The White Bird Passes by Jessie Kesson

Author:Jessie Kesson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black & White Publishing
Published: 2017-05-17T04:00:00+00:00

Off we’ll go to London Town,

Yo Ho, my lads. Yo Ho, my lads.

We’ll see the King wi’ the golden crown,

Yo Ho, my lads. Yo Ho, my lads.

Not knowing that this was just Grandmother’s way, everybody in the class would think that Grandmother was really going to see the King and taking Janie with her. In her Sunday clothes Grandmother looked as if she could go anywhere at all.

‘Janie MacVean.’ It was Nurse Conduit’s voice that dispelled all images of escape. At least, thought Janie, as she walked forward to join the group of children on the floor, my frock’s still clean from yesterday. So is my bodice. And I haven’t got knickers to worry about. But I’ve still got nits in my hair. Nurse Conduit will be sure to find them. She always bone-combs my hair so well. She just flicks her fingers through other folks’ heads. Lucky other folk, Janie thought, as she watched Connie Morne and Isla Skea and Shona Coolin, whispering and laughing easily together, enjoying Nurse’s visit as a break in lessons. Shona Coolin, that’s a lovely name for such a horror to have. She never once lends me her rubber. My name’s Shona too. My real name. Only it’s Grandmother’s name as well. But Grandfather will never let us use it. So I’ve got to be called Janie instead. It’s the English name for mine. Janie. A terrible name.

‘Gertie Latham.’ Nurse Conduit’s voice brought a gleam of comfort. Janie wouldn’t, now, be de-loused alone. More, they both had the secret of ‘nits’ to keep together from the rest of the children.

‘It isn’t fair,’ Janie confided to Gertie later, ‘every­body in the class must know that we’ve got nits. That stuff Nurse put on our heads smells terrible. It makes my head itch all over. And I think I’ll kill that Connie Morne if she goes on sniffing the smell out loud and laughing and whispering about us.’

It was a mystifying day. Nurse hadn’t given Janie a note to take home to her Mother. ‘And that’s a funny thing, Gertie. Because you’ve got one. And I always get one too.’

Nor was any word spoken about the line for being absent. Not even by the Headmaster when he came into the classroom. He seemed quite unaware of the existence of his ‘daughter’. The news he brought was momentous.

‘You all belong to a city with the oldest and loveliest Cathedral in Scotland. I’d like to discover just how much you all know about the subject. To the pupil who writes the best essay on the Cathedral, I’m going to award a prize of one shilling. Find out all you can about it. Better still, go down to see it, and tomorrow you’ll write your essays.’

‘That bob’s mine for certain,’ Janie informed Gertie, without conceit. ‘My Mam knows everything about history, if I can just catch her in the mood for telling.’

Liza was in the mood for telling. ‘We’re off to see some old friends of ours. Quiet folk down-bye,’ she said cryptically to Poll, as herself and Janie walked through the causeway.

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