Gallipoli Street

by Mary-Anne O'Connor

  He held out his hand to Rose who walked gracefully over and took it. A nervous-looking Mildred and Dr Dwyer stood as well, as one by one the stunned onlookers came to their senses and congratulated the couple and her parents. But the atmosphere was charged and Veronica’s eyes stayed on Jack, her heart pounding. The conversation petered into silence again as Jack and Gregory faced one another down, until Rose stepped forward and forced Jack to meet her gaze.

  ‘I am so very grateful for your kindness these past few months, Jack. You made everything…bearable for me.’

  Jack stared at her in disbelief, and Veronica watched him trying to reconcile what was true only yesterday with what was true now. Suddenly, he turned and left, Pattie running after him.

  ‘Jack! Jack, where are you going?’

  But Veronica knew it didn’t matter. Wherever he went he wouldn’t escape this.

  Alice watched them walking arm in arm about the gardens, a spectacularly beautiful couple both dressed in white, his blonde hair dazzling in the sun, hers as red as its setting glory. Never mind that everyone else is involved with the children or looking for Jack, she thought bitterly. Obviously they are too preoccupied with themselves to care about anything else. Let alone her parents. Alice felt no malice towards the latter for her son’s public humiliation. They were being forced to accept it like everyone else, with the added scandal of a secret courtship to deal with. No wonder poor Mildred could be heard weeping in her room.

  The children ran about, the girls all wearing their new bonnets, delighting in the horse rides Iggy and Dan were supervising, the lemonade Veronica was distributing and the swimming pool, where Clarkson and Pattie were playing games and watching out for their safety. Mary and Agnes were taking turns giving tennis lessons and the rest of the children had gathered in the annex with Clarkson Senior, Dr Dwyer, George and Kevin, still in raptures over the wonderful train set.

  The pavilion dinner was set to start at six, followed by a Christmas performance by the children, then it was off to bed for the little ones in the huge shed. The grown-ups would then attend the ball this evening until the wee hours, with morning mass set for nine, after which a large breakfast would be served before everyone set off back home.

  They used to have the Christmas tree after the dinner but every year it had become earlier and earlier, and today everyone felt they needed a boost, so the presents were given out pretty much on arrival. It had lifted all their spirits to see the young faces alight with joy, although Alice noted Rose hadn’t bothered to watch.

  So much for her love of the children, she thought angrily. She may have met this Chambers through an orphanage but Alice doubted she had done much charitable work while they were together, judging by the way she was pressed up against the man.

  She scanned the drive again, waiting for her devastated son to return, her mind alive with worries. Mick and Tom had left a few hours earlier to check for him at the Greengate Hotel, suspecting he was there drowning his sorrows, but as the hours stretched into the afternoon and more and more guests arrived she became increasingly concerned. How could she have been so blind? She should have listened to her own instincts; she knew what Rose was. Yet she had invited her here, given her free range into their friends’ kind hospitality, sung her praises for all to hear, only to be rewarded with this. The betrayal of her only dear son.

  And it was a betrayal. No young lady of honour would ever lead a man on in such a way, allowing him to court her openly, parade her about town for months, monopolise all her dances and be serenaded again and again in public, without expecting a proposal. Even the night before Jack had draped his arm about her on the couch in an intimate fashion, right in front of this Gregory person. Everyone had been expecting an engagement announcement this weekend between Rose and Jack and up until this morning she had suspected Rose was angling for her acceptance purely to gain a foothold in their family. Why else pretend to be so charitable and pious? And something else troubled her. Jack had known about the engagement this morning, yet he hadn’t known last night, judging by his behaviour. When had he found out, and worse, how?

  Alice sighed, moving into the house to see what she could do to assist the others with final touches to the dinner. The question wasn’t so much whether Jack would return, but what his temper would lead him to do when he did.

