EXCERPT FROM 'BORN IN THE BRIAR PATCH'
Emily Bottomsley had reached the age of nine and was now attending St. Wingate’s School for girls. The only children seen in the school were children who looked just like her. She was a good student and made many friends, but her father was not at all happy with the school his wife had chosen, but then he had more or less expected she would have made such a choice. He thought that as one of the children born and raised on the island, she should have all kinds of friends, not only those of the plantation owners. There were schools where she could have met and befriended children from all walks of life, but Sarah Bottomsley had done it her way.
The sugar cane season was over and the kegs of rum were now sitting in cellars going through the aging process. John had a lot of free time and was spending more of it in the countryside with Nellie. He knew there was more to the relationship between his overseer and his wife than met the eye, but he dared not be the first one to throw the stone, since he was just as guilty as she, and because of Emily, he decided to play the part of being the good family man.
“Sarah,” he said to her one day. “I am not a fool. I know there is something going on between you and Thomas Hurley. All I ask is that you remember Emily is my daughter. Keep Thomas Hurley away from her and please be discreet in whatever you do.”
“Really John,” she replied, “you don’t for one moment think I am stupid. Our relationship is no longer one of a husband and wife. You and you alone have pushed me into Thomas Hurley’s arms. You have forsaken me for someone else. I know there is no project in St.Lucy. You use that as an excuse to be with your lover. Who is she John?”
“That’s not important Sarah. We have not been happy for a long time, so I don’t blame you for anything that might have happened. I just don’t want the servants gossiping about us, nor Emily seeing anything that’s inappropriate.”
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked.
“Keep him out of the Bottomsley bedrooms.”
And so the way was clear for each of them to do what they pleased without having to lie or to make excuses. Emily was now a good pianist and her mother hoped she would one day become someone great in the music world. Emily hardly spoke to Thomas Hurley or his sister Ginger who had also taken another teaching position at the school she attended. She was surly bordering on rude and there was nothing Ginger Hurley could do. Punishing her was out of the question because she was afraid of incurring Sarah or John Bottomsley’s wrath.
“I’ll talk Sarah into sending her off to school in Europe,” Thomas Hurley said to his sister.
“What about her father? He would never allow that.”
“You’re right. I’ll have to think of something else.”
“I just don’t understand why she hates me so. Your relationship with her mother has nothing to do with me.”
“It’s the fault of those two women in the kitchen. They have spoilt her rotten. If we can get rid of those two, things might get better,” said Thomas.
“Those women have been with this family for ages and Sarah trusts them implicitly.”
“We’ll just have to think of something.”
After calling and speaking to his daughter, John Bottomsley and Nellie set off on a schooner to visit a nearby island for the weekend. It was a Friday afternoon around four when they sailed out of the harbour in the little lighter boat which took them to the bigger boat. They sat apart and hardly spoke to each other during the entire journey. Sometimes their eyes met, but she kept her eyes glued to a book so that no one would treat her as an illiterate, but it did her no good at all. She was totally ignored. John Bottomsley could see her plight and would occasionally speak to her not as his equal, but as an accompanying servant. She wondered how long she could suffer such indignity.
Some of the other travellers would doff their hats when they met him for he was well known on the island. He was not ashamed of his lover, but as a married man, was afraid of the gossip that would spread. And so, not wanting to hurt his wife and daughter, he continued his game of charades.
Upon reaching the guest house, he checked in at the reception while Nellie waited in the background. The clerk fetched his key and handed it to him.
“What about her?” asked the clerk pushing his head in Nellie’s direction.
“She will share my room,” he answered.
“That’s not allowed sir,” said the clerk.
“What’s not allowed?” asked John Bottomsley pulling himself up to seven feet tall.
“Having such a person in your room sir,” was his reply.
“Are you trying to tell me I can’t have my attendant with me?”
“If you put it that way sir, I guess it’s alright.”
And so Nellie trotted off behind John Bottomsley and they climbed the stairs to his room. He closed the door behind them and Nellie, who was so hurt and disappointed burst into tears.
“I’m sorry Nellie. There was nothing else I could do.”
“You could stand up for me, you know,” she said through tears. “Is this what life together is going to be like JB?”
“You know how these people think Nellie. I can’t go up against everybody who is unkind.”
“If you treat me better, then everybody else would do the same.”
He sat next to her and held her in his arms.
“I’m sorry Nellie. I can understand your pain. I will have to make some changes in my life, but for the sake of Emily, could you please give me some time. You know I want to be with you, don’t you?” She nodded.
Being in the middle of the town wasn’t the ideal place for them, so John Bottomsley rented a car and they drove out to see the sights of St. Lucia. They found themselves on a beautiful beach which was deserted. He parked the car and they walked hand in hand along the sandy shore. Then they came upon three houses side by side.
“This is where I would love to stay,” he said to Nellie.
“But it so lonely here JB,” she said.
“We wouldn’t have to worry about other people out here.”
“If you look at it that way, I think it is a good idea.”
“I’ll go to see if any one is there.”
He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. A woman, whom it seemed he had awakened, came to the door.
“Is this your house?” he asked.
“No,” she replied. “She belongs to you?”
She caught him off guard and he had no idea what she was talking about.
“I work here. The owner give me this job when I was only sixteen years old.”
“Where is the owner?” he asked.
“He live down the road.”
“Do you know if he wants to sell it?”
“You will have to talk with him. I really don’t know.”
“Can you show me where he lives?” John asked.
The woman got her hat and walked down the stairs behind him. She did not look at Nellie, but climbed into the back seat and instructed him where to go. Upon reaching their destination, he saw two unwashed children, two little girls playing at the front of the house. They had stringy blonde hair and from the colour of their skins, it seemed as if they always spent all their time playing in the sun. Their clothing was in good condition, but looked as if they had been wearing them for several weeks.
“Who are they?” he asked the woman.
“Mr. Applewhite two children,” she replied.
“Don’t they go to school?”
“I don’t think so.”
The woman got out of the car and went to the house, followed closely by John and the two children. A man who looked just as scruffy as the two children came out onto the porch.
“What can I do for yer fellow?” he asked in an accent reminiscent of what he had heard in the south of London.
“I was wondering if you were thinking of selling your house by the beach.”
“Teddy Applewhite’s the name. It all depends good feller. It all depends.”
“On what?” John asked.
“The price good feller!” the man replied.
“How much do you want?”
It was obvious he didn’t want to discuss any financial transactions in front of the woman, so he beckoned John with his head into the living room. They bantered back and forth and finally reached a price.
“I think we should drink to that good feller,” he said.
He offered John a drink and they both drank it down in one gulp.
“How soon will it be available?” John asked.
“The moment you give me the cheque my good man,” the eccentric man replied.
He made up an agreement and handed it to John, who then scrutinised its every detail.
“Yer will find everything in order. I am a gentleman of my word.”
“In two weeks I will be back with the cheque. Can you wait until then?”
“I am a man of my word. I will wait until then. House and furnishings will be waiting for yer.”
He walked down the steps with John and saw Nellie sitting in the car.
“Brought the missis with yer?” he asked walking up to the car and shaking Nellie’s hand. “Yer mister just brought yer a lovely little property.”
Shock registered all over Nellie’s face. He did not treat her like a speck of dust the way everyone else did.
“Yer will enjoy it here. Peaceful, fresh air, ocean breeze and not another soul in sight, except for me and the children and Meta of course.”
For the first time, the woman managed a little smile.
“Well Meta, yer will have to give the house a first class cleaning fer Mr. Bottomsley and Mrs. Bottomsley.”
The woman seemed confused but promised to do her job and have the house ready within the next two weeks.
“Put the beds out to catch some sun,” he said to her as the car slowly drove away.
With the strange woman in the car, Nellie had to control her enthusiasm until she climbed out.
“He called me Mrs. Bottomsley,” she said.
“And aren’t you pleased?”
“Didn’t he see I wasn’t……..
“You weren’t what? Wearing your glasses?”
“Don’t make fun JB. You know what I mean.”
“Maybe he’s colour blind.”
“What do you mean colour blind?”
“It means he doesn’t give a damn what colour you are, just like I do!”
That night they decided to leave all their problems behind and enjoy each other’s company; something they had been doing less and less of.
“I’m going to make you a real happy man tonight,” she said.
“You always make me feel happy Nellie.”
“True?” she asked.
“Yes, you always make me feel really happy; not only in bed, but you listen when I talk. I know I can come to you with any problem I have.”
“My Nellie,” he said. “My precious Nellie!”
They lay in each other’s arms and talked and talked. Then there was silence. She wanted to say something but he stopped her.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Listen!” he said.
“I don’t hear nothing,” she said.
“Can’t you hear the ocean? Listen.”
“You know I never hear that before. Yes, I hear it before but I didn’t really hear it.”
“When we take over our little house in the country, we will hear this every night.”
She snuggled up to him and soon they were both fast asleep.
Emily Bottomsley had reached the age of nine and was now attending St. Wingate’s School for girls. The only children seen in the school were children who looked just like her. She was a good student and made many friends, but her father was not at all happy with the school his wife had chosen, but then he had more or less expected she would have made such a choice. He thought that as one of the children born and raised on the island, she should have all kinds of friends, not only those of the plantation owners. There were schools where she could have met and befriended children from all walks of life, but Sarah Bottomsley had done it her way.
The sugar cane season was over and the kegs of rum were now sitting in cellars going through the aging process. John had a lot of free time and was spending more of it in the countryside with Nellie. He knew there was more to the relationship between his overseer and his wife than met the eye, but he dared not be the first one to throw the stone, since he was just as guilty as she, and because of Emily, he decided to play the part of being the good family man.
“Sarah,” he said to her one day. “I am not a fool. I know there is something going on between you and Thomas Hurley. All I ask is that you remember Emily is my daughter. Keep Thomas Hurley away from her and please be discreet in whatever you do.”
“Really John,” she replied, “you don’t for one moment think I am stupid. Our relationship is no longer one of a husband and wife. You and you alone have pushed me into Thomas Hurley’s arms. You have forsaken me for someone else. I know there is no project in St.Lucy. You use that as an excuse to be with your lover. Who is she John?”
“That’s not important Sarah. We have not been happy for a long time, so I don’t blame you for anything that might have happened. I just don’t want the servants gossiping about us, nor Emily seeing anything that’s inappropriate.”
“Whatever do you mean?” she asked.
“Keep him out of the Bottomsley bedrooms.”
And so the way was clear for each of them to do what they pleased without having to lie or to make excuses. Emily was now a good pianist and her mother hoped she would one day become someone great in the music world. Emily hardly spoke to Thomas Hurley or his sister Ginger who had also taken another teaching position at the school she attended. She was surly bordering on rude and there was nothing Ginger Hurley could do. Punishing her was out of the question because she was afraid of incurring Sarah or John Bottomsley’s wrath.
“I’ll talk Sarah into sending her off to school in Europe,” Thomas Hurley said to his sister.
“What about her father? He would never allow that.”
“You’re right. I’ll have to think of something else.”
“I just don’t understand why she hates me so. Your relationship with her mother has nothing to do with me.”
“It’s the fault of those two women in the kitchen. They have spoilt her rotten. If we can get rid of those two, things might get better,” said Thomas.
“Those women have been with this family for ages and Sarah trusts them implicitly.”
“We’ll just have to think of something.”
After calling and speaking to his daughter, John Bottomsley and Nellie set off on a schooner to visit a nearby island for the weekend. It was a Friday afternoon around four when they sailed out of the harbour in the little lighter boat which took them to the bigger boat. They sat apart and hardly spoke to each other during the entire journey. Sometimes their eyes met, but she kept her eyes glued to a book so that no one would treat her as an illiterate, but it did her no good at all. She was totally ignored. John Bottomsley could see her plight and would occasionally speak to her not as his equal, but as an accompanying servant. She wondered how long she could suffer such indignity.
Some of the other travellers would doff their hats when they met him for he was well known on the island. He was not ashamed of his lover, but as a married man, was afraid of the gossip that would spread. And so, not wanting to hurt his wife and daughter, he continued his game of charades.
Upon reaching the guest house, he checked in at the reception while Nellie waited in the background. The clerk fetched his key and handed it to him.
“What about her?” asked the clerk pushing his head in Nellie’s direction.
“She will share my room,” he answered.
“That’s not allowed sir,” said the clerk.
“What’s not allowed?” asked John Bottomsley pulling himself up to seven feet tall.
“Having such a person in your room sir,” was his reply.
“Are you trying to tell me I can’t have my attendant with me?”
“If you put it that way sir, I guess it’s alright.”
And so Nellie trotted off behind John Bottomsley and they climbed the stairs to his room. He closed the door behind them and Nellie, who was so hurt and disappointed burst into tears.
“I’m sorry Nellie. There was nothing else I could do.”
“You could stand up for me, you know,” she said through tears. “Is this what life together is going to be like JB?”
“You know how these people think Nellie. I can’t go up against everybody who is unkind.”
“If you treat me better, then everybody else would do the same.”
He sat next to her and held her in his arms.
“I’m sorry Nellie. I can understand your pain. I will have to make some changes in my life, but for the sake of Emily, could you please give me some time. You know I want to be with you, don’t you?” She nodded.
Being in the middle of the town wasn’t the ideal place for them, so John Bottomsley rented a car and they drove out to see the sights of St. Lucia. They found themselves on a beautiful beach which was deserted. He parked the car and they walked hand in hand along the sandy shore. Then they came upon three houses side by side.
“This is where I would love to stay,” he said to Nellie.
“But it so lonely here JB,” she said.
“We wouldn’t have to worry about other people out here.”
“If you look at it that way, I think it is a good idea.”
“I’ll go to see if any one is there.”
He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. A woman, whom it seemed he had awakened, came to the door.
“Is this your house?” he asked.
“No,” she replied. “She belongs to you?”
She caught him off guard and he had no idea what she was talking about.
“I work here. The owner give me this job when I was only sixteen years old.”
“Where is the owner?” he asked.
“He live down the road.”
“Do you know if he wants to sell it?”
“You will have to talk with him. I really don’t know.”
“Can you show me where he lives?” John asked.
The woman got her hat and walked down the stairs behind him. She did not look at Nellie, but climbed into the back seat and instructed him where to go. Upon reaching their destination, he saw two unwashed children, two little girls playing at the front of the house. They had stringy blonde hair and from the colour of their skins, it seemed as if they always spent all their time playing in the sun. Their clothing was in good condition, but looked as if they had been wearing them for several weeks.
“Who are they?” he asked the woman.
“Mr. Applewhite two children,” she replied.
“Don’t they go to school?”
“I don’t think so.”
The woman got out of the car and went to the house, followed closely by John and the two children. A man who looked just as scruffy as the two children came out onto the porch.
“What can I do for yer fellow?” he asked in an accent reminiscent of what he had heard in the south of London.
“I was wondering if you were thinking of selling your house by the beach.”
“Teddy Applewhite’s the name. It all depends good feller. It all depends.”
“On what?” John asked.
“The price good feller!” the man replied.
“How much do you want?”
It was obvious he didn’t want to discuss any financial transactions in front of the woman, so he beckoned John with his head into the living room. They bantered back and forth and finally reached a price.
“I think we should drink to that good feller,” he said.
He offered John a drink and they both drank it down in one gulp.
“How soon will it be available?” John asked.
“The moment you give me the cheque my good man,” the eccentric man replied.
He made up an agreement and handed it to John, who then scrutinised its every detail.
“Yer will find everything in order. I am a gentleman of my word.”
“In two weeks I will be back with the cheque. Can you wait until then?”
“I am a man of my word. I will wait until then. House and furnishings will be waiting for yer.”
He walked down the steps with John and saw Nellie sitting in the car.
“Brought the missis with yer?” he asked walking up to the car and shaking Nellie’s hand. “Yer mister just brought yer a lovely little property.”
Shock registered all over Nellie’s face. He did not treat her like a speck of dust the way everyone else did.
“Yer will enjoy it here. Peaceful, fresh air, ocean breeze and not another soul in sight, except for me and the children and Meta of course.”
For the first time, the woman managed a little smile.
“Well Meta, yer will have to give the house a first class cleaning fer Mr. Bottomsley and Mrs. Bottomsley.”
The woman seemed confused but promised to do her job and have the house ready within the next two weeks.
“Put the beds out to catch some sun,” he said to her as the car slowly drove away.
With the strange woman in the car, Nellie had to control her enthusiasm until she climbed out.
“He called me Mrs. Bottomsley,” she said.
“And aren’t you pleased?”
“Didn’t he see I wasn’t……..
“You weren’t what? Wearing your glasses?”
“Don’t make fun JB. You know what I mean.”
“Maybe he’s colour blind.”
“What do you mean colour blind?”
“It means he doesn’t give a damn what colour you are, just like I do!”
That night they decided to leave all their problems behind and enjoy each other’s company; something they had been doing less and less of.
“I’m going to make you a real happy man tonight,” she said.
“You always make me feel happy Nellie.”
“True?” she asked.
“Yes, you always make me feel really happy; not only in bed, but you listen when I talk. I know I can come to you with any problem I have.”
“My Nellie,” he said. “My precious Nellie!”
They lay in each other’s arms and talked and talked. Then there was silence. She wanted to say something but he stopped her.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Listen!” he said.
“I don’t hear nothing,” she said.
“Can’t you hear the ocean? Listen.”
“You know I never hear that before. Yes, I hear it before but I didn’t really hear it.”
“When we take over our little house in the country, we will hear this every night.”
She snuggled up to him and soon they were both fast asleep.
