It had become a fetish with us. Joss had seen it of course but, he admitted, only once.

“And I’ve been where it could be many a time,” he told us.

“And only once was I honoured.” So each evening at sunset we watched-but we waited in vain. The natural phenomenon was as elusive as its namesake.

We were on deck as we sailed into Bombay and before us lay a wonderful panorama of mountainous islands and away to the east the gently swaying palm trees and high peaks of the Western Ghat Mountains. Here was the gateway to India.

Joss and I spent an exhilarating morning in exotic surroundings, the like of which I had never seen before. How beautiful the women were in their brilliantly coloured saris, but the contrast between them and the multitudes of beggars who surrounded us appalled us, touching our pleasure with a depression created by such horror. We gave to the beggars, but the more we gave the more seemed to gather around us, and we had in the end to turn away from those big pleading eyes and little up stretched brown hands.

We had stopped to watch a group of women washing then-clothes in the river, but because of the beggars we returned to our gaily coloured mule-drawn carriage and left the river. But I could not get them out of my mind.

We were taken to a market where there were stalls of the most exciting merchandise and voluble salesmen, eager to sell their wares. There were beautiful carpets, all kinds of objects in carved wood, ivory and brass; and we were fascinated.

The bright black eyes of one of the salesmen were on us.

“You give a little present, eh?” he suggested.

“To show love … to bring good luck.”

I hesitated and Joss whispered: “He’s going to be very disappointed if we don’t.”

This lady, very lucky,” said the salesman.

“It was ivory charm. The goddess of good fortune … talisman against evil. ” I’m going to buy that for you,” I said. The Green Flash is yours now… you may need it. ” It’s partly yours too and to show that I don’t believe in bad luck I’m going to buy you that cherry-coloured silk to make a gown. “

So we made our purchases with the minimum of bargaining for, said Joss, the salesman would be disappointed if we did not haggle a little.

I felt as we walked away that that incident seemed to imply that our relationship was changing.

We had a light luncheon and during it I asked him why he had allowed David Croissant to believe that the Green Flash was still missing and may has been stolen by my father.

There’s always a great deal of speculation about that stone,” said Joss.

“And David’s a talker. I don’t want people talking about it until I have it secure. I think that’s the wise thing to do.”

And I did not feel I could argue with him on that score. After luncheon we drove in the carriage to the, impressive Rajabai Tower built in the fourteenth century and went up Malabar Hill to Malabar Point. We paused by the Tower of Silence where, so our driver told us, the Parsees disposed of their dead according to their religious tradition, which was to leave the bodies to the sun, the weather, and the birds.

“No woman is allowed in,” we were told.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Why should they be excluded?” The driver could not understand us, for his English was limited, but Joss replied: The inferior sex, you know. ” That’s quite absurd,” I retorted hotly. I could see he was pleased to have aroused my indignation, and the change in our relationship which I had fancied I detected had evaporated. We were back to where we had started.

As we were approaching the end of our journey, a restraint had grown up between us. Joss was often thoughtful, and once or twice I caught him regarding me intently.

We continued to sit on deck together in the evenings at sunset. We would sit in silence watching the great ball of fire slipping down to the horizon.

When we did. ” talk we often mentioned Ben. Joss quoted him frequently.

It was clear that he had been greatly influenced by him throughout his life.

“Do you think we’ll see the real green flash one day?” I asked.

“Perhaps. Though there’s not much time left. You have to wait for it.

I believe some people imagine they’ve seen it. “

“Are you one of those? ” Not I. I’m much too practical. I don’t have day dreams. “

“Perhaps it might be better if you did.”

“Why should one want to indulge in fancy when there’s reality all around one? ” ” It shows imagination. “

He laughed at me. I knew he enjoyed laughing at me, proving to me that I was young, inexperienced of life and somewhat foolish.

