The Plantation - Di Morrissey [46]
‘Try them on,’ said Eugene.
‘Have leather sole, very strong,’ said the shop owner.
‘They’re gorgeous,’ said Bette reaching for her change purse in her bag. ‘I must buy them.’
Eugene stopped her hand. ‘Allow me this small indulgence. Charlotte is also very fond of these shoes, and they will be something nice for you to take back to Brisbane.’ He reached into his pocket as the shopkeeper spoke in rapid Chinese. He may have been trying to negotiate a price, though it seemed to Margaret, he wasn’t trying very hard. Clearly he wanted to please Eugene.
‘Show them the old shoes,’ Eugene instructed.
The shopkeeper pulled out a box and unwrapped some tissue paper to show the women a pair of the tiniest brocade boots they’d ever seen. Each was the length of the palm of Margaret’s hand, laced up with leather shoelaces and made with a leather sole.
‘They look like doll’s shoes,’ said Bette.
‘This cobbler’s shop has been making shoes for the bound feet of Chinese ladies for more than a century,’ said Eugene. ‘Terrible practice. Supposed to make the women more attractive, but the bones of the feet were broken and the foot was kept bound so that it couldn’t grow. So cruel.’
After they returned to the hotel and the sisters had thanked Eugene for the outing, Margaret listened in silence while Bette told Roland how much they’d enjoyed their morning with Eugene.
‘Father has certainly taken to you, Bette. As everyone has. The Oldham girls are quite a hit out here. And how did you enjoy it, Margaret, dear?’ asked Roland.
She shrugged. ‘Well, I can’t say that I was as enthusiastic as Bette. I don’t really like those pokey little Chinese shops. I thought it was nice of your father to buy Bette those slippers. He must have known the shopkeeper quite well, because I could tell that the Chinaman didn’t want to take any money. Anyway, this afternoon we’re off with some of my friends. The Penang girls have such beautiful bungalows. One of them has a beach house at Batu Ferrinhgi. Sounds divine. Roland, perhaps that might be something we could look into – a beach house.’
‘No time for beach holidays, my dear. And Utopia’s too far away from Penang. We have places where we can relax closer to home.’
‘It’s not very social,’ said Margaret.
‘You mean the pagar and jungle cabin you told me about?’ said Bette. ‘That sounds fun. I mean really exciting and different. Why don’t we do that, Margie?’asked Bette.
‘I have a small child, Bette. I don’t think it’s safe to take him out where there are wild animals and unfriendly natives,’ retorted Margaret.
‘Oh, come on, dear. Philip adores getting out.’
‘Roland! It’s jungle! With marauding killer beasts of all descriptions,’ said Margaret. ‘It isn’t like a walk in the botanic gardens.’
Roland shrugged. ‘My son will have to learn to deal with these things. Just as I did.’
‘We’ll all be there to keep an eye on him. I’d so like to go and see some of the up-country areas,’ pleaded Bette. ‘It might be my only opportunity, Margie. Oh Lord, there seems so much I haven’t seen of this country and time is running out.’
‘I always need to go and check out the areas mapped for the expansion of the plantation, talk to the local people, so we might as well all go,’ said Roland. ‘You ladies could be quite comfortable for a few days if we go up to the pagar. It would certainly give Bette a sense of the real bush country,’ said Roland. ‘It’s still very tribal.’
Margaret rolled her eyes. ‘Tribal! That’s the last thing we want to see. Headhunters and scary animals. If I had my own transport, I could go where I wanted. I could take Bette to much more interesting places. Like Ipoh.’
Neither Bette nor Roland leapt at the idea.
‘Isn’t Ipoh a big tin city? I’ve just been to a city,’ said Bette. ‘I didn’t come all this way to go to the pictures and sit in shops and hotels,’ she said, adding carefully, ‘Even though I’ve loved Penang.’
‘You’d be surprised by what’s in Ipoh. But it’s all a moot point as we have no means of getting there. It’s simply too