Cáit!
Where are you?
Mam is looking for you!
Cáit!
Cáit, I'm warning you!
Girls! Did you find her?
No!
There's muck on your shoes.
The Quiet Girl.
Mam said the calf will be born the same week as the baby.
They will be twins!
We'll have to pick a name for it.
How does the calf get into the mammy's belly?
The bull pushes the calf into her. Everyone knows that.
Gráinne, that's not how it happens.
It is! Fiona Geraghty saw their bull...!
- Fiona Geraghty is an idiot. - She's not an idiot!
She hasn't made the lunches.
"There was a sadness."
"Upon the…."
People.
"People."
"Who were…."
Left.
"left."
Siobhán, continue reading.
"But the king said they were most welcome."
"The prince was overjoyed."
"They were travelling on a great ship…."
- Pick one. - Green.
Letter for you.
Leave it on the table.
Cáit.
Yes?
Come here.
Girls!
Cáit is leaving!
Wait for us! We're coming!
Well, look at this girl!
Stand out so I can have a proper look at you.
The last time I saw you, you were in the pram.
Did you know that?
- The pram is broken. - What happened to it at all?
My sisters used it as a wheelbarrow and one of the wheels fell off.
Come on in, child.
Sit down if you'd like, pet.
Make yourself at home.
How is your mammy?
She won ten pounds on the Prize Bonds.
She did not.
She did. We had jelly.
Wasn't that a treat?
I'd say she's busy.
Your mother?
She's waiting for the men to come and cut the hay.
Have you not cut the hay yet?
You're late.
Are there any children here?
There's only myself and Seán in the house, pet.
I have to pee.
Now.
Are you all right, love?
Lord God, he left with the poor girl's suitcase in the car.
In you go.
- It's hot. - You'll get used to it.
Now, your clothes.
I don't have any clothes.
Would some of our old things do you for now?
- I don't mind. - Good girl.
Now.
My mam says I have to change my pants every day.
What else does your mother say?
That you can keep me for as long as you like.
Now, will you come down to the well with me?
Now?
Does now not suit you?
Is it a secret?
What?
Am I not supposed to tell?
There are no secrets in this house.
Do you hear me?
- Yes. - Yes, what?
Yes, there are no secrets in this house.
If there are secrets in a house, there is shame in that house.
We don't want any shame here.
OK.
You're too young to understand.
Look at that.
You wouldn't think we've had no rain all month.
Drink some.
Now, be careful.
It's deep.
Now, do you want to bring a cup of hot milk up with you?
Mam doesn't let me drink anything before bed.
Well
we'll stick with Mammy's way so.
Seán, Cáit is going to bed.
Good night.
We'll go up.
Oh, pardon me. Would you prefer I left it open?
Are you afraid of the dark?
Don't mind me.
Are you OK?
Is your mammy OK?
What do you mean?
Your mammy, is she OK?
She'd been throwing up until recently, but she's stopped now.
Why isn't the hay in?
She doesn't have enough to pay the man.
God help her.
Would she be offended if I sent her some money?
- Offended? - Would she be cross?
She wouldn't, but Dad would.
Your father.
Goodnight, pet.
God help you.
If you were mine.
I would never leave you in a house with strangers.
Did you sleep well, love?
Lord God Almighty.
Look at that.
These old mattresses. They're always weeping.
What was I thinking putting you on one of these?
Take off the pyjamas, good girl.
It's time.
Do you want to bring Cáit with you today?
Show her the farm?
The work will be a little difficult this week.
- Will it? - Another time, maybe.
Well.
If so
we'll begin.
You need to be careful with it.
Twenty-three
twenty-four
twenty-five
twenty-six
twenty-seven
twenty-eight.
It's a secret.
Not many people know about it, but it does wonders for the skin.
Look at me, I haven't so much as a pimple.
I thought there were no secrets in this house.
Well
this is different.
More like a secret recipe.
Forty-three
forty-four
forty-five
forty-six
forty-seven.
- Perishables? - Food that doesn't last very long.
You put them in here and they stay as they are.
- They don't grow old? - Exactly.
Like The Land of Youth?
Like The Land of Youth!
You're getting the hang of it.
Careful of your hand.
Excuse me.
Hello? 72599…
Ninety-four
ninety-five
ninety-six
ninety-seven
ninety-eight
ninety-nine
one hundred.
Your complexion is better already.
All you needed was some minding.
This game is crooked, girl. I've been saying it for years.
Quiet, you!
Easy knowing whose purse is running low!
Is it any wonder?
After twenty years of being swindled by you lot!
Ó Cathasaigh, haven't I said it before,
misfortune followed you from the cradle!
Did your mother never tell you?
"The Ass" Ó Cathasaigh. The name well-earned.
This girl must think that everyone around here is mad, does she?
- Who's winning? "The Ass" I bet. - Who else?
And pigs might fly!
You're after our pennies, are you?
Selling tickets for the raffle.
There's a new roof going on the school.
