Settling the Account (76 page)

Maudie trailed off. As Frank watched, her
face went pale. ‘Because she wanted to show me she could still do
it. Because I went on and on at her about being too old. It’s my
fault.’

‘No, darling, you mustn’t say that,’ Richard
said, hastening to reassure her.

‘It’s not your fault, love, your ma might’ve
had another baby anyway,’ Frank put in, but Maudie brushed them
both aside, her sensible nature reasserting itself.

‘Yes, it is. It’s my fault—and hers for
taking notice of me. Oh, don’t go looking all worried, Richard, I’m
not going to get in a state over it. That’s no use to Ma, is it?
You can make her better, can’t you?’

Richard shook his head. ‘There’s not really
a great deal I can do. Apart from the fact that your father’s quite
sure she wouldn’t let me near her, what she needs more than
anything is plenty of bed rest.’

‘Pa, you’re not letting her tire herself
out, are you?’ Maudie asked. ‘Why don’t you make her rest?’

‘Well, she says she’s got to get the girls
organised, see that everything gets done properly and all that,’
Frank said. ‘And anyway, love, it’s not that easy to make your ma
do something she doesn’t want to. I’ve tried telling her, but… you
know.’

‘Honestly, you men are as bad as each
other,’ Maudie said, her tone expressing utter disdain for the
entire sex. ‘I’ll just have to do it myself.’

She extricated herself from Richard’s arm
and stood up. ‘Did you ride in or bring the buggy, Pa?’

‘I’ve got the spring cart—I had that much to
get at the store, I knew the buggy would be no good.’

‘Well, that’s all right, then, there’ll be
room for me and Lucy. Now, Richard, you can come and pick us up
later. An hour should be long enough—it doesn’t matter if you’re a
bit longer than that, but make sure it’s at least an hour.’

‘But… but Maudie, dear, are you thinking of
going out to the farm with your father?’ Richard asked, looking
mildly dazed by the sudden turn of events.

‘Of course I am. It’s no good you taking me
out, Ma’ll catch on that something’s up if we come together.
Anyway, she doesn’t want to see you. I’ll tell her you had to go
and see someone out near the farm, so I got a ride out with Pa and
you’re to fetch me later. It’s all right, Richard, I’ve got it all
worked out. Now, I’d better get my stuff organised.’

‘Wait a minute, please, darling,’ Richard
said, halting Maudie in her swift progress towards the door. ‘I’m
not sure that I want you to go out there today.’

Maudie turned and stared at him in evident
disbelief. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Weren’t we speaking just the other day—no,
it was only yesterday—about outings? Don’t you remember? I said
then that I’d rather you didn’t go on carriage rides for another
week or so—and that was
carriage
rides, for goodness sake,
not a cart! Maudie, I don’t want you bumping along all that way.
I’m worried you’ll hurt yourself. I think you’d better stay
home.’

‘Oh, don’t talk rot, Richard.’

‘Maudie!’ Richard said, visibly shocked.

‘Well, you are. I’m perfectly well—you said
yourself that I’m a picture of health. I bet thousands of women
ride around in carts when they’ve just had babies.’

‘That may well be true, but those thousands
of women don’t happen to be my wife. And what about Lucy? You’re
always saying you don’t like to wake her up once she’s settled, and
now you’re going to take the poor little mite out on a bumpy old
cart when she’s fast asleep.’

Richard was doing his best, but Frank could
see that he had lost the battle almost before it had begun. The
note of desperation he had allowed to creep into his voice was a
sure sign of that, and Maudie was far too good at this sort of
thing to miss such a sign. As an involuntary observer of these
marital negotiations, Frank tried to make himself as inconspicuous
as possible, but he took a healthy interest nevertheless.

Maudie folded her arms and gave Richard a
look that expressed exasperation, amused disbelief, and settled
determination all at once. ‘Pa’s cart isn’t bumpy, Richard. It’s a
very nice cart. And Lucy will
like
riding in it. Babies
always like riding in wagons and things, everyone knows that.
She’ll be off to sleep again in no time.’

‘But Maudie, darling, listen—’

‘No,
you
listen. Ma’s sick. Of course
I’ve got to go out there. How could I not go?

‘Now,’ she went on briskly, clearly
believing that she had stated an inarguable truth, ‘I’ve got to get
Lucy organised, and get a few things ready. Pa, you get the horse
hitched up and you should be ready to go by the time I am. Don’t
forget, Richard, I’ll need about an hour, and you can come out any
time after that.’

