5

---

Madeline

A large black sheet-metal sign hung from a chain, strung across the same driveway that the Pom had chased me down last Wednesday night, it read in white lettering:

Entry to the University grounds is strictly prohibited to the General Public until further notice: Enquiries to the Administration Office.

Surely, this didn’t have anything to do with the fight I was in the other night.

There wasn’t a soul around to ask why the grounds were out of bounds, I could step over the chain and take a chance, although I didn’t feel like adding trespasser to my current notoriety in the university as a brawler.

I’d put little thought into this far-fetched plan formed late last night after a very tiring day, and had stopped a dozen times on the way to the university to ask myself:

Why am I doing something so daft, when I know I’ll only end up standing in front of a very puzzled woman, who’ll be wondering why she ever bothered helping a young fool with more front than Myers?

One thing I did plan to do before I got into the grounds, was to avoid being recognised by anyone that had a ringside seat from the second floor window on the night of the fight, one of whom I knew was a professor. I had decided to don a cap for the day, which had Aunty May giving me funnier looks than usual because she knows I rarely wear a hat, even on the hottest of days.

Before I turned around to head back home dejected, it occurred to me that I had made it out of the grounds via a path on Wednesday night, so why couldn’t I get back in the same way. The trouble was, everything looked completely different in broad daylight, compared to the darkness of that night. So, I didn’t have much hope of finding it now.

Bugger it! I’m going in this way.

I took a quick look around, before stepping over the chain and then walking at a brisk pace down the drive, hoping like hell I didn’t run into anybody. After a hundred yards, where the road started to curve, I turned right onto a paved pathway, where I could see another hundred yards ahead, the same small building I had been given refuge in.

“May we help you?” a cultured voice asked me from behind.

I swung around to see three prim and proper students in green and white jackets, embroidered with insignia.

Prefects! … They had to be.

The tallest student stepped forward, without saying a word.

“I’m just going to visit the lady who lives in the building down the path, to ask about work for my sister,” I replied, trying to think fast on my feet. “My aunt knows her.”

“Does she now?” the tallest prefect replied, with a smug grin on his face. “Then, what is the name of the lady in the building, and what is your aunt’s name?” After a second he added “And, may I ask what your name is?”

“I’m not telling you my name, or my aunt’s name, and I already told you, she knows her,” I shot back angrily, getting browned off, straight up, by this uppity bastard, and by the fact that I should have asked the woman’s name on Wednesday night.

“I’m not satisfied with the reason you’re sneaking around the grounds of our college,” the tallest prefect stated in an accusatory tone, before whispering something into the shortest prefect’s ear.

His lackey, then bolted towards the main college buildings, with my luck to get the professor who saw me in the fight last Wednesday night.

Now, I was getting annoyed. These blokes had me pegged as a lowlife thief, or worse.

“Listen here,” I insisted, the Irish rising in my voice. “I’m no bloody thief. I just wanted to ask the woman, that my aunt does know, if she’s heard of any work ’round here that might be suitable for my sister, who’s arriving down from the country on Tuesday. I thought the lady might …” I stopped, seeing only blank expressions on the students’ faces.

“It was a long shot. That’s all.”

“You should go now,” said the tallest of the students. “You can leave the same way as you came in. If you would like to make an appointment to visit the lady concerned, you can arrange it through our Administration Department during office hours, Monday to Friday. Then we can escort you through the grounds to see her after that.”

“But, I’m almost there,” I exclaimed, surprised by their officiousness.

“Why can’t you escort me now?”

“Are you not aware that there is an infantile paralysis epidemic spreading throughout the area?” the tallest prefect responded sharply, looking down on me as if I was an idiot. “The grounds have been closed to prevent the disease spreading from the public to the students.”

I stood in silence looking at the two students, understanding that they were right. I shouldn’t have just barged into the grounds. Hell, I might be spreading the disease right now and not even know it. Aunty May had told me how bad polio was but I hadn’t taken much notice of her.

The shorter prefect who had been quiet up until now, piped up, “She’s not in now anyway … she’s visiting her daughter at the Children’s.”

The tallest prefect turned around immediately, giving him a look that could kill.

*

I returned to Aunty May’s for Sunday lunch, I had no choice, but I was determined to get back to the college as soon as possible while there was still a slim chance of catching the woman on her way back from the Children’s Hospital.

