The Plantation - Di Morrissey [106]
‘Forgive me not standing up to hug you all. Martine, dear, how elegant you look, as always. And you must be Julie. Come, sit next to me.’
‘I’m Christopher, a friend of the family,’ said Christopher shaking her hand.
‘You’re Australian, too?’ Marjorie spoke with a soft, well-bred accent.
‘I can’t thank you enough for coming over here,’ said Julie shyly. ‘To see me, I mean.’
‘Dear girl, this place is no hardship.’ Marjorie waved her hand towards the restaurant, to the gardens and the strip of illuminated sand in front of the hotel. ‘I love staying here. I feel very elegant and very spoiled. But I do hope you will visit me in Penang. It’s such an interesting city. Do you know it, Christopher?’
‘I do. I’m working at Butterworth,’ he smiled.
‘Then you’re very close. You must pop in and see me, young man. Now, Julie, tell me all about yourself.’
As the champagne was poured, and the others started looking at the seafood menu, Julie briefly told Marjorie about herself, how she and her mother had not known until now, that Margaret and Philip had been separated during the war, that Philip had spent the war years in a Japanese POW camp with Bette.
Marjorie nodded, studying Julie. ‘So all this, for you, was a family secret. We all have them, I suppose.’
‘We didn’t even know we had a family secret!’ exclaimed Julie.
‘One sometimes hears stories that sound too fantastic to be true, but they are. Often one simply didn’t want to make public what happened behind closed doors. Everyone might know that things went on but saved face by keeping matters private. It’s how it was. Children born out of wedlock, children handed over to be raised by other members of the family or even non-relatives. Sex, love, money, religion, politics, the drivers of extraordinary actions, wouldn’t you say?’ Marjorie raised her glass of champagne. ‘Here’s to you, my dear. I hope I can help you in some small way.’
‘What would you prefer, Marjorie, the old ways of hushing up family secrets, keeping the skeletons in the closet, or letting it all hang out in public as it is today?’ asked Peter.
Marjorie wrinkled her nose. ‘I do so hate the way people bare their private lives on TV and so on. But I have to say, honesty is the best policy at the end of the day. Secrets always have a way of coming out, eventually. But Julie, if you would like to know more about my experiences during the war, I could tell you, perhaps tomorrow? Now, what are we ordering to eat? The food is so lovely here.’
In the buggy after dinner Julie and Christopher agreed it was one the most enjoyable evenings they’d had in a long time. Marjorie was a delightful soul who’d made them laugh, and made them think, and made everyone hope they could be as warm, friendly, funny and bright when they reached eighty.
‘I’m certainly going to keep in touch with her and pop in and see her in Penang when I get the chance,’ said Christopher.
‘She’d love to have a handsome young gentleman caller, I’m sure,’ said Julie. ‘She must have had a hard time during the war and yet she isn’t bitter, in fact, she is a very generous spirit.’
‘She was young, I suppose that helped. Shane and Peter told me their grandfather was a bit taciturn and didn’t like talking about the war years,’ said Christopher. ‘Maybe that’s a male thing. Men never talk about things that have affected them deeply. Or so my mother tells me.’
‘Does that apply today? I thought you guys had worked through the snag era and we’re all equal when it comes to emotional maturity,’ said Julie.
‘I’m not sure. I guess what Marjorie said about being honest is the safest way to go. Here are the others.’ Christopher jumped out of the buggy as it pulled up at the valet parking