Meet Rose

by Sherryl Clark

  No. Rose sat up straight and clenched her hands. Aunt Alice had just given her the most exciting day of her life. How could that be wrong? She would not let Mother turn Aunt Alice out. She would argue and get Father’s support and be as stubborn as a mule, so there!

  The horse trotted in through the iron gates and Aunt Alice paid the driver. Rose glanced around. ‘Maybe that wasn’t her in the carriage.’

  But as they walked up the steps, the front door swung open and there stood Mother, still wearing her hat and gloves. Her face was set like a stone mask, but her eyes glittered angrily.

  ‘Where have you been, Rose?’

  ‘Into town,’ Rose said, wishing her stomach didn’t have such huge butterflies bumping around in it. ‘I … we … we saw Father.’

  ‘Don’t lie to me, Rose!’ Mother stood back. ‘Come inside. Now.’

  Rose walked into the hallway, her legs shaking, her throat bone dry. She had never seen Mother so angry before, not even when Rose broke her favourite vase with her cricket ball.

  ‘Alice, how dare you take my daughter into such a place!’

  ‘Elizabeth, half of Melbourne has visited Coles Arcade,’ Aunt Alice said calmly.

  ‘Not the half I wish to be associated with,’ Mother snapped. ‘I want you to –’

  Rose interrupted. ‘Coles Arcade is a wonderful place, Mother, and Aunt Alice is not to blame. I asked to go there.’

  Mother’s face turned a deep red. ‘That is a perfect example of what a bad influence you are, Alice. Whatever manners Rose might have had are nowhere to be seen. She has turned into the rudest child I have ever met!’ Mother sucked in a deep breath, then spat out, ‘Alice, you are no longer welcome under my roof.’

  Rose was horrified. She opened her mouth to protest, but Aunt Alice said, ‘Ah, but it’s not your house, Elizabeth. I’ll leave when Daniel asks me to, and not before.’ She turned and walked up the stairs, her back straight, her head held high.

  Mother stared down at Rose, her hands clasped so tightly in front of her that her knuckles were white. ‘You are to go to your room and stay there until I say you may leave. That may be never. Go!’

  Rose rushed up the stairs, tears spilling down her face, and slammed her door. Mother was the meanest, cruellest person in the whole world! How could she tell Aunt Alice to leave? It wasn’t fair!

  Rose paced around her room, muttering to herself, then flung open her wardrobe doors. Lying on top of her underwear was the dreaded corset. That, she thought, is the cause of all of my troubles. And I intend to do something about it.

  Rose pulled the corset out and dropped it on the floor. She stamped on it with both feet, but that wasn’t enough. What else? She grabbed the scissors from her sewing basket and started cutting at the corset. Some parts were too stiff, but she made half a dozen satisfyingly large holes, then marched it out of her room and down the stairs.

  Voices rang out from the drawing room. She stopped – Mother’s voice was so loud, Rose could hear every word. Who was she talking to? Martha?

  ‘It’s not enough that she has ruined her own reputation, now she has to cast a shadow over our family, too!’

  The bubbling anger inside Rose spilled over like a red-hot fountain, and she pushed open the drawing-room door.

  ‘Why are you being so unfair? Aunt Alice has done nothing – oh!’ It wasn’t Martha standing by the fireplace, it was Father.

  ‘Rose, you seem a little upset.’ Father’s face was stern.

  Rose’s mouth took over before she could stop it. ‘Mother is making me miserable! And she is angry with Aunt Alice for no good reason. It was you who told us to go to Parer’s Crystal Palace for luncheon, Father, and it was wonderful, and so was Coles Arcade, which I have wanted to visit for ever so long, and Mother won’t let me do anything interesting, and on top of all of that, she is trying to make me wear this!’ With that, Rose threw the ruined corset on the floor.

  Mother’s face had gone from bright red to a strangely pale grey, and she sat down abruptly in an armchair. She fanned her face for a few moments and made little gasping noises. Rather than rush to her side, Father remained by the fireplace, looking at Rose with a bemused expression.

