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Sighing, she picked up the first one and discarded it. The next one was
from Ingrid Freeman accepting the invitation for dinner that night. She
opened the next letter. It was from Kell & Gateby Associates, Solicitors.
Kitty read the letter with growing dread. The owners of the house had
instructed the solicitors to sell. The family must vacate the premises by
the New Year.
What s up, lass? Connie and Mary entered the dining room for
breakfast.
There is a letter from these solicitors. She indicated the letter in her
hand. The owners of this house want to sell it, and we have to leave by
the end of December, in just six weeks.
Oh, no, Kitty! Mary rocked back in her chair. What will we do? I
thought Ben owned it?
No, he just rented it.
Can you buy it, do you think, lass?
She shook her head. I don t think so. Even if I could, how am I to
keep us going? She rubbed her forehead in despair. We are in the same
situation as in York.
Are you saying that we have to buy a shop again and work for the
rest of our lives? Mary groaned. I cannot believe you are asking us to do
this again.
Nothing is decided yet, Mary.
I like the way we live now, the way we should have always lived.
Mary crumpled her napkin. I will not work again, Kitty. Do you realize I
will lose all my new friends? They will not want to socialize with me once
I am working class.
-60-
Kitty McKenzie s Land
Connie waved her teaspoon at her across the table. There s nowt
wrong with the working class, me girl.
Mary scraped back her chair. I shan t let you do this to me again,
Kitty. I won t. She ran from the room.
That lass needs a good hidin . Connie folded her arms.
Leave it. Kitty rose and gathered her letters. Susie came in carrying
a pot of tea, and Kitty asked her to go on the street and find her a
hansom cab. I might go see Dan at his office in Castlereagh Street
instead of speaking about this to him tonight.
Before long, Kitty was heading into town. Castlereagh Street ran
parallel to the major streets of Pitt, George and Elizabeth. Early morning
shoppers and the cabs, carriages, horse drawn trams, bullock wagons
and carts passing through the city stirred up the dust. As the sun rose
higher, the heat shimmered off the stone buildings. Kitty found it hard to
believe it was only nine o clock in the morning.
She paid the driver, and lifting her navy linen skirts from the dust,
went inside the cool, dim building. She waited a moment for her eyes to
adjust after the brightness of outside.
A tall youth, in a starched suit, rose from behind a desk and asked
whom she wished to see. Within minutes, she was sitting in Dan s office.
Kitty. Is everything all right? Dan hurried into the room and took
her hand.
Yes, except there are some business matters I wish to discuss with
you, if that is all right, and you have the time?
Of course I have the time. He relaxed and sat in his brown leather
chair. So, what can I help you with?
She passed him the letter from the solicitors and let him read it. I
wanted to know whether you might help me decide what to do next.
I understand Ben left no will, so it makes it difficult. All his money,
property and any other assets, go to his nearest living relative, his
mother.
-61-
Anne Whitfield
Kitty nodded. Georgina. The woman haunted her from across
thousands of miles. Georgina would be happy to see her ruined,
penniless once more. Kitty shuddered, imagining the woman crowing to
her friends that the McKenzie chit didn t get her hands on her son or his
wealth.
Dan sighed, and leant back in his chair. Do you have any money?
Some, from the sale of my shop in York. Only, it will not last forever
and I am worried. I could rent a small house and make us all live very
frugally. It is not as though we haven t done it before. Even so, I am loath
to do it. Maybe you might know of some other solution to my problem?
Not off hand, no. Let me think about it today, and we can talk some
more this evening when Ingrid and I come to dinner.
Thank you, Dan. It helps to talk to you about it. Kitty rose from her
chair, while Dan came around to lightly kiss her cheek. Until tonight
then, she said, and walked out of his office.
Leaving the building, Kitty strolled down the street. As usual, most of
the streets running south to north led to the harbor. The offices and
shops held no interest for her as she passed them and the heat became
more intense. By the time she reached the water s edge, she was hot and
perspiring. In a small park area, she sat under the shade of a large pine
tree. Kitty took out her handkerchief and wiped her damp forehead.
She closed her eyes and leant against the tree trunk. Her life was
once again in turmoil and the family would be disrupted. She was tired of
worrying and hurting. Sometimes, she thought she d manage, and then
the next moment, she was so down in spirits she could barely eat.
Kitty stared out over the glistening water and idly watched the boats
and ships go by. She adored the harbor, the sight of it and the activity,
the noise and the smell, but sitting here wouldn t fix her dilemma.
What am I to do, Ben? Help me, she whispered, looking out over the
rippling water. She ached to have him hold her and murmur that
everything would be all right. Suddenly, an idea began to form in her
-62-
Kitty McKenzie s Land
mind, hesitant at first and unclear, but with each passing minute the
conception grew, becoming more defined.
After finishing a tasteful meal cooked by Alice, Kitty lingered by the
door until all were seated comfortably in the parlor. As Ingrid and Connie
discussed knitting patterns for young children, Kitty smiled at how easily
Connie mixed with the Freemans. Gone was the shy, but hard,
undemonstrative woman whom Kitty first bumped into so long ago. Her
hair, newly washed and arranged neatly in a bun at her nape, made her
look like she had always lived well and been a part of society. That was
until she spoke and one heard her broad Yorkshire accent.
