Part 12 (2/2)

Three plaits bobbed as three females nodded.

'He is,' said Dot. 'You can trust him, Miss Eliza. Now, what is this man's name, and what does he look like?'

'His name is Roderick Cholmondeley, and he is...oh Lord, I am no good at this. He's made like a bruiser, Father says, like a prize fighter. He's about six feet tall and he has blue eyes and fair hair which is cut very short. He is... dangerous. He made...threats. My father wants me to marry him and I never shall.'

Ruth's eyes were as round as marbles.

'Gos.h.!.+' she said. 'Just like in Lady Joan's Secret! I didn't know there were fathers like that any more!'

'Well, there are,' said Miss Eliza. 'Phryne was right when she told him to . . .' There was a significant pause while Miss Eliza sought for another way to put this other than the coa.r.s.e and biological phrase which Phryne had actually used. 'She told him to keep his matrimonial plans to himself, because she would find her own mate. Furthermore, she was going to Australia, and he was at liberty to...er... make his own plans as long as they didn't include her. She was always bold! I was so shocked at the time, you know, that she could do that-just tell Father no to his face and off and leave her family.'

'And leave you,' said Dot gently.

'She asked me to come too,' said Eliza, defending her sister for the first time since she had come to Australia. 'I was too scared. She bought me a ticket and told me to meet her at the docks and I couldn't, I just couldn't run away without a word and I... let the boat go with the tide. I have regretted it ever since,' she added. 'Then I met Alice and we began our work in the East End and I was happy again until Father ordered me to marry either this brute, Roderick, or a horrible old man who is the Marquis of Shrops.h.i.+re and I really couldn't so I told him...'

'You told him?'prompted Ruth very softly. 'You stood up to him?'

'No,' said Miss Eliza bitterly. 'He caught me out in a lie about the East End and made enquiries as to what I had been doing and then he bellowed at me that unless I left everything I held dear, recanted socialism, abandoned Alice and married one of his candidates, he would send me to Australia to my worthless sister-that's what he called Phryne-and we could both...well, we could both get on with it.'

'You're better off here,' commented Dot. 'I've heard about Miss Phryne's father. He's not a nice man and you don't want to be anywhere near him.'

'No, but I haven't any money,' said Miss Eliza. 'Not until I am twenty-five.'

'Stay here until then,' advised Dot. 'Li Pen will set this Roderick to the right abouts, even if he is a bruiser. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, my father used to say, but the size of the fight in the dog. Can you describe this Roderick Cholmondeley any better than big and blue eyes, Miss Eliza?'

'I've got a picture of him,' said Eliza. 'He gave it to me. I'll show you after dinner.'

'Now, we've got our orders, girls,' said Dot solemnly. 'First sight, call Li Pen, raise the alarm. We don't want to take any chances with this one. We may not have to go so far as Miss Phryne suggested and bury him under the hydrangeas-'

'We haven't got any hydrangeas,' objected Jane, who botanised freely.

'Miss Phryne ordered some from Mrs Lin,' said Dot.

Miss Eliza was momentarily surprised, then joined in the laughter, and Dot had hopes of her recovery.

Miss Eliza went to her room and brought down a picture of a scowling, heavily muscled youth in very expensive clothes, and several books on heraldry.

'Do you understand how precedence works?' asked Miss Eliza. The girls looked blank.

'The ranks go like this,' explained Miss Eliza. 'The highest is the King, of course, and then the princes and the royal dukes. Then ordinary dukes. Then we have marquess and marchioness, earl and countess, viscount and viscountess, baron and baroness, all of whom are addressed as my lord and my lady, then baronets and knights, called Sir, whose ladies are just called Lady. That is why my friend is called Lady Alice and Phryne and I are just Hons. Clear?'

Jane shook her head. 'No, but do go on.'

The girls laid Phryne's sketch and the photographic prints on the table and examined them under the strong magnifying gla.s.s.

'Definitely a s.h.i.+eld,' said Ruth. 'This is exciting! And do you think those things are mermen, Miss Eliza?'

'Possibly, or mermaids. Or they may be dolphins-heraldic dolphins do not look like real ones. Now, here is a sample coat of arms. It consists of the s.h.i.+eld, the helmet, the mantling, the crest and the supporters. The main body of the coat of arms is the s.h.i.+eld-I am sure that this is a s.h.i.+eld. Such a pity that the colours are so pale. The photographer has done his best with the tint but he can't have been sure either. It was quartered, that's for sure. And I'd say that quarter was red, that is gules, and that one was blue, that's azure. This I believe was sable with, perhaps, a bend on it?'

'Sable being black? Yes, two of the quarters are black, and both have this funny sort of bendy stripe on them,' observed Ruth.

'How keen your eyes are! Yes, I see what you mean. A chevron, argent, I do believe.'

'Argent must be silver,' said Jane. 'And this is a star.'

'A mullet of how many points?'

'Six,' said Ruth, who had the clearest sight. 'So, we have two quarters with the chevron on them, and one with a gold star on a red field.'

'A field gules with a mullet of six points, or,' corrected Miss Eliza.

'And this blue quarter seems to have a snake,' said Dot. 'Or a coil of rope, perhaps. That doesn't sound very aristocratic.'

'Can you see the snake, girls?' asked Miss Eliza faintly.

'Yes. The only other thing it could be is a spring, and that's even less aristocratic,' said Jane.

Eliza made a choking noise and groped for her bag. Dot was concerned.

'Why, Miss Eliza, you look ill. Jane, pour her some more wine.'

'I'll just get my salts . . .' Miss Eliza found her smelling salts and took such a deep sniff that the ammonia knocked her head back. 'What colour do you think the helmet is?'

At a loss for a safe answer, the girls inspected the pictures again.

'I think it's meant to be white,' said Jane. 'It's front on, Ruth, see, you can see the bars on the visor.'

'How many bars?' gasped Miss Eliza.

'Five, I think. Miss Dot, what do you think?' Ruth appealed for help.

'Five, certainly,' agreed Dot. 'And plumes, very pretty.'

'A helmet, argent, five bars, full face?'

'That's it,' said Dot. 'Miss Eliza, what's wrong?'

'The helmet signifies rank,' explained Miss Eliza, who had paled to the colour of milk. 'A duke or marquess has a silver helmet with five bars, full face. An earl, viscount or baron has silver with four bars, in profile.'

'I never knew there was so much information in a coat of arms,' marvelled Jane.

'I think it's meant to tell you a lot,' said Ruth. 'So that when you meet the person you know what rank they are and you don't make a mistake in addressing them. So this belonged to a marquess or a duke, and he had a quartered s.h.i.+eld with a star, a couple of chevrons and a snake, though I bet they didn't call it a snake.'

'A serpent coiled to strike, or,' said Miss Eliza. 'Oh, dear Lord. What shall I do?'

'Tell us all about it, that's what,' said Dot. 'A trouble shared is a trouble halved-or maybe quartered. I'll ask Mr B for some strong coffee and then you can tell us all about it.'

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