The Antipodean Visitor by Harcourt Tendhall
20 November 2021 { General Fiction }
‘We’re having a visitor, Mama.’
‘A visitor? We don’t get visitors.’
‘Well, we do now. He’s arriving tomorrow.’
‘Bless my soul. How do you know?’
‘He’s written to me. He wants me to collect him from the railway station in Farnham at 2.15 tomorrow.’
‘Who is he?’
‘Someone you know well, Mama. He’s your brother.’
‘Howard? He’s in some God-forsaken land on the other side of the world. It can’t be him.’
‘I’m afraid it is. He landed in Portsmouth three days ago and took the train to London. He’s coming up tomorrow, so we’d better prepare for his arrival. I’ll have a word with Jasper; he can stay in one of the guest rooms.’
‘It must be thirty years since I waved him off. He was never one for writing. Other than Christmas and birthday cards, I haven’t heard from him since. Even his cards don’t tell how he has fared out there.’
‘Yes, I only have vague memories of him. I can only have been six or seven when he left. Isn’t he somewhat younger than you?’
‘Yes, ten years younger. He’ll be sixty-five now. Perhaps he’s retired. Is he staying long?’
‘He doesn’t really say. He says it will be good to spend some time catching up with us all, so it sounds like he’ll be with us for a few days. I think we need to organise a family get-together, a sort of reunion.’
‘Oh, my. How shall we manage? We only have Jasper and Elaine. A family reunion will be too much work for them.’
‘Leave that to Arthur and I, Mama. I’m sure we can sort something out. Now, I’m going to leave you to take your afternoon nap. I’ll see you at three for afternoon tea.’
I walked out of Mama’s bedroom and made my way downstairs in search of Jasper and Elaine. After appraising them about the situation, Jasper suggested borrowing a chambermaid, scullery maid, and a footman from the nearby Cavendish estate for a few days. It transpires he knows their butler quite well. I left him to make the arrangements and Elaine said she would make up some menus and order the required groceries.
I spent another hour on the telephone, speaking to Arthur and our wider family, explaining the situation and suggesting they join us for afternoon tea, followed by dinner on Saturday, the day after next. That way, Howard can meet us and be suitably rested before meeting the wider family.
After sharing afternoon tea on the rear lawn with Mama, Jasper reported his progress to me.
‘My Lady, I have organised the additional staff we discussed. They will arrive in the morning and are ours for as long as we need them. I advised my counterpart we shall send them back sometime next week. I have taken the liberty of appraising our stock of wine and spirits and have contacted Mr Jones, our local merchant, with a list of requirements for increasing our stock accordingly. He will make a delivery tomorrow morning.’
‘Very good, Jasper.’
‘Furthermore, my Lady, Elaine has advised me that the grocer and the butcher will both be making a delivery tomorrow morning as well. I’m afraid it might seem a little hectic in the morning, with the additional staff not knowing their way around, but I intend to ensure everything is prepared by lunchtime.’
‘Thank you, Jasper. That all sounds marvellous. I do appreciate the effort that you and Elaine will be making over this weekend. I shall drive to Farnham myself after lunch tomorrow and collect Uncle Howard. If there is anything you want me to collect whilst I am there, do let me know.’
‘Very well, my Lady. I shouldn’t think there will be, but thank you for the kind offer. Now, I’m going to collect his Lordship from the railway station.’
‘Yes, I rang Arthur earlier, so he is aware of our impending visitor.’
* * *
The following morning was frantic, to say the least. The new staff were eager to please, but were unaware of where things were kept, so Jasper seemed to spend most of his time running after them. The chambermaid was busy cleaning and making up all the spare rooms, ready for the Saturday night, as most of the family would stay over. The footman was busy with cleaning everywhere else and the kitchen resembled a supermarket, so much food had arrived. Elaine and the scullery maid appeared to have everything in hand, though. Jasper re-stocked the wine cellar and then turned his attention to the silver, ensuring everything required for Saturday evening was gleaming.
