The Trader's Reward

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘What? Oh, the lady. It must be his new wife. She’s much younger than him, I was told.’

  ‘She’s holding a baby.’ Livia couldn’t help a pang of envy. She’d wanted children with Francis but it had never happened.

  ‘Another niece or nephew,’ Bram crowed.

  She didn’t try to force conversation on him. He had eyes only for his brother, as was natural. But she stayed with him, curious to find out what would happen next.

  They both saw the exact moment when Fergus looked down at the people on the jetty, recognised his brother, hesitated, then raised one hand in greeting.

  ‘Fergus!’ Bram yelled, waving back and beamed at him. He was jigging about in excitement now, waving both arms. ‘Welcome to Australia!’ he yelled at the top of his voice.

  As people around them smiled at this exuberance, Livia wondered whether to walk on and leave her friend to his reunion. Then it occurred to her that the two brothers might welcome someone else chatting to the rest of the family, might want time to speak to one another, so she decided to stay.

  And anyway, she admitted to herself, she was eager to meet this new member of the Deagan family, since the others were her dearest friends.

  ‘That’s him,’ Fergus exclaimed, pointing and waving. ‘That’s my brother Bram.’

  ‘You don’t need to tell me,’ Pa said. ‘He looks just like you. And you owe me twopence.’

  Ma dug him in the ribs. ‘Never mind that now. Boys, stay with me and Pa. Your father will want to talk to his brother on his own at first.’

  It seemed a long time before the gangway was in place, and they still weren’t allowed to disembark.

  The harbour officials came on board to speak to the captain and make the necessary checks before anyone was allowed to go on shore, even the important people.

  The rest of the family grew tired of waiting and went below for a snack, but Fergus stayed on deck.

  ‘I’m not hungry,’ he said irritably when his son Sean tugged at his sleeve and pestered him to join them. ‘You go with the others.’

  Cara gave her husband a quick, understanding smile, urged his son towards the companionway and followed Sean below.

  When the crowd of people on the dock had thinned out, Bram walked along to stand below the ship, as near as he could get to his brother for the moment.

  ‘Welcome to Western Australia,’ he called up.

  ‘Thank you.’ Fergus looked down at the lady standing next to Bram. ‘Is this your wife?’

  ‘What? Oh no. My Isabella’s looking after the Bazaar. This is Livia, Mrs Southerham, a good friend of ours.’

  Fergus raised one hand in greeting. ‘I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs Southerham.’

  ‘I’m pleased to meet you, too. Bram’s been so excited about you coming to join him here.’

  ‘He has? I mean, good. That’s – er, good.’ Fergus couldn’t think what to say and his brother seemed to have become equally tongue-tied. They were staring at one another like a pair of fools. What would people think of them?

  A shadow fell across Fergus and he remembered Rémi. He seized on this with relief and called down to his brother, ‘This is my friend Rémi Newland. We met on the first ship. Rémi, this is my brother Bram and a family friend, Mrs Southerham.’

  ‘I’m delighted to meet you both,’ Rémi called, but then fell silent as he realised Mrs Southerham was the lady he’d noticed on the dock. He didn’t know why he’d been drawn to her. She wasn’t pretty exactly, she was too thin for that, but there was an elegance to the lines of her face, and the look in her eyes suggested she was intelligent. There was kindness, too, in the tolerant way she was smiling at Bram.

  He would, Rémi decided, like to get to know this lady better. How strange! He was usually attracted to more voluptuous women, to their bodies not their minds. And what a time to be attracted, just as he was arriving in his new country.

  Then he was called to join the other cabin passengers and speak to the port officials, so he raised one hand in farewell to those on the dock and left them to stare at one another.

  The cabin passengers were questioned about their visit to the colony and asked a few cursory questions about their health, after which they were free to collect their luggage and leave the ship.

  Rémi walked down the gangway to the dock and stood there, waiting for his luggage. He wasn’t sure where to go after that. Everyone else seemed to have been met by someone. There had been tears and hugs, and excited chatter as they waited for their luggage to be offloaded.

  Bram Deagan came across to him. ‘Is no one meeting you, Mr Newland?’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t know anyone in the colony.’

