Loving Daughters (9 page)

16

At Halloween Jack learned that the Hoopers were leaving. He saw at once the air of neglect around the place and Hooper and his wife Sarah sitting on the little verandah, obviously not going to put themselves out now their time was nearly up.

They started guiltily when Jack rode up but held their ground, and Clem with support from Sarah said many of the things he had been thinking for a long time.

Ned gave them no help at all, and they were not going to face a new season as they did the last. They recounted, although Jack knew the story, their potato crop ready for digging and waiting in vain for Ned to turn up. There came a sudden downpour of rain followed by a burst of hot weather and the potatoes cooked in the ground. Sarah, who had a small brown leathery face and very few teeth, sank down on the pile of bags they had ready to fill and wept to see Clem's spade come out of the ground covered with thick white slime. Clem was angrier at Sarah's tears, the first seen in more than forty years of marriage, than at the loss of the crop.

Until Jack showed up though, this and other disappointments and setbacks had been put behind them. The two of them were indulging in the luxury of drinking tea at the little table on which there was hardly room for their teacups, covered as it was with an old washing basket into which Sarah had already put pieces of silver and china that had belonged to her mother, wrapped in linen from the same source.

They were going to a married daughter the other side of Candelo whose husband had a roadside hotel. They did not care for their bullying son-in-law, who had a ripe dark face, wet lips and bold eyes for women other than his wife. Perhaps he was improving in character for Marie did not complain, though they hardly ever saw her and the children. They were to have a room to themselves, something to which they could always retreat if relationships were strained. Clem was to be the yardman and Sarah to help in the kitchen.

She looked forward to that. The kitchen had a screen door to keep out the flies, a new and wonderful invention. On the one occasion they had been there, she had sat (ignored by the son-in-law) and marvelled at it clapping to when people passed in and out. She had been smiling at the vision when Jack rode up.

Jack did not know whether to ride to Ned's and tell him or go back to Honeysuckle. That fellow should be gone by now and he was hungry for Enid's roast mutton.

But Jack wanted to tip the news from his shoulders onto Ned's, its rightful place. What would happen to the cows and pigs when the Hoopers were gone? They looked ready to take off at any moment, and did not appear fussy about telling Ned. The only answer was to shut the place up and take the stock to join that at Honeysuckle.

It would be hard to find a family to succeed the Hoopers in the wretched little house of two rooms and a lean-to to bathe and wash clothes in. Ned was supposed to fix it up. Violet should have gone there and lived instead of wasting money on that house, which she called living ‘in town'. Going soft like a lot of women wanting a shop at hand and people to gossip to! Nellie and Enid would have been prepared to live on a place like Halloween and make a home of it.

Jack dug his heels in Horse's side and sent him galloping towards Albert Lane. Even that name was ridiculous, encouraging Ned to remember the war!

He received another jolt when he got there. Dolly and the sulky were there, which meant George was inside and not at Honeysuckle with an eye on that fellow! He might have driven him back to the rectory, although he thought not. It looked shut up with no smoke from the chimney. The fellow would hardly leave that soon.

Jack climbed from Horse, needing to tie him to a gum, an inferior position to that occupied by Holly, who swung her head and scraped a foot on the ground to say Horse should keep this in mind.

He knocked roughly on Violet's door, which she opened with a frown and a head tilted towards the bedroom where Small Henry slept. Violet banged about herself while he was sleeping, but expected the opposite from others. Well, it had its advantages, Jack thought. He didn't have to speak a greeting to Violet, merely remove his hat and incline his head in such violent fashion you would expect the creases in his neck like a purple concertina to set up a squeak.

Ned and George were on the kitchen couch as if they had nothing to do in the world except sit in idleness.

‘Did you bring that fellow back?' Jack said, setting up creases in the other side of his neck for he inclined it towards the rectory. George's bulbous eyes travelled around the kitchen as if the person Jack was referring to would emerge and answer for him.

‘Is Alex back then?' Jack said.

‘Might be,' George said. ‘Should be. Soon anyway.' Jack clamped his hat on. He wouldn't tell Ned about the Hoopers leaving. Let him go there one day and find the pigs squealing for food and the cows bellowing with painful udders, or gone dry as dead wattle bark. Enid was alone in the house with that fellow! Violet following Jack down the hall said so.

‘Don't rush off. Enid and the reverend might be getting on very well there by themselves!'

‘Hoopers are leaving. Did you know that?' Jack fired back.

‘They're old and stupid and useless!' Violet said. ‘Good riddance to them!'

‘You get a cheque every month you won't be getting when they're gone!'

‘Two pounds it was last month! I'd spend a month at the Hotel Australia if I could get away!'

