Chapter 7
Several Encounters
iriam looked closely at the scab on her knee, and began to pick at it. She sniffled a bit and rubbed her nose with her sleeve. One day, she thought, she would come out of her room, and she would be grown. In fact, she would be a young lady. They would have to listen to her.
She would accost the Marchpanes and demand to see her father’s attorneys. The guardians would be so flustered they would give in. They would sign the house over to her, and she would make the Marchpanes leave at once.
There was a light tap at the door, and she bounded off the bed and grabbed a large encyclopedia of children’s stories to throw, should the visitor be ‘Uncle Mud-bottom Virgil’.
“Miss Miriam?” It was Furnace’s voice.
Miriam put down the book. “Oh, it’s you. I suppose you might as well come in.”
The door opened. A dark figure stood behind Furnace in the hall, obscured by the shadows. “Miss Miriam, this is your new governess, Miss Postulate. You must be good and say hello to her.”
“Governess?” Miriam opened her eyes wide with shock, unable to believe that Furnace could be such a traitor. “Is she from them? I’ll tear her eyes out! I’ll stamp on her toes! I’ll –”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” a determined voice said. Miss Postulate entered the room, looked about and moved a pair of boots from a chair. She sat down and looked at Miriam with great calm.
“What – what?” Miriam backed away as quickly as she could. She had heard of dark-skinned people, but she had never been in close contact with them, let alone talked to them. Furnace quickly withdrew and closed the door. After a moment of frozen silence, Miriam threw herself forward and began to pound on it, screaming at the top of her lungs.
The governess continued to look at her. Being silently watched is unnerving, and after a few minutes Miriam’s shouts died down and finally ceased altogether. She pounded weakly on the door a few more times, and backed away and sat on the floor. “You’re a Black person,” she said.
“More like a deep brown, I would say. You’ll have to learn to be more observant in my care. A girl your age should be more mature than that.”
Miriam opened her mouth and closed it. She lifted one arm and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
The governess reached into her shirt pocket and withdrew a small white handkerchief. Handing it to Miriam, she said, “My name is Manapalata Postulate. I prefer Mana.”
After a second’s hesitation, Miriam leaned forward and grabbed the handkerchief. Backing away quickly, she blew her nose ferociously. “I’m called Miriam. I’m an orphan,” she said.
“Hmm. So am I. By the way, you need a good wash.” Miss Postulate, or Mana, deposited the handkerchief on top of a pile of clothes Miriam had discarded.
Miriam looked down at herself. A large stain was on the front of her pinafore, where she had dropped her bread and jam earlier, and her greasy hair hung in front of her face. She pushed it back with one hand, realizing belatedly how grubby she must be after her long stay in her room.
In contrast, Mana was so neatly turned out that she shone with cleanliness. Her collar and cuffs were starched, and not a single hair escaped from the comb on her braided coronet.
“I’m hungry,” Miriam said. “I’ve been in here for nearly two weeks on bread and water.”
“Not just bread and water, judging from the look of you,” Mana retorted, pointing to the jam stain. “But here, this will tide you over until I wash your face and your hands. In fact, you need a long bath.” Reaching into a large bag, she took out a packet and broke off a few squares of chocolate. Miriam immediately dashed forward and grabbed at the sweets, but Mana held up her arm. “Stop at once; you almost bit my fingers off. Now put out your hand, and say thank you.”
Hardly knowing what she was doing, Miriam complied. “But I’m not taking a bath,” she added with her mouth full.
“Yes, you are,” Mana replied with complete composure.
A few hours later, Miriam emerged from the bathroom. Mana took off a large apron, and quickly opened some drawers. Holding out a black garment, she said, “Come here and get dressed.”
“I’m not wearing black!” Miriam shouted, stamping one bare foot on the floor. “That Woman wants me to wear black, and I’m not going to!”
“No? Why not?” Mana looked at her with curiosity.
“Because she wants me to, and I’m not going to do anything she wants me to,” Miriam announced triumphantly.
