Southern Gold
Page 19
‘I may not talk nonstop like you, but you are part of my thoughts from time to time.’
‘And you mine, you great galoot.’ She is awkward now.
‘You would speak to your elder in such a common way?’
‘Elder, tosh. What is elder or younger anyway? Only –’ And Billie’s mind returns to the lunacy she was previously drawn into.
‘Only?’
‘Only I can’t get over being such a fool. Nobody would want to marry me after that – that thing last year. Of course I do want to go on with the fashion business, keep building it up – and oh, wouldn’t it be so wonderful to go on to be really successful!’ Her countenance falls. ‘But, Robbie, I am undone, ruined as a woman, and shall have to become an old maid. I’ve completely spoiled my chances to become a wife.’
‘Frostie, you are the silliest girl I ever came across. But also the most – the most daring, the most – the loveliest,’ he concludes quietly, his senses racing. ‘In fact, while I dinna wish to suggest I am lovely, we are very similar, you and I, in many ways. Yes, you are bold and independent and I daresay you shall become a captain of industry before any other woman in New Zealand, with your growing empire! But I do believe we complement each other – ’ his voice wavers, then recovers ‘– even though I am a boring old bachelor and you are an astonishing young lady.’
‘You are such a beautiful liar! But I may never be able to live up to your beliefs, not now, thinking of what happened with that – that Blot.’
He stiffens. ‘That Blot will not trouble you again, lassie, not if I have anything to do with it.’ His voice is as cold now, cold as his heart against the man who lured this girl to the edge of reason. Then it softens, ‘Never mind: “A fool doth think himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool” – or so some fool said.’
‘Shakespeare, As you Like It,’ responds Billie.
‘And,’ Robbie gains courage, ‘would you be fool enough to marry – one day, that is?’
‘I would only marry if a man were to love me in spite of everything – and that would eliminate most.’
He will not let her dwell on it. ‘Since Shakespeare seems to be popular tonight, how about this one: “I would not wish any companion in the world but you”.’
‘The lovers in The Tempest and – ’ Her voice tapers off.
Silence now, wrapped in the kitchen’s warmth, as Billie slowly comprehends, slowly caresses the truth of what she has always known in her heart.
Until Robbie speaks. ‘Why are you gawking at me that way? Your mouth is gaping – you do look rather foolish! Never mind, I’ll away now. But if the Lights play again tomorrow, shall we again gaze at them together down by the harbour? It shall be my birthday treat for you, Miss Frost!’
Chapter Forty-Six
1st September 1876
The Lights do play again the next evening. Shards of emerald and crimson, curtains of purple and gold – the symphony pulses lustily across the heavens. To the twosome on the quay gaining double pleasure from the water’s reflection, their only response is silence.
Then, as if the force penetrates his own body, he draws her close. He knows she is headstrong and wilful, that she will not be tamed, that she will forge her own path. And he knows that he loves this wild, courageous girl.
Slowly he releases her and tilts her chin high. ‘I asked something of you yesterday, in my clumsy way. So tonight, now that you are the grand old age of eighteen and with the Lights playing so well, I shall ask you again properly: Miss Frost, would you consent to – ’
‘Oh, yes, I would, darling Robbie! I would, I would!’
‘Good lord! Can a man not ask the most important question of his life properly without interruption?’ He will brook no further response and his lips seal down onto hers, firm and unforgiving.
She breathes in his essence, deep and long. He is so much a part of her own being, so different, yet so equivalent. He applauds her without indulgence, and rebukes her without rancor – and oh, how she adores him!
Finally, he speaks. ‘And so, at last: will you be my own love?’
‘I will,’ whispers Billie. And then she slants her eyes in that familiar golden challenge: ‘but – there is one proviso.’
Robbie groans through a dagger of fear. ‘Indeed – and what is that?’
‘That I may be foolish occasionally, and that you may always be wise – well, most of the time!’
He swoops her up high and she is silhouetted against the glowing sky. Their laughter suspends for a moment in the bracing night air, and then it echoes across the harbour, ripe with joy and promise.
Epilogue
Saturday 3rd March 1877
A pale sun washes over the graceful villa at 16 Royal Terrace. Young William Fraser, tall and elegant now, emerges from the second-storey door and steps onto the wide veranda. He breathes in deeply and gazes down over the distant harbour. The morning mist has risen and it should be a bonny day.
