Page 129 of The Missing Sister
‘Sit down, Mammy. Everything is done already.’
Mammy smiled up at her as she sat in the chair. ‘Pat wouldn’t settle last night, so I’m a little weary this morning. Thank you, Merry, you’re a good girl, to be sure.’
‘’Tis Christmas Eve, Mammy, the best day of the year.’
‘And I must go to clean the Father’s house,’ Mammy sighed.
‘I’m there to help you, I promise.’
‘Oh Merry, I didn’t mean it like that. You do your fair share here and more. And Mr Lister is such a kind man. If it hadn’t been for him, then...’
Merry, who was stirring the porridge to make sure it wasn’t getting too thick, turned to look at her mother.
‘What do you mean, Mammy?’
‘Ah, nothing, Merry, only that he helps you with your letters. He teaches at a famous university and you can’t be getting any more clever than that. I just hope this one settles whilst we’re up there, so I can get on with my work and then be back home in time to get everything ready for tomorrow.’
‘I can mind Pat for you there, Mammy, you know I can.’
‘I know, pet,’ Maggie smiled at her. ‘I’ll be having some of that porridge now, with maybe an extra dash of sugar on it for energy.’
‘What are you having some of, Mammy?’ asked Ellen as she walked in carrying a squirming Bill.
‘Never you mind,’ she said. ‘We were talking about Santy, weren’t we?’
‘Yes, we were, Mammy.’ Merry smiled to herself as she sprinkled a little sugar on the bowls and brought them to the table.
An hour later, the two of them were on their way up to the top of the hill that the priest’s house sat on, looking down on the village of Timoleague. When they arrived, Mammy knocked politely and waited for an answer. Ambrose opened the door.
‘Good day to you both,’ he smiled. ‘The father’s out on his rounds already, visiting the sick and giving them a Christmas blessing. You know what to do, Mrs O’Reilly. Oh, and the father said to tell you that all the ingredients you need are in the pantry.’
‘Very good, Mr Lister. I’m sorry I’ve had to bring baby Pat along, but he just wouldn’t settle and all the other girls are busy at home...’
‘That’s no problem at all, Mrs O’Reilly. Now then, I’ve just boiled the kettle and filled the pot. May I offer you a nice hot cup of tea after your walk? It really is biting out there.’
Ten minutes later, after a cup of tea into which Merry had poured as much sugar as she wanted from the bowl Ambrose had left out for them, she carried Pat into the study with her, while Mammy got on with her work.
‘I’m sure he’ll settle in a minute, Ambrose, but he’s a fierce screamer.’
‘That was what my mother said of me when I was a baby,’ Ambrose smiled as Merry gently rocked the baby in her arms, begging him silently to go to sleep. ‘Maybe the warmth of the fire will soothe him.’
‘I wish something would,’ Merry sighed.
‘So, Mary, how has school been since I last saw you?’
Ambrose always insisted on calling her Mary, as he’d told her he wasn’t fond of nicknames.
‘Oh, very good, Ambrose. I’m onto reading book ten, which Miss Lucey said is normally for older children. And my numbers are coming on well, I think, even though they’re harder than reading letters. At least you don’t have to add them up, do you?’
‘No, you don’t, Mary.’
‘Look now, Pat has finally closed his eyes. I’ll just lay him down on the mat over there, if you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all. Should we talk in whispers so as not to wake him?’
‘Oh no, you should hear the noise my brothers and sisters make around the place when he’s asleep. He’ll be grand altogether, so.’
Ambrose watched the little girl as she laid the baby down carefully, then covered him with a worn blanket.
