The Plantation (46 page)

This woman was not the frail woman in a wheelchair they’d anticipated. Bette had short cropped grey hair streaked with dramatic white strands that looked modern even though the style was inspired by the twenties. She wore tailored dark slacks and a shirt softened by a burst of lilac ruffles at her throat. On her shirt was pinned a large diamond and gold brooch of a tiger with ruby eyes. Beautiful rings on her fingers. Despite her narrow frame and slight build she wore the jewellery stylishly. The ebony walking stick with a silver head that she leaned on slightly was the only hint of any frailty.

Cyndi looked at the trio in surprise. ‘You’re all old friends then?’

‘Yes, in a way.’ Caroline smiled, her eyes filled with tears. In the rush of different emotions she couldn’t help but wish that Margaret was here, too. No matter what had happened in the past between the sisters, she would have liked her mother to have been around to share in their lives once more. ‘I do remember you, Aunt Bette.’

‘You’re relations! How wonderful,’ said Cyndi. ‘I’ll leave you for a few minutes. But, Bette, we do have to move on with the proceedings. There’s a chair beside the podium for you, if you think that you’ll need it.’

‘Thank you, Cyndi. Just give me the signal.’ She smiled at Caroline. ‘Speeches, you understand how things are. And I don’t hang around after the formalities. I can only cope with so much these days.’

‘Of course, Aunt Bette. I’m so pleased to see you again. This is my husband, Paul, and, as you’ve realised, my daughter, Julie. We’re sorry to intrude on such an important occasion. This exhibition must have taken a long time to put together,’ said Caroline.

‘It was a while, I suppose. I finally had to rent a studio to get all my mess out of the living room,’ said Bette. ‘Besides I needed good light, and the studio was perfect.’

‘Do you paint from specimens or photographs?’ asked Julie, wondering at the detail of each flower and also its surrounds.

‘About ten years ago I travelled to Cooktown and went into the rainforest and did paintings, took some photographs. I also did some of these paintings which I remembered from sketches I’d done in Malaysia, years ago. Gradually I built up a collection and the Gardens Gallery heard about my work and very kindly asked me if I’d like to exhibit.’

‘That sounds like it must have been quite an undertaking,’ said Julie. ‘You seem a very intrepid explorer.’

‘Yes. I love jungles and rainforests, but I’d like to look at the other extremes too, and see our deserts. I plan to take a trip to Alice Springs and the interior, but haven’t got around to it yet.’

‘Bette, you’re incredible!’ said Caroline. ‘We don’t want to hold you up, but we’re so impressed with your work and we’re very proud of you. If you have time tomorrow, we’d like to take you out for morning or afternoon tea. Would that suit you?’

Bette’s eyes sparkled. ‘And pump me with questions? Of course! And I want to know all about you. But what I’d prefer is that you come to me for tea. It’s quieter and more comfortable for me at my place. We can make arrangements when the speeches are over.’

Paul agreed with Caroline and Julie that Bette was so charming. ‘I was enchanted to meet her. But I think she might feel more comfortable if just you two go to her place,’ he said. ‘I’ll be fine by the pool and you can tell me all about it later.’

Bette’s apartment was on the ground floor of a large block with a parking spot close to the front door. The other apartments had balconies, but Bette’s place had a small private garden.

A young woman opened the door and greeted them, then ushered them into the large sitting room. ‘I’m Suzie. Mrs Tsang has told me about you both. How lovely for her to have relatives living in Australia. Now, what can I get everyone?’

Bette was sitting on a sofa, her feet up on a footstool. Sliding glass doors looked out onto a patio crowded with pots of orchids and tropical plants. ‘Tea, I think please, Suzie. Or would anyone rather have coffee or a cold drink?’

‘Tea is lovely, thank you. What a sweet apartment,’ said Caroline. She glanced around the room and noted the Chinese décor. There were beautiful woven rugs, embroidered cushions and silk tapestries on the walls beside framed watercolours and delicate calligraphy.

‘You work here as well?’ asked Julie, sitting beside Bette.

There was an easel in one corner and a small card table next to it, which was covered in tubes of paints, brushes and sketchbooks.

‘Only if I don’t feel like going to the studio or if inspiration strikes,’ said Bette.