  Gregory Chambers watched his fiancée with amusement. Only Rose could turn a spurned lover’s world to her advantage, working the room with a grace and charm that melted every man into a puddle. Not so the women, he observed with a small smile, noting the hostility that greeted her every nod their way, but Rose was never concerned with what women thought of her. As she once said to him, it was the men that ruled the world: women were mere competitors for the associated power. A smart girl, his Rose. And beautiful. Despite the fact that she knew every woman there would know she had practically dumped that fool Murphy at the altar, she’d chosen a brilliant gold low-cut gown for the evening, prompting a ripple of scandal as she walked into the pavilion, almost causing the trumpet player to swallow his mouthpiece. She dared people to gossip about her. Let them say their worst, I’ve got my man, said the gown as she draped herself next to him like a cat.

  It was all part of her game. She might appear cocky and in control to the rest of the world but Gregory knew she really wanted a man to take her and possess her. Make her his plaything behind closed doors. Punish her for being the one who made all the men hot. Jack Murphy was a lightweight. He could never have handled a woman like Rose.

  She was a woman of insatiable appetites.

  He knew she would be tempted by the carrot he had so deliciously dangled before her, or should he say carat. Yes, they were two of a kind. Negotiators of the highest skill, although she had only made one request of him: an immediate wedding and an extended honeymoon in London, which she professed she had always wanted to see. He had no trouble agreeing, needing to attend to his business interests regardless, and six weeks in a luxury cabin with Rose followed by a year of living in London was a tantalising proposition. Besides, she would need to meet his English family and assume her role at his mother’s side. He wondered what she would make of Lady Chambers.

  Gregory watched the enormous diamond ring glide down the satin of her dress, sparking indignation from the women nearby and lust from the men and, all in all, counted himself a lucky, lucky man.

  Veronica felt it had been the longest day of her life, despite the sweetness of the children, who had earlier finished a touching performance of the Christmas story and were now lying bundled in their beds. Her stomach churned the entire time as she waited for Jack to return. What could she possibly say to comfort him now? ‘I told you so?’ Even in her worst imaginings she couldn’t have foreseen Rose playing this card. She’d known she was devious but this was just plain cruel.

  ‘Dan, rounding in on the left,’ whispered Tom as he passed by and Veronica quickly scuttled into the crowd to avoid him. He was after her for another dance but she’d had enough of trying to concentrate on deflecting his clumsy compliments, as nice as he was. All she wanted was to see Jack and know that he was all right.

  She found Mick at about the same time as Dan found her and she looked to her brother for rescue.

  ‘My dear sister, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure all evening.’ Mick grinned and offered his arm. ‘Excuse me, Dan, family first.’

  Dan stood watching in disappointment as Mick waltzed her about the floor, laughing.

  ‘Dearest, if you don’t want men falling in love with you, stop growing up and wearing dresses like that.’ He shook his head and she smiled, slapping his arm.

  ‘Stop it, you’re embarrassing me.’

  But he looked at her quizzically, adding, ‘I’m quite serious. You gave me a little shock, you know. You seem to have changed overnight. ‘’S awful. Now I have to swat my mates away from you. Look at that pup Dan. That’s it: he’s banned from all future parties. And I think Iggy needs to put his eyes back in his hea
d too…Made you look.’ Veronica found herself smiling again, as she turned her head back around, but not before she noticed Iggy was indeed staring at her, as were a few others. She had barely looked in the mirror, consumed as she was with Jack, but she had to admit the Christmas dress from her parents did suit her. Her mother had excellent taste and the folds were modest enough not to raise eyebrows, yet flattering to her shape. Mick’s brooch was secured at the centre of the neckline, the deep emerald stone adding a rich, exotic statement to the simple design of the dress.

  ‘Thank you for the brooch. I do love it. And I’m so sorry about this morning, I should have thanked you properly.’

  ‘Well I did buy it just after you were sick so it cost me most of my savings, sentimental fool that I am,’ he lamented, pulling a face, ‘and now here you are, using it as bait to trap my helpless friends and leave us all for good with some undeserving mug.’

