Wildflower Girl (Children of the Famine)

by Marita Conlon-McKenna

  Shamefaced, both the housekeeper and the cook apologised for doubting her word. Peggy was so tired and fed up she just shrugged her shoulders and told them she was never one for grudges.

  That evening Mrs Rowan discovered the ring near the bookshelves in the music room.

  ‘So that little snake has her ring back,’ muttered Mrs O’Connor. ‘Keep out of her way, Peggy, in future.’

  Over the next few days Peggy barely had time to notice what was going on around her. She ran all over the place trying to do Kitty’s work and her own, raced up and down the stairs to check on the invalid, and every so often brought her drinks or emptied the chamber pot.

  Kitty was so weak she could barely sit up and just wanted to sleep all the time. She wouldn’t eat a pick. Peggy’s afternoon off came and went, and she was too busy to leave the house.

  CHAPTER 21

  Autumn Changes

  THE FALL HAD ARRIVED. EVERY tree was changing colour and Greenbay had become a golden avenue. Although it continued to be sunny and warm, Peggy found it much easier to work. Kitty was still confined to bed.

  The kitchen was a hive of activity as Mrs O’Connor was busy making preserves and chutneys from the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available. The smell of sugar and vinegar and pickling wafted around the house. The pantry shelves were bulging as if in preparation for a siege.

  Mrs Madden surprised them all.

  ‘I have some news to tell you.’ Two spots of colour appeared on her cheeks. ‘I’ll be leaving Rushton at the end of the month.’

  A large smile spread across her face. ‘You’re looking at the proprietor of The Haven, a new first-class lodging house in Walnut Hills at the far side of Greenbay. I’ll be open for business in about five weeks’ time and I hope eventually to have five or six guests.’

  ‘Like Mrs Halligan’s,’ quipped Peggy.

  ‘A bit more refined I should hope,’ said Mrs Madden. ‘My first lodger is a professor who has been widowed and wants to return to live in the area.’

  Mrs O’Connor winked at Peggy who began to giggle. Mrs Madden, flustered and blushing, fled to the sanctuary of her room.

  ‘God, isn’t it great!’ murmured Peggy, her spirit uplifted by Mrs Madden’s single-minded achievement. She began to dream about her own future, Maybe one day she too …

  ‘No better woman deserves it,’ said Mrs O’Connor. ‘Sheila Madden has scrimped and scraped and worked hard and saved ever since she first set foot in this country. Her good-for-nothing husband grabbed and drank every penny they earned and then one day when the money ran out, so did he. He probably drank himself to death a long time back. I’ve worked with her for the last few years. We’ve had our differences but she has always had my respect and friendship.’

  As the time for Mrs Madden to leave was drawing nearer, she called Peggy into her office. She handed her the usual brown envelope.

  ‘Do you want to check it, Peggy?’

  Peggy shook her head and smiled.

  ‘You know, Peggy, you’re very bright. Not that many in service can read and write, and obviously you’re good with numbers too. I’ve spotted you scanning my rows of figures. Things are tough at the moment, but hard work, so they say, never killed anyone. Keep on working and I’m sure you’ll go places. You’ve got brains and spirit and a good nature.’

  Peggy nodded. ‘Thank you. I wish you weren’t going,’ she told the older woman.

  ‘I know, Peggy. But I’ve more than paid my dues, and this is what I’ve worked and saved for all these years. Now is my time to take a chance. You know, Walnut Hills isn’t the end of the earth. It’s only about an hour from here.’ She stared at Peggy and the girl knew straight away that she would always have another friend.

  ‘Now, before I get too sentimental, Mrs O’Connor and I were talking and we both agreed you must have a proper day off before I leave. You need a break from Rushton, so next Thursday, once you’ve served breakfast and helped prepare lunch, the rest of the day is yours.’

  Later on Peggy was in the middle of sweeping the drawing-room floor and polishing the huge gilt mirror when Mrs Rowan came in.

  ‘Oh, Peggy, there’s a letter for you, all the way from Ireland.’ She handed the simple white envelope over to Peggy.

