The House on Hill Street (5 page)
He slowed his walk to a dawdle and, ignoring the raucous cries of the fish hawkers, looked out at the mighty ships resting on the water. He was so deep in thought, though, that the beauty of the ships was lost on him. His mind turned to the previous day’s meeting of the Legislative Council when delegates had arrived from Launceston for final discussions on the drafting of the new constitution. It had been a meeting of great significance, and the principle reason he had returned from his property near Pontville. Since Westminster Parliament had passed the Australian Constitutions Act of 1850, granting the right of legislative power to all six colonies, Van Diemen’s Land had grown closer with each successive year to becoming a self-governing colony of the British Empire. It will not be long now, Silas thought as he stared blankly at the harbour. These were momentous times. Momentous times indeed . . .
He lifted his gaze out across the river and was distracted by a particularly fine-looking ship in the distance. Under full sail and with the wind behind her, the clipper was making her way up the Derwent in spectacular fashion. He halted to admire the vessel and, as he did so, he realised that his mind hadn’t really been on the meeting of the Legislative Council at all. It hadn’t even been on the new constitution and the prospect of self-government. He’d been trying to distract himself, he realised. He’d been trying to distract himself from the moment he’d left Polly Jordan’s house.
‘It’s hard bringing up youngsters on your own, isn’t it, sir?’
He couldn’t get her words out of his mind.
‘Just as it’s hard losing your loved one to the sea. You’d know that too, wouldn’t you, sir?’
Yes, he thought, oh yes, indeed I would. Why, he wondered, had Amy chosen to confide in Polly Jordan of all people? He had no idea what could have possessed his daughter to do such a thing, but whatever the reason, it had brought back the past.
Judy Nunn’s career has been long, illustrious and multifaceted. After combining her internationally successful acting career with scriptwriting for television and radio, Judy decided in the 80s to turn her hand to prose. The result was two adventure novels for children,
Eye In The Storm
and
Eye In The City,
which remain extremely popular, not only in Australia but in Europe. Embarking on adult fiction in the early 90s, Judy’s three novels,
The Glitter Game, Centre Stage
and
Araluen
, set respectively in the worlds of television, theatre and film, became instant bestsellers. Her subsequent bestsellers,
Kal, Beneath The Southern Cross, Territory, Pacific, Heritage, Floodtide, Maralinga
and
Tiger Men
confirm her position as one of Australia’s leading popular novelists.
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Version 2.0
The House on Hill Street
ePub ISBN 9781742758428
Copyright © Judy Nunn, 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
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First published by Random House Australia in 2012
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
available from the National Library of Australia
Cover design by Cathie Glassby
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