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AS soon as the Head
had finished making her customary announcements after Prayers the following
morning, Len leaned towards Kathie Ferrars, second in command in the Maths
department and once Len's own form mistress. As rapidly as she could, she
explained that an emergency had come up and it was important that she speak to
the Head as soon as possible. That being so, she wondered if Kathie could keep
an eye on Upper Iva whilst she was absent. Kathie Ferrars, who had always been
rather fond of the eldest of the Maynard triplets, agreed easily and Len then
went on her errand to the Head feeling more anxious about the forthcoming
interview than she cared to admit. Miss
Annersley, who was in consultation with the senior secretary, one Rosalie Dene,
raised her eyebrows as the young mistress entered. Rosalie, an Old Girl herself
and a contemporary of Joey Maynard's, gave Len a grin. ""Goodness, but
you're brave!" she commented. ""What do you
mean?" Len asked, rather nervously. ""Leaving Upper
Iva to their own devices at this hour! I hope they won't be climbing the walls
when you get back!" "Len gave a
forced laugh. "Oh, Kathie's looking after them, and they won't play her up!
Especially when Mlle is just next door." "Rosalie
nodded. "OK. Is that everything, Hilda?" and as the Head nodded assent, the
secretary grinned at Len again and then vanished into her own quarters. Miss
Annersley turned to Len. "Well, what
can I do for you this morning?" Len dropped her eyes to the floor, and for a
moment she reminded the Head of the occasionally naughty Middle she had been
not so very many years before. Looking at her more closely, Miss Annersley
noted that the girl's pretty colour had faded a little, and that she looked
tired. "Are you unwell, Len?" she asked gently. "Len's head
snapped up. "Oh, no Miss Annersley!" she replied formally. Then she gathered
her courage in both hands, and faced the Head directly. "I have something to
tell you, Auntie Hilda, and it's not very pleasant." "Miss Annersley
looked startled. It was safe to say that whatever she had expected, it was not
this. "Then suppose you tell me about it, whatever it is." She spoke briskly,
hoping that her business like demeanour would help Len. It did. The younger
woman took a deep breath and, as briefly as she could, she explained the
conversation she had had with her husband the previous evening, and their
conclusions. When she had finished speaking, the Head remained silent, and Len
glanced at her rather nervously. "For what it's worth, I don't believe that
Grainne herself really knows anything about it, Auntie Hilda. She seems to be
much too innocent- naïve, even, for that." "The Head gave
a sigh. "Well, that is something we must certainly discover. But first, I think
we need to verify these ideas of yours. They do have a certain validity,
especially when endorsed by Reg, but I don't think I need to tell you that I
can't act until we know for definite one way or the other." "Len nodded. "I
realise that, myself. I was wondering, since it's so sensitive, do you think
Auntie Daisy might do it- the medical stuff, I mean?" "For once the
Head was too perturbed to notice the poor English. "That's an excellent idea,"
she approved. "I know Daisy doesn't practice very often now, but she's always
willing to help. Have you spoken to Matron yet? No? Well, I'll ask her to come
up to us now, and then we'll see if we can get Daisy over at some stage today." "Len relaxed as
the Head called for Matey over the intercom. "That'd be good. Thanks for taking
it so well, Auntie Hilda! Tell Daisy that if she needs someone to watch the
kids, I'll go over myself, if I may. Although I suppose she could always leave
them at Freudesheim?" "The Head
looked at Len seriously. "Have you told your mother anything of this, Len?" Len
shook her head no, and Miss Annersley continued. "Then I think we'll keep it
that way- for now, at least. We might need Joey later, but given the
circumstances I think we should keep this strictly to school for the moment.
Matron should be here any moment now, but I have a feeling from what she said
yesterday that this will be no real surprise to her." Matey entered at that
point, deeply curious about this urgent summons. The Head told her the story
and Matron's face grew grim as she listened. "Well, as you say,
Hilda, I had a good idea myself yesterday. Having Daisy over is a good idea of
yours, Len, and we'll attend to it immediately. And now, what I want to know is
how such a thing could happen!" Matey's steely grey eyes were flashing
dangerously. "I'm sure nothing happened
here at school," Hilda Annersley returned somewhat defensively, if anxiously.
