Free Going Home by Valerie Wood Page B

there.’ Ralph andJack walked towards the tailor’s shop to collect the suits that were ready. The two men were roughly the same size, though Jack was stockier, and Ralph had ordered four woollen suits, two for him and two for Jack, though Jack had specified his colour preference. He had also ordered shirts and cravats and two greatcoats.
    ‘You will surely not require two greatcoats, sir?’ the tailor had remarked. ‘One will be sufficient.’
    ‘Make it two,’ Ralph insisted. ‘And two top hats, two bowlers and don’t forget the gloves.’
    ‘Yes, sir. How many pairs?’
    ‘Four!’
    The doorbell jangled as they went into the shop and Mrs Boyle and Phoebe, who had just been attended to, turned towards them. Mrs Boyle carried a small parcel.
    ‘Mrs Boyle! Miss Boyle!’ Ralph bowed, as did Jack. ‘How very nice to see you.’
    They exchanged greetings and Mrs Boyle commented, ‘I understand you are travelling to England on the same ship as we are, Mr Hawkins.’
    ‘Really?’ Ralph expressed astonishment although his mother had already told him. ‘That is good news! Perhaps we can be of assistance to you whilst on board? Jack is also travelling with me.’ He glanced at the tailor hovering by the counter. ‘It makes it easier, does it not, to have one’s servants on a voyage!’
    Phoebe laughed merrily. ‘I don’t know howyou would ever manage without him. Jack must be your right hand.’
    ‘Oh indeed he is.’ Ralph took a step back away from Jack’s malevolent glare. ‘I couldn’t possibly travel without him.’
    They collected all their parcels and walked back to the trap in which they had driven to town. Presently they caught up with Phoebe who was waiting for her mother outside a florist’s shop. She held a parasol over her head for the day was very hot.
    ‘What was all that about?’ Phoebe asked bluntly. ‘What are you two up to?’
    ‘Nothing, Miss Boyle.’ Ralph doffed his hat. ‘It’s true. Jack has to come as a servant otherwise he can’t have a cabin.’
    ‘Why ever not?’
    ‘In case you haven’t noticed, Miss Boyle,’ Jack said softly, ‘I have a dark skin.’
    She gazed at him steadily for a moment, then with a faint blush on her cheeks, said, ‘So you have! I hadn’t noticed.’
    ‘Isn’t she absolutely adorable?’ Ralph murmured as they walked away towards the Hay-market where they were soon absorbed into the noisy bustle of market trading, the ring of the hammer in the blacksmith’s forge and the cheerful laughter and pungent smell of ale and tobacco emanating from the inns and taprooms. ‘She epitomizes the perfect Englishwoman. Fair hair, fair skin, but with a glow about her that can only come from the Australian sun.’
    ‘Wrong. Quite wrong!’ Jack said. ‘She is nothing like the average Englishwoman. Her mother, Mrs Boyle, is, she’s gentle and calm and ladylike. Miss Boyle is nothing like that. She might look like an English rose but beneath that fine skin she is pure Australian.’
    ‘You of all people can say that?’ Ralph said in astonishment. ‘I thought you were of the opinion that only the Aborigine was pure Australian!’
    ‘I am an observer of people,’ Jack said calmly, ‘and there are some who adapt to whatever culture or climate they happen to live in. Miss Boyle is one of those.’
    ‘Well, thank God she doesn’t take after her father or behave like her brother,’ Ralph said brusquely. ‘She would be unbearable if she did.’ He gave a sigh. ‘As it is, I find her delightful. She’s merry and charming and – ’
    ‘And if it were not for her father disliking you, you would be out to capture her?’ Jack commented drily.
    ‘I’d not let him put me off,’ Ralph protested. ‘I’m very taken with her, Jack. There is no-one else who makes me feel the way I do.’
    ‘Take care, my friend, that you don’t get hurt,’ Jack said softly as they climbed into the trap and he took the reins. ‘Miss Boyle is not the one for