21

Isabella went to the door as soon as she heard voices in the street. She’d sent the maid out shopping, because she wanted to greet the visitors herself. Arlen and Neala followed her, standing shyly pressed against their mother’s full skirts.

Her heart sank when she saw how stiffly Bram and Fergus were behaving towards one another, as they stood back to let Cara enter the house first. The Gradys were hanging back, too, so she beckoned to them. ‘Do come inside!’

The older couple hesitated then followed Cara into the house, with Fergus’s two boys trailing behind them.

‘Welcome to our home,’ Isabella said. ‘We’re very happy that you’ve come.’ She was glad she and her family mostly lived in the huge kitchen area, because she was sure the Gradys would feel more comfortable there.

Inside, Cara stopped to wait for her near the kitchen door. ‘We’re delighted to be here. Thank you for having us.’

Isabella hoped she’d hidden her surprise at the ladylike accent. ‘Let me see the baby. Oh, isn’t she a dear!’

She realised they were blocking the doorway, leaving the Gradys hovering in the hall, looking uncomfortable. ‘Sorry. I love babies. Do come into the kitchen.’

She saw Fergus’s younger son edge towards his grandfather and the old man put a reassuring arm round the child’s shoulders and said impulsively, ‘I’m very glad you two have come here with Fergus, Mr and Mrs Grady. We’re in great need of grandparents in our family, if you can find room in your hearts for other children.’ She saw the older couple brighten up at this.

Cara shot her such a warm, grateful look that Isabella felt sure the two of them would get on well. ‘And it’ll be good for me to have another sister, Cara, because Ismay spends very little time in Fremantle these days. She’s turned into a real sailor.’

She gestured around the big room at the rear of the house. ‘We spend most of our time in here. We have a parlour at the front for entertaining visitors, but the family rarely use it.’

‘This room is lovely, so big and bright.’ Ma went to look out at the garden, which was rather a mess, mostly bare earth, apart from where there were paving stones. ‘Do you not grow your own vegetables?’

‘Bram and I are too busy at the Bazaar. We had a man who used to come and tidy the garden up for us, but he’s recently moved down to Albany, so we’ll have to find someone else to do it.’ Ma nudged Pa.

‘I could do that for you, if you like,’ he offered. ‘I used to help a friend in his garden. I always wanted one of my own.’

‘That’d be a big help, Mr Grady. I know someone who can teach you about the Australian plants, which can be different from what you’re used to. Getting our own fresh vegetables would be wonderful.’ She guessed he’d want to be independent and added casually, ‘In fact, if you find you enjoy gardening here, you could earn a living helping people out, set up your own business, even.’

He brightened up at once. ‘I’d like that. Um … do you think you could call me Pa, you being one of the family? If you don’t mind, that is. “Mr Grady” doesn’t sound like me.’

‘And I’m Ma.’

‘I’ll do that if you call me Isabella.’

They looked a bit dubious. ‘I insist,’ she told them.

‘Isabella, then,’ Ma said. ‘It’s a lovely name.’

Cara had been standing back, letting them speak, but now came to look out at the garden. ‘Is that a lemon tree?’

‘Yes. They grow very well here. So do melons.’

‘Imagine picking your own lemons!’

‘I’ve never even heard of a melon,’ Ma said.

‘Big round fruits. You cut them in slices. You’ll get plenty of them here. They’re delicious.’

The two brothers had come into the back room by this time and Pa greeted Fergus eagerly. ‘Mrs – um, Isabella, I mean – thinks I can find work as a gardener. Now, wouldn’t that be grand?’

She knew then that she’d guessed correctly.

Fergus beamed at his sister-in-law. ‘What a wonderful idea! I can buy Pa the tools to set him up.’

‘I can sell you them cheaply. I deal in second-hand goods as well as new,’ Bram said at once.

‘That’s good,’ said Fergus, but after that, the conversation between the two brothers stopped as abruptly as it had started.

Isabella showed them the indoor bathroom and water closet to one side of the kitchen.

‘Now, isn’t that a marvel!’ Pa said. ‘I’ve heard about those things being put in people’s houses, but I never did think I’d be using one.’

