To A Far Country

by Oliver, Marina

  She attempted on several occasions to persuade Annie to change her mind about coming with them, , but the girl remained stubborn. She was staying with her lover, she fully intended to marry him when he was of age, and she pitied the others going off to a life of hardship and unremitting toil in the wilderness.

  Flora was unsure whether to agree with the last observation or not. On the one hand they would be settled, finally, in one place, but would that place be somewhere she could make into a home for her children? Would she feel isolated and unhappy? In the glen she'd never had these doubts. It had been all she'd known until she visited Edinburgh, and after meeting Jamie he and life in the glen were all she wanted. She had never envisaged anything else as possible. Their eviction had changed all that. She had come half way round the world, seen new places, lost one child and borne another, the longed-for son.

  It was Matthew who had broadened her ideas. Did she want him to spend his life toiling on the land, when there were so many more opportunities in the world? It would have been different back at home, she thought confusedly. That was her native land, it had belonged to her clan for generations. It was somehow different to be tending a new plot, for which there was no inbred affection, in which there was no link to her ancestors.

  In the past she and Jamie would have discussed it all, enjoying the exchange of ideas, but now they rarely spoke of anything but immediate, practical matters. They slept in the same bed, he dutifully kissed her at night, but demanded no other privileges. While uncertain of her own desires, Flora wondered sometimes whether Jamie had another woman, or even visited the brothels. She thrust away all thought of Arabella. Surely, if he met her, someone would have discovered it and told her. A visit to a brothel was different. Most men would regard that as nothing unusual. Jamie was a vigorous man, with, as she knew well, all a healthy man's appetites. She missed their lovemaking herself, so how much worse must it be for him?

  There was no one she could bear to talk with, to ask questions. Eliza would have been the obvious person, but Flora was convinced that in talking of such intimate details with Andrew's mother, she would not be able to conceal the attraction she still felt for him. More and more, as Jamie neglected her, she found her thoughts turning to the other man. What would it be like to make love with him? Would he be as tender as Jamie? Would she respond differently? She shivered in guilty anticipation, then forced her mind to other thoughts. It would never happen. Even if Jamie was betraying his marriage vows, she would not.

  The only excitement during the last few tedious days was the arrival of a steamboat, the Accommodation, which had for four years been plying the river between Quebec and Montreal.

  'Why can't we travel on her?' Andrew demanded as they all went down to the river to inspect this marvel.

  'Ye wanted to go and see the Charlotte Dundas on the Clyde Canal when you were no more than a lad,' Eliza said. 'Ye won't catch me in that, belching smoke all over us. I'd expect it to blow up. Steam's tricky.'

  'But it's so much faster,' Andrew told her. 'Soon all the ships will be like her, and perhaps even carts on the roads, too.'

  Meg shuddered. 'How would you get paddle wheels like that on carts?'

  Andrew cast her an exasperated look, and Flora suppressed a smile. He was behaving like a small boy, excited by any new invention. She would have her hands full managing with the strange plants, the different food, the birds and fish she had never before had to cook for her family. Life would be difficult enough in their new home without such fleeting marvels. They were no doubt interesting as examples of man's ingenuity, but they were unlikely to affect ordinary life.

  At last, a couple of days before the end of May, they were ready. Passages had been booked in a small riverboat, since the river was too shallow for large ships, and once more they faced the prospect of packing their possessions ready for another stage of their long journey in cramped conditions.

  This voyage took far longer than they'd expected, since almost every day the boat stopped somewhere to unload supplies or take on other goods. Dense forests loomed on both banks, beyond the strips of cleared land near the banks. Flora was relieved to see many familiar trees, the evergreen firs as well as oaks and elms, beech and ash. By the time they reached Montreal on its island mid-river, they were all heartily tired of ships.

  'At least it's a river, we're not plagued with rough seas and waves higher than the ship,' Jamie said.

  'And we can buy fresh food,' Eliza added.

