Captive Wife, The (22 page)

6 March 1835
    

Dear Sir

It pains me that I must prevail upon you in this manner, but I understand that your sister Miss Adeline Malcolm is currently residing with you. I have written to her on a number of occasions without the honour of a reply. She is needed here to do her duty by my two children who are in great distress over her absence. I would be grateful if you could persuade her to return. Or, at very least, to give me an answer.

It is said, too, in Sydney, that you are currently harbouring Mrs Guard, the wife of the infamous whaler who has recently been at war with the natives of New Zealand. The pair of them are eliciting a great deal of sympathy and excitement around town, but there are two sides to every story, and I think Mrs Guard is not as good as she makes out. I must say I am surprised that you are giving shelter to this woman, for she is nought but a corrupting influence, one of the convict class. I understood sir, that you were of a more exclusive disposition, and while that may
not sit so well with our current Governor, governors come and governors go, and for the future of our colony, it seems imperative that someone should take a stand in the interests of decency.

I have told Miss Malcolm that I do not hold her association with Mrs Guard against her, but I would expect you, as her brother, to deal more firmly with the matter.

I propose to travel by carriage to Parramatta, at a decent interval after you have received this letter, and had time to consider its contents, to try and put some order into this sorry affair.

I am, sir, yours very truly,

Gerald Roddick

‘Good Lord, somebody wants her,' says Maude Malcolm. She drops a piece of bacon rind to her terrier beneath the breakfast table.

Her husband stands, his eyes watering as they do when he is agitated. ‘I must go and warn her immediately.'

‘Sit down, Percy,' says Maude. ‘You're not warning her of anything. After breakfast, I'll send a maid down to pack her bag, and tell her she can wait on the verandah.' Maude is dressed in a blue morning gown with a broderie anglaise gusset exposing her cleavage. She prides herself that her breasts have withstood the vicissitudes of time. They rise like a girl's, pale and swelling, with a hint of freckles where skin meets lace.

‘Maude, that is enough. You've gone too far,' Percy says, jabbing his knife in her direction, so that she ducks. They both pause, appalled at having come this close to violence. Maude quivers, puts her fingers to her heaving breast. Percy's eyes follow the gesture, the invitation to pierce the white flesh that he enjoys so regularly, even though the sound of her voice has so come to displease him. That is the problem between them, of course: he has never met a woman of his sister's sensibility, and his sister cannot be his wife though he loves her just as well. Often, it has come to him in the night, when he is resting from the paroxysms of the flesh, that no one woman can be all things to a man.
‘Roddick will be received like a gentleman,' he says. ‘What will people make of you, if you allow them to see how badly you have treated her? Don't you ever want to go to Government House again?'

‘Well then,' says Maude, ‘I, for one, will be pleased to see the back of her.'

‘You may tell Lieutenant Roddick that I don't wish to see him,' says Adie, on receiving her brother's news. ‘I have come to enjoy my sojourn in the bush.'

‘It's not the bush,' says Percy, ‘it's the cottage at the bottom of our garden. I wish we could discuss this in private.' Betty hasn't budged since his arrival, waving Roddick's letter in the air.

‘Mrs Guard and I have had a good deal of time to share one another's confidences,' says Adie, her voice dry.

‘You knew that Lieutenant Roddick wanted you to return. I've brought you letters from him without making any enquiry of you as to their contents. I've treated this as your business, but now that he's written to me, I can no longer be silent. And soon he'll be here.'

‘Perhaps you should see him, Adie,' says Betty, ‘it can do no harm. Indeed, it might strengthen your resolve.' She offers this with a secretive smile at her friend.

‘I won't see him unless you are with me,' Adie replies.

Already, the sound of horses' hooves and carriage wheels are rattling up the driveway. ‘Tell the gentleman to wait,' says Betty. ‘You must see that your sister's upset.'

‘But you have to come now,' cries Percy. ‘There is no time to be lost.'

‘He doesn't want Roddick to find you in the gardening shed,' says Betty.

