Astoria Park Resumes

William was now angry. He stood at the window looking down at the street below, looking at men that he knew, entering the club, his club, a club that this whore insisted that he not enter. He wondered about that, and now he knew why it was so that he did not see his daughter Elizabeth entertaining the very men who he had more than a nodding acquaintance with. His world, the one that up to now he had thought was perfect, was now a pile of profane words spat at him by the woman that he thought loved him. He looked down and noticed a cane with a silver eagle head mounted on its handle. It wasn't his, and it couldn't have been Juliana's, did it belong to a lover? He picked it up and weighed it in his hand.

Turning around he saw Juliana watching him with a smirk on her face, challenging him to react. Swinging the cane in a backhanded arc, he struck her on the side of the head. She fell to the floor without a sound, blood oozing from the hole in her skull where the eagle's beak had penetrated.

Acting quickly he crossed to the desk in the corner of the room, opening the drawer, he retrieved the key to the safe. Emptying it of all cash and valuables, he dumped them into a valise and quickly stuffing his clothes and toiletries into a portmanteau he left by the back door. The inner door, through which Juliana would enter from the club, was locked from the inside, this would prevent anyone from entering.

He had an hour before daylight and the run-out tide that signalled the departure time for the ship on which Wills was due to sail. He took a note page from his valise and wrote a note for Wills. "Son, I wish you well for the future. Something has arisen and I have decided that I should travel to London myself, so I have decided to travel in your place. Go see your mother, she is a good woman, I know that now. Take Mary to meet her, I am sure that the two of them will be friends." He walked to the address on the piece of paper that Wills had given him and slipped it under the door. He then walked out of all of their lives.

Chapter 6

Elizabeth left the Police Station. It had been a harrowing evening, she had been questioned for seemingly hours about her relationship with Sir Nigel, but she had stood by her statement that they were merely friends and that she had no romantic attachment to him. "Then how do you explain this." Detective Sergeant Roberts had said as he pushed a sheet of paper across the table to her. "It appears as if Sir Nigel not only bought you an engagement ring, that you know nothing of, or your claim that you know nothing of, but he went to his Solicitor and changed his Last Will and Testament. I suppose that you are going to tell me that you knew nothing of this?"

"I know nothing of this."

"I thought as much. If this Will is accepted as genuine then you are a very wealthy young lady. Very wealthy indeed, for not only will you have a sizable annuity, enough to keep any young lady happy, but you will have a residence all to yourself, in a very salubrious locale. What do you say to that?"

"I was not aware that he had done any of this. We never discussed this or anything of a personal nature between us. I am sad that he is dead, but I know nothing of how he died. Have you asked Juliana, the lady that owns the Wellington Club? Maybe she can assist you."

"We have sent constables around to the club to fetch her, but it appears that she is nowhere to be found."

"Maybe she does not want to be found, have you thought of that?"

"Why would you suggest that?"

"I do not know, it is just something that came into my head."

"You are not attempting to divert attention away from yourself, are you?"

"No. I have nothing to hide from you."

She was eventually allowed to leave. She did not want to return to the club, but could not think of anywhere else to go, but Aunt Meg's, and hopefully a package.

It was too early to call on her aunt, so she walked to a church and sat in the front pew and did something that she had not done for years, and had thought unlikely to do in the future, she prayed, at least that was what she appeared to be doing. She sat with her head bowed and her mind raced over the events of the past couple of days. She thought that she had been happy in her life, but was she? She had a good job and earned quite a lot of money for a young girl, but she was not happy, she was not unhappy that she had allowed Sir Nigel to befriend her, for that was all it was, a friendship, there was no physical intimacy between them, oh she stroked him to orgasm, but there was nothing in that that would lead him to fall in love with her. They did little more than talk, at least he talked and she listened and made appropriate responses to his conversation, but there was nothing in that to make him fall in love with her. But it appears that he had fallen in love with her, and had left her a sizeable inheritance. What would she do with it? "Oh, I don't know what to do." She said in little more than a whisper.

