The Plantation

by Di Morrissey

  ‘Are you sure that it was Ah Kit? You couldn’t have been mistaken?’

  ‘No, Bill, I’m convinced that it was Ah Kit!’ she exclaimed. ‘The new driver told me that he’s often around, talking to the villagers, asking them questions, helping them. Bill, those communists killed Hamid and they nearly killed me and my children. They’re getting very brazen,’ said Margaret.

  Bill was shocked by how angry Margaret was about the communists, but he supposed that under the circumstances it was understandable. At least Philip was safe in England. Both Margaret and Roland had told him how happy Philip was at school, enjoying the company of other boys his own age, although Margaret said that she missed him.

  ‘I do wish he could come home for holidays, but Roland says that it’s too dangerous at present. He thinks that Philip is better off in the UK. I expect that he’s right. He visits Roland’s mother, or stays in Scotland with some people that he knew in the POW camp.’

  ‘Have you thought of going away for a while?’ suggested Bill. ‘You could take Caroline to your parents, and you would probably feel more relaxed in Australia.’

  ‘Roland made the same suggestion,’ said Margaret non-committally.

  ‘So you’re happy here?’ asked Bill.

  Margaret paused and looked away. ‘Sometimes I miss my home in Australia. Nothing here has been the same since the war. Many of my friends have gone and we can’t get about very much. I wonder how much longer this guerilla war will go on for. No one seems to be winning.’

  ‘How do you occupy yourself?’ asked Bill, thinking Margaret sounded lonely.

  ‘I spend a lot of time supervising the gardeners.’

  ‘I noticed. The grounds are looking very spectacular,’ said Bill.

  ‘I wish I could travel around more, but it’s not safe, although I always travel with a policeman. I meet my friends in Ipoh every few weeks, and Slim River isn’t too far away. In fact I’m going there tomorrow to do some shopping.’

  ‘Perhaps you and Roland could take a trip when things settle down,’ said Bill comfortingly, though he doubted that would be any time soon. He felt sorry for Margaret, the current situation had made things difficult for everyone, but especially for people on isolated plantations.

  When Margaret returned from her outing to Slim River the next day, her cheeks were pink, and she seemed quite buoyed, almost agitated. She came straight out to the verandah where Roland and Bill were settled, and called Ho to bring her a drink. Almost as an afterthought she asked, ‘May I join you?’

  Roland and Bill jumped to their feet as she collapsed into a rattan chair.

  ‘You look somewhat frazzled, dear. A big day?’ asked Roland solicitously.

  Margaret opened the sandalwood fan she always carried and fanned her flushed face. ‘It’s been quite a day of excitement for a small town,’ she began. Ho placed her gin and tonic beside her and Margaret took a sip before continuing. ‘I met Anne Farquar in Slim River, and she brought along another friend, Shirley Fielding, who is staying with her. Shirley was still quite shaken up. Her husband manages an estate in the north and it was set alight a week ago. The communists, of course.’

  ‘I’ve met Thomas Fielding,’ said Bill.

  Margaret ignored the interruption and continued her story. ‘We had a pleasant time in the little shops and the bazaar, then Anne Farquar insisted on going to those smelly markets. Anyway, after that, we went for a nice lunch at that Tip Top Tea House.’ She took a sip of her drink as the men waited politely for her to continue. ‘My driver and the Malay policeman were right outside, waiting for us, thank goodness.’

  ‘Why was that?’asked Roland.

  ‘I’ll tell you,’ continued Margaret. ‘I said goodbye to the other women, then I decided to pop into that small general store next to the tea house for some items, and when I came out, there was a man looking at something at the front of the shop. I had to squeeze past him, you know how cluttered those little places are, and then he turned around, so we came face to face. Do you know who it was?’ She looked at them in horror. ‘It was Ah Kit. When he saw me, he was as shocked as I was. He turned away without a word. But it was too late. I’d seen him. So I shouted to the Malay policeman, “Quick, quick, that man’s a communist!”’

