Far From Home by Anne Bennett Read Free Book Online Page A

her, pointingto the other side of the road where Sally saw stone steps leading up to an impressive-looking building, with arched windows to either side of the steps and supported with huge and ornate stone pillars. And if it’s all the same to you, we’ll make for there first, because I’m gasping for a cup of tea.’
    â€˜Me too,’ Kate said.
    â€˜But won’t they all have shut by now?’ Sally asked.
    â€˜Not the ones in the Market Hall,’ Kate said. ‘Come on. By the time we have the tea drunk, all the entertainers will have started arriving.’
    Everyone was in agreement with that, and so they made their way through the market. Sally saw that the traders were selling all manner of things and all their barrows were mixed together, so one might be selling various cheeses, another fruit and vegetables, and they might be next to one selling bedding or towels. There were crockery and saucepans in baskets on the ground and various smells rose in the air. Sally was quite surprised at what Kate called banter between the traders and the customers. ‘Come on, darling,’ she heard one say as they passed a barrow selling greengrocery. ‘Christ, I’m giving the stuff away. Only a tanner for this big bag of tomatoes. Don’t tell your old man, but I’m only letting you have them at this price ’cos I fancy you.’
    Kate and Susie turned away smiling, but Sally was rather shocked. Market traders didn’t do that in Donegal Town. ‘He don’t mean it,’ Susie said, seeing the look on the young girl’s face. ‘He goes on like that to sell more of his stuff.’
    â€˜And it works,’ Kate said. ‘And you have got to watch him because the best tomatoes might be on the top butthe rest of the bag could be filled with bruised, squashed ones. We were taken in by that once or twice.’
    â€˜We were,’ agreed Susie. ‘But we’re quick learners.’
    â€˜Not half,’ Kate said as she mounted the steps to the Market Hall and opened the carved wooden doors.
    Sally stood on the threshold and looked about her. The Market Hall stalls had the same gas flares as those outside, and in the sputtering pools of light it looked a cavernous place with huge high ceilings. They were crisscrossed with beams, and long metal poles led down from the beams to help support the roof. High arched windows lined the walls. At a quick glance she saw that the goods for sale inside were similar to those sold in the open-air market; the smell was indescribable and so was the noise reverberating off the walls and ceiling.
    And then a little tinkling sound was heard and the noise in the Market Hall abated a little. ‘They’re waiting for the clock to strike,’ Kate said in explanation, pointing to the wall. Till then Sally hadn’t even noticed the clock, but now she saw that it was a magnificent structure made of wood. First a lady emerged and then three other figures that Kate told her were knights as the tune heralding the hour came to an end. Amid a breathless hush, the knights struck the bell six times. ‘Six o’clock,’ Susie said when it was over. ‘No wonder I’m hungry.’
    â€˜I’m hungry too,’ Kate said. ‘What do you say to tea and teacakes all round?’
    No one argued with that, and they made short work of them. ‘Those were delicious,’ Sally said, licking at her sticky fingers. ‘I didn’t realize how hungry I was.’
    â€˜That’s often the way until you start eating,’ Kate said. ‘And you’ll feel warmer with food inside you,anyway. It will be cold enough out there now that it’s fully dark.’
    â€˜There’s other stuff to eat as well if you feel peckish,’ Susie said with an impish grin.
    â€˜What sort of food?’ Sally asked.
    â€˜Oh, lovely stuff,’ Susie said, ‘like jellied eels and whelks and that, but