  Peggy wanted to open it there and then and find out about them all, but as the Mistress was watching her, she just popped it into the pocket of her apron and continued cleaning. She could feel it almost burning against her thigh and her blood was racing around her body in anticipation.

  Finally, at midday, under the pretext of bringing a hot drink to Kitty, she ran all the way up to the top of the house. She placed the drink near the other maid’s bed, and quiet as a mouse sat down on her own bed. She smelt the envelope. It seemed to smell of Ireland – damp and windy and beautiful. Inside there were two letters. The first was from Nano. Peggy could hardly stop herself from crying out loud.

  My dearest grandniece, Peggy,

  It was with great joy and relief that Eily and I received your letter and the news of your safe arrival in Boston. You were always a strong little survivor. It is good to know that you are engaged in a fine position with a good family. To get a start straight away was a lucky thing and I know you will work hard as a Kitchen Maid.

  Eily and John got married. Your sister never looked so beautiful or John so handsome. It was a small wedding. How I wished you and your parents had been here to see it. Michael got time off.

  The shop closed down about two weeks after. It near broke my heart. Every time we pass through Castletaggart we see it boarded up and empty.

  Now we are all living on the farm. Joshua Powers and I get on very well and he is glad to have company around the place again.

  You know it reminds me of my childhood to be surrounded by the open fields and the animals.

  There isn’t a night I don’t think of you and say a prayer for you.

  God keep you safe.

  With love and affection,

  Nano

  The second letter was written in Eily’s large round letters.

  My dear little sister,

  I miss you so much. The place is empty without your laughter.

  John and I are so happy. Powers Farm is such a special place for me. Do you remember when we were little girls in Duneen? That is the happiness I feel here.

  Michael is well and is now let ride out two of the horses. John is busy bringing in hay and doing jobs getting ready for the winter.

  Nano cried for two days after we left the shop. But Joshua asked her to help him with a young calf that had lost its mother and since then they have become good friends.

  I miss the shop at times but am kept busy housekeeping here. Oh Peggy, I must tell you – I think I might be with child. It is very early to tell, but Nano says I have a broody look about me. Say a prayer that all goes well.

  I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.

  Do you like America?

  Write back as soon as you get a chance.

  All my love

  Your fond sister,

  Eily

  Peggy held the two letters up to her chest. The tears were streaming down her face. While she was reading she could picture Eily in the small farm kitchen, baking soda bread. She could almost smell the fire and the bread. She sobbed out loud.

  Kitty stirred and woke up.

  ‘Peggy, what is it, are you sick?’ The other girl’s voice was full of concern. ‘Why are you crying?’

  Peggy sniffed and rubbed the palms of her hands to her eyes.

  ‘I don’t know if I’m crying with sadness or happiness to tell the truth. It’s just I miss them all so much. Here, Kitty, take this drink I brought up.’ She hugged her friend and helped her to sit up in bed. That way Kitty could look out the window and see the garden and a bit of the roadway.

  ‘Peggy, you’re so lucky! I never got a letter from anyone – anyways, what good would it do me since I couldn’t even read it.’ The other girl was smiling a wobb
ly smile.

  ‘I’d better get back down,’ moaned Peggy. Then she brightened up. ‘Did I tell you I’m going to be an auntie?’

  * * *

  On Thursday Peggy felt her heart dance as the heavy gate clicked shut behind her. Kitty had told her the name of some good secondhand shops and had given her two dollars for a list of small items she needed.

  On reaching Boston she knew the first place she wanted to go to. She walked up towards the corner of Empire Hill. The same portraits were still in the window of the daguerreotype studio. As she pushed in the door, a tall thin bespectacled man came forward to greet her.

  Peggy introduced herself and explained what she wanted.

  ‘A wise decision, Miss O’Driscoll.’

  He explained the prices and the different types of portrait available. Peggy settled on the most basic model and on two copies.

