“Well then, perhaps it is as well to keep it in mind.”
He always laughed at me when I was serious. Sometimes I found it faintly irritating; but he could always charm me out of that mood.
We were frequent visitors at the house in the square. Both Aunt Amaryllis and Helena took a motherly interest in us—Amaryllis, I suppose, because that was her way with all the young members of the family and Helena because she had “brought us out.”
I enjoyed these dinner parties. Conversation was always lively, particularly when Uncle Peter was present. He and his daughter-in-law Frances often sparred, but I think he admired her as he did all people who lived energetically.
Politics were often the subject of the discourse and I wished that Matthew and Uncle Peter would differ now and then; but Matthew always agreed with Uncle Peter’s views.
At this time he was deploring the continued premiership of Palmerston.
“Surely it’s time he retired,” said Uncle Peter. “If he did, I think we should see a return of the party and office for you.”
Matthew said he would never retire. “He’ll die in harness. That is the old man’s way. Sometimes he looks as if he is half asleep or wholly so. He sits there on the bench with his eyes half closed … a real dandy in his frock coat and light gray trousers, wearing his gloves. He always wears his gloves. You’re certain he hasn’t heard a word of the debate. Then he’ll get to his feet … You know that way of his, poking fun at things … getting them laughing … and then he’ll somehow get the vote going the way he wants it.”
“A remarkable man,” said Uncle Peter. “He should have been with us.”
“That’s true,” agreed Matthew. “Who else could overcome all that tittle-tattle about his love affairs? Who would believe that a Prime Minister could be nicknamed Cupid?”
I loved to hear those little anecdotes of people whose names I knew so well. So those dinner parties were always a delight. Gervaise enjoyed them too. Sometimes I felt that Uncle Peter saw too much. I believe he knew about Gervaise’s gambling for one day he said to me: “You want to keep a tight hand on that husband of yours. He’s too fond of the tables.”
Uncle Peter should know. He had made his fortune out of those clubs where gambling—among other diversions—was in full swing.
He was very watchful of Justin, and I was sure that Justin puzzled him more than Gervaise did.
There came one evening at the house in the square which was to change our lives, although I did not know it then.
They had been discussing Palmerston’s increasing age again and expressing some anxiety for the health of Lord Derby who must surely defeat him at the next election; then they went on to the antics of Benjamin Disraeli whose sights were set on the highest post of all.
Then Uncle Peter said suddenly: “By the way, I have heard from Benedict.”
I saw Gervaise glance at me. I started, but not with that apprehension which I had known before my confession to Gervaise. He had convinced me that I was in no way to blame and that it would be sensible for me to put the incident right out of my mind.
Uncle Peter went on: “He writes rarely. I don’t think it has been as easy as he at first thought it would. But now it seems there has been a breakthrough.”
He explained to Gervaise and Justin. “Benedict, my grandson … an earlier family … is a very go-ahead young man and had this notion of going out to Australia when he heard gold had been found there.”
“That was a long time ago,” said Aunt Amaryllis.
“Yes, it must be now. Benedict is not a letter-writing man and he certainly wouldn’t communicate when times were hard. But I must say that he is a sticker. He went to Australia convinced that he would come back with a fortune and he is the sort who wouldn’t want to return without one. That’s why he is still out there.”
“Well,” said Matthew, “there hasn’t been a fortune yet.”
“He writes and says that there have been difficulties, but he thinks he’s on a good strike now. There’s a lot of hard work to be done, it seems, but his luck is changing. He says he has been scratching a living from the goldfields so far but he was always hopeful … and now it looks as though those hopes are about to be realized.”
“In what part of Australia is all this happening?” asked Justin.
“It’s somewhere north of Melbourne.”
“I remember what a lot of talk there was about finds there,” said Justin. “It was very exciting. It must be more than ten years ago. There was a similar sort of thing in America. But that was somewhat earlier, I think. A man comes across it … there’s a lot of talk … and the Rush is on. Someone did very well at a place called Golden Point, I believe. That was in Australia. He made a vast fortune. People left everything to go out there. They thought they were coming back millionaires.”
“And did they?” I asked.
“Some of them did.”
“Well, let’s hope Benedict is successful,” said Uncle Peter.
“Somehow I don’t think he will come home until he is. He’s got that bulldog tenacity. Once he gets hold of an idea he won’t let it go. He’ll succeed or stay out there for the rest of his life … trying to.”
“It is very interesting,” said Gervaise. “I can understand how people get caught up in it.”
“It’s a gamble,” said Uncle Peter. “So much would depend on luck. You would get some working day and night and finding nothing … and then someone comes along and in a week or so he’s stumbled on a fortune.”
Aunt Amaryllis shivered. “I should hate that,” she said.
Uncle Peter smiled at her tenderly.
“Don’t worry, my dear. I have no intention of throwing up everything to go to the goldfields of Australia.”
Everyone laughed and they began to talk of other things.
When we returned home Gervaise was thoughtful.
