The Plantation (43 page)

Christopher gave her a broad smile as he took her hand. ‘It’s Julie who has the relative. Bit of a long story, isn’t that right, Julie?’

‘Please sit down.’ Carla gestured to the sofa and took one of the carved chairs next to it. ‘I’m the manager here, so I would love to hear it.’

‘Sorry to take your time without an appointment,’ began Julie. ‘I would love to know if there is anything written about Rose Mansion.’

‘A lot. Architect plans, the names of original fabrics and wallpapers …’

‘No, I didn’t mean that so much, actually, I meant about the family. The people who lived here.’

‘Oh yes, there’s a lovely book on the history of the house and the collections here.’

‘You mean, other than the Lalique?’ asked Christopher.

Carla smiled. ‘Yes, there’s a lot of memorabilia scattered about the mansion, although I have to say that it is well protected.’

‘What we have seen is lovely, but what I’m really interested in is my great aunt. I was told that she married Tony Tsang and lived here after the war. She was an Australian,’ she added.

Carla studied Julie for a moment, then smiled. ‘I know she’s Australian. Actually, you remind me a little of her. Your smile and your hair colouring. May I ask why you want to know about her?’

‘I never knew a thing about my Aunt Bette’s life story till very recently,’ said Julie. ‘I’m afraid she was one of those family secrets that’s never been explained. My grandmother, her sister, refused to speak about her, so that my mother and I have known nothing about her until recently.’

‘Is your grandmother still alive?’ asked Carla.

Julie shook her head. ‘No. But now I’ve found out that Great Aunt Bette lived in Malaya, was a prisoner during the war, married Tony Tsang and wrote a book about the Iban. And that’s all I know. She sounds like a remarkable person and I want to find out as much as I can about her.’

Carla was quiet for a moment. ‘May I ask why now? Why has no one in your family tried to find answers before this?’

Christopher spoke gently. ‘It’s not so unusual that members of a family lose touch. Julie took two weeks holiday and jumped on a plane to meet her cousins who live on a plantation near Slim River. Now she is trying to find out more about her mother’s aunt, who apparently also lived in Malaysia for years.’

Carla nodded. ‘Some families are tied together more closely by choice or circumstance. Others drift apart. I understand that you must be wanting to explore your family more, especially as you’re about to be married.’

Julie gave Christopher a concerned look and he spoke up quickly. ‘We’re not engaged. Julie is a friend. She wanted to come here and see this house, hoping to find out something about her great aunt, so I concocted this story to get us admitted. I hope you can understand our little deception. It was my idea,’ he added quickly.

Carla’s mouth twitched, and she smiled. ‘I see.’

‘I’m sorry if we’ve wasted your time,’ began Julie, but Carla held up her hand.

‘I agreed to see you not because you said that you wanted to have a wedding reception here but because of your aunt. We have a lot of information here. Rose Mansion is still very much a family home. I live in the private apartments here.’

‘So there is some information about her here?’ asked Julie. ‘Did she did live here after she married Tony Tsang? Are there any photographs of her I could see?’

Carla nodded. ‘Yes, there are. I know about your aunt and Tony Tsang.’ She leaned forward and took Julie’s hand. ‘Tony Tsang was my grandfather. So I guess that makes us cousins through marriage.’

Christopher burst out laughing at the shocked expression on Julie’s face. ‘Geez, Julie, you’ve got more cousins than you can poke a stick at!’

‘I can’t believe it. Your grandfather was Tony Tsang? This place, the life … It must have been so different for Great Aunt Bette,’ said Julie. This mansion seemed a long way from the house in Brisbane where Bette had grown up.

‘You will have a lot of questions,’ said Carla. ‘This is quite something. I often wondered if anyone from Australia would be curious about us. I’d love to sit down and go through all the family things with you, Julie, but I do have an appointment that I must keep.’

‘I’m so sorry to just barge in like this,’ began Julie. ‘Unfortunately I’m booked to go back to Australia tomorrow. Perhaps we could correspond.’ She didn’t want to miss this chance to learn more.

