by Anna Jacobs
‘You started having children later than me.’
‘Yes. Yes, I did. I carried on working for the Largans for a few years. The family needed my money to feed the children, you see. Da got worse as a provider, not better. They’d have starved without me.’
‘If I’d stayed, I’d have murdered Da.’
‘He was a mean old devil.’
They were silent for a moment or two, both of them with unhappy memories of their father.
Bram looked at the group, all of whom were watching him, waiting patiently to be told where to go.
‘I didn’t introduce you properly,’ Fergus said abruptly. ‘This is my wife Cara, Mr and Mrs Grady, Sean and Mal, and the baby is Niamh.’
‘Call us Ma and Pa,’ Ma said. ‘All the family do.’
‘I’d be delighted to be included in that,’ Bram agreed. ‘And you should call me Bram, of course. But what am I doing, standing here nattering when you’ve only just got off the ship? There’ll be plenty of time for us all to talk and get to know one another later.’
He looked at Ma and Pa. ‘Will you be all right to walk to my house? It’s only a few minutes away. We’ve got rooms for you all there.’
‘We’ll be fine, thank you, Bram.’ The older woman smiled at him, a lovely warm smile which made him warm to her.
Her husband grimaced. ‘As long as you don’t walk too quickly. It feels as if the ground is moving up and down under my feet.’
‘You’ll soon get used to walking on dry land again. That sensation soon passes.’
Livia, who had been standing to one side with Rémi, stepped forward. ‘Bram hasn’t introduced me yet, but I’m a friend of the family.’
He put an arm round her in a quick hug. ‘Ah, I’m sorry, Livia. I’m too happy to think straight today. Everyone, this is Mrs Southerham, one of our oldest friends here.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you and hope you’ll all be happy in Australia. I’m going to help your friend Mr Newland find some lodgings now.’ Livia turned back to Bram. ‘I’ll take him to Mrs Cooper’s. I spoke to her a couple of days ago and she had a vacancy.’
‘Bring him round to tea afterwards,’ Bram said at once.
‘Not today, my friend,’ she chided. ‘You need time with your family.’
‘But the poor man knows no one here.’
‘You can’t look after the whole world, Bram Deagan.’ She shook her head in mock reproof. ‘Look, Mr Newland shall come to tea with me. Will that satisfy you? Right, then. I’ll bring him to see you tomorrow, don’t worry.’
She turned to Rémi. ‘Shall we go, Mr Newland?’
Bram watched the two of them walk away, the tall man and the small, slender woman, both of them talking animatedly and gesticulating. He wished he found it as easy to talk to his brother. He turned back to Fergus, who was checking that all their luggage was there.
Why was it so hard to think what to say? They were brothers, for heaven’s sake. But they were strangers now in most ways, too, after being apart for nearly all their adult lives.
‘Is that everything? Then let’s go.’
After staying silent for a few paces, Fergus asked, ‘What about Ismay and Maura? Do they live near you?’
‘Ismay goes to sea with her husband, who’s a ship’s captain. She travels with him. She won’t even know you’re here till next time their ship comes to Fremantle, which will be in a week or two. I’m sure she’ll rush round to see you the minute she hears you’ve arrived. Adam brings goods into Australia for me and for some other traders, mostly from Singapore.’
‘And Maura?’
‘She’ll be round to see you as soon as I send word. We didn’t want to overwhelm you at first. Our brother Ryan and our sister Noreen live with her and Hugh.’
‘Mr Kieran told me they’d come out to join you.’
‘Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? Um, do you know what happened to any of our other brothers?’
‘No. The three of them came to England for a while, but went to America once they’d saved enough money for their fares. I’d found work I liked in England by then and I’d met Eileen, my first wife, so I stayed in Swindon. I tried to persuade them not to go so far away, but they wouldn’t listen. You’d think to hear them, the streets of New York were paved with gold. They promised they’d write to me, but they never did.’
‘Maybe we’ll see them again one day. You never know what’s going to happen, do you? I’d no intention of coming to Australia till Conn Largan’s first wife threw me out of Shilmara. Remember her?’
