ten

Her feet and ankles swollen and aching, Mai looked with envy at the cat, newly delivered of six kittens — shed without effort, it had seemed. Now Puss lay back, purring and rested, as her hungry and blind offspring snuffled their way to her milk and suckled.

‘I would happily trade places with Puss,’ she said to Henry, bending with difficulty and rubbing her ankles.

‘You’d like to give birth to six children all at once?’ he said with an innocuous expression.

‘No, Henry, I would not like to give birth to six children all at once, but I long to have this confinement over and done with.’ Mai managed a chuckle, despite her discomfort. She gazed at the cat with affection, recalling the day Henry had brought her home. He’d found her in a sack tossed in a creek, in a miserable state. Thinking her better dead, he’d been about to finish the job when she’d looked up at him, her eyes large and piteous, and meowed. ‘I just couldn’t do it, Mai,’ he’d told her. ‘She’ll more than likely die anyway, but she deserves a chance.’ And Mai had agreed. Puss had thrived, and this litter — her third since Henry had brought her home — seemed set to do the same.

Henry gave Mai a comforting hug. ‘It’ll not be too much longer before this one makes its appearance, Mai. I’d gladly take your pain and discomfort upon myself were there some way of doing so.’

A woman certainly got the worst of the deal in the business of procreation, Henry thought to himself. And his assurance that he would gladly take on her pain and discomfort if it were possible had been made in the sure knowledge that it was not. In truth, he’d sooner risk his life in war than give birth. He, too, would be pleased to see this pregnancy over and done with. It had been far harder on her than the first two. He was grateful for Claire’s frequent visits. She was bright and chatty and provided a distraction for Mai.

Marking off the tins of Cadbury’s Bournville Cocoa and Drinking Chocolate and Britannia Sperm Candles just delivered, he looked up to see the object of his ruminations walking into the shop. He waved a greeting. Jimmy gave her a mooning smile as she breezed on out the back to see Mai.

Henry wondered how much work Jimmy’s fiancée actually did in the insurance and sharebroking business her brother had set up since coming to Hokitika. She seemed to spend more time at Bramwell’s than at Harringtons’ Insurance Brokers.

For the fourth time in as many minutes Jimmy sighed heavily, distracting Henry from his counting. ‘Dammit, man, if you’ve something to say, would you spit it out? You’re driving me insane with your sighing and mooning.’

‘I didn’t know I was sighing and mooning.’

‘Oh, you were, believe me. So what’s bothering you?’

Jimmy cast a quick look over his shoulder to make sure Claire was out of earshot. ‘Money’s what’s bothering me.’

‘Too much of it, have you?’ Henry said with a grin.

‘Well …’ said Jimmy, ‘I do have a bob or two tucked away with Elmer and he assures me my investment’s sound. The stock’s rising every day, he says.’

‘What’s worrying you, then?’

‘Oh, I’m not worried,’ Jimmy hastened to say. ‘Though, I’m finding things a bit tight, what with paying for our lodgings at the pub and all. We’ve a room each and it’s running away with my cash.’

‘You mean you’re paying for all three of you?’ Henry was astonished. ‘Why isn’t Elmer paying his own way? Come to that, why aren’t you and he sharing a room? That would cut down on the expense.’

‘It would, Henry. My word, yes it would, but I’ve not liked to suggest it. I feel obligated to the man. Claire wouldn’t have come to New Zealand unchaperoned. When Elmer decided to sell his agency in Melbourne and set up here, it meant she was able to travel with us. I would have stayed in Australia rather than risk losing her. And as for Elmer paying his own way, he would, of course, but the agency has taken a bit of getting up and running, you see, and he’s short of cash himself at the moment.’

That made sense, Henry acknowledged. At times, money had been tight in his own business, particularly when first starting up.

‘So why don’t you marry the woman? You’d have only two rooms to pay for then.’

‘Practical as ever, I see,’ said Jimmy. ‘But it’s not so easy. Claire doesn’t want to start married life living in a hotel. You know how she hates drink. She’s only tolerating staying at the Golden Age because there’s nowhere else. She wants a place of our own, but until I get my money back I can’t afford a tin shanty, let alone a cottage.’

‘I can’t see your problem. Tell Elmer you want your money. Give the woman what she wants.’

‘I’ve suggested that, Henry, but Elmer’s dead against me pulling out while the stock’s rising, and it’s tipped to go higher. He has his own money invested in Billingford Southern States, same as me, and has no intention of selling his stock at the moment. He says it’s our chance to make some real money.’

‘So he’s letting you keep him in the meantime, is he? Very generous of him, don’t you think?’ Henry said with a snort of disgust.

‘Ah, Henry, I don’t mind. He’ll see me right when he’s able. I stand to make a fortune with my stocks and, in the meantime, I’m managing.’ Jimmy paused, a doting smile on his face. ‘Claire’s worth it. She’s a grand girl, she is. I still can’t believe my good luck in finding her.’

Henry eyed Jimmy’s smitten expression with a certain amount of exasperation. Claire was a grand girl, but a bit too inclined to play the lady for his tastes — and Jimmy’s, he suspected. At the moment his friend was too besotted to see that, but Henry recalled how he would have scaled an erupting volcano to save Mai when he’d first met her. Still would, he supposed. This love business certainly undid a man, and Jimmy more than most. To Henry’s knowledge, at thirty-eight years of age, Jimmy had never even had a woman friend before Claire. Little wonder he’d fallen so hard for her.