  ‘And what happened then?’ said Roland curtly.

  ‘I told the policeman to arrest Ah Kit.’

  Roland leapt to his feet. ‘Margaret, what have you done? Where is Ah Kit?’ he demanded.

  ‘Goodness, Roland, there’s no need to get upset. The man is a communist. You told me so yourself. Anyway they took him to the police station in Slim River for questioning.’

  Bill and Roland exchanged a look.

  Margaret stared, wide-eyed, at her husband. It seemed that neither Roland nor Bill were sharing in her triumph. ‘Really, Roland, I know that you fought with him in the war but he was a Chinese houseboy! Is he more important than your family, your friends, your country?’

  ‘I’ll go and telephone the station,’ said Roland, hurrying from the room.

  ‘Whatever for? Why on earth do you care so much about Ah Kit?’

  ‘Margaret, it’s not just that Ah Kit fought with us in the jungle, but he saved your husband’s life!’ said Bill. ‘Mine too, if it comes to that. Neither of us would be here, sitting on the verandah, if it had not been for Ah Kit.’

  ‘But he turned against us once the Japanese were defeated,’ said Margaret. ‘I have no sympathy for him, or any communist.’

  ‘That’s unfortunate,’ said Bill tersely. ‘Because not only did Ah Kit save our lives but I believe the reason there have been no communist attacks on Utopia is because Ah Kit has prevented them out of respect for Roland. Ah Kit has made this place safe for all of you.’

  Margaret shrugged. ‘I don’t believe that. And even if it’s true, it’s the least he could do, after all Roland has done for him.’

  ‘Margaret, Ah Kit could be in a lot of trouble.’

  Bill turned as Roland walked back out to the verandah. Roland’s face was set and his eyes were cold.

  He spoke to Bill. ‘They got him.’

  ‘You mean they arrested him?’

  ‘No, shot him.’

  ‘Shot him? How bad?’ asked Bill.

  Then Roland looked at Margaret and said quietly, ‘He’s dead.’

  ‘Oh, bloody hell,’ said Bill.

  ‘He was shot trying to escape. That’s what I was told.’ Roland’s voice was filled with anger.

  ‘So they say,’ said Bill.

  Margaret jumped up. ‘Well, that’s not my fault! He was trying to run away. He’s guilty!’

  Bill and Roland ignored her.

  ‘What do you want to do?’ asked Bill.

  Roland rubbed his eyes. ‘There’s little we can do for him now. I’d like to help his family, if I can. Margaret, how could you have done this? You know what Ah Kit and I went through during the war!’

  Margaret looked at Roland and, without a word, turned and left the verandah.

  ‘Roland, you can’t entirely blame Margaret,’ said Bill. ‘The war and then the communist insurgency, especially after the incident on the Fraser’s Hill road, have made life here very difficult for her.’

  ‘Bill, you’re a good friend, but what you say doesn’t entirely wash with me. Ah Kit was not responsible for what happened on Fraser’s Hill. First her sister and now Ah Kit. Margaret only seems to care about the way people and events affect her personally. She isn’t concerned about anyone but herself,’ said Roland bitterly. ‘I have to speak to her, please excuse me.’ He strode from the room.

  Bill sat on the verandah with his whisky. He could clearly hear the raised voices.

  ‘What do you mean – you can’t forgive me? You should thank me!’ snapped Margaret. ‘One less communist to worry about, who won’t set fire to our place, or kill our children. Really, Roland, it’s your attitude that I find shocking.’

  ‘And I yours! You are wrapped up in yourself. Everything rev
olves around you, Margaret. I know it’s difficult at present but I have tried my best to provide for you, make you happy, indulge your wishes, but it never seems to be enough.’

  ‘Roland, I think you spend more energy and time worrying about those damn trees than me! The war was hard on me too, yet you make such a fuss about Bette. I bet you encouraged her to go off with that wealthy Tony Tsang, just to annoy me!’ Margaret’s voice was rising.