She swept out of the room in a rustle of
skirts, leaving Richard looking more dazed than ever.

‘I think I’ve just gained a new
understanding of what’s meant by an irresistible force,’ he said.
‘I suppose pointing out that it’s not particularly convenient for
me to go out to the farm today would be completely useless.’

‘I expect so,’ Frank agreed, careful to hide
his amusement.

‘Well, I’ve always said part of Maudie’s
charm is that she’s so natural—that she’s never reluctant to show
her feelings. I suppose I can’t really complain when I experience
the raw edge of it. Though I can’t say I’ve ever been accused of
talking rot before,’ he added reflectively. ‘Maudie has certainly
become more strong-minded since she gained the status of a
mother.’

He turned his attention on Frank. ‘And what
do you think of the idea of your daughter’s descending on the farm
like a whirlwind this afternoon?’

‘As long as they don’t have a row—and I
don’t think Maudie’ll try and start one, not when she’s worried
about her ma—it should be pretty good. It’ll perk Lizzie up no end,
seeing Lucy at last.’

‘Oh, yes, I’m quite prepared to believe that
my daughter is capable of effecting a miraculous improvement,’
Richard said with a smile. ‘And I’d be as pleased as you would to
see a reconciliation between Maudie and her mother. I’ve just found
myself slightly left behind the rapid course of events. I’m still
trying to adjust to the fact that a woman who not three hours ago
was being described to me as “a terrible woman—you don’t know what
she’s really like”, and Maudie couldn’t possibly try and make it up
with her—this same woman is now the prime moving force in Maudie’s
life.’

‘She’s changed her mind, Richard. They do
that, you know. The best idea’s not to make a big thing of it. They
only get upset if you start saying “But you said such-and-such” and
all that sort of talk.’

‘No doubt,’ Richard murmured.

Frank had the cart ready to go, and he and
Richard were standing by it, when Maudie emerged from the house
with Lucy in one arm and a large basket looped over the other.
Richard relieved her of her burdens while Frank gave her a hand up
onto the front of the cart.

‘Lucy hasn’t even woken up,’ Richard said in
surprise.

‘No, I didn’t think she would,’ said Maudie.
‘Lucy’s a very good baby, you know.’

Richard gave a snort. ‘I think Lucy is
already a member of that conspiracy known as womankind.’

‘Probably,’ Maudie said idly, her mind
clearly on other things. ‘Put that basket down next to the flour,
Richard, it won’t tip over there. Yes, that’s right. All right, I’m
ready for Lucy now.’

She held out her arms, and Richard passed
the baby up to her. ‘Now, do be careful, Maudie. Don’t go tiring
yourself out, or getting upset.’

‘Oh, don’t be silly. Honestly, you can be a
real old fuss-pot sometimes.’ But Frank saw the smile she gave
Richard, and the way she tilted her face to receive his kiss.

‘And you, Mrs Townsend, can be a real little
minx,’ Richard said as he disengaged from the kiss. ‘Frank, you be
sure and take proper care of my girls. You will drive carefully,
won’t you?’

‘As if they were the Crown Jewels,’ Frank
assured him.

Lucy woke as the cart moved off, gave a
surprised hiccup followed by a huge yawn, then closed her eyes
again and went back to sleep. It could have been Lizzie sitting
beside him, the infant Maudie on her lap, Frank reflected as his
mind drifted back nineteen years.

Except that he could not remember when he
had last seen Lizzie wearing the calm smile that adorned Maudie’s
face. The thought jolted him roughly back to the present.

‘You won’t upset your ma, will you, love?’
he asked. ‘She’s easily upset lately, since she hasn’t been feeling
the best.’

‘Of course I won’t upset her. Don’t you
worry, Pa, I know what I’m about.’

Frank had no intention of missing the
encounter between Maudie and her mother. As soon as they had pulled
up near the house, he called the boys over to see to the horse and
cart and to bring in the stores, while he took Maudie’s basket and
walked up to the back door with her. Lucy had woken when Maudie
climbed down from the cart. She looked up at the sky with an
expression of mild surprise as Maudie carried her along at a brisk
walk.

Lizzie was standing beside the table,
leaning on its edge for support. The grimness of her expression,
and the apprehensive looks on the faces of Beth and Maisie, told
Frank that he and Maudie had interrupted a tense scene.

