Page 134 of The Missing Sister

Merry stood looking down over the fields, as Bill picked up a ladybird and handed it to Helen, who immediately screamed and dropped it.

‘Look at the lady’s eardrops growing everywhere’ – Merry pointed – ‘and the coppertips in the woods. And then there’s the green fields and the trees and the blue sea just beyond the valley.’

‘’Tis the trouble with girls,’ Bobby grumbled. ‘Your heads are in the clouds, dreaming the day away. That’s why we men have to fight the wars and leave you behind at home with the babes.’

‘Not fair, Bobby Noiro,’ Merry retorted as they set off again towards Inchybridge. ‘I’d beat you in reading any day. I bet you wouldn’t even be knowing who Charles Dickens is.’

‘No, but I’m sure he’s a Britisher with that name, so.’

‘And what if he is? Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the world, was an Englishman too. Now then, we’re here,’ she said with relief as they reached the narrow bridge that crossed the slim strip of the Argideen River. ‘I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, Bobby. Eight o’clock, or I’ll be gone without you. Bye, Helen,’ she said to the little girl, who nodded and trotted off behind her big brother. Merry felt sorry for her too – she was desperately thin and hardly ever said a word.

‘I’ll be seeing ye,’ Bobby said as he turned and marched off along the lane to his homeplace further along the valley. Merry walked on with Bill, loving the rare feeling of sun on her face. There was a smell of what Merry could only describe as a freshness in the air, and the fields were dotted with daisies and dandelions. She sat down where she was and laid flat on her back, and Bill, who adored his older sister, followed suit. She was sad that there were only a few days to go before the end of term. Next year would be her last with Miss Lucey, because she would be eleven. After that, she didn’t know where she would be sent to school; maybe St Mary’s Convent in Clonakilty, where her sisters had all gone for a while.

‘The nuns hit you with a ruler if your skirt’s not down to your ankles or your shoes don’t shine,’ Katie had declared when she’d been there. ‘And there are no boys,’ she’d added with a sigh.

Merry had decided no boys sounded like a good thing, but the nuns definitely looked scary, and ’twas a long walk to meet the school bus every day.

As Merry stood up, she decided that, unlike Nora and Katie, she didn’t want to grow up at all.

‘Phew, ’tis hot in here!’ Merry commented as she threw her satchel on the kitchen table.

‘Don’t be complaining it’s too hot when you spend all winter complaining about the cold,’ Katie reprimanded her.

‘Want some bread and jam?’ Merry asked her sister as she cut herself a slice and covered it in the rich strawberry preserve Father O’Brien had given Mammy last week. Merry thought it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. ‘Where is Mammy today? Has she taken Pat out visiting?’

‘I’d say she’s resting. She’s exhausted all the time, so ’tis a good thing I’m here to keep house.’

‘I’m here, girls.’ Their mammy gave a weak smile as she walked through the kitchen door.

‘Where’s Pat?’

‘In the fields with Daddy and John,’ said Katie.

Merry studied Mammy and thought she looked as wan as she had after Pat was born. She’d seemed better in the last few years, but as her mother turned towards the range to boil the kettle, Merry’s own tummy turned over as she saw the slight outline of a bump.

‘Katie, will you go call the boys in for their tea?’ Mammy ordered her. Katie gave a toss of her flame-coloured curls and went outside.

‘Mammy,’ Merry said, lowering her voice as she walked towards her, ‘are you, well, are you having another babe?’

Maggie turned to her daughter, then stroked the top of her blonde head.

‘There’s nothing you don’t notice, is there, Merry? Yes, I am, but ’tis a secret from the rest of your brothers and sisters.’

‘But, I thought the doctor had said no more babies, because then you’d get sick again?’ Merry felt the panic rising inside her – she still remembered the time after Pat’s birth as the worst few months of her life.

‘I know, but sometimes, these things just... happen. God has put new life there and’ – Merry watched her beloved mammy swallow hard as her eyes glinted with tears – ‘if that’s what He wants, there’s none should say ’tis wrong. Now then, Merry,’ Maggie said as she put a finger to her lips, ‘shhhh, promise?’

‘I promise.’

That night, Merry didn’t sleep a wink. If anything happened to Mammy, she thought she’d die.

Please God, I’ll do anything,anything, even kill Britishers, but please let Mammy live!

‘Maggie O’Reilly is expecting again,’ James sighed as he and Ambrose enjoyed a rare sunny day in the pleasant garden of his house, which overlooked the whole stretch of Courtmacsherry Bay below.

Ambrose looked at him in horror.

‘Surely that’s a disaster! She’s just written herself her own death sentence.’