Salvation

by Alan Cliff

God does not allow murderers to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

  AIDAN. There is no proof about Margaret Finney!

  MARY. Up to your dormitory. Rest child, make yourself well again.

  AIDAN. I need to get out of this house.

  Aidan stumbles out.

  Switch to:- Chapel.

  Paddy is here, pacing around, sporadically looking to the ceiling.

  PADDY. Ah, Ye can’t be doing this to me. (Beat) Aye, it's me. I'm talkin’ to Ye again. I haven’t spoken to Ye in some time. Am I supposed to be crossin’ me hands or puttin’ me hand to me forehead, chest and shoulders? Here. (He makes a pathetic sign of the cross) Right, I'm prayin’ now. Having meself a good pray. Right, God, listen to me. Ye remember? Takin’ my wife away from me like that? Ye have some answers for me when I get up there. (Beat) The missus keeps tellin’ me I have to believe in Ye or me soul will never be healed. I don’t even know what that shite means. I don’t know if I even have a soul. Here, when Ye have the time Lord, come to us, as we need Ya. Nurses dyin’, Guardians corrupt, no one’s takin’ care of us, so it has to be Ye. Now, listen to me, make sure them ears are open now, don't be tellin' that bitch of a missus what I was doin’ here today. If she found out I was prayin’ I'd never hear the end of it. I am thankful of the rum. I have to go fetch the nurse now and make plans to bury her. Thanks. Er, Amen.

  He makes another pathetic sign of the cross and exits.

  Switch to:- Mortuary.

  Mary is still here, she is crouched at Deirdre's slab and looking under the sheet, she spots something and takes it out. It is Paddy's pouch. She hides it in her apron. She replaces the sheet, stands up, examines the body and spits on it.

  Paddy enters.

  PADDY. Wherever I go, there ye are.

  MARY. Patrick, ye have returned to take her.

  PADDY. I have. Where is the boy?

  MARY. Would be better for him if you didn’t know.

  PADDY. Ye shouldn't be protectin’ him, he's an adult now.

  MARY. Adults don’t play cards.

  PADDY. Adults play cards all the time, ye mad missus.

  MARY. 'Tis a childs game. How did ye get them back?

  PADDY. If ye aren't prepared to tell me the whereabouts of the lad I shan't be tellin' ya how I got me cards back. The exchanging of information keeps my house in order.

  MARY. (Reaching into her apron and taking out the pouch) Are ye prepared to tell me now?

  Paddy bolts towards her, she holds the pouch at arms length, he cannot reach it.

  PADDY. How?

  MARY. Will ye not fight me for it?

  PADDY. Never raise your hand to a woman, Paddy, never.

  MARY. Good boy. (Beat) Are dead bodies your new hiding place?

  PADDY. Give it back, missus.

  MARY. Ye are the only inmate that carries bodies around this house. Nobody else would want to look at a dead person. The perfect hiding place. One dead body after another.

  PADDY. Right. Ye are right missus. Now, give it back to me.

  MARY. Let's be having a look for ourselves.

  She opens the pouch and takes out a small number of coins.

  MARY. Money.

  PADDY. Aye.

  MARY. Where would a workhouse inmate be getting himself some money? (No response) Guardian Power is the only man with a bit of money in this building. Ye haven’t been stealing, have ye Patrick?

  PADDY. Ye know how I slave here missus, I'm owed that money.

  MARY. (Replacing the coins) But ye have received a roof and nourishment and the word of the Lord. Ye ask for more?

  PADDY. A man is owed for the work he does. I work more than any other.

  MARY. It doesn't give ye the right to steal. Thou shalt not steal, commandment number eight.

  PADDY. Thou shalt not be a bitch, commandment number one.

  MARY. Ye think your jesting will help stop me reporting this to Guardian Power?

  Paddy reaches out for the pouch, Mary shoves it into her apron, Paddy falls over.

  MARY. (Tutting) I shall be returning this to the rightful owner.

  Mary is about to leave.

  PADDY. (Bursting) Let us share it!

  Mary stops.

  MARY. Ye are trying to persuade me to share in your stealing?

  PADDY. Half, I will give ye half. I know how much ye enjoy the rum, Mary, ye can go off and buy some for yourself.

  MARY. Rum is what ye purchase with money meant for this house? (Sarcastically) Shame, shame, shame on ye.

  Paddy crawls to her, begging.

  PADDY. I have worked my lad off to get me a bit of money, missus. I have even turned to God Himself now, to seek the love of the Lord. Look. (He makes a pathetic sign of the cross) See? I am reborn missus, reborn!

  MARY. Then be a good Catholic and be charitable.

