Kitty (17 page)

‘But if you had to pick, which way do you think it will go?’ Simon asked.

Rian sighed. ‘I think most of them will sign. Unfortunately.’

Kitty was surprised to hear him admit it. ‘Well, I expect we’ll find out at the meeting on Friday.’

‘I won’t,’ Rian said. ‘We’re sailing this afternoon. Very soon, actually.’

Kitty felt an unpleasant and unwelcome jolt of disappointment.

‘Where are you off to this time?’ Simon asked.

‘Sydney.’

‘Timber again?’

Rian nodded. ‘We loaded at Hokianga the day before yesterday. Anyway, I’m not sure there will be a meeting on Friday.’

Kitty frowned at him. ‘Why on earth wouldn’t there be?’

Rian pointed over to the hangi pits where a dozen men were lifting out baskets of steaming food and arranging them on flax mats. ‘There won’t be enough food to last until Friday,’ he said. ‘Hobson won’t want the chiefs leaving, so he might hold the meeting sooner. Or the Maoris will, if they decide they’re going to sign.’

‘Do you really think so?’ Simon asked, clearly impressed with Rian’s perception.

‘It’s likely.’

Kitty waved reluctantly at her aunt, who was crossing the lawn towards them, her slight figure dodging the much larger ones of the Maoris as they began to wander over to the hangi pits. As they watched, a scuffle broke out around the barrel of tobacco Hobson had brought from Sydney as a gift for the chiefs.

‘Good afternoon, Mr Bullock,’ Sarah said. ‘Kitty, have you seen Wai and Amy? It’s time we went home and tended to supper. Reverend Kelleher will be wanting his very shortly, I would think.’

It didn’t take Kitty long to find Amy, who was lounging on the grass with the crowd from Pukera. She acknowledged Kitty with her pipe.

‘Where’s Wai?’ Kitty asked.

Amy shrugged. ‘Gone to the house? Not feeling good, I think.’

Kitty frowned. ‘When was that?’

Amy shrugged again. ‘Midday? I am not sure.’

Exasperated, Kitty said, ‘Why didn’t you come and tell me? She might have needed some help. Sick in the belly?’

‘No. Sick in the heart,’ Amy said. ‘Sad.’

Kitty felt very cross. Wai had been down in the dumps for some weeks now. She seemed to have lost her enthusiasm for just about everything except sleeping, and had been going about very quietly day after day like a sad little mouse. Kitty had asked what the matter might be, but Wai’s response had been nothing more than a belligerent shake of the head, and, on one occasion, tears.

‘Well, we need to begin supper,’ she said.

Amy waved her pipe again, this time at the Pukera people. ‘Soon, when Tupehu goes back to the village. He will not stay here tonight.

Then I will come.’

Kitty knew it was pointless telling her she had to come now. She looked back to where Aunt Sarah had been standing, but she’d gone; Simon and Captain Farrell too. She would have to find Wai herself.

K
itty begged a ride in a dinghy across the Waitangi River, full again now that the tide was almost in, then walked along the beach feeling distinctly worried. It was very unlike Wai to miss such an exciting event. When she reached the house, she went straight around the back to the privy, where she sat wondering what she should do if Wai wasn’t inside.

But Wai was in the house; in her room, in fact, crying—Kitty could hear her. She dropped her gloves, bonnet and shawl on the garden bench and tapped hesitantly on Wai’s door.

‘Wai? It’s me, Kitty. Can I come in?’

There was a long silence before the door finally opened a couple of inches. Through the crack Kitty could see Wai’s blotchy face, her lovely dark eyes swollen from what must have been several hours of weeping.

‘Let me in, Wai. What’s wrong? Please tell me.’

Wai peered out at her for a moment, then the door slowly opened and she stepped aside to let Kitty in.

‘What’s wrong?’ Kitty said again. ‘Why have you been crying?’ She sat down on the rumpled bed. ‘You were all right this morning, weren’t you?’

‘No,’ Wai replied and burst into fresh tears.