  ‘You’ve come to settle here, though?’

  ‘Yes.’ He wouldn’t reveal yet why he’d come here. He’d promised himself not to start his new life with lies, but he didn’t need to broadcast his private affairs to the world.

  ‘Then you must let me help you find somewhere to stay,’ Bram said at once.

  ‘I couldn’t ask you to do that!’

  ‘You didn’t ask. I volunteered. Tell me if I’m interfering.’

  ‘No, no, I’m extremely grateful for your help.’

  ‘Right, then. First you’ll need to hire someone with a handcart to take your things into town. There are always plenty of lads around when a ship docks.’

  He looked round and gestured to one lad to join them. ‘This gentleman is a friend of mine, Willie, and I’ve relatives on this ship, so I’ll need at least two other lads to help carry our things. Can you see to that for us?’

  The lad beamed at him, then turned to Rémi, ‘I’ll get my friends for Mr Deagan, then I’ll come back and help you with your luggage, sir. Where are you going to stay?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet.’

  Mrs Southerham was still standing next to Bram. ‘You’ll be busy looking after your brother and his family, Bram. Perhaps I could help Mr Newland find lodgings?’

  Rémi looked at her, unable to hide his relief. ‘I’d be immensely grateful for any help you can give me, ma’am, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘I don’t mind at all. There aren’t any fancy hotels here in Fremantle, but if you want some clean lodgings, with good plain food, there’s a woman in the next street to me who takes in the better class of lodger. I know she’s got a vacant room at the moment, because I was chatting to her two days ago and she was wishing more people would come and settle here. She’s a widow and needs the money, you see.’

  ‘That sounds perfect, at least for the time being. I don’t know yet exactly where I want to settle.’ He sighed and added, ‘Or what I’ll be doing.’

  ‘It’s a big change,’ she said sympathetically. ‘I remember how I felt when I first came ashore. Utterly bewildered.’

  ‘Yes, that’s it exactly.’ He turned as Willie came back and stood waiting patiently, looking at him for instructions. For a moment he couldn’t think what to do next. She was right: utterly bewildered described his state of mind exactly. What a perceptive woman.

  ‘You’ll need to tell the lad what luggage to look for,’ Mrs Southerham prompted. ‘We’ll wait here for him to retrieve it.’

  He listed the cabin items and the trunk of clothing and watched the lad counting them off on his fingers. ‘I have some furniture and boxes of books, as well, but they’re much heavier, so will need more than a handcart. I suppose I’ll need to find storage for them until I have somewhere permanent to live.’

  Bram, who was walking to and fro, overheard this and stopped to say, ‘You can store them in my stables, if you like. I’ve plenty of room at the back. If you don’t mind a few wisps of straw, that is.’

  ‘Thank you. Once again, you’re being very kind.’

  ‘We all help one another here. You know where I’m talking about, Willie,’ Bram added. ‘Can you find someone with a cart to fetch the heavier things for Mr Newland?’

  ‘Oh yes, Mr Deagan. My uncle has a cart. He’ll be glad of the job.’ He
ran off again.

  ‘He’s a good lad, that one. He’ll do well for himself when he grows up.’ But Bram spoke absent-mindedly, his eyes straying towards his brother, still standing on the deck, frowning down at them now.

  ‘I think Fergus is finding the waiting very frustrating,’ Rémi said.

  ‘It won’t be long now.’ Bram stayed next to Livia and Rémi for only a few minutes, then began pacing up and down the quay.

  Livia turned to Mr Newland. ‘I’m afraid Bram’s in no fit state to chat. He hasn’t seen his brother for over a decade. He too is frustrated by the waiting.’

  ‘So I gather from Fergus. In those circumstances, it’s doubly kind of Mr Deagan to help me.’

  ‘Oh, he’s like that. You couldn’t make a better pair of friends than him and his wife.’

  He smiled down at her. ‘And I could say just the same of his brother and Cara.’

  ‘It’s good to hear you say that. Bram would be devastated if something went wrong between him and Fergus.’

  ‘I don’t see why it should.’