Matey glanced quickly at her. "Of course not," she
agreed. "That part of it isn't your responsibility, Hilda, so don't worry about
it. Apart from anything else, judging from the girl's symptoms, my guess would
be that she is at least six or seven weeks gone- assuming we are right, of
course." Len intervened at this
point. "Yes, that's what Reg said. That means it must have happened during the
Easter holidays- just before she came here!" Hilda Annersley looked
meditative. "I've just remembered something." She pressed a bell on her desk,
and Rosalie entered. Her cheerful smile vanished as she saw the three serious
people in the study, and her eyes were questioning as she turned to the Head.
"Rosalie, we may be about to find ourselves in a difficult situation. Can you
remember when Mrs O'Malley phoned to ask if we could take Grainne?" Rosalie stood and
thought. "I think it was just a few days before we came back," she said eventually.
"I remember thinking that the lady had a cool cheek believing that we would
take her daughter at the drop of a hat like that, but since we definitely had
the vacancy and everything else panned out so well, we could hardly do anything
else." Miss Annersley looked
thoughtful as she remembered. "Everything else did pan out well, as you say,
Rosalie. In fact, I'm tempted to wonder about that. The lady was under
considerable pressure to sort out the financial arrangements and the requisite
references and so on in a very short space of time, and I'm actually rather
surprised that she managed it. I suppose that's what comes of having friends in
high places!" Her listeners looked
startled as they took in the implications of this. "Then that means she had
some inkling," Len said definitely. "Think about it. The girl was settled in a
school she'd attended for years. Then all of a sudden her mother removes her
from it, and sends her to another school, which is comparatively far away and
in the middle of nowhere! As you say, she has friends in high places, but that
seems to indicate that there was something to hide. Matey's right. I think the
first thing we need to do is find out just what Grainne O'Malley was doing over
the Easter break!" As a result of this
discussion, it was decided that Len would accompany Grainne to her appointment
with Dr Venables, which was arranged for the following day. In the meantime,
the Head would attempt to contact Mrs O'Malley, and glean what information she
could from that lady. Accordingly, Grainne was informed that day that on the
morrow she would miss German dictation, which was taken by Mrs Entwistle
herself, and General Literature, taught by the Head. This had been arranged to
inconvenience other staff members as little as possible, and also to avoid the
need for repeated explanations at this stage. Upper Iva were simply told that
Grainne had an appointment, and no more information was volunteered. Little
Mlle de Lachennais, who had a 'free' during their dictation, agreed to cover the
lesson for Len, so the latter went off to keep her appointment with a mind at
ease on her bad form. She knew that the Senior Mistress would not stand for any
nonsense! Unbeknownst to
Grainne, who had fully expected to go to either the School San or the San at
the other end of the Platz, Len had asked Daisy Venables- she used her maiden
name professionally- if they could go up to her own little room in the Staff
corridor. Daisy, who was an easygoing soul, agreed easily, and as a result, the
mistress and the new girl met the tall doctor in the entrance hall of the
school. After greetings had
been exchanged, and they had started to walk towards the staff quarters, Daisy
turned to Grainne with a smile. "So this is Grainne!
I'm pleased to meet you, my child. Did Mrs Entwistle tell you that I was Head
Girl here years and years ago?" Grainne gave a shy
smile and nodded, and Daisy continued. "And now my bad eldest girl is at school
here too. She doesn't board, though," Daisy added thoughtfully. "No point when
we live so close. I know the Maynards do," and Daisy glanced at Len, on her
other side, "but Laurie- that's my husband, Grainne- and I don't really think
it's necessary. Not until the Easter term, at least, and then it's usually only
for a few weeks! Ah- I think we've arrived?" The doctor flashed a wide grin at
the young mistress. Len smiled at them
both and swung her door open. "Indeed! Welcome to my abode!" she laughed. "It
might seem strange when I don't live in school," she explained as she put her
little kettle on. "But last year after Beth Carey left, Matron said that as
there were several spare rooms going in this corridor, I might as well have
one. Especially when Reg often works at night, and Gina is over at Freudesheim
all day, and it's a nice thing to have in case of emergency. Although as you
can see," she finished with a laugh, "I've had it furnished more as a sitting
room than a bedroom! What would you like to drink? I've got tea- real English
tea!- coffee, and chocolate." Both of her guests
asked for tea, and when Len had attended to their wants and seen to her own,
she sat down and they became serious. Len leaned forward.