I wasn't sure…
You don't have to have children of your own
to give shelter to other people's children, do you?
- You'll have a drink? - I'll have a cup of tea.
I'll get it.
And who is this?
Excuse me.
Hello? 72599…
Ah, hello Sinéad.
You don't say! Your poor father!
Of course, I'll head over to you now.
There's ham and coleslaw in the fridge for lunch if I'm not back.
We won't die of the hunger anyway.
My mam says I'll get pneumonia if I don't wear my jumper.
Now.
Maybe the old man wasn't wearing his jumper.
Maybe.
Why is Mrs Kinsella looking after him?
She's helping his daughter.
It's the daughter who's looking after him.
Don't you help your neighbours out now and then?
I don't know.
Cáit!
You can't go wandering off like that, do you hear me?
Do you hear me?
Seán.
Cáit is going to bed.
Good night.
How are you getting on, love?
- Is that the mother's milk? - No.
- What is it then? - Powdered milk.
Why don't you give him his mother's milk?
We sell that milk.
- Why doesn't the calf get any? - He does, in the beginning.
For how long?
Long enough!
Why don't we drink the powdered milk
and leave the cows to drink their own?
Here, you do it.
- Can you run? - What?
You have long legs. Are you fast?
Sometimes.
Run down the lane to the box and back.
- What box? - The post box.
I forgot it this morning. See if there's anything in it.
Off you go. I'll time you.
Off you go!
You've never had red gooseberry jam?
I haven't.
You're in for a treat so.
Good girl.
It's past time we did something about this.
What's wrong with her?
Tomorrow is Sunday and I won't let her go to Mass like that again.
Isn't she clean and neat?
You know what I'm talking about, Eibhlín.
Run upstairs, get yourself ready and I'll bring us into town.
You should wash your hands and face before going into town.
Didn't your father bother to teach you that much even?
One minute.
Sorry to have kept you.
It will be nice to have your own clothes.
And the town is nice.
I don't know why I didn't think of taking you in before now.
You can buy a Choc Ice for yourself.
She could buy half a dozen Choc Ices with that.
What good is it having her here if we can't spoil her?
What do you say?
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
We'll go.
Nine pounds, ten ounces.
- She was big in the end. - You can say that again!
She's beautiful. Your mother must be mad about her.
She's very taken with her.
What about Cian? Is he good with her?
He's getting used to her!
It takes time, I suppose.
And who's this girl? Whose is she?
This is Cáit. She's my cousin's daughter.
She's staying with us for the summer.
Can she be put to work?
She'll put her hand to anything.
Well, isn't she company for you all the same, God help you.
Sinéad, is everything OK?
It's Dad, he's gone.
Oh Sinéad, I'm so sorry.
Very sorry for your loss, Sinéad. If there's anything we can do.
- Where's he gone? - Seán?
He's helping the family.
Were you ever at a wake?
I don't think so.
Well, there will be a dead man in a coffin.
You probably never saw a dead person before, did you?
I did, on the news.
You probably did, God help you.
But it's a different thing having them there in front of you.
Don't be afraid.
He's praying.
We have to say a prayer for him too.
Bye for now, Seán.
- There she is, the long-legged girl. - Eibhlín, love!
Come here.
Isn't that a lovely dress?
You got that today, did you?
Do you want a sip?
- Do you like it? - No.
Don't get a taste for it either or you'll end up like these drunkards.
Now.
She's getting restless, the poor creature.
I can bring her home with me if you'd like?
I'll be leaving now.
Oh, I don't know.
My gang can play with her.
Maybe. What harm?
- If you don't mind. - It's nothing.
They're looking after you well, I suppose.
Yes.
Tell me, what room did they put you in?
The one beside the toilet.
Does he give you pocket money? Kinsella?
- He gave me money today. - Weren't you lucky?
- How much? - A pound.
Is herself allowed to spend?
- Who? - Eibhlín, you dope!
She is.
And she's still drinking, I suppose?
When visitors come.
- Do they have many visitors? - They had a card game last week.
Who was there?
Two men. And another man who came selling lines.
- Lines? - To put a roof on the school.
Do you say the Rosary?
No.
- She's baking the whole time, is she? - She is.
- Butter or margarine? - What?
- In her pastry! - Butter.
Does she have the freezer packed to the brim?
Yes.
- Where does the dog sleep? - In the shed.
- Not in the house? - I've never seen him there.
And are the child's clothes still hanging in the wardrobe?
- The child's clothes? - Yes.
If you're sleeping in his room, you must know.
Didn't you look?
Well, she had clothes for me
but we went into town and bought new ones.
- This rig-out you're wearing? - I like them.
The shop lady said they were flattering.
'Flattering', is it?
Well...!
Well, I suppose, after wearing the dead's clothes for the past month.
You didn't know?
About what?
The Kinsellas' boy, you dope.
It must have been some head of cabbage they found you under.
What happened to him?
Didn't he follow the dog into the slurry pit,
and didn't he drown, the poor boy.
That's what they say anyway.
