Becoming Billy Dare (25 page)

‘I can't bear to see a woman or a horse mistreated, and judging by the state of this lord's horse, he had no respect for either creature. I was only a whip of a boy, no older than you, but I wasn't going to stand for it. When he slack-jawed Maureen, I told that fine and mighty lord that there wasn't to be such talk in the forge.' Doc laughed at the memory.

‘Did he mind you?' asked Paddy.

‘Mind a fifteen-year-old smithy's apprentice? He brought out his horsewhip to thrash me. But I was damned if I'd let him get away with it. I took the branding iron out of the forge and split his majesty's face wide open. And then there was nothing for it but to run. There was no safe place for me in Ireland from that day. The first ship I could find – I was bound for America. I found work in New York, at the track, working as a stable lad. Best start a boy could want. I've had a lifetime working at the track. Found my way out West later. Have my own ranch now, breed the finest racehorses on the west coast. I've had a grand life, for all the hard times.'

‘But listen, Billy Dare, I haven't brought you here to jaw on about the past. I want to talk about the future. You know that I want to take Bridie home with me, back to California, but she keeps telling me no. I don't want to stay in Melbourne any longer. I need to be getting home. I was thinking, seeing as you're like her own grandson, that maybe you'd be able to talk the old girl around. She's got no family, there's nothing to keep her here.'

Paddy, took another mouthful of beer. He didn't know how to answer.

‘We could take you with us, boy, if that's what's worrying her.'

Paddy looked away. A flock of silvery-grey pigeons winged past the arched windows. America. Doc really did want to take him to America.

‘There's nothing to hold you here,' said Doc, leaning across the table. ‘I could give you work on the ranch. Real work, man's work, not like this errand-boy stuff you do down at the Bijou.'

Paddy blushed. As much as he loved horses, he didn't want to work on a ranch. If he explained he was waiting for the right part to come along to put him in front of the footlights, and not behind them, he might sound pathetic. And then there was Annie. The thought of being near Annie every day, for months, for years. It made his head swim. He wasn't sure if it was the beer or all his whirling emotions.

‘I'll see what I can do,' said Paddy, swigging down the last of his beer.

Late that night, when Paddy came back from the Bijou, Bridie was still working beneath the glow of a gas lamp. She looked oddly pale and was frowning as she knotted the last stitch in the seam of the costume.

‘Mum, are you not feeling well?' asked Paddy

‘Billy,' she said, smiling ruefully. ‘I'm having to ask you a favour.' She reached into her black bag and pulled out a letter.

‘This arrived this morning. And I'm worried. I'm worried ‘cause I'm not knowing what it says. I can pick out some of the words, but I can't make the sense of it.'

Paddy sat down beside her and opened the letter. It was from Eddie. The temptation to tear it up was strong, but he drew a deep breath and read it word for word.

Dear Mum
,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing to you from lodgings here in Sydney, where I am staying with my wife, Kate. I married Miss Kate Bowman last November. We are hoping to come to Melbourne soon, as my wife is with child and expecting to be delivered in August
.

‘Oh, Paddy. A baby! Eddie's to be a father.'

We were hoping that it might be possible to stop a night or two with you at your lodgings until Kate has ascertained the exact circumstances of relations with her parents
.

‘I knew he wouldn't write unless he wanted something,' said Paddy, looking up from the letter.

Bridie sighed. ‘Can you read me the rest of the letter, Billy.'

‘That's all he says. The rest is only the address of his lodgings in Sydney.'

‘Will you pen him a reply from me?' asked Bridie, putting away her sewing and hurrying over to the cupboard where Paddy's writing folio was kept.

‘Mum, there's something else I want to talk to you about,' said Paddy, folding up Eddie's letter. ‘About Doc, and Annie. About going to America.'

‘Has Brandon been at you?' asked Bridie, suspiciously.

‘Why don't you want to go with him?'

‘How can I ever be leaving Australia if I'm to be a grandmother?' said Bridie, taking the letter from Paddy and looking at it as if it were a precious gem.

‘But Eddie's not your family. Doc and Annie, they're your kin, not me, not Eddie.'

‘Brandon has put you up to this. I've told him, I can't go to America.'