"What troubles you, my child?" She turned her head and saw a Priest standing at the end of the pew.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here, I am not of your faith, but I had nowhere to go, and it seems so quiet in here. I just need to think, and I don't think that you can help me."

"You would be surprised, my child. You do not have to be of the faith for me to help you, just being troubled is enough. Won't you tell me your troubles?"

"I can't."

"Why can't you tell me, child?"

"Because Father, do I call you Father? Because I have been so very wicked."

"I am not a Father yet, I am the Curate, which is an assistant Priest, it will be some time before I am ordained as a priest, I am still learning. My name is Laurence, you may call me that. What do I call you?"

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth, we cannot all be saints, and your Heavenly Father forgives you and loves you none the less. You cannot have done anything so bad that He will not love you."

"I think that I have killed a man."

"Did he hurt you, my child?"

"No, that was the problem, he was so good and kind, and he told me that he loved me, and he proposed marriage to me, and I think that was what killed him, he was awaiting my reply, and his heart stopped beating, and he died."

"But my child, you did not kill him. Did you love this man?"

"No, I did not. I liked him, I liked talking to him, but that was all. I think it was that talking to him, that caused him to believe that I had feelings for him, and I did have feelings, but not the same as he had for me."

"Was he an older man?"

"Yes, he was much older than I."

"How did you meet this man?"

"We met through my job. I work in a Gentleman's club as a Hostess."

"What do you do?"

"I accompany the men as they play games of chance and make sure that they are catered for with drinks, and if asked I provide additional services."

"Is this part of your job?"

"Yes and no. It is a separate arrangement between us, the club plays no part in the financial arrangements between us."

"Do these additional services include sexual intercourse?"

"Yes, if that is what the client wanted."

"Can you refuse this request?"

"No."

"Did you have relations with this man who died?"

"No, oh, he wanted to, but he was unable to."

"Elizabeth, you have not done anything that absolution will not fix. If you and I were of that other faith, I would do no more than tell you to pray the Rosary, say a few 'Hail Marys', repent and sin no more, and drop a coin in the Poor Box as you leave. As it is, I will tell you to go in peace my child, and if you should repent of your sins, then so be it."

"Thank you, Laurence, you have been a great help."

"If you should wish to speak with me again, I am always here."

"I'll remember that. Good-bye Laurence."

"Good-bye Elizabeth, and may God bless you."

o - 0 - o

"Aunt Meg, I don't know what to do. I'm in so much trouble. The police think that I killed a man."

"I'm sure that you're innocent. I had a letter from your mother, she is worried about you and this job that you have. I have to say that I do not like it either. Is the bother that you are in having anything to do with this job?"

"Yes, I was chatting with a man that has made a point of seeking me out, and it seems that he had his mindset on marrying me. I honestly had no idea that this was how he felt about me, he was just a nice friendly old man that I had befriended. He came to me a couple of evenings ago and proposed to me, and gave me a very large ring. While he was awaiting my response, it appears that his heart gave way, and he died. I did not mean it to happen. Juliana, who owns the club decided to remove him from the premises, and I guess that is what caused the police to blame me, they thought that I ordered his removal, but I didn't."

"That probably explains this package that we received addressed to you, and in your hand. It is the ring, isn't it?"

"Yes. I knew that if the police found it upon my person they would not have let me go."

"You have not heard the news then?"

"What news?"

"The owner of the Wellington Club was found dead in her apartment early this morning, and the police are seeking her business partner and lover."

"What has that to do with me?"

"That man is your father."

"What? Why did I not know this?"

"I do not know, and I feel that we may never know. Your mother found out about it from Isobel and asked me to check it out. I have had your uncle Henry asking his friends, and it seems as if William was living at the club with her."

"What? All these months that I have worked there, he was just above me in her apartment. How is it that I never saw him?"

"Is there a rear entrance to the club?"

"Yes, but we were instructed not to use it. She said that our appearance coming and going was meant to draw attention to the club. I do not think that even she used it."