  She is about to exit, Paddy falls to his stomach and grabs one of her ankles.

  MARY. Let go of me, ye cretin.

 

  PADDY. Please missus, I beg of ye, let me keep half the contents of the pouch.

  MARY. Let me go!

  PADDY. I…I will never speak to your son again!

  Mary stops, Paddy releases her.

  MARY. An interesting proposition.

  PADDY. A truthful one. Return the pouch to me and I shall not interfere in your child's life again. No more drink, no more cards, no more women talk. I swear it missus, I shall never set eyes upon, nor open me mouth to your Aidan again.

  MARY. An invitation I cannot possibly turn down.

  PADDY. Give it then, so. Give it.

  MARY. In the mean time I shall keep hold of the pouch.

  PADDY. For how long?

  MARY. For as long as I see fit. Does that sound fair to ye, Patrick?

  PADDY. It does, missus, it most certainly does.

  MARY. Good. I will now go and do what ye have failed at and find a secret location for the pouch. But before that, I must go and pray, it has been such a challenging few days. Also, the leak in the dormitory, Patrick.

  PADDY. Thy will be done missus, thy will be done.

  She leaves.

  PADDY. Ya mad bitch of a missus!

  He takes out his rum and drinks heavily.

  Switch to:- Chapel.

  Aidan is here, huddled in a ball, praying, he is very weak.

  Deirdre enters, as a ghost.

  She lifts Aidan’s head, he gets up in shock.

  She strokes his face, giggles and runs off.

  AIDAN. Come back! Come back! (Beat, to the ceiling) To the idiot room is where Ye are sending me!

  Mary enters.

  MARY. I ordered ye to your dormitory.

  AIDAN. I needed to pray.

  Mary sits with him.

  MARY. Ye are growing up. I feared for these days.

  AIDAN. I have learnt more this past week than in all the years I have lived here.

  MARY. When men grow older they learn to play tricks, they get wise, use knowledge to blackmail others. I have been trying my hardest ever since I found you to place you on the right path.

  AIDAN. I have been a prisoner.

  MARY. It may feel that way but believe me when I say; I have tried to create heaven on earth for you.

  AIDAN. How?

  MARY. I stopped you from seeing the world out there. It's a place where people fight, they get drunk, they lose all their senses. In here you are safe. In here you have your job, get enough to eat, you are surrounded by people who work to take care of you. You would not survive on the outside.

  AIDAN. How do you know that?

  MARY. You are not my only child. There was a Mr. Morrissey and a Master Morrissey.

  AIDAN. You never told me.

  MARY. I have only a few secrets. There were dark days in my life and it troubles me to speak of them. My husband, Seán and my son, Daniel. I loved them dearly. I would cook and clean and be an honourable wife. The three of us were happy. But one day a group of travelling women came to our village. I knew w
hat they were looking for, they wanted husbands for themselves. They were creations of the devil, they possessed my family and took them from me. I was left alone. No money to run my house anymore. I had to come here. Ye became a ray of hope in my life, Aidan. I never wanted to see you go the same way as Seán and Daniel. (Pause) Ye deserve to know about your parents.

  AIDAN. You do know something?

  MARY. There is very little I do not know about the goings on in this house. This was quite some time ago, though, and I pray my memory does not play tricks.

  AIDAN. Please, tell me what you know.

  MARY. Do you remember our first meeting? (Beat) Perhaps not, you were very young.

  AIDAN. Seven, or eight, you told me.

  MARY. (Smiling) There could have been five or six hundred people outside the workhouse gates the day you arrived.

  AIDAN. I remember the crowds.

  MARY. People would push and punch their way through others to enter. People were knocked out, there were pools of blood around the entrance. This act of survival led people to violence. I can remember seeing you, you ran under a set of legs and dived into a puddle of mud, you lay there for a few moments, lifeless. I ran to you, gathered you up in my arms and took you directly to the infirmary. When I laid you down you coughed up a little water but you were alive and the nurses and I knew you would be well.

  AIDAN. I do not remember that.

  MARY. Your parents got through the gates, I heard of such. Your mother was with child.

  AIDAN. I have a brother or sister?

  MARY. (Beat) Both your mother and the child died during the birth.

  Aidan moves way from her.

  AIDAN. My father, what became of him?

  MARY. Of this I do not know. Many men leave the workhouse to find jobs and then return to collect their young. Your father, he may have been lucky and found work. It could have been here but it was more than likely in England.

  AIDAN. You've known of this for over ten years!

  MARY. Yes.

  AIDAN. And never told me?

  MARY. As I have said, I was trying to create heaven on earth for you. Now that you are getting older you deserve