  ‘We can wait here while Willie sorts out your luggage, but you should give him a good tip, probably about five shillings by the time he’s found you a cart for your furniture and boxes of books, on top of whatever the carter charges.’

  ‘I’ll be happy to do that.’ Rémi turned to study the nearest part of the town. ‘So this is Fremantle.’

  ‘Yes. Rather a small port, but a fine place to live.’

  To Rémi, the streets of the town had a higgledy-piggledy appearance, as if the place had never been properly finished. The houses weren’t even in proper rows, let alone having paved streets, and even in the town centre, some of the land wasn’t built on yet. ‘Is the capital of the colony bigger than Fremantle?’

  ‘Not much. Did no one tell you that they call us the Cinderella Colony? We don’t have a large population in Western Australia. You may wish to move across to Sydney or Melbourne on the eastern coast of Australia. A lot of people do.’

  ‘I can’t do that.’

  She looked at him in surprise. ‘Can’t?’

  He bit his lip, but somehow he didn’t want to lie to her about his background. ‘I’m a remittance man, Mrs Southerham. Well, I think that’s the correct term for it.’

  He saw her expression go cooler and said hurriedly, ‘I didn’t do anything bad. I just didn’t get on with my uncle, or meet his ridiculously rigid standards of social behaviour. So he decided to get rid of me by sending me to Australia. If I stay here and don’t bother the family again, he’ll pay me an annual sum of money, enough to live on comfortably.’

  She was still looking at him doubtfully. ‘Why Western Australia?’

  ‘Sheer spite on his part. I’m not a gambler nor have I committed a crime, but I make friends from all classes of society, I speak frankly and I read books he doesn’t approve of. To crown it all, I refused to marry the dull young ladies he and my aunt introduced me to.’

  Rémi watched her smile return at that confidence and added, ‘I couldn’t bear to marry someone I didn’t like, just for her money. And think of spending years with a person whose laugh grates on your nerves?’

  She laughed heartily at that, producing a pleasant, musical sound that didn’t grate on his nerves at all. ‘Thank you for your honesty, Mr Newland. You won’t be the only person here who is happy to get away from his family.’

  ‘May I ask what brought you to Western Australia?’

  ‘We came here for my husband’s health, but sadly he died anyway. Consumption.’

  So she was a widow. That thought pleased him. ‘You didn’t wish to return to England afterwards, to be with your family?’

  ‘I don’t have any close family left there and I can live far more cheaply here. Anyway, I’ve made some good friends, such as the Deagans. There are also my two maids, who act more like aunts than servants, and try to manage my life. They’re both dears but like your aunt and uncle, they want me to marry again, and I couldn’t do that without affection.’

  She stopped and looked at him in surprise. ‘I don’t usually talk about my private affairs to strangers.’

  ‘Nor do I. Perhaps this means we’re destined to become friends. I do hope so.’

  ‘I’d like that. One cannot have too many friends.’

  He appreciated her honesty and lack of pretence. In fact, the more he chatted to this woman, the more he liked her. She didn’t simper or flatter, something he detested.

  ‘It must be very difficult to come here on your own, Mr Newland.’

  ‘A little daunting, I must admit. I’ve made friends with Fergus Deagan and his family, so I do know a few people now. I helped him organise a concert on the ship. He’s a very talented musician. I hope to make other friends too, of course.’ He looked at her as he said that, and she gave a little nod, as if approving of him and willing to become his friend. At least he hoped that’s what it meant.

  ‘I find you very easy to talk to, Mr Newland. I believe you will soon make friends.’

  He chuckled suddenly. ‘You’re a most unusual lady. I like your frankness.’

  ‘Well, you see, I grew tired of pretending with my husband’s family in England, who were rather like your uncle, but here I feel I can speak as I find.’

  He looked down at her and wondered about her life. Her skin was gilded by the sun and her nose was sprinkled with freckles. Her clothes weren’t in the latest fashion and were mended in a couple of places, but he found her attractive. This was ridiculous. He’d only just met her. But then again, what did that matter? You either liked someone in that way or you didn’t. Your body seemed to decide that, as well as your mind.