‘It is not,' Percy says. ‘It is…'

‘Yes?' says Betty. ‘What is it, Mr Malcolm? Your nanny's cottage?'

‘I don't think it would be proper for you to accompany my
sister. This is a family matter.'

‘Oh family. Well then.' Betty picks up a ripe fig from a bowl on the table and bites into it, allowing the tip of her tongue to run over its flesh. This is not lost on Percy who winces and draws back as if to put a distance between himself and his visitor.

‘Please, Mrs Guard.' Adie's voice is small, her tone more formal. ‘I need you.'

‘Perhaps it's best if you go on your own,' says Betty.

‘But I haven't decided what to do.'

‘Because you haven't had a proposal. Well, he's not likely to make one in my presence.'

‘A proposal?' Percy's eyes water anew. ‘Adie, you couldn't. I mean, you couldn't expect it.'

‘A proposition,' says Adie, recovering her composure. ‘That is all. I'll see what proposition Lieutenant Roddick has for the terms of my return to his employment. I will hear him out.' She adjusts a straying frond of hair, and straightens the collar of her dress. She is wearing a gown of pale grey voile, which could do with a press.

Gerald Roddick is standing with Maude on the verandah when she approaches. He is dressed in his scarlet uniform, his sword by his side. His moustache is waxed and his hair has recently been trimmed. He holds his hands together behind his back, and does not extend them as Adie approaches.

‘Lieutenant Roddick.'

‘Miss Malcolm.' He gives a slight bow from the waist.

A silence falls over them. ‘I don't know what to say,' he begins and at the same moment, Adie says, ‘I've been so worried.' Then because neither has heard what the other has said, they stop again.

‘How are the children?' says Adie at last.

‘They miss you. I apologise for what I have put you through. I was harsh.'

‘You have judged my friend too harshly,' Adie says.

‘I fear Mrs Guard's character is something we cannot agree over.'

‘I don't understand,' says Adie. ‘She has been through such troubles and all of Sydney is up in arms over what has happened to her.'

‘But that is before word got around.'

‘Word about what?'

‘Mrs Guard is ruined. It is said that she was brought to bed with twins and they were rather dark.'

Maude Malcolm gives a stifled cry, and covers her mouth with the back of her hand.

‘That is absurd,' Adie says, blinking in the fierce heat that has risen as the morning progressed.

‘Why do you think she's here? What has she told you?

‘Believe me,' Adie falters and carries on, ‘it's not possible since I met her after her rescue.'

‘How can you be so sure? Have you been by her side all these past weeks?'

‘I am sure I would know,' says Adie. ‘She has not spoken of more children.'

‘Why don't you ask me?' says Betty. She stands at the end of the garden, wearing the same dress that she arrived in some days before, bathed in the dappled stripes of shadows as the sun falls between the branches of a gum tree overhead. A parakeet gives a loud squawking cry. It is hard to tell whether it is that which has startled the tableau on the lawn, or the appearance of the woman.

‘So it's true,' says Roddick, ‘she is here. Shame on you,' he says, directing his gaze towards Adie, ‘for keeping her company. As for your brother, by what pretension does he call himself a gentleman that he has harboured her?'

‘I will not have you speak of us in that manner,' says Percy. Adie, remembering him as a child, hears the quiver that used to invade his voice when reproached by their father.

‘Will you not?' says Roddick, in an extravagant tone. ‘Well, I cannot imagine you will allow your family to be dishonoured in this way.'

‘I don't understand,' says Percy, bewildered.

‘I will come back two mornings hence, when you've had time to think it over,' says Roddick.

‘No,' murmurs Adie, ‘I beg of you. It doesn't matter, I'll come anyway.'

‘I wish it were as simple as that,' Roddick says. ‘I think a man should fight for honour.'

‘No,' cries Adie wildly. ‘My brother is not a fighter. Maude, tell him.'