  'How much further do we have to go?' Andrew asked. They were sitting on deck as they approached the river bank in Montreal. Andrew and his parents, Bruce and Jane Cameron, she and Jamie, were watching with some surprise the pale grey stone buildings with their tin roofs, many painted red.

  To Flora's secret dismay, Andrew had given in to his mother's pleading and abandoned his declared intention of remaining in Quebec. She enjoyed his company, but was afraid that if matters grew worse between her and Jamie she might find Andrew's presence more of a temptation than she wished. Not, she reminded herself wryly, that he'd made any move towards her. He was friendly, helpful, but no more so than any of the other men. He gave no hint of feeling any desire for her.

  'He says he'll try farming, but if he doesn't like it he can always go back,' Eliza had explained. Now she replied to his question with a sigh. 'The captain says we're half way to Kingston. That's on Lake Ontario.'

  'And then? How far across this lake to York?' Flora asked. 'That is where your cousin and your sons are now, isn't it?'

  'Yes, and I sent messages. They know we're coming, so they won't move on further this time. It's almost as far again. Maybe two or three days' sailing.'

  'Across a lake? That's a sea, not a lake,' Bruce said, overhearing. 'How big is this country we've come to? Does anyone know where it ends?'

  Jamie had been talking to the captain. 'It ends, but no one is sure how big it is. The far coast has been explored by seafarers for thirty years or more, since Captain Cook landed. One of his men was sent back a few years later to map the coastline. George Vancouver, I think his name was.'

  'So no one has travelled to it overland?' William asked. 'We could be the first, perhaps,' he added, grinning. 'Especially as there are said to be more huge lakes beyond the one we're going to.'

  Jamie grinned back. 'You won't be the first. The fur trading companies have a strong rivalry, and have been seeking different ways of getting their furs to the coasts. At the moment the Hudson Bay Company goes through that huge bay we're told is to the north, in Prince Rupert's Land, but it's frozen for much of the winter. The North West Company, which was founded by a group of Scotsmen, have used this river.'

  'But if they go west, it's a long voyage back to Europe,' Andrew pointed out.

  'Cook sold his furs to China, and they fetch good prices there.'

  'And do they know how far it is?' Eliza asked. 'Who were these first explorers?'

  'I don't think they know for certain, but it's a journey of many weeks. I'm told there are huge mountains in the way, but a man from the Hudson Bay Company, a Scot called Alexander Mackenzie, was the first man to cross them, about the same time that Vancouver was surveying the coast. Then another Scot, Simon Fraser, followed his trail only three years back, in 1808.'

  'Once I get to York I'm staying,' Eliza said firmly, and they all agreed.

  ***

  They had first, however, to remain two days in Montreal. Jamie had to see the Government officials who allocated blocks of land to settlers. When he was not busy with them he and Flora spent the time walking about the town. She found it oppressive, with the massive buildings looming all around her.

  'It looks very prosperous,' Jamie said as he and Flora strolled through the streets. 'There are so many big houses.'

  'There are many fur traders, I suppose, and furs are greatly prized, they fetch a big price. We'll need some ourselves if the winters in York are as bad as the last one, but we can't afford what they charge.'

  'We'll eit
her buy them from Indian trappers, or trap the animals ourselves,' Jamie reassured her. 'The beaver is the commonest, but there are other animals, rabbit and lynx and foxes, and the best of all is bearskin.'

  'Bears?' Flora shivered. 'Are they dangerous?'

  'They stay in the forests,' Jamie said reassuringly. 'When we have some land that's the first thing I'll do, after I've built a shelter for us all. I'll clear the forest.'

  'You may need to chop down the trees in order to get wood for a house,' Flora said slowly. She hadn't given much thought to the practicalities of life once they arrived at their final destination. Getting there had been enough to think about.

  'You can stay in York with the children while I do that,' he said. 'It won't take many days, they tell me. But it will be just a temporary shelter. We'll build a good house as soon as I have time to spare. You can plan the best location for it, when we have our land, and how many rooms we need, the best way to set them out. I feel guilty at dragging you away from your home, after all the promises I made.'