‘Shall we have a cup of tea or would you like to see your bedrooms first?’ Isabella asked as cheerfully as she could manage, vowing to strangle Bram when they were alone for not helping the conversation along.

They opted to see the bedrooms.

While his wife took their guests upstairs, Bram stayed in the kitchen to fill the kettle and push it over the hob, sighing. It had never been easy dealing with his brother and that hadn’t changed as much as he’d hoped.

But surely Fergus would relax with them as he settled in. Why was his brother so on edge, anyway?

Bram thought about this and guessed his brother was worried about finding gainful employment. A man liked to be the breadwinner for his family, not have them all dependent on his brother’s generosity.

He hadn’t thought as far ahead as helping Fergus find a job. He should have done. Only, he didn’t know what his brother’s skills were. So many things he didn’t know about Fergus. All the years they’d lost!

Just then, the lads from the docks arrived with the handcarts full of luggage and he called his brother down to help decide what would go upstairs and what might be stored in the shed for the time being.

There was a big wooden crate that puzzled him. ‘That doesn’t look like clothes. Did you bring some bits and pieces of furniture?’

‘No.’ Fergus laid a hand on the box. ‘It’s my tools. I was a railway engineer’s assistant. I was thinking to get a similar job here. Only someone told me there isn’t a railway.’ He sighed.

‘Ah.’ That would explain part of Fergus’s anxiety. ‘No, there isn’t, but if you’re good with tools, there’s machinery that needs fixing, and never enough people who understand what to do with it.’

‘I’m good with machinery. I’m quite good with wood too.’

‘There are plenty of jobs for carpenters as well.’

A confidence escaped his brother. ‘I was hoping to find a good job, one where I could see chances of getting on, bettering myself. Cara deserves more than a labourer’s wages. Do you … know what happened to her? Why she married a fellow like me?’

‘No.’

He glanced towards the stairs, hesitated, then said in a rush, ‘She was attacked, left expecting a child and her father threw her out. The poor little thing died, so she became wet nurse to Niamh and … we found we liked one another, so we got married.’

‘She isn’t the first to be attacked like that. It’s a good thing she found you.’

His brother’s whole face softened in a way Bram had rarely seen. He realised suddenly that whatever the reason for them marrying, there was genuine affection between him and his wife. And he understood only too well how it felt to marry someone brought up a lady, how you feared their scorn. Though that had never happened with his Isabella.

‘I’m the lucky one, marrying a lady like her,’ Fergus said quietly.

Bram offered a confidence of his own. ‘We’re both lucky that way in our wives. Isabella was stranded in Singapore when I met her, working for a Chinese family. Her employer suggested we marry. He’s a very shrewd man. No one ever did me a better favour.’ He could see Fergus relaxing a little more.

When he realised the confidences had ended for the time being, Bram went back to their former topic of conversation. ‘Here, we tend to make our own jobs. You’ll … let me help you set yourself up, won’t you?’

‘I don’t want charity.’

‘I won’t be offering it. I won’t need to. But I do know the colony and I’m acquainted with a lot of people. There’s a real shortage of skilled craftsmen and engineers here. I could put the word around about you when we’ve decided what exactly you want to do.’

‘I’d … be grateful for that sort of help.’ But Fergus’s voice sounded grudging.

‘Good. Good. But first we must take a day or two to show you round Fremantle, and take you up to see the capital. If you’d like to, that is. There’s a paddle steamer up to Perth. It’s a pleasant trip.’

When there was another heavy silence, he risked adding some more advice, ‘You’ll find it takes a few weeks to settle in and see your way more clearly, and don’t think you need to rush into anything. We’ve got plenty of room and you’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you need.’

Fergus nodded and muttered a thank you. But he didn’t smile.

Bram was unable to think of anything else to say and there was still a tension in the air, so he waited till the lads had carried in the last of the luggage and slipped them a couple of coins.

Then he noticed Fergus’s scowl. Oh dear. He should have left the payment to his brother.

‘The tea will be brewed by now.’ He turned to call upstairs for the rest of the family to come and have a cup of tea, but just then the door knocker sounded. He opened it to see Livia and Mr Newland.

‘We need to let you and your brother’s family know something,’ she said.

