[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Her mother’s expression was one of mute appeal and Hannah knew, at once, that something bad had happened.Papa.Something must have happened to Papa.She said nothing.Old Joseph tipped his cap to Sophia.His breathing was laboured, his face beaded with sweat.‘Them’s dangerous streets, tonight, ma’am.Your wee girls were very brave.’‘What is it, Joseph? What’s going on?’Sophia’s question was bewildered, almost distracted.Hannah was surprised that her mother didn’t know.She must have observed something.She hadn’t been locked up all day, surely – she had had to cross the city to get to the station.Had something even more momentous closed her senses to what was going on around her, right in front of her eyes? Joseph manhandled the trunk on to the train, grunting and sweating with the unaccustomed effort.Now he turned to face Sophia, his old, creased face full of surprise.‘It’s the loyalists, ma’am.They’ve took to the streets.’‘Oh,’ was all she said.‘I didn’t know.’She bent down again to comfort May, who still clung to her mother.Her sobs had finally begun to ease.Hannah couldn’t shake the feeling that her mother had stooped in order to hide her face.She began to feel really alarmed.What other awfulness had happened to make her mother unaware of the violence and mayhem that now claimed the streets around them?‘Thank you, Joseph.’Hannah’s mother pressed a coin into Old Joseph’s hand and he tipped his cap to her again.‘The blessin’ o’ God on ye, ma’am,’ he said, nodding towards May and Hannah, to say that he included them, too.She smiled at him.Then she turned again to May, who was still clutching at her mother’s skirts as though she were drowning.She held her daughter close, whispering to her.‘I’ve got you now, I’ve got you.’Then she turned to Hannah, her voice urgent.‘Quickly, now, Hannah.We must board the train.Eleanor’s waiting for us.’Her face was set again, back to the severe contours that were familiar.Hannah knew that, for the moment, there was nothing more to be said.She welcomed her mother’s silence, the postponement of pain that it brought with it.She already knew that speech would make solid and real all the vague terrors of the angry, whispered nights that had filled her recent dreams.This way, she could pretend that nothing had changed.At least there was some comfort in that.The first hour of the train journey back to Dublin was a silent one.Hannah was very glad to be out of Belfast.She was still shaken by the carriage ride through the heaving streets.To be safely on the train was a relief, but this was no ordinary visit home.Mama’s face on the platform had told one part of the story; Papa’s absence seemed to confirm another.Hannah was now anxious to know the rest.She waited until Eleanor and May had fallen asleep.The youngest girl was already half-asleep when the train pulled out of the station, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere in the compartment.May had taken longer to settle, her memories of the riots still palpable.Shadows of the fear she had felt still flitted across her face, and her dark eyes looked huge, haunted.Hannah had comforted her as best she could, and now she was lying, sleeping at last, with her head cradled in Hannah’s lap.When she was sure that neither of her sisters could be listening, Hannah turned to her mother.Sophia had put her head back; her eyes were closed.Somehow, Hannah knew she was still awake.The eyes behind her eyelids were restless, jerky.Her face was white, bordering on an unhealthy yellowish colour, that dull, waxy sheen that reminded Hannah of the smell of church candles.The sharp cheekbones seemed more prominent than ever.‘Mama?’ She kept her voice low.Sophia’s eyes snapped open at once.‘What is it?’Her response was quick, anxious, her words full of jagged edges.It was as though she were arming herself to face disaster.Her eyes darted around the compartment, checking on each of her daughters in turn.‘What’s happened, Mama? Where’s Papa and why are we running away to Dublin?’Sophia glanced anxiously at the two younger girls.‘It’s all right, Mama.They’re asleep.Please tell me.’She saw her mother hesitate, as though trying to decide among many options.Hannah wanted the truth.‘I’m old enough, Mama.I’m nearly thirteen.I know that something bad has happened to Papa.’Her tone was firm, almost like a grown-up.Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hannah was pleased with herself.She wanted Mama to treat her as an adult.Sophia stood and pulled down the blinds on each of the rainy windows.Hannah wondered why she was doing that.No one could see them here, hurtling through the darkened countryside at high speed.The drawn blinds did not make the atmosphere any cosier.Instead, the pale light cast pools of cold shadow on the sleeping faces.Hannah was startled to see that her mother looked like a dark, unhappy ghost.‘Your father has been arrested, Hannah.The police came and took him away two days ago.’Hannah stared at her blankly.Of all the things she half thought, half suspected, half knew, this was not one of them.She found it peculiar to hear Mama talk of Papa as ‘your father’.It made him sound like a stranger, someone distant from them all.It had none of the friendliness, none of the warm cigar-smells of ‘Papa’ [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

listy-do-eda.opx.pl