‘He only wants what's best for you. He said he'd take me too, if it meant you'd go with him.'

Bridie looked up sharply.

‘that's not why I'm talking about it,' Paddy went on. ‘I haven't made up my mind what to do. Tom says Bland Holt has a new production coming up. I want to audition for it. If I got the part, maybe I'd stay. I don't really want to work on the ranch, I want to be an actor. It's hard for me to know what's the right decision. But it's different for you.'

‘It's not different. You want your own life. This is my life, here. I love that old man just as much as I loved him when he was a boy but I can't go and be part of his world any more than he can stay and be part of mine. And now this news from Eddie! A baby!'

‘But Doc's your family, your blood. Eddie … he's …'

Bridie crossed the room and took Paddy's hands in her own.

‘I know you think badly of him, but Eddie is as much my son as any son I could have borne myself. I loved his father and as difficult as Eddie can be, he will always have a place in my heart.'

Paddy pulled his hands away and shoved them deep into his pockets.

‘And so will you, Billy Dare. Maybe, one day, when you're as old as me, you'll understand. No matter how much you love your kin and homeland, in a long life, there are always other loves, other places that become a part of you. The memories that you store up in a place, they're as precious as gold. Fifty years I've lived in this colony. I've seen the best and the worst of it. I belong here now. Brandon's heart is in America with the life he has made there.'

Paddy stood by the window and looked out into the darkened street. He knew he'd never be able to talk Bridie into leaving.

‘Billy, you could go with Brandon and Annie. If I ask, he'll take you with him. You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you. But I have to stay with my old life and welcome the new life that's coming into it,' she said, looking down at Eddie's letter and smiling to herself. ‘Lord knows, it's the little ones that give you hope, that make you keep faith in the future.'

Faith in the future. Paddy put his head in his hands. He wasn't sure where his future lay, his faith, his hopes and dreams were all caught up in a whirlwind of impossible longings and confusing possibilities. Suddenly, through the darkness of his indecision, he had a vision of Violet – Violet with her small, trusting hand in his and her unshakeable faith. If he left Australia, would he ever see her again?

35
The great rescue

There was a crowd of actors waiting at the stage door for the audition. Paddy leant against the warm brick wall and studied the lines of the scene over and over.

‘Well this is a jolly surprise!' came a voice. ‘If it isn't Billy Dare!'

Paddy looked up in surprise. ‘Clancy Lytton! What are you doing here!'

‘Auditioning, old man. What else?' ‘But what about the Bowman-Lytton company?' ‘Washed up, I'm afraid. Perhaps Father will get a new production up later in the year, but we need some dosh to tide us over so here I am. I say, you're not auditioning for the part of Lawrence Hargreaves, the trusty young companion of the hero, are you? I wouldn't stand a chance if you were.'

‘I'll take it if they offer it, but I'd really like to play Percival Hurricane.'

Clancy laughed. ‘Always aim high, don't you?' ‘I know I'm a bit young, but they say you have to be a good horseman for the role so they're willing to take all comers. Did you see
The Scout
when it was at the Alexandra? The lead in that was only nineteen. He won it because of his horsemanship as much as his acting ability. I didn't spend all those months chasing those circus ponies for nothing.'

‘Well, I must say, it would be a lark if we both got the parts we want. I'd rather like to play your mate instead of your true love. No hard feelings, old chum, but I don't think I ever want to have to kiss you again.'

It was bright in the sunlit laneway and when the stage door finally opened it took a moment for Paddy's eyes to adjust to the gloom backstage. Clancy and Paddy joined the throng of performers milling in the wings, waiting for their call. An actor was already out in the centre of the stage, reading the part of Percy Hurricane.

Paddy listened to the actor and mouthed the words himself. There was something strangely familiar about the voice. It was rich and deep and reverberated through the backstage area. Slowly, Paddy edged his way into the wings and grabbed a handful of the curtains, clenching it tightly. Eddie stood centre stage, his hair cropped short, his profile strikingly handsome.

‘By Jove!' exclaimed Clancy, standing behind Paddy. ‘the blaggard is back. I'm surprised he'd show his face in Melbourne again.'

‘You know he's married Kate and …' Paddy couldn't bring himself to tell Clancy all the news.

