Amelia

by Siobhán Parkinson

  ‘Ouch!’ said Edmund, rubbing his nose and looking up at Lucinda’s mother.

  Amelia could just glimpse the Goodbodys between the shapes of the adults in front of her. Oh no! she thought, instantly running her eyes over her second-best dress, which left a good deal to be desired in the way of smartness, elegance, fashion and even fit.

  ‘Eleanora Goodbody!’ said Mama, smiling at Lucinda’s mama and putting out her hand. ‘It’s been a long time.’ And she launched into some more Sunday afternoon chit-chat, while Papa and Lucinda’s father made loud friendly conversation and Grandmama smiled her sweetest Sunday smile. Meanwhile Lucinda and Frederick were hopping up and down to see over their parents’ shoulders who it was they were greeting.

  People began pressing on the Pims’ heels from inside the Palm House, wanting to get out, and presumably on the Goodbodys’ heels from outside the Palm House wanting to get in, and gradually, without actually saying anything, the two families dissolved the knot they made in the doorway, the Goodbodys stepping back a little and the Pims moving out. Other parties jostled by them, and muttered and cast irritated looks, but the two sets of parents hardly noticed that they had caused a traffic blockage.

  It was only when they had moved aside from the doorway that the Goodbody children could see Amelia. Lucinda’s eyes shot up and down Amelia’s second-best dress, and a disdainful look kindled in them. But Frederick didn’t seem to notice Amelia’s dress, or to be at all surprised that the girl he had last seen dressed like a silken princess now stood before him in a rather shabby and rather tight-fitting plain dress, even though it was Sunday. He looked only into her face, right into her eyes, and, without taking his eyes from hers, he reached up and removed his Sunday hat.

  ‘Amelia Pim, as I live and breathe!’ he said gallantly. The sunlight made his red-brown hair glint and his eyes were caramel-coloured in his creamy-brown face.

  ‘Frederick Goodbody,’ Amelia replied prettily, saying not a word to Lucinda.

  ‘My!’ said Lucinda with a toss of her auburn bubbles. ‘I declare, Frederick, you amaze me, remembering Amelia like that. Why, I’d have thought you met so many girls – pretty ones too – every day of the week, you’d never remember someone like Amelia Pim.’

  For just a single moment, Frederick removed his gaze from Amelia’s face and turned a look of intense irritation on his sister. ‘Lucinda, why don’t you run away and play with young Edmund here? You’re acting just about his age.’

  Edmund looked up wide-eyed at the sister and brother. ‘Have you ever been in a train?’ he asked Lucinda earnestly, taking Frederick at his word that he and Lucinda were to play together. ‘I know a good train game. You make the noises and I …’

  ‘Oh do be quiet, Edmund,’ said Lucinda haughtily, turning aside to examine a perfectly unremarkable lavender border as if it were an exotic specimen of great interest.

  Edmund’s face fell, and Amelia stretched out her hand and grasped his sticky little hand in hers, in a comfortable sort of way, but she kept her eyes on Frederick.

  ‘Would you like to make up a party with us next Sunday?’ Frederick was saying.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ said Amelia sadly. ‘You see, I haven’t got a party dress. Not any more.’ She hoped Lucinda wouldn’t ask what had happened to it.

  ‘No, no, not that sort of a party,’ said Frederick dismissively, as if that sort of a party were the most boring thing in the world. ‘I mean a walking party. Some friends and I are making up a party next Sunday afternoon, to walk along the banks of the Dodder. Papa is going to lead us, and Mama is coming along to chaperone the young ladies. Please say you’ll come too.’

  Amelia looked at Lucinda. Lucinda didn’t meet her eye, but went on bending over the lavender and sniffing it pointedly.

  ‘Lucinda can’t come, unfortunately,’ said Frederick in a low voice, not sounding as if he really thought it at all unfortunate. ‘She has extra homework to do for three Sundays in a row, for bad behaviour. She’s only here today because there is no-one at home to supervise her. Next Sunday our older sister will be there to keep an eye on her, so she’ll be well and truly grounded.’

  ‘Oh!’ said Amelia. ‘Well, if Mama and Papa agree …’

  ‘I’m sure they will,’ said Frederick, and bowed as the adults began to move apart, the Goodbodys back towards the Palm House door and the Pims in the opposite direction, still calling goodbyes to each other.

  In the tea-rooms, Papa ordered tea, sandwiches and cake. Amelia hugged her invitation to herself and almost forgot to worry about the family finances. ‘Cake!’ she squeaked, but it was a squeak that had no heart in it.

  ‘Cake!’ Papa confirmed.

  The tea arrived quickly, brought by a thin, chirpy waitress, who reminded Amelia, with a pang, of Mary Ann.

  ‘Now!’ said Papa, as Mama filled the tea-cups and Grandmama passed around the little china plates. ‘I have an announcement to make.’

  Everyone looked at Papa. What could it be?

  ‘As you all know, I work for one Richard J. Webb, in the capacity of office clerk, a profession of no great intellectual challenge, nor any great pecuniary reward.’

  They continued to look at Papa.

  ‘Well,’ Papa went on. Then he paused.

