Isle of Tears (9 page)

The loss of life was limited on both sides, but Ngati Pono were amazed to learn that subsequent newspaper accounts described a battle of ferocious proportions, with many Maori deaths. Wira, returned with the Ngati Pono men from a council with Wiremu Kingi, was perplexed and worried that the situation was worse
than he, and Te Ati Awa in general, had been led to believe.

‘Someone must go to New Plymouth and find out how things stand,’ he finally announced one evening early in April.

‘But we would have been told if our allies had suffered such a defeat,’ Mere argued. She reached out with a stick and poked at the embers of the fire in the centre of the Tamaiparea whare. Sparks leapt, then floated upward with the smoke to disappear through the small hole in the roof.

‘It may be a trick,’ Wira insisted. ‘A trick to make us give up the fight.’

‘But Kingi would know that, surely?’

‘Apparently he does not. It is he who has asked that I send someone into the town.’

‘But who? None of the men can go. You certainly cannot.’ And then Mere realized. ‘Oh, no, Wira, you cannot send those children. I forbid it.’

Wira shrugged himself deeper into his blanket and extended his bare feet closer to the fire. It was still only April, but the nights were beginning to grow colder already. Another month and the kumara would be ready to harvest. ‘I am only thinking of the two eldest.’

Mere turned on him. ‘And what do you think they might do in New Plymouth? Ask Colonel Gold if he might care to have a cup of tea with them and discuss his plans of war?’

‘Do not be silly, woman. No, Kingi thought that if they keep their ears and eyes open they might pick up some useful information. Perhaps tell us what the mood of the settlers and
the soldiers is. And what really happened at Waireka.’

As always, Mere saw straight through her husband. ‘Kingi thought—or
you
thought? I think you mean
you
, you vain man, hoping to anoint yourself with glory in Kingi’s eyes!’

Wira pretended not to hear her, but had the grace to look guilty.

‘You are talking about spying, Wira, and I will not have it. How could you even think of such a thing? It would be far too dangerous for them.’

‘Why? The town is bursting at the seams. Who will notice two more Pakeha children? No one will know they belong to Ngati Pono.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Or perhaps only one should go. Perhaps Isla?’

‘No,
Isla is not to go alone,’ Mere said vehemently, ‘and that is that. And what if they
are
recognized? Or what if it is seen that they are not with their mother and father, and questions are asked? They will have to say that their mother and father are dead, and then they will not be allowed to leave.’

‘They are clever children, Mere, and very capable. They will think of something.’

Mere struck angrily at the fire with her stick, sending a shower of ash and sparks into the air. ‘No, they will
not,
because I will not allow them to go. Even if it was safe for them in the town, they may become lost, or attacked on the way. Who is to say that our allies will believe that they are from Waikaraka, if they do not know them? The British, too, may harm them, if they think they are spies.’

Wira’s expression became one of adamant petulance. ‘Wife, I wish you to ask them if they will consider doing this thing for us. I still cannot understand what they are saying.’

Mere folded her arms. ‘No,
husband.
If you want them to go,
you
ask them.’

‘All right, I will,’ Wira capitulated wearily, accepting once again that his headstrong wife was not going to obey him. ‘And Mere, it will be for them to say yes or no. They are old enough to decide.’

‘And if they say no?’

‘Then I will not force them. But if they do choose to go, I will not send them alone.’

Mere snorted derisively. ‘I am sure that no one who is not Pakeha will be permitted into that town.’

‘That is true, so I was thinking that someone should accompany them as far as it is prudent, then wait for them. That way, they will not become lost.’

This sounds more like my husband, Mere thought. He was arrogant and stubborn, yes, but she knew he was fond of the McKinnon children, Isla especially, and could not understand why he would wish to deliberately place them in harm’s way.

‘Ae? And who were you thinking of sending?’

‘Tai. He can be spared while there is no actual fighting.’

There was a long silence, then Mere said at last, ‘Wira Tamaiparea, are you matchmaking?’

Wira looked deeply offended. ‘Of course not! That is women’s work, not the job of a rangatira such as myself!’

But Mere could see, in the firelight, the tiniest tilt to his mouth as he tried not to smile.

When Wira broached the subject with her, Isla asked for some time to think about it and discuss the idea with Niel. At first, he had said no.

‘I’m no’ spying for anyone,’ he declared adamantly. ‘And I’m no’ going wi’ that cocky wee shite Tai, either. He’s too big for his boots.’