Fergus shuddered eloquently.
‘I’ll tell you what happened to her one day. It’s a sad tale, but the poor woman’s dead now and Conn’s happy with his second wife. He’s by way of being a business partner of mine, helped me buy the land and buildings to set up the Bazaar. I never thought I’d be good at buying and selling things.’
Bram looked back over his shoulder and slowed down. ‘We’re walking too fast for Mr and Mrs Grady.’ He smiled. ‘Ah, those are a fine pair of lads you’ve got.’ The two little boys were the most talkative in the group, staring at everything new, pointing and commenting to one another on what they saw.
Fergus smiled at them. ‘I think so, too.’
‘And that’s a dear, rosy baby.’
‘Yes. Cara’s cared for her well.’
When they saw their uncle looking at them, Sean and Mal moved closer and Bram found himself explaining some of the things they saw to them.
Everyone stopped dead when Sean said in a hushed, awed voice, ‘There’s a grey and pink parrot in that tree!’
‘It’s not a parrot, it’s a galah,’ Bram said. ‘A bit like a parrot, though.’
‘To think of seeing a bird like that as you walk along the street,’ Ma marvelled. ‘It’s bigger than I thought it’d be.’
As they walked on again, Sean asked, ‘Will we all be sharing a bedroom, like we did on the ship, Uncle Bram?’
‘No. You and your brother will share one bedroom, your grandparents another, and your mother and father will have their own room, too.’
Sean stared at him in surprise. ‘It must be a very big house.’
Bram shot a glance at Fergus, who was obviously listening to this. ‘It is quite big, but we’re having to put you children up in the attics with the maid. Your cousins will share one room up there and you two will share another.’
‘You have a maid?’ Fergus exclaimed, sounding affronted.
‘Yes, and a scrubbing woman. Isabella works with me in the Bazaar. She sells silks to fine ladies. She has a sound business head on her. She does my accounts, too.’
‘I’m looking forward to meeting her,’ Cara put in quickly.
Bram had seen the shock on his brother’s face at the thought of him having a maid. Why did he have to mention that just as he’d felt they were starting to relax a little with one another? It must have sounded like showing off.
He was relieved that his house came in sight just then and he could point it out, making the conversation more general.
He hadn’t been trying to show off that he had a bit of money. He’d never do that.
But he wasn’t ashamed of it, either.
Livia took Rémi to the lodging house and knocked on the front door. ‘Good afternoon, Mrs Cooper. You said two days ago that you had a room free. This is Mr Newland, a friend of Mr Deagan. He’s newly arrived from England and is in need of lodgings.’
Mrs Cooper looked at her in dismay. ‘There! If that isn’t what always happens; you get a flood or a drought. I had a room free when I saw you, but it was taken yesterday afternoon by two gentlemen, and I couldn’t squeeze another mouse in, I’m afraid.’
‘What a pity! You don’t know anyone else who takes in lodgers, do you?’
Mrs Cooper gave Rémi an assessing look. ‘Not places good enough for a gentleman, no. Only the rougher sort of lodging houses have vacancies at the moment, from what I’ve heard. Sorry.’
As the door closed, Livia turn
ed to Rémi. ‘Oh, dear!’
‘Never mind. I’m sure I’ll find somewhere else and if it’s a little rough, well, I can travel on to Perth tomorrow.’
An idea came to her suddenly. Did she dare? Of course she did. She had two chaperones living with her, after all.
‘There really isn’t a lot of choice, even in Perth, I’m afraid. The best thing would be for you to stay with me until you can get a bit more used to Western Australia and know where you want to live. You’ll probably want to find a suitable house to rent.’
He stared at her in shock.
She looked at him enquiringly. ‘What do you think? ’
He still looked taken aback by this. She added hastily, ‘My two maids will be there, so it’ll all be perfectly respectable, I promise you.’
‘Are you quite sure?’
‘Of course I am. I wouldn’t have offered, otherwise.’
‘I shouldn’t impose. People might get the wrong idea.’