  'But you couldn't help that,' Flora protested. 'None of us could, it was that greedy laird.'

  She was touched at his consideration. Perhaps, she thought wistfully, they might be able to recapture their earlier love for one another, if she tried harder.

  He was smiling fondly down at her, and her heart beat faster. 'I want to build a better one for you and the children. I do love you all so very much, and admire what you have endured this past year.'

  They turned back towards the boat, where they had been permitted to remain until it was time to transfer their belongings to waggons for the short overland trek to Lachine, where they would board the bateau. As they entered the Place d'Armes they found the military drilling there. They stopped to watch, admiring the precision of the marching, and the bold colours, mainly scarlet and green, of the soldiers' uniforms, and when it was over went on their way. In front of them a couple strolled, arm in arm, the man's head bent attentively to hear his companion. Then he turned slightly and Flora, with a shock of surprise, recognised his profile.

  'That's Bruce,' she exclaimed. 'And it must be Jane Cameron with him. I know that shawl she's wearing. It's one she made herself, she showed it to me once. I know he likes her, but they behave like lovers, the way they look at one another.'

  Jamie was amused. 'I thought all women had second sight where romance was concerned,' he said.

  'Romance? You mean – yes, I suppose it's possible. I just didn't ever consider it, even though Eliza said something about it once.'

  'He's been a widower for four years. Long enough for any man to be alone. And she's a pleasant woman, not young, it's true, but he wouldn't want a flighty lass like her niece.'

  Flora felt immediate guilt. He didn't know about Annie, and her true reason for remaining in Quebec. Mostly she was able to forget the secret she and Andrew shared, but every so often something reminded her, often something unexpected like this.

  'It would be good for him,' she said slowly. 'But what of her sister and the children? How is she to manage without Jane's support? They were hoping to rent enough land to grow most of their own food, and she and Jane would earn money from the weaving.'

  'I suspect Bruce will take care of that,' Jamie said easily.

  That very evening, as they all shared their meal, a habit they had developed on this ship, Bruce and Jane blushingly told everyone that they planned to marry once they reached York.

  'And we'll all be working together, Jane and Isabella, pooling our resources, renting one big farm,' Bruce said.

  This news cheered the entire party. Much discussion ensued on future arrangements, for the wedding first, and then for finding suitable land within easy reach of York.

  'Governor Simcoe has built several roads starting at York,' Jamie explained. 'The land grants are mainly blocks near these. I'm hoping to obtain enough for all of us in one block, which we can then divide according to how much each of you wishes to rent from me. William, are you and Andrew still planning to buy your own land?'

  'Aye, near Hamish if we can, and if we have enough money left.'

  Flora breathed a secret sigh of relief. It was unlikely Jamie would find land too close to Hamish, so Andrew would be well away from her, and from Meg.

  Everyone seemed happier, and Flora tried to drown her own sense of frustration by helping Jane with her plans.

  Jamie remained aloof in private. The evening after Bruce's announcement, Flora had put her arms about him as they prepared for bed, and kissed him more fervently than usual. For a moment she'd felt him respond, and then he'd gently disengaged her arms, said he felt exhausted, and turned his back. She'd lain awake for a long time, feeling rejected and unhappy. The same happened the following night, and after that she gave up trying.

  By then they were once more sailing up the river, this time on one of the wide, flat-bottomed bateaux which seemed more like rafts than the many-decked ships they'd become accustomed to. They halted every few hours to unload supplies, and take walks on land. Andrew came back from one of these brief excursions ashore full of excitement.

  'I met a man who's helping to raise a regiment of Scots,' he said. 'The Glegarry Fencibles, it's called. He's expecting war.'

  'Andrew, I don't want any more of my sons fighting!' Eliza said, worry making her voice sharp.