I kept Mama out of the way so they could get on with it. I’m not sure she even noticed the new staff. Arthur kept himself busy giving orders to the gardener, organising the entertainment for Saturday afternoon and discussing table layouts with Jasper. We have not had a large gathering like this for some years now, so it will be interesting to see if we can pull it off. By lunch, it seemed things were quietening down.
Over lunch, Arthur expressed his concerns. For the last few years, the estate has not been earning its keep. It was worse than I had suspected.
‘Darling, I know that Howard’s homecoming is the most significant event we have witnessed for many years, and I would not want to dampen anyone’s spirits on the occasion, but I am concerned about how much it will cost. We are fast reaching the point where our tenant farmers will be richer than we are. We haven’t replaced the car in twenty-five years. This place could do with redecorating, and the roof is on the verge of collapse in the stable block. My investments are not giving the strong returns they used to and there isn’t much in the way of cash reserves. I have spoken to my accountant and we will review everything next week, but let’s try not to overdo it this weekend.’
‘Oh dear, I didn’t realise things were that bad. Shall I send the additional staff back?’
‘No, no, we’ll need them for Saturday evening and for breakfast on Sunday. However, this may be the last time we can afford to splash out like this.’
I made my way to the station at Farnham, my mind distracted by what Arthur had said, but arrived about five minutes before the London train was due in. I was in for a treat; the stationmaster advised me, as it was being pulled by Mallard today. I couldn’t understand why they would name a sleek, fast steam train after a common duck. As the train pulled in, with clouds of steam and smoke, I stood on the platform, observing every passenger who alighted. Then I saw him; dressed in a safari suit, towing a large trunk on wheels and carrying a suitcase. The stationmaster ran over to assist him, taking both from him.
He walked up to me grinning, and in a loud voice with a rather strange accent, said, ‘Stone the crows if it ain’t my little niece Emily! Hell, you’ve grown into a little beaut.’
I was somewhat taken aback when he hugged and kissed me. My first thought being how will Mama react if he does that to her!
After composing myself, I replied, ‘Uncle Howard, how nice to see you after all these years. How are you?’
‘Never better, but that train journey can leave you a bit buggered.’
‘Well, I think we’d better get you back home to meet the family.’
‘No worries. Where you parked?’
‘Just outside; come on, this way,’ I said and walked out to the car.
‘You guys still driving this old thing. I think Jasper dropped me off in this when I left twenty years ago.’
‘That may be so, but I can’t imagine us without our Roller.’
‘Fair enough. How’s the old thing running?’
‘Just fine, thank you,’ I replied, opening the boot. Howard helped the stationmaster load the trunk and suitcase, and we set off.
During the journey home, I brought Howard up to date with family events, and he outlined how his life had developed in Australia. I also suggested he greeted his sister a little less enthusiastically.
The initial meeting with Mama and Arthur was fine, although he did slap Jasper rather hard on the back. The footman looked shocked. It took him and Jasper all their strength to carry his trunk upstairs to his guest room. Arthur took Howard for a tour of the house. It seemed Howard was keen to see everywhere, and they even took a tour round the stable block.
That evening, over dinner, Howard told us more about his life in Australia. An old school chum, who had made his fortune out there, had persuaded him to join him. At first, they went into business together, trading sheep fleeces. As Howard got to know how the farming business worked, he saw that becoming a sheep farmer was more lucrative. He invested in his own farm, which he grew until he owned half a million acres. He also hinted there was more he gained from the land. Of course, it would be impolite to ask, and he didn’t divulge what that was.
He asked how things were here, and we told him that, really, nothing had changed much since the day he left, except for my Arthur coming along, of course. He comes from a good aristocratic family and brought his father’s title with him. However, being an Earl is certainly not all it used to be. We live in a changing world and a title doesn’t shield you from the financial realities of life. However, we did not discuss that subject with Howard. I think we were also getting used to his accent and some of the choice phrases he uses. Mama flinched a few times during dinner, giving me sideways glances. We retired to the drawing room and left them to sample cigars and brandy. Mama was fretting about Howard meeting the rest of the family tomorrow. I assured her I would have a word with him to ensure he toned it down a little.
