But there! That, I suppose, is what Amelia means, he thought as he hesitated on the doorstep. My manners are lacking in refinement. I must apologize for my boorishness. She, of course, will be used to formality in the men she has met. Probably well bred with charm and finesse. He raised his hand again and gave the knocker a sharp rap. Polished and polite they will be in the art of conversation; and infinitely boring!
Moira answered the door. She gave him a neat curtsey.
‘Is Miss Harriet at home?’ he asked. ‘Or Miss Linton?’
‘Miss Harriet isn’t back yet, but Miss Linton is in. Should I tell her you’re here, sir?’
‘Ask her if she will receive me,’ he said formally. Drat, he thought, I should have brought flowers as a peace offering. If Jack had been here he would have reminded me. I can’t seem to do things right.
‘Cousin Ralph!’ Amelia invited him into the parlour. ‘I, er – we didn’t expect you until later.’
‘I came along the city walls. It took less time than I expected. Such lovely weather we are enjoying at present!’ he added.
She gave him a surprised glance. ‘Indeed we are.’ She gave a slight smile. ‘But it is to be expected in the summer!’
‘Quite so,’ he agreed. ‘Amelia—’
‘Ralph!’ she interrupted. ‘I was so very rude to you yesterday. I said such dreadful things and I do apologize.’ Her eyes glistened but she looked directly at him. ‘I don’t know what came over me, for what I said was quite untrue.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘You are right. I am self-opinionated. Jack says I am.’ He considered. ‘I don’t know if I am arrogant, I don’t consider myself to be better than others, quite the opposite in fact, especially if I compare myself with Englishmen.’
‘Oh, please,’ she said in some distress. ‘Please don’t compare yourself with anyone. I was quite wrong.’ She put her fingers to her eyes to move a tear and then gave a shaky smile. ‘You cannot
compare youself with anyone else, for you are quite unique.’
‘Unique! That is one description I have never heard applied to my character.’
They both laughed. How very attractive she is, he thought. Not pretty as Phoebe is, but fine bone structure and a lovely mouth when she smiles as she is doing now. He put out his hand. ‘Can we be friends then?’ he said softly. ‘Do we accept each other as we are?’
She blushed and put her head down as she gave him her hand, and nodded. ‘But I am still so sorry for what I said.’
‘I probably deserved it,’ he murmured and impulsively kissed her on her cheek.
Her eyes opened wide and she gave a small gasp. ‘Is this an Australian custom?’
‘No,’ he smiled. ‘Why? Have you had such another? Don’t tell me,’ he bantered. ‘Has that Jack-a-dandy stolen a kiss?’
He felt a fleeting moment of apprehension. Had Jack stolen her heart? He was such a buffoon sometimes. Did he not realize that women, especially sensitive Englishwomen, might take him seriously? The implications were too appalling to think about. He and Jack and others such as Phoebe, and Peggy his own sister, knew of the pitfalls, the ostracism, the exclusion and isolation that friendship between black and white could bring.
But Amelia knew nothing of these, and as he teased, he vowed that he must warn Jack not to
give out his affection too freely lest it be taken wrongly. The time has come, my friend, when you must choose, he pondered. Take a wife. Choose a good woman from your own race, one who will bear you children. Or marry a white woman like Phoebe, strong in stamina, character and determination, who would not be bowed down by prejudice or disapproval.
‘Ralph? Are you listening?’ He started as Amelia spoke.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I was thinking about Jack and Phoebe.’
‘Jack
and
Phoebe?’ She looked puzzled.
‘Yes,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘She understands him. I hadn’t realized it before.’ A picture came into his mind of Phoebe on the hay cart gazing down at Jack as he dallied with the affections of Amelia’s young sister May. Phoebe was amused by his behaviour and not in the least put out by it. And he remembered too how Jack had walked Phoebe back to her cabin on board ship.
Jack doesn’t pay compliments to Phoebe and it has nothing to do with her so-called white superiority or the knowledge of her father’s hatred of Aborigines. He doesn’t need to. The reality struck him. He doesn’t need to, because he is assured of her affection as she is of his.
‘I’ve just realized. Phoebe loves Jack!’ He blinked and gazed at Amelia. ‘I am convinced of it!’
‘Surely not!’ she began, ‘I thought that you and Phoebe were – ?’
‘No,’ he said vaguely. ‘I don’t think so. In fact, I have been so wrapped up in this business with Scott that I haven’t really thought about Phoebe at all.’ He gave an apologetic laugh. ‘Which is not the way to conduct a courtship.’
