“That is my father’s,” I accused.
“He left it here with me.”
“It would belong to me now.”
“He left it to me.”
I had stood up and went over to look at it closely. I held , the white ivory queen in my hand and was reminded so vividly of my father that I wanted to cry.
Lynx stood beside me.
“Your name is on it,” he said, pointing to one of the squares.
“We wrote our names on it when we won for the first time. That’s my grandfather. The chess set has been in the family for years.”
“Three generations,” he said.
“And the outsider.” He pointed to his own name written boldly in one of the centre squares.
“So you beat my father.”
“Now and then. And you did, too.”
“He was a fine player. I believe that when I won he allowed me to.”
“When you play with me I shall not allow you to win. I play for myself and you will play for yourself.”
You are suggesting that we play chess together? “
Why not? I enjoy the game. “
“On my father’s board,” I went on.
“It has become mine. You forgot. And why not play on it? It is a joy to touch such beautiful pieces.”
“I always understood it would be mine.”
“Let me strike a bargain with you. On the day you beat me it shall be yours.”
“Should I be asked to play for what should be mine by right?”
“It is suggested that you play to regain it ” Very well. When do we play? “
“Why not now? Would you care to?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I will play now for my chess board and men.”
“There is no time like the present. And that is another saying from home.”
We sat down opposite each other. Clearly I could see the golden eyebrows, the white slender hands with the jade ring. Stirling’s hands were slightly spatulate and I found myself continually comparing the two men. He reminded me of Stirling, yet the son was like a pale reflection of the father. I hated to admit that I had thought such a thing because it was disloyal to Stirling. Stirling is kind, I thought. This man is cruel. I understand Stirling but who could ever be sure what was behind that glittering blue barrier. He had noticed that I was looking at his hands and held them out for me to see more clearly.
“You see the carving on this ring. It’s the head of a lynx. That is what I am called. This ring is my seal. It was given me years ago by my father-in-law.”
“It’s a very fine piece of jade.”
“And a fine carving. Suitable, don’t you think?”
I nodded and reached for the white king’s pawn.
I quickly realized that I was no match for him, but I played with such concentration that again and again I foiled his efforts to checkmate me. It was a defensive game for me and it was three-quarters of an hour before he had cornered me-a climax, I sensed, he had expected to achieve in ten minutes.
“Checkmate,” he said quietly and firmly and I saw that there was no way out.
“But it was a good game, wasn’t it?” he went on.
“We must play again some time.”
“If you think me worthy,” I replied.
“I am sure you could find an opponent more in your class.”
“I like playing with you. And don’t forget you have to win that set.
Don’t forget, also, that I am not like your father. I shall give no concessions. When you win you will know that the victory was genuine I was very excited when I left him and I could not sleep for a long time that night; when I did I dreamed that all the pieces on the board came to life and the victorious king had the eyes of the Lynx.
It was October and spring was with us. The garden was beginning to look lovely. I discovered that Stirling had brought over several plants with him and we already had scarlet geraniums and purple lobelias growing on the lawn. I was wishing that I had some definite duties. I went in Adelaide’s wake helping where I could, but I felt I was very inadequate. I wanted some task which was my entire responsibility. Adelaide assured me that the help I gave in the house was invaluable, but I couldn’t help feeling that she said this out of kindness.
One day I was in the summerhouse where I had often sat while my ankle was strengthening, sitting for a moment ; because my back ached after weeding, when Jessica seemed to appear from nowhere. What a disconcerting habit this I was when people moved so noiselessly and you were suddenly aware of them standing there.
Why, Jessica! ” I cried, j ” I saw you coming from the library,” she said.
“You had been with him a long time. ”
I felt annoyed to be so spied on.
“Does that matter?” I asked coldly.
“He’s taken to you and you’re nattered, aren’t you? He takes to people and then … he’s finished with them. He doesn’t think of anything, you know, but what use they are to him.”
Why do you hate him? ” I asked.
To my surprise she’ll blushed scarlet and loaned as if she were going to burst into tears.
“Hate him? Yes, I do. No … I don’t know.
Everybody’s afraid of him. “
“I’m not,” I said uncertainly.
“Are you sure? He’s different from other people. You should have seen him when he first came to Rosella Creek.”
“Where’s that?”
“It’s the property. It’s called Herrick’s now—after him-but at one time it was Rosella Creek. Uncle Harley ran it then and we had good times. It wasn’t so big in those days and there was always something to worry about. That time when the fires encircled us. We just escaped then by the skin of our teeth. Uncle Harley said. Then there was the blight and the floods and the land erosion. But we got through and Maybella would have married well. There was a man who used to come in from Melbourne. His father had a store there and he was comfortably off. He would have spoken for Maybella.”
I had a feeling that I was prying into something I was not meant to know, that Adelaide would have wished me to make some excuse to evade Jessica but the temptation was too strong for me. I wanted to know the strange story of Stirling’s father, thoughts of whom were beginning to dominate my life.
So I said: “Tell me about it.”
She smiled at me slyly.
“You want to know, don’t you? You’re interested in everything about him. That’s what happens to people. It happened to Maybella. She was in a kind of daze from the moment he came. I remember the day he came.”
She paused again and a soft dreamy expression came into her eyes. Her lips softened and she was smiling. I did not prompt her this time. I waited; and then she began to speak quietly but intensely as though she were unaware of me and was recalling the scene for her own pleasure.
“Uncle Harley went to Sydney for the ship that was coming in. He was going to choose a couple of men because we needed help on the station.
He said, “I’ll bring back two strong rogues. We’ll have to be careful of these convicts but we’ll get work out of them. What we need is two strong men.” He rode out with his saddle bags and provisions for the journey; he was going to pick up a couple of horses for the convicts and they’d be back in two weeks, he reckoned, that’s if they weren’t held up by floods and weather. He was three weeks gone because there’d been rain and some of the creeks were flooded. Maybella and I were in the kitchen baking in readiness for his return. He came in and kissed first Maybella and then me. He said: “I’ve got two fellows, Maybella.” That was what he called her.