Beth’s and Maisie’s expressions lightened
the moment they saw Maudie and Lucy. They fell on their visitors
with exclamations of delight, fussing and cooing over the baby.

Maudie let them have a few seconds of
admiring Lucy, then brushed them aside and walked up to her
mother.

‘So you’re here, are you?’ Lizzie said,
eyeing Maudie suspiciously, as if trying to fathom her motives. ‘I
didn’t expect to see you out here.’

‘Richard’s got to come out this way today,
so I got Pa to give me a ride. Richard will pick me up later.’
Maudie gave her mother a glowing smile, and held out the child in
her arms like a benediction. ‘I’ve brought Lucy to show you.’

Frank held his breath, hoping that Lizzie
would not spoil the moment with a sharp remark. But the temptation
of the baby was too much.

‘Give her here,’ she ordered, holding out
her arms. Maudie handed the baby over, and gazed contentedly on the
sight of Lizzie holding Lucy.

‘Isn’t she beautiful?’ said Maudie.

‘Mmm, she looks pretty healthy,’ Lizzie
allowed. ‘Feeding well, is she?’

‘Oh, yes, she’s a real little pig. Sit down,
why don’t you? She’s pretty heavy.’

Lizzie stiffened. ‘I’m all right. I don’t
need to sit down.’

‘Well, I do. I’m tired out after that ride,
I haven’t been that far from the house for months.’ Maudie
collapsed dramatically into a chair, and pulled out the one beside
her for Lizzie. ‘Come and sit down, Ma, I’ll get a crick in my neck
looking up at you.’

Lizzie hesitated for a moment, then took the
offered chair. Frank sat down opposite her, a silent observer of
the proceedings.

‘I’m that dry—make us a cup of tea, you
girls,’ Maudie said. She watched for a moment to see that they were
doing as she told them, then turned her attention back to
Lizzie.

‘She’s big for her age, don’t you think?’
she asked, tucking the blanket more snugly around Lucy.

‘Not bad. Not for a first baby,’ Lizzie said
guardedly.

Frank could only watch in quiet admiration
as Maudie got Lizzie talking about Lucy and about babies in
general. Maudie had always been good at persuading those who loved
her (other than her mother) to see things her way, but in the year
since her marriage she seemed to have developed a far lighter touch
in dealing with people.

Maudie more than carried her share of the
conversation, but at the same time Frank saw her observing Lizzie
closely. He knew she was noting the lines that pain and fatigue had
etched around Lizzie’s mouth, and the puffiness of her face.
Lizzie’s left hand was visible on top of Lucy’s blanket; the skin
around her wedding ring looked red and swollen.

Maudie fussed around with her basket while
Beth was setting out their tea things, then she brushed her sister
aside and poured when she judged the tea had drawn. She kept Lizzie
talking, and kept watching her carefully.

A huge yawn seemed to take Lizzie by
surprise when she had barely finished her first cup of tea. By the
time they had had a second cup, she was visibly struggling to hide
the yawns.

‘Doesn’t it make you sleepy, holding a
baby?’ Maudie remarked. ‘I always start yawning when I’ve had her
on my lap for a while.’ She leaned close to Lizzie and spoke in a
conspiratorial tone. ‘Can we go up to your room for a bit, Ma? I
wanted to ask you a couple of things. You know, about feeding and
all that.’ She looked around the room, taking in Frank and the
girls with an air of disdain. ‘We can’t talk about those things out
here.’

Lizzie let Maudie relieve her of Lucy, but
Maudie did not affront her mother by offering to help her stand up.
It was hard for Frank to watch Lizzie struggle to heave herself
upright, but he would only annoy her if he offered his arm.

They disappeared up the passage, and Frank
heard the bedroom door closed firmly behind them.

There was work he could usefully be doing,
but he was reluctant to leave the house while those two were in it.
The boys could manage well enough without him for a little
longer.

Maudie emerged some time later, creeping
down the passage with exaggerated care and closing the passage door
after her.

‘Ma’s asleep,’ she said with a
self-satisfied air. She put Lucy on Frank’s lap and looked around
the room.

‘Right, now I’m going to get you lot
organised,’ she declared. ‘You big girls first, then I’ll round up
Rosie and Kate. Now, you two—’

‘How’d you do it, love?’ Frank interrupted
when he had recovered from the shock of her announcement. ‘How’d
you talk your ma into having a sleep? She goes crook as anything if
I ever say she should have a lie-down.’