  ‘I’ll never leave you,’ she promised, craning her neck to the doorway for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

  ‘Still looking for Jack?’ Mick looked at her knowingly. ‘I already told you: my mate Bob said he’d left the Greengate and taken off for home. He’d hardly want to come back here now. Don’t worry about him Vera. He won’t do anything stupid.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ she replied, still looking to the door, her eyes suddenly widening.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ he muttered, following her gaze. ‘Famous last words.’

  Veronica watched transfixed as Jack walked through the crowd, striding towards Rose and Gregory with a slight swagger to his gait. He still wore the same clothes he’d had on that morning and his expression was wild.

  ‘A word with you outside,’ he slurred, his fists clenched.

  ‘I don’t think that will be necessary, Murphy. If you have something to say you can do it here, in front of this fine company,’ Gregory replied, sipping his champagne. Rose looked at them calmly, but Veronica noted the whiteness of her knuckles as they clenched the skirt of her dress.

  ‘I don’t think Rose would like that, would you, darling?’ Jack’s eyes were locked on her.

  Gregory placed his glass down and stepped forward. ‘I appreciate you have a friendship with my fiancée, but mind your familiarity,’ he said in a low voice, his large body now menacingly close to Jack’s athletic but by far slighter frame.

  ‘Oh we are familiar with one another.’ Jack laughed harshly, squaring up. ‘Very familiar.’

  Gregory clenched one meaty fist and Veronica eyed it anxiously. Spurred into action, she broke away from Mick to walk over and stand between them.

  ‘Jack,’ she cried brightly, ‘there you are. I do believe you promised me a dance.’

  Everyone waited, including the band, as Jack wavered: he focused on Veronica’s face. Then, after a look back at Rose, he seemed to make up his mind. ‘Shall we?’ he obliged, pulling her rather crookedly into his embrace.

  Veronica looked at Jack, unshaven, reeking of alcohol, dishevelled. And hurt. Lifting her chin she began to dance. Tom made hasty motions to the band to play something and they quickly did so. Slowly others filled the dance floor as Veronica and Jack whirled around, missing steps but never taking their eyes from each other’s. Neither said a word and, as the song ended, they continued to dance the next. And the next. They danced until the couples gradually fell away. They occasionally nodded and smiled at passers-by but they kept on dancing.

  And when the final song ended and the band packed up, he bowed and kissed her hand, staring at her for a moment before whispering, ‘Thank you, my Vera.’

  Her eyes filled with tears as he stumbled away, shoulders heavy, and she stood alone for a while, the pavilion empty, save for the maids clearing away. Finally her mother came and gently took her arm, leading her up to bed and helping her into her nightie as she had when she was a child.

  The moon sailed across the sky through silver-lined clouds that turned gold as it passed. Veronica watched its voyage until her eyes finally closed against the night, one that would change the course of her life.

  Because she knew before she opened them again in the morning that her Jack would be long gone.

  Ten

  Bobbin Head, Turramurra, August 1914

  ‘Last one in is a rotten egg!’ called Pattie, running into the shallow waters of the bay, Clarkson chasing her. Gum-lined hills rested in a eucalypt haze and the sound of their laughter echoed through the valley. It was sunny but still a cool winter’s day and Veronica smiled as Pattie shrieked from the splashing of cold water.

  ‘Mad.’ Dan shook his head, watching them and grinning.

  ‘As a hatter’s tea party, I’m afraid,’ Veronica said agreeably. ‘Speaking of which?’ She offered him a cup from the Thermos and they sat in companionable silence, watching the others and enjoying the view. It’s peaceful here, Veronica reflected, if one discounted the raucous yelling and screams. It felt good to smell the earth and the damp and touch the sand. She had felt boxed in these long winter months, going through the motions of dreary household duties with a heaviness that woke her in the morning and drugged her to sleep at night. And it was more than that. It was an emptiness in her heart that made her feel as if nothing could ever be right in the world again.