Another reason I needed to return quickly, was that I had no way of complying with the requirements given to me by the prefects to arrange an appointment through the Administration Department, my ‘office’ hours far exceeded those of the University’s.

On returning, I slumped against the brick outer wall of the King’s College, taking advantage of the shade provided by a large river red gum, expecting a long wait ahead for a person that was possibly in the grounds already, and that I might be better off not seeing, anyway. I was upset by the revelation that this woman had a sick child and devastated to think that I may have caused it.

After more than an hour, I caught a glimpse of a woman in a blue hat and dress making her way around the slight curve of the College Crescent; a woman that I had been beginning to think was a figment of my imagination.

I felt a certain amount of dread at seeing her again, considering what I may have put her through, but then came a surge of relief.

As the woman drew nearer a smile appeared on her face.

“Sebastian, how are you?” she asked on reaching me. “It’s Madeline … My name is Madeline. I should have told you last Wednesday night.”

Madeline then leant forward and kissed me on the cheek. Her skin was soft against mine, with a faint scent of spice in her perfume, stepping back to look at my shocked face.

“Don’t worry, Sebastian. You won’t have to marry me!” Madeline added with a wry grin. “I’m already married.”

I had not expected this. Instantly, I saw her as someone different to the woman that had helped me, only a few days before.

“Come along with me, Sebastian, I’ll show you how to avoid being seen by the snitches.”

Madeline turned and walked down to a wall of greenery just before the main drive, and then pushed a concealed gate that opened into the grounds.

“Well, are you coming?” Madeline asked. “I have something I need to ask you.”

I followed Madeline along an overgrown, ivy-covered path, with so many twists and turns it made me wonder how I ever found my way last time.

“I was so worried about you after the fight, Sebastian. Were you fine the next day?” Madeline asked as the path opened onto the rear of her house.

“I got a bit of a hurry-up from my foreman at work that morning, but in the end he let me go home early, which was a first. My aunt wasn’t happy either, so I copped it for a couple of days, but it could ’a been worse. I’ve also managed to avoid running into my Pommy friend and his mates, so far,”

“Have you done anything else since then?” Madeline asked, while I held open the flyscreen door for her to unlock the main wooden door.

“Come in, Sebastian.”

I hesitated for a second, unsure if this was the right place to be.

“You are more than welcome,” Madeline assured me, holding the main door open. “Besides, you’ve been here before.”

On entering the kitchen and looking around trying to familiarise myself again, I remembered that Madeline had asked me a question.

“Sorry, yeah. Yesterday, I went to South Melbourne. It’s quite a place!”

“It is a nice place, the shopping is always good there,” Madeline nodded in agreement, before removing her pixie-like, blue gorra hat.

She was younger and prettier than I recalled, shapely in an aqua-blue dress, her mousy hair was pulled back tightly from her scalp, finishing in a bun; a few strands of hair still managing to fly free in front of her forehead.

“I should explain why I asked you to come back to my house, Sebastian. But first, come into the lounge and make yourself comfortable. I’ll make a pot of tea for us.”

Madeline moved an old blanket from her couch and asked me if I would like to sit down. I sat on the edge of the leather, still surprised at being back in her digs again.

She stood in the doorway and must have noticed my discomfort. “I was informed by senior undergraduates from this college that a young man came into the grounds looking for me this morning. They thought it may have been a pretext for skulduggery, although the young man swore he was only in the grounds on behalf of his sister.”

Madeline shot me a quizzical look.

“I didn’t think they believed me.” I added.

She left to go and make the tea, leaving me completely on the edge of my seat. I wanted to ask about her daughter and selfishly how she became ill. But, decided quickly not to say a word, it might be too painful a subject to touch on. And, I was surprised she was married, I had no inkling of that the other night.

“I have a few questions I’d like to ask you, Sebastian,” Madeline declared on returning from the kitchen, placing a cup of tea, and scones on the low table in front of me. “But before that, the seniors did mention your sister was looking for work. She is obviously moving down to Melbourne, so you must be excited about that. I hope all the other news from home has been good?”

“Pretty good,” I began, and then knew I had to be honest, “A mixed bag really. Lettie, I mean Leticia, will put a positive spin on it, I’m sure.”

