Green Girl (18 page)

She sighed, resting her head against him; her contentment was new and sweet, and she resisted the temptation to take advantage.

“
That wasn
’
t in the contract,
”
she answered, and felt the spasmodic tightening of his fingers on her shoulders.

“
Contracts can be amended—even reconstituted to meet changes in circumstances,
”
he said, and turned her gently round to look into her face.
“
Have I been keeping too much to the letter of the law in the matter of our agreement?
”

She felt the colour rising under the unfamiliar demand
in
his eyes.

“
Whatever you want of me, Duff, I
’
m willing to give,
”
she replied, striving to capture and keep the moment of perception.
“
But you haven
’
t wanted anything, have you?
”

“
I wonder if you realise what you
’
re offering,
”
he said on an odd little note of tension.

“
I think so, but—
”

“
But what?
”

“
You think of me as a child, don
’
t you, Duff?
”
she said, but for him the moment of perception had already passed.

“
Well, you
are
a child,
”
he said, moving away from her.
“
A good, conscientious child, ready to please in any capacity and quite ignorant of the ways of the world.
”

“
Because you want me that way,
”
she said, and he began snuffing out the candles on the table.

“
Perhaps,
”
he replied, his ugly features oddly distorted in the flickering light as each flame died.
“
Or perhaps I
’
m more concerned for your happiness than you think.
”

The day came for No
ni
e
’
s return for the holidays,
and
Harriet drove with Duff into Knockferry to fetch her feeling as nervous as she used to on being summoned for an interview with Matron.

“
Does she know you
’
ve married again?
”
she asked, wondering if Duff, with a masculine dread of a possible scene, was leaving it to her to break the news.

“
Oh, yes. The Reverend Mother told her at once. There was no surprise and not much interest, I understand, so you needn
’
t be nervous,
”
he replied rather dryly.

But there was a flicker of surprise in the child
’
s eyes as she shook hands politely with Harriet in the convent parlour, and she said with grave deliberation:

“
You aren
’
t at all what I expected. Has Father really married you?
”

“
Oh, yes. She can
’
t be sacked if you two don
’
t get on
,
so you
’
ll have to learn to accept her,
”
Duff said before
Harriet could answer, and
Nonie
gave him a cool, level look very like one of his own and replied with old-fashioned composure;

“
Naturally. Clooney
’
s quite big enough for us to go our separate ways.
”

Duff merely lifted an ey
e
brow but made no comment, and Harriet was too taken aback by such an adult egression of disinterest that she could think of nothing to say. They left the parlour where the smell of beeswax and carbolic reminded her forcibly of the orphanage, and out to the waiting car in silence.

By the time they had reached Clooney, Harriet was beginning to
think
that it was going to be as difficult to come to terms with Nonie as it sometimes was with Duff. The child a
n
swered questions politely, but volunteered no more information about herself than was necessary, and such brief exchanges as took place between father and daughter sounded like the conventional small talk between strangers. Harriet consoled herself with the fact that her efforts to give the nursery a more adult air had been a step in the right direction, but when she accompanied the child upstairs and waited for some evidence of appreciation, there was none forthcoming.

Nonie stood sedately in her neat school uniform looking about her with critical eyes, then she took off her coat and hat without speaking and hung them up carefully in the Chippendale wardrobe which had replaced the original shabby painted deal, glancing without curiosity at the new pile of children
’
s books on the table.

“
Don
’
t you like the nursery now it
’
s more like your own sitting-room?
”
Harriet asked at last a little wistfully, and the child answered politely enough:

“
I liked it better as it was.
”

“
Oh! Did you play with those old toys, then? I
’
ve only put them away.
”

“
No.
”

“
Well, I ordered these books for you. They
’
re all newly published and some have lovely illustrations.
”

“
It was kind of you, but I always use the library when I
’
m at home,
”
said Nonie with her first hint of smugness, and Harriet wanted to smack her.

“
In that case the tenants
’
children can have these for Christmas. They haven
’
t the advantages of a library,
”
she said on a note of retaliation that was more reminiscent of a schoolgirl than a reproving grown-up, and the child looked at her with the first flicker of interest.

“
How old are you?
”
she asked.