The next day went far better than we could have hoped. My only concern was that, before the rest of the family arrived, Howard seemed to be far more interested in chatting to and laughing with the staff. I noticed that Jasper also seemed a little irked by this, but we said nothing. As the family began arriving, we were all caught up in the occasion, and the afternoon passed really well. The staff coped admirably. Nobody would have guessed they were not all permanent. By dinner, everyone seemed relaxed. We enjoyed a sumptuous meal and I must say that Elaine did us proud. We have not eaten that well in a long time.
After dinner, but before the ladies retired, Howard had a word with the footman, who ran off to get something for him. Before he returned, Howard stood up to gain everyone’s attention and made a little speech.
‘I have been away from my family for thirty long years. I have missed them terribly, but I vowed I would not return until I had made my fortune and could hold my head up high. I have said nothing before now because I wanted to see how you treated me. I have to say you have delighted me with the way you have all welcomed me back, particularly you, Arthur, and Emily. You have allowed me into your home and, despite me deliberately playing the course Australian, you have showed me every courtesy and welcomed me with open arms. I feel like I really belong here.’
I was amazed. He spoke like a different person. His course accent and choice phrases gone, replaced by a cultured tone, although he still had some of the Australian twang. I looked at Arthur, who also looked as surprised as me. The footman returned, accompanied by the chambermaid, both with arms full of presents. Howard handed these around to everyone present, including Arthur and I. We all opened them to reveal expensive jewellery, cashmere and silk accessories, boxes of fine cigars and bottles of twenty-year-old malt whiskey. There were presents of toys for the younger ones as well.
After we had all opened our presents, Howard announced, ‘I have returned to England for good. I have sold the sheep farm and my remaining holdings in Australia are being well managed and do not require my presence to continue flourishing. Arthur, if you will have me, I would like to live here and make my contribution to maintaining this family’s heritage, this estate. I have thirty years to make up for and I would love to start that tomorrow.’
I took Arthur’s hand. He smiled at me, then turned to Howard and replied, ‘Howard, you are welcome in this house for as long as you desire. None of us should forget, we are the mere custodians of our legacy for the time we are here. We have a duty to maintain or improve it so it can pass to future generations. God bless you.’
The rest of the evening passed by in a whirl of drinking and, dare I say it, dancing. Something that has been missing from this house for too long.
Next morning, we all enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, albeit some were a little delicate. Slowly, the family said their goodbyes and trundled off to their respective homes. We were back to just the four of us by lunchtime. Arthur and Howard had spent the last hour in deep discussion, then joined Mama and me for lunch.
Arthur said, ‘Howard and I have been discussing a plan of action. We are going to mothball our old Roller and Howard will purchase a new Bentley to replace it. To facilitate keeping both in tip-top condition, we shall replace the stable block roof, since it is the we use for garaging that is in most need of repair.’
Howard added, ‘That’s only the start of it. I’m going to purchase a couple of horses, so we’ll need a groom who can also double as a chauffeur as well.’
‘How can we afford these things, Howard?’
‘Come with me and I’ll show you.’ He took us up to his room whilst explaining. ‘You remember how everyone struggled to carry my trunk when you picked me up from the station? It only contained those presents I picked up in London, but most of the weight was in the false bottom; look.’
He opened the trunk to reveal twenty gold bricks.
‘These are part of the proceeds from my farm. I didn’t know which bank to trust, so thought I’d take some proceeds in bullion. I’ve grown quite fond of gold. That was the other thing I gained from the land. I discovered gold. I sold the farm but kept the gold mine and it’s very productive. I thought carrying this lot around was the best thing until I got settled. Looks like that problem has been solved now. I must say it’s a weight off my mind.’
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