Mail-order Bridegroom Part 39

"Let's hope you're not carrying a girl," Justine said tartly.

"It's got to be a boy, Ros, didn't you know?"

Dianne sighed.

"All I'm hoping for is a healthy child."

They had reached the veranda where Olivia, a graceful figure in a white, sleeveless blouse and a b.u.t.ton-through denim skirt, stood waiting.

"h.e.l.lo there, Mrs. Earnshaw!" Justine called as they mounted the steps to theveranda."It must be wonderful for you to have Roslyn come to visit?""Lovely!" Olivia smiled."How are you both? Well, I hope?""You'll hear about it so I might as well tell you. I'm pregnant,"Dianne announced as though no one else had ever had that experience."I'm delighted for you, Dianne," Olivia responded in her gentle voice.

"You must be a little tired after your journey. Would you like tea?" "We'd love it, Mrs. E.!" Justine swept off her wide- brimmed hat embellishedwith ma.s.ses of dried flowers. "What about here in ten minutes?" She indicated the s.p.a.cious veranda with its charming arrangements of white wickerarmchairs and gla.s.s-topped wicker tables.

"I want to go up to my room," Dianne said in almost her late mother's tone ofvoice.

"Have Ernie get a move on with my bags." As a consequence of Dianne's att.i.tude Olivia did her best to cry off sittingdown to dinner, but Marsh insisted. "I won't have you off by yourself," hetold her emphatically. They were in the kitchen where Olivia and Roslyn weremaking preparations for the evening meal.

"I shouldn't have agreed to this charade in the first place."Dianne's abrasiveness had thrown them all off balance. Marsh included."Dianne is pregnant. Marsh." Olivia moved to the oven and popped in a chocolate pecan torte.

"I don't want to upset her."

Marsh's handsome face tautened.

"She's only been home a few hours and she's succeeded in upsetting everyone

else."Olivia looked more worried than ever."Can't you see she doesn't want us around. Marsh?""Nothing changes," Roslyn said."Well, that's not true. Jusdne is really making an effort to be pleasant.""I'm rendered dumb by such jealousy," Marsh frowned."Maybe it's genetic and not taught. I don't understand it. I honestly don't!" His eyes gave off an angry s.h.i.+mmer.Roslyn went to him and put a hand on his arm."Be gentle. Marsh.Justine told me there was a little pressure put on Dianne to have this baby before she was ready and maybe because of it she's been plagued by morningsickness. "

"Then implore her to take her medication!" Marsh sounded exasperated. "Her doctor wouldn't have given it to her unless he was sure it was safe. Di always did like making things difficult for herself. I've asked Harry tojoin us, as well. Harry can keep the conversation going in the mostdifficult situations."

But even Harry's amazing conversational powers were put to the test. They were all a.s.sembled in the study, Marsh's now, which the family oftenused for intimate gatherings. It was a large, beautiful room, panelled inEnglish oak with wonderful Pompeian-style frieze, lots of pictures, books andtrophies, the armchairs and sofas upholstered in jewel-bright tapestry weaves to lift the dark l.u.s.tre of the woodwork.

"Nothing for me, thank you. Marsh," Dianne said with exaggerated resolve.

"I'm determined to do this thing right.""Why do you make so much out of everything, Di?" Justine groaned. ' "Marshwas only going to offer you a Perrier water. You could easily manage it,surely?"

Dianne's long nose quivered."Maybe a small gla.s.s." She glanced across at Roslyn sitting quietly in awing- back chair. The light from a nearby lamp fell in a gleaming crescent across her cloud of dark hair and creamy skin and Dianne felt the old jealousy bearing down on her in a giant wave.

"Are you joining us this evening, Roslyn, or are you having dinner with your

mother?"

Roslyn felt the familiar bitterness of rejection rise in her throat.

It was downright scary how like Lady Faulkner Dianne had become.