  Finally, Mother managed to get some words out. ‘The – the corset! Alice has turned our little girl into a … demon!’ She suddenly looked up at Father. ‘What does she mean – you told them to go to Parer’s? They serve alcohol there! Surely Alice is not corrupting you, too?’

  Rose knew in an instant that Mother had gone too far. The twinkle disappeared from Father’s eyes and his moustache drew down at the corners. ‘That is quite enough, Elizabeth. Alice is my sister, and she is welcome in this house for as long as she wishes to put up with your rudeness.’

  ‘How could you?’ Mother gasped again, and rose to her feet, taking a deep breath and thrusting out her chest. ‘Very well, Daniel. I will suffer her presence. But she must not be allowed to influence Rose.’

  Rose knew what that meant – she wouldn’t be allowed to spend any time with Aunt Alice at all. Rose planted her feet and put her hands on her hips. ‘I will run away, then. If my life is to be nothing but stupid embroidery with Miss Parson and wearing something that squeezes me half to death, then I might as well run away.’

  ‘Rose! How could you be so rude? Do you see now what I mean, Daniel?’ Mother said. She was waving her fan about so much that Rose thought she might hit someone with it. ‘What hope do we have that Rose will grow up and become a proper lady like Martha?’

  Father looked down at the ruined corset, and then at Rose, who folded her arms tightly and stuck out her chin. She was not a young lady now and she never would be, so Mother had better get used to the idea. She met Father’s gaze steadily, managing to hold back and wait for his answer.

  He rubbed his chin slowly and nodded, as if having a conversation with himself. Rose’s stomach began to do flips. Was he going to agree with Mother that she was rude and ill-behaved? She almost stopped breathing when he let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t let her down now – he couldn’t!

  ‘Elizabeth, I suspect that Rose will never be the kind of young lady you want her to be. Rose, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ His tone was serious and Rose’s knees felt wobbly.

  ‘Married, of course,’ Mother said. ‘To someone from a suitable family.’

  Rose shook her head. ‘No, I don’t. Today I thought I’d like to be a tram driver.’ She ignored her mother’s yelp of horror and went on. ‘But I know I wouldn’t be strong enough to pull on the grips. So instead I plan to go to university.’

  ‘That’s entirely possible now,’ Father said. ‘The University has been taking girls for a few years. What would you study?’

  Rose wished she had a perfect answer, but decided she should just be honest.

  ‘I don’t know yet. There are so many things I am interested in – geology, history, how things are built, people from other lands.’

  ‘Utterly ridiculous,’ Mother said.

  ‘You’re not interested in business?’ Father asked. ‘You wouldn’t want to take over the Emporium?’

  Now Rose was sure she could see laughter in his eyes. ‘No, thank you,’ she said with a grin.

  ‘You might think this is amusing, Daniel,’ Mother said. ‘But I will not have Rose bringing such disgrace on us. You forget what Melbourne society is like. What if she ruins Martha’s chances of making a good match?’

  Father sighed. ‘Ah yes, Martha and Lord Elton’s nephew. How could I forget?’

  Rose bit her lip. Surely she wasn’t spoiling things for Martha?

  ‘Exactly,’ Mother said. ‘He’s expected for dinner this evening, and instead of making sure the menu is ready, I have had to deal with Alice and Rose.’

  ‘Then I will take over,’ Father said. ‘You must oversee this dinner as only you know how.’ He shooed Mother out of the drawing room and turned back to Rose.

  ‘So, it’s university you have your heart set on, is it?’
/>   ‘Yes, but Mother–’

  ‘Your mother will be fine, now she has had her say. But …’ He sat and took Rose’s hands in his own large, warm ones. ‘Rosie, I can see you are set on a different path, one that might cause you trouble and heartache. I suspect, though, that you are tough enough to stick it out. I’ll do my best to help you, I promise.’

  ‘Thank you, Father!’ Rose thought for a moment. ‘But what about Martha? Am I really ruining her chances with Lord What’s-His-Name?’