"You look tired, would you like to breakfast and have a lie-down?"

"I do not feel hungry, but I think that I will lie down for a while, I have not slept for some time."

"Your room is prepared for you, come, let us get you to bed." Meg led the way to Elizabeth's old room. "I'll get some water for you to wash with." She took the jug from the washstand and went to fetch water. When she returned Elizabeth was asleep.

Priscilla and Ben had just come in from the paddocks where they had been inspecting the wheat. It was ready to harvest, and with luck, it would all be in and on its way by bullock drays to Junee and the market. "Mother," Isobel and Jimmy stood in the kitchen. "We," she indicated that Jimmy was included in this conversation, "Would like to speak with you."

"What is it?"

"I do not want to return to school next year."

"And if I insist?" Priscilla knew that Isobel was planning to ask if she could stay at Astoria Park.

"Then we will take steps to prevent it."

"Oh, and just what could you do that would prevent me from sending you to school?"

"Mrs Astor." Jimmy said, drawing himself up to give the impression of self-assurance. "Izzy, Isobel and I have discussed this, and have decided that, should you insist that she return to school, which she hates, then we would become lovers and she should have my child. We feel that you would not want your daughter to bring shame on you by appearing at school in that condition."

"I see, and you have thought the implications of her staying here through?"

"Yes. If you force her to return, we will do what I have just said, but if you allow her to stay, then we will wait until she is old enough, and then we will wed. We are in love, and Izzy wants to work towards becoming a part of running this property, as do I, and we don't feel that her going to school to learn to be a 'lady' will do any good."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"This news has come as no surprise to me. It is obvious that the two of you have feelings for each other, and I, we, that is Ben and me, needed to see how strong those feelings are. That you would want to have a child just so that Isobel does not have to return to school, well, we could not allow that to happen, and not just for the reason given, but you are much too young. You are intelligent enough to see that, and for that, I am inclined to allow Isobel to stay. As well as wanting to see her happy, I do not think that the example set by Elizabeth is what I would want from her."

"I have no intention to be like Elizabeth. If I was, Jimmy has told me that he could not be with me, he loves me because I am me."

"Come here, both of you." Priss took both of them in her arms. "I have great expectations for both of you, you are both sensible I can see that."

"That is enough of this idle chatter, we have work to do, and don't think that I will go any easier on either of you just because of this," Ben said as headed out the back door. He walked to the end of the veranda. "What's this? There is someone coming."

"I do believe that is Wills," Isobel said. "I wonder who that is with him." The pony trap approached. They could see that Wills' companion was a woman or a girl.

"Good morning mother, how are you?" He said as the trap stopped in front of the house.

"Well, this is a surprise. I was led to believe that you were spending the summer holidays with your friend Thommo."

"Yes well, I, we, decided that we did not want to stay there any longer."

"Are you not to introduce us to your friend?"

"Mother, Isobel, this is Mary, we are betrothed, well not officially, but we have an understanding that we will wed when I am old enough. Mary, this is my mother, and sister Isobel, Izzy to her friends, and if memory serves, this man is Robinson our Overseer, and this is, goodness, is that Jimmy?"

"Come in, and we will have tea, you can fill us in on your news and we will fill you in on ours." They all went into the kitchen and Priscilla called for tea and cakes. "Now son, things have changed around her. As you know, your father has chosen to spend his time in the city with his lady friend and shows no intention of returning to run the property. In his absence, it has fallen on me, and Ben, to take on that task. Since your father has indicated that he no longer has an interest in me, or for that matter the farm, Ben and I have taken our relationship a step further than employer and employee, I don't mean to shock you, but we are as husband and wife. Now tell me, you and Mary, how did you meet and how did this come about?"

"I asked Father if I could stay with Thommo and his family over the holidays, and he agreed. Mary was working as a housemaid at their summer house, and we sort of found that we liked each other. We had to leave because Thommo liked Mary and was pestering her to allow him intimacies that she did not want to give. So we decided to leave. I stayed with her and her mother until it was time to leave for England. By then it was decided that we did not want to be separated, and Thommo had also decided that he did not want to go to England. His Father granted that he should stay on one condition, that he works in the family business. He also offered me employment, and I have accepted."

