Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [112]
The jerky answers pieced the story together for Olivia, who was still somewhat shocked by this revelation. ‘Please Minnie. We must find out. It’s not fair on Captain Tyndall. He loves little Maya, she’s his daughter. And I suppose in his way, he loves Niah too.’
Minnie gave her a shrewd look. ‘I see what I can find out.’
Olivia was about to leave when she turned back to Minnie. ‘What do you mean, you all the same people. Who are you talking about?’
Minnie lifted a hand in a vague gesture. ‘My people belong same country you make friends when you come on beach ‘n’ have your first baby. Wally belong same people. He live in town some time. Some time go bush.’
Olivia stared at Minnie. ‘You mean the women I first met down the coast from Cossack are your people?’
‘Yeah. But I got taken by police ‘n’ sent to a mission school.’ She gave a defiant lift to her head. ‘Learn white ways, work for white people. I marry Alf, he mix-up blood too. But I find my people again. We got different lives now. Keep in with ‘em, they always family.’
‘I don’t know what to say. Who knows this?’
‘Ahmed know. He fetch me when Niah baby come ‘cause he know we same people. He know my people help you. They watch out for us.’
Olivia sat down, trying to absorb this avalanche of important information and wondering if she would ever understand the Aboriginal way of thinking, their different attitude to life, different values.
Eventually she said slowly, ‘Minnie, could you send some sort of message via Wally, when he turns up again, to please find out where Niah and Maya are. If they are all right and when or if they are coming back? Do you think he can find out?’
‘Mebbe. We try. Don’ worry, mem.’
Olivia decided not to say anything to Tyndall until they had some answers.
It took two weeks. By whatever method messages were relayed over the vast distance of the bush, the story filtered back of Niah being kidnapped by Gunther and possibly killed. Looking distressed, Minnie relayed the news to Olivia.
‘But what of Maya? Where is she, she’s so young, what’s happened to her?’ Olivia dreaded having to pass on this news to Tyndall.
‘Oh, Maya safe. She with her family, all the aunties and uncles look after her. She learn their ways, wait see if her mummy come back.’
Olivia was frustrated and angry. ‘What if Niah doesn’t come back, and it seems unlikely. Maya should be here, with her father.’
‘Maya with her people,’ said Minnie stubbornly.
‘Do you know where she is?’
Minnie shook her head. ‘They on walkabout. Come back some time. Better Maya stay with her people. Tyndall no can look after little girl proper. No can teach her business.’
‘But she could have the advantages of going to a school here, learning our ways too. She is half white, Minnie.’
Minnie shrugged. ‘Maya come back to Broome one day.’
Olivia saw it was pointless arguing with Minnie. She knew what Tyndall would say, that if Maya stayed away, she’d forget this life and her father.
Tyndall said little after Olivia quietly told him the details in his office. She noticed Maya’s toy lugger was back on his desk. He stood and looked out over Streeter’s Jetty and the activity of rebuilding and repairing the cyclone damage. She had expected him to rant and rave and lose his temper. His silent pain was actually harder to bear. ‘Leave me be please, Olivia. And thank you … for finding out what … happened.’
They didn’t speak of the matter again. He didn’t appear for their sundowners for a couple of nights and she suspected he was comforting himself with a bottle of whisky. When he did turn up, it was all business.
Ten days later he surprised her by asking, ’You still game for a trip up the coast?’
She nodded. ‘I’d like some peace and quiet. The town is still a shambles.’
‘I’d like some peace, too. Been through a bit of heart searching. I suppose I’ve come to terms with things. Nothing much I can do for the moment anyway.’
‘We’ve both suffered a loss, maybe this trip is a good idea,’ said Olivia softly.
Arrangements were made and Tyndall