Chapter Twenty Six

 

 

“Hello, I’m Audrey Gibling,”

The words sounded harsh, alien, Annie had to spit them out to the drab woman in curlers standing in the doorway.

“Yes, I know,” the door didn’t move, the fixed blank look didn’t move, only cigarette smoke drifted upwards and out into the sharp Spring breeze.

“Well, aren’t you going to let me in, Mother ?” Impatient, stamping her foot, tossing the glittering blonde hair back. Mrs. Gibling moved away from the door, threw the cigarette into the weed incrusted garden and motioned with her head.

Annie stepped over the muddied doorstep and into a smell of smoke, bodies, old musty furniture and cheap food, grease and cabbage somehow combined. She sniffed and looked around her. The wallpaper was stained, peeling here and there, marked with shoulders and possibly even greasy heads, a patch gave away the Gibling’s secrets.

“Come in.”

The lounge door was thrust open, the smell stronger. A two bar electric fire glowered in the grate, worn flex trailed across the carpet. A kitten played with the torn remains of the frill around the armchair, a dog looked up as she entered and looked back at the rug again.

“Are you alone?” Annie looked round, saw no one. “Where’s Mr. Gibling, Danny and everyone?”

“Football.”

“Oh yes, it’s Saturday, isn’t it?” Annie sat gingerly on the edge of a cushion. The kitten looked at her and fled under a dining room chair, staring with slitted eyes from the safety of the legs.

“Cuppa tea?”

“No, thank you, I don’t drink tea.”

“Gin, sherry, whisky?” another cigarette appeared as if by magic, a cheap plastic lighter flicked, a stream of smoke directed toward the brown ceiling.

“No, thank you. I just -”

“Wanted to see what we looked like. Well, you’ve seen us.” Mrs Gibling sank into the other armchair and stared at Annie through eyes slit against the smoke. “Wondered how long it’d be before you came around, after I done told Danny to keep his hands off you, that you was his sister and all.”

“Good of you.”

“Wasn’t it?” a harsh laugh broke through the smoke barrier and cleared it away. Annie could see in the ruined remains of a face drawn down by poverty work and probably drink outlines of her own fine bone structure. Once Mrs. Gibling would have been a fine looking woman. Once.

“Where’s your sister?”

“Mary?”

“Nah, you ain’t Audrey and she ain’t Mary, is she? You got some fancy names your fancy mother made up.”

“We’re Anastasia and Tamasine.”

“Like I said, fancy names.”

“They mean something, you see. Anastasia, reborn, new name new life. Tamasine - little twin which she is. Smaller than me, weaker than me. We like out names, they make us different.”

“Better than Audrey and Mary.”

“Of course.”

“Upper class accents and all. Fancy, my little girls all fashioned and fancy talking. You’d never have made it without that fancy mother of yours.

“Well, who’s to say?”

“Agreed.” Mrs. Gibling nodded. “Agreed. You might have made sommat of yourself, looking like you do. Does your twin look like you an all?”

“She does. Identical we are, in every way except she’s slimmer and smaller and less strong, like I said. Stand her next to me and you’d know who we were, alike as two peas. Same blonde hair - “ Annie lifted a strand, let it slide though her fingers, let a corner of her mind go walking, created a mouse. It ran across the carpet, the kitten ran after it. Mrs. Gibling shrieked and burned herself on her cigarette. Annie let it go, smiling. “Scared, are you?”

“Don’t like the things,” hand on heart which was probably pounding like mad, she sank back in the armchair. “Don’t like snakes much either.”

Good, thought Annie. I’ll remember that. She stood up suddenly, unable to bear another moment in the awful house. Her abrupt move startled the kitten and Mrs. Gibling all over again.

“I’d better be going, Mother doesn’t know I’m here. If I can, I’d like to come again, bring Tammy with me, will that be all right?”

“Of course. Let me know, I’ll make sure to have Danny here, and perhaps Mr. Gibling would like to see his girls.”

“That would be nice,” murmured Annie moving toward the door, letting the mouse run again, bringing another shriek. “It’s all right, I’ll see myself out.” And in a moment she was gone, standing outside, breathing deep lungfuls of fresh Spring air. The house had smelled worse than ever after being in there for a while, she hadn’t adjusted to it at all.

The curtain moved, Annie waved and hurried down the road, anger pulling at every part of her. So casual, so offhand, they didn’t care for us at all! Couldn’t care less! Not a real offer of hospitality, nothing! Tea, gin, whisky, pah! You’ll pay, she vowed, standing staring at a damaged lamp post. You’ll pay all right and it won’t be just mice and snakes. I’ll work out something for you. Something you’ll never forget.

In the meantime -

She hurried home and called Niall, ordered him to call for her, took him to a local wood and whipped him until he bled.

Only then did her anger subside and she allow genuine thoughts of revenge to take over.