A Little Learning. Anne Bennett
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at Janet and said, ‘You left your coat and bag behind and she took them round.’
‘That was kind of her,’ said Aunt Breda. Janet and Duncan looked at each other. Janet thought that Aunt Breda hadn’t been a mother long enough to worry over a child losing a coat.
‘She asked about your hand as well, Janet,’ Duncan said. ‘She asked if it was all right.’
‘Did she?’ Janet’s eyes were trying to tell Duncan something. Asking him to be quiet. He ignored the pleading look.
‘She said to tell you she’s sorry.’
‘What for?’ Aunt Breda said.
‘That’s what I asked her,’ Duncan said, ‘and she said just to tell Janet sorry.’
‘She must have seen you fall,’ Breda said, but her mind was distracted because just at that minute, Noel almost tipped what remained of his dinner over his lap.
‘I’m putting these little ones down for a nap,’ Breda said, ‘so you two deal with the dishes, and Duncan, you’ll have to wash.’
‘Are we going home tonight?’ Janet asked.
‘I’ll see how the land lies,’ Breda said. ‘I’ll pop and see your dad. If you can’t, I’ll have to phone in to work. They won’t like me taking another night off, but they’ll have to lump it.’
Janet knew her aunt’s words were mere bravado. Twilight shifts were like gold dust to mothers, enabling them to bring money in without paying most of it out again in childcare. No one could afford to jeopardise their job by taking days off all the time.
Duncan waited until Breda left the room and then began swirling the soapy water in the bowl over the plates. Suddenly he turned to face Janet and said, ‘Why didn’t you tell Miss Wentworth you’d passed the eleven-plus?’
Janet could think of nothing to say, no excuse. ‘I … I did,’ she said.
‘Miss Wentworth said you didn’t,’ Duncan said. ‘She was upset, I think.’
Janet knew she had to tell Duncan something. ‘I … I went but she had someone with her, a friend. I’d not seen her before and I didn’t want to say anything in front of her, so I came away.’
‘You could have gone again.’
‘I didn’t know how long the friend would be staying. I thought I’d wait till I got to school.’
‘But you didn’t tell her then either,’ Duncan said. ‘She knew nothing.’ He stared at Janet for a minute, and then, because he knew that in some way it was connected, asked, ‘What really happened to your hand, Janet?’
Janet pondered the question. Many of the kids in her class had older brothers and sisters in the secondary school and would tell them about yesterday’s incident, especially as it was Janet who was caned. It was only parents they’d be wary of informing; and they’d take particular pleasure in telling Duncan. In fact, she thought, probably the only reason he doesn’t already know is because he wasn’t at school today. If she didn’t tell him now and he found out from others, he might, from spite, fling the knowledge out in front of her gran, Dad or Auntie Breda. Again she gave her version of the truth.
‘Miss Wentworth gave me the cane,’ she said.
Duncan’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He’d had the strap a few times, and a couple of strokes of the cane, usually well deserved, and he’d accepted it as one of the trials of growing up. Girls seldom had corporal punishment administered. He stared at Janet.
‘Don’t tell, will you?’ she said.
‘What do you take me for?’ Duncan said scornfully. ‘But what did she give you the cane for?’
‘Cheeking her.’
‘You cheeking Miss Wentworth?’
‘Yes,’ Janet burst out angrily. ‘What d’you think I am, a saint or something?’ She sighed and added, ‘I wasn’t at school Monday, was I? I didn’t tell Miss Wentworth I’d be away, but Mom thought I had so she didn’t send a note. Then I was late because Mom felt bad and I had to go and fetch Gran round to see to the twins. I was a bit worried about Mom and when Miss Wentworth went on about the note I gave her some cheek and she gave me a couple of strokes of the cane and sent me out of the classroom.’
She stopped there. No way was she going to say she’d run away – he’d think she was feeble – and she wasn’t going to tell him how many strokes of the cane she’d had either, or how bad her hand was. He might think flogging her hand for cheek was excessive, especially if he’d seen the seeping open wounds on her palm and fingers. She blessed Dr Black and his concealing dressing as she went on.
‘Anyway, that was it really, or would have been if I hadn’t fallen down on the way home and cut my hand and got dirt in, and you know the rest.’
Duncan doubted he did. He knew Janet a sight better than Miss Wentworth did, and he was certain he wasn’t getting the whole truth. He also knew that if he talked to her till the next morning he’d get no more. She’d always been stubborn. He thought of asking her why she’d left her coat and bag behind but knew she’d come up with some other plausible lie, so he didn’t bother. He knew he’d got some of the truth, and it certainly explained Miss Wentworth’s strange behaviour earlier that day. Neither of them spoke of it again, and when Breda came back and said they were to return home that day, they were both pleased.
‘Your gran’s coming in to see to you,’ she said, ‘because you won’t be able to cook meals and things till your hand’s mended, Janet. And you’ll be going back to school tomorrow. You know how much store your mom puts by education!’
Duncan made a face, out of habit. For once, he was looking forward to going back more than Janet. She had a cold pit of dread in the base of her stomach every time she thought of it.
Mrs McClusky hadn’t yet arrived when the knock came on the door. Janet was by herself. Bert had gone to buy flowers for his wife and taken Conner and Noel with him, and Duncan was out somewhere. When she saw Miss Wentworth on the doorstep, she wasn’t even surprised.
‘You’d better come in,’ she said, and Claire walked past her into the room, where they stood apart like two combatants. Neither spoke, and the silence became uncomfortable. Claire felt she should apologise for hitting Janet so hard, but she also felt that Janet should apologise and explain why she’d not told her about passing the eleven-plus. Eventually the silence became too much for Claire, and she said:
‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve just come like this?’
‘No,’ Janet said. ‘Duncan said he met you. I almost expected you.’
‘He told me your mother’s had a baby girl.’
‘Yes, she has.’
‘You … you must be pleased,’ Claire said. Janet was being deliberately terse and unhelpful.
‘Not really,’ Janet said. ‘I told your mother but she didn’t believe me. No one wanted this baby.’
‘Oh, but I’m sure …’
‘You didn’t come to talk about any baby, did you?’ Janet said. ‘Nor my mother either.’
‘Janet, why are you like this?’
‘Like what, Miss Wentworth?’
‘So antagonistic,’ Claire said. ‘What have I done, what has happened between us?’
‘Nothing.’
‘You’re like a different person.’
Janet shrugged.
‘Oh, Janet,’ Claire burst out, ‘why didn’t you tell me you’d passed? You must have known I’d want to be told straight away.’
‘I