“Ben decided to call the house Peacocks and to have plenty of the aforementioned strutting around. I’d like to tell you that Peacocks will always belong to this family as long as there are peacocks here, but it wouldn’t be any use, for we don’t have those legends and old traditions here. We’re too young a country. One thing Ben was determined on, and that was that everyone who set foot in the house would know it was Peacocks. There’s something to remind you everywhere.”

There was a wide staircase winding up from the hall, and I saw a woman standing there watching us. She must have been standing there for some seconds listening to Joss’s explanation.

He saw her as soon as I did.

“Ah, Mrs. Laud,” he said.

She came down the stairs a tall, slender woman with fine greying hair which she wore parted in the centre and brought down to a knob in the nape of her neck. Her gown was of grey-high-necked with a very clean white collar and cuffs. The utmost simplicity of her dress gave her the appearance of a Quaker.

“Mrs. Laud!” cried Joss.

“I’ve got a surprise for you. This is my wife.” She turned a shade paler and clutched at the banisters as though to support herself. She looked bewildered and then a faint smile touched her lips.

“It’s one of your jokes, Mr. Madden,” she said.

Joss slipped his arm through mine and drew me forward.

“No joke at all, is it, Jessica? We were married in England. Ben came to our wedding’ She came down the stairs rather slowly. Her face had puckered a little, and for a moment I thought she was going to burst into tears.

She said shakily: The sad news of Mr. Henniker’s death reached us only a week ago. You didn’t mention . your marriage “No. That was to be a surprise.”

She came forward and I held out my hand which she took.

“What will you think of me? I had no idea … We have all been so sad.

We have lost a good friend and master. “

“I share your sadness,” I told her.

“I felt he was my very good friend.”

“Mr. Croissant is with us, as you see.” said Joss.

“We picked him up on the journey from Sydney. Are Jimson and Lilias at home?”

They’re somewhere in the house. I’ve sent one of the servants to look for them. I am sure they will be here shortly. “

“Mrs. Laud will be able to tell you all you want to know about the house, Jessica,” said Joss.

“I shall be very interested to learn,” I answered.

Mrs. Laud smiled at me almost ingratiatingly. I remembered what Ben had told me about her and was expecting someone of a more dominating nature. She appeared gentle and her voice was soft and soothing.

“I think we’d better have some refreshment,” said Joss.

“What am I thinking of,” said Mrs. Laud, fluttering her hands helplessly.

“I’m so shaken … by all this. First Mr. Henniker’s death…”

“And then this marriage,” said Joss.

“I know. But you’ll get used to it. We’ll all get used to it.”

“I’ll get them to make some tea,” said Mrs. Laud.

“Dinner will be served in an hour or so unless you would like me to put it forward.”

“We had chicken and Johnny cakes on the road,” said Joss, ‘so tea will do and then we’ll wait for dinner. “

Mrs. Laud opened a door and we were in a drawing-room. This had long windows which reached from floor to a ceiling, which was beautifully moulded; the room was lofty and the curtains were of the same tinge as a peacock’s feathers, but the daylight was shut out as the blinds were drawn. Mrs. Laud went to them at once and opened the slats so that the room was brighter.

My eyes immediately went to the picture of the peacock hanging on the wall. Joss’s did the same; our eyes met, and a tremendous wave of excitement passed between us. The Green Flash at Sunset was hidden in that picture and we were going to take the first opportunity of seeing it.

There was a cabinet in this room in which were black-velvet-covered shelves and on this were not polished stones but different types of rock with streaks of opal in them.

Joss saw me looking at them and said: That was Ben’s idea. Everything in there meant something to him. They have all come from different mines which were important to him. Ah, here’s Jimson. “

Jimson Laud was a man who I reckoned to be about Joss’s age; he had the same gentle manner as his mother.

“Jimson, this is my wife,” said Joss.

He was startled as well he might be, I thought. Joss grinned at me, obviously enjoying their surprise.

“We seem to have delivered a bombshell,” he said.

“Jessica and I were married before we left England.”

“Con … congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“I am so pleased to meet you,” he said, recovering a little from his surprise. He then said he had been deeply shocked by Ben’s death.