Her sister-in-law has stood listening to this exchange, a small smile playing over her face. ‘Surely, it is for the gentlemen to decide.'

‘Will you come with me, Miss Malcolm?' says Roddick.

‘Not now. No. A thousand times no.'

‘I will leave,' says Betty, ‘if it will change things. Adie, this difficulty is over me, not you. Your family doesn't accept me, and the lieutenant listens to rumour. They are all worried that I will harm their reputations.'

‘I'm not leaving,' says Adie. ‘And I beg you Mrs Guard, to stay here with me.'

‘I will come back the day after tomorrow,' says Roddick. ‘Let's hope the matter can be resolved in a sensible way.'

He casts a last contemptuous look at Betty and turns on his heel.

When he has gone, Percy says in a wan voice, ‘What does he mean by fight? He doesn't really mean a proper fight, does he?'

‘That's what soldiers do,' Betty says, as she vanishes down the shadowy blue gum track.

30 August 1834
    

As it was decided to take extra men on the expedition, we were delayed another day while more bread was baked. There was much counting of provisions. But at last the
Alligator
and the
Isabella
were ready to sail for New Zealand. There are some queer bodies on board the
Alligator
with me. The Royal Navy surgeon whose name is Barrett Marshall is full of godliness and soupy talk about how we should not pass hasty judgments on the Maoris until we see what is what.

I know what is what I said and from my pocket I took a piece of comb. It was the ½ I picked up from the beach when Betty was felled. I have seen my wife's head cut open with an axe. Do not tell me what I should think of them.

Well then he said in the same smooth voice, how wd you civilise them?

How wd I civilise them I said. Shoot them to be sure. A musket ball for every New Zealander is the only way of civilising their country.

His face turned to whey then all moist and sticky white. You cannot say that he cried. Have you not thought of what missionaries might bring to them?

What is that?

A knowledge of God.

There is missionaries in the north I said.

I know that for I have been there.

Then you will know that the Maoris still make their own sweet way doing what suits them.

The surgeon did not like what he heard and I do not like him.

Then there is Miller who is a pilot. I could do as good a job as him for he does not have much experience of the New Zealand coast as I wd wish and he is to help Battersby the interpreter. I am worried about this cove. His Maori is what he learnt when he was in the grog shops in the Bay of Islands. He was drunk more often then than not. Although he speaks a kind of pidgin lingo I don't reckon he understands much more than I do. I have enough for whaling — which you have to get right or you'll be dead, but that is not enough for what we are going into. I am done with Maoris in my soul but I have respect for the tricks they can pull. I think they could put it across Battersby.

I have mentioned this to Captain Lambert but he said he is under orders to carry him. Perhaps I should speak with Captain Johnstone he said who is the Captain of the 50th Regiment and the men who will do the fighting.

So I said to Johnstone you wd do well to put me in charge of telling the Maoris what is what.

I cannot do that Guard he said for I am under strict orders that the military carry out this operation. You have had your say in Sydney and now it is up to the professional soldiers to do our duty. We have hand-picked men and you must behave as a civilian which is what you are.

I was being put in my place and I did not like it.

I said to myself perhaps we wd have done better to stick to a
ransom and be done with it. My mind went back to Captain Anglim who led me down this path and I do not think well of him for it seems I am out of the action.

Also on board are the chiefs I took to Sydney aboard the
Joseph Weller
. I have no time for them. They are sorry for themselves even though they are being taken home. They do not like bread and they will not eat salted meat so who is to mind if they go hungry.

3 September
    

We have now been at sea 4 days. Lambert and Johnstone consult each other all the time and plan how they will land the troops. Nothing much else happens. I drum my heels on the decks and wish I was somewhere else. I have been thinking about Charlotte and that what passed between us was not wise. But what is done is done and who knows whether I will get my wife back. I read my book to pass the time, the 1 my father gave me about my duties as a man. There is a section on the faithfulness of husbands. ‘For those who are not faithful, it said the breach of the vow is no less for a man than a woman. Besides the Uncleanness, it is a downright perjury.' I was glad then I had not made a formal vow to the girl. I need not think of her as my wife, which is relief. Conscience is a terrible thing and I do not want the burden of it. Perhaps I will make her a vow if I ever get her back. I think about my son who is missing, and she is his mother. I will be smote down if I do not have my boy back. Until I had a boy of my own I did not know how much that wd make me believe in myself as a man. Nothing else been or gone has made my life worthwhile. I will die for this boy if I must.