Carla leaned forward. ‘Julie, I don’t think you understand. All these questions you have about Por Por, you should ask her yourself,’ she said gently.

‘Who’s Por Por?’ asked Julie, confused.

‘That is our name for Bette. It means grandmother and that’s how we like to think about her, although she is really our step grandmother.’

Christopher leaned forward. ‘Carla, are you saying that Bette, Julie’s great aunt, is still alive?’

Carla nodded. ‘Yes. Of course, she’s no longer young but she is still very bright, alert and still drawing. We will soon celebrate her ninetieth birthday.’

‘Oh my God. Where is she?’ Julie looked around, as though expecting to see Bette walk into the room. Christopher held Julie’s hand as she was shaking with excitement. ‘Is she here in Penang?’

Carla shook her head. ‘Oh, no. As she got older she got homesick for Australia, so she went back.’

‘She’s in Australia?’ asked Julie incredulously.

‘Yes. She lives in Cairns. All our family like to visit her there often.’

‘Cairns! Why Cairns?’ asked Julie, amazed by this news.

‘She said she liked the climate. After all her years in Malaysia, she said that she couldn’t live any further south than Cairns. It would be too cold for her anywhere else, even Brisbane. She still lives independently, in an apartment. It’s very nice.’

‘Is she still painting?’ asked Julie, her voice almost a whisper.

‘Yes. She likes to paint Australian flora, especially the orchids that grow in North Queensland. I’ll write down her details for you.’ She rose and left the room.

Julie turned to Christopher. ‘Pinch me. I don’t believe this. Wait till I tell Mum. She’ll be over the moon.’

He gave her a quick hug. ‘I’m really happy for you. I suppose you’re going straight up to Cairns when you get back?’

Julie shook her head. ‘I’ll have to talk to Mum. I just hope that it’s not too late and Bette will see us.’

‘Nonsense, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to meet you and your mother,’ said Christopher.

Julie nodded. ‘Maybe we’ll phone her. Or send her a letter.’

Carla returned with a piece of paper and handed it to Julie who glanced at the address.

‘Yes, I suppose we should write first, let her get used to the idea. I hope she’ll agree to see us.’

‘Por Por is a very lovely lady,’ said Carla. ‘You’ll like her. Perhaps you could come back and see us another time. Stay here, of course. I’ve written my phone and email on the paper as well.’

‘How about I take a photo of the two of you?’ said Christopher.

Julie handed him her camera and he took a shot of the two women with their arms around each other.

‘Well, we don’t want to hold you up any longer,’ said Christopher. ‘It’s been very interesting.’

‘So the wedding’s off?’ asked Carla with a smile.

‘’Fraid so. I’m going back to Australia. Christopher is here, working at Butterworth,’ said Julie.

Carla shook Christopher’s hand. ‘Do call me and come for tea sometime. I’ll give you a proper tour of the treasures of Rose Mansion. They seem to interest you.’

‘Thank you. I’d like that.’

‘So would I,’ said Julie. ‘And I’ll bring my mother, next time. If that’s all right.’

Carla gave her a brief embrace. ‘Please do. We’ll keep in touch.’

Christopher glanced at his watch as the elderly Indian opened the boom gate for them. ‘Only an hour in there. It felt as though we were in there for ages.’

‘I know. It seems like a dream. I can’t believe that Bette is still around. I’ll call my mother and tell her the news as soon as I get back to the hotel.’

‘I hope you’ll have the opportunity to meet your aunt and that she turns out to be all that you expect,’ said Christopher.

‘I’m really grateful that you got us into Rose Mansion, or I’d never have known any of this,’ said Julie.

‘You can buy me a drink tonight if you like.’

Julie smiled. ‘Happy to, see you at my hotel around seven.’

*

When Christopher arrived at Julie’s hotel that evening, he knocked on her door.

‘Chris, come in. I’m talking to my mother. I have some nibbles and a bottle of wine on the table.’

Clutching the phone to her ear, Julie pointed to the wine, standing in an ice bucket, beside a small plate of hors d’oeuvres. Chris poured her some and handed her a glass before picking up an olive and gazed out the window at the city skyscrapers around them.

