Binchy ( 2000 ) Scarlet Feather

by Maeve Binchy

  'Are you serious?' Jock asked eventually.

  'I'm afraid so. Neil promised he would be here to tell you with me, but it hasn't turned out that way.' It's a matter of us both wanting different things

  'Well, by heavens, you wanted him badly enough some years ago when we all told you that you were different people with different backgrounds.'

  'I don't think the background has anything to do with it, it's more the future. Neil wants to go abroad and has his mind on a big job in Europe. I don't want to leave my business…'

  'But surely your business isn't as important as…' Hannah began.

  'Unfortunately, Neil didn't think it was important either, so we differed about that too.'

  'A bit drastic, isn't it?' Jock said. 'It sounds a bit more like a tiff to me.'

  'No, it's much, much more than that.'

  'So what's going to happen?' Hannah asked. She didn't look triumphant and superior. She actually looked frightened. A now familiar world was changing.

  'We're taking it slowly.'

  'Have you someone else?'

  'I have nobody else in my life, Hannah.'

  'You're not suggesting that Neil does, I hope? Does Poor Lizzie know about all this?'

  'Yes Hannah, Poor Lizzie knows.'

  'You're so quick to take offence, you always were, when there's absolutely no need.'

  'Well I'm sure you'll be glad that you were right about me all along,' Cathy said.

  Jock interrupted. 'Now none of that, we're both very shocked at your news. It's out of the blue.'

  Hannah spoke slowly. 'And no matter what you think, I am not pleased. I think you did make Neil happy. I get no joy of saying I told you so, no joy at all.'

  'I've made your Christmas cake and plum pudding. Con will deliver them whenever it suits, and anything else you want, of course.'

  'And when will Neil come and tell us all about it, what time will his meeting end?' Hannah looked bewildered, a little lost.

  Cathy spoke gently. 'I really don't know, you see, he doesn't have to tell me his plans, his schedule any more. I know he'll come and tell you everything, I know he will.'

  'It's really all very sad,' Hannah said flatly.

  There was a silence. And then Cathy got up. 'You'll want to talk, and Neil will get in touch with you. I'll go now. You can always get me at work, and I've left the number I'll be staying at for the next three weeks, it's at Glenstar apartments. I'm minding Shona Burke's flat.' She paused at the door of the den. 'I'll see myself out, I don't think there's any real etiquette over all this, except to say that I hope we can always keep in touch. I really mean that. Even if Neil is abroad, we might meet through Maud and Simon.' And she left them to digest the news that they would have loved to hear half a decade ago. That she and their son might not have a future together.

  'Ricky's having people in on Christmas Day, buffet all afternoon,' Marcella said to Tom.

  'I know, we gave him a load of stuff for his freezer,' Tom said, pleased.

  'At least they'll get something to eat. It's mainly for people who are on their own, people who don't want to sit down to endless turkey.'

  'I'll be up in Fatima for the day,' Tom said.

  'There's no strings attached, just a lot of nice people.'

  'I know, but I'm still going to be in Fatima.'

  'You're very stubborn, can't Joe go for once?'

  'He'll be there too,' Tom said.

  'And I don't suppose that…'

  'I know, I don't suppose that either of us will stay awake for the whole afternoon, but it's something we've agreed to do, to have just the four of us,' he said, intent on heading her off at the pass. He knew Marcella wanted to come to Fatima. But it was too late for her to visit there now. He thought back on all the times he would have loved her to have been there.

  On Christmas Eve they opened a bottle of champagne at the Scarlet Feather premises. And then another and another. It was a celebration that they had done what they hoped.

  The insurance had paid up, they had been booked to do another television show, there was vague talk of a whole series of thirteen programmes. Between them they had worked all day and all evening for twenty-four days. Even James Byrne had begun to smile before he went off to Morocco. So they deserved a party. Jimmy was there, his back magically straightened by the man with all the mad needles. Geraldine sent her apologies, she was having a little drink with Nick Ryan as he made the excuse of last-minute shopping. Lucy's mother and father were there, disapproving at the start and thawing out gradually. Con was there with his mother, who watched Lucy steadily for the first two drinks and then relaxed considerably.Muttie and Lizzie came with the twins. Only Tom and Cathy had no one to field.

  'There's a parcel for you two,' Tom said cheerfully to the twins.

  'Is it from you?' they asked.

  'No, my present is under your tree in St Jarlath's Crescent.'

  They asked could they open it, and Lizzie thought definitely they could.

  They tugged at it and produced two watches. Watches that you could use underwater, watches that would give you the time in America if you wanted it. They immediately worked out Chicago time, and set the little dial for that. They had never seen watches like that before. The card said, 'Love from Walter.' This was greeted by a total silence.

  'Very nice of him,' Cathy said loudly, and they all murmured that it was.

  'Hot?' Tom whispered to her.

  'As the hob of hell, I imagine,' she said.