I think I am in the hands of fools.

11 September
    

Land at last. I see the coast of Taranaki, as I have seen it many times before.

12 September
    

Lambert tried to land at Moturoa in order to rescue the crew but the N.W. was up to its usual tricks.

So we came to the beach beneath Te Namu pa where I believe Betty is held. I said to the Captain, I will go ashore, I will talk with them.

Enough Guard he said. The interpreters will go ashore.

And what message will you send with them I said.

You know what's been decided. They are to communicate with the chiefs and explain to them that our Government will stay on friendly terms providing the missing crew members and your wife and children are restored at once.

Without ransom I asked.

We have been through this many times he said. There will be no ransom. It will be explained that if they attack His Majesty's subjects again they will be punished in a most severe way. And if they do not hand over the hostages we will smash them and all that belongs to them to pieces.

But the wind being what it was the chance of setting anyone on the beach was small. A group of New Zealanders came down to the beach. At this point Lambert said you may go in the whale boat Guard with the interpreters and Lieutenant Clarke who is in charge. But I will shoot you if you try to go ashore alone.

I saw a man on the shore. Even from this distance he seemed to be smiling his teeth white lanterns in his face.

Who are you? the interpreters called out.

I am Oaoiti. A chief.

Are you speaking for the tribe?

She is not here Haari he called ignoring this question. How did he know my name. I felt something bad in the air. My hair prickled under my cap.

I called out to him then. Where is she? Where is Betty?

I swear he laughed. I did not like the cocksure way he had about him. She and the girl have gone to Waimate.

My heart fell into my boots. I didn't believe we could take the
fortress of Waimate. We went back aboard the
Alligator
.

Where is this place Waimate Lambert asked.

It is 1 of 2 pa 1 is Waimate and the other is Orangituapeka I told him and they are both on very high cliffs surrounded by ravines. They are some 20 miles south of here.

Then said Lambert in a cheerful voice we will have to send the interpreters to Waimate. 20 miles is no great distance he says to them, you can walk down there and have a talk to them. When you get back here I want you to light 2 fires on that hill and we will fetch you.

I tried to tell him it is not as easy as that. But he wd not listen.

There being a lull in the waves we set Battersby and Miller ashore a little south of Te Namu where it was hoped they wd not be seen by the Maoris. Neither of them looked too happy.

I could only stand and watch.

I wrapped myself in my greatcoat and said not a word to anyone again that day. I did not sleep at all that night. I kept seeing the chief standing on the beach. As if he was certain about himself. And then I knew what it was.

13 September
    

We stood off from the pa sites of Waimate and Orangituapeka so that the Captain could see for his self how the 2 places are like fortresses. I had been told by Oliver who was at Moturoa and had been to Waimate of a winding path about 2 parts up the S.W. face where it ends in a cliff face with a ladder. The ladder can be pulled up from the top.

Hundreds of Ngati Ruanui were now gathered on the beach and cliff tops, waving muskets and tomahawks. I had no doubt they would kill anyone who came near.

A gale came come upon us. We could do nothing but run before it. When we got to the top of the South Island, I offered to take the helm, which was accepted and I guided the ship into a safe cove I knew. Why this is a very pleasant place said Captain
Lambert. What is it called?

I don't rightly know I said.

Well then, I will name it for Gore who was the Vice Admiral of the East India Squadron. A fine chap. I'm sure he would like to have a port named after him. Port Gore it is.

