Miss Mary Martha Crawford (28 page)

Nancy, was determined to marry one of them. What could she do to

prevent it? This was something requiring immediate attention. If only Roland were at home. She could send a letter to him but it might not reach him before he left the school to join his friend. She had been expecting word from him any day to say when he should arrive. What was she to do? She was expecting him today.

Could she tell him? Could she ask for his advice? Would anything he

had to say have any effect on Nancy? But she must do something, get

help from somewhere. Failing the doctor, she would go into town and

see Mr. Paine; but first she must face this man, this sly, low

individual whom Nancy had openly admitted to meeting frequently over the past weeks.

Robbie Robson arrived at the house at three o'clock. lie did not go to the back door but came ud the steps and pulled the bell.

It was Peg who opened the door to him. She knew Robbie and she knew

his father because his father had at odd times left a shive of mutton at the cottage for her grannie; she also knew why Robbie was here

now.

She had heard all that had gone on between Miss Martha Mary and Miss Nancy and, as she told herself, she just couldn't believe her ears, and if she had anything to do with it she'd lock Miss Nancy up. Not that she had anything against Robbie Robson, he was a decent enough fellow, and a good looking one at that, and his people weren't scum, but still, for him to cast sheep's-eyes on Miss Nancy, why it was. She couldn't think of a word that indicated sacrilege but her thoughts told her

that's what she meant.

She strained her neck up out of the collar of her frock and looked up at him as she said in no polite tone, "You've got to go across there to that door." She pointed.

"You're expected."

He stepped into the hall, bent down to her, smiled and said, "Hello there, you little 'un, I haven't seen you for a long time. You all

right now?"

"It's no matter to you Robbie Robson if I am or not, an' it'd be better if you weren't seeing me now an' all."

She marched before him now, her small buttocks wagging their disdain, knocked on the drawing-room door, opened it, and said in a tone that expressed plainly how she felt about this matter, "Robbie Robson, Miss Martha Mary."

Martha turned swiftly from the window and watched the figure of the

young man walking slowly up the room towards

her. She hadn't known what to expect as regards his appearance except that he would certainly have the stamp of the common working man on

him, but what she saw surprised her. He had a thin clear cut face,

freckled heavily across the nose and cheek-bones, large grey eyes, and an enormous mass of fair hair, and his dress was respectable, very much so, being that his suit wasn't made of either thick grey homespun or corduroy. The first impression she was forced to admit was good, but it was wiped away when he opened his mouth.

"After-noon, miss."

"Good-afternoon."

They surveyed each other for a moment before he said, "No need for any preamble is there, you know why I'm here?"

"Yes, I know why you're here and I must tell you at once that my answer is no, a definite no. Your suggestion of a union with my sister is out of the question."

"I expected you to say that, but 'tisn't for you to say, miss, whether it is out of the question or not; that lies between her and me. She

wants me, I want her. Oh, I know she would never have looked the side I was on if young Brockdean had played the game by her, but then he

didn't, did he? An' to my mind she's well rid of him 'cos he's nowt

but a weakling, always was an' always will be. He doesn't take after his father 'cos his father's no weaklin'. No, he's.no weaklin', but

he's a swine of a man. I can say here and now, miss, she'll stand a

better chance of happiness along of me an' mine than she ever would up in the Hall. And when we're on about suitability, miss, I know your

sister's a cut above me, but then the Brockdeans consider themselves more than a cut above her, an' hers.... So, well, to my mind it sort of evens things out."

Martha stared at him amazed. She could see now what attracted Nancy, how in fact she had come under the spell of this strange individual, for he wasn't without personality or spirit. In fact, she would say, for his class he had too much of both for his own good, but as he had dared to point out to

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her his aspirations towards Nancy were, she had to admit, on a par

with Nancy's towards William Brockdean. Yet there were insurmountable flaws in his logic, for whereas Nancy had been educated he showed not the slightest semblance of any learning.