  'I'm not intending to join,' Andrew said swiftly, but Flora could detect the faint disappointment in his voice. 'The interesting part is that he introduced me to the quartermaster, Alexander Fraser, and Fraser's planning to build a great house near a place called Williamstown. He showed me a drawing and it's a mansion! I though all the country houses in Canada were no more than log cabins, but this will be a fine house. It's something worth working for. That's all.'

  'We'll have barely enough to rent a few acres, by the time we get to York,' William said gloomily. They were all conscious that the money they had brought with them, and what they had earned in Quebec, was rapidly being spent, however careful they tried to be. The boat passages, the food, and all the other small expenses they hadn't, in the glen, had to make, were draining away their small capital.

  They all continued to dream, however, and some days later when they docked, the captain, having heard Andrew enthusing about the house he one day hoped to build, suggested they went to see one which had been built the previous year.

  'A grand house, Major Jessup's,' he told them. 'I went to see it on my trip eastwards. You've plenty of time while we unload if you want to go and see it.'

  Urged on by Andrew, most of them went. Meg, rather quiet since the news that her father was to marry Jane, offered to look after the children too young to walk the distance, but all the adults wanted to see this house.

  'It's a real mansion, so square and solid,' Eliza said when they stopped to view it. 'It's built of stone too, and look at all those windows. We'll never grow rich enough for this.'

  'We will if we work hard,' Andrew said. 'We don't want to stay farmers all our lives. I mean to see what I can do trading furs. I might even turn trapper.'

  'Ye've always had more ambition than sense,' William said. 'Be thankful with what you have, don't pine for what you canna, however hard you work, hope for.'

  Andrew said no more, but as they walked back to the boat Jamie began to talk of his own plans, quietly, to Flora.

  'Would you like such a house, one day?' he asked.

  'I need only enough to live in comfort, without want. I was happy enough in the croft, and that was no more than a small cottage. If we spent money on such a fine building, it could be a waste. That's a house for entertaining, for parties, lots of visitors, and who would we have to invite?'

  'We have to think of the children now,' he reminded her. 'We'll want to make sure they both marry well, and for that we need to make appropriate acquaintances.'

  Flora laughed. 'Are you thinking of a dynasty already?' she teased gently.

  'No,' he replied, serious. 'I've willingly embraced the life a a farmer
. I enjoy the satisfaction it gives to raise crops, see them flourish, but Matthew might not want that life. In Canada anything is possible, even a fortune from farming, and I mean to succeed. I want to give the boy the best of opportunities to do whatever he wishes.'

  'And Jenny? What of her?'

  'She'll wed, but I'd want her to marry someone who could provide her with all she wants, without her having to make the sort of sacrifices you've had forced on you.'

  Matthew was seven months old now, sitting up and beginning to crawl. Flora delighted in her son, and to her relief Jenny adored her brother, trying to include him in her games, and becoming fretful only when he didn't walk and run around as she expected him to.

  'He'll soon be catching up with you, lass,' Meg told her, laughing. 'Then maybe you'll be wishing he was still in his cradle.'

  'He'll be walking before we reach York if it takes much longer,' Flora replied, sighing. 'I don't think I could have contemplated the journey if I'd known it would take so long. It's over a year now since we left the glen.'

  'We'll soon be there,' Meg said, and relapsed into silence.

  Flora regarded her with misgiving. 'Do you mind your father marrying Jane?' she asked bluntly.

  Meg shook her head and smiled. 'No, not really, though it will be odd having her as a mother.'

  'She's only ten years older than you, isn't she,' Flora said sympathetically.

  Meg shrugged. 'I don't think that matters a great deal. I still miss Mom so much, and feel so dreadful about the way she died. I can't help thinking we could have saved her if only we'd known how ill she was. But she hid it from us until she couldn't pretend any more that she was all right.'

  A few days later they passed a vast area of islands, some no bigger than rocks. The captain told them no one had ever managed to count them all, but it was said there were over a thousand. Then, soon afterwards, they entered Lake Ontario, and Flora felt they were once more on the sea. It was vast, the shores to either side vanished in the distance, and she heard the captain telling some of the others that it became even wider further on.