Sentence of Marriage (36 page)

‘Don’t be silly. Here you are.’ She put George on a reluctant Jimmy’s lap. ‘He can hold up his head nicely. You just put your arm behind him like this, then he’ll be quite steady.’ She took Jimmy’s hand and curled his arm around the baby.

George looked up at Jimmy and broke into a broad smile. ‘Oh, you like your old uncle, do you?’ Jimmy said, looking gratified. The next moment George gave a lurch, and the porridge returned to cover his own front and Jimmy’s. ‘Maybe you don’t like me after all.’ Jimmy looked helplessly from George to Amy.

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Amy snatched up the baby from his lap. ‘I didn’t think he’d be sick again—wait a minute, I’ll get you cleaned up as soon as I’ve sorted Georgie out.’

‘Don’t worry about me, I can clean myself up. I’ll just put another shirt on.’

He disappeared from the room. By the time he came back, Amy had mopped up the vomit from the front of George’s gown and had started changing his napkin.

‘Phew! What’s that awful smell?’ Jimmy asked.

‘It’s the smell of babies. It is horrible, isn’t it? Much worse than cows and things. This is worse than usual,’ she said, looking at the runny mess in the soiled napkin. ‘I think he might have an upset tummy. I’m sorry I’ve got to do this in the kitchen, but Susannah’s having a sleep and I don’t want to disturb her.’

Jimmy opened the back door and a window. Once Amy had put the dirty napkin outside, the air soon freshened. ‘I’m a little bit worried about Georgie,’ she said, frowning. ‘Susannah said he was sick last night and first thing this morning, now he’s done it again.’

‘Is Susannah worried?’

‘No, but she doesn’t know he’s been sick again. Well, she knows more about it than I do,’ she said, looking at the baby now dozing contentedly among the blankets.

‘She should do, she’s got two of them. Now, do you think we could manage a little walk in the bush today? Ever since last time I’ve been thinking about it.’

‘I don’t notice you wanting to do much walking once we’re among the trees,’ Amy said with a smile. ‘You seem to want to lie down all the time.’

‘Well, it’s very tiring, this farming life.’ Jimmy returned her smile. ‘What about this walk, then?’

‘Not this morning, I’ve got a lot of cleaning to do. Maybe I could slip away this afternoon for a bit, if you’re not too busy working.’

‘I’ll find some excuse. I’ll make sure I’m hanging around after lunch.’

But when lunch-time came Amy had other things on her mind. George vomited several more times during the morning, and Susannah began to look concerned. ‘Amy, you go over and ask Edie what she thinks about it,’ she said at eleven o’clock when George had produced another runny napkin.

Amy trotted across the paddocks. She was soon back with her aunt’s message, to find her father in the kitchen with Susannah and both children. ‘Aunt Edie looked worried,’ she reported. ‘She said you should take him to the doctor, because he’s too little to go without anything to eat all this time. She said take him today or tomorrow.’

‘Oh. It must be bad for Edie to worry. I suppose I’d better go in this afternoon, then. Jack, will you take me?’

‘I’d rather not today,’ said Jack. ‘I want to get some of those early potatoes harvested this afternoon while the weather’s holding. One of us will be going to town in a day or two, anyway, me or one of the boys, can’t it wait till then? He looks well enough, he’s just bringing up a bit of food.’

‘Jack, don’t you care about my baby?’ Susannah looked accusingly at Jack as she clutched George to her. ‘My poor little baby’s ill, and all you can think about is potatoes!’ She sounded on the verge of tears.

‘Hey, don’t get upset, Susannah. If you’re really worried, Amy can take you in today.’

‘Me?’ Amy said in surprise.

‘Yes, you know how to drive the buggy.’

‘I haven’t for a while, Pa,’ Amy said, struggling to remember the last time she had sat beside her father on the front seat and held the reins.

‘It doesn’t matter. Those horses know the way by themselves, anyway. I’ll get one of the boys to harness them up for you after lunch.’