‘She is not the one for you, Ralph, though I think you are mistaken about her and Jack. He will surely take a wife from his own race?’ She wrinkled her forehead, considering. ‘Though if what you say
is
true, then if they stayed in England, it would perhaps be less difficult than in Australia?’
Stay in England! I hadn’t thought of that, he pondered. And what do I do now that I have discovered two sisters? Do I take them back with me or do I stay? Or do I leave them an annuity and then go, never to see them again? He looked at Amelia as she gazed at him and felt a strange stirring within him. And there are others to be considered. Had his confrontations with Amelia been covering other emotions? ‘Yes.’ He answered both Amelia and himself out loud. ‘Perhaps so.’
Harriet arrived shortly afterwards and Ralph told her of his meeting with Scott. ‘Are you saying that Edward Scott has denied our existence?’ she asked incredulously. ‘I cannot believe that even he could stoop so low. I don’t remember our own father,’ she said. ‘And Scott never allowed us to call him father. Not that Elizabeth ever wanted to but I always wanted a father figure. It wasn’t until Mr Thacker came
back again into our lives, after we had returned from school, that I realized that he could fill that role.
‘He was very kind to us, but it was difficult for him,’ she added. ‘For we were then living with Scott and his wife Bella, and Mr Thacker wasn’t allowed into the house.’
She looked around the small parlour. ‘We moved into lodgings as soon as we were old enough, and then Mr Thacker arranged the lease on this house when Elizabeth started teaching.’
‘I think that Scott will come here,’ Ralph said quietly. ‘He will come to threaten you not to say anything should I come enquiring.’
Harriet shuddered. ‘I’m so glad that Elizabeth isn’t here. She is very frightened of him,’ she whispered.
Amelia put her arm around her. ‘There is no need for either of you to be frightened again,’ she said. ‘You have friends and family now to protect you.’
‘May I stay?’ Ralph asked. ‘I want to be here when he comes.’
Harriet hesitated for only a moment, then said, ‘I wish that you would. I feel safe now that you are here.’
They ate a simple supper, then Moira cleared away and they waited, for Ralph was convinced that Scott would come that night.
Just before eight o’clock, as Harriet was deciding that it was too late for him to come,
there was a hammering on the door. Amelia and Harriet both jumped, the noise was so loud and insistent.
‘It’s him,’ Harriet whispered. ‘No-one else would come so late or knock so loudly.’
‘Send Moira to ask who it is,’ Ralph whispered back. ‘Tell her not to open the door.’
Harriet did so and Moira asked through the letter box who was visiting at such a late hour. ‘I don’t know who you are,’ a voice bellowed back, ‘but tell Miss Fielding it’s Scott and I need to speak to her immediately.’
Moira came back and repeated the message and was told what to do, whilst Amelia and Ralph escaped into the kitchen where they squashed up against the door, listening.
Moira opened the front door then let it crash against the wall as Scott and Mrs West came in.
‘So who are you?’ Scott demanded.
Moira flattened herself against the wall. ‘New maid, sir,’ she whispered.
Scott grunted. ‘Humph. Fortunes must be improving if they can afford a maid! Well, look sharp, show us in. Tell Miss Fielding we’re here.’
Moira had been told to say that Miss Fielding was out and that only Miss Harriet was at home, but she seemed to be struck dumb, and, grey-faced and trembling, opened the parlour door to where Harriet was seated by the fire. As she closed the door behind them she folded up into a heap and moaned softly to herself. ‘Oh, God in
heaven,’ she cried. ‘I knew something bad would happen if I came back.’
Amelia quietly opened the kitchen door and pulled her inside. She put her finger to her lips and whispered, ‘Whatever is the matter, Moira?’
‘Oh, miss,’ she croaked hoarsely. ‘It’s him! It’s him that I saw do something bad. If he finds out I saw him, he’ll kill me for sure.’
Scott, as he entered the parlour, glanced around. ‘You’ve come into some money then if you can afford a maid?’
‘No,’ Harriet said, more calmly than she felt. ‘I have obtained a position as governess and the girl is here in exchange for lessons. Our finances are the same as always. Depleted. Thanks to you,’ she added boldly.
He scowled. ‘I only took what was due to me for looking after the pair of you. Where’s Lizzie?’ he demanded. ‘It’s her I want to talk to.’
‘She’s not here.’
‘Then where is she?’ He sat down in a chair. ‘I’ll wait.’