‘You don’t have much choice.’ She went across to the lad with the handcart. ‘We’ll take Mr Newland’s things to my house, Willie, then you can help your uncle to collect his furniture and books, and deliver them to Mr Deagan’s livery stables. Mr Newland will tell you how many crates there are.’
Rémi fumbled in his pocket and got out his list, grateful he’d had the sense to make a copy to hand to whoever would be transporting his possessions. Doing little jobs like that, and keeping a diary, had helped fill in time on the long voyage to Australia. Even so, he’d had far too much time on his hands, especially on the second ship.
He had found himself brooding about Barrett’s sad death, wondering if he could have said or done anything to prevent it. But he couldn’t think what.
He realised the lad was standing patiently, waiting. ‘Can you read, Willie? Oh, good. This is a complete list, and all the boxes have my name painted on them: Newland. When you get everything to Mr Deagan’s stables, could you fetch me, please? I’ll feel better if I check that all the boxes are there before they’re put into storage. Or if it’s too far away, I can come with you after we’ve left my luggage at Mrs Southerham’s.’
Willie and the lad next to him exchanged smiles.
‘Did I say something amusing?’ Rémi asked.
Livia answered. ‘My house is in the street next to Deagan’s Emporium. You’ll only have to walk down the slope to check your things.’
Rémi beamed at her. ‘That’s very convenient. I can’t believe how kind everyone is being.’
‘Most people help newcomers. And you’re not exactly a stranger, being a friend of a friend.’
‘I still think your kindness is wonderful.’
His eyes were so warm and admiring as he looked at her that she could feel herself blushing, so she set off walking again, keeping her head down a little till the warmth had subsided.
A short time later she stopped and gestured. ‘This is where I live.’
He looked at the little wooden house, single storey, with a narrow strip of garden in front edged by a picket fence. It was like a child’s drawing, with a window on either side of the central door and a veranda all the way across the front of the building.
His hostess led the way inside, calling, ‘I’m back, and I’ve brought a guest to stay!’
Two older women immediately came out from the back of the house. They stopped dead at the sight of Rémi and then looked at their so-called mistress as if to ask what she thought she was doing, bringing a strange man home.
He let out an involuntary chuckle of amusement, which he tried to turn into a cough.
‘Mr Newland, these are Orla and Rhoda, who help me in the house.’
They nodded to him, still looking so suspicious, he had to cough again.
So did Mrs Southerham.
‘Where do you think we should put him?’ she asked the maids.
‘There is only one spare bedroom, as you well know, ma’am,’ Orla said in a severe tone of voice. ‘So we don’t have a choice, do we? Though what people will say about a man staying with us in a room just across the corridor from you, I do not know.’
‘Well, people know you two live with me, so I doubt they’ll think anything wrong is going on. They know what dragons you can be when you’re protecting me. The thing is, Mr Newland is a friend of Mr Deagan’s brother, who has just arrived in Fremantle, so he’s perfectly respectable, I promise you.’
‘I heard there was a ship newly in.’ Rhoda gave Rémi another searching scrutiny, slightly less hostile this time.
Orla hadn’t stopped frowning, though.
‘We went to Mrs Cooper’s,’ Livia explained, ‘but she’d just rented her last room, and she said she didn’t know anywhere else suitable for a gentleman to stay.’
Rhoda sighed. ‘No. She’s right. There isn’t. There are a lot of people in Fremantle, up from the country at the moment.’
Orla took over. ‘Well, what can’t be cured must be endured, I suppose. If you’ll tell that lad to help Mr Newland bring in his luggage, we’ll get the room ready for him. It’d be best if you and Mr Newland sat in the parlour till we’ve done everything.’
‘I suppose I’d better bring you in a tea tray and some scones,’ Rhoda added grudgingly.
Livia turned to her guest and gestured to the right of the front door. ‘This is the parlour, and next door is your bedroom.’ She threw open a door and he followed her inside.
‘It looks very comfortable.’
‘Perhaps after you and Willie have carried your things in, you’d join me in the parlour, Mr Newland? Orla and Rhoda need to make up your bed.’
