Toby said that some people did that here. Their roots were in England, he supposed, because their parents or grandparents had come out and settled, looking for a better life. Some may have found it, but whether they had or not, the Old Country was ‘home’ even to those who had never seen it.
It was all very interesting to me a different phase of that wonderful life to which Toby had introduced me.
I slept deeply that night, and when I awoke, I got out of bed, opened the glass doors and stepped on to the balcony with the iron railing.
It was a very pleasant sight. I could look out to the harbour, its bays bordered by green shrubs which grew down to the water. There were tall trees, which I learned later were of the eucalyptus family, and yellow blossom which they called wattle.
I liked Elsie very much already. She was warm and friendly, even though she could not get on with Toby in marriage. But they did otherwise, well enough, I supposed, since he called on her whenever he came to Sydney. And standing there, looking out across that most majestic of harbours, I was thinking once more of this happy turn in my fortunes, when I was suddenly startled by a burst of mocking laughter. It was as though some satanic creature was jeering at me for my complacent acceptance of the good life which had miraculously become mine. I looked around. There was no one near.
When I saw Toby and Elsie, I felt tremendously relieved. They must have heard it too. They did not seem to be in the least surprised: they were engaged in deep and clearly serious conversation. It was all very strange, for they were not quite like the lighthearted people they had been the night before. If I had not been wide awake, I should have thought I was dreaming.
Suddenly they looked up. Their expression changed as they saw me. They were smiling now.
“Good morning,” cried Toby.
“Had a good night?” added Elsie.
“Good morning. Yes, thank you.”
“Goodo,” said Elsie.
Then there was that mocking laugh again.
Elsie made a clucking noise with her tongue.
“Those old kookaburras at it again.” And as she spoke, a bird about seventeen inches long, of a grey-brown colour, flew past and settled in a branch. Then another flew out to perch beside it.
The laughter rang out again and I realized that it came from the birds.
“They want their breakfast,” said Elsie.
“I feed them with the others.
That’s why they come here. Funny noise they make. But you get used to it. Laughing Jackass, they call them. And you can see why. Sounds as though they’re jeering at you. Perhaps they think I’m a silly old woman to bother with them. It’s time we had our breakfast, too, I’m thinking. “
I joined them and we sat down to coffee, bacon and eggs and freshly baked bread.
“The way they do things at home,” said Elsie.
“We stick to the old customs. That’s right, eh, To be?”
He said it was, and we talked about what we would do that day. He would be going down to the docks to the ship and he was not sure how long he would be away. Elsie was going to take me round the house and gardens and show me how they lived ‘down under’.
We were all very merry again. Toby left us as arranged and I watched Elsie feed the birds. It was a wonderful sight as they fluttered round her beautiful creatures of many colours. They looked like parrots and budgerigars the sort we kept in cages at home. These were all round, chattering with satisfaction as they flew round her. There was something essentially peaceful about the scene. I saw the kookaburras there, taking their share.
Then I heard their mocking laughter. It was no longer disturbing.
Elsie told me I would enjoy meeting people.
“People are different in Australia,” she said.
“Different from where you come from, I mean. None of this high and mighty ” I’m better than you are. ” We’re all equal here’ although some are more equal than others, as they say. ” She added with a nod, ” As long as they remember that I’m in charge and they do as I say then that’s all right. “
“Well, that’s just the same…” I was beginning to say, but she grinned.
“You’ll see what I mean, love,” she said.
“We’ve got two maids, Adelaide and Jane. You’ve seen Jane. Then, of course, there’s Mabel.
That’s the household. Mabe’s a treasure cooks and keeps everything going as it should be. Jem and his wife and son Hal live over the stables, but they’re in and out of the house all the time. And Agio’s there too. Sometimes he goes off, but we’re never sure whether he’s coming back. I don’t think he’ll ever go altogether. He certainly won’t while To be’s here. He’s got a special feeling for To be. Well, most people have. There’s something about him. Well, let’s make our tour of the house. “
We did. It was spacious and wood was very much in evidence. It was furnished with simplicity and with an eye to necessity rather than adornment. There was a wash-house, large pantry and storage rooms, a still room and a large kitchen with a huge range, ovens and a long wooden table.
I met all the inhabitants and I knew what Elsie meant when she said there was no formality as we had at home. Everyone was free and easy and, as Elsie said, that was fine as long as they did the work they were there to do.
“Who wants caps and aprons and ” call me Madam”? Mrs. Sinclair is good enough for me.”
She said that a little wistfully, and I wondered if she would like to be Toby’s wife in all ways instead of his just calling when his ship was in Sydney.
During that first morning, she told me that her grand father had been sent over to Sydney in the early days of the settlement. He was no criminal. He had aired his views too openly. He had been working in one of the mills and trying to get rights for his fellow workers.
“Like one of those Tolpuddle Martyrs. Well, he never forgot what they had done, but he wasn’t the sort to wear himself out railing about something that could never be put right. So, he set about doing his seven years and then he found a piece of land. He worked hard and did well for himself. Then he went gold-mining out Melbourne way. My father followed in his footsteps and they made quite a fortune. So there we were, in a country which seemed good to us, and there was never any talk of our going back.” I found it all absorbing and wanted to hear more.
“You will, love,” said Elsie.
“I was never one for keeping my mouth shut.”
“You must tell me. I shan’t be here long, you know.”
“Oh, we’ll find plenty of time to talk, you’ll see.” And so the morning passed and in the afternoon Toby came back. I was in my room hanging up some of my things in the wardrobe when I heard the sound of his horse.
I went to the window. Elsie had apparently heard it too. She came out of the house and ran to meet Toby. They were walking back to the house together. There was about them an unaccustomed seriousness-like that I had noticed early that morning when the sound of the kookaburras had disturbed me.
They hesitated for a while and stood still, talking earnestly. I called to them. They looked up and their expression changed. They smiled at me. Oddly enough, I fancied there was something forced about their smiles; and the uneasy feeling that all was not as well as they wanted me to believe came to me. I almost expected to hear the mocking laugh of the birds, but, having been fed, they had moved off. I went downstairs to meet Toby and Elsie.
“You’ve had a good morning, I gather, looking round the place,” said Toby.
“Oh yes, it was very interesting.”
Elsie said: To be wants to talk to you, love. ” She looked almost appealingly at Toby, and went on: ” Look, why don’t you do it now? Go into the sitting-room . just the two of you. “