‘You will have a long wait.’ Harriet folded her hands in front of her and stared at Scott. She had so far refrained from looking at or speaking to Dolly. ‘She is away. Not in York.’
‘Not in York? Who does she know who doesn’t live in York?’ His manner was rough and his tone harsh.
‘That really is nothing to do with you,’ Harriet replied. ‘And if you are going to be so disagreeable I shall have to ask you to leave.’
He stared at her as if she had taken leave of her senses and Dolly gasped. ‘How dare you speak like that?’ she trilled. ‘When you have had so much done for you.’
Scott put his hand up to silence Dolly. ‘Now look here, Harriet. I’ve something to say to you and you must tell Elizabeth as soon as she gets back. There’s somebody sniffing around, pretending to be somebody he’s not, and you must tell Elizabeth that if he comes here, she’s not to let him in or listen to what he says.’
‘Why would anyone come here to us?’ Harriet asked innocently. ‘We don’t know anybody.’
He shook his finger at her. ‘You don’t know anybody because you have kept quiet lives, and you have kept quiet lives because of what your mother did. That shame will lie with you for ever and will never leave you. Remember that as Elizabeth remembers it. Elizabeth feels the shame and
you
are getting far too uppity, young lady! Now, I’ll tell you,’ he glared at her. ‘If I want to, I can find out who your employers are, and if they should hear of your mother’s past, well – how long do you think your employment would last then? Eh?’
Harriet was silent. She was afraid of him, just as Elizabeth was.
‘Eh?’ he asked again. ‘Not long, I can tell you!’ He glanced across at Dolly who nodded in agreement and looked down her powdered nose at Harriet.
‘Not long at all,’ Dolly said in a satisfied tone.
‘They wouldn’t want a convict’s daughter working for them. Who would in their right mind?’
The door slowly opened and Ralph came in, followed by Amelia. He closed the door and stood against it with his arms folded. ‘And who then, in their right mind, would claim a convict’s son as their own?’
SCOTT’S FACE SHOWED
shocked surprise, whilst Dolly’s expression was one of incredulity tinged with fear. But Scott soon recovered and he gave a sly grin. ‘So, you got here first! I wondered if you would. You’re smart, I’ll say that for you. I had a wager with Dolly here as to whether you would find out, didn’t I, Dolly?’
Dolly nodded, keeping a mesmerized eye on Ralph.
‘Yes. You’ve come up to expectations!’ Scott expanded his chest and looked smug. ‘It’s a wise father who knows his own child,’ he quoted.
‘You hypocrite,’ Ralph spat out. ‘You had no intention of telling me of my sisters. You deliberately lied when I asked you if there were any other children.’
Scott shrugged. ‘I wanted to see what you were made of, if you would just accept the facts that you were given.’ His gaze locked into Ralph’s. There was no shame, no contrition. ‘How did you find out? Who told you?’
‘No-one told me.’ Ralph found that lying to Scott was quite easy and he had no intention of disclosing Henderson’s name. ‘I searched the records for my mother’s maiden name and found Fielding instead. The rest followed. I had hoped,’ he looked Scott up and down, ‘I had hoped that my father was a man of honour. I did not expect to be told lies.’
‘Now look here,’ Scott began persuasively. ‘Let’s begin again. We’re both men of the world.’
‘If being men of the world means ill-treating the children of your wife and having that same wife sent away so that you could marry again,’ Ralph’s fists clenched and unclenched in his anger, ‘then I am not one of them. And if that other wife should
unfortunately
die whilst in the care of my mistress, then that is definitely not my style. What was it you gave her?’ he accused them. ‘Arsenic?’
Harriet gave a gasp. ‘Not Bella?’ she trembled. ‘Oh, no!’
‘No,’ Dolly whispered, her face ashen. ‘It wasn’t me, I never—!’
‘Shut up,’ Scott bellowed. ‘He’s making it up. There’s no truth in it.’
‘There’s more,’ Ralph said quietly. ‘It has just come to my attention that the third Mrs Scott did not accidentally drown after all.’
‘What do you mean?’ Scott’s voice was low and menacing. ‘What do you know about it?’
‘You were seen!’ Ralph said. ‘By a witness. Someone who is willing to swear in a court of law
that you, and your friend here,’ he nodded over to Dolly West, ‘walked one on either side of that poor woman, holding her up. The witness assumed at first that she was the worse for drink, but now thinks she was probably drugged. Mrs West then walked away, leaving you and your wife by the river’s edge.