The Black Opal (13 page)

Dr. Emmerson looked very dismayed.

There were a few rowing-boats on the water. He shouted to one of them.

He was pointing to the Lady of the Seas and to us. I guessed what he was saying. They came to a hasty agreement and the next moment we were all climbing into a rowing-boat.

It was slow progress. We saw that the launch had reached the ship and the passengers were already on board. The launch was, in fact, being drawn to the deck from which it usually hung. The ship was preparing to sail.

There were some men standing on the landing-stage which was in the process of being dismantled. Dr. Emmerson shouted to them. It was not easy to get their attention, but at last he did.

He shouted: “Two little girls. Passengers. The Captain’s niece.”

He had their attention. We were tremendously relieved. We were going to be all right but we had known we would be when our prayers were answered.

There was some time to wait. Several people had come out on to the deck and were leaning over the rail, looking at us.

Dr. Emmerson was clearly greatly relieved. He was confident that he would get us back on board now. He must have been wondering what he would do with two girls on his hands.

He said: They can’t set up the landing-stage again. I expect they’ll let down a rope-ladder. “

“A rope-ladder!” I cried, looking at Gertie.

“That’ll be fun,” she said, with more apprehension than conviction.

She was right to be concerned. It was no easy matter.

We were bobbing about in our little boat, which seemed very tiny and frail beside the Lady of the Seas.

The people from the deck watched while the ladder was being lowered.

“You’ll have to be careful,” said Dr. Emmerson.

“This can be a tricky business. They’ll be waiting up there to catch you, and I’ll help from here below … but there’s a little distance when you’ll be on your own. Understand?”

“Yes,” I said.

He caught the end of the ladder as it descended.

“You first, Carmel,” he said.

“Ready? Go carefully. On no account lose your grip on the rope. Hang on to it at all cost. And don’t look down at the sea. Keep your eyes straight ahead. Ready?”

I was off. He was holding me until I got beyond his reach. Then for a short time I was alone, clinging to the ladder as Dr. Emmerson had

advised. I took one cautious step after another. Then I felt hands from above. Two strong sailors had hauled me on to the deck.

Then it was Gertie’s turn.

We stood beside each other. We were safe. We had seen our miracle and felt exalted. I knew Gertie felt as I did.

We looked down at Dr. Emmerson who was smiling very happily. The look of anxiety had completely disappeared from his face.

“Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Emmerson,” we shouted.

“Goodbye,” he replied.

“And don’t do it again!”

People were surrounding us, among them Jimmy and Timothy.

“Idiots!” said Jimmy.

“What did you think you were doing?”

Mrs. Forman was hugging us, half laughing, half crying.

“We were so worried,” she said.

“But, thank God you are safe.”

“Yes,” I said.

“Let us thank God.”

There was a great deal of fuss about the adventure. Uncle Toby had heard nothing of it until we were safe on board. It was the law of the ship that he was not to be disturbed at such times except with emergencies, and our failure to return on board in time would not be considered a disaster in nautical terms.

He was very disturbed when he learned what had happened, and I realized even more what potential dangers we might have faced.

He sent for me to go to his cabin an hour or so after sailing.

“Never, never let a thing like that happen again!” he said sternly.

“We wouldn’t have let it happen then if we could have helped it,” I told him.

“You could have helped it. You should have stayed with the boys.”

“We didn’t mean to leave them. They just disappeared.”

“You shall never go ashore again unless you are with a reliable person.”

He had never been angry with me before, and I could not stop my tears.

I had been so elated to be safe, and to have incurred his anger made me more unhappy than anything else could.

He relented at once and took me into his arms.

He said: “It’s only because you mean so much to me. When I think what could have happened …”

We were silent for a while, clinging to each other.

“Never … never…” he began.

“No, I won’t. I won’t, I promise.”

After a few moments, he was his old self again.

“All’s well that ends well. I can’t be grateful enough to Emmerson. It was a miracle that he happened to be there.”

