surprise. “ Yes, I suppose she must be. But don ’ t let that worry you, my dear fellow. There ’ s not much of the woman in Clancy yet. But the boy, now. He ’ s taken a fancy to you. You like the boy? ”
“ He seems a nice child, ” Mark replied non-committally. “ Is he as delicate as his nurse would have him believe? ”
Kevin frowned.
“ We have to be careful, ” he said evasively. “ Of course, Agnes is a bit of a fusser, and so is my sister, like all women. But we have to be careful. Well, praise be to God, that ’ s all settled. Now, my dear man, everyone in the house understands that you will be in full charge. I don ’ t want you r unning to me for support every time something goes wrong in the schoolroom, like those women used to do. You ’ re a man, so you and I will understand each other. Make what rules you think fit and see that they ’ re kept, and if Clancy is troublesome you needn ’ t come to me for permission to give her a belting. ”
Mark ’ s lips twitched.
“ I don ’ t think I shall deal with your daughter quite so summarily, ” he said. “ She ’ s a little old for first-form treatment. ”
Kevin ’ s face registered genuine surprise.
“ Do you think so? Lick ‘ em into shape has always been my principle. Many ’ s the time I ’ ve taken a slipper to that girl ’ s backside. ”
Mark ’ s eyes twinkled.
“ Well, I ’ ll do my best, Mr. O ’ Shane, with or without the aid of a slipper, ” he said.
He decided that the week-end was best left free for him to get acquainted with his new charges, and proposed starting work on Monday by setting them both a general knowledge paper. It was impossible to map out a syllabus until he knew their standard, and he suspected that to be pretty low. Clancy, however, had no intention of cooperating with his preliminary plans. Brian appeared alone after breakfast on Saturday with instructions from his father to show the new tutor round, and they set off together to walk round the grounds.
Mark inquired where Clancy was, and Brian looked sulky.
“ Gone over to Conn to report on you, I expect, ” he said. “ I ’ m not allowed in the boat since we got caught in a squall in the spring. ”
“ Did you capsize? ”
“ No, but Agnes said we might have and I can ’ t stand wettings. ”
“ I see. And what about your sister? Doesn ’ t it matter if she gets soaked—or even drowned? ”
“ Clancy? ” Brian so un ded genuinely amazed. “ Oh, Clancy ’ s tough. She never takes harm from anything. No one ever bothers about Clancy. ”
Mark was silent, feeling a little irritated by so much general lack of concern. How, he wondered, did they expect the girl to be other than she was, when so little care was given?
Brian began to flag and asked if he might rest, so they sat on a fallen tree, and Mark lit a pipe and looked with interest at the house sprawling untidily in its roughly kept lawns a couple of fields behind them. It was not beautiful as most English manor houses, but it had a decayed dignity which matched the moor and the hills and the bog and the gentle greyness of the Irish skies.
“ You are very isolated here, ” Mark remarked, listening with pleasure to the noise of the little river that ran into the loch, and wondering if trout were to be caught there.
“ Conn ’ s our nearest neighbour, except for the home farm, ” Brian replied a little wistfully. “ We don ’ t see many people. It ’ s nice when Clodagh comes. ”
“ Clodagh? ”
“ She ’ s our cousin and lives in Dublin and has lots of friends. She ’ s grown up now, and we think she ’ s very pretty. ”
He told Mark all about Clodagh, who somehow turned into an elegant young lady between one visit and the next, about Aunt Kate who always quarrelled with Kevin, so never came to Kilmallin , and about Conn across the loch at Slievaun who was Clancy ’ s friend and special property.
“ Clodagh used to spend all her summer holidays
“ He seems a nice child, ” Mark replied non-committally. “ Is he as delicate as his nurse would have him believe? ”
Kevin frowned.
“ We have to be careful, ” he said evasively. “ Of course, Agnes is a bit of a fusser, and so is my sister, like all women. But we have to be careful. Well, praise be to God, that ’ s all settled. Now, my dear man, everyone in the house understands that you will be in full charge. I don ’ t want you r unning to me for support every time something goes wrong in the schoolroom, like those women used to do. You ’ re a man, so you and I will understand each other. Make what rules you think fit and see that they ’ re kept, and if Clancy is troublesome you needn ’ t come to me for permission to give her a belting. ”
Mark ’ s lips twitched.
“ I don ’ t think I shall deal with your daughter quite so summarily, ” he said. “ She ’ s a little old for first-form treatment. ”
Kevin ’ s face registered genuine surprise.
“ Do you think so? Lick ‘ em into shape has always been my principle. Many ’ s the time I ’ ve taken a slipper to that girl ’ s backside. ”
Mark ’ s eyes twinkled.
“ Well, I ’ ll do my best, Mr. O ’ Shane, with or without the aid of a slipper, ” he said.
He decided that the week-end was best left free for him to get acquainted with his new charges, and proposed starting work on Monday by setting them both a general knowledge paper. It was impossible to map out a syllabus until he knew their standard, and he suspected that to be pretty low. Clancy, however, had no intention of cooperating with his preliminary plans. Brian appeared alone after breakfast on Saturday with instructions from his father to show the new tutor round, and they set off together to walk round the grounds.
Mark inquired where Clancy was, and Brian looked sulky.
“ Gone over to Conn to report on you, I expect, ” he said. “ I ’ m not allowed in the boat since we got caught in a squall in the spring. ”
“ Did you capsize? ”
“ No, but Agnes said we might have and I can ’ t stand wettings. ”
“ I see. And what about your sister? Doesn ’ t it matter if she gets soaked—or even drowned? ”
“ Clancy? ” Brian so un ded genuinely amazed. “ Oh, Clancy ’ s tough. She never takes harm from anything. No one ever bothers about Clancy. ”
Mark was silent, feeling a little irritated by so much general lack of concern. How, he wondered, did they expect the girl to be other than she was, when so little care was given?
Brian began to flag and asked if he might rest, so they sat on a fallen tree, and Mark lit a pipe and looked with interest at the house sprawling untidily in its roughly kept lawns a couple of fields behind them. It was not beautiful as most English manor houses, but it had a decayed dignity which matched the moor and the hills and the bog and the gentle greyness of the Irish skies.
“ You are very isolated here, ” Mark remarked, listening with pleasure to the noise of the little river that ran into the loch, and wondering if trout were to be caught there.
“ Conn ’ s our nearest neighbour, except for the home farm, ” Brian replied a little wistfully. “ We don ’ t see many people. It ’ s nice when Clodagh comes. ”
“ Clodagh? ”
“ She ’ s our cousin and lives in Dublin and has lots of friends. She ’ s grown up now, and we think she ’ s very pretty. ”
He told Mark all about Clodagh, who somehow turned into an elegant young lady between one visit and the next, about Aunt Kate who always quarrelled with Kevin, so never came to Kilmallin , and about Conn across the loch at Slievaun who was Clancy ’ s friend and special property.
“ Clodagh used to spend all her summer holidays
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