As soon as they had eaten, Amy left the dishes unwashed and they set off towards town. Susannah sat at her side holding George, and Thomas was between them. Amy was nervous for the first few minutes, and she jerked the reins awkwardly several times, but she soon found it was easiest to let the horses have their heads. Her father was right, the animals really did know the way.

The jolting of the buggy soon put both little boys to sleep, which made the silence between Amy and Susannah all the more obvious. Amy made an effort to break it.

‘It’s a lovely day,’ she said when they had been travelling for ten minutes.

‘It’s terribly hot.’ Susannah adjusted the angle of her parasol to protect herself and George a little better.

‘Well, yes, but it’s nice and sunny. The sea’s going to look beautiful today.’

‘I hate this long drive in to town. Why is everything so ugly here?’

‘I don’t think it’s ugly! I think the bush looks lovely in the sunshine, and the sea’s always beautiful.’

‘I’m not interested in what you think. What would you know about anything? You’re just an ignorant farm girl.’

Amy bit back the retort that came to her lips. ‘I’ve never been anywhere, I know that. I’d like to see other places. I still think it’s pretty here, though.’

Susannah sighed. ‘You wouldn’t if you’d ever lived somewhere interesting. I suppose it would be easier to put up with a place like this if I didn’t know any better.’

Susannah had dropped her habitual wounded expression, and a look of genuine sadness had replaced it. ‘What was it like, where you lived?’ Amy asked.

‘Lovely. We had a lovely house in Parnell. Everything was—is, I should say, the house is still there, even though I’m not. Everything is so nice. Nice furniture, nice carpets, a nice little garden—only half an acre, not a great wilderness. I must have been mad.’ Amy could think of nothing useful to say, so she kept silent.

‘It’s almost worse in a way, since James came.’ Susannah sounded as if she were talking to herself. ‘It’s made me miss Mother and Father more—even Constance. And James will have to go home soon, he can’t stay here much longer. Then I’ll be all by myself again.’

Amy could understand Susannah’s sadness at the thought of not seeing Jimmy again. ‘Maybe… maybe he’ll come down again some time,’ she said, wanting to share a little of her own happiness.

‘No, he won’t. Not for a long time like this, anyway. Father’s getting older—he’s even older than your father, though Constance wouldn’t believe that,’ she said with more than a touch of bitterness. ‘He’ll want James to take over properly in a year or two, James won’t be able to leave Auckland for months on end then.’

‘So Jimmy’s going to run things?’ Amy probed delicately, pleased to be given the opportunity to find out about Jimmy’s prospects without having to interrogate him.

‘Of course he is. He’s Father’s only son—he’ll inherit the business. Long before that happens he’ll be in charge of it. He’s going to be quite a wealthy young man. Not that he doesn’t deserve to be, he’s very clever.’ Her mouth curved in a fond smile.

‘Does that mean—’

‘Stop being so nosy,’ Susannah cut in. ‘It’s nothing to do with you, it’s my family. You just think about your driving and give me some peace for a change—I don’t want you tipping us over in one of these streams.’

I wouldn’t do that
. But Amy was happy enough to keep silence for the rest of the journey while she mulled over what Susannah had told her. Jimmy’s prospects sounded wonderful to her, and she was sure her father would be impressed by them. That meant he would say yes! She hugged her happiness to herself.

Amy walked up and down the street with Thomas while Susannah was seeing the doctor. She did not have to wait long before Susannah came out again, clutching a wailing George.

‘That stupid doctor’s upset him, poking and prodding at him. George was sick again while he did it—at least he managed to be sick over Doctor Wallace’s coat. I’m going to have a terrible time settling him down now.’

‘He’ll probably go to sleep again when we start moving. Are we going home now?’

‘Yes. Get on with it.’

Amy held George while Susannah climbed in the buggy, then she handed up the baby and helped Thomas onto the seat. She unhitched the horses and they were soon on their way.

‘What did Doctor Wallace say about George?’ she asked.

‘None of your business.’

‘What?’ Amy said, shocked. ‘Why won’t you tell me what he said? I want to know.’

‘It’s personal.’