“Interesting about Benedict,” he said. “He was the one you told me of.”
I nodded.
“He seems rather a forceful character.”
“Oh yes. I am sure he will find his gold.”
“It seems to have taken him rather a long time.”
“Yes, but he is bound to win in the end.”
“And come back a millionaire.”
I was wondering if he ever thought of me and of that adventure which we had shared together. It was significant that I could think of it now without that little shiver of fear. Gervaise had done that for me.
I did not notice how thoughtful Gervaise had become.
It was some days later when he broke the news to me. When we had last been at the house in the square he had left me with Aunt Amaryllis and had disappeared with Uncle Peter. When they rejoined us, Gervaise looked a little flushed—excited, I thought. Uncle Peter was his usual calm self.
I fancied Gervaise was impatient to leave.
When we finally did he was rather silent on the way home and at last in our bedroom I asked him if anything was wrong.
“Wrong?” he said. “No. About to be right. How would you like to go to Australia?”
“What?” I cried.
“We’re going,” he told me. “That is if you like the idea … I shall have to go. I hope you will come too.”
“Gervaise, whatever are you talking about?”
“I suppose,” he said, “I had better begin at the beginning.”
“It is usually advisable to.”
“I’m in debt … up to my ears.”
Horror seized me. I felt limp with dismay and fear.
“But how? I’ve tried so hard …”
“I know you have. I’ve lost a lot to Justin. That’s not so important. It’s the clubs … I have to pay my debts. I’d never be received in any of them again if I didn’t.”
“Perhaps that would be just as well.”
“You don’t understand, Angelet. They are debts of honor. One can make one’s tailor wait … or the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker … but one must pay one’s gam
bling debts at the clubs.”
“How much?”
“Too much to tell you.”
“I had better know.”
“I’m not sure … except that it is too much for me to handle. That’s the bad news. Now here is the good. My debts are going to be settled. I have had a word with your Uncle Peter.”
“Why is he brought into this?”
“He does own several of the clubs where I play.”
“Oh, Gervaise, I thought you were getting better.”
“Sorry,” he said ruefully. “But listen. We’re going to Australia. We are going to find gold. We’re going to be millionaires. Then I shall shrug aside my debts because with a lordly gesture I shall pay on the nail.”
“Do be sensible, Gervaise. This is a serious matter.”
“Sorry again, darling. Of course it is a serious matter. But it is going to be exciting.”
“What has Uncle Peter said to you?”
“He will settle my debts and pay our passage out … with a little to spare for the time before we get started. He’s writing to Benedict asking if he will meet us and help us get started, to be our sponsor and guardian angel. And we shall be leaving shortly for our adventure overseas.”
“Why should Uncle Peter settle your debts?”
“It’s not quite so altruistic as you might be thinking. Your uncle is an astute business man. He wants what they call collateral for his money.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some sort of security which we are in a position to offer.”
“What?”
“This house, of course.”
“It was my parents’ wedding present!”
“That does not in any way detract from its value.”
“Gervaise, what have you done!”
“Nothing as yet. It’s all in the air. But it is a wonderful solution. In fact it is the only solution … or I fear that ’ere long I shall find myself languishing in prison for debt; and what chance has a poor debtor then of repaying what he owes?”
“Gervaise, you’re frightening me.”
“I’m frightening myself. I am seeing more and more that I have to find a way out of this trouble … and this is it. I have to do something, Angelet.”
“Some work, you mean. Yes, I have thought of that.”
“This will be admirable. It will suit my temperament. Every day will be a gamble. Just imagine it … the excitement of going into those goldfields … never knowing whether it is going to be The Day.”
“We know nothing about it. Where shall we live?”
“Oh, there are places. The experienced and knowledgeable Benedict will show us the way. From him we will learn all we need to know. You don’t seem enthusiastic, Angelet.”
“It’s hard to. I know nothing about it. It all seems a trifle mad to me. And you have given Uncle Peter this house in order to settle your debts. You can’t do that.”
“It’s only on paper … a safeguard … for him. When we come back with all this millions of pounds’ worth of nuggets … I think that’s what they call them … we shall hand him back what we owe him and we shall have our dear little house waiting for us. But Angelet Mandeville might wish for a grander place in which to live now that she is a golden millionaire. A country mansion and a town house. I wonder if there are any castles for sale?”
“Be practical, Gervaise.”
“I’ll try but I’m so excited about this project. I know in my bones that it is going to be right for us.”
We lay awake for a long time talking about Australia. It seemed to me a wild dream … something that Gervaise liked to contemplate and had no roots in reality. But I was perturbed about all the debts and that he could mortgage our house in order to settle them.
I thought it might be one of those dreams with which Gervaise liked to soothe himself and that he only half believed it. But this was not so. He really had spoken to Uncle Peter. Uncle Peter himself took me on one side and said: “I think it is not such a bad idea. Gervaise is one of those people who are always going to gamble. Nothing would cure him. I’ll take care of things here while you are away. If he could get himself a fortune I fancy he would not be so reckless. Young men with small incomes often try to augment them. It might be that if he were rich the urge might diminish a little.”