Mary, Martin and Dan passed around the Sydney Morning Herald
newspaper, each commenting on public s response to the recent
Drunkard s Punishment Bill being passed. Hetta looked after the babies [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
Sighing, she picked up the first one and discarded it. The next one was
from Ingrid Freeman accepting the invitation for dinner that night. She
opened the next letter. It was from Kell & Gateby Associates, Solicitors.
Kitty read the letter with growing dread. The owners of the house had
instructed the solicitors to sell. The family must vacate the premises by
the New Year.
What s up, lass? Connie and Mary entered the dining room for
breakfast.
There is a letter from these solicitors. She indicated the letter in her
hand. The owners of this house want to sell it, and we have to leave by
the end of December, in just six weeks.
Oh, no, Kitty! Mary rocked back in her chair. What will we do? I
thought Ben owned it?
No, he just rented it.
Can you buy it, do you think, lass?
She shook her head. I don t think so. Even if I could, how am I to
keep us going? She rubbed her forehead in despair. We are in the same
situation as in York.
Are you saying that we have to buy a shop again and work for the
rest of our lives? Mary groaned. I cannot believe you are asking us to do
this again.
Nothing is decided yet, Mary.
I like the way we live now, the way we should have always lived.
Mary crumpled her napkin. I will not work again, Kitty. Do you realize I
will lose all my new friends? They will not want to socialize with me once
I am working class.
-60-
Kitty McKenzie s Land
Connie waved her teaspoon at her across the table. There s nowt
wrong with the working class, me girl.
Mary scraped back her chair. I shan t let you do this to me again,
Kitty. I won t. She ran from the room.
That lass needs a good hidin . Connie folded her arms.
Leave it. Kitty rose and gathered her letters. Susie came in carrying
a pot of tea, and Kitty asked her to go on the street and find her a
hansom cab. I might go see Dan at his office in Castlereagh Street
instead of speaking about this to him tonight.
Before long, Kitty was heading into town. Castlereagh Street ran
parallel to the major streets of Pitt, George and Elizabeth. Early morning
shoppers and the cabs, carriages, horse drawn trams, bullock wagons
and carts passing through the city stirred up the dust. As the sun rose
higher, the heat shimmered off the stone buildings. Kitty found it hard to
believe it was only nine o clock in the morning.
She paid the driver, and lifting her navy linen skirts from the dust,
went inside the cool, dim building. She waited a moment for her eyes to
adjust after the brightness of outside.
A tall youth, in a starched suit, rose from behind a desk and asked
whom she wished to see. Within minutes, she was sitting in Dan s office.
Kitty. Is everything all right? Dan hurried into the room and took
her hand.
Yes, except there are some business matters I wish to discuss with
you, if that is all right, and you have the time?
Of course I have the time. He relaxed and sat in his brown leather
chair. So, what can I help you with?
She passed him the letter from the solicitors and let him read it. I
wanted to know whether you might help me decide what to do next.
I understand Ben left no will, so it makes it difficult. All his money,
property and any other assets, go to his nearest living relative, his
mother.
-61-
Anne Whitfield
Kitty nodded. Georgina. The woman haunted her from across
thousands of miles. Georgina would be happy to see her ruined,
penniless once more. Kitty shuddered, imagining the woman crowing to
her friends that the McKenzie chit didn t get her hands on her son or his
wealth.
Dan sighed, and leant back in his chair. Do you have any money?
Some, from the sale of my shop in York. Only, it will not last forever
and I am worried. I could rent a small house and make us all live very
frugally. It is not as though we haven t done it before. Even so, I am loath
to do it. Maybe you might know of some other solution to my problem?
Not off hand, no. Let me think about it today, and we can talk some
more this evening when Ingrid and I come to dinner.
Thank you, Dan. It helps to talk to you about it. Kitty rose from her
chair, while Dan came around to lightly kiss her cheek. Until tonight
then, she said, and walked out of his office.
Leaving the building, Kitty strolled down the street. As usual, most of
the streets running south to north led to the harbor. The offices and
shops held no interest for her as she passed them and the heat became
more intense. By the time she reached the water s edge, she was hot and
perspiring. In a small park area, she sat under the shade of a large pine
tree. Kitty took out her handkerchief and wiped her damp forehead.
She closed her eyes and leant against the tree trunk. Her life was
once again in turmoil and the family would be disrupted. She was tired of
worrying and hurting. Sometimes, she thought she d manage, and then
the next moment, she was so down in spirits she could barely eat.
Kitty stared out over the glistening water and idly watched the boats
and ships go by. She adored the harbor, the sight of it and the activity,
the noise and the smell, but sitting here wouldn t fix her dilemma.
What am I to do, Ben? Help me, she whispered, looking out over the
rippling water. She ached to have him hold her and murmur that
everything would be all right. Suddenly, an idea began to form in her
-62-
Kitty McKenzie s Land
mind, hesitant at first and unclear, but with each passing minute the
conception grew, becoming more defined.
After finishing a tasteful meal cooked by Alice, Kitty lingered by the
door until all were seated comfortably in the parlor. As Ingrid and Connie
discussed knitting patterns for young children, Kitty smiled at how easily
Connie mixed with the Freemans. Gone was the shy, but hard,
undemonstrative woman whom Kitty first bumped into so long ago. Her
hair, newly washed and arranged neatly in a bun at her nape, made her
look like she had always lived well and been a part of society. That was
until she spoke and one heard her broad Yorkshire accent.
Mary, Martin and Dan passed around the Sydney Morning Herald
newspaper, each commenting on public s response to the recent
Drunkard s Punishment Bill being passed. Hetta looked after the babies [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]