  ‘Oh, Papa, do get on with it!’ said Amelia, breathless with anticipation.

  ‘Well,’ said Papa again. ‘Further to a recent meeting with said Richard J. Webb, and to his review of my modest achievements in my capacity of office clerk over the past two months, and particularly in view of the fact that I have managed to introduce a modicum of order and reason into Richard J. Webb’s chaotic office procedures, said Richard J. Webb has offered me promotion to the position of office manager, on the retirement in one month’s time of the present incumbent of the post.’

  This was wonderful news. It meant that Papa would have a much more respectable, responsible and demanding job to do, and it meant that he would command a much better salary. But it also meant that Papa’s employer trusted and respected him. Here was confirmation that Papa was an honourable man, and that there was no truth in the nasty rumours that he had acted dishonestly in his own business.

  ‘Oh, Papa!’ Amelia jumped up from the tea-table and reached over to kiss her father, but he was too far away and she only succeeded in upsetting the cream-jug.

  Amelia scarcely noticed the accident she had caused, and since she couldn’t reach Papa for a kiss, she blew him several across the teapot and rattled her teaspoon on her saucer in celebration. Mama smiled quietly and Grandmama merely said: ‘Dear, dear, what a waste of cream!’

  ‘What is Papa saying, ‘Melia?’ piped up Edmund. ‘What’s he saying, Mama? I don’t understand Papa. He’s talking too grown-up. Please, somebody.’

  No-one took any notice of the little boy. Not even Mama, who had scarcely been able to keep her eyes off him since she had come home. But he must have realised that whatever Papa was saying was good, as everyone was in such great good humour, because he joined Amelia in banging his teaspoon in his saucer. Even Mama took up the clinking, silvery chorus, and the Pim family, taking tea together around a table for the first time in weeks, made a glad sound.

  About the Author

  Siobhán Parkinson is one of the most highly acclaimed children’s writers in Ireland. She has won numerous awards and her books have been translated into several languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Danish. Siobhán lives in Dublin with her husband Roger, a woodturner, and their son Matthew, Siobhán’s personal literary critic.

  OTHER BOOKS BY SIOBHÁN PARKINSON

  For younger readers

  Cows are Vegetarians

  Animals Don’t Have Ghosts

  The Leprechaun Who Wished He Wasn’t

  For older readers

  No Peace for Amelia

  Sisters … no way!

  Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Witch (maybe)

  The Moon King

  Call of the Wh
ales

  The Love Bean

  Breaking the Wishbone

  Copyright

  This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,

  12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland

  Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777

  E-mail: books@obrien.ie

  Website: www.obrien.ie

  First published 1993

  eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–484–0

  Copyright for text © Siobhán Parkinson

  Copyright for editing, typesetting, design, layout

  © The O’Brien Press Ltd

  UNAUTHORISED COPYING IS ILLEGAL

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or my any means, including electronic, digital, mechanical, visual or audio, or mounted on any network servers, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Carrying out any unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. For permission to copy any part of this publication contact The O’Brien Press Ltd at books@obrien.ie.

  British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Parkinson, Siobhan

  Amelia 1.Dublin (Ireland) - Social life and customs - 20th century - Juvenile fiction 2.Historical fiction

  3.Children’s stories

  I.Title 823.9’14[J]

  The O’Brien Press receives assistance from

  Typesetting, layout, editing, design: The O’Brien Press Ltd

  OTHER BOOKS BY

  SIOBHÁN PARKINSON

  NO PEACE FOR AMELIA

  When Frederick enlists for the war in Europe, the pacifist Quaker community is shocked, but Amelia is secretly proud of her hero and goes to the quayside to wave him farewell. For her friend Mary Ann, there are problems too, with her brother’s involvement in the Easter Rising. What will become of the two young men and what effect will it have on the lives of Amelia and Mary Ann?

  THE MOON KING

  Ricky is put in a foster home that is full of sunshine, laughter and children of all ages. But Ricky has withdrawn from the world; the only words he speaks are in his mind. He has lost the ability to become part of family life. Then he finds an unusual chair in the attic, which becomes his special place. In his chair he becomes the Moon King and finds some sense of power and inner peace. From this situation relationships slowly begin to grow, but it is not a smooth path and at times Ricky just wants to leave it all behind …

  FOUR KIDS, THREE CATS, TWO COWS, ONE WITCH (MAYBE)

  BEVERLEY: the bossy one, stuck up and fussy.

  ELIZABETH: easy-going, a bit of a dreamer.

  KEVIN: a good-looker and cool dude.

  GERARD: takes his cat everywhere, and is barely tolerated by the girls.

  THREE CATS: well, there’s Gerard’s Fat Cat, ‘Fat’ for short. And then there are the two Pappagenos.

  TWO COWS: what are they doing in this story?

  ONE WITCH: (maybe) well, is she or isn’t she? Kevin seems to know but he’s not telling. And what is a witch anyway? The four, plus cat, set out for Lady Island, hoping for adventure, maybe even a little danger. But nothing prepares them for their encounter with the eccentric Dymhpna and the strange events that follow.

