The English Tutor (23 page)

He could not speak for a few moments, and if it had not been for Clancy
’
s strong hold, would have collapsed to his knees.

“
Whisky
...
”
he managed to say at last, and Clancy hesitated. She did not know if she ought to give it to him or not, but he stretched out a shaking hand, and she filled another glass and held it to his lips.

“
Get Mark,
”
she flung at Clodagh over her shoulder.
“
He
’
s in the schoolroom.
Quick
!”

Mark came at once, and after one look at Kevin, he took the glass gently from Clancy
’
s fingers.

“
No more just now,
”
he said.
“
We
’
ll wait till the doctor
’
s been. Are you easier, Kilmallin. Stay quiet till your breathing
’
s normal, then we
’
ll get you up to bed. It
’
s just a slight heart attack. You
’
ll be all right presently.
”

Clancy, standing behind Kevin
’
s chair, felt as frightened as Clodagh looked, but Mark
’
s tall figure bending over her father was reassuring. The very impassiveness and deliberation which had before so irked her gave her comfort now.

He looked up and smiled, answering the mute question in her eyes.

“
It
’
s all right,
”
he said.
“
It
’
ll pass. Go and find Michael John and tell
him
to go for Doctor Boyle.
”

She was gone and back again with a swiftness spurred by fear, and stood, taut and straight beside her father
’
s chair asking no questions.

Clodagh and Brian were huddled together, crying, and Clodagh said:

“
What
’
s the matter with him, Mark? Mark, what
’
s the matter with him? Is he going to die?
”

Mark caught the fear in Clancy
’
s eyes and said sharply:
“
Of course he
’
s not going to die. He
’
s just had a little seizure, that
’
s all. If you can
’
t control yourself better than this, Clodagh, take Brian upstairs to Agnes, and then stay there with
him
yourself. You
’
re only in the way here.
”

The room seemed very quiet after they had gone. There was only the sound of Kevin
’
s laboured breathing, and the rain beating on the windows.

The colour began to come back to the older man
’
s face, and his breathing was less painful. Presently he asked for a drink and Mark filled a glass with water and gave it to him.

“
That
’
s a terrible drink to offer a sick man!
”
Kevin said weakly.

Mark shook his head at him.

“
You know very well that whisky
’
s probably helped to bring this on,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s not the first attack, is it?
”

Kevin grimaced.

“
Once or twice before, but not as sharp as this,
”
he admitted.

“
I thought as much,
”
said Mark.
“
You really will have to lay off a bit, Kilmallin—that and these shouting matches you enjoy with everyone so much.
”

“
Now
I
’
m
to be one of your pupils, am I?
”
Kevin grumbled, but he allowed Mark to get him upstairs and to bed without any further fuss.

Clancy sat at the top of the stairs, and listened to the sounds from her father
’
s room. The hall stove was smoking again, and a bitter draught blew along the dim passages. It seemed to her she sat there for a long time, and Mark nearly fell over her as he came downstairs.

“
Why, Clancy, you should have stayed in the warm,
”
he exclaimed.
“
Your father
’
s all right now. Agnes is staying with him till the doctor comes. We thought it best not to disturb Miss Bea until her guests had gone.
”
He took her cold hands in his.
“
You
’
re frozen, you poor little frog. Come along down to the fire.
”

As they were crossing the hall, the front door opened, and Conn
’
s voice called:
“
Anyone about? Hi, Clodagh!! You left your scarf in the car.
”

Mark was explaining what had happened when a door opened on the landing above and Clodagh came running down the stairs, her hands outstretched, her bright hair flying.

“
Conn! Conn! I want you!
”
she cried.
“
Oh, Conn, it was awful. I
’
m frightened, Conn.
”

She ran straight to him and flung her arms about him.

Clancy stood and watched them. Just so had she in other years sought comfort in Conn
’
s arms for childhood woes, and known the relief of easy tears. Clodagh might have been Kilmallin
’
s daughter, not his niece, so simply did she demand pity.

“
Ah, then, darling, it
’
s all right. It
’
s all right, I
’
m telling you. You
’
ve no need to be
f
rightened...” Conn was
saying in a voice gentle with concern for her.

Mark had been watching Clancy
’
s face.

“
There
’
s a fire in the schoolroom. Take her up there and keep her quiet,
”
he said, and with a hand on Clancy
’
s shoulder, he gently pushed her into the library and shut the door.

She went to the fire slowly, feeling unwanted and shut out. She should have been with them in the schoolroom, sharing in their companionship as she had always done. In times gone by it was she whom Conn had comforted while Clodagh listened and laughed.

“
It
’
s best that way,
”
Mark said.
“
She
’
s upset and he probably understands her.
”

She looked up at him, and the tenderness in his expression made her want to cry for the first time.