  ‘Do you want a costume or not?’ he enquired, pointing to a rail of clothes to one side. She walked over to the rail and looked at what was on offer. There was a nasty-looking fox-fur stole. Two or three patterned silk blouses. There was a vivid red satin evening shawl. She tried on a dark green coat with velvet around the collar. There was a small bonnet to go with it. She stared at her reflection. She looked older and paler, but no, it wasn’t her. Eily and Nano were not ones to have the wool pulled over their eyes. Her uniform would have to do. She put the things back and stood against the cream-painted background. A tall thin vase of flowers stood on a carved wooden pedestal near her.

  The man stepped back and seated himself behind a strange-looking box. He slid another box inside it. There was a burning acid smell.

  ‘Try and stay fairly still, Miss O’Driscoll, as I’m trying to focus on you.’

  Peggy tried to fix a smile on her face though there was no denying she was feeling a bit nervous.

  It seemed to take an age before she was finished. She paid Mr Marvin Aubert half the money due – the rest she would pay when she collected the daguerreotype plates on her next day off. She almost skipped down the street. Just think what Eily and Nano would say when they saw the picture of her. Leastways, they would never forget what she looked like! She found the general store and got the things Kitty needed. Then she made for the secondhand shop.

  There was a smell of mustiness but nothing a breath of fresh air wouldn’t chase away. Within half an hour it seemed as if she had tried on nearly every coat and wrap in the place. Some were much too big. Others had moth holes. A few needed major alterations which Peggy knew she would never manage and then, just when she had almost given up hope, she found the perfect coat. It was a rich purple, like the heather on the hills around Castletaggart. It was all made of wool and part-lined with a fine flannel inside. It had wide caped shoulders. The minute she slipped it on, it felt comfortable and cosy.

  ‘I’ll take it,’ she announced to the surprised assistant who was sure she had no intention of buying.

  ‘Don’t bother wrapping it, I’ll wear it,’ she told her.

  Outside there was a noticeable drop in temperature and Peggy thanked her lucky stars for the coat as she had to walk nearly half the way home.

  CHAPTER 22

  The New Housekeeper

  ON SUNDAY MORNING SHEILA Madden said her final goodbyes to them all. The night before there had been a special dinner cooked by Mrs O’Connor, and the Rowan family had come down to the kitchen to toast the housekeeper and present her with a gift.

  ‘Open it! Open it!’ shouted Simon.

  Blushing, Mrs Madden had opened the large box to reveal a glass decanter and six glasses. ‘I’ll treasure them always,’ she said.

  From Mrs O’Connor there was an apron and a recipe holder.

  ‘You might have need to do a bit of cooking yourself now,’ she joked.

  Peggy watched as the housekeeper opened her gift. It was a small paperweight, a sea-blue colour. On top of it was written: For the Lady of the House.

  ‘Peggy, thank you! It’s just perfect.’

  Before she left, Mrs Madden went up the stairs to the attic room. Kitty was sitting up in bed now. She looked wan and pasty and her hair was greasy. Peggy had plaited it and tied it back.

  Kitty handed over her gift. Mrs Madden hugged her close and then tearfully opened the package that Peggy had got for Kitty. It was a pair of fine gardening gloves, just like the ones the Mistress wore.

  ‘For your own garden,’ smiled Kitty.

  Peggy helped the housekeeper carry down her baggage. Her simple room looked bare as they went downstairs.

  Mr Rowan was sitting impatiently in the driveway and Simon was running in and out, annoying the horse. Peggy helped to store the bags and case under the seats. Mrs Madden stepped up.

  ‘I’ll run down to the kitchen gate to watch as you go,’ shouted Peggy.

  As the horse and carriage passed on its way about two minutes later, she noticed that the housekeeper never turned round – not even once.

  * * *

  Two days later Miss Hannah Lewis, the new housekeeper, arrived. She was unmarried and by every-one’s reckoning around the fifty mark. She was a second cousin of Mr Rowan’s and had decided to accept the recently vacated post of housekeeper. She was small and mean and definitely ‘in charge’, as they all found out soon enough.

  She was given a free hand by Mrs Rowan, who realised that without the likes of Mrs Madden to supervise the worry of the house she could never manage.

