open…. It was early on in the spring by then, and the day was a fine one, so we were seen from the inside before we could knock. It was Mrs. Cronin saw us, a nice woman she was, but of course, us being strangers, she was cautious, asked us what we wanted, eyed us, you know, as you would tinkers. Kevin, though—you wouldn’t have known he had it in him—he spoke right up, said we were lookingfor work, that we were willing to take on anything, and might she know if help was needed on the place. I could tell she thought well of Kevin that he was so direct and all at the same time he’d taken his cap off to her. She told him the estate manager was the only one who attended to such matters, but if we cared to wait, we could sit out on the porch bench while her boy went up to ask Mr. Dunne. It was Mr. Dunne was the manager, she said. Kevin thanked her and said surely we’d wait. She went to the back of the lodge, and we heard her tell her boy to go find Mr. Dunne and ask him was he interested in seeing a pair seeking work.
“To be frank with you, Father, I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but in a while a man came down the lane in a car , mind, and got out and told Kevin he was Mr. Dunne and what were we looking for in the way of work? We were both on our feet before him, or course, but it was Kevin did the talking, giving out to him that we’d do whatever was needed of us, that we weren’t afraid of tackling any sort of honest job. Mr. Dunne was good about the way he gauged us, didn’t look at us like we were sheep or anything like that. I have to say about him that he wasn’t a man who’d ever set himself up in a way that’d make a person feel small. But still and all, he wasn’t one for giving out something for nothing, either. He was firm , firm, fromhead to toe. Firm and up front, as Kevin put it to me later. He asked us our names and I saw him look at my hand. ‘You’re married?’ he asked, and Kevin said we were. ‘New-married?’ he asked, then smiled and said he could tell we were from the look of me blushing. I was hot from the lies, from everything else too, but of course he knew none of that. ‘You’re how old?’ he asked next, and Kevin put out he was eighteen and me seventeen. Mr. Dunne took that down without a blink. Then he told Kevin that it being a busy time of the year he could use an extra hand but he’d have to warn us, the owner of the place was very particular about workers on the place, so any shirking or misdeeds wouldn’t be tolerated. Then he told us it was Sir Edward Spencer owned the place; him and Lady Charlotte. English they were, he said. He went on to say he’d have to set us up over the stables; there was an empty loft-room there, he said, and how did that sound to us? Kevin said it would suit us fine and that if we could but be given the chance, we’d not let him nor the owners down. Mr. Dunne said well, we looked to be worth the chance, that he’d give us a few days’ try and then he’d ‘revisit the issue.’ Those were his words—I’ll never forget them—that he’d ‘revisit the issue’ as to our staying on. Then he pointed to the car and told us ‘Get in.’” She smiled. “I was already overcome by his taking us on, and of course the car!—it all butfinished me. Kevin and myself, we’d never been that near to one before, let alone ride in one, and I told Mr. Dunne so, and of how the very thought of it was enough to send me up a pole! It was the excitement that made me blurt out like that. Mr. Dunne, he looked at me…. I mean, until then, he’d been mostly taken up with Kevin, but after I spoke out about the car, he seemed to settle on me, and then—then he turned to Kevin and told him, ‘It’s a pretty girl you picked for your wife.’ It tore through me, his saying that…. Of course,” she mused, “a woman always remembers her first compliment.”
“Of course,” he smiled. “Go on please, Enda.”
“Well, Mr. Dunne told us again
“To be frank with you, Father, I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but in a while a man came down the lane in a car , mind, and got out and told Kevin he was Mr. Dunne and what were we looking for in the way of work? We were both on our feet before him, or course, but it was Kevin did the talking, giving out to him that we’d do whatever was needed of us, that we weren’t afraid of tackling any sort of honest job. Mr. Dunne was good about the way he gauged us, didn’t look at us like we were sheep or anything like that. I have to say about him that he wasn’t a man who’d ever set himself up in a way that’d make a person feel small. But still and all, he wasn’t one for giving out something for nothing, either. He was firm , firm, fromhead to toe. Firm and up front, as Kevin put it to me later. He asked us our names and I saw him look at my hand. ‘You’re married?’ he asked, and Kevin said we were. ‘New-married?’ he asked, then smiled and said he could tell we were from the look of me blushing. I was hot from the lies, from everything else too, but of course he knew none of that. ‘You’re how old?’ he asked next, and Kevin put out he was eighteen and me seventeen. Mr. Dunne took that down without a blink. Then he told Kevin that it being a busy time of the year he could use an extra hand but he’d have to warn us, the owner of the place was very particular about workers on the place, so any shirking or misdeeds wouldn’t be tolerated. Then he told us it was Sir Edward Spencer owned the place; him and Lady Charlotte. English they were, he said. He went on to say he’d have to set us up over the stables; there was an empty loft-room there, he said, and how did that sound to us? Kevin said it would suit us fine and that if we could but be given the chance, we’d not let him nor the owners down. Mr. Dunne said well, we looked to be worth the chance, that he’d give us a few days’ try and then he’d ‘revisit the issue.’ Those were his words—I’ll never forget them—that he’d ‘revisit the issue’ as to our staying on. Then he pointed to the car and told us ‘Get in.’” She smiled. “I was already overcome by his taking us on, and of course the car!—it all butfinished me. Kevin and myself, we’d never been that near to one before, let alone ride in one, and I told Mr. Dunne so, and of how the very thought of it was enough to send me up a pole! It was the excitement that made me blurt out like that. Mr. Dunne, he looked at me…. I mean, until then, he’d been mostly taken up with Kevin, but after I spoke out about the car, he seemed to settle on me, and then—then he turned to Kevin and told him, ‘It’s a pretty girl you picked for your wife.’ It tore through me, his saying that…. Of course,” she mused, “a woman always remembers her first compliment.”
“Of course,” he smiled. “Go on please, Enda.”
“Well, Mr. Dunne told us again
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