The Haunting by Margaret Mahy

Author:Margaret Mahy [Mahy, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: New Zealand, Fiction
ISBN: 9781510105065
Publisher: Puffin Books
Published: 1982-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

8

Melting with Fear

Claire had made a particularly delicious dinner that night, but her family ate it in silence. Tabitha for once was bewildered into thoughts she did not want to talk about. Troy, frowning, ate her meal in an absentminded way. Barney had nothing to say. Claire, glancing from one to the other of them, grew very quiet and ate almost unwillingly. Mr Palmer sat down in a good humour, but as he got only short answers to his questions, and no reply to his comments, he stopped talking too, eating with a puzzled watchfulness like someone in difficult and even hostile company. Then, without any warning, Claire dropped her knife and fork, put her face in her hands and began to cry.

‘ Darling! ’ said her husband, putting his hand out to her and getting his sleeve in the gravy. ‘ Claire – dearest pet, what ’ s wrong? ’

‘ Nothing! ’ wailed Claire like a miserable child. ‘ Nothing! Well – nothing much. ’ Then she cried again. ‘ I feel such a failure, ’ she said. ‘ I always mean to be good-tempered, but get snappy and cross about things. And now I feel such a failure. There ’ s Troy looking as if she ’ s – I don ’ t know – she looks as if she ’ s tearing herself to bits inside. And Barney looks like a ghost – I know something ’ s gone wrong for him and he won ’ t tell me what it is. ’

‘ I ’ m all right! ’ said Tabitha anxiously.

‘ Well – even you ’ re quiet tonight, ’ Claire said, and giggled through her tears. ‘ Sometimes I just long for you to shut up, and then, when you do, I ’ m sure it must be because there ’ s something wrong. ’

‘ Cross the gypsy ’ s palm with silver, ’ she said. ‘ I ’ ve had to live with you lot, day after day after day. I can ’ t help knowing things. ’

Mr Palmer looked at his children.

‘ It ’ s hard for a father to know, ’ he said. ‘ I ’ ve been away at work all day. Is anything wrong? ’

Barney looked at Tabitha.

‘ I told you so, ’ Tabitha couldn ’ t help saying, but it was Troy who really answered.

‘ Nothing that is anyone ’ s fault, ’ she said. ‘ It ’ s honestly nothing to do with you, Claire – at least part of it is, but only in a way. For instance Barney ’ s frightened about the new baby coming. He thinks if he upsets you you might die having it, because our mother did. You and Dad have tried so hard not to make a big thing of it so as not to worry him, that you probably haven ’ t explained enough. I don ’ t think anyone ’ s told him that Dove had a weak heart, but that Claire ’ s got a heart like an ox.

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