“Yes,” I said with conviction.

“It was a miracle.”

“He’s a good fellow. I’ll write to him and you and Gertie can enclose a note.”

“Oh, we will, we will. I’m so happy to be back with you, and you’re not really angry?”

“As long as you don’t do anything so foolish again.”

“Oh, I won’t. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

So all was well. I was back and Uncle Toby was only cross with me because he loved me so much.

He sent for Jimmy and Timothy. He must have talked to them very severely, for they emerged from his cabin red-faced and solemn. They were subdued for several days afterwards.

Mrs. Forman blamed herself. She should never have allowed us to go, she said. But she was assured that she must not blame herself; and in any case she had been so worried at the time about Mr. Forman. He was now making satisfactory progress and would be recovered completely in a few days.

That incident had an effect on Uncle Toby. He was a little quiet at times, and sometimes absentminded, as though preoccupied in some way.

We were together as often as before, and I believed that, whenever it was possible, he wanted to be with me; and what he enjoyed most was sitting in a quiet spot on deck and talking to me.

There were occasions, though, when he would lapse into silence rare with him in the past and he would begin to say something, and then seem to change his mind.

This change in him had come about since our dramatic adventure and I believed it had something to do with that.

Then I learned what it was all about.

We had dined and it was one of those occasions when Uncle Toby had an hour or so to spare. It was a beautiful night, the sea was calm and a full moon was making a path of light across the water, and there was no sound but the gentle swishing of the waves against the sides of the ship.

Uncle Toby said suddenly: “You’re not a child any more, Carmel, I’ve been thinking that perhaps it is about time you began to learn a few things.”

“Yes?” I said eagerly.

“About me,” he said.

“About yourself.”

I was tensely, eagerly waiting.

“Please tell me. Uncle Toby. More than anything, I want to know.”

“Well, in the first place, I’m not your Uncle Toby.”

“I know. You’re Estella, Henry and Adeline’s, of course.”

“Yes. I’m that all right. Perhaps I’d better start from the beginning.”

“Oh yes, please.”

“I told you that my family didn’t want me to go to sea, didn’t I? I wasn’t like the rest of them. Well, you knew my sister, the doctor’s wife. You wouldn’t say 1 was like her, would you?”

I shook my head vigorously.

“I wasn’t like my sister, Florence, either.”

“The one Estella and Adeline went to … Oh no!”

“That’s the one. You see, 1 am most unlike them all. They all conformed, except perhaps Grace herself, who married the country doctor who was considered unworthy by the family. But then, it was probably that he was the only one who had ever showed any desire to join forces with Grace, so it was the doctor or no one. I’m being unkind. The fact is, I was never close to any of them. You can understand why I went to sea.”

I nodded. Certainly I could understand anyone’s wanting to get away from Mrs. Marline, not counting the rest of them.

“You were so different,” I said.

“Chalk from cheese, as they say.”

“But you were reconciled afterwards.”

“Let me tell you how it was. When I was a young officer, my ship was stationed in Australia, In Sydney actually. It’s a fine place and the harbour is grand. One of the finest in the world. Didn’t Cook say that when he discovered it? And he was right. Well, there we were based and there we took on our passengers and cargo and sailed round the world . just like the Lady of the Seas … to places in the vicinity mostly. Hong Kong, Singapore, New Guinea, New Zealand. I was twenty when I met Elsie. I was young, hot-headed, romantic you might say. We were married.”

“You have a wife?”

“Kind of.”

“How can you have a wife … kind of ?”

“You were always a very logical young lady, and you are right. You either have a wife or you don’t. What 1 mean is that ours was not like most marriages. We see each other now and then. I’ll see her when 1 get to Sydney. We’re good friends, but we don’t share our lives any more. We both decided it was best that way.”

“But she is your wife.”

“Marriage vows are binding. You’re either married or you’re not. So we are.”

“Shall I see her?”

“Yes. You’ll meet Elsie. She and I are the best of friends. We don’t see each other very often. Perhaps that’s why.”