  'But we'll leave it, won't we?' he pleaded.

  'Of course we will, eejit.' She smiled at him.

  'Will you come to Christmas Dinner in St Jarlath's Crescent tomorrow, Tom?' Simon offered graciously.

  'Thanks, but I have to arm-wrestle my mother over the turkey, she's inclined to put packet stuffing in it and burn it to a crisp if I'm not there to fight her all the way.'

  'It won't be very much the season of peace and goodwill, will it?' Maud said, worried.

  'He's joking, Maud,' Cathy said.

  'Not altogether,' Maud said.

  'Sharp girl,' Tom said.

  They were all off now until New Year's Day, when there was a big lunch and the team would gather again, but the main thing they were celebrating was that they had refused eleven bookings on New Year's Eve. They wanted to consider it an anniversary… one whole year since they had found the premises. Everyone went home. Tom and Cathy insisted that they do the clearing up.

  'It's only putting things in a machine, don't our arms do that automatically?' Tom said.

  The twins were going back to the best Christmas of their lives.

  'Have you got a present for Hooves?' Maud asked Cathy.

  'Would I forget Hooves?' asked Cathy, who had.

  'I didn't see it under the tree,' Simon said.

  'That's because he might have smelled it under the tree,' Tom intervened.

  Their eyes lit up.

  'She's got him a bone' Simon said, excited.

  'Or something in that area,' Cathy said.

  They went off down the lane from the premises arm in arm with Lizzie. Tom and Cathy waved them goodbye.

  'Get me something out of the freezer for Hooves, for God's sake. You're an utter genius, did you know that?' Cathy said.

  'I could thaw a fillet steak if you like,' he suggested. 'We froze them in threes, remember. Well, I might eat one myself, I'm not going anywhere,' Tom Feather said.

  'Neither am I,' said Cathy Scarlet.

  The day passed as Christmas Day passes for so many people, in a sea of paper and presents and fuss about cooking.

  Maura Feather asked them all to kneel down for the papal blessing, and to please her they did because she had given in on everything else, including the turkey.

  Neil had an awkward lunch at Oaklands, where nobody was able to talk about the situation, and where Amanda rang from Toronto to wish them all well. It seemed very artificial.

  Muttie was delighted with his new red overcoat that they had go
t him in the thrift shop, and said he would wear it everywhere. Including tomorrow, when they watched the races on television. He said that he had the accumulator of a lifetime on tomorrow at the races, everything he won on the first race would go onto this horse in the second race, and all the way through the card. It could be millions. And for a very small stake.

  Simon and Maud planned spending the millions. They would get their mother a dressing gown like another lady had in the home. Mother hadn't known it was Christmas Day. It had been a bit sad, but Lizzie had said that the poor lady was in a bit of a dream and she was quite happy. Father had sent them five pounds to buy gifIs, and said he and old Barty would be home to see them sometime. And of course Walter had sent them the marvellous watches. They could hardly believe that Uncle Jock and Aunt Hannah had given them the computer of their dreams. They had been sure that Aunt Hannah hated them. Neil had left presents under the tree for them: they were marvellous computer games.

  Cathy had got Hooves a wonderful steak wrapped up in silver paper with a big pink bow, and she even cooked it for him herself. She was smiling a lot, even when there was nothing particular to smile at. They had been warned by everyone to be particularly nice to her because of this separation thing. But she hadn't been cranky at all. It was a mystery.

  The next day, as he sat in his new red coat in front of the television,Muttie's first horse won and so did his second. They were all standing behind his chair watching the television, willing the horses to win for him. When the third horse won they all began to get chest pains. Even Hooves began to howl at the tension in the air. Geraldine's face was contorted by the time the chosen horse started to pull away from the rest in the fourth race.

  'I didn't know the meaning of the word stress until this moment,' she said in a strangled voice.

  Lizzie said over and over that he should have done the races individually, then they'd have been fine. Why had he to do it this way and give them all heart failure? They were fairly short odds, some of them were even favourite, and his associates said he was as mad as a hatter, but Muttie said he had been studying form seriously. This time he really knew what he was doing, Sandy Keane up at the bookies' wouldn't know what hit him this time. The phone rang just as the fourth horse won. Tom answered it. It was Marian from Chicago. He spoke in clipped tones.

  'Marian, no one in this house is able to speak now, including myself, so just hang up will you, like a good girl, and we'll call you back later.'

  Then he left the phone off the hook. During the fifth race he had his arm so tightly around Cathy's neck she thought she was going to choke. When it won, they all leaped up and hugged each other; only one race to go.

  Lizzie said, 'If he hadn't included the last race he'd have walked away with ten thousand pounds, Mother of God, imagine putting ten thousand pounds that would have solved our problems for ever onto a horse.Muttie, nobody puts that kind of money on a horse… I can't believe this is happening.'

