"They'll want hot water," she said. "I'll get Sal to bring it. Shall I take them up?"
"I'll do that. You see to the food."
We went into a room which was large and rather sparsely furnished. There was a lack of comfort perhaps because of the wooden floors and rush mats. William Granville lighted an oil lamp and its light flickered round the already darkening room.
"You're seeing your new home for the first time in the dark," he said. "You're silent, my love."
Felicity said: "I'm very tired."
"Of course, of course. Never mind. You're home now."
We went up a staircase to the next floor.
"This room is the nuptial chamber," he said. I saw the french windows which opened onto the balcony. "Have to keep the windows shut up. Mosquitoes can be a plague. Them... and other things. There's a lot you have to get used to in the outback. Well, I'll show you Miss Annalice's room."
It was at the end of the passage. I was glad to be as far away from them as possible.
It was a smallish room, with bare boards, rush mats and a brass bedstead. There was a wash-basin, a cupboard and a chair—and very little else.
"There," he said. "This is where you sleep while you honour us with your presence."
"Thank you," I replied dismissively.
He hesitated, giving me one of those looks which I dreaded and hated.
I looked out of the small window. It was too dark to see much but I could make out some of the outhouses and the bushes in the distance.
A young girl came in with hot water. She could not have been more than fourteen; she was very small and rather scared to see William Granville there—for I was sure she was not frightened of me.
"Thank you," I said to her. I took the water and turned my back on William Granville. I was relieved when he had gone. And I was thinking: How soon can I get away?
Then the thought of leaving Felicity made me very uncertain. I argued with myself: How could she? Surely she could see what he was like. Or had he been different in England? I had the impression that he was a devious man.
When I had washed I went into the passage. I could hear the sound of voices below. I went swiftly to the room which he had called the nuptial chamber. I tapped on the door.
"Who's there?" That was Felicity in a high nervous tone.
"It is I... Annalice."
"Oh, come in."
I went in. She looked at me for a moment and I thought she was going to burst into tears.
She came to me suddenly and I put my arms round her and held her close to me.
"It's all right," I said. "It'll be all right. It's dark. Places always look different in the dark. It will be all right in the morning."
"I'm so glad you're here," she said.
I wanted to cry out: "I'm going. I can't stay here. There is something about the place ..."
I said nothing. I realized how much more strongly she must feel. She was trapped.
I patted her gently and was relieved to see that she was not crying. I wondered how he would have reacted to tears. She must be remembering that she had to face him and that woman downstairs.
We descended together.
Mrs. Maken was standing in the hall. She led us into the kitchen. "This is where we eat," she said. "Though sometimes we eat out of doors... Cook out there, too."
On the fire were saucepans and a kettle. William Granville was already seated at a long wooden table which was set at one end of the room, as far away from the fire as possible.
Mrs. Maken ladled out soup for us. It tasted good and we evidently needed it for I felt my spirits reviving a little. Cold beef followed. William Granville ate voraciously. He was rather scornful of what he called our "ladylike appetites."
"The outback will change all that," he said with a look at Felicity.
It was a relief when the meal was over.
"Well," said William Granville. "To bed, I think. We can all do with that."
He put his hand on Felicity's shoulder and smiled at me.
"Off we go."
I lay in my bed from where I could see the window. It was dark, but the stars were bright and they threw a little light into my bedroom.
I thought longingly of the comfort of home, and wished I could rid myself of this increasing uneasiness.
But I could not get Felicity out of my mind. What was happening to her now? I shuddered. She had changed. I kept thinking of her when I had first met her at the Billingtons'. She had appeared to look forward to her marriage then. I supposed the prospect of travelling to the other side of the world had appealed to her, and had seemed adventurous as it would to any girl. And now the reality had to be faced. She seemed to have lost all her spirit. Perhaps the only way she could endure the ordeal of being married to William Granville was to numb her sensibilities. I could well imagine that was necessary.
But what was I doing here? If only Miss Cartwright had remained with us she would have brought a certain normality with her. I wondered what she would have thought of this place, the meal in the kitchen, the voluptuous housekeeper...
I must get away. It was easy for me. I could ride into the township and discover at what time the next Cobb's coach left for Sydney. I would go and stay at that hotel for a night or so and on the first Wednesday...
How happy I should be to see Milton Harrington again! There was nothing in the world I wanted so much at this moment.
I thought I should never sleep, but I must have been very tired because I did.
I awoke early and for a moment I could not remember where I was. As I looked round the room memories came back and with them that feeling of dread.
But everything seemed easier in daylight.
There was a horse to ride, he had told us. I could explore the countryside. There was a sameness about it and one could get lost easily. I could well imagine that. But one could pick out landmarks. It would be pleasant to ride again.
Perhaps I could talk to Felicity. Perhaps she, too, would decide that she wanted to get away and we could escape together.
I noticed that some of the water which had been brought last night was still in the jug, so I washed with that. I could see that here I should have to dispense with the niceties of comfortable living. I dressed and went downstairs. It was quiet down there. I opened the door and stepped out. The morning freshness was very pleasant. I walked round the house, looking back at it. My eyes went to that wooden balcony with the broken staves; and I tried not to think of what it must be like married to such a man.
As I stood there, I was aware of someone standing close to me.
I turned sharply. It was Mrs. Maken. She must have seen me leave the house and had come up to me very quietly.
"Taking the air?" she said.
"Yes, it's lovely this morning."
"Before the heat," she said, her eyes going all over me, assessing me as it were.
She looked up at the balcony and then gazed sideways at me enigmatically.
Then I heard a laugh such as I had never heard before. It was jeering, almost uncanny.
I looked about me, startled.
Mrs. Maken grinned. "Kookaburras," she said. "Birds, you know. There they go again. There's two of them. They're often in twos."
"It sounds as though they are laughing at us."
"Perhaps they are. Come in and I'll give you some breakfast. There's coffee, if you like it. And I've got some dampers all ready."
I sat at the table in the kitchen.
"It's like a furnace in here when the fire's going." she said. "But we've got to cook though. Mr. Granville likes his food."
"The heat must be unbearable."
"Not much hotter here than outside. We cook out there sometimes. . .just before sundown. That's the best time. The flies aren't such a pest then ... but the food brings them."