Mana turned back to the chest of drawers and began to rummage in another drawer for clean stockings. “You already have,” she replied.
Miriam frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She wanted you to take a bath, and now you have.” Mana held up a pair of stockings, shook her head over a hole in one toe, and added, “These will have to do.”
“Well, that’s not fair! I didn’t know she wanted me to take one! And besides, they want to steal my father’s company.” Miriam scowled.
Mana sat back on her heels, holding the stockings in one hand. “I see. And you’re just going to allow that to happen?
“No! Of course not! I’ll stop them!”
“Fat lot of good you’ll do about it holed up in here.” Mana put a vest over Miriam’s head, and without noticing, the girl held up her arms for the dress. “Now, listen to me,” Mana said. “You can run at a wall with your head and bash into it, but it’s certain that all you’ll get is a sore head. Or you can study the wall and check for its weak points, and when you find them, and you have the proper tools, you can knock it down.” She quickly gathered up one stocking and slipped it over Miriam’s toe. “Do up your suspenders.”
Deep in thought, Miriam tied up her stockings. “You mean you think I could stop my aunt and uncle – I mean my guardians – from taking over the company?”
“You certainly won’t do anything acting the way you have, like a little savage.”
Miriam sniggered. “Funny to hear you call someone else a savage.”
“That is rude, and beneath you. Remarks like that are what I would expect an idiot to say, not you. Unless you are not as intelligent as I thought.”
Miriam frowned. She never cared about lessons, or learning facts; as far as Miss Osbourne had been concerned, education was secondary to etiquette. Yet, for some reason, she didn’t want to appear stupid in front of this calm, tidy person buttoning up her dress. After a moment, the girl muttered, “Sorry.”
“Accepted.”
“But when can I start fighting my guardians?” Miriam persisted.
“You’re not going to fight them,” Mana replied. “For one, it would be the most appalling bad manners, and for another, it would get you nowhere.”
Miriam stared at Mana. “Where did you come from?” she asked.
“From the Lampala islands. I knew your father.”
“And they hired you? I can’t believe it!”
“Believe it. Now we’re going to tidy this room. Start a pile of dirty clothes here, and let’s put the dishes in the corner.”
Downstairs, Theodosia heard Miriam’s screams as Furnace closed the door. A thin smile spread over her face as she imagined the governess getting pelted with heavy objects. Her smile faded away, however, as the screams stopped and there was complete silence.
Later, a call came from upstairs for hot water, and Theodosia heard the sound of loud splashes. Miriam was finally getting a bath.
She frowned and walked slowly up the stairs. She looked at the closed door of Miriam’s bedroom. What on earth could be going on in there?
“What’s happening?” Virgil said behind her.
Theodosia jumped and whirled around on him. “Virgil! How dare you creep up on me in that fashion! I was merely looking for –”
“You were wondering what the governess is doing,” Virgil said, biting the top off a cigar. “So was I.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake. As if it mattered in the slightest to me.” Something struck her,
and Theodosia added, “I still can’t seem to remember what happened during that interview. It’s most unsettling.”
“Nor can I, my dear. Still, if that island woman can handle that little wildcat and stop her throwing cricket balls indoors, and at such a small wage, you and I have no more worries.” Humming, he puffed on his cigar and went back downstairs.
“Can I have more chocolate now?” Miriam demanded. The room was now much tidier, and the windows were opened, letting in some fresh air.
“No. Supper first,” Mana said. “We’ll go down and you can apologize to your guardians, and I’ll have some decent food sent upstairs. No more pickles or cheese or sandwiches from Mr. Furnace; you’ll want a good rice pudding or some semolina.”
“But I’m not going to –” Miriam stopped and looked up at Mana. “If I apologize, is that part of, you know, what you said? You know, part of studying the wall and finding the weaknesses and strengths, and all that?”
Mana picked up the large pile of dirty garments. “More importantly, it is the start of your having some decent manners and not antagonizing everyone in the house.”