  ‘I doubt it. Martha is not old enough for marriage yet, anyway.’ He looked down at the shredded corset. ‘And I agree – you are far too young to wear this. I will have it thrown out.’

  Rose threw her arms around Father and hugged him tightly. ‘Thank you. That’s almost the best part of today – except for those monkeys in Coles Arcade.’ She paused. ‘May I ask for one more thing? Please?’

  ‘Just one?’ Father said, laughing.

  Rose took a deep breath and screwed up all her courage. ‘I’ll never go to university if I have only Miss Parson to teach me. Father, I really, really want to go to school. Do you think it might be possible?’

  ‘I’m sure it will be one day.’ Father smiled, and tweaked her chin. ‘The world is changing, and even your mother might find herself changing with it.’

  And Rose had to be happy with that – for now.

  I was born and grew up in New Zealand, on a dairy farm, and travelled all the way around the world before I eventually came to Australia. My oldest sister, Karen, was a world traveller and I wanted to be just like her.

  I arrived in Australia in 1978. I was only planning to stay for three months but I’m still here, and now I am a citizen.

  At school, I learned a lot about European history but nothing about Australia. I had no idea how the government worked, or that the states were independent until Federation. And what was Federation anyway?

  Writing Rose’s story meant a huge amount of research, which I love, and I suspect I now know more about early Melbourne and Federation than most Aussies!

  I was born and grew up in Italy, a beautiful country to visit, but also a difficult country to live in for new generations.

  In 2006, I packed up my suitcase and I left Italy with the man I love. We bet on Australia. I didn’t know much about Australia before coming – I was just looking for new opportunities, I guess.

  And I liked it right from the beginning! Australian people are resourceful, open-minded and always with a smile on their faces. I think all Australians keep in their blood a bit of the pioneer heritage, regardless of their own birthplace.

  Here I began a new life and now I’m doing what I always dreamed of: I illustrate stories. Here is the place where I’d like to live and to grow up my children, in a country that doesn’t fear the future.

  In 1900, life was a lot more restrictive for women than it is today. In most parts of Australia, women weren’t allowed to vote. Only a few got the chance to go to university, and it was difficult for women to have careers of their own.

  This conservatism was reflected in the clothing of the time. Women wore floor-length dresses with large puffed sleeves and high necklines. Corsets that shaped you into the letter S were very popular, and girls as young as six might wear one. If you were going out, you always wore a hat and gloves, and on sunny days a parasol to shade you from the sun was a must.

  Girls wore smock dresses and pinafores until they were fourteen or so. The fashion was to wear white, so you can imagine how hard that would have been to keep clean.

  Most women had long hair that they curled in rags or papers. If your hair was thin, you could put a horsehair pad on your head and pin your hair over it to make it look thicker.

  Well-to-do women had their clothing made by tailors. The first ready-made clothes were blouses, and were usually worn by poorer women. Some women wore pantaloons, so they could ride bicycles and play sport, but these were frowned upon as being unladylike.

  Girls like Rose and women like Aunt Alice had to fight for the rights they felt entitled to. They were modern thinkers, ahead of their time, and made it possible for Australian girls today to have many choices – not only in the clothes they wear but in the lives they lead.

  The suffragettes often used posters to help their campaigns. Strong images could really get their message across, especially to those who couldn’t read well.

  DID YOU KNOW THAT IN 1900 …

  There was a fire in the roof of Buckingham Palace.

  * * *

  Women in Germany demanded to be allowed to go to university.

  * * *

  Over 1,000 tonnes of waste was removed from demolished buildings in Sydney after an outbreak of the bubonic plague.

  * * *

  In France, the length of a legal workday for women and children was limited to 11 hours.

  * * *

  Hawaii became part of the United States.

  * * *

  The King of Italy was assassinated.

  * * *

  There was a hurricane in Texas.

  * * *

  The Olympic Games were held in Paris.

  * * *

  Coca-Cola went on sale in Britain for the first time.

  * * *

  A group of schoolgirls disappeared at Hanging Rock.

