Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys [47]
‘When they get like that,’ she said, ‘first they must cry, then they must sleep. Don’t talk to me about doctor, I know more than any doctor. I undress Antoinette so she can sleep cool and easy; it’s then I see you very rough with her eh?’
At this point she laughed – a hearty merry laugh. ‘All that is a little thing – it’s nothing. If you see what I see in this place with the machete bright and shining in the corner, you don’t have such a long face for such a little thing. You make her love you more if that’s what you want. It’s not for that she have the look of death on her face. Oh no.
‘One night,’ she went on, ‘I hold on a woman’s nose because her husband nearly chop it off with his machete. I hold it on, I send a boy running for the doctor and the doctor come galloping at dead of night to sew up the woman. When he finish he tell me, “Christophine you have a great presence of mind.” That’s what he tell me. By this time the man crying like a baby. He says, “Doctor I don’t mean it. It just happened” “I know, Rupert,” the doctor says, “but it mustn’t happen again. Why don’t you keep the damn machete in the other room?” he says. They have two small rooms only so I say, “No, doctor – it much worse near the bed. They chop each other up in no time at all.” The doctor he laugh and laugh. Oh he was a good doctor. When he finished with that woman nose I won’t say it look like before but I will say it don’t notice much. Rupert that man’s name was. Plenty Ruperts here you notice? One is Prince Rupert, and one who makes songs is Rupert the Rine. You see him? He sells his songs down by the bridge there in town. It’s in the town I live when I first leave Jamaica. It’s a pretty name eh – Rupert – but where they get it from? I think it’s from old time they get it.
‘That doctor an old-time doctor. These new ones I don’t like them. First word in their mouth is police. Police – that’s something I don’t like.’
‘I’m sure you don’t,’ I said. ‘But you haven’t told me yet what happened when my wife was with you. Or exactly what you did?’
‘Your wife!’ she said. ‘You make me laugh. I don’t know all you did but I know some. Everybody know that you marry her for her money and you take it all. And then you want to break her up, because you jealous of her. She is more better than you, she have better blood in her and she don’t care for money – it’s nothing for her. Oh I see that first time I look at you. You young but already you hard. You fool the girl. You make her think you can’t see the sun for looking at her.’
It was like that, I thought. It was like that. But better to say nothing. Then surely they’ll both go and it will be my turn to sleep – a long deep sleep, mine will be, and very far away.
‘And then,’ she went on in her judge’s voice, ‘you make love to her till she drunk with it, no rum could make her drunk like that, till she can’t do without it. It’s she can’t see the sun any more. Only you she see. But all you want is to break her up.’
(Not the way you mean, I thought)
‘But she hold out eh? She hold out.’
(Yes, she held out. A pity)
‘So you pretend to believe all the lies that damn bastard tell you.’
(That damn bastard tell you)
Now every word she said was echoed, echoed loudly in my head.
‘So that you can leave her alone.’
(Leave her alone)
‘Not telling her why.’
(Why?)
‘No more love, eh?’
(No more love)
‘And that,’ I said coldly, ‘is where you took charge, isn’t it? You tried to poison me.’
‘Poison you? But look me trouble, the man crazy! She come to me and ask me for something to make you love her again and tell her no I don’t meddle in that for béké. I tell her it’s foolishness.’
(Foolishness foolishness)
‘And even if it’s no foolishness, it’s too strong for béké.’
(Too strong for béké. Too strong)
‘But she cry and she beg me.’
(She cry and she beg me)
‘So I give her something for love.’
(For love)
‘But you don’t love. All you want is to break her up. And it help