The English Tutor (9 page)

“
Och!
”
Kilmallin
’
s voice had an edge to it.
“
It would have to be you upsetting all my plans! I don
’
t blame the man for not wishing to teach you—you
’
ve done nothing but antagonize him since he arrived. But you might think of Brian—you might think of me. You don
’
t have to learn if you don
’
t want to, but you can at least behave yourself and forget all this nonsense Conn
’
s taught you.
”

“
I tell you he won
’
t
—”
Clancy broke off as Mark came
into the room. Her face was flushed, but he thought the brightness in her eyes was of distress rather than of anger.

“
Brian is going to bed,
”
he said, taking no notice of her.
“
Agnes seemed to think it was best.
”

“
Is he not well?
”
Kevin asked with immediate alarm.

“
Oh, I think he
’
s all right,
”
Mark replied, looking at him curiously.
“
As a ma
t
ter of fact, his nurse put the idea into
hi
s head.
”

“
Agnes wouldn
’
t do that,
”
said Aunt Bea quickly.
“
But she knows the signs so much quicker than we do. Perhaps I
’
d better go and see.
”

“
I
’
ll come with you,
”
Kevin said, and they both left the room.

Clancy fidgeted, picking up objects, and putting them down again. Every line of her slender back expressed her desire to get out of the room and not be left alone with Mark.

“
There
’
s nothing the matter with him really, you know,
”
he said.

“
I know,
”
she replied briefly.

“
Has it always been like this? This concern for his health, I mean?
”

“
Oh, yes. Brian had infantile paralysis as a child. It left him delicate.
”

“
But not, I
think,
as delicate as he
’
s made out to be.
”

She turned then, and looked at him with startled eyes.

“
I
’
ve always thought
—”
she began quickly, but stopped, a closed look coming into her face.
“
You
’
re a stranger. You wouldn
’
t understand. Brian is all Kilmal
li
n has.
”

His eyebrows lifted.

“
All?
”

“
Yes, all,
”
she said with a queer bitter little air of maturity.
“
The O
’
Shane women have never counted.
”

He stood with his back to the fire, looking down at her.

“
How old are you?
”
he asked.

“
Seventeen.
”

“
Seventeen! I took you for fifteen! Yes, that does make a difference.
”

She frowned at him.

“
A difference to what?
”

“
Your studies. Choosing a syllabus that can be adapted to you both.
”

“
Well,
”
said Clancy indifferently,
“
that won
’
t matter, as you
’
ll be going.
”

He jingled the loose coins in his pockets.

“
But then, you see, I
’
m not going,
”
he said gently.

“
Not going?
”
She looked at him with dismay.

He shook his head slowly, his face quite grave except for the spark of amusement in his eyes.

“
No,
”
he said,
“
I
’
ve decided to take you on and see if I can make any sort of impression on your stubborn little mind.
”

CHAPTER FOUR

AFTERWARDS, Mark could never decide what had made
him
change his mind. The girl
’
s antagonism and the boy
’
s complacency to ill-health had certainly been no inducement to stay. Perhaps, after all, it was just a dislike of being beaten before he had started, or perhaps it was Clancy standing there in the lamplight saying:
“
The O
’
Shane women have never counted.
”

Kevin, of course, was delighted.

“
I thought you
’
d not go,
”
he said with relieved complacence.
“
I knew the boy would win you in the end, in spite of Clancy
’
s antics.
”

Mark gave him a curious glance.

“
Would it very much surprise you, Mr. O
’
Shane,
”
he said slowly,
“
if I were to tell you that it was Clancy who decided me, and not Brian?
”

Kevin
’
s handsome, slightly bloodshot eyes opened widely.
“
Clancy!
”
He laughed.
“
Oh, I see, she piqued you, did she, with all that foolish talk?
”

“
No,
”
said Mark mildly.
“
No, I don
’
t th
ink
she did that. That aspect of her is merely rather tiresome. She tells me she
’
s seventeen. She seems young for her age.
”

“
Seventeen, is she?
”
mused Kevin with naive surprise.
“
Yes, I suppose she must be. But don
’
t let that worry you, my dear fellow. There
’
s not much of the woman in Clancy yet. But the boy, now. He
’
s taken a fancy to you. You like the boy?
”

“
He seems a nice child,
”
Mark replied non-committally.
“
Is he as delicate as his nurse would have him believe?
”

Kevin frowned.