  * * *

  Rose ran along the hallway to Aunt Alice’s room, tapped on the door and rushed in, banging the door back against the wall. ‘Aunt Alice, do you think – oh!’ She stopped short. The person who stood in front of her was not Aunt Alice.

  It was Miss Parson! The governess froze, colour leeching from her face, her mouth open. She clutched something tightly in one hand.

  Rose’s heart banged against her ribs. ‘Are you … are you supposed to be in here?’

  ‘I … I came to … borrow a book,’ Miss Parson stuttered.

  Rose stared at Miss Parson – she wasn’t holding any books at all, but her hand was still clenched. ‘What have you got there?’

  ‘Nothing. Er … one of my hair pins fell out, that’s all.’ Miss Parson took a shuddering breath and moved forward, brushing past Rose and heading for the hallway without another word.

  Phew! Rose was baffled, but she had a feeling Miss Parson had been lying. Rose checked Aunt Alice’s drawers and, sure enough, it looked like someone had been rummaging through them. She opened the jewellery box but she couldn’t tell if anything was missing. She’d have to ask Aunt Alice later.

  Rose’s heartbeat slowly returned to normal while she puzzled over Miss Parson’s behaviour. Was she just snooping? She’d often snooped in Rose’s room. And if she was stealing things, why? Was she so very poor, like the people Rose had seen being evicted from their house in town? Yet she had a room in Rose’s house to live in, plenty of food to eat, and a yearly wage. Maybe she had debts? thought Rose. But if so, why didn’t she steal really valuable things that she could sell?

  These worrying thoughts were like sharp teeth nibbling at her. Aunt Alice mightn’t be back for ages, and there was no use asking Mother – she’d demand an explanation and then Miss Parson would be in tremendous trouble. Mother would dismiss her, and maybe she’d even go to gaol. That would be awful! Even if she was stealing, Rose didn’t want bad things to happen to her.

  Father was at the Emporium. Edward was at school. What about Martha? Rose walked to the other end of the hallway, to Martha’s room, and knocked.

  ‘Who is it?’ Martha called in a soft voice.

  ‘Rose.’

  ‘Come in,’ Martha said.

  Rose entered and found Martha’s room in near-darkness. The curtains were closed and no lights were on, apart from a small lamp on the wall. Martha lay on her bed, a cloth over her eyes. Thoughts of Miss Parson flew out of Rose’s head. ‘Are you sick?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘Just a headache,’ Martha whispered. ‘It’ll go away soon.’

  ‘Oh. I’ll go away too, then.’

  ‘No, no, stay,’ Martha said. ‘I hardly
ever see you anymore, or talk to you.’

  ‘Well, you’re very busy dressing up with Mother and thinking about getting married,’ Rose said. She plopped herself down on the chair next to Martha’s bed and leant forward, resting her arms on the bedcovers. ‘Maybe that’s why you have a headache. Your brain is tired of hats and hair and hat pins.’

  Martha smiled. ‘I think my head is tired of Lord Elton’s nephew, Raymond.’

  ‘Is he handsome?’ Rose asked. ‘Or is he rich?’

  ‘He’s both,’ Martha said, ‘but he is a complete ninny. Spends all his time gambling and riding horses and pretending he is someone special. Ugh!’ She shuddered. ‘I’d rather die than marry someone like that.’

  ‘Me, too.’ Rose stroked Martha’s forehead, and sprinkled cool water from a jug onto the cloth.

  ‘Oh that is so nice,’ Martha said. ‘Anyway, Raymond says he may go back to England next week, thank goodness.’ She closed her eyes and Rose waited, and then wondered if she had fallen asleep.

  But a smile crept across Martha’s face. ‘I still can’t believe you cut up your corset.’

  ‘Mother nearly had a fit!’ The memory still made Rose laugh, even though it was weeks ago.

  ‘Good for you. The corset she bought me is hurting my back terribly, but she won’t listen. I may have to take to it with the scissors.’ She opened her eyes and stared at Rose. ‘Now, something is bothering you, I can tell, and it’s not the corset. What is it?’

  Rose hesitated. Could she really accuse Miss Parson without knowing for sure if she’d taken something?

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