Madeline’s eyes never left mine as she sat down at the other end of the couch, before asking in a serious tone, “Sebastian, do you know a young man called William, he’s a senior undergraduate from the King’s College?”

“No, not at all,” I replied, shaking my head.

“I am not permitted to tell you his full name, but he says he knows you.”

I looked up at Madeline gobsmacked, trying to think of anyone I knew called William.

“Honestly, I don’t know any William at all, never mind from a university. He must be mistaken.”

“I have only spoken to him a few times before in the dining room. He is quite an arrogant character. I was surprised when he knocked on my door, only an hour after the three seniors had left me. He said I should consider helping your sister find work because you had inspired him in the past … he wouldn’t tell me how.”

“Inspired?” I repeated quickly.

I jumped up and walked around the room before returning to sit on the couch, looking at Madeline to try and gauge what she was thinking.

“I told him I had been let down too many times in the past by helping people, so I had no intention of being let down again. He became quite agitated by my refusal and stormed off.”

“This bloke can’t go around saying he knows me, I need to front him.”

“The university doesn’t need any more confrontations at the moment, Sebastian, so it may be best to let this pass. I will make a report if he returns again.”

There was silence for a moment before Madeline asked me exactly why I had come to the college to see her. I told her that my parents had written to my aunt, believing it would be best for my sister if she had a change of surrounds, and that meant moving down to the city to find work.

“My sister Lettie is a great girl, a lot of fun, almost all the time. To be quite honest, I’m not completely sure why she’s coming down to Melbourne, but I was hoping to surprise her with the prospect of a job, to get her off on the right foot. I can tell you no one works as hard as she does.”

Madeline’s eyes were down, which I took as a bad sign, until I said:

“She’s also a great cook, if that’s of any use.”

Madeline looked up and then slowly straightened on the couch.

“Did you know I was the manager of the college kitchen before you came to visit me this morning or was it just a wild guess?”

“I didn’t know what you did here. I just had a hunch you might have some pull around the place.”

I felt a lot better that I could talk freely to Madeline about the reason why I came to see her. I probably should have left it at that.

“Unfortunately, I did a good job of embarrassing myself by ignoring the sign across the driveway that said no-one was allowed in.”

“One of the seniors told me that you appeared shocked, when he mentioned that I was visiting my daughter at the Children’s Hospital. He shouldn’t have said anything, but since he has… I want to tell you there is no reason to be alarmed. My daughter does have polio, Sebastian, but she is doing well and has plenty of friends and lots of support in the hospital. She contracted it a year ago, at roughly the same time my husband felt he should look for work interstate.”

“He’s not a strong man,” Madeline said quietly, suddenly looking drawn, before quickly steadying herself.

“Sorry. Things became difficult between us as soon as we moved down from Sydney, six years ago. He couldn’t find work, but I managed to luckily, in the kitchen of the King’s College. The last time I heard from my husband, he was in Queensland. He wrote that he wanted to stay on for a short while after the cane harvest, saying he would be back down in two months … that was eight months ago. I want to apologise for not asking you to stay longer on Wednesday night, Sebastian. I was concerned you may be found here. I hope you can forgive me.”

“You don’t ever have to apologise to me for anything, Madeline. I was just glad you didn’t lag me into the coppers, or worse, the professor.”

She gave me a tiny smile as she picked up my empty cup and saucer, an indication that it was time for me to leave. At the kitchen door, Madeline stopped and looked back at me.

“The last of the boarders are due to return within a week, that’s when the kitchen needs all hands on deck. It’s hot, heavy work, and I don’t put up with shirkers. Bring your sister around to the front of my house at two o’clock, next Saturday afternoon. I will let the seniors know you will be escorting her into the grounds. We will be catering the tutors’ welcoming dinner, which usually finishes late so I would recommend that Leticia be picked up afterwards.”

Madeline then made sure I had her full attention.

“… and Sebastian. Leticia will only get one chance to impress.”

“Don’t worry, she’s a breath of fresh air,” I said positively, trying to dispel any doubt. “You’ll see!”

“I will.”

I took my cue to leave and Madeline saw me out the screen door, leaving me to make my own way along the secluded path and out of the grounds.

Once again, I forgot to say ‘thank you’ to this incredibly generous woman.