  BREAKING THE WISHBONE

  A group of teenagers, adrift from their families, scraping together a makeshift home in the House that Everyone Forgot. According to Johnner, it’s like camping, like being on your holidays all the time. But then Johnner’s just a kid. They find out soon enough, all of them, just how harsh life is when you’re young, poor and homeless. The reality of living rough in a Dublin squat presents them with more difficult challenges in their already troubled lives.

  SISTERS … NO WAY!

  WINNER Bisto Book of the Year Award

  A flipper book

  When Cindy’s father becomes involved with Ashling and Alva’s mother, all hell breaks loose. No way will these three ever call each other sisters.

  CINDY: if her father thinks he can just swan off and actually marry one of her teachers, Cindy will show him! But worse than that are her two daughters – so prissy and boring! It’s gross!

  ASHLING: if only her mother could find a nice man – but the new man in Ashling’s mother’s life comes with a dreadful daughter, the noxious Cindy, arch-snob and ultra opinionated.

  ‘Extremely clever … Much insight and good humour … teenage fiction at its most sophisticated’

  CHILDRENS BOOKS IN IRELAND

  CALL OF THE WHALES

  Over three summers, Tyke journeys with his anthropologist father to the remote and icy wilderness of the Arctic. Each summer brings short, intense friendships with the Eskimos, and adventures ‘which Mum doesn’t need to know about’. Tyke is saved from drowning and hypothermia, joins a bowhead whale hunt, rescues his new-found Eskimo friend, Henry, from being swept away on an ice floe, and witnesses the death of innocence with the killing of the narwhal or sea unicorn. A story that will echo in the mind long after the Northern Lights have faded from the final chapters.

  THE LOVE BEAN

  Twins: they like the same things. But that can cause problems. Especially where boys are concerned. When Tito, a tall handsome African, walks into the lives of Lydia and Julia, it turns every relationship upside down. Then there’s the ‘twinny book’ – The Curiosity Tree. It’s about Sun’va and Eva: they’re twins too. And a boy has just sailed into their lives, causing havoc. Romance mirrors romance, jealousy mirrors jealousy – it seems like history is repeating itself.

  CHILDREN OF THE FAMINE TRILOGY

  UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE

  Marita Conlon-McKenna

  Illus. Donald Teskey

  Eily, Michael and Peggy are left without parents when the Great Famine strikes. They set out on a long and dangerous journey to find the great-aunts their mother told them about in her stories.

  WILDFLOWER GIRL

  Marita Conlon-McKenna

  Illus. Donald Teskey

  Peggy, from Under the Hawthorn Tree, is now thirteen and must leave Ireland for America. After a terrible journey on board ship, she arrives in Boston. What kind of life will she find there?

  FIELDS OF HOME

  Marita Conlon-McKenna

  Illus. Donald Teskey

  The horrors of the Famine are over, and the trilogy continues. In America, Peggy hears the call of the wild west. Back in Ireland, will Michael and Eily ever manage to get fields they can call their own?

  MORE HISTORICAL FICTION

  FROM THE O’BRIEN PRESS

  THE GUNS OF EASTER

  Gerard Whelan

  It is 1916: from the poverty of the Dublin slums twelve-year-old Jimmy Conway sees the war in Europe as glorious, and loves the British Army for which his father is fighting. But when war comes to his own streets, Jimmy’s loyalties are divided. Looking for food for his family, Jimmy crosses the city, hoping to make it home before curfew.

  A WINTER OF SPIES

  Gerard Whelan

  Sequel to the award-winning, The Guns of Easter.

  Eleven-year-old Sarah Conway, Jimmy’s sister, wants to be part of the rebellion in Dublin in 1920. But Dublin is a dangerous, shadowy world of spies and informants in the aftermath of the Rising. Who should Sarah trust?

  WAR CHILDREN

  Gerard Whelan

  A compelling and powerful collection of stories set in the time of the War of Independence. Six different children try to come to terms with life during wartime, a time when neither ignorance nor innocence offer any protection.

  SAFE HARBOUR

  Marita Conlon-McKenna

  Sophie and Hugh are left homeless when their house is bombed during the London Blitz. They are sent to Ireland to live with their grandfather. They have never met Grandfather, and their Dad never speaks of him. How will they live in a strange country, with a man who probably hates them – and will the family ever be together again?

  KATIE’S WAR

 
Aubrey Flegg

  Katie’s father returns shellshocked from the Great War. Four years later the Civil War is breaking out in Ireland. Katie’s family is split by divided loyalties, and she feels there is no way she can help. Then she and the Welsh boy, Dafydd, find a hidden arms cache. Can they make a difference after all?

  THE CHIEFTAIN’S DAUGHTER

  Sam McBratney

  A story of conflict, power and first love, set in Ireland 1,500 years ago. At a young age, Dinn Keene was fostered with a remote Irish tribe. Now an old man, he recounts the tragic tale of his first love: his beloved Frann – the Chieftain’s daughter. Dinn had no right to love the daughter of a powerful chieftain, and Frann’s future could not involve a boy from a family beneath her own. But they could not have foretold how much sorrow their forbidden friendship would bring to bear on them, and their tribe.

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