slitting his throat with his shav—’
Her husband slammed his fist on the table. ‘Leave this room at once, Mrs Grey. You’re allowing your foolish tongue to run away with you.’
‘I will not leave this room. Not at all. The entire world knows the truth of what I’m saying. It was Lord Castlereagh’s valet who found him. It was in all of the newspapers of the time. Fanny, can you imagine such a fearful sight?’
‘No!’ I said. ‘And I’ve no wish to. Hush, Lucy, I beg you. Leave the dead in peace.’
‘I can’t help but think,’ said wilful Lucy, ‘how very odd it is that a man devoted to religion and the Word of God should commit the sin of self-slaughter.’
The Governor rose. He bowed to me. ‘Your sentiments do you credit, Miss Fanny. Perhaps you could instil some of your gentility of manner into my wife. Her comments are extremely unbecoming to a lady.’ And he left us.
Lucy’s cheeks were flushed, but she held her composure. ‘You see how pompous, how—’
‘I see how very silly you are to antagonise him so. Couldn’t you see his temper rising?’
‘It’s better than complete indifference.’
‘He’d just received terrible news of his friend. He was certain to be a little—’
‘His friend ,’ she cried. ‘Theodosius FitzRoy was never his friend. My husband despised him. He often complained that FitzRoy was in an unholy alliance with his cousin, Captain FitzRoy. And he was the weakest, most ineffectual Governor, who fervently embraced the Holy Book but allowed grog-shops and houses of ill-repute to flourish unchecked in Kororareka. And now my husband pretends sorrow at the Reverend’s passing. He’s nothing but a hypocrite.’
‘Lucy! Stop it. If poor Uncle could hear you speaking like this, he’d be grieved beyond measure. It’s entirely possible and natural to feel sorrow at the death of any other fellow creature, no matter what views one held of him in life.’
The mention of Uncle seemed to calm her a little.
‘You must apologise,’ I said. ‘Go to your husband and say … say …your senses were disturbed at such distressing intelligence.’
‘Then I’ll be just as great a hypocrite as he is.’
‘It’s not hypocrisy, it’s common sense. What will you profit from your husband’s being in such ill-humour with you?’
She considered a moment. ‘Well,’ she said sulkily, ‘I will do it, just for your sake.’ She paused. ‘But you know, Fanny, you’re grown so very parochial .’
Lady Martin’s house, at some distance from Auckland town, sat on a sloping hillside, looking towards the harbour. Lucy being engaged elsewhere, I was driven alone by Ingrams to pay my promised visit. I had not noticed at the dinner at Government House that Lady Martin suffered from some condition which made walking extremely difficult for her. She came now to greet me, leaning heavily on two sticks.
‘Look there,’ she said. ‘In the bay below.’
‘Maoris in canoes,’ I said, a little alarmed. ‘Are they friendly?’
‘Entirely friendly and well disposed to us. Do you see that man with the flax kits? In those he has kumara and fish fresh from the sea, and by and by he’ll bring them up to sell to my servants. I watch the natives every morning. They set out in their canoes with the sunrise and lay nets in the harbour. See, there’s another one coming around the point, laden with vegetables. The Maoris cultivate abundant vegetable gardens on their lands on the North Shore opposite us.’ She pointed across the harbour. ‘The ground there is particularly fertile.’
‘Are you afraid of them?’
‘Not at all.’
‘In Albany, we heard the most alarming accounts of their warlike habits.’
‘And I daresay they were true,’ said Lady Martin. ‘In some parts of New Zealand, relations between the two races are not at all harmonious and there have been violent disputes over land. But here, in Auckland, we’ve had little trouble.’
‘I was told that a
Her husband slammed his fist on the table. ‘Leave this room at once, Mrs Grey. You’re allowing your foolish tongue to run away with you.’
‘I will not leave this room. Not at all. The entire world knows the truth of what I’m saying. It was Lord Castlereagh’s valet who found him. It was in all of the newspapers of the time. Fanny, can you imagine such a fearful sight?’
‘No!’ I said. ‘And I’ve no wish to. Hush, Lucy, I beg you. Leave the dead in peace.’
‘I can’t help but think,’ said wilful Lucy, ‘how very odd it is that a man devoted to religion and the Word of God should commit the sin of self-slaughter.’
The Governor rose. He bowed to me. ‘Your sentiments do you credit, Miss Fanny. Perhaps you could instil some of your gentility of manner into my wife. Her comments are extremely unbecoming to a lady.’ And he left us.
Lucy’s cheeks were flushed, but she held her composure. ‘You see how pompous, how—’
‘I see how very silly you are to antagonise him so. Couldn’t you see his temper rising?’
‘It’s better than complete indifference.’
‘He’d just received terrible news of his friend. He was certain to be a little—’
‘His friend ,’ she cried. ‘Theodosius FitzRoy was never his friend. My husband despised him. He often complained that FitzRoy was in an unholy alliance with his cousin, Captain FitzRoy. And he was the weakest, most ineffectual Governor, who fervently embraced the Holy Book but allowed grog-shops and houses of ill-repute to flourish unchecked in Kororareka. And now my husband pretends sorrow at the Reverend’s passing. He’s nothing but a hypocrite.’
‘Lucy! Stop it. If poor Uncle could hear you speaking like this, he’d be grieved beyond measure. It’s entirely possible and natural to feel sorrow at the death of any other fellow creature, no matter what views one held of him in life.’
The mention of Uncle seemed to calm her a little.
‘You must apologise,’ I said. ‘Go to your husband and say … say …your senses were disturbed at such distressing intelligence.’
‘Then I’ll be just as great a hypocrite as he is.’
‘It’s not hypocrisy, it’s common sense. What will you profit from your husband’s being in such ill-humour with you?’
She considered a moment. ‘Well,’ she said sulkily, ‘I will do it, just for your sake.’ She paused. ‘But you know, Fanny, you’re grown so very parochial .’
Lady Martin’s house, at some distance from Auckland town, sat on a sloping hillside, looking towards the harbour. Lucy being engaged elsewhere, I was driven alone by Ingrams to pay my promised visit. I had not noticed at the dinner at Government House that Lady Martin suffered from some condition which made walking extremely difficult for her. She came now to greet me, leaning heavily on two sticks.
‘Look there,’ she said. ‘In the bay below.’
‘Maoris in canoes,’ I said, a little alarmed. ‘Are they friendly?’
‘Entirely friendly and well disposed to us. Do you see that man with the flax kits? In those he has kumara and fish fresh from the sea, and by and by he’ll bring them up to sell to my servants. I watch the natives every morning. They set out in their canoes with the sunrise and lay nets in the harbour. See, there’s another one coming around the point, laden with vegetables. The Maoris cultivate abundant vegetable gardens on their lands on the North Shore opposite us.’ She pointed across the harbour. ‘The ground there is particularly fertile.’
‘Are you afraid of them?’
‘Not at all.’
‘In Albany, we heard the most alarming accounts of their warlike habits.’
‘And I daresay they were true,’ said Lady Martin. ‘In some parts of New Zealand, relations between the two races are not at all harmonious and there have been violent disputes over land. But here, in Auckland, we’ve had little trouble.’
‘I was told that a
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