  ‘I’m a simple God-fearing woman,’ announced Miss Lewis, ‘and I’ll not tolerate laziness or waste. My first duty is a full inspection of the kitchen.’ She made Mrs O’Connor follow her round as she opened doors and examined cooking equipment and delftware, taking a full inventory of every piece, down to the last teaspoon. Peggy, who was busy trying to finish off the ironing, had just come down with a fresh load of tablecloths and some traycloths. The air in the kitchen was tense. Once Miss Lewis left to check the linen, Mrs O’Connor launched into a tirade against the new housekeeper.

  ‘Let that old rip say one word about my cooking and I’ll get my hat and coat and go and find a better position.’

  Peggy, wide-eyed, knew that she meant it. Hearing the bell clang, Peggy ran up the stairs where Miss Lewis asked her to explain the stock-taking system and notebook kept by Mrs Madden.

  ‘It may need some re-organisation when I get a chance,’ Miss Lewis informed her. ‘Are you the only maid in the house?’ she asked.

  ‘No, there’s Kitty too, but she’s been sick.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘She’s upstairs in our room.’

  ‘I want to see her straight away!’

  Peggy led the way upstairs. Passing the housekeeper’s room Miss Lewis wagged her finger.

  ‘I’ll be able to keep a good eye and ear on you both.’

  They trudged up the smaller stairs. Peggy coughed loudly a few times, hoping to alert her friend to the fact that they had a visitor. Miss Lewis led the way into the room. Kitty immediately sat up. Her hair looked filthy and tangled and she was still half-asleep. The room was stuffy and a mess of blankets, patchwork bedspread and underclothes lay in a heap on the floor. The housekeeper’s face was tight and strained.

  ‘This is a disgrace! Open that window and let in some air. You are like two animals living in a cave. I will not have it in my household.’

  Peggy tried to explain about having to do the breakfasts on her own and make the beds and the ironing and that she’d hoped to get back up after lunch and tidy the place. Miss Lewis would not listen. She pointed to the full chamber pot.

  ‘Empty that! Immediately!’

  Peggy began to make her way down the back stairs. There was a servants’ water closet outside near the woodshed.

  When Peggy returned Miss Lewis had departed. Kitty’s eyes were red-rimmed.

  ‘She says I’m under notice, unless I get better soon.’

  Peggy stood still. She didn’t know what to say or do. Miss Lewis now ruled the roost and the maids were her las
t concern.

  * * *

  The next day Peggy was dusting and cleaning Roxanne’s room. The bedroom was filled with so many fine things that Peggy couldn’t help but envy her. On the bedside table lay a brown leather-covered book. Peggy held it while she polished the side table with beeswax. She loved the smell of polish and always liked to see a room shining as she left it.

  ‘What have got in your hand?’

  Peggy was surprised by Roxanne’s arrival. She thought she was in the middle of a piano lesson downstairs. Without thinking, Peggy looked at the title of the book.

  ‘It’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It’s a grand story, Miss Roxanne.’

  ‘You’ve read it, I suppose?’ said Roxanne sarcastically.

  ‘Yes, Miss Roxanne. It was serialised in the newspaper. Kitty and I loved it.’

  ‘Do you think I would read a book that skivvies like you would read – two stupid Bridgets from the bogs?’

  Peggy could feel her blood boil. She placed the book back on the table and bent to get her cleaning box. As she stood up she couldn’t resist saying: ‘I do believe your President and Queen Victoria are both admirers of Mrs Beecher Stowe’s story – but it may not be your cup of tea!’

  She was just at the doorway when she felt a sudden blow. The heavy book hit the side of her head and then her shoulder.

  Peggy managed to steady herself by holding onto the door handle. A dazed feeling washed over her. Standing on the wide landing, she could hear Roxanne laughing. Miss Lewis came out of the bathroom when she heard the clatter.

  ‘If you’ve broken something, Peggy, it will be docked from your wages. I’ve told you that before.’

  Peggy leant against the panelling. Her head was aching. She put her hand up and felt a trickle of blood running down through her hair and over her right eye.