Jack stared at the latch on the gate. An efficient little contraption, which he had shown to Nellie when he got one the same for the front gate at Honeysuckle. The half hoop of steel lifted with the touch of a finger and the gate defied opening without a similar touch. Nellie was gravely ill then, her face yellowy with the liver trouble, and he saw again her smile running with a watery strength from her mouth to her frightened eyes. If Nellie was here now to spare him all this!

He showed Violet only the back of his neck while he untied Horse, who showed his delight at such a short visit with a toss of his head towards Dolly, who lowered hers and leisurely cropped at some grass to say waiting around had its compensations.

Violet was less pleased. Small thanks she was getting for taking Small Henry off their hands! She got the rough end of the stick every time. Old Herbert had left Ned only that miserable little place and the main property to Jack with the excuse that Ned had no sons and Jack three. The other brother, Percy, had been well provided for also in spite of no boys and six daughters.

She had half a mind to rouse the sleeping Small Henry and dump him on the saddle in front of Jack!

There was that monument in full view with only Ned's name on it to uphold the Herbert honour. Violet wanted to fling an arm towards it and shout out to Jack, who was putting a polished boot over Horse's back and allowing his well-cut coat to settle easily on the saddle.

‘There might be changes down there at Honeysuckle soon. Look out for them!' she cried as Jack galloped off.

17

They were eating dinner at Honeysuckle when Jack got there. Enid rose with a pink face and went to the kitchen for his. At first Jack was not sure the fellow was there, it was hard to pick him out coming in from the strong light, but he might have known for he was the one pushing his chair back and half standing in greeting. The fellow made a big thing of manners, but did not impress Jack who went to wash and take off his coat and kept Enid waiting by his chair until he was ready. The fellow did not sit quite as close to the table as before, Jack noticed through the steam flying off his food.

Una of all of them went on eating in unconcerned fashion, stabbing at her carrots and fussily cutting the fat from her mutton. She was pulling her little faces as she did when things did not please her.

When Edwards had arrived, Enid barely had time to seat him before George came in and said he was putting Dolly in the sulky and driving to Wyndham for nails from the store. He held up long nails in evidence of the authenticity of his errand, and both Edwards and Enid nodded gravely in agreement that they were quite unsuitable to put a closet together. George standing there on the linoleum dropped his chin to sit almost on his neck, and both Edwards and Enid were overcome with the dreadful possibility that George was going to suggest Edwards travel back with him.

Edwards lowered his eyes and prayed. He was here to ask Enid about a vegetable garden, a pet cat and Small Henry's christening. Church work, all of it. When he opened his eyes George had gone and Enid was putting a cup of tea in his hands.

He stood with it and put his free hand out indicating the way to the kitchen.

‘You have things to do. Don't let me hold you up,' he said. She saw his slightly rounded shoulders with the black of his jacket stained a darker shade. Some rain had fallen on him on his way. She knew nothing would stop him from coming! She brought a sweater of Alex's for him, mulberry coloured with brass buttons at the neck.

‘Put this on,' she said, managing not to look into his face. At first he did not know he had to remove his thin alpaca jacket but he saw she was waiting to take it and when she did he pulled Alex's sweater on. He settled it at his waist while she put his jacket on the back of a chair turning the chair to the stove.

‘You suit the colour,' Enid said. ‘Look.'

He saw across to the little hall mirror his brown face above the thick rich wool and smoothed his ruffled hair, pleased but a little ashamed of his vanity. He thought the little mound of potatoes on the table looked handsome too.

‘Let me,' he said.

He peeled them thinly enough even for her and peeled the pumpkin too, thinking the skin too thick and hard for her fine hands. He liked the way they flew among her measuring cups and bowls, for she was making a pudding using several large lemons, puzzling him as to how it would turn out while trying to look as if he knew.

They were in the living room, she setting the table, when the Austin pulled up outside. ‘Quick, this!' said Edwards, plucking at the sweater. She ran ahead of him to the kitchen, snatching up his jacket, glad to feel it warm and dry. She took the sweater and returned it to the hall, seeing her face in the mirror disappointed that she could not smooth his jacket on his shoulders. He missed the comfort of the wool. His arms felt they were in mourning.

Una coming into the living room was about to fling her cape off, then, seeing him rise from his chair in the corner, held it together at her breasts.

‘The rain stopped, thankfully,' Edwards said, immediately regretting it for country people he knew never got enough rain. Alex sharing Jack's view that churchmen were a race apart ignored the remark and strode away to take his coat off.

Una's face was vivid enough to light the room. He had set out after the rain which had stopped less than two hours ago. His clothes were dry; he must have just arrived. He had to sit alone while Enid got the dinner. He did look pleased to see her!