  ‘You’re being hysterical, and that’s ridiculous. I have no control over Bette’s decisions. Anyway you should be grateful to Bette for looking after Philip in that POW camp, but you want to turn her heroic actions into some sort of fight for Philip’s affection. It’s as though you can’t forgive your sister for saving our son’s life.’

  There was silence for a moment, then Margaret’s voice was filled with fury. ‘I will not stay under the same roof as you any longer, Roland. I think it would be best if I returned to Australia and leave you to your precious plantation! I’ll take Caroline with me because I don’t want her to be endangered by your communist friends any longer.’

  There was another silence and then Roland spoke in a resigned voice. ‘They are not my friends, but perhaps that is a good idea given the precariousness of our security here, now that Ah Kit is gone. It won’t surprise people that you are returning to the safety of your family in Australia.’

  ‘That’s not the reason I’m leaving,’ said Margaret in a dull tone.

  ‘I know.’

  Roland walked slowly back to the verandah where Bill was still sitting. ‘You heard, I suppose,’ he said as he slumped into his chair.

  Bill nodded. ‘Might be the best solution, for the time being.’

  ‘No. She won’t be back. Nor will I chase after her. Utopia hasn’t been the right place for her since she came back in forty-six.’

  ‘You’ll be all right, old man,’ said Bill awkwardly.

  The morning Margaret and Caroline left the plantation, it was not yet fiercely hot, but the sky was clear and blue, a soft wind rustling through the garden, shaking frangipani and bougainvillea flowers to the ground. Later, the gardener would sweep them into piles with his twig broom and scoop them into a large bamboo basket. Margaret always liked the gravel driveway to be hosed clean, and the earth in the garden beds and the dusty road to the gate to be raked and smoothed, marked with straight lines by the sticks of the broom, and with no leaf or petal despoiling the lawns. The perfect garden would go on, even without her.

  There was a lot of busyness as the luggage was stowed, though her many trunks had already been sent ahead. Margaret’s and Roland’s parting was perfunctory and unemotional, although it might have seemed from a distance that Roland held his wife more tightly than usual, lingering for a moment so he could remember the softness of her body, the smell of her hair, the familiarity of her. But Margaret didn’t seem to notice.

  Roland swung his daughter into the air, but she was eager to be in the car, heading off on an adventure in her best dress. In the car, Margaret rolled down the window and gave a final wave to the staff, hovering by the portico, before Roland touched her fingertips.

  ‘Travel safely.’

  ‘Of course, Roland.’

  ‘Be a good girl for your mother, Caroline.’

  He stood in the driveway until the car was out of sight, then slowly turned and walked up the steps into the house.

  ‘And Roland never wavered. As far as I know he never tried to get Margaret to return to Utopia,’ said Bill.

  ‘Do you know why they never divorced?’ Julie asked.

  ‘I don’t suppose Margaret ever asked him for one, so Roland saw no need. He was old-fashioned in that sense. But he never saw her or Caroline again,’ answered Bill.

  ‘She must have felt very ashamed, because she never mentioned the Ah Kit episode to anyone,’ said Caroline. ‘She led everyone to believe it was her choice to return to Australia because the East no longer suited her, and Roland had acquiesced in her decision. I used to tell people that my father was too busy running a plantation in Malaya to come to Australia. Because my parents had never got divorced, I always hoped that one day they would get back together and we’d be a family once more, but I realise now that I was just trying to suppress the reality of the situation.’

  ‘Mum, she kept everything secret. No wonder she never wanted to talk about Malaya after the war,’ said Julie.

  Caroline twisted her hands together. ‘Do you know what really makes me upset about all this? My mother told everyone that Bette’s decision to marry Tony Tsang was the reason that the family were disgraced but now it turns out that it was her actions that were the problem. It is terrible to think that although Bette saved Philip’s life, my mother made my aunt the scapegoat for all her troubles.’

  ‘I’m sorry to upset you. Maybe I shouldn’t have told you everything that happened,’ said Bill, looking concerned.

