Charlie and Cat arrived at the kitchen door, and Camira sighed and said no more.
That afternoon, Kitty sat on the veranda and reread her mother-in-law’s letter. Given that Drummond had sent a telegram to say that ‘Andrew’ had survived, Kitty supposed Drummond had had little alternative but to carry his charade through until the end. At least he had kept his promise to her and disappeared. She was particularly moved by the fact that, before any of this had happened, Drummond had already left all that was his to Charlie in his will.
Now that her initial horror had abated, Kitty knew she was in danger of wishing she had never acted in such haste. First had come anger, then sorrow and finally regret. During the long, achingly lonely nights, Kitty agonised over whether she should have allowed some time to let the dust settle. Now it was too late – Drummond had gone forever as she had asked him to.
Having mourned him once, she now had to mourn him again.
Charlie hardly raised a glance when he was told ‘Papa’ had gone away again on business. Having become used to Andrew’s absences, and involved as he was in his own childish world of make-believe with Cat, he accepted it without rancour. Heartbreakingly, Charlie talked far more of ‘Uncle Drum’.
‘I know he went up to heaven ’cos God wanted him, but we miss his games, don’t we, Cat?’
‘Yes, we do,’ Cat nodded solemnly.
Kitty smiled at the little girl’s speech. Kitty had spoken to her in English from birth and she even knew a little German too. She was a lovely child: polite, well-mannered and the apple of her mother’s eye. Yet Kitty wondered what Cat’s future could hold. For, despite her beauty and intelligence, she was a half-caste child; an outcast to both her parents’ cultures, and therefore at the mercy of the society that currently ruled them.
Kitty slid open the drawer in her writing desk to write to Edith and refuse her offer of a home for her and Charlie at Alicia Hall. Even though she was aware of how challenging it would be to stay in Broome as a widow, at least she had her independence here. Perhaps, she thought, she might take Charlie to Scotland in the next few weeks to meet his family and decide whether to return there permanently.
Her fingers felt the coolness of the brass key that unlocked the secret drawer. Amidst the chaos of her emotions, she had forgotten about the pearl that Drummond had given her just before he’d left. She unlocked the drawer, pulled out the box and opened its lid. And there it sat, shining in the light, its magnificent pink sheen and size marking it out as a pearl of great worth. Any malevolence it was reputed to hold was deeply hidden in the grain of sand that had given birth to its luminous beauty. Like the evil but beautiful queen of childhood fairy tales, its outer shell gave no hint of what it hid at its core.
Heeding Drummond’s warning not to touch it and never to ‘own’ it, Kitty put it down and paced the room. In one sense, it was Andrew’s last gift to her and should be put on display round her neck and treasured. On the other hand, if Drummond was right, a deadly curse was attached to it.
There was a knock on the door.
‘Come,’ called Kitty, still thinking.
‘Missus Kitty, dem children, they restless and say to me an’ Fred they want to run on beach. I . . .’ Camira’s glance fell on the pearl and her black eyebrows drew together. ‘Missus Kitty, you nottum touch that!’ Camira mumbled some words to herself and dragged her eyes away as a shaft of sunlight sent sparkles reflecting off the pearl. ‘Closem box! Now! Do not look, Missus Kitty! Closem box!’
Automatically, Kitty did as she was bid as Camira unfastened the window behind the desk.
‘Dun worry, Missus Kitty, I savem you.’ Muttering further incomprehensible words as Kitty looked on in astonishment, Camira drew a handful of her muslin skirt into her palm, swiped at the box and hurled it through the open window.
‘What on earth are you doing?! That pearl is valuable, Camira! Extremely valuable. What if we cannot find it?’ Kitty craned her neck out of the window.
‘I see it,’ Camira said, pointing to where the box had fallen. ‘Missus Kitty, you no sella dat pearl. No takem money for it. Understand?’
‘My . . . husband mentioned the curse that was attached to it, but surely that’s just an old wives’ tale?’
‘Then you tellum me why Mister Boss now dead? And many before him.’
‘You mean, Mister Drum, Camira,’ she corrected sharply. ‘Missus Kitty,’ she said with a sigh, ‘I knowum dem fellas from each other, even if you don’t.’
‘I . . .’ Kitty realised there was no point attempting to keep up the charade as far as Camira was concerned. ‘You believe in the curse?’
‘The spirits find greedy men and killem them. I can feel dem bad spirits around that box. I tellum Mister Drum no good.’
‘What do you suggest I do with it, if I can’t sell it, Camira? Apart from the fact it was my last present from Andrew, it is worth a fortune. I can hardly just throw it into the rubbish.’
‘You give to me. I takem box away so no harm comin’.’
‘Where?’ Kitty’s eyes narrowed for a second, thinking that, however much she loved and trusted Camira, the girl was poor and the pearl was worth a whole new life to her and her child.
Camira studied her expression and, as usual, read her thoughts. ‘You keepum that bad cursed pearl, an’ you sell for money from the big rich fella, an’ Charlie orphan in three months.’ She crossed her arms and looked away.
‘All right,’ Kitty agreed. After all, she hardly needed the money and nor did her son. ‘It’s brought the most dreadful luck to all of us. If I was to believe in the curse myself, I might say that it has destroyed our family.’ Kitty swallowed hard and eyed Camira. ‘Maybe the sooner it’s gone, we can all begin to breathe again.’
‘Fred takem me to place he know. Me n’ Cat go for one day with him.’ Camira walked towards the door. ‘Best thing, Missus Kitty. Putta bad thing where it can’t do no harm.’
‘You make sure it doesn’t. Thank you, Camira.’
*
A few days later, Kitty had a visit from Noel Donovan.
‘Forgive me for intruding again, Mrs Mercer, and at such a difficult time for your family, but I am sure ye’ll be knowing that your husband has placed the running of the Mercer Pearling Company into my hands until either he returns, or little Charlie comes of age.’
‘Let us pray it will be the former,’ Kitty replied.
‘Of course, and I’ll not be doubting it. Such a difficult time for ye, Mrs Mercer. Me own family lost ten in the potato famine last century. That’s what brought what was left of us here. There’s many a man and woman who’s arrived on these shores through tragedy.’
‘I did not arrive with it, but it seems to have followed me here,’ Kitty said brusquely. ‘Now, Mr Donovan, what can I do for you?’
‘Well, the thing is that you’d be the closest to knowing what was going through Andrew’s mind. And I’m wondering if ye know exactly when he’ll be back?’