‘You might as well come in and have a cup of tea with us. It’s just brewed.’ He saw her open her mouth to refuse and mouthed, ‘Please?’ He was relieved when she nodded. It’d be good to have others there to help fill the awkward silences. Even though Fergus was family, it wasn’t easy.

The children led the way downstairs, clattering past the visitors and out into the garden, where Arlen wanted to show his cousins the cat, which had just had kittens in the shed.

When all the adults were seated round the big kitchen table, Livia explained her maids’ suggestion about claiming Rémi as a second cousin. ‘It sounds silly, I know, but they’re certain it’s necessary and well, it’s too late to stop them spreading the word now. Orla was setting off shopping as we left.’

‘I think it’s a good idea,’ Isabella said. ‘They’re right. People will gossip, whether there’s fuel for their suspicions or not.’

‘She’s right. They will,’ Bram said. ‘Except that they’re more outspoken here, I think, more …’ He searched for a word.

‘Independent,’ Livia said. ‘There are distinctions between rich and poor, and I suppose there always will be, but the poor don’t kow-tow as much to their so-called betters here, and they have more chances in life.’

The newcomers were listening intently, so she went on. ‘The biggest differences are between those with convict ancestry and the free settlers, which doesn’t seem fair sometimes, given that quite a few Irish convicts were brought here merely because of their political convictions, not because they’d committed criminal acts.’

‘We’ve none of us been in Ireland for a good many years,’ Pa said with a sigh. ‘And I don’t suppose I’ll ever see it again.’

Ma patted her husband’s hand. ‘It’s people who matter, not where you live.’

Livia finished her cup of tea. ‘I think we should leave you all in peace now. I’m showing Cousin Rémi round Fremantle, since he was itching for a good walk.’

‘My Cousin Livia is being very kind,’ Rémi teased.

They exchanged smiles as they spoke.

‘The two of them are certainly getting on well,’ Bram said after they’d left. ‘I’d have taken them for a married couple if I didn’t know they’d only just met. They seem very relaxed with one another, don’t you think? I hope he won’t try to take advantage of her.’

‘He’s a fine gentleman, Mr Newland is,’ Ma said firmly. ‘You’ve no need to worry about him treating her with anything but respect. Indeed, he deals kindly with everyone he meets, rich or poor, that one does.’

‘He’s a remittance man, though.’ Bram shook his head. ‘There has to be some reason for that.’

‘He told me that was because he didn’t get on with his uncle,’ Fergus said. ‘Give the man a chance to prove himself, I say.’

‘I’m only worrying about Livia,’ Bram protested.

Cara could see the two brothers getting annoyed with each other, so joined in hastily. ‘I don’t think you need to, Bram. Like Ma, I’ve always found Rémi very gentlemanly. He ran classes on both ships for the steerage passengers about self-help. I heard a lot of the men commenting on how interesting he was, how he’d made them think about their futures.’

Isabella changed the subject firmly. ‘How about another scone, Mrs Grady? And Fergus, do eat your fill.’

After the snack, the newcomers went upstairs to unpack and settle into their rooms.

‘I like your family,’ Cara said to Fergus when they were alone. ‘Why are you so wary with Bram, though?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t seem to help it.’

‘He’s the same with you. You’re both feeling your way, I suppose. Don’t take his words the wrong way, will you? I’m sure he always means well, he seems so kind.’

‘No. I won’t. Well, I’ll try not to. I just … don’t like being beholden to him.’

‘He’s your brother. It’s different helping one another when it’s family.’

‘I suppose so.’ He drew her gently into his arms, and they stood quietly together for a few moments until Sean burst into the room, at which they moved quickly apart.

He didn’t seem to notice that they’d been embracing. ‘Dad, I want to unpack my clothes and things. Is it all right?’

‘Ask your mama. She’s in charge of that.’

‘I’ll come and help you,’ Cara said at once.

After that there was no chance for her and Fergus to talk privately till they went to bed, and by then Cara was so tired she fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. Niamh had been fast asleep for some time, tired out by being passed from one person to another.

Fergus lay awake for only a few minutes longer than his wife, enjoying the warmth of the early autumn night, which was so hot they needed only a sheet to cover them. If this was autumn, what would summer be like?