  He wondered what she thought of him, if she found him attractive. Goodness, where had that thought come from?

  Then movement on the ship caught their eyes and they turned round to watch as Fergus and his family appeared at the top of the gangway.

  ‘It must be strange to meet a brother for the first time in over a decade,’ Livia murmured. ‘I do hope it goes well.’

  ‘For them both,’ Rémi said softly.

  20

  Fergus shepherded his family down the gangway, but Bram saw his sister-in-law gesture to the others to fall behind and let her husband approach his brother on his own. That thoughtfulness pleased him, but nothing could ease the tension inside him, and he forgot about the others as he moved forward towards his brother.

  Surely he and Fergus would get on better now?

  Sailors were bringing out the luggage, hoisting it on to the dock, so Bram beckoned to the two boys waiting with handcarts to follow him as Fergus stepped on to the dock.

  ‘Welcome to Australia,’ he said for the third time, realised he was repeating himself, but simply couldn’t think of another word to say, not a single one.

  Fergus seemed equally tongue-tied so they just stood and stared at one another.

  It was the older man behind Fergus who led the rest of the family off the gangway to one side, so that others could pass, then rescued the brothers from the impasse.

  ‘If these lads are here for our luggage, I’ll see to finding our things for them, Fergus lad. You talk to your brother.’

  Bram nodded. ‘They are here for you.’

  The old man turned to his grandsons. ‘Boys, you’ll stay near Ma for the time being while I help these lads sort out our luggage.’

  Bram saw that the young woman was already standing beside the older woman, though her eyes were on her husband. He heard her murmur, ‘Goodness, they look so alike!’

  That seemed to loosen something within him. He turned back to his brother and spoke from the heart, saying simply, ‘I’m so glad you’ve come.’

  ‘You are? Really?’

  ‘Of course I am. It’s been my dream to have my family settle here.’

  ‘That’s good, then.’ The words came stiffly.

  ‘I’d have known you for a Deagan anywhere, but you’re taller than me now.’

  Fergus
looked at him in surprise and relaxed just a little. ‘I am, aren’t I? You were always taller than me when we were young. I grew a bit more in England, once I was getting better food.’

  Suddenly the two men gave each other a quick, fierce hug, but they let go quickly. Bram was not only embarrassed by this sudden display of emotion but afraid he’d weep, he was so emotional about this reunion.

  ‘We’ll need to find somewhere to stay,’ Fergus began. ‘I have money for lodgings and we can—’

  ‘No, no! You’ll stay with us, of course you will. We have plenty of room in our house.’

  ‘Are you sure? There’s Ma and Pa as well. I’m not leaving them on their own. We’re all they’ve got.’

  ‘We’ve beds prepared for all of you. Mr Kieran wrote me about Mr and Mrs Grady in his letter.’

  ‘Oh. Right. Well, thank you, then. Just for a few days. We don’t want to impose.’

  Bram grasped his brother’s arm and gave him a tiny shake. ‘How could a brother impose? You’ll stay with us till we’ve worked out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to live. We’ve a lot of catching up to do.’ He heard his voice grow husky and had to clear his throat before he could continue. ‘I’m looking forward to that.’

  Fergus nodded and repeated, ‘I am, too. Thank you.’

  ‘Will you introduce me to your family now? Mr Kieran said you’d married again.’

  ‘Cara’s a really nice person. I think you’ll like her.’ Fergus made the introductions.

  Bram lingered over the baby, who was now in her brother Sean’s arms. He was making noises at Niamh, trying to win a smile from her.

  ‘She likes it if you tickle her chin,’ Sean said. ‘See.’

  The baby chuckled heartily.

  ‘I think she loves her big brother already,’ Bram said.

  ‘Do you? Do you really think that?’

  Bram watched the boy smile proudly. ‘Yes, I do. And you should call me Uncle Bram from now on, or just “uncle”.’

  ‘Uncle Bram,’ the boys chorused obediently.

  Bram turned to see Fergus staring at him, as if surprised. ‘I love babies. Isabella and I have two small children. Arlen turns four soon and Neala will be two in June.’