"Well, you know why we're here, Grainne," she began. "We know you haven't been
feeling too good these last weeks, and, as I think you've heard, we place a lot
of importance on health at this school. So, why don't you begin and tell Dr
Venables what you told me yesterday? I think it might be better coming from
you," she added with a reassuring smile at the girl, who started. With a little coaxing
from both Daisy and Len, Grainne eventually managed to give Daisy the
information she had provided her form mistress with the previous day. Then,
once both of the women were sure than Grainne was really starting to feel more
at ease with Daisy, that lady gave an almost imperceptible nod to the younger
woman, who rose immediately at this prearranged signal. "I've just remembered
something I need to pick up from the office," Len announced brightly. "You'll
be fine up here with Dr Venables, Grainne, and I won't be long." Len favoured
her pupil with a smile, and vanished, leaving the doctor alone with the girl.
During the fifteen minutes she was absent, Daisy gently probed to the heart of
the matter, and asked the girl a few questions. Grainne, unused to
discussing such personal matters, gave the answers as best she could, before
bursting into sobs that shook her whole body, and when Len returned, it was to
find Grainne still heaving slightly with sobs in Daisy's arms. Seeing how
things stood, Len boiled her kettle again and prepared a hot, sweet cup of tea,
and she then bent over Grainne, who was finally beginning to regain some
composure. ""Here you are,
Grainne," Mrs Entwistle said as she held the cup to the girl's lips. "Have a
sip of this and you'll feel better." She watched closely as Grainne obeyed, and
when she saw that the Irish girl was really looking more like herself, she put
the cup down. "Please Mrs Entwistle,
am I going to die?" Grainne asked anxiously. "Oh, my dear child, no!"
It was Daisy who replied. She took a deep breath, glanced again at her cousin-
Daisy was Joey Maynard's 'niece by marriage' and thus an honorary cousin to the
Maynards- and went on. "Grainne, all the things you've told me about are quite
normal. The only thing is that they aren't usually problems that girls your age
have. That's why we've been so concerned." Grainne nodded her
head and gulped a little. "I see. So when do people normally feel like this?"
she asked, sounding very subdued. Len took a hand at
this point. "Grainne, did anything happen during the holidays?" The question
was rather abrupt, and Grainne's eyes widened as she looked at her form
mistress. "N-no. I stayed at my
Aunt Alanna's, but she had to go away so my cousin Sinead looked after me the
whole time. Then a few days before I was supposed to go back to Holy Family, my
mum picked me up and a week later I came here." "What kind of girl is
Sinead?" Daisy asked gently. "She's grown up. She's
awfully popular in Dublin! She's always going to big parties and stuff like
that." Grainne was starting to feel more at ease, and somehow the homeliness of
this little room helped her. She did not see the glance the women exchanged
over her head. "Did you go with her
to these parties?" Len asked, as gently as Daisy had done. Grainne nodded. "Yes.
I had to, 'cos Sinead wouldn't leave me by myself, and she couldn't miss the
parties. Some of them were really nice, but some of them I can't remember much
about." "I see." Len sat and
thought for a moment, but before she could speak again, Grainne looked up at
her. "Please, why are you
asking me this? I thought you said I was normal!" Her frightened eyes moved to
Daisy's face. "So why do you keep asking about my holidays and stuff?" Daisy realised that
this was a question for her to handle. Len was still very young, she thought,
and it wasn't fair to expect her to cope with it when she, Daisy, was present.
