The pool of St Branok

"I think so. It is a pity Mrs. Cartwright came out. It would have been better for her to have had the child at home ... and perhaps come out later."

"Oh, she wouldn't have wanted to do that. She knew she was going to have the child before she came. But she didn't say anything because she thought it would upset everyone. Morwenna is like that. She is completely unselfish."

"Well, Mrs. Bowles is quite good."

"I do hope it will be all right."

"Lizzie Morley was born out here. And there have been others. From what I gathered it was touch and go with Lizzie. Old Morley had been a farmer at home and was down on his luck when he heard how cheap land was going out here ... some of it given away. He was obsessed by the idea. He's told me the story many times. He was a tenant farmer and he had always wanted his own place. He and Alice had been married for some years. There were no children. She was almost forty at the time and had given up hope of ever having any. So they sold up and came out here. Alice wasn't so keen to come. She was a home lover and home to her was England. Some people are like that, you know. They pine away for the sight of home. They hate the droughts here and they hate the heat; and it can be cold in this part, too. They hate the glare of the sun and they think of misty days and cool sunshine and the blessed rain. They pine away. Alice wasn't as bad as that and naturally she wanted to be where her husband was and she made a home for him in this country."

"What of Lizzie?"

"Oh, Lizzie wasn't born then. I don't know what it was ... the Australian air ... the change of everything ... who can say? They settled in, bought their bit of land with their savings. It was true, the government here was almost giving it away. They wanted settlers of James Morley's kind ... good, steady, hard-working people, mingling with the convict stock which had come out in the first place. Everything seemed to be working well ... and then Alice was going to have a child."

"They must have been delighted."

"They were. It was just what they needed."

"What happened?"

"Alice was no longer young, as I told you. She was turned forty actually. There was misgiving. Everyone was saying she was too old to have children. But she came through, and there was general rejoicing when Lizzie was born. They adored the child. I heard all this when I came here.

You can't keep secrets living close as we do. I think Alice had a fall when she was holding the child. I don't know whether it was that or not. No one does. But Lizzie didn't grow up quite like other girls."

"You mean she is crippled?"

"Oh no ... not crippled. It's just that she is a little ... simple. She's practical enough. She nursed her mother when she was ill. But there is a kind of innocence about her as though she hasn't really grown up. She is a sweet girl. People are fond of her. She is good and gentle ... but a little childish. She was wonderful looking after her mother. That was very sad. Alice was very ill for some months. This happened when Lizzie was in her early teens. It was some sort of growth. There was no hope really. There wouldn't have been even if they had been at home, but you can imagine what it was like here. It was a very painful death and Lizzie nursed her mother throughout. She died and there were only the two of them. Poor James. He was heartbroken. He turned all his affection to Lizzie. He was already doing very well at that time. He had worked hard and it was beginning to show results. Lizzie was a good housekeeper. It was just that she was slow. He sent to England for a governess for her who taught her to read and write. The governess said she was a dear girl but she just could not teach her much beyond that. But she could sew, do the garden and she looked after her father's comforts wonderfully. If you are kind to Lizzie she repays with genuine affection."

"She sounds a very nice person."

"Nice yes, that's Lizzie. It's a shame that she is as she is."

"I look forward to meeting her."

"It will be arranged. What about now? Why don't we call on our way back?"

"I'd like that."

"It's pleasant here. I'd like to stay for a long time ... talking to you."

"I like it too, Ben."

He looked at me and smiled and for a time neither of us spoke.

I felt a little uneasy. Ben was so often in my thoughts. I rose and said: "Yes, I do want to see Lizzie and her father and if we are going to do that today we should be going now."

I went to Foxey and mounted her. We rode off in silence for Ben was thoughtful, too.

The Morley house was quite large. It had been built in the mock-Gothic style so fashionable at home. It gave an impression of solidity. It was surrounded by gardens which had obviously been very carefully tended, and as we rode up to the house I saw a girl with a basket on her arm; she had been snipping the dead flowers from the bushes.

"It's Lizzie," cried Ben. "Lizzie, come and meet Mrs. Mandeville."