'You'll be looking forward to seeing the boys and your cousin. Hamish, isn't it?'
Eliza nodded. 'Aye, Hamish MacDougal, He's my father's brother's son, just my age, but it's twenty years since I saw him. I doubt I'll recognise him, and he won't know me!'
'How long ago did they move to Quebec? I thought they were in Nova Scotia.'
'He and his family moved a year since, and took my lads with them. Och, it will be so good to see them again, even if Colin's with the army and can't get leave.'
'We'll be there in four or five more days,' Flora said. 'It's not long to wait now.'
When they arrived, she thought how different Quebec looked to Halifax. There was the massive cliff, from where the fortress loomed over the buildings down below, a busy port with numerous ships tied up to the wharves. Several ships were being built, and there was a buzz of activity. Instead of a small garrison town it looked far more what it was, a capital city. There were some fine buildings, and an air of bustling prosperity.
'That's Cape Diamant, that cliff,' William said excitedly. 'Eliza's cousin told us all about it. Behind the fort is where they fought that battle, where Wolfe was wounded.'
'Don't talk about battles!' Eliza snapped. 'How can ye get so excited about them when your son's likely to be killed any day!'
'Och, hush, the lad's not fighting. All they do here is drill and patrol the border with the rebel states.'
At last the business of docking was done. Once again Jamie went ashore first, this time with William.
'We'll go and find Hamish MacDougal and ask his advice about lodgings,' William suggested.
Jamie agreed. 'We'll need more than temporary quarters for a few months, until after Flora's child is born, and while everyone looks around and decides what they want to do, and finds land. I doubt there'll be much available close to the town.'
Eliza waited on deck with Flora, impatient for their return. Andrew, equally impatient after the long journey, went with Bruce to hire carts for the baggage. It was an hour before Jamie and William returned. Andrew and Bruce were with them.
'Well, didn't ye find him?' Eliza asked, disappointed.
William shook his head gloomily. 'He's left. They've all left, our boys as well, last spring.'
Eliza sat down again on the crate she'd been using as a chair. Flora took her hand and tried to give comfort. She could see that Eliza, tough, strong Eliza, was near to tears.
'Left? Where? For the Lord's sake, William, tell me! Did ye find out where they've gone?' Eliza managed to say after a moment.
'They've moved further inland, their neighbour said they didn't like it here, there were too many Frenchmen still.'
'That's a poor reason for travelling hundreds of miles into a wilderness! As far as I can see most of the people are French.'
'And they were able to sell the land at a good price, made a profit again,' William continued. 'There's so many new settlers, and land's cheaper further west, if you don't mind uprooting yourselves again. It's a place called York, a small place, we'll find them easily.'
'But it will take us another three or four weeks, though we can use boats along the river,' Jamie added.
'You mean to go too?' Bruce asked Jamie later when they were loading up the carts.
'William and Eliza think they'll be able to buy land, but I doubt it.'
'They haven't much money,' Bruce agreed. 'And Andrew's developed a taste for gambling. It's my belief he's lost money recently.'
'The idiot! One shouldn't gamble unless one knows far more about cards than he does! They'll need to rent from me for a while at least. I could help, and I feel obliged to them.'
'Even after Andrew's surliness? He never has a good word for you, and can hardly bring himself to be polite.'
'He's young yet,' Jamie said with a shrug. 'Besides, it would be company for Flora if we were together, if we could find land and perhaps start a settlement with people we know,' Jamie added. 'But Flora can't go away from whatever comfort we have here until the child is born, and that means waiting until after the winter.'
'We haven't all got the money to wait!' Bruce said. 'It's all right for you, you had savings. But by the time we've waited almost another year I'll have none left. And I'll not be beholden to you for more loans!' he added fiercely.
'I don't mean to offer them,' Jamie said. 'But I thought you'd be willing to rent from me.'
'I have little choice. But I need tools, and seed. We all will, and we have precious little money left for them.'
