The Light Between Oceans (4 page)

It seemed years since Tom had heard a laugh that wasn’t tinged with a roughness, a bitterness. It was a sunny winter’s afternoon, and there was nowhere he had to go right that minute; nothing he had to do. He would be shipped out to Janus in a couple of days, once he had met the people he needed to meet and signed the forms he needed to sign. But for now, there were no logbooks to write up, no prisms to buff, no tanks to refuel. And here was someone just having a bit of fun. It suddenly felt like solid proof that the war was really over. He sat on a bench near the jetty, letting the sun caress his face, watching the girl lark about, the curls of her dark hair swirling like a net cast on the wind. He followed her delicate fingers as they made silhouettes against the blue. Only gradually did he
notice
she was pretty. And more gradually still that she was probably beautiful.

‘What are you smiling at?’ the girl called, catching Tom off guard.

‘Sorry.’ He felt his face redden.

‘Never be sorry for smiling!’ she exclaimed, in a voice that somehow had a sad edge. Then her expression brightened. ‘You’re not from Partageuse.’

‘Nope.’

‘I am. Lived here all my life. Want some bread?’

‘Thanks, but I’m not hungry.’

‘Not for you, silly! To feed the seagulls.’

She offered him a crust in her outstretched hand. A year before, perhaps even a day before, Tom would have declined and walked away. But suddenly, the warmth and the freedom and the smile, and something he couldn’t quite name, made him accept the offering.

‘Bet I can get more to come to me than you can,’ she said.

‘Righto, you’re on!’ said Tom.

‘Go!’ she declared, and the two of them began, throwing the pieces high in the air or at crafty angles, ducking as the gulls squawked and dive-bombed and flapped their wings at one another furiously.

Finally, when all the bread was gone, Tom asked, laughing, ‘Who won?’

‘Oh! I forgot to judge.’ The girl shrugged. ‘Let’s call it a draw.’

‘Fair enough,’ he said, putting his hat back on and picking up his duffle bag. ‘Better be on my way. Thanks. I enjoyed that.’

She smiled. ‘It was just a silly game.’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘thanks for reminding me that silly games are fun.’ He slung the bag over his broad shoulder, and turned toward town. ‘You have a good afternoon now, Miss,’ he added.

Tom rang the bell at the boarding house on the main street. It was the domain of Mrs Mewett, a woman of sixty-odd, as stout as a pepper pot, who set upon him. ‘Your letter said you’re a bachelor, and you’re Eastern States, so I’ll thank you for remembering you’re in Partageuse now. This is a Christian establishment, and there’s to be no taking of alcohol or tobacco on the premises.’

Tom was about to thank her for the key in her hand, but she clutched it fiercely as she continued, ‘None of your foreign habits here: I know what’s what. I change the sheets when you leave and I don’t expect to have to scrub them, if you know what I mean. The doors are locked at ten, breakfast is served at six a.m. and if you’re not there you go hungry. Tea’s at five thirty, and likewise applies. Lunch you can find somewhere else.’

‘Much obliged, Mrs Mewett,’ said Tom, deciding against a smile in case it broke some other rule.

‘Hot water’s an extra shilling a week. Up to you whether you want it. In my book, cold water never did a man your age any harm.’ She thrust the room key at him. As she limped off down the passageway, Tom wondered whether there was a Mr Mewett who had so endeared men to her.

In his small room at the back of the house, he unpacked his duffle bag, setting his soap and shaving things neatly on the one shelf provided. He folded his long johns and socks into the drawer, and hung his three shirts and two pairs of trousers, together with his good suit and tie, in the narrow wardrobe. He slipped a book into his pocket and set out to explore the town.

Tom Sherbourne’s final duty in Partageuse was dinner with the Harbourmaster and his wife. Captain Percy Hasluck was in charge of
all
the comings and goings at the port, and it was usual for any new Janus lightkeeper to be invited to dine with him before setting off for the island.

Tom washed and shaved again in the afternoon, put Brilliantine in his hair, buttoned on a collar and hauled on his suit. The sunshine of the previous days had been replaced by clouds and a vicious wind that blew straight from Antarctica, so he pulled on his greatcoat for good measure.

Still working on Sydney scales, he had left plenty of time to walk the unfamiliar route, and arrived at the house rather early. His host welcomed him with a broad smile, and when Tom apologised for his premature arrival, ‘Mrs Captain Hasluck’, as her husband referred to her, clapped her hands and said, ‘Gracious me, Mr Sherbourne! You hardly need to apologise for gracing us with your presence promptly, especially when you’ve brought such lovely flowers.’ She inhaled the scent of the late roses Tom had negotiated to pick, for a fee, from Mrs Mewett’s garden. She peered up at him from her considerably lower vantage point. ‘Goodness! You’re nearly as tall as the lighthouse yourself!’ she said, and chuckled at her own wit.

The Captain took Tom’s hat and coat and said, ‘Come into the parlour,’ after which his wife immediately chimed, ‘Said the spider to the fly!’