"We're all having dinner together," Marsh said before Roslyn could formulate

an answer. For a second he showed a formidable disapproval to his sister.

"Liv and Harry often keep me company when I'm on my own. I don't see whythey shouldn't now. Friends make things so much better, don't you think?"Dianne didn't answer for a minute and Roslyn, for one, held her breath."It's your house. Marsh." She sounded as if he'd betrayed her."I was only asking.""Perhaps you could play for us after dinner, Roslyn?" Justine intervened hastily, "I've always envied you your musical talent.

Mother was so disappointed in us. Every time I touched the keys my hands got

clammy. Di could barely squeeze out a tune, yet Grandma Marshall was a finepianist. Two of her brothers played to concert standard. The Faulkners weremusical. Aggie was supposed to have been a brilliant pianist in her youth.

Her teachers wanted her to make a career of it but her father wouldn't hear of her going away to Europe to study. She had to become a writer instead. "

"Roslyn can certainly thank Aggie she can play now," Dianne said in a sharp,

superior voice.

"And how is thatT' Roslyn was confused and startled. It was an odd sort of remark to pa.s.s, even for Dianne.

"Encouragement," Marsh supplied, giving his sister a glinting glance.

"Agatha always encouraged you, Rosa. Every time she visited she had you upto the house to play for her.""Yes, she did." Roslyn's confusion began to recede, but it didn't disappear."She was always very kind to me.""You make it sound as though you were surrounded by people who weren't?"

Dianne asked, glacier-eyed.

' "That's how I felt, Dianne."

"To my intense shame I recall that was so," Justine said with a regretful

expression.

"We needed to take that line to please Mother, G.o.d rest her soul. I've often

thought about it and I realise I didn't really want to, but Mother could befairly terrible if one didn't see things her way.""How dare you speak about Mother that way!" Dianne snapped, shocked."Is this all news to you, Di?" Justine asked in a goaded tone."We know exactly the way Mother treated Roslyn.""It's all in the past, Ju-Ju." Marsh reverted to his childhood name for his sister.

"We can't go back and change anything, but we can all start a new life.

That's

certainly what I intend to do. Harry, what about another martini?"

"I won't say no." Harry stood up in some relief and offered Marsh hisc.o.c.ktail gla.s.s."You know exactly how to make 'em. Just show the vermouth to the gin."It was nearly impossible to get Dianne to join the conversation at dinner.

Halfway through the main course she suddenly thrust back her chair, holdingherself very erect."You'll have to excuse me," she said in a stilted voice."I feel very queasy. I'm not used to this rich food!"Olivia laid down her knife and fork, looking acutely distressed."I'm so sorry, Dianne. It could only be the sauce. I kept the meal light."

"The food is delicious, Liv," Marsh a.s.sured her. "Not rich at all."

In fact it was simple and elegant, the delicate seafood entree followed by tender lamb fillets with a selection of fresh vegetables.

Olivia had even gone to the trouble of preparing a special dessert forDianne, a light apricot souffle, but it was obvious her efforts had failed toplease.

"Would you like someone to go up with you, Di?" Marsh asked."If you're not feeling well in the morning I'll have a doctor fly in.""I don't need anyone" Dianne insisted with a sharp jut of her chin.It was as if the late Lady Faulkner was standing there."You all go ahead. You get on so well!" With that, for a queasy woman she stormed away."I'll see she's all right." Jystine pushed back her chair."Not that I can say a thing right these days. Being pregnant doesn't seem to suit Di at all."

They all remained fairly silent until Justine returned barely four minutes later.

"She's fine!" she said, slipping into her chair.

"You look upset, Mrs. Earnshaw.