When he joined her, she indicated a chair, then got up and closed the door into the hall. She leaned against it, trying to stifle her laughter in her handkerchief. ‘Oh, my! Did you see their faces?’
He laughed too. ‘I did. It was nearly my undoing.’
‘I heard you turn your laughter into a cough. I don’t want to hurt their feelings. They’re a dear pair of women. But oh, the looks they gave you!’ She buried her face in her handkerchief again.
He chuckled softly. ‘I felt like a criminal brought up before a judge for poaching, or worse.’
‘What a way to greet a guest!’ she said when she’d calmed down.
He looked at her more seriously. ‘Are you sure I should stay? I don’t want to give rise to gossip.’
‘I’m certain. There really isn’t anywhere else, and we do have a spare bedroom. I’ll give you a cup of tea and something to eat when Rhoda brings in the tray.’
But his attention had wandered to her bookcase and he bent to inspect the titles. ‘You have some fine books here.’
‘I love reading.’
Rhoda brought in a big tray and Livia thanked her, before joining her guest by the bookcase. ‘Unfortunately, I’ve read all these several times over. It can get very quiet in the evenings.’
‘I’ve brought several hundred books to Australia with me. You’re welcome to borrow any that interest you.’
Her face brightened. ‘Oh, I’d love that. What are your favourite books?’
When Orla came in to say Mr Newland’s bedroom was ready, she found the tray untouched and the two of them studying a book of Mr Wordsworth’s poetry, arguing about which were his best poems.
‘My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky,’ Mr Newland was saying. ‘It’s such an evocative image, don’t you think?’
Whatever did that long word mean? Orla wondered. He sounded as daft about poetry as her mistress was. She cleared her throat, since they didn’t seem to have noticed her and repeated, ‘Your room’s ready, sir, if you’d like to unpack, and you’re letting your tea go cold. I’ll pour you both a cup.’
‘Oh, sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.’ He smiled at Livia. ‘We’ll continue our discussion later, shall we?’
‘It’ll be a real pleasure. Um … we’d better not waste good food.’
They ate hastily, with Orla standing by the door, arms folded. When
they’d finished, she led their guest to the bedroom, blocking Livia’s way, and hissing, ‘You’re not to go into that room while he’s here. Not one toe inside that door.’
Livia saw by his grin that he’d heard this, which meant she had to disguise a laugh as a cough again.
Orla left Mr Newland to unpack his things and went back into the parlour to collect the tea tray. ‘He sounds as daft as you about books and poetry and such.’
‘Yes. It’s a long time since I’ve enjoyed such a lively discussion. I must take him to meet Mr Deeping.’
‘You will be careful, won’t you, Mrs Southerham?’
Livia looked at her. ‘I have no intention of committing an immoral act with a near stranger.’
‘What a thing to say! You know I didn’t mean that. I meant, you should be careful about the impression you give people about you and Mr Newland. You’d have thought he was a relative, the way you two were arguing. You have to keep your distance. Best not be seen out with him at all.’
‘I’ll be careful, but someone has to show him round and Bram will be busy with Fergus and the rest of his family.’
But as Orla said to Rhoda in the kitchen, ‘Once she gets her head into a book, Mrs Southerham doesn’t know the meaning of the word careful. People are going to think the worst, I know they are. Why, the two of them were chatting as if they’d known one another all their lives, and them only having met an hour or two ago, from what I can tell.’
‘He seems a nice person, though, very friendly and polite to us.’
‘Appearances can be misleading. We need to learn as much as we can about this Mr Newland now. I’ve never seen her so taken with anyone.’
‘Mrs Southerham … taken? She’s not interested in men, not in that way. And she’s had quite a few chances to find a husband.’
‘I think she’s interested in this one, though she hasn’t realised it yet, Rhoda. She’ll not hide her feelings about him, either. You know what she’s like, too open for her own good.’
‘Well, we want her to marry again, don’t we?’
‘Yes, but he’s a stranger. He could be a murderer, for all we know. What’s he doing in Australia anyway? Why Western Australia? Everyone knows most people who emigrate go to Sydney or Melbourne.’