As she stared at him and found his eyes holding hers in an embarrassing fearlessness, she knew that she must not take a high hand with him for it would get her nowhere, she must try persuasion, even pleading. She attempted the latter device first. Her hand extended, she pointed to a chair, saying, "Will you take a seat?"

"No, miss, thanks all the same, I'd rather stand during this

business.

An' there's a time factor, I'm due to collect some animals from

Pearce's farm within the next hour, an' as you know it's a good five miles away. "

How could she deal with this person? He was putting her at a

disadvantage. Her face, she knew, was suffused with colour. But she

must make an effort.

"Mr. Robson." She now joined her hands in front of her waist and bent slightly towards him and, her voice low, she went on, "I beg of you not to take this matter any further, it would only end in unhappiness for you both, for you must see that you ... you are not suitable for her as a husband, and she would be equally unsuitable for you as a wife," "Oh no, no, miss." His head gave a little jerk to the side which dimissed her statement even before he went any further.

"As I see it we're well suited in the fact that we both want to marry, for different reasons like, I grant you. With me I want to marry her because I want her, with her, well, she's marryin' for marryin's sake

'cos she was let down. She sees it as a way of saving her face.... You needn't look so surprised, miss, because it's the truth."

Yes, it was the truth, and this young man was bringing it into the

open, which was all the more astounding. She said so.

"You astound me. You would marry her knowing that she is just taking this way out as a means of escape? Do you realize that presently, when she comes to her senses, she will regret it? Oh, how she will regret it!"

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"I don't see it like that, miss. The way I see it is that by the time she comes to her senses, as you say, she'll be thinkin' along different lines, I'll see to that."

What could she say? She had no words with which to combat him. Her

mouth had opened and closed twice when there came a knock on the

drawing-room door, then a head appeared around it, and a voice said,

"There was nobody about, the place seemed deserted. May I come in?"

She stepped to the side and looked down the room, saying, "Oh yes, yes, doctor, please come in."

As Harry entered the room and closed the door behind him, he smiled to himself as he thought, She sounds pleased to see me, that's a change.

Then he looked into the sunlight in which her visitor was standing. He hadn't recognized him at first, never imagining finding Robbie Robson in Miss Crawford's drawing-room. But it was Robbie Robson. There

weren't two heads of hair like that around here. He smiled widely as he advanced towards the young man, saying, "Well, well! Hello,

Robbie.

I didn't expect to see you here. "

"Good-day to you, doctor. I never expected to find me self here, but we never know where God an' the weather will land us."

"We don't that."

Martha stared from one to the other. They were exchanging greetings

almost as friends. She had looked upon his entry as an answer to an

unspoken prayer, but now she wasn't at all sure if God had understood what she was asking.

She looked directly at Harry now and said with a certain primness,

"You're acquainted?"

"Yes." He nodded back at Robbie.

"You could say we are acquainted. I was able to do a little service for his father a short while ago. Give him a hand, so to speak."

She watched them now exchange a soft laugh together and then the young man, looking towards her, said, "Give him a hand is right. He broke his knuckles an' his forearm in two places; he missed a man's jaw an'

hit a wall. But the doctor here did a fine job on it." He turned his head towards

Harry now, ending, "It was a night an' a half I'd say, doctor, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was a night and a half, Robbie."

Really! She knew they were referring to a brawl that this young roan's father had undoubtedly been in, and they were laughing about it as if they both had enjoyed it. She had been foolish to think that she could turn to him for help on this matter for from his present attitude he was almost sure to condone it.

But there she was wrong, for Robbie Robson, looking at the doctor

straight in the face now, said, "You'll no doubt get a bit of a gliff, doctor, when you learn why I'm here the day. I've come to tell the

miss' he motioned his head towards Martha 'that her sister Nancy an'

me, well, we're aiming to be married."

A tense silence followed this statement before Harry said quietly,

"You're what?"