He smiled at the outline of the sleeping woman beside him. So much for his intention of making Cara his wife in more than name once they had the privacy of their own bedroom.

Well, that had waited for over two months. It could wait a little longer. Not too long, he hoped. He found her very attractive.

A yawn surprised him and he let himself follow her into sleep.

The following day Bram and Isabella took their visitors to see the Bazaar. Bram tried to hide his pride in his achievement, worried that it’d make his brother feel worse. But he couldn’t avoid taking them to see it, of course he couldn’t.

Fergus looked round in amazement. ‘I hadn’t expected it to be so big.’

‘I sometimes have to pinch myself,’ Bram admitted. ‘Is this really mine? I think.’ He saw his brother relax a little at that.

‘Let’s leave the men on their own. Come and look at my part of the Bazaar.’ Isabella took Cara and Mrs Grady across to look at her silks.

‘I never saw anything as beautiful,’ the old woman said. ‘Could I be touching one, do you think? I won’t mark it. My hands are clean and they’ve lost their roughness after two months without scrubbing.’

‘Of course you can touch them. Here. This is a heavier silk, makes up well into skirts and bodices. And this is a very light one, often used to make wraps for hot summer evenings.’

Ma ran one fingertip across the materials. ‘They’re so beautiful, my dear, to touch as well as to look at. I’m glad to have felt what silk is like.’

Seeing the other woman’s simple pleasure and lack of envy, Cara vowed to herself that one day she’d buy Ma a length of silk and make her a dress for going to church. And she’d wear silk again herself. What’s more, if Isabella could help her husband, so could she.

‘Do you need to get on with your work now?’ Fergus asked his brother. ‘I can remember the way back to your house. We don’t want to get in your way.’

‘No, no. My assistant Freddie can cope. I’d rather stay with you. We’ve a lot of time to make up, haven’t we?’

They fell silent, looking at one another almost shyly, then both smiled at the same time.

‘It’s different here when we have a new shipment come in,’ Bram went on. ‘I couldn’t leave the Bazaar then. We put an advertisement in the newspapers about what we’ve got for sale and people flock to buy things before they run out. I’d definitely be needed here then. It’s not like England or Ireland, with goods coming in all the time. It’s the ships that bring most of them to Fremantle.’

‘Everything here seems to depend on ships,’ Fergus said thoughtfully.

‘It does. Even getting to the other side of Australia, since there are no roads across the country.’

‘One day they’ll have a railway, I should think. They’re building them all over the world.’

‘It’ll be longer for a railway line to be built to the west. Why would they make a railway two thousand miles long to reach only thirty thousand people? It sometimes feels as if we’re in a different country from Sydney.’

Fergus nodded. ‘You read about Australia being bigger than Britain, but until you get here, you don’t realise how big it is.’

‘So … until Adam returns in the Bonny Ismay, they can manage without me for the odd hour or two and I can spend time with you,’ Bram said.

‘He called his ship after our sister?’

‘Yes. Isn’t that wonderful?’

‘It is, yes. Is she happy with him?’

‘Very happy. I think we’ve all been lucky in who we’ve married. Me with Isabella and Maura with Hugh. Was your marriage to Eileen happy?’

Fergus only shrugged, so Bram didn’t pursue that. ‘Cara seems a lovely person.’

‘She is.’

‘We have to call in on Aunt Maura and Hugh. I promised we would do that today.’

‘I’m looking forward to seeing her again. What’s that on the shelf?’

Bram turned so quickly he stumbled over a floorboard that had come loose at one edge and Fergus had to steady him. He clicked his tongue in exasperation. ‘I must get someone to come and fix that. I don’t want customers tripping and hurting themselves. One of the sellers dropped a big box here and damaged some of the floorboards. They need resetting, I think. Or something. What do I know about carpentry?’

Fergus brightened. ‘I can do that for you.’

‘Can you? I’d be very grateful. As I told you, it’s hard to find good tradesmen. It’s not a big job, but it’s annoying me. One man promised to come to fix it, but didn’t turn up. The wood has shrunk since the floor was laid, I think, and some other parts are a bit uneven. I suppose we must expect that sort of thing in a hot climate. Could you fix anything that needs doing while you’re at it?’