Julie was trying to interrupt the flow of conversation at the other end of the phone. ‘I know, I know. It’s staggering. I agree, we should write to her first. Listen, Mum, I have to go, I have a friend here … of course. Yes, I took photos of the Rose Mansion, well, the outside. Yes, and Carla. Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow before I leave. Yes … it’s extraordinary. I love you too.’ She put down the phone. ‘Sorry, Mum was so excited about the news and wanted details, so I told her all I knew. I’m ready for this glass of wine. Cheers.’

They touched glasses.

‘Have you told Shane and Peter?’ asked Christopher. ‘I rang the boys, but they weren’t there, so I spoke to Martine. She was really happy for me and said she’d tell them.’

‘I’m pleased for you too.’ He raised his glass. ‘This has been quite a trip for you.’ He sipped his wine. ‘I hope we can keep in touch. I want to know the next episode in the saga of Great Aunt Bette.’

‘Of course! I’ll keep pestering you with emails.’ Julie suddenly realised that she would soon be leaving Malaysia and, while she was sure that she would eventually return, she now realised how dismayed she felt about leaving Christopher. ‘I suppose you’ll be leaving Malaysia at some stage.’

He shrugged. ‘I won’t be here much longer, but your life isn’t your own when you’re part of the RAAF. Occasionally you have a say in things. But you’ll come back here to Penang, won’t you?’

‘Yes, but when? I have a job and I’ve used up all my holidays. But the time I’ve spent in Malaysia has been amazing. I never dreamed I’d find, well, so much!’ she spread her arms. ‘Seems surreal. My cousins, the plantation, Rose Mansion, Carla, and now Bette – alive and kicking it seems.’

‘And me. Do I get a look-in as a character in this story?’ he asked softly.

‘Of course! It’s been wonderful to share this with you and you’ve been so helpful and so interested.’ Her voice trailed off as she saw the tender look in his eyes, the slight smile and lifted eyebrow. And in a rush, a kaleidoscope of images came to her: playing tennis with him, drifting through the magic of the mangroves, talking by the pool, sharing dinners and lunches, and now the excitement of Rose Mansion and the discovery of Bette … And then their heads drew close and he was kissing her. Julie had the sensation of suddenly letting go, of being swamped by a tide of feelings she hadn’t realised she had held in check. If Christopher was surprised by her unexpected ardour he didn’t react except to enfold her in his arms as she wound her arms about him.

Much later, dinner forgotten, they fell asleep in a tangle of sheets.

Dawn came and a distant muezzin called the faithful to prayer. Soon the jingle of bicycle bells and the clang of food hawkers setting up their stalls stirred them from their sleep. The day had begun.

‘I’m going to miss these exotic sounds first thing in the morning,’ said Julie.

Christopher didn’t reply at first, but rolled onto his side and gently smoothed her hair. ‘You look pretty first thing in the morning.’

She pulled the sheet over her face. ‘I didn’t even wash my face last night.’

‘We had better things to do.’ He pulled the sheet away and kissed her nose. ‘In a way I wish this hadn’t happened …’ As she started to protest, he put a finger to her lips. ‘I feel very attracted to you and now I’m going to miss you. Wonder about you …’

‘Me too … But I have to go back, Chris. I’d love to stay longer.’

‘I know, I know. Of course you have to. Listen, we just have to keep in touch, keep in contact,’ he said. ‘Speaking of contact …’ He grabbed her and the intensity of their looming separation was dissipated as they playfully wrestled before clinging to one another, making love once more, this time the passion more tender, more poignant.

They went out to the street and sat at a street stall together while Chris watched in amazement as Julie downed a huge breakfast.

‘Where are you putting all that?’

‘I’m going back to Brisbane … It’s hard to find food like this at home! I’m making the most of it.’

Before he returned to Butterworth, Christopher drove her to the airport for her flight to Kuala Lumpur.

‘It won’t be too long till we see each other again. I just know it. We’ll work something out. Keep me posted about Aunt Bette.’

She nodded, finding it hard to speak.