‘Ah, she’s a card, that one!’ exclaimed the Captain. Tom feared it could be a long evening.

‘Now, some sherry? Or there’s port?’ offered the woman.

‘Show some mercy and bring the poor devil a beer, Mrs Captain,’ her husband said with a laugh. He slapped Tom on the back. ‘You have a seat and tell me all about yourself, young man.’

Tom was rescued by the doorbell. ‘Excuse me,’ said Captain Hasluck. Down the hall Tom heard, ‘Cyril. Bertha. Glad you could come. Let me take your hats.’

As Mrs Captain returned to the parlour with a bottle of beer and glasses on a silver tray, she said, ‘We thought we’d invite a few people, just to introduce you to some locals. It’s a very friendly place, Partageuse.’

The Captain ushered in the new guests, a dour couple comprising the plump Chairman of the Local Roads Board, Cyril Chipper, and his wife, Bertha, who was thin as a yard of pump water.

‘Well, what do you make of the roads here?’ launched Cyril as soon as they had been introduced. ‘No politeness, mind. Compared with over East, how would you rate them?’

‘Oh, leave the poor man alone, Cyril,’ said the wife. Tom was grateful not only for that intervention but also for the doorbell, which rang again.

‘Bill. Violet. Grand to see you,’ said the Captain as he opened the front door. ‘Ah, and
you
get lovelier by the day, young lady.’

He showed into the parlour a solid man with grey whiskers, and his wife, sturdy and flushed. ‘This is Bill Graysmark, his wife, Violet, and their daughter …’ He turned around. ‘Where’s she got to? Anyway, there’s a daughter here somewhere, she’ll be through soon, I expect. Bill’s the headmaster here in Partageuse.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Tom, shaking the man by the hand and nodding politely to the woman.

‘So,’ said Bill Graysmark, ‘you think you’re up to Janus, then?’

‘I’ll soon find out,’ Tom said.

‘Bleak out there, you know.’

‘So I hear.’

‘No roads on Janus, of course,’ threw in Cyril Chipper.

‘Er, well, no,’ Tom said.

‘Not sure I think much of a place with no roads at all,’ Chipper pursued, in a tone that implied there were moral implications.

‘No roads is the least of your problems, son,’ rejoined Graysmark.

‘Dad, lay off, will you?’ The missing daughter now entered as
Tom
had his back to the door. ‘The last thing the poor man needs is your tales of doom and gloom.’

‘Ah! Told you she’d turn up,’ said Captain Hasluck. ‘This is Isabel Graysmark. Isabel – meet Mr Sherbourne.’

Tom stood to greet her and their eyes met in recognition. He was about to make a reference to seagulls, but she silenced him with, ‘Pleased to meet you, Mr Sherbourne.’

‘Tom, please,’ he said, speculating that perhaps she wasn’t supposed to spend afternoons throwing bread to birds, after all. And he wondered what other secrets lay behind her playful smile.

The evening proceeded well enough, with the Haslucks telling Tom about the history of the district and the building of the lighthouse, back in the time of the Captain’s father. ‘Very important for trade,’ the Harbourmaster assured him. ‘The Southern Ocean is treacherous enough on the surface, let alone having that under-sea ridge. Safe transport is the key to business, everyone knows that.’

‘Of course, the real basis of safe transport is good roads,’ Chipper began again, about to launch into another variation on his only topic of conversation. Tom tried to look attentive, but was distracted out of the corner of his eye by Isabel. Unseen by the others, thanks to the angle of her chair, she had begun to make mock-serious expressions at Cyril Chipper’s comments, keeping up a little pantomime that accompanied each remark.

The performance went on, with Tom struggling to keep a straight face, until finally a full laugh escaped, which he quickly converted into a coughing fit.

‘Are you all right, Tom?’ asked the Captain’s wife. ‘I’ll fetch you some water.’

Tom couldn’t look up, and, still coughing, said, ‘Thank you. I’ll come with you. Don’t know what set me off.’

As Tom stood up, Isabel kept a perfectly straight face and said, ‘Now, when he comes back, you’ll have to tell Tom all about how you
make
the roads out of jarrah, Mr Chipper.’ Turning to Tom, she said, ‘Don’t be long. Mr Chipper’s full of interesting stories,’ and she smiled innocently, her lips giving just a momentary tremble as Tom caught her eye.

When the gathering drew to a close, the guests wished Tom well for his stay on Janus. ‘You look like you’re made of the right stuff,’ said Hasluck, and Bill Graysmark nodded in agreement.

‘Thank you. It’s been a pleasure to meet you all,’ said Tom, shaking hands with the gentlemen, and nodding to the ladies. ‘And thank you for making sure I got such a thorough introduction to Western Australian road construction,’ he said quietly to Isabel. ‘Pity I won’t have a chance to repay you.’ And the little party dispersed into the wintry night.

CHAPTER 3