“We have all been shocked,” answered Joss.

“I’m afraid there was no hope of saving him. That was why he wanted me to go to England.”

“And there you met your bride,” said Mrs. Laud softly.

“Jimson works for the Company,” Joss explained to me.

“He and his sister Lilias live here in their mother’s apartments.”

“It’s a large house,” I commented.

“Mr. Henniker was always determined that there should be plenty of rooms for guests,” said Mrs. Laud.

“We often had a houseful. Well, here is my daughter, Lilias.”

How alike the family were! Lilias was a younger edition of her mother-meek, unassuming.

“Lilias, this is Mrs. Madden … our future mistress,” said Mis Laud.

Lilias’s surprise was as evident as that of her mother and brother. I caught her expression as her eyes rested on Joss and I was not quite sure what it meant. She was certainly overwhelmed by the fact that we were married. The expression was fleeting; it had gone scarcely before it was there and she was the meek girl of a few moments before.

"You’ll be staying for a while, Mr. Croissant, I dare say? ” said Mrs. Laud.

“For a couple of nights, I hope. Then I have to get on to Melbourne.”

“Has everything been going well while I’ve been away, Mrs. Laud?” asked Joss.

“Everything has been well in the house, Mr. Madden, which is an I can ^^ responsible.

Joss was looking at Jimson Laud, who said: There have been one or two spots of trouble in the Company but nothing serious. I expect you will be down there tomorrow. “

“You can be sure of that,” replied Joss. Tomorrow you must show my wife the house, Mrs. Laud. “

Mrs. Laud bowed her head.

“I shall be most interested to see it,” I told her.

Then the tea arrived.

“Shall I pour?” asked Mrs. Laud.

“I believe my wife would like to do that,” said Joss, which was dismissing her, I realized.

“Lilias will see that they prepare the rooms,” said Mrs. Laud.

“I’ll talk with you later, Jimson,” said Joss, ‘and then you can give me an idea of what’s been happening. “

We were alone with David Croissant. I could feel that joss was a little impatient by the manner in which his eyes kept straying to that picture.

I felt as impatient as he was. Very soon I was going to see the wonderful Green Hash.

David Croissant talked about some of the stones he had brought with him, a few of which he had shown us in Cape Town. He was most eager, he said, to see what the Fancy had thrown up lately.

“Not more eager than I,” Joss reminded him.

In due course we had finished tea and Joss said he would take me up.

As we mounted the stairs he said: “I noticed how your eyes kept straying to the picture. Were you thinking what I was?”

“I expect so.”

“At the very first opportunity we’ll look. I shall lock the door because I don’t want us to be disturbed. I hardly like to do it while David Croissant’s in the house. He’s got a nose for opals. I felt he was going to sense it in that room. We’ll choose our moment. Well, what do you think of your home?”

“I have seen very little of it yet.”

“It can’t compare with that of your ancestors, of course, but it comes pretty near it. I believe Ben had Oakland in mind when he planned this. You’ll discover several similar features. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, it’s said. Well, this place is a piece of flattery to Oakland Hall. So you should like it.”

“I like very much what I have seen inspection. By rights, you know, I should have carried you over the threshold. “

I ignored that.

“What do you think of the Lauds?” he asked.

“I thought that they were very unassuming … eager to please.”

They’re a sort of institution. Mrs. Laud came to work here . oh, it must have been quite twenty-seven years ago. She was a widow with two children. Her husband had come out after gold. He’d had some bad luck; he died and left them penniless. Ben took them in. Lilias was only a year or so old then and Jimson was about five. She’s been more than a housekeeper. “

“I gathered that ” She and Ben were very friendly at one time. “

"You mean. ? “

He looked at me maliciously.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he said.

“I think I understand … perfectly,” I contradicted.

“It gives them a certain standing in the household. Jimson was taken into the Company. He’s good at figures … quite a good worker but uninspired. ” And Lilias? “

“A pleasant girl… more talented than you’d think.”

“How do you know what I think?”

“My dear wife, I read you like a book. I saw your eyes on her contemplatively.”

“She seemed eager to please you. Is that why you consider her talented?”