'Then I have a suggestion. There's plenty of work here for both men and women. There's a good deal of building in the town, it's growing fast. And there are the docks and the shipyards, They need men, labourers, it's true, but they pay well. If we stay here we could all earn money to live on while we're here, and save enough to fund the rest of the journey, and supplies to make life easier at the end of it. What do you say?'
***
Chapter 9
'I wish you hadn't accepted work in such a menial position,' Flora complained. 'You don't need to work at all.' She was huge, uncomfortable, could move only with difficulty, and longed for her child to be born.
'I'm learning how to build houses, the sort of job I'll have to do when we have our own farm,' Jamie said.
His tone was mild, and he smiled at her in sympathetic understanding. Flora knew he didn't mean to chastise her, and she felt considerable remorse for her complaints, but she was too weary and dispirited to explain. She had been fretful for days, and Jamie's forbearance, and his tolerance of her frequent outbursts, were more difficult to bear than anger would have been.
If he loved her, she thought, it would have been different. Then she could have confided in him her fears, her worries about the future. She had been so ill this time, yet she'd carried her first two babies easily. It had not, she knew, been just the strains of the dreadful journey which had made her feel so ill.
Eliza reassured her. 'It's barely two years since little Jenny came. Your body's exhausted, and no wonder,' she said. 'Tell your man to think of you before he demands his rights too soon.'
Flora had no answer. Though outwardly kind and considerate, Jamie had given her no more than dutiful kisses since they had quarrelled on the ship. It could be consideration for her poor health, but when she had been carrying the two girls they had never stopped making love, and they had whispered words of tenderness, or exchanged caresses, every single day. Now he was cold, and she did not even know if she wanted to go back to their former closeness.
She had discovered from discreet enquiries that Arabella and her husband were living in Quebec, but she did not know whether Jamie was aware of this. Would he seek her out, she wondered, and with a sigh thought she could scarcely blame him if he did. She was hardly good company herself these days.
They all found lodgings in two houses in the same narrow, winding street in the Lower Town. The rooms were cramped, and cheap, but no one could afford to spend a great deal, and they were spacious after the conditions on the ship.
Jamie wanted Flora to live somewhere better. 'You owe it to the children,' he said, 'and I can afford it. If we ever grow short of money there are plenty of wealthy officers in the barracks here, with nothing to occupy themselves with once their military duties are done with.'
'I thought you'd done with gambling,' Flora said in alarm. It wasn't just the thought of Jamie once more engaging in such a risky pursuit. If he mingled with the soldiers he would be bound to hear about Arabella before long. If by chance he did not yet know, she had no wish for him to discover that the woman was here.
'I have,' he replied now. 'I'm still rich enough for all we need. All I wanted was for you to wait for your lying-in somewhere a little more luxurious than here.'
'I prefer to be with the others, and to have Eliza at hand for when I need her.'
Jamie gave way. He and the other men and those boys old enough worked on buildings, or as porters in the docks. The women, apart from Flora, and Meg who stay
ed at home to help her, were employed as maids in private houses or worked in shops. Meg also looked after the younger children so that their mothers could earn much-needed money in preparation for their move to Upper Canada the following summer.
Meg was subdued, but brushed off all Flora's questions, saying she was well and happy, and nothing was bothering her. They were half way through November, and to everyone's surprise the weather had grown warmer. Expecting cold winds and snow, the newcomers found the sudden heat uncomfortable. Flora, in the last stages of her pregnancy, was breathless and always seemed tired, even though, as she complained to Eliza, she did nothing but a little embroidery. She did as much of this as she could, for she was selling it to one of the shops in the fashionable part of the town. Despite Jamie's reassurances she needed the satisfaction of being able to earn her own money. Besides, she told herself, every little helped.
'It's Andrew, isn't it?' Flora asked Meg one day in exasperation. She had risen early from the rest Eliza insisted on each afternoon, and found Meg weeping in the kitchen where she was pounding dough.
