The Islanders by Caroline Mitchell

Author:Caroline Mitchell [Mitchell, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2023-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 31

MARY

Then

Catherine’s death changed everything. I will never forget the sickening sound of her body thudding against the hard, frosted ground. The moments following her fall felt surreal. ‘What? No. Noooo!’ I’d screamed, high-pitched and disbelieving as I tried to comprehend the horrors of what had just occurred. Teresa, slack-jawed with shock, knocked over a stool in her haste to get to the back door. The baby snuffled in my arms, oblivious to the drama, whereas every limb in my body began to shake. Sick to my stomach, I staggered out into the hallway, cradling the wee one close to my heaving chest. ‘Gabriel!’ I’d shouted, barely managing to call my husband’s name. ‘Come quick!’ A damning slam of a door followed upstairs. Gabriel appeared, not from the basement, but on the landing, before taking the stairs two at a time. Coldness enveloped me. I’d barely seen him all day, so why was he coming from the direction of Catherine’s room? I didn’t need to tell him what had happened. As he rushed past, it seemed he already knew. I couldn’t face seeing Catherine, so I waited in the sitting room, my heart aching as I sobbed. What a shocking start in life for the baby in my arms.

‘It’s going to be alright, little one,’ I uttered, my heart heavy. I was inconsolable as Teresa broke the news that Catherine had not survived the fall. Gabriel stood at the fireplace, chewing his thumbnail as he worked out what to do.

‘I’ll cover her with a blanket,’ Teresa said, her face paper white.

Mossie was the last to arrive, the stench of whiskey on his breath and his eyes watery from the wind. Only then did it strike me just how alike Teresa and I were, both managing the homestead while our men thought of only themselves.

Then it was just Gabriel and me, the orchestrators of events which ended up with a motherless child. I shouldn’t have let this happen. Catherine should never have been in that room when she was feeling so low. I knew what Gabriel was thinking as he stared at Isla, asleep in my arms. Who is going to want her the way she is? Well, I did, and I was willing to fight for her. But not until I had rid myself of the acidic words I needed to say.

‘Was it you? Did you push Catherine out the window?’

What else would he be doing up there, just before she died?

Gabriel denied involvement, his face a storm of emotions. ‘Comment peux-tu dire une chose pareille?’ he’d said, cross that I’d accuse him of such a thing.

‘Then call the Gardaí,’ I retorted. ‘What are you waiting for?’ I knew about more than he gave me credit for, including his secret basement phone.

‘Get the fuck off my back!’

Gabriel’s words reverberated with violence around the room. He rarely swore in my company, and it was enough to silence me. I swallowed back my tears as he strode out of the door.

‘Hush now,’ I whispered to Isla, who’d emitted a thin cry as she squirmed in my arms.

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