‘’Tis from Mrs McCrombie, miss. ’Tis a Christmas present and she said you’re to wear it tonight for dinner.’
Kitty watched Agnes hang the garment on the outside of her wardrobe. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, but she worried that she would not be able to raise her arms in it for fear of patches of perspiration appearing beneath her armpits.
The family gathered in the drawing room at five, where Kitty was introduced to the famous Mercer matriarch, Grandmother Alicia herself. Alicia was not at all what Kitty had been expecting – rather than having the perpetual look of disapproval that defined Edith, Alicia’s plump face was wrinkled into congenial folds, within which her blue eyes twinkled with mirth. It was sad, Kitty thought, that she was unable to conduct much of a conversation with her as Alicia spoke mainly German, despite having lived in Adelaide for many years. Andrew translated Alicia’s apologies for her limited English, but the warm touch of her hands was enough to tell Kitty that she was welcome in what was originally Alicia’s own home.
She marvelled at how the twins switched so confidently between languages, as they conversed with the assembled company in both German and English. She was also touched that everyone had sweetly included her in the present giving. There was an ivory comb from Edith and Stefan, tiny seed pearl earrings from Andrew, and from Drummond a handwritten note tied up in a package.
Dear Miss McBride,
This note is to tell you that your real Christmas present is stowed at the bottom of the wardrobe in your bedroom. I promise it is not a live spider.
Drummond
She watched his amused expression as she read it, then pulled out a sky-blue ribbon and smiled. ‘Thank you, Drummond. The colour is quite beautiful, and I will use it to trim my hair for dinner later.’
‘It’s to match your eyes,’ he whispered as any attention on their conversation was diverted by the presentation of Edith’s Christmas gift from her husband.
‘My dear, merry Christmas.’ Stefan kissed his wife on both cheeks. ‘I hope it is something you will like.’
Inside the box was a truly glorious pearl, strung on a delicate silver chain. Its smooth opalescent surface gleamed richly in the last rays of the fast-sinking sun.
‘Goodness,’ said Edith, as she let her sister fasten it around her neck. ‘More pearls.’
‘But this one is special, my dear. The best of this year’s haul. Is it not, Andrew?’
‘Yes, Father. T. B. Ellies himself declared it so, Mother. None larger has been found in the seas off Broome this year.’
Kitty’s eyes were transfixed by the gleaming, dancing bead sitting above Edith’s considerable bosom. She marvelled both at the size of such a precious jewel, and the indifference with which Edith had seemed to greet it.
‘You like pearls?’ Andrew, who was sitting next to her on a velvet-covered chaise longue, asked her.
‘I love them,’ she replied. ‘I was forever opening clams on the beach back in Leith to find one, but, of course, I never did.’
‘No, and I doubt you ever would have done. They need a particular climate and breed of oyster, not to mention many, many years to come to fruition.’
After the present opening, everyone retired to their rooms to change before dinner, and Kitty took the opportunity to see what exactly it was that Drummond had decided to give her for Christmas. Knowing him, a bottle of whisky or a dead huntsman spider in a frame . . . The package was so tiny that it took her some time to root about in the bottom of her wardrobe to find it. It was an unremarkable box, tied with a simple ribbon. She opened it eagerly, and found a small grey stone nestled inside.
She picked it up and felt its coolness on her hot palm, feeling perplexed at why he had given this to her. Just like any pebble she could find on a beach in Leith, it was a plain slate grey, and even when she held it to the light she could not see any interesting striations in it.
But when she turned it over, she saw it was carved on the other side. Fascinated, she ran her fingers over the ridges and valleys, the edges of which had been rounded with age and much handling, but she was unable to make out a shape or a word.
Stowing it in the cabinet next to her bed, and feeling mean-hearted for her earlier harsh thoughts on Drummond’s gift, she called Agnes in to help her into her new dress and fasten the tiny mother-of-pearl buttons that ran from the bottom of her back up to her neck. Already feeling far too hot, and trussed up like the proverbial Christmas turkey, her reflection in the mirror made up for it. The colour of the silk complemented her eyes perfectly, making them shine turquoise. As Agnes fastened Drummond’s ribbon into her curls, Kitty dabbed some rouge onto her cheeks, then stood up and went downstairs to join the party.
‘Well, well, you look quite lovely tonight, Miss McBride,’ said Mrs McCrombie with the proud air of a mother hen. ‘I knew that colour would suit you the minute I saw it.’
‘Thank you very much, Mrs McCrombie. It’s the best Christmas present I’ve ever had,’ Kitty replied fervently as the doorbell rang to announce more Christmas Eve guests and they walked through to the drawing room to join those who had recently arrived.
‘The best present, eh?’ said a low voice from behind her. ‘Charmed, I’m sure.’
It was Drummond, looking smart in full evening dress.
‘I was simply being polite. Thank you for the ribbon . . . and the stone, but I have to confess, I have no idea what it is.’
‘That, my dear Miss McBride, is a very rare and precious thing. It’s called a tjurunga stone, and it once belonged to a native of the Arrernte Aboriginal tribe. It would have been his most precious possession, presented to him at his initiation into manhood as a symbol of his special responsibilities.’
‘Goodness,’ breathed Kitty. Then her eyes narrowed. ‘You didn’t steal it, did you?’
‘What on earth do you take me for? As a matter of fact, I found it a few weeks ago when I was crossing the Outback on my way here from the cattle station. I slept in a cave and there it was.’
‘I hope the person to whom it belongs hasn’t missed it.’
‘I’m sure he is long dead, and won’t complain. Now, Miss McBride’ – Drummond reached out to a passing drinks tray and took two glasses from it – ‘may I offer you a little sherry?’
Kitty saw the twinkle in his eye and refused. ‘No, thank you.’
‘I must admit, you’ve scrubbed up rather well tonight,’ he said as he gulped down the dainty amount of sherry in one, then proceeded to drain the one she had refused, too. ‘Merry Christmas, Kitty,’ he said softly. ‘So far, it’s been an utter . . . adventure, to make your acquaintance.’
‘Miss McBride . . .’
Kitty turned and found Andrew at her side. And thought that it really was most disconcerting having a pair of identical twins in the same room; one felt as though one was seeing double.
‘Good evening, Andrew, and thank you for my beautiful earrings. I’m wearing them tonight.’