You needn't be. The meal is delicious just as Marsh said. Di's got a bee in her bonnet about something. "

And we all know what it is, Roslyn thought bleakly. They had coffee at the table and later retired to the drawing room where Marsh opened up the lid of the Steinway grand. It wasn't the first time Roslyn had played it since her return to Mac.u.mba but it was the first time since then she had approached it feeling so upset. Her own idea of allowing Marsh's sisters time to settle in now seemed to make no sense. She should have gone down to the airstrip with Marsh with an engagement ring firmly planted on her finger. It was apparent Marsh was losing patience with the situation. Nevertheless the expression in his eyes as she walked to the piano found an answering chord in her.

'"The Lover and the Nightingale'. For me."

"Lovely!" Harry took a chair close to Olivia. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, an expression of pleasure and expectancy on his face.

Harry was a connoisseur.

From the moment her fingers touched the keys, Roslyn felt her agitation drain away. Her role was to interpret Granados' famous piece. She liked to think the composers were speaking to her.

Sometimes she imagined she could almost see their faces. In her short life she had known tragedy, suffering and abandonment. Her playing, always technically secure, had developed considerable depth. A singing soul that spoke, like the nightingale, to the listener.

She played without interruption for perhaps forty minutes. The Spanish musicshe loved, several pieces from the Suite Espanola by Albeniz, on to Debussy'sarabesques, ending with one of Harry's favourites, the beautiful D Flat Majornocturne by Chopin.

There was complete silence for a moment, a tribute to the spell, then Justine exclaimed, "It must be wonderful to feel so pa.s.sionately about something! I enjoyed that immensely, Roslyn. One of your children at least should be so gifted."

"I'll drink to that!" Marsh lifted his brandy goblet and drained it.

While Harry chose to remain with Olivia, Justine decided to accompany Marsh and Roslyn on their after dinner stroll. The night sky above Mac.u.mba was enthralling. The stars shone with great brilliance and luminosity, leading Roslyn to recount some of the myths and legends she had learned from Leelya in her childhood. She had just finished a story about the Morning Star when Justine said quite seriously, "You should really write all of this down. Our aboriginal people themselves will be pleased. I'm unhappy now to think we had nothing to do with Leelya or indeed any of the tribal people who regularly crossed the station. Yet Leelya saw you, Roslyn, a white child, as some sort of kindred spirit."

"And I was honoured." Roslyn looked up, tracing the outstanding constellation of the Southern Cross.

"I wonder what has happened to her."

"I'd say she's joined her ancestors up there." Marsh pointed to the glittering river of the Milky Way.

"She would have been a great age.

I'll make more inquiries. One of the boys came back with the story she was walking in the hill country. That was many months ago. Other women were with her. She could have been walking to the spot she wanted to die.

Something to do with her dreaming. "

"If that's right, I know the spot," Roslyn said.

"It's where she believed the rainbow touched the earth."

They parted in perfect harmony shortly before eleven, Roslyn and Justine to go to bed. Marsh to do a little more paperwork in the study."Listen, Ros, why don't we go riding tomorrow?" Justine suggested as theyparted company in the upstairs gallery.

Roslyn thought swiftly. She treasured her early morning ride with Marsh, butJustine was showing the first signs of friends.h.i.+p. It was too important tobe ignored. "Why not first thing in the morning, Justine, if you won't betoo tired? It's the coolest part of the day."

"Oh, I can make it." Justine's attractive smile softened the angularity ofher face."Do you think Marsh would join us?""I can guarantee it," Roslyn said."A six o'clock start?""Fine!" Justine turned back, bent on healing wounds. "Friends, Ros?How about it? "On an impulse Roslyn went forward and embraced her."It's what I've always wanted.""Me, too. For years. We weren't very nice to you, were we?""You were awful. Just awful."Justine winced."But Marsh took care of you. He was crazy about you at one time."

"We were crazy together."

"Want to hear something to your advantage?" Justine looked directly into Roslyn's eyes.

"He hasn't found anyone else."

It was a buoyant Roslyn who continued on to the room where she found her mother sitting quietly.

"What's up, Mumma?" Olivia's face wore a perturbed expression.