The Plantation - Di Morrissey [183]
So Caroline and Julie told him the story of Bette’s book and how that had led Julie to visit the family plantation in Malaysia and meet Peter and Shane and then how they’d finally tracked down Bette, whom Caroline had not seen since she was a toddler.
‘Mum and I are still sorting it all out in our heads. It’s been quite a revelation to us. The more we learn, the more questions we seem to have,’ said Julie as they reached the end of their story.
Bill nodded. ‘I can imagine.’
‘From my mother’s point of view, she always …’ Caroline began.
‘Ah, Margaret …’ interjected Bill.
‘That’s right, Mother told me about her life in Malaya before the war, but never wanted to talk about her sister, or about her marriage, after the war. And we know that Bette and Philip were in the POW camp in Sarawak, but Mother told me nothing about that at all. Now I wonder if maybe Roland changed as a result of the war, as well.’
‘As so many did, but not Roland,’ said Bill.
‘So what happened after the war was a closed chapter. My grandmother seemed content in her big old house in Brisbane while grandfather Roland stayed on in Malaysia with my uncle Philip and contact between the two parts of the family has been rather sparse, especially after Philip died,’ said Julie.
‘Now you must think that it’s rather strange for me to want to know what happened between my parents after all this time. Until we met Bette and found out what my mother had told me about my aunt’s marriage was not exactly the truth, I really hadn’t questioned my parents’ relationship. I had accepted that it was just the way things were. Now I want to know if you have any idea what the real reason was for my mother’s return to Brisbane?’
‘Yes, actually I do. It was all very unfortunate.’
‘What do you know, Bill?’ asked Julie softly.
‘I kept in contact with Roland after the war, when we both returned to Malaya, and after I came to Australia, too, for that matter. We’d shared some experiences in the war, and we knew things that very few people knew. We were in intelligence, you know.’
Julie nodded. ‘I’ve read Roland’s account of his war service, so I have a good idea of the work you two did behind the lines. I know that it was very, very dangerous. But I can’t see how that would affect Roland’s and Margaret’s relationship after the war.’
‘Yes, I always assumed my mother wasn’t happy in Malaya after the war, because of all the changes. It wasn’t the grand life any more,’ said Caroline.
Bill nodded. ‘I suppose that was part of it. The communist insurgency made things uncomfortable for people living in the rural areas, but attitudes were changing as well. There was talk of independence, which would mean a big shift in political power. It was clear that things would not return to the way they were before. But I think, at the bottom of it all, was that Roland found it very hard to forgive Margaret.’
Julie stared at him. ‘Forgive Margaret? For what? What happened?’
Bill paused as if deciding whether to say more. Then he shifted in his seat. ‘Julie, why don’t you make us some tea? All the makings are in the kitchen. The lassie will be around with the sandwiches any minute.’
‘Of course.’ Julie got up. ‘So you can get your meals provided, or do you make something for yourself, Bill?’
‘I usually eat in the dining room, but I can make up a brew or a bit of toast if I want to. Never did get into the cooking caper. There’s the doorbell. That’ll be our sandwiches.’
A smiling young woman came in carrying a tray. ‘You want it out there in the sun, Bill?’
Holding mugs of tea and triangle sandwiches, Julie and Caroline looked expectantly at Bill.
After he’d settled himself he turned to them. ‘It’s quite a story. I don’t wonder that Margaret never told you the real reason she left Malaya, it doesn’t surprise me at all. I know that she would not approve of my telling you what happened, but I feel I owe it to Roland to tell you, Caroline, the truth about your parents’ relationship.