‘Take your cape off, Una,' Enid said, coming into the room with things for the table. ‘We will have Grace and start without Father.'

Edwards was wishing there was some way of letting them know he peeled the vegetables when Jack came in.

‘George is not here,' Jack said, spreading his napkin.

‘In Wyndham for nails,' Enid said.

Jack asked without speaking how long he had been gone. His measured forkfuls said the words as in the old days when the children had played in some forbidden area.

‘He left just a little while ago,' Enid murmured. (Well, it seemed no more than five minutes they were alone together!) ‘The nails he found were too short.'

‘Too long,' Edwards gently corrected.

‘Oh yes, much too long!' Enid said, and overcome with a wild desire to giggle, she took the bread plate to the kitchen to refill it.

Instead she dropped it on the table and took a jug of cream from the cool safe.

He is wonderful, wonderful, she told herself. He was even more wonderful on her return.

‘I would have returned to Wyndham with George in the sulky,' he was saying to the top of Jack's head bent over his mutton. ‘But I needed to discuss the christening with you all.'

Jack saw the faces of Enid and Una take on a dreamy softness. Did they foolishly expect to have some sort of party here? The funeral business had been enough to do them for a long time!

‘Violet can take care of all that,' Jack said. ‘She's right by there!'

That was what he called the church, Edwards thought with a pummelling of spirits. How would he feel if one of his daughters –! Things will not be easy, he thought, though he felt a little cheered taking his pudding from Enid and seeing how well it turned out. Una took hers still with her dreamy air.

‘Small Henry!' she said. ‘I wonder will we always call him that. It won't suit him if he grows too large!'

Edwards thought with a tenderness that surprised him of the shut eyes of Small Henry in his strange-coloured face. When would he see him again?

‘I shall call and talk to Mrs Edgar,' Edwards said. Well, let him! Jack said to himself with an intake of tea. Violet was welcome to him. Nothing to do but visit people! How would he handle some real work?

As if needing to express this Jack rose with a boisterous movement of his body and went to the fireplace to stand and fill his pipe. A ripple of uneasiness went over the table, only Una playing with the handle of her teacup in unconcerned fashion, and Enid looking to see if Edwards was attending to his or observing Una's brown lashes resting prettily on her pink cheeks.

Alex moved his chair back slightly from the table, to let Jack know he was going out to the paddocks, though not necessarily at once. He had said far too little about the car! It slid with only a couple of barely noticeable dips to one side through a rush of water over a low culvert, just this side of Pambula. Una shrieked and raised her feet, obviously expecting the water to come up through the floorboards. A silly female! Some women were actually driving cars these days, but he would not have either of these girls behind the wheel.

‘She took to the road like a duck to water,' Alex said. It was the Austin he was referring to. Would they be stupid enough to think it could be anything else! He took a small tin from his pocket and lifted strands of greenish-yellow tobacco to lay in the hand that held a cigarette paper between the fingers. Enid felt a rush of protection towards Edwards. He had no car and could not afford to smoke if he wanted to. Of course he wouldn't want to! She saw him looking with tolerance and interest at Alex's hands. But no envy. Of course no envy!

‘A fine machine,' Edwards said. ‘Indeed, a very fine machine!'

Jack clattered his pipe against the mantelpiece. Was the fellow angling for a ride home in it? Let him walk or drive his sulky, and not this way too often, if you please!

Alex decided Jack's agitated back was sending out signals to get him out to the paddocks. He got up, letting them see he was in no great hurry, and gathering up his tobacco went off to his room to change to work trousers. Jack stayed. He was going to see that fellow away, or he may well dig himself in for the afternoon. Una startled them all when she suddenly cried out.

‘I know!' She jumped up and flew to the chiffonier, taking a large book from a drawer. She found a page and held it up to show them illustrations of baby clothes on fat infants.

‘I'll make a christening gown for Small Henry!' She flung back the tablecloth covering the green fringed cloth, and frowned on the page.

‘I need brown paper to cut the pattern. Have we any, Enid?' Enid rescued the cruet and cream from under the tablecloth and folded it rapidly before any damage was done.

‘Look where it is usually kept,' she said with a little smile for Edwards to see. See what a child she is!

‘I'm going, Enid,' Jack said, knocking his pipe empty on the grate and stowing it in a pocket. These girls needed to learn how to dismiss people. He had finally taught Nellie!

Edwards stood and found his hat. A large pair of scissors drooped from Una's hand and Enid's unguarded face wore a wistful look, although she straightened her back and folded her hands hostess fashion at her waist.

Going down the steps he heard the door shut sharply. He guessed accurately it was Jack who shut it.