  Dan looked at her over his tea. ‘Must feel good to get outdoors for a while.’ She smiled at him, thinking not for the first time how alike he was to her. If not for him things would have been worse, she admitted. Over the past months she had found a kindred spirit in this country lad. He too felt most at home in the bush, barefooted and close to the earth. Both enjoyed socialising, but preferred not to be the centre of attention, and she knew that he shared her restlessness, a feeling that life was on hold until the real adventure began. And so they had waited together, sometimes just sitting in companionable silence, like now, other times chatting as he milked the cows, shot the crows or fixed fences. And other times, when they could steal away, they had hiked down the creek to talk about possibilities and secret ambitions. He filled a void now that Pattie spent all her spare time with Clarkson and she knew she had made a true friend. But lately she feared something reckless was building in him, a new edge to the wilder side of Dan, and something more she wasn’t ready to face.

  ‘Feed me, you fool!’ cried Pattie from the water.

  ‘What’s this? I expected you to have baked for days preparing my luncheon!’ Clarkson replied, his long arms spread in mock outrage.

  ‘Open the larder sir or pay the forfeit!’ She laughed, running from the water and wrapping herself in a towel.

  ‘And what, pray tell, is this forfeit of which you speak?’ he demanded, shaking his hair dry as he followed.

  ‘I’ll set Buggles on you!’ She pointed at her furry winter hat, so named by Clarkson.

  ‘No! I surrender! In fact I may have just the thing…’

  Clarkson moved to the ‘larder’ as Pattie called the large trunk he had strapped to the back of the Sunbeam and began to produce an array of foodstuffs, including a baked ham, several bottles of lemonade, a loaf of bread and an enormous cauliflower.

  ‘A token of my esteem,’ he said, kneeling and placing the last in front of Buggles.

  The laughter continued throughout lunch and Veronica found that she was truly enjoying herself, relishing the simple fare, the beautiful surrounds and the excellent company. She had been looking forward to this picnic for weeks and it was well worth the wait.

  ‘If only every day could be like this,’ she sighed, packing the dishes as they finished.

  ‘Come on, it’s not over yet. Let’s go for a ramble.’ Dan helped her to her feet and they set off for the carriage track nearby, leaving Pattie and Clarkson to laze on blankets in the sun.

  It was steep going at first but it soon levelled out as they reached the edges of the rainforest, and Dan hoisted her onto a large sandstone ledge to sit and soak in the view. The blue-green river lapped against the narrow sandy shores, occasionally disturbed in expanding circles by jumping t
ailor fish.

  Dan broke the silence. ‘Do you think the water is the same colour in Germany?’

  Veronica pondered the question for a moment. ‘Well, they are quite deep, I suppose, and they wouldn’t have the sandstone, so I’d say no. Definitely darker.’

  He nodded, considering that. ‘I imagine I may have the chance to find out soon. If it comes to it.’

  Veronica felt her insides tighten. ‘No, I’m sure it won’t. It can’t.’

  ‘But if it does…’ Dan picked up a few rocks, rubbing them against the ledge thoughtfully. She stared at the water, searching for words that would stop what he would say next. What the young men would all say if it came to pass.

  ‘Veronica, I’ll be joining up.’

  It sat there between them, a giant rock, bigger than the one beneath them and just as immovable and dense. And there was nothing to say because of course he would go.

  ‘It’s not just for duty, is it?’ she asked. ‘You want to go.’

  ‘I don’t want war, Veronica –’

  ‘Yes you do.’ She said it simply, detaching herself.

  He seemed to struggle then, frowning. ‘No, I don’t want war, but I do want to go. It’s true. All the fellows will be going and it’s the other side of the world, Veronica! Just think! The fighting will probably be over by the time we get there anyway. I just…I don’t want to sit here twiddling my thumbs and leave my mates to it.’