Kitty’s heart began to beat faster. She did not reply, knowing Edith had more to say.
‘Of course, I was wrong. It transpired that he was not only a charmer, but a chancer. A cad who enjoyed seducing women, and once he had done with them, he would move on to the next. To put it bluntly, I was left high and dry by him. I will not go into detail, but along with breaking my heart, he almost ruined my reputation. I . . . well, suffice to say that if it hadn’t been for Stefan arriving from Australia and us meeting by chance in London – and him having no knowledge of any . . . “notoriety” I had acquired – my future prospects would have been ruined.’
Deep breaths, Kitty ordered herself as she felt the heat of both embarrassment and shock prickling on the skin beneath her dress.
‘I can assure you, what I am telling you is true. I hope you can understand why I was less than pleased when my sister wrote to me telling me you were accompanying her and that I had to welcome you into my home. For of course, the truth of the matter was brushed under the carpet and my sister had no idea of what her sainted Ralph had done to me. And now . . .’ Edith came to stand in front of her. ‘You – his daughter – are to marry my eldest son, and we are to be related. The irony is not lost on me, as I’m sure it isn’t on your father.’
Kitty looked down at the yards of white lace pooling about her elegantly slippered feet. ‘Why are you telling me this?’ she whispered.
‘Because you are joining our family and I want no further secrets between us. And also to warn you that if you ever hurt my son the way your father hurt me, I will hunt you down and destroy you. Do you understand?’
‘I do.’
‘Well, that is all I have to say. I can only hope that you have your mother’s nature. My sister tells me she is such a sweet woman and very stoic. In retrospect, I have realised I had a lucky escape, for I am sure that your mother has suffered during her marriage to that man, just as I did. Him! A minister?!’ Edith chuckled hoarsely, but then, seeing Kitty’s obvious distress, regained her composure. ‘Now then, Kitty, we will never mention the subject again.’ Edith moved closer and kissed her tentatively on both cheeks. ‘You look beautiful, my dear. Welcome to the Mercer family.’
CeCe
Phra Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand
January 2008
Aboriginal symbol
for a honey ant site
11
Ace stretched his arms wide and yawned, dropping the book onto the sofa. I sat up, mulling over the story I had just heard.
‘Wow,’ I murmured. ‘Kitty Mercer sounds amazing! Moving to the other side of the world, marrying a man she hardly knew and inheriting what sounds like a mother-in-law from hell.’
‘I suppose that’s what a lot of women did in those days, especially those who had a life they didn’t want to go back to.’ Ace looked off into the distance. ‘Like Kitty’s,’ he added eventually.
‘Yeah, her father sounds like a real jerk. Do you think she made the right choice, marrying Andrew over Drummond?’
Ace studied Kitty’s picture on the front cover. ‘Who knows? We make so many choices every single day . . .’
His face closed off then, so I didn’t push him on what decisions he’d made that had led to him hiding out here in the palace. ‘The question is,’ I said, ‘what’s she got to do with me? I don’t think we’re related – we look nothing alike.’ To illustrate the point, I held up the book to my head and tried to put on the same stern expression as her. Ace gave a chuckle then brushed a finger over my cheek.
‘You don’t have to look alike to be related. Take me – my father is European, and I’d bet you’re mixed race too. Haven’t you ever wondered?’
‘Course I have. To be honest, I always just accepted it – people would try to guess where I was from if I told them I was adopted. They’d say all sorts – South Asian, South American, African . . . It’s like everyone wants to put you in a box and stick a label on you, but I just wanted to be me.’
Ace nodded. ‘Yeah, I get that too. Here in Thailand they call us luk kreung – literally “half child”. But even though I know where my blood comes from, it doesn’t mean I understand who I am or where I belong. I feel out of place wherever I am. I wonder if you’ll feel like you belong in Australia?’
‘I . . . I don’t know.’ I was beginning to feel flushed and hot, all the questions he was asking me making my head spin. I stood up. ‘I’m going for a last swim and sunset,’ I said as I walked across the terrace to the stairs. ‘I want to take some photos.’
‘What do you mean, a “last” swim?’
‘I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m going to get my bikini.’
Arriving at the gate a few minutes later with my camera, I found Ace already hovering beside it in his swimming trunks, shades and baseball cap.
‘I’ll come with you,’ he said.
‘Okay.’ I tried not to show my surprise when he pressed the red button and I handed my camera to Po as Ace legged it at top speed towards the sea with me trailing behind him. We swam out a long way, much further than anyone else, and he held me in his arms and kissed me.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving before?’
‘To be honest, I’d lost track of the days. It was only when I looked at the plane ticket in my rucksack this morning that I realised.’
‘It’ll be strange without you, CeCe.’
‘I’m sure you’ll manage. C’mon,’ I said as we waded out, ‘I need to get my camera and take some pics of the sunset before it’s gone.’
I collected my camera from Po and went back onto the beach to capture the sunset, as Ace lurked in the foliage watching me.
‘You want photo? I take it,’ Po offered.
‘Would you mind being in it?’ I asked Ace. ‘With the sunset and stuff behind us? Just for the memory?’
‘I . . .’ There was a flicker of fear in his eyes before he reluctantly agreed.
I instructed Po on which button to press, and with our backs facing the beach, Ace put his arm around me and we posed in front of the setting sun on Phra Nang. Po snapped away eagerly until Ace put up a hand to stop him before pressing the code on the gate and disappearing through it. I followed in his wake, stopping to collect my camera.
‘Madam, I take to shop and print for you? My cousin, he run good place in Krabi town. I go there now, pictures back tomorrow morning,’ Po offered.
‘Okay, thanks,’ I agreed as I ejected the roll of film from the unit. ‘Make two sets of prints, yes?’ I gesticulated with my fingers, thinking it would be a good memento to leave for Ace.
‘No problem, madam.’ Po smiled at me. ‘My pleasure. Three hundred baht for two set?’