“
Eighteen.
”

“
Good gracious! Father must have been out of his mind!
”
The involuntary exclamation was so mature and so ludicrously an echo of Duff that Harriet laughed.

“
Well, out of his mind or not, you
’
re stuck with me, so I don
’
t see why we shouldn
’
t both make the best of it,
”
she said.

“
What am I to call you?
”
asked Nonie.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
said Harriet, who hadn
’
t considered that question, but Nonie, of course, had the answer, as she would, Harriet was beginning to think, to most things.

“
I shall call you Harriet,
”
she said with the indulgent firmness of an equal.
“
Mother would sound rather silly, wouldn
’
t it?
”

“
Extremely silly,
”
Harriet snapped with heartfelt agreement, and whisked out of the room. She found Duff in the snug drinking sherry, with a second glass already filled and waiting for her.

“
I had a notion you might be needing this,
”
he said with a twinkle, observing her flushed face.
“
My precocious daughter must be something of a shock to the ample product of an orphanage. Didn
’
t she care for your titivations to the nursery?
”

“
No. You knew she wouldn
’
t, didn
’
t you?
”

“
My dear, I did warn you
—”

“
Yes, I suppose you did. But
why
is she like this, Duff? I know you
’
ve left her alone a lot when you were abroad, but surely, later, you could have tried to make up for that.
”

“
The blame doesn
’
t entirely rest with me, you know,
”
he said, sounding suddenly tired.

“
Who, then?
”

“
The grandparents—Kitty
’
s people. I told you I had come to the conclusion that long visits to Dublin were a mistake.
”

“
You mean they turned her against you?
”

“
I think so—not deliberately, I
ima
gine,
but they never forgave me for the way the marriage turned out, and Nonie is enough like her mother to enjoy being the centre of attraction.
”

“
But surely when you came home again you could have done a little spoiling yourself?
”

“
Oh, no. By that time I was the bogey-man, you see. Heaven knows what yams she spun the grandparents, who write accusing letters from time to time but can never bring themselves to visit Clooney. It
’
s another nail in my coffin with Nonie, of course, that I don
’
t allow her to stay there any more.
”

“
I don
’
t think I
’
m going to like your daughter,
”
Harriet said suddenly.
“
A child that is precocious and unnatural is bad enough, but a spiteful child I can
’
t abide,
”
she said, and heard an echo of Matron
’
s sweeping statements.

“
Nonie
’
s not spiteful,
”
he said, smiling at such vehemence.
“
Don
’
t let me give you a wrong impression. She wouldn
’
t, I
’
m sure, make capital out of imagined grievances from any deliberate intention of spite; she
’
s simply cute enough to know what
’
s expected in the matter of questions and answers, and plays up.
”

“
I see. Well, it doesn
’
t sound attractive all the same. What do the nuns think of her?
”

“
She always has an excellent report. The sole criticism appears to be that she
’
s a bad mixer and won
’
t make friends, and that, unfortunately, you
’
ve discovered already for yourself. Give her time, Harriet. I
’
m depending on this warm-hearted simplicity of yours to crack the ice.
”

“
It hasn
’
t cracked yours,
”
she retorted.

“
You might be surprised one day. I, unlike the fond Uriah, don
’
t wear my heart on my sleeve,
”
he said with such an alarming air of censure that she felt chastened. It was almost a relief when Nonie joined them, her long dark hair neatly brushed and tied back with a bow, and the school uniform replaced by a skirt and sweater.

Luncheon was something of an ordeal until she realised that Nonie
’
s presence made very little difference, for she, like her father, was not disposed to chatter and received Harriet
’
s efforts to draw her out with polite surprise. She was a very polite little girl altogether, Harriet had to admit.

She was, indeed, a very plain child, and Harriet
’
s tender heart softened towards her, remembering her own sense of inadequacy when faced with the superior attractions of others.

She was glad when the meal ended, but wondered a little apprehensively if Duff expected her to amuse Nonie for the rest of the afternoon since the child had been a considerable factor in his decision to remarry, but when asked what she would like to do, Nonie intimated with such a condescending air that she preferred her own company on the first day of the holidays that Harriet found it hard to resist the impulse to stick out her tongue and reply with orphanage rudeness.