‘Oh, yes. I can go over the whole floor and check it out.’

‘Done!’ Bram stuck out his hand and they shook on the bargain. ‘As long as you let me pay you.’

‘I’ll not. You’re feeding us all. That’s enough.’

‘But—’

Isabella had been listening and now walked across to dig Bram in the ribs. ‘Stop arguing,’ she said. ‘Let your brother help you.’

He grinned at Fergus. ‘All right, then. No payment, I have to do as my wife tells me. She’s a terrible nag. So I’ll just say thank you and be grateful for your help.’

‘I can start on it today.’

‘Tomorrow,’ Bram said firmly. ‘We’re due at Maura’s this afternoon, so I’ll show you round the town now.’’

Before they left, Fergus walked round the Bazaar, studying the floor. ‘I’ll have to bring my tools.’

‘They looked heavy. We’ve got a little hand trolley somewhere in the back room.’ Bram turned to his assistant. ‘Freddie, do you know where the trolley is? My brother needs it to bring over his tools. He’s going to fix our floor for us.’

‘That’ll be grand, Mr Deagan,’ Freddie said. ‘I worry someone will trip.’

Fergus began walking round, with Bram beside him still. ‘We’ll need some new timber here and there. Where would I be finding that?’

‘My friend Mitchell Nash has a timber yard. I can take you there, but you will have to do the choosing. I’m better at dealing with horses than woodworking, which is why we’ve kept the livery stables just down the slope. I’ve a fellow manages them for me. There are a few little rooms there for grooms and such. He sees to all that. It’s where I’m storing Rémi’s things.’

‘You have a livery stable as well?’ Fergus asked in surprise.

Bram shrugged. ‘With Conn. I don’t own this piece of land, you know. He does. So he gets a share of the profits. The stables were already there when he bought it.’

Fergus focused on the floor again. ‘I’ll need some paper to write a list. Do you have a pencil?’

Bram provided one and soon found his brother did more talking to himself and didn’t seem to hear half of what was said to him, so Bram went to see Cara. ‘I can’t get Fergus away from the floor now.’

She looked across at her husband. ‘I think he’s missed having something to do. He loves fixing things.’

‘Do you want to walk round the town and leave him to it?’

She gave him a rueful smile. ‘I think we’ll have to.’

‘He didn’t need to start work straight away,’ Bram told Pa quietly. ‘We would have liked to give him time to settle in here first.’

‘I know that. But Fergus is one who needs to work, needs to feel he’s supporting his family,’ Pa replied, just as quietly. ‘It’s fretting him not to have a job. He’s not a man for reading books and such, let alone sitting around all the time. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll leave him to it. If he feels he’s paying our way in your house, he’ll be a lot happier. You’ll see. Aha.’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘There’s nothing wrong at all. It’s just that Fergus is whistling. That means he’s enjoying what he’s doing. It used to drive my Eileen mad, but I like to hear it.’

‘Well, when people find out that we have a new carpenter in town, he’ll get plenty more offers of work, believe me,’ Bram said. ‘Too many, probably.’

‘Good.’ Pa smiled across at his son-in-law, then turned back to his host. ‘It’s machinery your brother likes best, though. He used to love working on the railways. And those engineers had a lot of respect for him.’

Bram sighed. ‘I think it’ll be a long time before we have railways here.’

‘Such a pity. That upset him when he found out.’

They went to stand in the doorway and Pa lifted his face to the sun.

‘Not too hot for you?’ Bram asked.

‘Ah, no. I’ve been cold so often, I’d never complain about being too hot.’

So Bram took everyone else for a walk round the neighbourhood, not going too far, because Fergus had said he’d be only half an hour.

Afterwards he left his new relatives at the house and went back to the Bazaar to see his brother. ‘Everything all right?’

Fergus smiled, the genuine smile of a man feeling happy. ‘I’ve checked the whole floor, and we’ll need a dozen or so more pieces of wood.’

‘We’ll go round to my friend Mitchell Nash’s timber yard.’

Mitchell and Fergus were soon talking about wood, most of their talk going over Bram’s head. He watched his brother, mildly surprised to see the respectful way Mitchell was listening to him as the two men exchanged views on timber for flooring.