“
We have to be careful,
”
he said evasively.
“
Of course, Agnes is a bit of a fusser, and so is my sister, like all women. But we have to be careful. Well, praise be to God, that
’
s all settled. Now, my dear man, everyone in the house understands that you will be in full charge. I don
’
t want you r
unning
to me for support every time something goes wrong in the schoolroom, like those women used to do. You
’
re a man, so you and I will understand each other. Make what rules you think fit and see that they
’
re kept, and if Clancy is troublesome you needn
’
t come to me for permission to give her a belting.
”

Mark
’
s lips twitched.

“
I don
’
t think I shall deal with your daughter quite so summarily,
”
he said.
“
She
’
s a little old for first-form treatment.
”

Kevin
’
s face registered genuine surprise.

“
Do you think so? Lick
‘
em into shape has always been my principle. Many
’
s the time I
’
ve taken a slipper to that girl
’
s backside.
”

Mark
’
s eyes twinkled.

“
Well, I
’
ll do my best, Mr. O
’
Shane, with or without the aid of a slipper,
”
he said.

He decided that the week-end was best left free for him to get acquainted with his new charges, and proposed starting work on Monday by setting them both a general knowledge paper. It was impossible to map out a syllabus until he knew their standard, and he suspected that to be pretty low. Clancy, however, had no intention of cooperating with his preliminary plans. Brian appeared alone after breakfast on Saturday with instructions from his father to show the new tutor round, and they set off together to walk round the grounds.

Mark inquired where Clancy was, and Brian looked sulky.

“
Gone over to Conn to report on you, I expect,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m not allowed in the boat since we got caught in a squall in the spring.
”

“
Did you capsize?
”

“
No, but Agnes said we might have and I can
’
t stand wettings.
”

“
I see. And what about your sister? Doesn
’
t it matter if she gets soaked—or even drowned?
”

“
Clancy?
”
Brian so
un
ded genuinely amazed.
“
Oh, Clancy
’
s tough. She never takes harm from anything. No one ever bothers about Clancy.
”

Mark was silent, feeling a little irritated by so much general lack of concern. How, he wondered, did they expect the girl to be other than she was, when so little care was given?

Brian began to flag and asked if he might rest, so they sat on a fallen tree, and Mark lit a pipe and looked with interest at the house sprawling untidily in its roughly kept lawns a couple of fields behind them. It was not beautiful as most English manor houses, but it had a decayed dignity which matched the moor and the hills and the bog and the gentle greyness of the Irish skies.

“
You are very isolated here,
”
Mark remarked, listening with pleasure to the noise of the little river that ran into the loch, and wondering if trout were to be caught there.

“
Conn
’
s our nearest neighbour, except for the home farm,
”
Brian replied a little wistfully.
“
We don
’
t see many people. It
’
s nice when Clodagh comes.
”

“
Clodagh?
”

“
She
’
s our cousin and lives in Dublin and has lots of friends. She
’
s grown up now, and we
think
she
’
s very pretty.
”

He told Mark all about Clodagh, who somehow turned into an elegant young lady between one visit and the next, about Aunt Kate who always quarrelled with Kevin, so never came to
Kilmallin
, and about Conn across the loch at Slievaun who was Clancy
’
s friend and special property.

“
Clodagh used to spend all her summer holidays here when she was at school,
”
Brian said.
“
She was the same age as Conn and we, of course, were much younger, but I don
’
t think she ever liked Conn much, and she used to tease Clancy about him and make her cry with rage. Aunt Bea says Clodagh was as wild as Clancy in those days, which always gives her hope.
”

Mark smiled.

“
Hope of another transformation?
”
he said dryly.