the maltese angel by Yelena Kopylova Page B

when his wife died. He'd have to take a hold of himself, because this was an event that occurred every day to some man somewhere, and surely few men would react to such news as he wanted to do, and cry like a woman.
    He must have a drink, and a strong one ..
    It seemed that from this glorious day the outside world began to
    impinge on Ward's happiness. On the day
    she broke the news to him, Fanny must have been two months pregnant.
    And it should also happen that a few days later Annie was seized with a pain in her side, and Ward called the doctor to her. While he was
    there, he spoke to him about his wife's happy condition and asked if he would see to her health.
    Doctor Wheatley not only saw to her health and advised her cheerily to carry on as if nothing had happened, but he apparently informed someone in the village, and in his usual coarse way, that Ward Gibson had got results at last; he was beginning to think the young fellow had taken on a dud. When this was repeated in The Running Hare there was great laughter, except from the Mason brothers ..
    The first worrying incident occurred towards the end of March. The routine of the farm had been changed, though not to everyone's
    satisfaction, no. As Billy stated bluntly, he could neither read nor write, but the cows didn't take it out on him for that, nor did it interfere with his ploughing, or the gathering in of the crops, so he reckoned he had all the skills necessary for a farmhand, and that's what the young lad was going to be, wasn't he? And so he didn't see where readin' and writin' was going to help him. Besides which, it was taking an hour out in the morning, and another in late afternoon at that; and count that up for five days, and that was ten hours work lost a week. And hadn't he, the master, said himself that the lad was
    almost as good as a paid hand; better, in fact, than either one of the Regans or the McNabbs from the Hollow that could be called upon at times, for 'them two Irish lumps' liked work so much they could lie down beside it. But if it was the mistress's wish, well, he supposed he must put up with it. But to his mind, book learning was for them who hadn't the sense to use their hands.
    Frankly, Ward himself had been a little surprised and taken aback by Fanny's request, which at first was that the boy should be sent
    mornings to the village school.
    And he had quickly pooh-pooh ed this, reasoning that they would want to know his particulars. But to this, Fanny had laughingly reminded him that if they were to believe the gossip brought to their notice through Annie, Carl was a relation of hers, for hadn't he appeared on the scene at the same time as herself?
    No, no; Ward wouldn't hear of the village school, for that would have meant having to tell the boy he would have to pose as a relation, and that would be going too far. But all right, she could have him for a working hour at the beginning of the day and at any slack hour in the late evening. At this, she had rewarded him with some spontaneous
    kisses, and this openly in the hall with Annie passing, trying to look the other way. And then he was being told that she would need some books, one on arithmetic, another on history, and another on
    geography.
    Privately, he was amazed that she was so learned when she had openly confessed that she had never been to school; but it appeared that her schooling had been very much of the same pattern as she was planning for the boy, for both her father and mother had taken a hand in her tutoring. They had not always been on the road, and had themselves both received some sort of education.
    Fanny had fitted up a small room at the back of the house. It was
    sparsely furnished, and it had been used mostly for storing lumber. It now housed two wooden chairs, a small table, a shelf to hold the books she had requested, and two slates and lead pencils. But to her mind there was one book missing, and as yet she couldn't ask Ward to get it for her, because he