Page 17 of The Irish Gypsy
"Ha, tool polisher, more like!" came thereply. "Have you seen the way the squire looks at her?"
Jonathan had promised that if Julia met himat the Silver Vaults, he would buy her a full service of sterlingfor twenty-four. It was understood that any party larger than thiswould be catered. Tradesmen from the various guilds were fallingover themselves to bring samples of their various wares to CadogenSquare, but O'Reilly could not resist a bargain, and he knew theSilver Vaults contained magnificent heirlooms from the aristocracy,who had had to sell when their coffers became depleted.
"We wish to go to 11 Charterhouse Street,which is just off Chancery Lane," Julia explained to the cabby.
"Yes, ducks--I know where the Silver Vaultsare, believe it or not," the old Cockney replied cheekily.
Once inside the vaults, Kitty was transportedto seventh heaven. Every conceivable article that could be madefrom silver was to be found there. Some of the precious articleswere only being stored, but most of it was for sale. JonathanO'Reilly was already being shown around by a salesman when thegirls arrived and Julia had a hard time picking what she fancied.The more ornate, ostentatious articles appealed to her father,while Julia realized the plainer pieces with a simple monogram werein much better taste and would meet the approval of her in-laws.After Julia had selected a tea service and some soup tureens, shewandered over to the antique jewelry and inspected several pieces.One was a silver bracelet with silver coins alternating with tinysilver bells, and it tinkled deliciously when it moved. Kitty feltan overwhelming desire to possess the bracelet. Never before hadanything quite taken her fancy as this little trinket did. She wasquite content to wait for the large silver pieces that wouldsomeday grace her own table, but the idea of waiting for somefuture mythical bracelet to grace her wrist sat all awry with her.She wanted this bracelet, and she wanted it now! She tried to pushaway the longing, but the more she denied herself, the strongergrew her compulsion to own it. That covetous feeling quiteoverpowered the petty one of self-denial and without ever seemingto have even glanced in its direction, she was filled with elationas her fingers caressed it inside her pocket.
Jonathan O'Reilly insisted on paying cash foreverything and loved to pull out large rolls of banknotes beforeclerks, especially those with clipped, upper-class accents whopretended they were doing a favor by condescending to wait onyou.
"Where shall we deliver the silver?" inquiredthe salesman.
"We'll take it with us." The clerk was takenaback, and O'Reilly added, "My carriage is outside with two greatlanking footmen idling about doing nothing. Just step outside andfetch them," he directed. "Kitty, show him where." She bobbedprettily and started to climb the stairs to the street level. Theclerk spoke from behind her. He had dropped the Mayfair accent andspoke to her in Cockney. "The old bleeder's takin' it wiv him cozhe's scared of bein' diddled. Fancy him tryin' to be a nob! Well,you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, can you? Hisbleedin' daughter pinched one of them bangles when I 'ad me backturned, but never mind, I just added the price onto his bill, andthat way everybody's happy, eh?" He chuckled.
Kitty smiled happily. "Yes, everybody," sheagreed.
The day of the engagement party approachedand Patrick had not arrived, to everyone's consternation. Therewere a lot of preparations required and Kitty was nearly run offher feet. The household was in chaos without Patrick. In one way oranother every detail seemed to depend on him. Their father's temperlacerated everyone's nerves to ribbons and it was feared that inPatrick's absence, nothing could be accomplished. He arrived theday before the party. Julia flung open the door for him, kissed himsoundly and blurted out, "Thank God you're here! You must dosomething about Father and, oh, yes, I want you to mount me; thehorse Father has supplied is a positive hack--I'm ashamed to deathto be seen on it."
Barbara came flying down the stairs andrushed into his arms. He picked her up and swung her around,completely ignoring his recent wound. She blushed profusely whenshe saw Terry struggling in with the luggage. She lowered her voiceand whispered urgently, "Patrick, you will allow me to attend thisparty, won't you? And please make Father get us a dancinginstructor. I absolutely must know how to dance before thewedding."
All he needed to do was be there, andmiraculously everything fell into place. His eyes went up thestaircase until they found the one he was looking for. He putBarbara down and gazed up at Kitty, only just visible over thebanister. She looked down longingly as if she would like to belifted into the air too. He thought,She's been deprived all herlife. God, how I'm going to enjoy lavishing her with luxuries. I'llsmother her with affection and pamper every whim once we get thisdamn engagement out of the way.
Kitty, ashamed to be caught peeping throughthe railings for a glimpse of him, put up her chin and slowlydescended the stairs. She kept her eyes carefully lowered andstarted to help Terry with the luggage. Patrick was horrified andbeckoned the two footmen with an imperious finger. He said coldly,"See that this girl doesn't carry anything heavy again."
Halfway up the stairs one footman said to theother. "Damnation, I was going to slip up to her room one night,but it looks like she's private crumpet!"
The other shrugged and said, "When the maidsare nicer lookin' than the daughters, you know they have to bewarmin' the master's bed."
