of ye,' she added for diplomacy.

But it was Ellie she wanted to see most. Ellie she wanted to hold; gossip to, and cry with. She wanted to do just about everything with her, but had to hold back. Ellie had a husband and she would have to share her sister with him.

Michael was stacking the trunks and suitcases in the room and straightened up moaning about his back strain.

‘Jesus this woman has more clothes than the Queen of Sheeba, he laughed.

‘Michael,' Cat said, ‘D'ya remember when ye first came to dinner at our house in Crookston Road?'

‘Would I ever forget it, ye little minxes? I've played that trick on several people since. Always works a treat.' He laughed, and Cat knew then that the same old fun-loving Michael was back. He hadn't changed and they would get along just fine.

Every so often, Cat stole at glance at Ellie. She looked so old. Her hair was not the only change in her. Something had died in her sister. She seemed subdued and resigned. Maybe she would feel better once they saw more of each other. She hoped so.

After a while Cat decided it would be diplomatic to leave the couple to themselves.

‘Well, I'll be gettin' off home now. Why not come up to my house and have dinner tomorrow after Mass, I assume ye'll be goin'?'

‘Probably give Mass a miss tomorrow, Cat. We'll take some time sortin' everythin' out and we're pretty tired. Too tired for either seven o'clock or eleven o'clock Mass, but we'll come to dinner – if that's okay with ye?'

‘Okay? What kind of a word is that?'

‘Oh 'tis an American word – it means all right, or somethin' near to that.'

‘Well, then it is okay. I'll see ye about one o'clock. Now I'll explain how to get there.'

Next day, Ellie and Michael arrived for lunch and Cat was deliriously happy. She opened a couple of bottles of her homemade wine and it wasn't long before they all were quite merry.

Anna, Eileen and Elizabeth had stayed in specially to greet their aunt and uncle, although Elizabeth went out to play in the afternoon with her friend next door.

Ellie seemed more relaxed than she had the day before and Cat put her sister's mood down to travel weariness. She couldn't wait to take up the threads of their former relationship. So much had happened to them both. Scarred by tragedy, they had come through and out the other side, only to be left denuded of something neither could define.

Ellie wanted to know all about their life so Cat spent quite a while talking about Reggie and Maureen and their children, and Lize and Louis' mother, who even now still wouldn't receive her.

She explained about the shop and how her mother-in-law lived above it in a flat with Lize, Louis' sister. She told about Iris and Fred's family, Brian and George their children, but said they lived in Essex so hardly ever saw them.

Cat noticed as she mentioned Reggie that Anna sneered, and she meant to have it out with her later but not until after Ellie and Michael had gone.

Photographs came out and they poured over them laughing at the old fashioned clothes, but beneath the mirth was an undercurrent of unspoken melancholy.

By the time Ellie and Michael decided they should go they had covered quite a distance in remembrance, but some of the things that had caused most pain were avoided. They did not mention Catherine or Marie. It was as though both sisters knew the safety boundaries – and to go no further. It would wait.

* * *

Later that night, Billy arrived home unexpectedly.

‘Good Heavens, Billy,' Cat laughed, ‘this is a lovely surprise. Why didn't ye let me know ye were comin' home? We'll have to have a bit of a re-shuffle with the beds,' she added. ‘Wait now, I'll put the kettle on before I do that.'

She called to Anna and Eileen to come downstairs and greet their brother and within seconds both girls flew downstairs and threw their arms around his neck.

Cat watched them with a tinge of sadness. How like Louis he had grown. About the same height, that same chestnut brown hair and Louis' eyes.

‘Anyway Billy,' Cat said as she disappeared into the kitchen to fill the kettle, ‘ye haven't told us what brings ye home on a Sunday night.'

Billy hesitated and both girls looked at him as though anticipating what he was about to say.

‘I've got my call-up papers,' he said.

Cat spun round from the kitchen doorway.

‘Oh no! Oh my God. I thought ye were safe workin' in the medical profession. I didn't think they'd call ye up from the hospital.'

Billy sighed and sat down.

‘I have to report for duty in two days for training and then I'm to go into the R.A.M.C.'

‘What's that, a department at the hospital?'

‘No, it's the Royal Army Medical Corps, Mum. I won't be fighting, but I will be out there amongst it all, bringing home the wounded and tending to them once we get them here. That's if I don't get shot on the way.' He gave a funny little laugh.

‘Billy! I don't want to hear ye joke about it – ye'll put the mockers on yerself. Oh God I never thought I'd see the day. First yer father, now ye. God help us.' She went back into the kitchen and turned on the tap, hoping the noise of running water would drown the sound of her crying.

‘C'mon in, Reggie. Hi there Maureen, and here's the little darlins' come to see their auntie too. 'Tis good to see ye.'
The family went into the front room and Ellie and Michael stood to welcome them.

Cat smiled at them.

‘Reggie, ye remember me sister Ellie, don't ye?'

‘Yes, I think so. How are you Ellie?'

‘Oh I'm grand thanks. This is Michael, me husband, Reggie.'

Reggie shook hands with him and Charlie, the elder of his two boys, shook hands with Michael too.
Little Louis
, as Reggie's youngest boy had become known, held back and hid behind his mother.

‘Louis,' Maureen coaxed, ‘c'mon and say hello now.'

‘Ah, don't worry him. He he'll be grand once he gets to know us,' Ellie laughed.

‘So, Ellie,' Reggie said, ‘Cat tells us you are back working at Woolwich Arsenal.'

‘I am indeed and it doesn't seem as though I ever left England. We're both workin' there at present, Michael and I, that is.'

‘Bet the noise gets you down, doesn't it?'

‘Ah, ye get used to it,' Ellie said sitting down again, ‘and anyway it's work, that's the main thing.'

‘Sure is,' Michael added.

‘Is my mum joining us this afternoon, Cat?'

‘Sure, she'll be along soon. Anna popped round there earlier to give her a hand in the shop now she opens Sundays, and she said she'd be here about four o'clock.'

‘I ought to go and see Granny some time,' Reggie said, ‘but to be quite honest, by the time I get finished up in my shop at night, I just don't get time to do much else except sit in the armchair and fall asleep.'

Cat uncovered the pile of sandwiches and salad she had prepared, along with butterfly cakes and some scones baked that morning.

‘C'mon now and dig in folks,' she said, then squatting before little Louis added, ‘will I get ye a sandwich?' Louis nodded and she planted a kiss on his forehead. ‘Good boy,' she said smiling at him, ‘I'll get ye an egg one, ye like them don't ye?' The boy nodded and she went to the table to put some food on a plate for him.