“
I didn
’
t think,
”
she said with difficulty,
“
that Clodagh cared so much for Kilmallin.
”

He sighed a little and shook his head.

“
Oh, Clancy, will you never learn?
”
he asked.
“
Will you always take people at face value? Clodagh was frightened, and she likes attention. By the morning she
’
ll have forgotten it except as an exciting happening. Now you
’
re going to sit by the fire and have some whisky and stop shivering. Come along.
”

He pushed her into Kevin
’
s chair, and mixed a drink which he put into her hand, then mixed one for himself.

“
I don
’
t like it very much,
”
she said, but he replied:

“
Never mind. I think we both need it.
”

She sat sipping her whisky, and the slow tears trickled down her nose and into the glass.

“
Come, now, Clancy, you
’
ve been so good,
”
he said kindly.
“
There
’
s nothing to worry about yet. Kilmallin will have to go a bit carefully, but I doubt if Doctor Boyle will give us any alarming reports.
”

She sniffed valiantly, and he offered her a clean white handkerchief.

“
What brought on this attack of your father
’
s?
”
he asked then.

Clancy curled up in the chair and tucked her feet under her.

“
It was Clodagh really,
”
she said, and a grateful smile at Clodagh
’
s championship curved her lips.
“
She was trying to persuade
Kilmallin
to buy me a new dress for my birthday. A proper expensive evening dress from Dublin. She said she would choose it.
”

Mark looked surprised.

“
A very good idea,
”
he said.
“
Didn
’
t your father agree?
”

“
No, he wouldn
’
t have it at all. Clodagh was silly, really, she never knows when it
’
s the right moment and when it isn
’
t. Doyle had lost one of the best cows and Kilmallin was upset about it. Clodagh would go on and on, and then Kilmallin started shouting the way he does, and suddenly it happened.
”

“
I see,
”
said Mark.

He set his empty glass on the mantelpiece, and stood looking down at her, his hands in his pockets.

“
You
’
ll have your frock, Clancy,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll speak to Kilmallin myself when he
’
s well.
”

“
You? Oh, but, Mark, it
’
s not important,
”
she said quickly.
“
I don
’
t mind a bit. I
’
m not very interested in clothes.
”

“
Cert
ainly
it
’
s important,
”
he said with a smile.
“
Clodagh does have sensible ideas sometimes. And by the same token, after your eighteenth birthday, I
’
m going to change our timetable.
”
She looked at him inquiringly.
“
We
’
ll relax the working hours, and you can choose your own subjects and work with me at times that don
’
t clash with Brian
’
s studies.
”

He talked to her in this vein for a little while, and saw that she had begun to forget the emotions of the evening. There were smudges of strain and weariness under her eyes, but she was no longer tearful or afraid.

“
Well, after this dissertation, I should think you had better go upstairs and wash your face,
”
he said, stretching out a hand to pull her out of the chair.
“
Doctor Boyle won
’
t be long now. I
’
ll let you know exactly what he says when he
’
s gone.
”

She stood before him, her smoky eyes intent on his face.
“
You
’
re really very nice,
”
she said shyly.
“
I
’
m sorry I
’
ve made things difficult for you.
”

He ruffled her hair.

“
You haven
’
t made things as difficult as you
’
d like to think,
”
he told her.
“
You have a tender heart, Clancy, but grow up, my child. Don
’
t let them keep you an adolescent too long. You
’
ll get hurt.
”

“
You
’
re the only person who doesn
’
t think of me just as a child,
”
she said gravely.
“
Do—do you mind if I kiss you, Mark?
”

She made a hurried, slightly embarrassed little peck at his cheek and ran out of the room.

The next day, things were back to normal. Kevin was roaring orders from his room where the doctor insisted he stayed for a couple of days to rest, and Clodagh departed for Dublin in a whirl of affectionate farewells and Mark
’
s private assurance that she could go ahead with her plans for Clancy
’
s frock.

“
Is it all right?
”
Clancy had asked when Doctor Boyle had gone.

“
Quite all right,
”
Mark assured her.

No need, he felt, to tell her then that the doctor
’
s report had not been very satisfactory. Kevin
’
s heart was not in a good state, he said. He should stop drinking and not excite himself if he wanted to make old bones.

“
But what manner of use is it giving that sort of advice to a man of Kilmallin
’
s temperament?
”
Doctor Boyle had ended.
“
He
’
ll go his own way whatever you or I say, and after all, a man
’
s life is his own and he must hasten his end in his own way.
”

To Clancy, the three weeks before her birthday were the happiest she had ever known. Kilmallin was well again, and Conn, the dear friend and playfellow of her childhood, had returned to her. Mark had never found her so willing or so quick to learn. Her gratitude to all the world extended particularly to him for his solace in a bad hour, and she had about her a new radiance and maturity which a little disturbed him.