They say Seán got the gun
and took the dog down the field to kill it,
but he hadn't the heart to shoot it, the soft-hearted fool.
Do you know poor Eibhlín's hair turned white overnight afterwards?
- But her hair is brown. - Brown?!
Out of the dye-pot,
you can be sure!
There weren't many there.
A mound of sandwiches still on the table when I was leaving.
They had raisin scones
and some sort of an attempt at a trifle.
And poor Gearóid lying crooked in the coffin
without a proper shave even.
Shameful!
And plastic rosary beads in his hands,
the poor wretch.
Shut your traps in there! I'm trying to talk to your granny!
- Hello all. - Seán, you were quick.
We're only in the door. Aren't we, girl?
Thank you, Úna. It was good of you to take her home.
A quiet girl, this one.
She says as much as she needs to say.
May there be many like her. Are you ready, pet?
Were you OK in there?
Yes.
Did she ask you any questions?
A few things, not much.
What did she ask you?
She asked me if you used butter or margarine in your pastry.
Did she ask you anything else?
What did she tell you?
Girl.
She told me that you had a little boy
who followed the dog into the slurry pit,
and died.
And that I was wearing his clothes for the past month.
We'll go out.
Someone's horse is missing tonight.
It's a stable door.
Do you know, fishermen sometimes find horses out at sea?
I know a man
who towed a colt in one time.
And the horse lay on the strand
for a long, long time
like he was fit to die.
Until he suddenly stood up, revived.
He was OK?
Good as new.
Perfect.
Strange things happen sometimes, don't they?
Something strange happened to you tonight.
But Eibhlín didn't mean any harm.
She wants to find the good in other people
hoping she won't be disappointed,
but sometimes she is.
You don't have to say anything.
Always remember that.
Many's the person missed the opportunity to say nothing,
and lost much because of it.
Cáit?
Look!
There are three lights now.
Keep your finger under the words.
I'm coming!
I'm going to win!
Ten seconds faster than the first time you did that.
Like a gust of wind you are, girl.
Now, do you think there's any money in any of these?
I don't know.
A wedding invite maybe.
Will you marry someday, do you think?
Mam says men aren't worth bothering with.
Maybe she's right.
That being said, we're not all the same.
But this is certain, whatever fella's to catch you, he'll have to be fast.
My mam?
It's addressed to Eibhlín.
Well, you have a new brother.
Eight pounds, six ounces.
- Great. - Don't be like that.
And school is starting again on Monday.
Your mam wants us to bring you home
so she can get you ready.
I have to go back then?
Yes.
But you knew that, didn't you?
You couldn't stay here with old fogies like us, could you?
Come here, child.
It'll be alright, love.
- You'll have a glass of orange, pet? - Please.
The water is low.
I'll have to go down to the well when you're gone.
- Where's himself? - He's milking the cows below.
- What hurry is on himself? - He needs help pulling a calf.
Do you mind finishing down below? I have the herd out.
- Of course. - I'll be back as soon as I can.
Go.
I won't be long, dear.
Cáit?
Oh Christ!
Oh, my love!
You're frozen.
- What will we say to her mother? - We won't say a word to her mother.
- It's just a little cold she has. - She's expecting her at home.
What harm if we hang on to her for another day or two?
When I think of what could have happened.
If you've said that once, you've said it a hundred times!
- But...! - But nothing happened, she's fine.
We'll bring her home at the weekend and that's the end of it.
I don't know if I had those potatoes boiled right at all.
I wouldn't find any fault with them.
That's where Dad lost our red heifer in a game of cards.
You don't say?
Wasn't that some wager?
Mam didn't speak to him for a month afterwards.
You've grown.
I have.
Now, watch that.
Eibhlín.
- Seán. - Máire, my love.
- How are you? - It's a long time since I saw you.
Come in and have a seat if you can find a chair.
- You'll have a cup of tea? - We will.
I brought some jam. Don't let me leave without giving it to you.
I made this from the rhubarb you sent down to me.
That's the last of it.
I should have brought more rhubarb with me, I wasn't thinking.
Where's the new baby?
He's up in the room. You'll hear him soon enough.
How is he sleeping?
He could crow at any hour.
You never know.
Speak of the angels and you'll hear their wings.
Hello, girls.
He's sturdy, isn't he?
He's a pet!
No sign of himself?
He went out earlier.
Wherever he's gone.
Speak of the angels.
Any news from home?
Not much.
All quiet really.
- Have you caught a cold? - No.
You haven't?
Nothing happened.
What does that mean?
I haven't caught a cold.
The poor girl was in bed for a few days.
- What hurry is on you? - No hurry, the usual.
The cows don't give you any let up.
Are you ready for home?
Are you sure everything is OK?
Yes.
These are nice and floury. They're Queens.
There was no need, Seán.
It was a nice thing you did, minding her.
Thank you, both.
She was welcome, and is welcome again any time.
She is a credit to you.
Take care, my love.
Goodbye, my love.
What happened at all?
Tell me.