  'Lie down, Mam.' Cathy got her a fooIstool and a cold towel for her forehead. Hooves, sensing illness, laid his head in her lap…

  'What are the odds on the next one?' Maud and Simon were screaming with excitement as they tried to work it out.

  Tom got Muttie a glass of water, he got Geraldine a whiskey and then he drew up two chairs for himself and Cathy—they no longer had the strength to stand.Muttie's face was ashen, it was within his grasp. Tom and Cathy clutched each other's hands like people on a life raft. The horse was in the last three. One of the others fell.

  'I can't bear it,' screamed Geraldine.

  'Come on,Muttie. Come on,Muttie,' shouted the twins. There had been so many horses to cheer for in the afternoon, they had forgotten the name of this one.

  'Listen, God, I'll give you another try if it wins,' Tom said.

  'Please, please horse, win for my dad, please win for him, he's never done a bad thing in his life,' Cathy begged the horse, with tears streaming down her face.

  'Ten thousand pounds that could have set us up for life thrown away on a horse.' Lizzie had her eyes closed, so she didn't see Muttie's horse, the only long shot on the list, come in at thirteen to one.

  'That's thirteen thousand pounds, not bad for a day's work,' said Muttie with a beatific smile on his face, well satisfied with his efforts.

  'No,Muttie, it's a hundred and thirty thousand,' said everyone in the room, except Lizzie and Hooves, at exactly the same time.

  Nobody remembered much about what happened after that. Tom reminded them to ring Marian, and they told her that they would all be over for the baby's christening.Muttie took some of his associates for a drink, and told them firmly that the money would be invested by Lizzie, who was good at this sort of thing, and he would still get an allowance, though perhaps an increased allowance. All things considered. And some of the savings would be used to go to Chicago, and some to help finance Scarlet Feather, and some to buy a second-hand van in case Lizzie and himself wanted to go on outings or take the children somewhere educational.

  'And what about yourself,Muttie?' everyone asked.

  'Haven't I got everything a man could want?'Muttie would say with such sincerity that people got an odd feeling in their noses and eyes.

  Tom said he'd drive Cathy back to Shona's apartment in Glenstar. Geraldine was going to stay the night in St Jarlath's Crescent; she said that someone had to mind this family, which had now gone totally insane.

  She kissed Cathy goodnight. 'What a year,' she said.

  'It had its moments, certainly.' Cathy tried to be light; then she saw Geraldine's face and remembered that Teddy had died, Freddie Flynn had gone and the future with Nick Ryan was uncertain. Cathy had been trying to put a brave face on it for herself and all that had happened to her.

  'Next year will be better for all of us, I have a real feeling about that,' she said as she got into the van.

  Just before the turn to Glenstar, Tom said, 'You know we never had any Christmas cake tonight.'

  'After all the trouble we took icing it,' Cathy said.

  'We could drop by the premises, maybe, and have tea and a slice of cake there?'

  She thought it was a great idea. Neither of them wanted to go home to empty flats, but it hadn't been their custom to invite the other in at night. The premises had always been neutral ground.

  They settled into the front room, drank their tea, and talked about Muttie's win.

  'I think he's more pleased about beating Sandy Keane into the ground than actually getting the money,' Cathy said.

  'I know, it's personal. We can't take any of his money though,' Tom said.

  'We can let him invest,' Cathy said. 'At least that way it's here, rather than in Sandy's hot little hand.'

  'I do wonder which is the sounder investment,' Tom said.

  'Stop that at once, Tom Feather. We won. We've had a hard year, but in terms of the business, anyway, we won, didn't we?'

  'Sure we did. It was a worse year for you than me, but we did win in the end.'

  The phone rang.

  At this time of night?

  'Leave it,' Cathy said.

  'I hadn't a notion of answering it,' he said.

  They listened as the twins spoke their message. They were thanking them for the best Christmas ever. It had been magic, they said, pure magic. And Muttie's wife Lizzie, and Lizzie's sister Geraldine had said they could stay up until they were so tired that they fell down.

  Tom and Cathy sat side by side on the sofa and listened while the twins talked on. They moved very slightly closer to each other and realised that they were holding hands. It seemed very natural so neither of them moved away.

  'Goodnight, Tom. Goodnight, Cathy,' the twins said eventually when they thought the tape might be running out.

  'They knew we were here,' Cathy said in surprise.

  'Imagine,' said Tom Feather as he stroked her hair.

  Table of Contents

  New Year's Eve

  Chapter One

  JANUARY

&nbs
p; Chapter Two

  FEBRUARY

  Chapter Three

  MARCH

  Chapter Four

  APRIL

  Chapter Five

  MAY

  Chapter Six

  JUNE

  Chapter Seven

  JULY

  Chapter Eight

  AUGUST

  Chapter Nine

  SEPTEMBER

  Chapter Ten

  OCTOBER

  Chapter Eleven

  NOVEMBER

  Chapter Twelve

  DECEMBER

  Table of Contents

  SCARLET FEATHER

  New Year's Eve

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve