Extracts from a Diary
by Amelia Bourne-Phipps
-edited by Simon Barber-
8 July, 1937
Thursday 8th July, 1937 A decidedly busy day. What furs say about hospital food is quite untrue here; the kitchens provide a very adequate and tasty Polynesian cuisine that might not impress anyone used to dining first class at the Marleybone, but after three years at Songmark and six weeks of rather mixed fortunes more recently, we had no complaints. The staff are cheery and pleased to see us filling our plates – naturally staying here we are their only young and fit “patients” and eat about three times as much as the generally elderly veterans this part of the hospital normally looks after. There is a nice smell of toast about the place. I had a long talk with Jirry’s Aunt Milini, whose half burned face never will recover from her injuries in the Gunboat Wars. She tells me Jirry is off again for two weeks with his father on official Spontoon business – but that Marti and the rest of the family are there. I told her something of our trip, and she says Jirry is not likely to think any the less of me for it. There are abandoned small islands and villages across the Nimitz Sea whose communities never recovered from raids by slavers, and as a willing volunteer in that battle Jirry knows I am only too likely to become a casualty of some kind. Fortunately only walking wounded, one might say. Helen has heard about Maria’s deadline and has promised to join us on the European trip provided she has a return ticket. First, like all of us she has unfinished business here – she has a wedding to plan at short notice, and is not leaving Spontoon till she is safely established as Mrs. Helen Hoele’toemi! We all congratulated her, and Aunt Milini approves greatly. She is getting very frail now, and says she looks forward to seeing Helen contribute stripes to the range of family fur patterns. Helen assures her she will try hard to not make her wait too long. I confess my ears went down somewhat considering my own prospects. I could not marry Jirry right now even was he available and had we been Tailfast the required times; by now I am sure I have acquired rather more than the Lady Allworthy problem. Still, my original plan can stand for awhile; I have till the Winter Solstice to resolve everything, as he will not be expecting me back till then. At last Helen is getting the good fortune she deserves. We had rather a debate about turning up at Songmark and seeing what reception we get. True, Miss Devinski told me my education there was finished – but she did not throw me out in the way the regulations very clearly describe, only telling me to “return with my shield or on it” as the ancient Spartans put it. That she mentioned my returning at all is a hopeful sign. It would be embarrassing to be barred at the gate by one of our own year (though no doubt Red Dorm would fight each other for that privilege) but more so to discover we had Songmark graduation certificates awaiting and arrived too late to collect them! As a compromise we sent her a letter – Molly’s signature at least has not changed. It was rather a puzzle working out what to do with Silk and Chestnut. We decided to break the news of their condition to Lucy and Emily first (Mr. Sapohatan says they are well and living on South Island with friends of Judge Poynter looking after them) rather than just present them to their sisters the way they are now. They will come to no harm with a day of rest in the hospital grounds. As we are already on Meeting Island none of us had far to go today; Maria had to telegraph her Uncle to say she is indeed alive and well and heading home, and Helen has a marriage license to arrange! She managed to get through to Marti on the village telephone last night to accept his standing proposal and name the big day – until we leave Songmark officially (and we have not been formally expelled) we are still effectively Spontoonie citizens, and it is much easier to organise if Helen weds before then. Fortunately we know the furs working at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, who have such a range of surprising services. Helen at least will not need a back-dated marriage certificate unlike some of the returning tourists who arrived this Spring. I wonder if Moeli’s child has arrived yet, and if they really keep records of such births? That is another thing Helen will not have to worry about, everything being perfectly in order. While Maria and Helen headed out with Miss Cabot to the Italian embassy I took the chance that court was not in session and headed across to see Judge Poynter. I wore the items I had recently acquired, naturally with a high collared blouse. It is tourist season now and the Spontoonies are used to all sorts of costume but I would hate to embarrass the other Songmark girls should they see me. When I arrived Harold was working on his manuscript of the history of the Gunboat Wars, which he is almost uniquely qualified to write having been here all that time and knowing more about the prior international situation than most Islanders did. Unlike Mr. Sapohatan he had not been told of my arrival and it was a shock, a relief and a shock again to him in that order as I explained how things had turned out. He is very relieved that we all came back, though strictly speaking Molly, Missy Blanche and Missy Cindy have not. I have never directly mentioned Mr. Sapohatan to him, but I did say I had passed all the information to the Spontoon Authorities who would be sure to put it to good use. I must say, a week ago I hardly dared to think I would ever get back here. I think Harold’s house has probably hardly changed its interior decor in my lifetime; there is solid Victorian furniture of insect-resistant teak and mahogany as was shipped out as standard to Overseas Civil Service everywhere in the tropics from the West Indies to Burma. An hour of discussing my plans in such civilised settings helped unburden me, and despite his long stay away from England Harold keeps in touch with the newspapers and many correspondents there so has much up-to-date advice for me. I caught up with what has been happening with Lucy and Emily Pennington. Harold’s housekeeper has a cousin a few years older than them named Nairoba who works in a South Island hotel and has been showing them around. It is just as well someone has been looking out for them, as even on Spontoon they are still vulnerable. While we were still on Krupmark and they were staying in Mahanish’s they were “befriended” by a rat lady named Pebbles, who is from Kuo Han. This was not a coincidence. Naturally Missy Lucy and Emily had a lot of questions to ask Pebbles, who it turned out was well qualified to tell them exactly what their sisters had in store. Which would have been disturbing but perhaps fair enough had Pebbles not been quietly keen on the positive aspects, claiming to be stranded on Spontoon after her “beloved mistress” was arrested and deported by the Authorities. I have to admit it was a ploy well calculated to strike sympathy with the Penningtons; fortunately Nairoba and her friends spotted the situation and chased Pebbles off before any permanent harm was done. It would have been simply too galling to return to Spontoon after all this and find the other Pennington girls had willingly followed their sisters. I would have gone back after them but I think Helen and Maria would have thrown in the towel and left them to their fate. The phrase “throwing good money after bad” would probably have been relevant. I took the chance to ask Harold some rather arcane points about ancient English laws, which even he had to go and look up. I doubt there is anyone else in the Pacific area with the law library and the experience I discover I need for my plan to succeed! As I remembered, even the most (supposedly) inapplicable laws stay in place forever until specifically repealed, and at the end of an hour’s research Harold nodded and agreed I had found a loophole that nobody has even thought of before. Of course, he warns that any obscure loophole in the law is only like a sketched-in deep water channel on a sailing chart – it shows a possibility but without a good lawyer or captain one can easily go off course and be wrecked. Actually Harold was surprised and impressed of what I had chosen to make of my situation, but three years at Songmark certainly train a girl to seize whatever advantage can be seized however unpromising it may be at first sight. “When life hands you lemons, open a lemonade stall” is a phrase I have heard – and when there is less savoury stuff to cope with than lemons, that too can be turned to good use with the right attitude. The two composting power stations on Spontoon are a shining, or perhaps one should say steaming, example. Professor Kurt can enthuse over what is picked up off Pebble Beach by the beach sweepers as “a rich source of phosphates and bio-active humic materials” after all. I could see there were questions Harold had been bursting to ask about my experiences had he not been so polite. Checking the curtains were drawn, I very happily showed him my various souvenirs and why I was wearing a high-buttoned blouse. Technically speaking I am now Jade rather than Amelia, and as well as it being obvious to anyone who reads Cantonese and sees me I have Kuo Han legal papers to prove it in the original bamboo container (Molly’s papers I returned to Lin Chung of course, along with full payment in some of the gold we “repatriated”). I expect it must have been something most furs in law enforcement have thought about, however briefly and privately. There can be few opportunities for anyone so strictly on the side of the law to see just what furs in Kou Han spend such fortunes to obtain by whatever means necessary. Certainly Harold was most … appreciative of my new style as well as those charms he has enjoyed before. I fear my visits must be rather dear on his cushions and antimacassars, as they tend to get shredded! A most enjoyable afternoon was had by all. I fear Harold’s ears blushed somewhat afterwards as we turned round and noticed a still-warm plate of buttered scones and fresh pot of tea on the occasional table by the side of the sofa. Harold’s housekeeper is away at weekends when I usually visit, but not today – and she had very discreetly gone about her business unnoticed while we were otherwise engaged. Still, she is a Spontoonie and not likely to be shocked by such goings-on. It is a good thing that the Ave Argentum are no longer hunting for things to discredit Songmark, I must say. Sitting on Harold’s well-polished sofa in my bare fur (some parts of it rather barer than others, and now permanently so) sipping tea would have made a rather incongruous picture for the Spontoon Mirror, I expect. It was a very warm day for vigorous exercise. Quite relaxing indeed; unlike my previous visits here there is no longer any need to worry about taking precautions. It was rather a pity to have to dress and go, but by teatime I took my leave of Harold and in ten minutes was back at the hospital. Helen and the rest had not returned, so I spent some time chatting with Chestnut and Silk. I mentioned their sisters would be pleased to see them – they know they have sisters, but for them it is more as if someone told them rather than part of their own lives. The rescued Pennington girls still have all their poise and social training, and seem happy enough. Had they not got sisters waiting for them, I thought once about leaving them on Kuo Han as they no longer wished to escape. I do wonder just how much we can do for them. It will be tricky enough taking Miss Cabot around Europe, but having four Penningtons in tow as well will be a challenge. Given that I hope to drop the Allworthy title I can hardly leave them on the estates as I might not own them much longer! The cottage I deeded to Alpha and Nancy Rote is secure for them, having been permanently gifted as payment for Alpha’s work on the torpedo breaker project. Helen, Maria and Miss Cabot turned up in time for the evening meal, Helen looking happier than I have seen her in ages. Marti had come over from South Island and they have a signed and witnessed marriage license – all that is needed is the ceremony which Marti has gone home to arrange. It all seems to be happening very fast, but of course she is making up for lost time and should have been Tailfast at the solstice two weeks ago. Maria has telegraphed and been replied to by her Uncle, and also has a date for her diary. Her Embassy is arranging transport back to Europe with spare seats for us, and unlike Helen she might not return here. Many of the embassy staff would be glad to see the back of her, she says - but not everyone. Before we left for Kuo Han she took Helen there to investigate one of them. There is a cellar under the embassy that one of the staff fitted out just for her, and this Mr. Pettachi has some remarkable ideas. It is just as well she is leaving the area, all told. Well! One of us leaving, one of us joining (in wedlock) – things are definitely progressing. My ears drooped as I realise I might not see Jirry again before I leave for Europe, but until various things are … resolved, possibly it is just as well. Helen is very keen to get Miss Cabot over to Saimmi tomorrow as soon as possible. Miss Cabot is developing a personality, but it is not Molly. As a test, at the registry Helen showed her details of a marriage license that would have had Molly hitting the roof; last week on Casino Island the famous German poodle Countess Anna Geschwitz wed her slender black-haired feline fiancée, the film starlet Lulu Pabst (it would NOT be approved of back in Germany but they are not planning to return there at least while the thousand-year Reich endures.) Miss Cabot was mildly interested, rather than snarling at the wedding photographs. A very fine evening for a stroll after teatime; we all went out with Silk and Chestnut. Until tomorrow it is rather hard to know what to do for them – their sisters looked up to Missy Blanche, but she is no longer here. Silk and Chestnut enjoyed the fresh air and the beach, though indeed Meeting Island is not famous for its beaches. We can see the bright lights of Casino Island, or at least the cruise boats moored at the docks as the main hotel strip faces the other direction and the Northern coast is less spectacular. We will have to make the most of our final days on Spontoon, as it really is a matter of days. I hope Miss Devinski and the tutors get back to us soon! next |