‘And there’s another complication,’ Jimmy continued, not quite meeting Henry’s eyes. ‘When I was in Melbourne I told Claire and Elmer I had land here in Hokitika. Elmer was keen for me to sell it and put the money into stocks. I told them I needed to be here to sell it. Now they’re at me wanting to know why it hasn’t sold. They say I should lower my price to get rid of it and invest the money in stocks while they’re doing so well.’

‘They may well be right there, Jimmy. Land’s not fetching very good prices at the moment, you know.’

The intangibility of stocks and bonds held no appeal for Henry. He would never have chosen to invest his money in anything other than land and property, but Harrington’s advice to Jimmy seemed sound enough.

‘It’s your decision,’ Henry went on. ‘If you feel your money would be best invested with Elmer, then do as he and Claire suggest. Lower your price. Sell the land if it’ll make Claire happy.’

‘Damnation!’ Jimmy suddenly looked miserable. ‘I would if I could, but in truth, I have no land to sell.’

‘What the devil? You’ve just told me you have land, now you say you haven’t?’

‘Lord, Henry, but I feel an idiot,’ said Jimmy. ‘When I first met Claire, all I wanted was to impress her, so I exaggerated a little about my circumstances. I never thought for one moment she’d ever become my wife, and when she accepted my proposal I didn’t have the stomach to confess my lie. I hoped she’d forget about it.’

‘What were you thinking of, Jimmy? A woman has a memory like a camel. They never forget a thing.’ Henry snorted, giving his assistant a commiserative slap on the back. ‘I do see your problem, but other than owning up to your lie, I see no way out.’

‘I expect you’re right.’ Jimmy returned his attention to unpacking the stock and placing it on the shelves. But from the lack of enthusiasm in the man’s tone Henry wondered if he would do as he suggested.

Disappointed at Jimmy’s attitude, he shook his head. Lies and deceit were no way to start a marriage. Claire deserved better than that, as did Elmer. When they’d first met, Henry had thought Elmer an idle fop with an over-fondness for the drink, but he’d wasted no time in setting up his business. He still tended to drink more than was good for him, much to his sister’s annoyance, but it didn’t appear to interfere with his work. He was a shrewd investor, by Jimmy’s account. Henry was almost tempted to invest some money with the man.

The quiet was shattered by the arrival of Mrs Selby, the wife of Henry’s solicitor, and her twins, Emily and Arthur. They were dressed identically in red knee-length dresses and white broderie anglaise pinafores with matching red sashes, both sporting golden curls, and Henry was hard pressed to tell which of the pair was Arthur. ‘And how are you and your children today, Mrs Selby?’ he enquired, avoiding using the twins’ names in case he got them wrong.

‘I’m well, thank you Mr Bramwell, and, as you can see, little Arthur and Emily are blooming.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that. Now, how can I help you?’ Henry asked, thoughtfully rubbing his red side whiskers, deciding the slightly taller of the twins must be Emily because of the child’s pretty looks.

Mrs Selby produced a list from her bag. ‘Only a few bits and pieces today, Mr Bramwell. I’ve run out of cleaners and polish. We’ve managed to find a wonderful domestic. She’s a treasure — she’s turning the house out from top to bottom as I speak. Now, let me see …’ She peered short-sightedly at her list. ‘I’ll have a pound of caustic soda to make a batch of soap — we’ll be out of what we have before I can turn around, the way the woman’s ploughing through the cleaning. And a bottle of Cedar floor polish, a tin of Clever Mary Grease Cleaner, and I’d best take a pot of Rowland’s Odonto Tooth Powder as well, while I’m here. That should do for now.’ She put the list back in her bag.

‘Oh! Bless me, I nearly forgot — a tin of Gold Flake tobacco and a tin of matches for Mr Selby. He’d not be at all pleased with me if there was no tobacco for his pipe.’

Mai, finished serving another customer, chatted to Mrs Selby while Henry fetched her goods. ‘My, the children do look bonny. Such beautiful curls,’ Mai said, handing each of the twins a bullseye.

‘Indeed, Mrs Bramwell. But Arthur here’ — Mrs Selby patted the head that Henry had assumed was Emily’s — ‘is to visit the barber today. He’s having his hair cut off and he’ll be in breeches tomorrow.’ She gave Arthur’s curls a look of deep regret.

Mai recalled how sad she’d felt when Wiremu and Don had been breeched. Her heart went out to Mrs Selby.

‘Not before time, says Mr Selby,’ the other woman continued. ‘But they grow up so quickly, don’t you think, Mrs Bramwell?’

‘I’d have taken Arthur for the girl,’ Henry said to Mai after Mrs Selby had gathered her parcels and left.

Mai nodded her agreement. ‘A natural mistake. Poor little Emily is so plain and Arthur such a pretty boy.’

‘How a man’s expected to tell which is which is beyond me.’

‘It’s easy enough, Henry. Just look at their shoes.’ Mai laughed at his puzzled expression. ‘Emily was wearing ankle-strap shoes while Arthur’s were side-buttoned boots.’

‘Ahhh …’ Henry looked as if he’d at last discovered the answer to one of life’s greatest mysteries.