‘I know,' said Clancy, grimly. ‘she'll never escape his clutches now.'

Eddie finished his reading and climbed down into the stalls. When Mr Holt's assistant called ‘Billy Dare', he looked up with curiosity.

Paddy drew a deep breath. He wasn't going to let Eddie's presence distract him.

‘death has been about me since first I set foot in this dry land. I have woken with his voice at my ear, each day since I ran away to find my fortune, taunting me, telling me failure is my fate and the grave but a heartbeat away. I have been to the brink of despair. I have heard his dry whisper and oft I've thought to listen. But now, there is a new voice. Her voice, and her need. What sweetness to have found my purpose in life
.'

There was silence when Paddy finished.

‘Very fine work, Mr Dare,' said Mr Holt without looking up from his notes. Then he stood and turned to the crowd of actors who sat waiting expectantly.

‘Messrs Alec Rickards and Edward Whiteley please stay in your seats, the rest of you gentlemen may go. Your services will not be required for the moment, though Miss Coppin will be in contact, as some of you may be called upon to fill smaller roles or audition again.'

Paddy turned away, feeling the weight of disappointment heavy on his shoulders.

‘Oh, and Mr Dare. Would you please stay where you are. We haven't finished with you yet.'

Clancy came out from the wings and grinned at him. ‘I'll stay and watch, if you don't mind. Be your lucky mascot, eh what? You have to crack it, Dare. You can't let Whiteley best you.'

Mr Holt came on stage with Eddie and Alec Rickards behind him. Eddie nodded at Paddy but Paddy stepped away, keeping his distance. Mr Holt put his hands behind his back and looked at the three men thoughtfully.

‘You know, gentlemen, Sarah Bernhardt herself said my last show was the sensation of the century. When she was here in Melbourne she came by just to see how true spectacle can really capture an audience. So there's a reputation to uphold, a legend, no less. This show could top all that we've ever done before.

‘There are four acts, ten yells, three plunges and a shriek to set your spine tingling. You have all read with flair and competence, but there is more to this show than mere dramatic ability. The scene I would like you to attempt now is at the end of Act II. Your character is being pursued by ruthless men who wish to steal the great nugget he has found – the Golden Dream. But you escape, plunge into the river and gallop away to glory. We've had a tank set into the stage – ten feet deep, ten feet wide. I want each of you to attempt to leap from the bridge on horseback and into the pool – which is a river from the point of view of the audience. Then you are to swim to the side and scramble ashore. There's a mechanism that you must activate to allow a ramp for the horse to extend into the pool and you must emerge together.

‘As was advertised, this role is for performers who are also accomplished horsemen. Our steed has been trained to make the jump, but if she senses your fear or incompetence, she may shy. There is a serious element of danger. If at any stage you wish to withdraw, that is perfectly understandable.'

Paddy and Clancy settled down in the back of the stalls, waiting for Paddy to be called. Mr Holt's secretary led Eddie backstage where the trained horse was waiting in the wings.

Alec Rickards attempted the jump first. It was obvious from the moment he rode the grey mare on stage that he was uneasy in the saddle. Before the horse had even mounted the scaffolding, he had lost his seat and lay sprawled on the stage.

‘Would you like to attempt the jump again?' called Mr Holt. Alec stood up and dusted his trousers, shaking his head mournfully.

Clancy elbowed Paddy as they watched Eddie walk backstage to take his turn.

‘Let's hex him, so that he breaks his neck,' said Clancy in a whisper.

‘Let's not. I don't want Kate's baby to be an orphan.'

Eddie came cantering in from the wings but when the mare reached the top of the scaffolding she stopped, hesitating at the brink of the jump.

‘Bring her down again,' cried a voice from the wings. ‘she'll take the jump this time.'

It was difficult to make the horse turn on the scaffold but Eddie managed to guide her down. They came at the scaffold again and this time the horse galloped unhesitatingly to the brink. It was the force of her sudden stop that catapulted Eddie over her head and into the pool. The grey mare backed down the scaffolding as a plume of water rose up into the air. Clancy chuckled. Eddie swam to the edge and climbed out. He stood by the pool, dripping and muttering angrily to himself, while a stage attendant handed him a towel.