“Do you really think we should go to Australia?”
“I think it is not a bad idea, as I said. People are beginning to talk of Gervaise’s tendency … not for play but not to pay. A man needs a good income to live the way he does. Let him go to Australia. It might be good for him … and it could be the making of him. I have written to Benedict. I am sure he will do all he can to help.”
My parents came to London. I could see that they did not like the idea—particularly my mother. That was understandable. She would be thinking of her own visit to Australia which had ended in such a disastrous climax.
I was sure that my father would have settled Gervaise’s debts rather than we should go, but I was beginning to see that that would be no real solution. Gervaise must do something for himself. If his debts were paid there would be more. I knew him now. This gambling was not merely a pastime with him; it was an obsession. It was almost like an illness; it would recur. If he did find a fortune in Australia it was just possible that that urge would diminish … possibly be cured. I had come to the conclusion that it was something we had to try.
Grace was horrified. She said: “Think of all the hardships out there.”
“Yes, my mother has talked of them. But she was there a long time ago. Things may have changed.”
I was very apprehensive, but Gervaise was so eager. I think he had had a real fright when he realized the amount of his debts and what the consequences would be if he could not meet them. He was desperate and this seemed an honorable way out.
Morwenna was very sad at the thought of my going. Justin was particularly thoughtful; and then one day, Morwenna came to me in a state of great excitement.
Before I could ask what had happened, she burst out: “We’re coming with you. Justin thinks it would be wonderful to seek our fortunes in the goldfields. For so long he has been thinking of what work would suit him. This is just it.”
I looked at her and laughed; and then we were hugging each other.
I think everyone felt a little easier because the four of us were going. Grace seemed particularly relieved.
“It will make such a difference,” she said. “I am so pleased.”
“Really, Grace,” I replied, “the way everyone is talking you would think we were never coming back.”
“Morwenna will be a good companion for you … and Justin and Gervaise get on so well together.”
“I am afraid they are both too fond of gambling.”
“Well, let us hope that this gamble brings the desired results.”
After that I could view the prospect with more enthusiasm. It was to be a great adventure and, I told my mother, we could be lucky very soon. In that case we should come home at once. Who knew, we might be with her this time next year.
THERE HAD BEEN A reply from Benedict. He would do all he could to help. There was a letter for me in which he said he had often thought of me and he was delighted at the prospect of seeing me again. “You must be quite grown up now. A married woman! I wonder if we shall recognize each other.”
I was sure I should recognize him. He had been vivid in my mind for so long.
Much as I hated leaving my family, I was growing excited at the prospect of a completely different life.
And in due course we traveled to Tilbury and set sail on the Royal Albert; our destination—Melbourne.
Gold
ONCE THE EXCITEMENT OF getting on board and settling into shipboard life was over, the voyage was, I suppose, an uneventful one. The ports of call were of great interest to us and Gervaise was a wonderful guide and companion. He seemed to have cast off all memory of those hideous debts which he had left behind; he was so sure that all woul
d be well, and such was his personality that he made me believe it, too.
Life seemed one long round of pleasure with him; I suppose it was that side of his nature which made me love him. It was impossible to be unhappy long in his company; he had the gift of shrugging off the unpleasant and making the most of what was delightful.
I had asked him not to gamble again. I said: “You see what it has brought you to.”
He put on a mock penitent expression and said he would do anything in the world to please me. I took it that meant he would restrain himself from the habit which had already wrought such havoc in our lives.
I was young; I was adventurous by nature and I could not help throwing myself into the excitement of the moment. I began to accept Gervaise’s optimism. We were going to strike gold. In a very short time we should come back rich and all debts would be paid to Uncle Peter. We should live happily ever after in our dear little house in which I had taken such pride. And having acquired a fortune Gervaise would lose the desire to make another. The present and the future were always good in Gervaise’s eyes; it was only the past, if that were unpleasant, which should be forgotten.
And so I began to enjoy the voyage. We made a few friends on the ship. We liked Captain Gregory. He knew Australia well. His father had settled there forty years before and had a property outside Melbourne. The Captain had come to England to study navigation. He visited his family when his ship called at Australia. We often dined with him and the Chief Officer—a very pleasant young man who told us a great deal about the ship.
We looked forward to arriving at the ports. Morwenna said that one of the most delightful experiences was being at sea and waking up one morning to find oneself in port. The four of us would go out together; we reveled in strange places and marveled at the scenery and the customs of the people which were different from our own; life was amusing and full of pleasure.
It was wonderful to see places which hitherto had been only names on the map; it was exciting to take a horse-drawn carriage in Tenerife and visit that spot where our own Lord Nelson had fought and lost his right arm. I could have lingered there. I should have enjoyed going up to the sunken crater of Las Canadas and to have mounted even higher up Pico de Teide which dominated the island.
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