"Well, we think that something might have happened over the holidays, Grainne,"
she began, speaking in a quiet voice that compelled the girl to remain calm and
listen. "I wasn't making things up when I said your feelings and symptoms are
normal. They are, but they usually only happen to women who are going to have a
baby." Daisy paused and looked at the girl in front of her. She's such a child,
she thought. "Do you understand?" Whilst Daisy was
speaking, Len had gone to put an arm around Grainne. More and more she was
becoming convinced that the girl was the victim in all of this, and she
sincerely hoped that the Head had managed to get some sort of explanation from
Grainne's disgrace of a mother. Grainne looked dazed.
"Having a baby? Is that what you're saying has happened? It is, isn't it?" Her
eyes went from one to the other, but neither flinched. Grainne hunched herself
up in her seat. "Having a baby," she repeated, very quietly this time, and
Daisy and Len exchanged a worried look. "It's all my fault," Grainne continued
in that same quiet voice. "That's why she didn't want me. That's why she sent
me here. I'm bad and wicked and she couldn't have me at home. Oh!" A thought
came to her, and she raised a panic stricken face to her form mistress. "I'm
going to Hell! No-one will ever forgive me for this!" and with memories of
comments made during her time at Holy Family ringing in her ears, she collapsed
once more into a frenzy of quiet sobs. For a time, Len and Daisy tried to
soothe her, but it was no use, and eventually Daisy looked at Len. "You'd better get the
Head," she said briefly. "And Matey. Tell her to bring that soothing concoction
of hers," she added as the younger woman dashed off. Before long, Len had
returned with the Head, who immediately went to take Grainne from Daisy. Held
tightly in Miss Annersley's arms, with the Head's beautiful voice sounding
quietly and soothingly in her ears, Grainne's sobs began to abate a little, but
she was still far from calm when Matron entered. That lady took in the
situation with a glance. She guessed instantly that their earlier surmises
about Grainne had been correct, and that the girl had reacted badly to the
news. Well, that was hardly surprising, but in the meantime if something wasn't
done, the child would cry herself sick and that would do no-one any good. Matey
took a proffered glass from Len, who had known what the little lady would wish
to do, and then went to bend over Grainne, who was still shaking from time to
time, her head against Miss Annersley's shoulder. That lady had provided her
with a clean hanky, since her own had given out, but now that too was
exhausted. Grainne looked up at
Matron out of dulled eyes, but she did not attempt to alter her position. For
once in her life, she was starting to feel that maybe here, in spite of this,
she would meet with real kindness and the unaccustomed idea was giving her a
faint sense of security. In addition to that, she was too tired with her
outburst to even want to move. Matey's voice was
unusually gentle as she spoke to the girl. "Grainne, I know you've had a
terrible shock, child, and you must be feeling exhausted. Why don't you take
this draught, and then we'll put you to bed up here for a while. You've got
blankets, haven't you, Len? Well then. You'll be nice and comfortable up here,
and either Mrs Entwistle, Miss Annersley or myself will run up and check on you
from time to time. When you're feeling a little rested, then we'll talk about
what to do next. How does that sound?" Grainne nodded her
head slowly. The idea of sleep was starting to feel very tempting. The Head
then added, "And if you still feel that you don't want to see the others later
on, we'll move you into the spare room in my suite, and keep you separate for a
night or two. Mrs Entwistle will tell your form that you've had bad news and
are upset, and they won't think anymore about it." Miss Annersley took
the girl's face in her hands, and looked at her gravely. Grainne nodded again,
and the Head felt satisfied. She took the glass from Matey, and held it to
Grainne's lips whilst she drank it. Then she stood up briskly. "Come, child.
Mrs Entwistle has finished arranging a blanket and pillows for you, so lie
down." When the exhausted girl had obeyed, the Head kissed her on the forehead,
nodded at the other three women, and departed. Matey, with a gentle
hand on Grainne's head and a brisk injunction to sleep well, did likewise, and
the now sleepy Grainne found herself alone once more with Dr Venables and Len. Daisy tucked the
blankets around Grainne with the same tenderness she showed her own children,
and Len followed the Head's example and kissed the girl on the cheek. "Don't
worry," she said gently. "We'll all look after you," and with that, the two
younger women left the room themselves, leaving behind them a Grainne who felt
considerably comforted by the kindess and consideration she had been shown. |