"Just what I said, doctor. I said it would give you a gliff. Nancy an' me are aiming to be married. You heard aright, we're aimin' to be married."

"Since when?" The question was sharp, there was no friendliness in Harry's manner now.

"Oh, we've been acquainted this while back, since the early part of the year, but things came to a head a week agone, an' so I came to put it to the miss here."

"Do you know what you're saying, Robbie?"

"Aye! Very well, doctor, very well. I'm sayin' that young Nancy and me are wanting to be wed."

"It's impossible."

"No, nothing's impossible, doctor. Them were your very words when you pushed the splintered bone back in me da's arm an' he said, " I'll never use that again", you said to him, " Nothing's impossible". I remember those were your very words."

"This business has nothing to do with broken bones, you're dealing with lives now, Robbie, a precious life, a delicate life, a life of a young girl, an untried, innocent young girl."

"No, no, doctor; there you're wrong." Robbie's voice was

stiff, as was his face as he went on, "She's not as innocent as all that. Anyone meetin' as often as she did with William Brockdean would not remain all that innocent, at least not to the extent that you're implying. Up to a point she knew what loving was so I'm not snatchin'

up a baby from the cradle."

Harry did not take his attention from Robbie as he heard Martha's sharp intake of breath, but bending towards him, he cautioned, "Be careful, Robbie; you've gone too far already."

"Plain speakin's best, doctor. I want you to know there's things on my side an' all. An' when I'm on with plain speakin' I'll say that I care for her, I always have done since I first clapped eyes on her, and

although I never thought to have her, yet I never stooped to

second-best. It's me way;

I'm odd they tell me, but anything I own I like it to be good. I have two fine bred dogs, but they don't always drive good cattle. Few or

many, when I get cattle, an' I'm gona get cattle, they'll be good. "

Harry now swung about, bent his head, doubled his fist and beat it

softly against his mouth; then turning as quickly, again he looked at Martha and asked quietly, "Will you leave us for a moment, Miss Crawford?"

Martha said nothing, she did not even make an assent with her head, but she walked quickly from the room, leaving them facing each other again.

And now Harry, his tone changing to one that he might have used to a familiar friend, said, "We're not talking of cattle, Robbie, we're talking of a refined young girl. You can't do this, Robbie. Look at

this house. Look--' he waved his hand about the room' look about you.

She's been brought up in this and rooms like it, and she's spent years at a private school in Hexham. Imagine taking her from this place."

"There's nothing wrong with our place, doctor; it's better than most; in fact it's twice the size of most. You've never seen it. "

"Yes, I have; I've passed it. It's two cottages knocked into one, but what's that after this."

"It's not just two cottages; there's a room been built at the back that runs the length of them both with the finest views in the

county.

An' our furniture is hand-made, most of it by me great-grand da an'

there's outhouses better than you find on any farm. We haven't always been drovers; as ma da told you, we were farmers one time. "

"Yes, yes, I know all that, Robbie, but you're from different

worlds."

"The needs of the body all stem from the same place whether you're up in the world or down. Doctor." Robbie's voice was harsh now, almost a growl as he went on, "She needs me, she's ripe for marriage. If she doesn't ease herself with me then she'll do something that will make that sister of hers bow her head in shame. An' I tell you something

else, doctor, and it's just this. It would have been as easy as

blinkin' for me to be the man that could have brought that shame on

her, but I held back. But should I let her go she'll jump the hurdles like any penned sheep an' make for the ram; shamelessly she'll make for the ram, any ram. She was hurt, doctor, humiliated bad, brought low

inside herself by that snot of a so-called gentleman, an' if I ever

come face to face with him I'll spit in his eye, then black it, even if it means going along the line for it. But I doubt if I'll get that

chance for he's off to France, isn't he? His parents proudly announced his engagement a few days gone, in fact I heard it in the market the very day I told her it was time we wed."