‘Well, I want tae go,’ Isla countered.

‘Why?’

‘I’ve some business tae attend tae in New Plymouth.
We
have.’

‘What business?’

‘I want tae find oot what’s happened tae Braeburn. The loan will no’ have been paid since Da died, ken.’

Niel’s brow creased. ‘But that’s
oor
land. Me and Da spent ages clearing it.’

‘Aye, but no’ any more if the repayments have fallen intae arrears.’

‘How will ye find oot?’

‘I’ll speak tae the bank manager.’

Niel rubbed a hand over the wispy copper-gold hairs on his chin, which he’d been carefully cultivating. ‘Ye’ll just march in and ask?’

‘Aye, and I’ve the papers tae show him.’ Isla stuck out a foot, revealing battered footwear nearing the end of its days. ‘And I

want some new boots.’

‘What will ye pay for them wi’? We’ve no money.’

‘Dinnae ken, yet. So ye’ll come?’

‘I’m no’ sure aboot leaving the weans here by themselves,’ Niel said eventually. ‘D’ye think they’ll be all right?’

‘They’ll no’ be by themselves; they’ll be with Mere and Ngahere. And Pare.’

Niel humphed. ‘I’m still no’ spying.’

‘Neither am I. We’re no’ being asked tae. All Wira wants is tae ken what happened at Waireka, and what’s gonnae happen next.’

‘That’s spying in ma book.’

‘No’ in mine.’

‘And why does that Tai laddie have tae come wi’ us?’

Isla gave an impatient sigh. ‘D’ye want tae find your own way tae New Plymouth?’

‘No.’

‘Then that’s why.’

‘But why him? He’ll be leerin’ at ye the whole way.’

‘Oh, he will
no’,
Niel. You’re such a galoot,’ Isla snapped, blushing and belatedly realizing that cocky Tai and her jealous brother would almost certainly clash at some stage during the expedition.

Wira was very pleased that Isla and Niel had agreed to his request.

‘It will take you two days and two nights to walk to New Plymouth if you keep off the Pakeha roads. Or two days and one night, if you take the horses,’ he said. ‘You should take the horses.’

‘But we cannae ride,’ Isla confessed. ‘We’ve never had horses so we never learned. Can we no’ walk?’

Wira agreed, though somewhat reluctantly, and two days later Isla, Niel and Tai set out for New Plymouth, each with a blanket and enough food in their peke, or bags, to last several days. Tai also carried a shotgun.

Leaving Jean and Jamie behind had been hard, as they had both wept inconsolably, thinking that they were about to lose their older brother and sister as well as their parents, but Isla had done her best to assure them that she and Niel would be back in four or five days, and with a little present for each of them. Still, Isla found it difficult not to cry herself at the sight of their panicked little faces, and at Laddie’s distressed whining when they left him at the village gate.

From the moment they had travelled beyond sight of Waikaraka’s gardens, the tension between Niel and Tai grew palpable. Tai kept up a steady stream of cheerful chatter, telling grandiloquent stories of what he’d been doing while he’d been away and pointing out various trees and plants to add to the McKinnons’ growing knowledge of forest lore, while Niel brought up the rear in sulky silence.

After several hours, he finally said exasperatedly, ‘Can ye no’ shut up for a bit?’

Tai stopped. ‘Why?’

‘Because I cannae hear masel’ think, that’s why,’ Niel grumbled.

‘What is it you are thinking about?’ Tai asked.

‘Just…things!’

Tai exchanged a quick but amused glance with Isla, who was trying to keep a straight face, very aware that if she did not Niel could well sulk for the entire trip. ‘Then I am sorry,’ he said. ‘I did not mean to interrupt your thoughts.’

Enraged by Tai’s smirk, and aware that he was behaving childishly, Niel only grunted and pushed his way past him, then set off at a cracking pace.

Tai shrugged, and they filed off again.

Half an hour later, Tai tapped Isla on the shoulder and whispered, ‘He is going the wrong way.’

And he was. They had come to a fork in the track several minutes ago, and Niel, not knowing the area at all but refusing to acknowledge the fact, had taken the wrong path.

‘Shall I tell him?’ Isla whispered back.

Tai shook his head. ‘No, I will. Niel!’

Ahead, Niel stopped and looked back, his face thunderous.

‘I would like to make a suggestion.’