‘Were you happy with the exhibition opening?’ asked Caroline.

‘Cyndi was. Apparently we sold quite a few paintings, which is good as the proceeds are going to charity. A selection is also going to the Gardens Gallery permanent collection. All this is very flattering for an old lady’s hobby.’

‘But surely you’ve drawn and painted all your life?’ asked Julie.

‘I did a lot, certainly. And I enjoyed writing. I once thought of illustrating children’s books. But circumstances changed and by the time I was married, life became very busy and I did other things.’

Suzie came in with the tea tray and Bette directed her to put it on the table. She smiled at them. ‘Please help yourselves. Now tell me a little about you both. Are you married, Julie? Do you have brothers and sisters? Are you a career girl?’

‘I have an interesting job as a marketing consultant, mainly helping companies sell themselves, so I get to travel quite a bit,’ said Julie. ‘And I’m single. My brother Adam is married and lives in the Adelaide Hills.’

‘He’s expecting my first grandchild, so I’m very excited,’ added Caroline.

‘And Caroline, you still live in Brisbane don’t you?’ asked Bette.

‘Yes. In the old family house. My husband’s job took him away from Brisbane for a while and when we got back we moved in with Mother. Paul was agreeable about it as it’s such a lovely home and so big. We looked after my mother till she died. Julie has lived in that house for most of her life.’

‘It’s a lovely tradition, maintaining the links with the place where you were born and where you grew up,’ agreed Bette. ‘I guess I subconsciously severed my links with that house when I stayed in Malaysia. I often wondered what happened to our old house in Brisbane, with the view of the bay. Old homes like Bayview get torn down too often. That’s partly why it’s important to me to know that Rose Mansion is still intact. I’m very happy that it has been so lovingly restored.’

‘When I found that Rose Mansion had been your family home, I thought about our house in Brisbane. They are both very different, but very special to our families,’ said Julie.

‘That’s why we’re currently involved in a fight to stop our house in Brisbane from being pulled down for a bypass,’ said Caroline.

‘That’s just awful. It would be a tragedy for that lovely old place to be demolished!’ exclaimed Bette. ‘Good for you for fighting to save it. I hope you succeed. There are a lot of memories connected with that house. Do you think you’ll win the battle?’

‘Mum is giving it her best shot,’ said Julie.

‘I don’t know,’ said Caroline. ‘We’ve had some encouraging news. It seems that there was a similar plan in the area previously, and it was scrapped. So if we can find out the details about why that happened, it might help us do the same thing.’

‘If you could do that, it would mean that you’re not living with uncertainty,’ said Bette.

‘Exactly. We’ve had help from a bright young man who’s good at research and we’re hoping that David can sift through the old council papers and get some clues. In fact, it was through David that we found that you had written a book about the Iban,’ said Caroline. ‘It was the first time we knew about your adventures in Sarawak,’ she continued with a smile. ‘We were terribly impressed.’

‘Goodness me! I didn’t think that there was a copy still in existence,’ said Bette. ‘That time with the Iban was a wonderful experience.’

‘Why did you write the book as Oldham and not Tsang?’ asked Caroline. ‘I liked the dedication to Philip.’

Bette was thoughtful and sipped her tea. ‘Yes. I wanted Philip to know that I hadn’t forgotten him. He was such a lovely little boy. My husband’s family was quite conservative and I didn’t want to embarrass them so I wrote my adventures under my maiden name.’ She straightened up, changing the subject. ‘Could you top up my tea please, Julie?’ She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands over the silk shirt she’d tucked into a colourful skirt. ‘So, now that you’ve told me something about yourselves, what would you like to know about me?’

Caroline glanced at Julie. ‘Where to start?’

Julie had thought about this. ‘Well,’ said Julie, ‘I’d like to know how you and Margaret got separated in Singapore. When I was on Langkawi Island I met Marjorie Carter, who was Marjorie Potts when she was a POW with you. She told me a lot about the camp, but didn’t explain how you got there. How did my grandmother end up back in Australia while you and Philip were prisoners in Sarawak?

‘Good heavens. Fancy you meeting Marjorie. How is she? I’m sorry that I didn’t keep in touch with her. Evelyn, her mother, and I were great friends. We wrote to each other for years.’

