Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [133]
For Tyndall, these days were empty of feeling, units of time in an emotional darkness that seemed to stretch to infinity. He dreamed that one day he would emerge into bright light and find Amy gone and Olivia smilingly in her place. He had no idea how to achieve this, the fight having gone out of him, so he trudged through the hours clinging to some forlorn hope that fate would intervene.
The opening ceremony for the girls’ home was simple, although Olivia had been acting rather mysteriously about the whole event. She had arranged for several local dignitaries to attend a small tea where the simple plaque by the front door was to be unveiled by the Mayor.
Nervously she took Gilbert Shaw aside and made a private little speech. ‘Doctor Shaw … Gilbert … seeing as you left most of the decisions up to me, I took the liberty of making one without consulting you.’ He raised a bemused eyebrow as she went on, ‘We had to call our girls’ home something and in the time I’ve worked here and talked to all kinds of people in Fremantle I have been so impressed by the respect and esteem you command. You’re a fine man, Gilbert, so we decided to name this place Shaw House … is that all right?’ She smiled with an expression of concern that he mightn’t actually approve.
‘All right? Olivia, I’m overwhelmed. And very touched. I didn’t get into this to create some sort of monument to myself, but the fact you say others approve of my work is most gratifying. It’s truly a lovely gesture.’ He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. ‘No one has ever done something so thoughtful for me before. Thank you,’ he added softly.
This time, as he looked into her eyes, she saw a glow and depth of feeling she had never seen before and knew suddenly it was meant for her alone.
Amy was feeling frustrated and a little bored. Tyndall hadn’t melted one fraction and was as determined as ever to end their marriage. It piqued Amy that her feminine wiles had no effect on him. She had tried to charm, flirt and seduce him to no effect. Worse than the rejection was the ridicule he threw at her. He had also managed to reduce her spending by refusing to honour charge payments she had made in town and so she could no longer tick things up to Captain Tyndall. Streeter and Male’s Emporium politely refused such requests, asking for the Captain to come in person to confirm the charges. Amy’s charm had worn thin and Tyndall had worked hard to convince storekeepers not to indulge or cater to Amy’s spending.
She had gone through three sets of servants. Rosminah, now married to Olivia’s houseboy, Yusef, stayed at Tyndall’s house. Minnie and Alf lived at Olivia’s house as caretakers and Minnie took on part-time work for the wife of a wealthy Chinese merchant. Minnie had made one trip south to Fremantle—her first trip on a steamer and to a city—to take her daughter, Mollie, to work for Olivia.
Amy’s demands, temper tantrums and unreasonable requests soon became known throughout the domestic servants’ network. The social invitations dried up, though the white community and the pearling masters’ wives remained civil. Despite Amy’s volatile nature, she was, after all, one of them.
Amy’s boredom evaporated one day when she was taking a meal alone at The White Lotus, a clean and small establishment run by a jolly Chinese couple, Junie and Henry Wang. The pearling masters and their wives often ate there, as did the top divers. It was a reputable, friendly and noisy establishment and only at night did the sound of gambling marathons filter in from the back and upstairs gaming rooms, where serious money, gold sovereigns, even pearls were won and lost.
Even though it was unusual for a white lady to dine alone, Amy was unperturbed. While waiting for her order Amy was reading the catalogue off the last steamer which showed the latest London fashions—now already a year out of date. She decided she would have a new dress made, even though there were so few occasions in Broome for dressing up. A new dress, she