'Andrew?' Meg sniffed, and brushed away some tears with the back of her hand, leaving streaks of flour across her cheeks. 'Why should I care about Andrew?'
'Oh, Meg, don't cry! Andrew isn't worth your tears.' No man is, she thought. 'Is he neglecting you?'
Meg bit her lip, then began to weep. 'He never talks to me, never comes to see me, he doesn't want me any more! And I thought, I thought he wanted to wed me.'
Flora hugged her, but knew nothing she said would make any difference. The child was hurt, and probably jealous if she suspected he was attracted to another girl. Andrew had been callous in his treatment of her on the ship, and nothing, no warning then, would have made any difference to Meg. She thought she was in love. And Flora, having Arabella in the same town, even if Jamie was unaware of her presence, knew all about jealousy.
'Is he courting Annie?' she asked bluntly. She knew Meg had been envious of the older girl at the start of the voyage, and wondered if Andrew's former feelings for her had returned, despite what had happened on the ship. Men didn't usually remain faithful to women in Annie's position, she thought wryly, even when none of it was the woman's fault.
Meg shook her head. 'I don't think so. She's gone to live with that French family who live near the fort, to care for their children. No,' her sobs were renewed, 'he's met a girl, her father is wealthy, he trades in furs, and he says he might stay here, and not go with us to Upper Canada.'
'Make us both some tea,' Flora suggested at last when Meg's tears abated slightly. 'I'll finish the dough. Were you doing dumplings?'
She was just fashioning the last of these when the pain struck. It felt as if a piercing needle had been plunged into her lower back, and she clutched the table, doubled up in agony, trying not to scream.
Meg, turning away from the range where she had hung the kettle over the fire, forgot her tears and ran to help Flora to a stool.
'What is it? Oh, Flora, you shouldn't have tried to do that! Is it the baby?'
Flora nodded. 'I think so,' she gasped. 'It was never like this before, though.'
'Shall I fetch Eliza? She said to fetch her at any time.'
Flora shook her head weakly. 'Not yet. If she leaves her job at that house she'll lose money.'
'Her employer's a mean old devil!' Meg agreed. 'But what shall I do? I'm scared!'
'Put water to boil. And draw some more from the well. Go on, I'll be all right for hours yet. Babies take a long time to come. Then put the dumplings in the stew. The men will be hungry when they come home.'
Meg looked at her, and hesitated. 'Is it safe to leave you?' she asked, her tone a mixture of doubt and fear.
'Yes. Be a good girl and do as I ask. Then in a minute you can help me back to bed.'
***
Matthew Lennox, her longed-for son, was born late that night. It was a difficult labour, and afterwards Flora was told that only Eliza's skill as a midwife had saved her and the child.
'Came feet first,' Eliza explained the following day. Flora, utterly drained of both energy and emotion after the birth, had held him briefly in her arms and then fallen into an exhausted sleep.
She looked now at the crumpled face, the skinny body, and marvelled that so tiny a scrap had caused her so much weariness and pain.
'He's much smaller than the girls,' she said, 'but their births were so much easier.'
'Men are a bother even before they're born,' Eliza chuckled. 'But his toes and fingers are longer than poor little Rosie's were. He'll grow tall, you mark my words. Andrew was like that, a miserable scrap, and he's my tallest now, and he's brawny too.'
Within a week Flora was up, her former energy restored. All her ailments had vanished, and she delighted in her son, who was gaining weight with great rapidity.
Jamie rejoiced with her, but in a distant way. Matthew's birth had not eased the coolness between them.
'Meg, I can easily look after all the children now,' Flora said a few days later. 'I feel so well, and you could earn money if you took a job with another family.'
'You've been paying me,' Meg protested.
'Not enough, and we can't afford to be lavish in our spending. Our savings aren't endless. And it would be foolish for me to lie about as an invalid when there's no reason. Your father needs your money if he's hoping to purchase enough land in a year or two.'