Niel opened his hands as though he couldn’t care less, although Isla, who knew him well, could see the tension in his shoulders and the whiteness around his mouth.

‘There are two tracks out to the coast,’ Tai explained carefully. ‘This one, and the one we just passed. This one is more difficult.
I think you should consider taking the easier track. Not for yourself, of course, but for your sister.’

Isla knew she was capable of traversing any sort of terrain that Niel could manage, but held her tongue.

Niel gave the proposition serious consideration, then said finally, ‘Aye, perhaps you’re right. We’ll take the easier track. For Isla.’

As her brother took the lead again, backtracking to the fork, Isla whispered to Tai,
‘Are
there two tracks tae the coast?’

‘No, this one only goes to the mountain.’

Isla knew that the mountain was due south, not west, where New Plymouth lay. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards Tai, for his kindness and for his discretion, which she hadn’t realized he possessed. And when she mouthed ‘Thank you’ to him, he gave her a smile that was so full of something she couldn’t name that she blushed and turned away.

They walked until midday, according to Donal McKinnon’s watch, then halted for food and a short rest before setting off again, hoping to reach the outskirts of the tiny settlement of Manutahi, ten or so miles from New Plymouth, by nightfall.

By the time they stopped for the night, Isla’s feet and back were aching; she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, and the sole of one of her boots had almost come off. It flapped as she walked, and tripped her repeatedly, causing her to curse silently every time she stumbled. She also had a stiff neck and shoulders, caused, she suspected, from the tension of having to keep quiet on the track in case imperial troops were about,
or, equally dangerous, roaming trigger-happy vigilante settlers. Manutahi, however, appeared to be deserted.

That afternoon they had passed half a dozen burnt-out homesteads and farm buildings surrounded by paddocks empty of livestock, evidence that Maori raiding parties had been in the area. Isla felt vaguely sorry for the worry and harm that had befallen the area’s settlers, but she knew that the British were just as busy torching Maori villages and crops. She felt strangely detached from everything that was happening around her, and she wondered if her lack of compassion came from her own gnawing, bone-deep sorrow. Hearing echoes in the plight of the Maori of what had happened in the Highlands, she probably sympathized more with them, if she thought about it. They stood to lose not just their homes, but the land that had sustained them for centuries and, she was beginning to understand, that represented who they were, not just where they lived. But still, it was not her conflict; her job was to look after her brothers and sister.

Supper was bread, cold meat, and cold cooked potatoes, as Tai counselled against lighting a fire. Afterwards, by the light of a small oil lamp, he attempted to mend Isla’s boot, winding a length of harakeke twine around it and announcing that he hoped it would hold until they reached New Plymouth.

‘I could’ve done that,’ Niel muttered, sitting cross-legged on the ground and cleaning beneath his fingernails with a twig.

Isla, who had had just about enough of her brother’s truculence, snapped, ‘Aye, but I didnae hear ye offer!’

Niel pointed the twig accusingly at Tai. ‘Because he didnae
give me a chance!’

‘Ah, for God’s sake, Niel!’ Isla exclaimed. ‘Will ye no’ grow up! What does it matter who fixed ma boot?’

‘It matters tae
me!’
Niel shot back, his face turning red.
‘I’m
your brother, no’ him.
I’m
supposed tae look after ye!’

‘I do not want to be Isla’s brother,’ Tai said calmly. ‘I want to be her whaiaipo.’

Niel glared at him. ‘What?’

‘Her lover. I want to be her lover.’

Isla gasped, and her hand shot to her mouth.

In the weak lamplight, the blood drained from Niel’s face and he leapt to his feet. ‘Ye dirty bugger!’

Tai looked affronted. ‘I am not. I wish to be her husband.’

‘Ye’ll have tae fight me first!’

‘All right.’ Tai stood up. ‘If you want to.’

‘Aye, I do! I bloody do!’ Niel shouted, raising his fists and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Tai stepped around the lamp to face him, and Niel swung wildly: Tai ducked and Niel missed.

‘Stop it, the pair o’ ye!’ Isla cried, scrambling to her feet.

‘Keep oot o’ it, Isla,’ Niel warned as he bounced around, looking for a good angle from which to strike.

Tai threw a punch, although Isla noted that it wasn’t a particularly powerful one. It glanced off Niel’s shoulder and he retaliated with one of is own, a solid blow that struck Tai above the ear. Tai stepped out of Niel’s range, and waited.