Kitty reached out and touched the other girl’s hand. It felt very cold and she’d bitten her fingernails right back. ‘Come on, Wai, you can tell me, surely?’

Wai wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘Will you keep a secret?’

‘Of course I will, if that’s what you want.’

‘You must not tell,’ Wai insisted.

‘I won’t, I promise.’

Wai heaved in a huge, hitching breath, then began to slowly unbutton her dress so that the shoulders slid down her arms. She held the dress at her hips then turned sideways and, almost fearfully, closed her eyes.

At the sight of Wai’s noticeably enlarged breasts and the firm, smooth swell of her belly, Kitty thought for a moment that she really might faint. Wai had not been putting on weight over the past months as Kitty had supposed—she was pregnant.

The two girls stared at each other, Kitty’s eyes huge and Wai’s filling with tears again, both fully aware of the terrible trouble this would cause.

‘Oh my God,’ Kitty said eventually, her hand over her mouth now as she fought to control her rising panic. ‘Oh, Wai, what happened?’

‘I lay with someone, that is what happened!’ Wai snapped. Then fear overcame the flash of anger and she whispered, ‘I made a bad mistake.’

‘What will your father say?’ Kitty asked, terrified at the very thought of Tupehu’s reaction. ‘It isn’t…it isn’t your intended’s, is it?’ But, her heart plummeting even as she said it, she knew that it would not be the Taupo chief’s child. It couldn’t be—by her own admission, Wai hadn’t seen him since she was twelve years old.

Wai shook her head. ‘No, not him.’

‘A man from here, from the village?’

‘Ae, from here.’

Kitty felt panic threatening to engulf her again and fought unsuccessfully to push it away. ‘For God’s sake, Wai,
who
then?’

‘I cannot say.’

‘You can say, Wai, you
have
to say! If it’s a man of good standing your father might not be so angry.’

Wai began to button her dress.

‘Is it?’ Kitty urged. ‘Is it a man with mana?’

Wai sighed, then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Kitty felt a tendril of relief beginning to unfurl inside her, but froze when Wai said, ‘A Pakeha man. A man of God.’

And suddenly, Kitty knew. A wave of nausea surged through her. ‘Oh no, not Uncle George?’

Wai snatched her hairbrush off her chest of drawers and hurled it across the room, where it hit the wall with a loud crack. ‘I did not want to!’ she cried. ‘He said I would be saved and I would get the redemption. He said I would go to Hell if I told!’ Her anger turned to despair and her voice shot up several octaves. ‘I did not
want
to go to Hell, Kitty—I did not
want
to burn for ever!’

Kitty felt a rush of pure hatred for her greedy, self-indulgent, demented uncle. She bit her lip, then took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘What did he say when you told him? About…’ she pointed at Wai’s belly.

‘I did not have to tell him, he saw. He told me to stay away from him because now I am unclean.’ Wai stared at Kitty hopelessly. ‘I do not know what to do.’

Kitty stared back. Neither did she.

Amy stood in the long afternoon shadows outside her cousin’s bedroom window, listening to every word Wai and Kitty said. A sharp, sour rage had risen up from her gut and was burning her throat. She felt her anger twitching in her limbs and tensed her muscles against it.

Wai had
always
been the favoured one, the one who got the privileges and the respect and the special treatment. She was beautiful and loved and complacent and everything always worked out for her. And now she was carrying the child of a man of God while she, Amy, had to put up with the stinking sailors off the ships slobbering on her and spilling their seed in her, all so Tupehu could have his muskets. But even as she bit back a curse of jealous anger, she realised that now there was a way she could stop all that, perhaps even stop the English Queen from coming and stealing everything from her people. And this time, everything would not work out for silly, spoiled Wai.

She crept silently away, across the yard and down the side of the house until she reached the beach. Then she ran, faster than she had ever run before, along the sand until she came to the track that led to Pukera. If she hurried she would reach the village just after Tupehu himself arrived. And then she would tell him what his precious daughter had done.

