The Plantation - Di Morrissey [146]
‘It’s a lovely tradition, maintaining the links with the place where you were born and where you grew up,’ agreed Bette. ‘I guess I subconsciously severed my links with that house when I stayed in Malaysia. I often wondered what happened to our old house in Brisbane, with the view of the bay. Old homes like Bayview get torn down too often. That’s partly why it’s important to me to know that Rose Mansion is still intact. I’m very happy that it has been so lovingly restored.’
‘When I found that Rose Mansion had been your family home, I thought about our house in Brisbane. They are both very different, but very special to our families,’ said Julie.
‘That’s why we’re currently involved in a fight to stop our house in Brisbane from being pulled down for a bypass,’ said Caroline.
‘That’s just awful. It would be a tragedy for that lovely old place to be demolished!’ exclaimed Bette. ‘Good for you for fighting to save it. I hope you succeed. There are a lot of memories connected with that house. Do you think you’ll win the battle?’
‘Mum is giving it her best shot,’ said Julie.
‘I don’t know,’ said Caroline. ‘We’ve had some encouraging news. It seems that there was a similar plan in the area previously, and it was scrapped. So if we can find out the details about why that happened, it might help us do the same thing.’
‘If you could do that, it would mean that you’re not living with uncertainty,’ said Bette.
‘Exactly. We’ve had help from a bright young man who’s good at research and we’re hoping that David can sift through the old council papers and get some clues. In fact, it was through David that we found that you had written a book about the Iban,’ said Caroline. ‘It was the first time we knew about your adventures in Sarawak,’ she continued with a smile. ‘We were terribly impressed.’
‘Goodness me! I didn’t think that there was a copy still in existence,’ said Bette. ‘That time with the Iban was a wonderful experience.’
‘Why did you write the book as Oldham and not Tsang?’ asked Caroline. ‘I liked the dedication to Philip.’
Bette was thoughtful and sipped her tea. ‘Yes. I wanted Philip to know that I hadn’t forgotten him. He was such a lovely little boy. My husband’s family was quite conservative and I didn’t want to embarrass them so I wrote my adventures under my maiden name.’ She straightened up, changing the subject. ‘Could you top up my tea please, Julie?’ She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands over the silk shirt she’d tucked into a colourful skirt. ‘So, now that you’ve told me something about yourselves, what would you like to know about me?’
Caroline glanced at Julie. ‘Where to start?’
Julie had thought about this. ‘Well,’ said Julie, ‘I’d like to know how you and Margaret got separated in Singapore. When I was on Langkawi Island I met Marjorie Carter, who was Marjorie Potts when she was a POW with you. She told me a lot about the camp, but didn’t explain how you got there. How did my grandmother end up back in Australia while you and Philip were prisoners in Sarawak?
‘Good heavens. Fancy you meeting Marjorie. How is she? I’m sorry that I didn’t keep in touch with her. Evelyn, her mother, and I were great friends. We wrote to each other for years.’
‘She’s a lovely person,’ replied Julie. ‘She’s actually bought a place in Penang and lives there a lot of the year, when it’s too cold in Scotland.’
‘I’m glad to know that Marjorie is well. Fancy her returning to live in Malaysia.’
‘I’m sure she’d love to hear from you,’ said Julie. ‘She has very warm memories of you. She told us how strong you were in that camp and how devoted you were to Philip.’
‘Yes. Perhaps you’re right. I should contact her. I remember the first time I saw Marjorie. She was a shy, gangly girl, dragging her mother’s suitcase through the camp gates. Her mother wasn’t well, which the camp conditions didn’t help. It was a marvel she survived. So many didn’t. I remember being riveted by the sight of that suitcase. Philip and I had