They were diningen famillethatevening and Julia, animated even more than usual, was doing herutmost to cause another dinnertime brawl.
"Patrick, I shall just die, just simply die,if Father starts in tomorrow night on his old theme of 'I'm aself-made man; I pulled myself up with my own bootstraps.'"
Barbara eyed her father fearfully as hisjowls turned purple and he began breathing heavier, but Patrick putin coolly, "Julia, I know we're beyond the Pale because our dirtyfingers dabble in trade, but sometimes I think you should look toyour own manners instead of concentrating on Father's. While you'recataloging his faults, you've overlooked his generosity toward you.I'm afraid you've been sadly spoiled, and I'm guilty in thatdepartment. I think I'll have a quiet word with Jeffrey."
Julia wanted to pull the tablecloth off andsmash dishes, she wanted to throw the contents of the soup tureenover him, she wanted to fly at him and scratch out his eyes, butshe knew better than to tangle with Patrick when he was in thisquiet, cutting mood. Barbara's dinner was totally ruined now thather brother as well as her father was hostile; she tried to concealher sniffling behind her napkin. Without glancing in her direction,Patrick said, "That noise is unacceptable at table. You may go toyour room." Barbara fled; Julia followed.
Jonathan O'Reilly looked down the table athis son and felt uneasy. "What's the matter lad? Is your woundplaguing you?"
Patrick shook his head. "A bit tired, Isuppose. It's just these women--they're all the same, they alwayswant something."
"We've both spoiled them because they've nomother, but who spoils us, eh, lad? Anyroad, tell me about themills. Who did you leave in charge?"
"I know you trust Tom Connors, so I put himover all three mills. If things work out well, I think you shouldleave him as manager to take some of the load from your shoulders.I'm putting my money into that shipping venture I told you aboutwith Isaac Bolt, and I'm seriously considering going to America onone of the trips."
"Maybe I should sell the mills and retirealtogether," Jonathan mused.
Patrick was shocked; though he agreedcompletely with that suggestion, he had never thought to see theday his father would propose it. "Well, there's no hurry. OnceJulia is married, perhaps you can think about it more seriously. Icertainly intend to invest any future monies in London, rather thanthe North; perhaps you should do the same."
On the day of the engagement party, Kitty wasup at five o'clock. She was told to light the kitchen fires andwhen she discovered all the coal scuttles empty, she could havecried with vexation. She hated going to the cellars for coal, asthere were always rats, but worse than the rats was the degradingnature of picking up the filthy cobs with her hands to fill thescuttle and then heaving it up the stairs; a job much too heavy forher.
The chef had a hired helper for the day, sonaturally he had to establish total authority by throwing atemperamental fit of pique. The chef demanded the flagstone floorof the huge kitchen be scrubbed before he set foot on it, and thisjob fell to Kitty. While she longed for the fancy jobs such asmaking exquisitely patterned butter pats and putting silver ballson the prettygâteaux,in reality she got the job of guttingand cleaning the fowl. She only thanked God that someone had hadthe foresight to pluck them the day before. So while the othermaids helped makecanapésandhors d'oeuvres, she satwith a bucket of guts between her legs and pinched her nostrilstogether as best she could to prevent her gorge from rising. Shesilently prayed that Julia would need her for something and callher away from all this, but of course the girls were busy withtheir own preparations. Their gowns were to have final fittings andeach spent over two hours with the hairdresser.
After lunch Kitty was put to work cleaningvegetables. Her hands were in water so long they became crinkledand red. When at last she was finished, she wiped them on her apronand surveyed them with dismay. She shrugged; there was noalternative but to steal some of the hand lotion from Julia's roomnext time she passed that way. Kitty longed to find a concealedhide-away where she could observe the guests, but due to a mildconspiracy of the other servants she was placed at the sink onceagain. At first she took pleasure in handling the fine crystalglasses and china plates, but after she had stood at this task fourhours without respite, her legs began to ache painfully. Her handsstopped being red and wrinkled and turned white and bloated. Kittyfelt sorry for herself. She hated them all. She could imagine themusic and the laughter in the big salon that stretched across thewhole front of the house, and vowed that when she was rich and gaveparties, she would always remember the poor drudges belowstairs whohad to do all the dirty work. She wasn't allowed to go up to beduntil after one o'clock in the morning, and her weary legs couldhardly carry her up the back stairs to the attic. The thought ofarising again at five appalled her, and she thought enviously ofJulia and Barbara, who could stay in bed until noon if theyfancied.
Patrick was up early about his own affairsthe next morning. He took a lease on a small but smartestablishment in Half-Moon Street and sent a note around to theemployment agency setting out his requirements for a lady's maid,informing them he would be around the next day to make hisselection. He kept the appointment promptly and made his choicefrom the three women they had lined up for him.
"Mrs. Harris, the lady you will be lookingafter is rather young and your duties will be quite light.Naturally, I have a daily to do the heavy work and I think I'll geta cook too. Here's the address. Can you start tomorrow?"