Once he said: “Ben used to say love comes quickly in a flash sometimes, but you have to recognize it for the real thing. Lots of people think they’ve found it because they want to. That’s how it is with the green flash. They want to have seen it so they delude themselves into thinking they have.”

“I can assure you that I never delude myself.”

He went on: “Look at the sun. There are opal lights in the sky today.

Look at that touch of yellow over there . with the blue. I found an opal just like that once. We called it The Primrose because someone fancied he saw the shape of the flower there. In half an hour the sun will be going down. Who knows? Tonight we could see it It’s a night for the green flash. “

We sat there watching.

“Any minute now,” said Joss.

“How bright it is! It’s as though it wants to blind you so that you’ll miss it. Be careful. Be sure you don’t blink.”

The great red ball low on the horizon was dipping into the water-now only half of it was visible, now less and then just that red rim.

“Now!” whispered Joss; and there was a quick intake of breath to indicate disappointment, for the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, and neither of us had seen the green flash.

6.

THE BURNED-OUT INN

There was great excitement on board when we approached the land, and I don’t think there was one passenger who was not on deck looking out with eager, fascinated eyes. And it was a sight worth looking at, for I suppose there is no harbour in the world to compare with Sydney’s.

The Captain had given me a book in which I had read of the arrival of the first fleet there. I wondered what the convicts had felt when they stepped ashore after months of confinement in the noisome hold of a ship to find themselves surrounded by so much that was beautiful. In those days the scene would have been made more colourful by the brilliantly plum aged birds-parakeets, love birds, and those delicately coloured galahs with the exquisite mingling grey and pink of their feathers, all of which I was to see later. ‘It was changed all uuw. uuiiuiuga ucn. sprung up where beautiful wild flowers had grown and the birds had retreated inland. They had named the place after Lord Sydney, the Secretary of State for the Home Department Captain Arthur Philip, the first governor of the new colony who had had a port named after him, had declared that hen was ‘the finest harbour in the world in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in the most perfect security’.

Perhaps because what I had read had given me such a sense of the past or perhaps merely because this was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen, I was filled with exhilaration which completely eliminated the mild depression I had begun to feel at the prospect of leaving the ship which had been my home for so long.

I stood leaning on the rail as we went through the Heads-past numerous cove-like indentations and sandy beaches fringed with lush foliage. Then the buildings began to appear and it was obvious that we were coming to a considerable city.

“What a beautiful place !’ I cried.

Joss looked pleased.

“We shan’t be so far away up at Fancy Town,” he said.

“You’ll be able to take the odd trip into Sydney and do your shopping. There are some fine shops there -and hotels too. Of course you’ll have to camp out for a night or two very likely on the way.

Though there are home steads where you might stay,”

“It sounds exciting.”

“It will be. You’ll see. I wonder if anyone’s come to meet us. We’re staying at the Metropole. It will take us a couple of days to get out to Peacocks.”

“How shall we go?”

There’s Cobb’s coach but it doesn’t go our way, so I reckon to ride would be the best. You’ll be glad of those riding lessons I gave you.”

Everyone seemed to know Joss and that made disembarkation easy.

Our baggage would in due course be unloaded and sent to the hotel where it would arrive later in the day. 

“We’ll spend a week at the Metropole,” Joss told me.

“I have business to do in Sydney, and I reckon you’d like to see, a bit of it before we go to Fancy Town. Get into the buggy; and it’ll take us to the hotel. We’ll just take a few personal things with us. ”

The hotel was situated in the heart of the town and the reception area was crowded with people who talked loudly to each other, but Joss forced his way through to the desk and emerged with two keys.

I saw the ironical grin on his face as he handed one to me.

“All according to contract,” he said.

I flushed with irritation. He had completely lost that tenderness which I had fancied I glimpsed during the voyage.

Our rooms adjoined and there was a communicating door between them.

Maliciously he watched my anxious glance towards this, and he went to it at once and taking the key from the lock handed it to me as he had on the first night of our marriage.