Meg opened her mouth as if to speak, then snapped it shut. She nodded. 'I'll ask Eliza if she knows anywhere they want a maid.'
The weather suddenly grew bitterly cold, and Flora was thankful she could stay in the warm kitchen, looking after the children, instead of braving the harsh winds and freezing conditions outside. Jamie came home with cheeks burned red from the wind, his hands rough and covered in chilblains. Flora brewed tisanes of rosehips, and to ease the itching made ointment with marigold leaves boiled in vinegar.
'I should be used to working outdoors in all weathers,' he said ruefully. 'I've grown soft-skinned, like I was before we married, from having no labour during a whole summer.'
Flora had been busy boiling some small onions. 'I don't think we ever had it so cold in the glen,' she said. 'Here, let me bind these onions to your fingers, they'll ease the pain.'
It hurt to be reminded of earlier days, when she had been loved and happy. They were still distant from one another, and though both delighted in their son, his birth had not brought them closer together. In the night, when Flora lay sleepless, or rose quietly to feed Matthew, she would contemplate the future with misgivings. She had heard how isolated some of the more distant farmsteads were, occasionally miles from their nearest neighbours. If she had to live with only Jamie and the two children for company, could she endure it? Fervently she hoped the families from the glen would settle within reach of each other, able to visit. She would use what influence she had to make sure they did.
She saw much less of Meg these days. Though they had rooms in the same house, and Meg usually came for a few moments each day to ask if there was anything she could do, the girl was making friends outside. She had obtained a position as under-housemaid in one of the large houses in the Upper Town, the home of a merchant who also built ships, and her fellow maids, all Scottish, had made her welcome. She lived out, but her scant free time was spent with them. Flora hoped she was overcoming her infatuation with Andrew.
***
At the urging of Brendan they planned a party for Christmas, and Flora agreed to dress up.
'Though I can scarcely get into any of my best gowns,' she said wryly to Eliza. 'I haven't regained my waist since Matthew was born, not so fast as I did after the girls.'
'Never mind, you can tie this pale blue satin loosely at the back and wear that loose grey overgown that doesn't have to be fastened at the front,' Meg suggested. 'You'll look very elegant. And you must wear those pearls. Some of the people who've been settled here as long as Hamish will be coming, and we don't want them to think we're barbarians.'
'Try it now,' Eliza urged.
She helped Flora into the gown, and then Flora turned to the small box where she kept her trinkets. It was months since she'd looking in it, and at first glance it seemed rather emptier than she remembered. She delved beneath the polished stones, the coral necklace her aunt had given her, and her mother's silver locket which held snips of hair from both her mother and father.
'Eliza,' she said, her voice hoarse with shock. 'My pearls! They're not here! And nor is my diamond ring!'
Eliza stared at her in dismay. 'That can't be right! Tip everything out, let's see if they've fallen to the bottom.'
'The pearls were in a small bag, and the ring in a box. Neither are here,' Flora insisted as she tipped out the contents of the box.
They looked at one another. 'Then what can have happened? Is anything else missing?' Meg demanded.
Flora shook her head. 'No. Just the valuable ones. Eliza, what shall I do?'
'Could they have been stolen?' Eliza asked practically. 'I suppose someone might have come in here and found them.'
'I kept the box at the bottom of my chest. Anyone would need to have searched closely to find it. And they haven't stolen anything else. Has anyone else lost anything?'
'None of us have anything worth stealing.'
'Then it's even odder they'd look for my pearls.'
'Could thay have seen you wearing them, perhaps, and followed you home?'
Flora shook ker head. 'I haven't worn them for months. Not since Jamie and I went to see his friends before we left Glasgow. There's been no reason to.'
'Might you have left them there, at that big house?' Meg asked.
'No. I had them – ' Flora broke off. 'I remember now. I took them, to offer to the captain in exchange for milk for Rosie. He told me to take my baubles away.'
'Then what did ye do? Did you put them back in the box? Think, girl, try and think what ye did with them.'
To A Far Country Page 12