The officers did a bit of shooting practice and found some good rock oysters and had sport trying to set fire to the bush. Just as well they failed at that for there is no point in telling the locals where we are hid.

17 September
    

The weather improved a bit, long enough to secure the interpreters before we had to head south again. I was impatient to hear what they had to tell us. They looked scared half to death and didn't want to give a straight answer as to what they had been up to.

Have you seen my wife? I asked them.

No.

My children?

No.

Are they alive? Did anyone say they were alive?

Yes they said sullen as they come. In the end they gave up their story and the 2 Captains were not happy as to what they heard. For the men had not been to Waimate. Miller and Battersby had got themselves as far as Te Namu in the opposite direction but the Taranaki people did not make them welcome. The interpreters gave the message hoping it would be taken to Waimate but they got laughed at. The Maoris showed them dried heads of white men and laughed and jeered and said soon all the pakea wd look the same. Under cover of darkness they escaped into the bush where they stayed a night or 2 living on their rations. In the bush they met another group of Maoris who told them they wd soon be killed and eaten.

They decided between themselves there was only 1 course of action. They went back to Te Namu. We have come back they
said to tell you that the white man is willing to barter with you. They will give you a very good ransom. They will give you a whole barrel of gunpowder.

And if that were not enough it seems the interpreters told the Maoris the ships out there want whalebone. The 2 vessels will trade with you.

Well said Lambert that is a terrible tale you have told for what you have said is not true.

But said Battersby dogged-like they say they will bring the woman back to Te Namu and you can get her from there.

I do not believe a word you are telling me said Lambert. His face was dark with fury.

She will be back at Te Namu tomorrow said Battersby.

The whole expedition seems to be falling to pieces. Who is to know what is truth.

18 September
    

I piloted the ship to a 2nd harbour to the south and we let the anchor go in 15 fathoms. By now I can tell the officers have more time for me as it was I who got the ship from one safe harbour to another. After dinner they offered me cigars that were very fine. The meals are prepared with great style for one of the cooks is Italian and the other Maltese. They both play the fiddle so we have music though it is melancholy to my ear and not something we can have a rousing good sing to.

This is a very good bay too said Lambert. And so it was. The hills were covered with timber and there are many clear streams. I think I should give it a name he said. I shall name it for gallant Sir Thomas Hardy, Nelson's flag captain at Trafalgar. Port Hardy it is.

Do you not think, said Barrett Marshall who has had little to say for himself on this journey, that it might not be better to find out what the Maoris have called it and translate the names the better to understand them? Should we assume that we are making improvements by dotting the place with English names?

Where upon both the Captains stared at him in silence. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away. For a minute it occurred to me the surgeon might be right. None of these new names mean much to me. Once when I was an Englishman they might have done. But I am not any more. What has England done for me?

A memory came back of when I was no more than a lad and locked up in Newgate Prison. I was taken more than once to watch an execution and I heard again the Bellman reciting the words that went before the hanging of men:

I remembered the terror and wondering whether I might be next. I was glad to get out of it alive. They can call these places whatever they like, it is neither here nor there to me. I spat at Barrett Marshall's feet the next time I passed him. He is a lily-livered piece of work full of cheap kindnesses for the Maoris we have on board. I do not know why he wants to win favour from them. They sit and weep like children when some of the soldiers have them on a bit and draw their fingers across their throats as if they are about to lose their heads. They do not understand a little humour.

What I want now is to be done with this waiting.

We have to get back to Te Namu.

21 September
    

Well, at last we have made progress. We took ourselves up to the coast. Why what are these islands called said Barrett Marshall, leaning against the rail as we drew close.

Moturoa I said, thinking to please him.

He wrinkled up his nose like a small animal, and said yes but is there some other name for them.

There is some as call them the Sugar Loaf Islands I said, which I think is the name that Captain Cook did call them.

Well he said in a jolly manner that is a good name, yes indeed that is what they look like and my goodness they are steep. How surprising that there is a pa on them. How do people hold to the sides of rocks like that?