They were lucky to find some used planks, which Fergus said would fit better once the old nails were pulled out and the wood sanded. New wood might shrink and change colour.

‘Your brother knows what he’s talking about,’ Mitchell said as they were leaving. ‘I can find him work any time, and so I told him.’

Bram nodded, pleased by this compliment.

Fergus smiled happily as they walked along.

Bram glanced sideways. This made a better start, he thought. He’d learned quite a few things about his brother today, Fergus’s fierce independence for one.

It took time to get to know someone, and Fergus was more like a stranger than a close relative. Bram hadn’t expected that, had expected somehow to continue as the older brother, guiding a younger one in new ways.

Which was stupid.

He hoped he could keep the improved feeling between them. People were never easy. Even the nicest ones had their foibles.

The Deagans walked round to Maura and Hugh’s house that afternoon. Ma and Pa insisted on staying behind, because this was a family reunion.

‘But you’re family now,’ Bram protested.

‘We’re starting to be. But you’ll be better on your own today,’ Ma said. ‘Now leave that baby with us and get off with you. Me and Pa will have a nice rest while you’re gone and maybe a stroll along the street. She likes to have things to look at, our Niamh does.’

This time each brother had his wife on his arm, and their four children were with them, so there weren’t any awkward silences.

Maura opened the door herself, stood for a moment staring at Fergus, then burst into tears and flung her arms round him.

She pulled away quickly, mopping her eyes and trying to smile. ‘I promised myself not to weep all over you, but I couldn’t help it. It’s wonderful to see you again, and looking so well.’

Her husband stepped forward. ‘Why don’t you all come in and we’ll do the introductions there?’

As Fergus went into the parlour, he stopped dead at the sight of Ryan. There was no mistaking another Deagan. ‘Ryan? I can’t believe you’re so grown up. You were a little child when I last saw you.’

He looked at the girl standing next to Ryan. ‘And you must be Noreen. I don’t think we ever met.’

She smiled shyly. ‘It feels strange to have a new brother.’

It felt strange to him to have a little sister who didn’t speak with much of an Irish accent at all. ‘We’ll remedy that now, get to know one another.’ He introduced the rest of the newcomers and they all sat down.

But it was the women who led most of the conversation and filled the awkward silences, not only by words but by passing plates full of delicious cakes and scones.

Inevitably, Ryan started chatting to the two younger boys who were his nephews and Fergus could see that he was finding that easier than chatting to the stranger who was his older brother.

At one stage Fergus wandered over to the piano, which he’d been trying to resist. ‘Can I give it a quick try?’

‘You play?’ Hugh asked.

‘I do.’

‘And he has a beautiful voice,’ Cara said proudly.

Hugh beamed at him. ‘Will you give us a song, then? We all love music.’

Fergus shrugged and sat down at the piano. As soon as he started to play, he forgot all the awkwardness and lost himself in the music.

When people began clapping at the end of the song, he jerked back to awareness of where he was and smiled back at them.

‘Why don’t we have a sing-song?’ Maura suggested.

But when they did begin to sing, Fergus stopped, wincing. ‘I’d forgotten your singing, Bram. You’ve got no better. Could you maybe be our audience?’

Isabella chuckled. ‘That’s what I tell him. I can’t stop him humming round the house when he’s happy but I’ve trained him to do it quietly.’

‘What a loving wife!’ Bram said, grinning. ‘All right. I’ll keep my mouth shut and listen to the rest of you.’

Later, when the visitors had left, Hugh led the way back into the parlour, with one arm round his wife’s shoulders. ‘There are a lot of bridges to be built between brothers and sisters. Give it time. You can’t manage their lives for them.’

She tapped her own chest. ‘And bridges need building between aunts and nephews, as well.’

He pulled her close for a hug. ‘Well, it’ll all come right in the end, I’m sure, because there’s goodwill on all sides.’

‘Oh, no!’ She looked at him in dismay.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’ve just realised I’m the great-aunt of those children. Great-aunt! How old that makes me sound.’

He began laughing helplessly at her expression of dismay. ‘My darling, you’re not a day older than you were this morning.’

She didn’t share his amusement, going to stare at herself in the mirror and mouth the word ‘great-aunt’, shaking her head at her reflection.