‘She’s a lovely person,’ replied Julie. ‘She’s actually bought a place in Penang and lives there a lot of the year, when it’s too cold in Scotland.’

‘I’m glad to know that Marjorie is well. Fancy her returning to live in Malaysia.’

‘I’m sure she’d love to hear from you,’ said Julie. ‘She has very warm memories of you. She told us how strong you were in that camp and how devoted you were to Philip.’

‘Yes. Perhaps you’re right. I should contact her. I remember the first time I saw Marjorie. She was a shy, gangly girl, dragging her mother’s suitcase through the camp gates. Her mother wasn’t well, which the camp conditions didn’t help. It was a marvel she survived. So many didn’t. I remember being riveted by the sight of that suitcase. Philip and I had nothing except what we stood up in. In fact luggage was the cause of our being in that camp, now that I think about it.’

‘Why was that?’ asked Julie. ‘Perhaps before you tell us that, what was it like in Malaya before the war? Mum has told me what Gran told her, but it would be nice to hear what you thought about it.’

‘In Malaya before the war, life was certainly glamorous and social. Margaret was in with a cosmopolitan crowd. She had lots of servants. Her way of life was quite different from our life in Brisbane. In a way, I think she wanted me to visit her so that she could show off to me. I wanted to travel, climb mountains, see the pyramids but mostly I wanted to see the Far East, so I was pleased to be asked. And she and Roland certainly showed me a good time.’

‘We have a photo of you at the races with my mother,’ said Caroline.

‘Oh, yes, Margaret loved the races. She and Roland took me to race day in Penang. That was a wonderful day, I’ll never forget it. All of Malaya, at that time, seemed to be full of eligible bachelors, civil servants, planters and assistant managers out from the UK,’ said Bette with a smile. ‘I became very friendly with one of Roland’s chums, Gilbert Mason. We had some great times together. He was a very nice man.’ She looked away for a moment and then asked Julie, ‘Did you enjoy your time in Malaysia?’

‘I did. It’s a very romantic place. And it still seems wild in parts.’

‘I agree, it is romantic,’ said Bette. ‘And I loved the jungle. I went upriver once with Margaret, Roland and Gilbert. It was very beautiful and wild. Roland’s father, Eugene, was a game hunter so I heard his stories and saw his trophies. Are they still on the walls of the big house? Rubber was fetching a good price just before the war and they lived well then. Of course no one ever thought the war would touch Malaya, except Roland.’

‘So you were caught by surprise when the Japanese came down the peninsula?’ asked Caroline.

‘There was a lot of talk in those final months about the war, but the plantation seemed so far away from every thing. I remember when the Japanese attacked the north of Malaya in early December. We were all shattered. A family arrived from the north, planter acquaintances of Roland’s,’ said Bette, now looking out the French doors.

Julie and Caroline knew she wasn’t seeing her pretty patio but another place in another time.

‘They were quite traumatised and had fled for their lives with what they could throw in the car. That galvanised Roland into action. He insisted that his father, Margaret and I, and little Philip leave for the safety of Australia straight away. I remember that Eugene refused to leave. Of course the Japanese killed him when they reached Utopia. It was so sad and so brutal. Anyway, Eugene’s driver, Hamid, was to take us to Singapore, where we were to meet Gilbert who was there looking after his employer’s warehouses. He would make sure that we got onto a ship as quickly as possible.’

‘Weren’t some of the passenger ships sunk?’ asked Caroline.

‘Yes,’ said Bette. ‘But we didn’t know about that then. Anyway, there were so many rumours flying around.’ She took a sip of tea. ‘We had planned to leave Utopia first thing in the morning, but after hearing what had happened to the planter family, my sister was adamant that she should pack up as many valuables to take as she could.’

‘You mean jewellery? Personal things?’ asked Julie.

‘Roland and I persuaded her to bury some of her valuable things. She took all the cash they could round up and all her and Philip’s clothes. I took all of mine, but I didn’t have much since I was only visiting. You have no idea what Margaret crammed into the car, which was so full there was scarcely room for us all. I remember that she even had hat boxes. Philip and I were perched on top of bags in the back seat of the Oldsmobile when we finally set off later that day.’