‘How can it be personal? Georgie’s just a baby. Please tell me what the doctor said—is it something really nasty?’ she asked anxiously.

‘It’s nothing to do with you!’ Susannah snapped.

Amy was stung into arguing. ‘Yes, it is! He’s my baby brother, and I care about him. Tell me what the doctor said—go on, tell me!’

‘You’re getting very full of yourself lately,’ Susannah said. ‘I’d tell your father you’re being cheeky, except he never takes any notice. Well, if you’re going to plague me I’ll tell you—not that you’ll understand.’

She was silent for so long that Amy thought Susannah must have changed her mind. ‘Please, Susannah. Maybe I can help look after him.’

‘Humph! I know you think you’re terribly clever, but you can’t help with this. That stupid doctor says George can’t tolerate solid food and cows milk yet. He says I’ve got to feed him myself until he’s at least nine months old.’

‘Oh. What’s wrong with that?’

‘I
hate
it, that’s what’s wrong!’ Susannah flung at her. ‘It’s uncomfortable and undignified, and it’ll ruin my figure. I don’t want to be a cow. Oh, why am I bothering to try and explain to you? You’re just a stupid child.’

‘I’m not stupid!’ Amy snapped. ‘And I’m not a child, either.’

Susannah looked at her through narrowed eyes. ‘You really are getting full of yourself. Whatever’s got into you lately?’

‘Nothing,’ Amy said, wondering if the difference she felt in herself really was visible on her face.

‘You’ve got a lot to say for yourself these days.’

‘Maybe I’m growing up.’ Amy concentrated on the road ahead of them to avoid meeting Susannah’s eyes.

‘It’s certainly high time you did. You’ve been awfully cheerful lately, too. What’s making you so happy?’

‘Why shouldn’t I be happy?’

‘No, I suppose it doesn’t take much to make a girl like you happy,’ Susannah said.

A tiny smile formed on Amy’s lips.
Oh, yes it does
.

February 1884

Amy was well through her buttermaking the following Friday before Jimmy joined her in the dairy.

‘I thought you weren’t going to come this morning,’ she said, abandoning her churn to return his kiss.

‘I slept in—well, I always sleep in compared to you, I know, but I slept in even later this morning. I think it’s this weather,’ he said, looking gloomily out the open doorway at the drizzling rain. ‘That’s the trouble with only being able to get a bit of privacy by going up in the bush—as soon as it rains we’re stuck inside.’

He paced restlessly round the dairy, looking out the door every few minutes to see if the sky had suddenly cleared. ‘You’re a terrible fidgeter,’ Amy scolded, looking up from where she was working the butter. ‘Why don’t you just sit still and enjoy having a rest?’

‘You sound like my mother,’ he teased. ‘
 
“James, why don’t you sit quietly and read a book?” She was always saying that to me before I was old enough to go out and please myself. I know, I’m hopeless when I’m stuck inside.’ He flopped down on a stool against one wall; it was far too low for him, and his long legs looked uncomfortably doubled up.

‘I’m a bit scared of meeting your mother and father,’ Amy admitted. ‘Actually I’m very scared.’

‘Why? They’ll love you.’

‘Will they? They might think I’m not good enough for you.’

‘Well, they’d be wrong. Anyway, of course they’ll like you—who could help liking you?’

‘Susannah doesn’t like me.’

‘Susannah’s different. She doesn’t like anyone very much these days. Take my word for it, Mother and Father will love you.’ He brushed the subject aside with a wave of his hand. ‘Listen, Amy, you know I went in to town with Harry yesterday to get the supplies? I managed to get some notepaper and things, too.’

‘That’s good! I don’t suppose Harry was interested in what you wanted it for.’

‘No, his mind was on other things. You know that red-headed girl who sang at the dance?’

‘Jane Neill, you mean? Mrs Forster’s sister?’

‘That’s the one. She was at the store with her sister, and Harry was too busy staring at her—not to mention exchanging the odd cheeky remark—to take any notice of what I was doing.’

‘Was he just? I didn’t know Harry was even interested in girls.’

‘I don’t think he knew either until he saw Miss Neill.’