After a mile she slowed down to regain her breath. As she walked, she thought she heard the faint sounds of someone coming down the narrow track the other way. She froze. Yes, someone was definitely coming, and she did not have time to stand and make stupid small talk. She stepped silently off the path and moved into the bush where she squatted behind a clump of toetoe. Concentrating, she slowed her breathing and willed her body to become completely motionless.

She felt rather than heard feet approaching, then the person on the track was almost directly in front of her. She held her breath and stayed as still as possible.

Whoever it was stopped.

Seconds went by until she thought she couldn’t hold her breath for a moment longer.

Then a hand burst through the toetoe, grabbed her hair and yanked her out onto the track.

‘I thought it was you,’ Haunui said in Maori. ‘Who else would skulk in the bushes?’

‘Let go, you are hurting me!’ Amy aimed a kick at Haunui’s legs, but he stepped aside, pulling her head around so that her neck was uncomfortably bent.

‘What are you up to this time?’ he asked.

She twisted her head so she was staring up into his ugly face. He looked amused, which was not always a good sign with him. ‘Nothing!’ she spat.

‘Amiria, you are never up to nothing. Where are you going?’

‘Let me go.’

Haunui let go of her hair so she could straighten up, but clamped a massive hand around her forearm to stop her from running away. ‘Where are you going?’ he said again, more sharply this time.

‘To talk to Tupehu.’

Haunui snorted. ‘What do you have to say that my brother would want to hear?’

Amy lost her temper. ‘
Why
do you treat me like this?
Why
do you not respect me? I am
sick
of it!’

‘Because this is the way
you
treat everyone, Amiria. Without respect.’

Amy tossed her hair back and flashed a triumphant smile. ‘Well, I will be respected now. I have news about Wai that I am sure her father will want to hear.’

‘Is that so? Then I am sure I will want to hear it also.’

‘You will,’ Amy replied, ‘but not from me. Soon
everyone
will know!’

Haunui’s grip tightened. ‘Tell me, Amiria.’

‘No!’

Suddenly Amy couldn’t resist the opportunity to hurt him, this man who had always so obviously favoured Wai and looked out for her. ‘Wai is with child, the Reverend Kereha’s child,’ she said, feeling immense satisfaction wash over her as Haunui’s dark face froze. ‘There will be no marriage to Te Awarau, there will be no treaty, there will not even be Wai. Tupehu will kill her: you know it.’

Haunui did know it. They glared at each other, both motionless for a long, long second. Then he dropped Amy’s arm as though it were alight, turned, and raced off down the track towards Paihia.

Amy gaped at his disappearing back, then, realising his intention, ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

‘Kitty?’ Sarah called, annoyed because there was no one in the kitchen and no sign of supper. ‘Kitty, where are you?’

She went back into the hall and was about to go upstairs when she heard voices. She retraced her steps and went into the parlour, where she found Kitty and Wai sitting side by side on the sofa.

‘There you are!’ she exclaimed. ‘Really Kitty, supper hasn’t even been
started…’ She trailed off as she noticed Wai’s tear-stained face. ‘What on earth’s the matter now? And where’s Amy? Reverend Kelleher will be home very shortly.’

Kitty felt her face grow hot as an unwelcome vision of Uncle George—her aunt’s
husband
—rutting away on top of Wai bloomed in her imagination. Her first instinct was to keep her mouth shut, but she realised that Sarah would be the best person to talk to, even if the revelation did cause her pain. She was a devout Christian, she cared about life’s unfortunates; she would understand, surely. And anyway, Kitty didn’t know what else to do.

She took a deep breath and stood up. ‘Aunt Sarah, Wai is in trouble.’

‘Go on.’

‘I am with child,’ Wai said from the sofa, her head down and her hair falling across her face.

Sarah regarded her for a long moment. Then, wearily, she said, ‘Yes, I know that. I’ve known for about a month.’

Kitty blurted, ‘But she says she didn’t know herself until a few weeks ago!’