The villa is quiet these days. His father and mother have gone to their eternal rest. Evie, his favourite sister when he was a boy, was thought to have drowned long ago. His eldest sister is in the Seacliff Asylum and the others have left home one by one.
Yet he is fortunate to have good friends, especially his university chum Robbie Macandrew. What a dark horse the man is, deciding to marry his sweetheart so soon after graduating! His only explanation is, ‘Time is slow for those who wait.’
But he is a champion fellow, dependable and considerate, with a clever mind and a dry wit. Worthy qualities in husband – for that is what Robbie will become today.
William strokes a gloved hand down the lapel of his new cut-away coat, perfect for his role as best man. He draws a watch from his waistcoat pocket and thumbs open its engraved gold case. Just on eleven o’clock – perfect. Time for him to go forth and collect the groom.
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Coming soon — The sequel
THREADS OF GOLD
power and passion in a young country
by Jude Thomas
It is now 1890 and Billie Macandrew is the darling of Dunedin’s society. She lives in a large home overlooking the Otago Harbour with her husband and a posse of outspoken children.
New Zealand’s political and social scenes are changing once more, and Billie is in the thick of the action. Women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, Lebanese immigrants, daring fashions – life is chaotic and exciting. As the story races on into the twentieth century, there is always drama, tears and laughter.
And then it all starts to go wrong.
What tips Billie over the edge? Will a far-off war and a reckless liaison crush her spirit? Will she lose all she’s worked for over the past twenty years?
Threads of Gold is the story a sassy, independent woman ahead of her time. And in a world of life-changing events, it’s a story of courage and hope.
Threads of Gold
by Jude Thomas is to be published 2019
To keep up with news of TheGold Series, contact Jude at
https://www.facebook.com/JudeThomasAuthor
info@silvereyepress.co.nz
About The Author
Jude Thomas lives in New Zealand on the beautiful Mahurangi Peninsula north of Auckland. Born and raised in Dunedin, she was expressly forbidden by her parents to go near the Maclaggan Street area. This finally gave her the encouragement to dig into its colourful past and start writing about it. She also spent many summers in the Central Otago region and says she can still smell the wild thyme and feel the shimmering heat. But her lasting memory of a southern upbringing is the piercing winter and her intensely itchy chilblains.
Jude is a member of NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) and the International Writers’ Workshop NZ Inc. In 2015 she was awarded a manuscript assessment through the NZ Society of Authors CompleteMS Programme, which is supported by Creative New Zealand. This has been invaluable to Jude in the writing of Southern Gold, her first full-length novel. Website: judethomasauthor.com
/> Acknowledgements
With thanks to the NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) for assistance given through the CompleteMS programme; to Lesley Marshall for her fine eye; and to Martin Taylor for his expert judgement. To my parents Tom and Joyce Jory who unwittingly triggered my desire to find out about Maclaggan Street. And especially to my family and friends who encouraged me in writing this novel.
In researching the back story for Southern Gold, I am indebted to the following sources of information:
Built in Dunedin: historic buildings and their stories
First Church Heritage Centre
Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library
National Library of NZ, Papers Past
Queenstown and District Historical Society
Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Toitu Otago Settlers Museum
And for further insights:
Barmaids, Billiards, Nobblers and Rat-Pits: Pub Life in Goldrush Dunedin 1861–85. Hargreaves, R.P. Dunedin: Otago Heritage Books, 1992
Bright Fine Gold: Stories of the New Zealand Goldfields. Heinz, W.F. Wellington: Reed, 1975
Old Coaching Days in Otago and Southland. Lovell-Smith, E.M. Christchurch: Capper Press, 1976
Pubs Galore: History of Dunedin Hotels 1848–1984. Tod, Frank. Dunedin: Dunedin Historical Publications, 1984
Southern People: A Dictionary of Otago Southland Biography. Dunedin: Longacre Press, 1998
Station Life in New Zealand. Barker, Lady Mary Anne. First published MacMillan & Co, 1883
Wanted, a Beautiful Barmaid: Women Behind the Bar in New Zealand 1830–1976. Upton, Susan. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2013
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