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Authors: Fiona Kidman
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Miss Malcolm, before Mr Spyerâs astonished gaze.
Chapter 7
Of course the whole affair of Betty Guard and her rescue has been talked about in every salon in the town. Government House is not immune to speculation as to whether the rescued captive is a true heroine, or a woman no better than she should be. Only two nights earlier, Miss Malcolm had dined with the Governor and his guests when it was the subject on every tongue.
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âIt does seem that something went on, wouldnât you say, something out of the ordinary?â This from Mrs Deas Thomson who is married to Clerk of the Council, and is also the daughter of the Governor. âIs Mrs Guard telling us the whole truth about what happened during her captivity?â
She puts these shocking questions to the assembled party while red wine is being poured to accompany the meat course. The crystal glitters under the chandeliers, like a small river of flame that makes Adie Malcolm remember candles snaking their way through the great churches of Italy. She closes her eyes andfor a moment she is under the high dome of the Duomo. This was a passing illusion for, despite the exalted company, the fine table settings and the undoubtedly superior furnishings, Government House in Sydney is little more than a rambling shack, draughty in winter and overheated in summer. Each new Governor has demanded in vain that a new one be built. None of this really matters to the governess: she is enchanted to be sitting between Mr Deas Thomson and Mr William Barrett Marshall, the surgeon who had been on board the Alligator , the ship that had led the expedition to rescue Betty Guard and her children from the cannibals of New Zealand. Anne Deas Thomson had been a friend of Emmeline Roddick and she remains true to her promise that she would continue to include Miss Malcolm in social gatherings when her patroness was with them no longer. Since Mrs Deas Thomsonâs mother died within months of Governor Bourkeâs arrival in the colony, she is now her fatherâs official hostess â and the most powerful woman in Sydney. Miss Malcolm considers her hostess a woman without affectation, very merry and bright, and a wonderful singer, which makes her popular with both the ladies and gentlemen, even when she says quite outrageous things. Right now, it is clear from the expressions on the faces of some of the ladies, such as young Mrs Bowman, that the topic raised is not comfortable dinner conversation.
Miss Malcolm reminds herself that Mrs Bowman comes from a grazierâs family, like her dear brother Percyâs, where the emancipation of convicts is considered abominable (whether Percy has come to this by his own deductions or those of his wife Maude, his sister is unable to discern, but Percy was a boy who did not believe in harming snails). The view will prevail that Betty Guard would have been best left where she was.
All the same, she is surprised that Mrs Deas Thomson has raised the topic of Mrs Guard in this manner, for it is her father, the Governor, who has been so sympathetic to Mr Guard and the fate of his family. Perhaps Mrs Deas Thomson is not entirely atease with what has taken place and wishes to signal her concern.
âWell,â Mrs Bowman begins, with a nervous clearing of her throat, âit has been said that she was wearing the very best of the New Zealandersâ clothes, a feather mat, and her hair down and all over the place.â
âSurely youâre not suggesting she took to their ways?â says one of the gentlemen present. He is a fellowman of Gerald Roddick, the lately widowed husband of Emmeline, who is not present tonight, though from time to time he and Miss Malcolm do end up in each otherâs company in society, by accident rather than design. She wishes he was here, for if called on to give her views she might say something out of turn. The delicate matter of Mrs Guard has been raised in their household, and the lieutenant
Chapter 7
Of course the whole affair of Betty Guard and her rescue has been talked about in every salon in the town. Government House is not immune to speculation as to whether the rescued captive is a true heroine, or a woman no better than she should be. Only two nights earlier, Miss Malcolm had dined with the Governor and his guests when it was the subject on every tongue.
Â
âIt does seem that something went on, wouldnât you say, something out of the ordinary?â This from Mrs Deas Thomson who is married to Clerk of the Council, and is also the daughter of the Governor. âIs Mrs Guard telling us the whole truth about what happened during her captivity?â
She puts these shocking questions to the assembled party while red wine is being poured to accompany the meat course. The crystal glitters under the chandeliers, like a small river of flame that makes Adie Malcolm remember candles snaking their way through the great churches of Italy. She closes her eyes andfor a moment she is under the high dome of the Duomo. This was a passing illusion for, despite the exalted company, the fine table settings and the undoubtedly superior furnishings, Government House in Sydney is little more than a rambling shack, draughty in winter and overheated in summer. Each new Governor has demanded in vain that a new one be built. None of this really matters to the governess: she is enchanted to be sitting between Mr Deas Thomson and Mr William Barrett Marshall, the surgeon who had been on board the Alligator , the ship that had led the expedition to rescue Betty Guard and her children from the cannibals of New Zealand. Anne Deas Thomson had been a friend of Emmeline Roddick and she remains true to her promise that she would continue to include Miss Malcolm in social gatherings when her patroness was with them no longer. Since Mrs Deas Thomsonâs mother died within months of Governor Bourkeâs arrival in the colony, she is now her fatherâs official hostess â and the most powerful woman in Sydney. Miss Malcolm considers her hostess a woman without affectation, very merry and bright, and a wonderful singer, which makes her popular with both the ladies and gentlemen, even when she says quite outrageous things. Right now, it is clear from the expressions on the faces of some of the ladies, such as young Mrs Bowman, that the topic raised is not comfortable dinner conversation.
Miss Malcolm reminds herself that Mrs Bowman comes from a grazierâs family, like her dear brother Percyâs, where the emancipation of convicts is considered abominable (whether Percy has come to this by his own deductions or those of his wife Maude, his sister is unable to discern, but Percy was a boy who did not believe in harming snails). The view will prevail that Betty Guard would have been best left where she was.
All the same, she is surprised that Mrs Deas Thomson has raised the topic of Mrs Guard in this manner, for it is her father, the Governor, who has been so sympathetic to Mr Guard and the fate of his family. Perhaps Mrs Deas Thomson is not entirely atease with what has taken place and wishes to signal her concern.
âWell,â Mrs Bowman begins, with a nervous clearing of her throat, âit has been said that she was wearing the very best of the New Zealandersâ clothes, a feather mat, and her hair down and all over the place.â
âSurely youâre not suggesting she took to their ways?â says one of the gentlemen present. He is a fellowman of Gerald Roddick, the lately widowed husband of Emmeline, who is not present tonight, though from time to time he and Miss Malcolm do end up in each otherâs company in society, by accident rather than design. She wishes he was here, for if called on to give her views she might say something out of turn. The delicate matter of Mrs Guard has been raised in their household, and the lieutenant
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