  Julie took her mother’s hand. ‘No, Bill. It’s fine. It’s what we came to find out. You’ve answered a lot of questions for us. Maybe they’re not what we were expecting.’ She looked at her mother. ‘Mum, you can’t blame your mother for everything. The war changed things for Gran. It did for a lot of people. Some adjusted and some didn’t.’

  ‘That is very true,’ said Bill. ‘And while Roland knew the marriage was over, I believe that he never stopped loving the woman he had married, and there was never anyone else, until the day he died.’

  On the drive from Goondiwindi back to Brisbane, mother and daughter reviewed Bill’s story. They felt they’d come to know and understand Margaret much better.

  ‘If only she’d shared what had happened with me,’ said Caroline. ‘I’d have tried to understand.’

  ‘Maybe in this day and age family would have been more accepting, but there’s no way Gran would ever have told anyone that her husband essentially banished her because she’d betrayed the man who’d saved Roland’s life in the war!’ said Julie.

  ‘But that secret deprived me of a relationship with my father and my brother,’ said Caroline sadly.

  ‘I wonder if Philip knew about all this?’ said Julie.

  ‘It’s no use speculating, because it’s all too late now, anyway.’

  Julie glanced at her mother. ‘I think you’ve done pretty well with the family you’ve got, Mum. You’ve helped find Aunt Bette, you’re about to dash to Adelaide and become a granny yourself. You’ve won the battle of the bypass. Now all you have to do is to take Dad up to Malaysia, and reconnect with your family there.’

  Caroline smiled. ‘Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to ring those boys at Utopia and discuss a visit, but not till next year.’

  ‘No! You’ll be hard to drag away from that baby in the Adelaide Hills,’ laughed Julie.

  ‘And what about you, Jules? Are you planning another trip? Maybe to Penang to see a certain RAAF officer?’

  ‘That would be nice,’ said Julie. ‘I hate this long- distance social networking. A kiss and a cuddle would be far better. But I don’t think that he’ll be at Butterworth much longer. He’s told me that the operation there is nearly finished.’

  Paul had the barbecue going and a salad made when they arrived back at Bayview.

  ‘So are you going to tell me the story over a glass of wine?’ he asked Caroline as he gave her a kiss and then hugged Julie.

  ‘Dad, open a bottle. It’s quite a saga,’ said Julie.

  He looked at Caroline. ‘You all right, sweetie?’

  She nodded. ‘Bill was amazing, especially for his age. His memory was better than mine, I felt! What is it with these ex-colonials? They seem to go on forever. His story explains a lot about my mother. In a way I do feel sorry for her, but she did some very unjust things, and not only to Roland and Bette,’ said Caroline suddenly feeling teary.

  Paul put his arms about her and held her. ‘It’s probably best to know the whole truth, darling. Tell me about it, when you’re ready.’

  Julie went out onto the
verandah, leaving her parents together. What good, kind, loving people they were. Suddenly, she felt lonely. She missed Christopher. She went to the car and found her phone, and sent a text message to him asking when he was available to Skype and chat. Although she wanted to share Bill’s story, what she really wanted was to hear Christopher’s voice. But when she read his reply to her message, she let out a gasp and raced inside. Her parents were sitting close together on the lounge, sipping a glass of wine.

  ‘You’re never going to believe this!’ shrieked Julie, dancing and waving her phone about.

  ‘No more surprises, please,’ begged her father.

  ‘Darling, what is it?’ asked her mother.

  ‘It’s Christopher. He asked for a transfer and it’s come through! You’ll never guess where he’s been transferred . . . Amberley Air Force Base.’

  ‘Amberley, here in Brisbane? That’s great,’ cried Caroline. ‘I’m so happy for you.’

  Paul beamed at his daughter. ‘He must have had a reason to want to transfer to Amberley, and I think I can guess what it is.’

  ‘Now we’ll get to meet him,’ said Caroline.

  Paul stood up. ‘I think it’s time to open a bottle of my best champagne.’

  The End