“You don’t really like her.”

“Oh, but I do. I like her very much. We get on well for a time. She’s a good sort.”

“Then why … ?”

“There are things you’ll understand later. Human beings are complicated creatures. They rarely do what they’re expected to. She couldn’t leave her country, and I’m a wanderer. She’s got a comfortable little place near the harbour. She was born there. Native heath and all that. But I want to talk about us … you and me.”

“Yes,” I said excitedly.

“We took to each other from the start, didn’t we? There was something special, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, there was.”

“We were drawn to each other. Carmel, I am your father.”

There was a deep silence while joy flooded over me.

“You are pleased?” he asked at length.

“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He took my hand and kissed it tenderly.

“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, too,” he said.

I sat in wonder. If I could have been granted my dearest wish, it would have been just this.

He said: “You must be wondering how it all came about.”

1 nodded blissfully.

“When I heard you had been left behind in Suez, it gave me such a shock. I could only be thankful that I did not hear until you were safe. I should have been frantic. I

should have left the ship and gone in search of you. And that would have been the end of my career at sea. “

“Oh, I’m sorry … so sorry.”

“I know. It wasn’t your fault. Those stupid boys should have taken more care of you. The idea came to me that you were growing up and it was time you knew the truth. It was then that I decided to tell you, Carmel. I did not know. I had not an inkling until the doctor wrote to me. I was in New Zealand when I received the letter. Posts are often delayed, as you can imagine. Dear old Dr. Edward. His heart was in the right place. You see, he knew. Thank God he did.”

“They would have sent me to an orphanage. I should never have known you … or who I was.”

That prospect seemed doubly gloomy now that I could compare it with what I should have missed.

“Even Grace had to relent and look after you when she knew you were one of the family. But let me tell you. Your mother was a gipsy girl.”

“Zingara!” I cried.

He looked at me in amazement.

“She became that. She was Rosaleen Perrin. You knew?”

“I saw her once.” I told him how I had become acquainted with Rosie Perrin when she had bandaged my leg, and how later I had met Zingara.

“She must have come there to see you. What did you think of her?”

“That she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.”

“She was unlike everyone else in every way.” He smiled reminiscently.

“I was at Commonwood House for all of three months. I had a long leave due to me and the ship was going into dock for a thorough overhaul and refit. It was during that time that I met Rosaleen. I was deeply attracted by her.”

“And she by you.”

“It was a wild and deep attraction while it lasted.”

“It did not last?”

“It did not have a chance to. There had been someone who came to the encampment … something about material he was collecting for a book he intended to write about the gipsies’ way of life. He had been interested in her ever since then. That was not surprising. She and I used to meet at night in the woods. I have travelled a great deal and known many people, but never one like Rosaleen. She was having tuition for a stage career and she was bent on that. I would not be there for ever. We both knew that it could not last and we were the sort of people to accept that. I knew nothing of your existence until Edward wrote and told me. I’ll explain all that. She left you at Commonwood House because she thought it was the best for you. She was full of her own sort of wisdom. She was a great one with the cards and that sort of thing. She reckoned she had special insight. She would have worked it out that it would be best for you. She would never have let them send you to an orphanage. You were her child and mine and the best place for you was not with her … or the gipsies. It was Commonwood House.”

“And you knew I was there.”

“That’s what I’m going to tell you. Edward-Dr. Marline knew of my passion for Rosaleen. He deplored it, naturally, but he knew. Poor man. He was caught with Grace, and a nice dance she led him. He did not approve of my way of life. A wife in Sydney and wandering fancy free around the world. Yes, he knew about Rosaleen. He remonstrated with me.

“Grace must never know,” he said. As if I would have thought of confiding in Grace!

“There was a little shop in the High Street in those days. The Old Curiosity Shop, it was called. It’s not there now. I don’t suppose it paid, but it was a pleasant little place. A Miss Dowling ran it; a nice little lady, but with no head for business.