‘That’s as may be,’ Sarah said, ‘but I’ve tended enough confined women in my time to know what pregnancy looks like.’ She turned back to Wai. ‘Who is the father?’

Wai looked up at Kitty with pleading eyes. Kitty flinched but knew she had to say it. ‘It was Uncle George.’

Sarah went very, very still, and in that instant Kitty knew her aunt believed her.

But it made no difference. Sarah stepped up to Kitty and slapped her hard across the face. ‘That’s for telling lies, you nasty, ungrateful girl.’ She reached out and jerked Wai to her feet. ‘And you, you little trollop, get out of my house,’ she hissed, hauling Wai by the arm across the parlour and into the hall.

Wai lost her footing and fell to her knees, but Sarah kept dragging her, not even stopping when Wai’s skirt ripped and her head banged against the wall. Wai began to wail, reaching up to break Sarah’s grip on her arm.

Tasting blood on her lip, Kitty hurried after them. ‘Aunt Sarah, stop it! Please, you’re hurting her!’

Sarah ignored her. Outside now, she yanked Wai to her feet and shoved her off the verandah, where she stumbled and fell over again, collapsing on the ground in a sobbing heap. Kitty ran out after her and was appalled to feel Sarah’s hand on her back.

‘Go on, you too!’ Sarah shrieked. ‘This is your doing, you and your wanton ways! We should never have brought you with us!’

Kitty helped Wai to her feet as the front door slammed behind them. She felt tears burning, and suddenly she was crying as hard as her friend.

‘I am sorry, Kitty, I am
sorry
!’ Wai sobbed. ‘And she will tell my father.’

Kitty couldn’t speak for a moment. Finally she said through her tears, ‘No, she won’t, not if she doesn’t want to say who did it.’

Wai gave a hysterical, sobbing little laugh. ‘She will lie.’

About to say that her aunt never lied, Kitty held her tongue, because what was denying Uncle George’s part in this if it wasn’t lying? ‘Then we have to go,’ she said.

‘Go? Go where?’

‘I don’t know, but we can’t stay here.’

Kitty took Wai’s hand and led her out of the garden and down onto the beach. Her grip was strong but her confidence wasn’t; she had no idea what to do next.

Then she saw that someone was running along the sand towards them and took several steps backwards before she realised it was Haunui, waving his arms and yelling. He didn’t stop running until he reached them. From his heaving chest Kitty knew he must have come a fair distance.

He bent over with his hands on his knees, drawing in great lungfuls of air. ‘You must go!’ he gasped. ‘Tupehu will know by now. Amiria has gone to tell him.’

‘Amy?’ Kitty said, confused.

‘Ae, she knows about the child.’

‘No she doesn’t.’

‘She
does.
You must go
now
!’ he insisted, nodding at Wai. ‘Or Tupehu will kill her.’

Wai’s knees buckled, and she sat down on the sand.

‘Get up,’ Haunui said, lifting her to her feet again, ‘you must go.’

‘But where?’ Kitty cried, panic settling like an iron band around her chest and squeezing her heart. ‘Where can we go?’

‘Come,’ he said, and trotted off ahead of them. Kitty and Wai watched his retreating back for a moment, then ran after him.

They followed him to the eastern end of the beach where, among the collection of beached waka, Rian Farrell stood in the shallows about to launch a rowboat. And Kitty suddenly knew what Haunui intended to do.

Rian straightened at the undoubtedly odd sight of the three of them running towards him, Haunui waving his arms madly and the girls holding their skirts above their knees.

Looking less than pleased, he called, ‘What the hell is going on?’

‘You must take Wai with you,’ Haunui said as they approached.

‘What?’

‘You must take Wai to Sydney. She is in trouble.’

Rian pushed his hat to the back of his head and sighed. ‘What sort of trouble?’

‘She’s pregnant, to my uncle,’ Kitty said, wanting rather inappropriately to laugh at his shocked expression. ‘Tupehu will kill her when he finds out, which he probably has by now.’

Rian raised an eyebrow at Haunui. ‘Will he?’