“But I don’t care about that,” Miriam argued. “I want to spy on the Marchpanes, and discover what they are doing in my house.”
Mana pointed to the tray of dishes. “Pick that up, and we’ll be on our way.” Without looking to see if Miriam obeyed or not, she left the room.
Furnace, who was carrying a fresh bottle of port to the sitting room for the evening, stopped and looked up the stairs. Miss Miriam came down the staircase behind Mana. The girl was as clean and neat as a new pin, and she carried a tray of dirty plates.
“Good evening, Mr. Furnace,” Mana said with complete calm, rounding the corner. “Do you think I can get these things laundered? And may we leave that tray in the hall? Miriam would take them to the kitchen, but she needs to speak to her aunt and uncle first.”
A certain light came into Furnace’s eye as he recognized the touch of a master. “Indeed, Miss Postulate,” he said. “Mr. and Mrs. Marchpane are in the sitting room.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Oh, and I’ll need to have our supper sent up to the schoolroom, and a fire lit in there, please. I’ll eat with Miriam.”
“Very well.” Before he could stop himself, Furnace bowed. She smiled and headed towards the sitting room, Miriam close behind.
Furnace put the port on the table and took the tray instead. As much as he wanted to see the ensuing meeting between Miss Miriam and her guardians, he knew it was none of his affair. However, a thin smile spread over his features.
In the sitting room, Theodosia idly leafed through a book of fashions. Virgil, his feet propped up on the table, swirled a large glass of amber liquid under his nose. As Miriam and Mana walked in, he looked up, gave an exclamation, and hurriedly swung his feet to the floor.
“Ah, Miss Hm-ha!” he said, baring his teeth in a large smile. “How nice to see you. And Miriam too, of course.”
Theodosia twitched her brows together. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked.
Miriam bunched her hands into fists, and Mana put one hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Miriam wished to express her apologies to you both before we had dinner,” she said. “Isn’t that so, Miriam?”
The girl gulped. With the air of one facing a firing squad, she blurted out, “Yes. I’m very sorry for screaming, and for throwing a croquet ball at you, Uncle Virgil.” Closing her lips before she said anything else, she stepped back.
“Well, I should think so!’ Theodosia rose to her feet and stepped forward, shaking one finger. “You have been acting like a little savage; I have never seen the like! And now that you are out of your room, miss, we will have your things moved out and up to the attics, which is the proper place for you.”
“My father gave me that room!” Miriam shouted, stepping forward as well. “I’m not afraid of you!”
Smiling faintly, Theodosia said, “I knew how it would be. You haven’t changed a bit, and you obviously need to go back on bread and water.”
“Now, now, Theodosia.” Alarmed, Virgil got heavily to his feet. “Miriam has expressed her apologies, and I think we should accept them.”
“I take back my apologies!” Miriam shrieked. “I wouldn’t apologize to you if you were the last people in the world!”
“Miriam.” Mana’s voice cut into the melee coolly, and everyone stopped talking.
Miriam opened her mouth, shut it, and said, “Please forgive my behavior just now.”
“Of course we won’t forget it! You will be put on bread and water, just as I said.”
Mana replied, “That will not be necessary, Mrs. Marchpane. I will take care of Miriam’s punishments from now on.” She stared at her for a long moment, and slowly Theodosia backed up a step.
“Yes, yes.” She put one hand to her head. “Yes, that will be fine.” Looking a bit dazed, she collapsed onto a chair. “That will not be necessary,” she intoned. “You will take care of Miriam’s punishments from now on.”
Miriam looked up at Mana, amazed. Her governess had made That Dreadful Woman back down!
Mana closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, “We will go upstairs now and have supper. Tomorrow we will begin lessons, and I will assist in the removal of Miriam’s things to the attics. Say goodnight,” she added, turning to Miriam.
“Goodnight, Uncle Virgil and Aunt Theodosia,” Miriam said, not paying attention. She wanted to get upstairs as soon as she could and question Mana about how she had handled Aunt Theodosia.