"Where will you live? I don't think that, given Thommo's feelings towards Mary, that you should stay with them. You do intend living together, do you not?"

"Yes, we do." Mary said. "We could always stay with my mother until we can save enough money to find a place of our own. I shall seek employment as well."

"Can your father help in finding suitable accommodation?"

"There is a problem. He has left for England."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"There was trouble at that club that his friend was running. She was found dead, slain by a vicious blow to the head, or so the police have said, and he is nowhere to be found. And then there is this." He took the note that his father had left from his pocket. "He used the passage that he had obtained for me."

"Do the police know of this?"

"No. While I was never very fond of my father, I felt that, if he left the country, he could do no more harm to our family."

O - 0 - o

"Bella, I don't know what to do." Elizabeth had gone to the Hamilton's house, more in the hope of seeing Roderick than Bella, but he was not at home.

"I am told that you have inherited a large house, a considerable income and almost the Crown Jewels. If that were me, I would be on the first ship to Europe. I walk down the streets of Paris in the latest Parisian fashions, I would curtsey to the gentlemen and ignore the ladies. I would dine at the finest restaurants, live in the best hotel, that is until the right man comes along and sweeps me off my feet. Then I would allow him to support me while I have intimate dalliances with my string of lovers."

"Oh Bella, be serious. Sir Nigel's family is not going to allow that to happen. They will claim that he was not of sound mind and that I had enticed him to sever ties with his family. I will be portrayed as the 'Scarlet Woman', as a harlot only interested in one thing, his money. They will buy the judge to rule in their favour, and I will end up with nothing. I would ask my father but he is nowhere to be found."

"Haven't you heard the news? The police are seeking your father."

"Why, why would they be looking for him?"

"Juliana was found dead in her apartment this morning, she had been beaten to death rather savagely, and they think that your father is guilty of the crime. The fact the he was living with her and the safe has been emptied and his clothes are all gone leads them to believe that he has fled the country."

"Will this horror never end? He was living with her? How is it that we did not know this?"

They heard a door open and Roderick entered. "Well good day to you stranger, I had almost given up hope of ever seeing you again. I have heard that your friend was dead, I suppose that the excitement was too much for his poor heart. And I have also heard that he had bestowed upon you all of his worldly goods."

"You heard correctly. That is what we have been discussing. I don't think that his family will allow this. They did not like me."

"I wonder why that could be. Could it be that they were relying on inheriting all of his wealth?"

"I never wanted his wealth. They can have it."

"But my dear girl, think of what you could do with all of that money?"

"I was quite happy with my life as it was."

"Were you? A little birdie told me that you were missing me and my loving touch."

"Well, yes, I do miss that." She glanced down at his groin to see the outline of his penis.

Roderick took her hand and held it to him so that she could feel it grow. "Come with me." He led her to his bedroom.

"I do miss this." Elizabeth sighed as she gradually regained her composure.

"I have an idea, why don't you marry me and then you can have it all the time."

"I suppose that I could. I do love you."

"That's it then! We shall marry as soon as possible. Bella!" He called.

"What is it?" She said as she entered the room.

"You will never guess in a million years, we are to wed. What do you think of that?"

"But what about us?" Bella asked. "What about you and me, what we have? What will I do?"

"There is always Simon, he would wed you in a trice."

"But it isn't the same."

"I must get back to Aunt Meg's, she is expecting me for dinner." Elizabeth got up to leave.

"Must you go? I wish to see more of you."

"Be patient, soon you will have me for yourself for all time."

As she walked towards Aunt Meg's house, Elizabeth began to ponder on this afternoon's happenings. Did Roderick really love her, could she compete with Bella for his affections?

"How was your day?" Aunt Meg asked as she entered the house.

"Roderick Hamilton asked me to marry him." She said as if it was a usual occurrence.