Chapter 69

"Well, well, both Sarah and Patrick. The game's afoot, Weena!"

"Dead to rights, dad. We confess and surrender."

"To what?"

"That's why I'm here. I'm going to ply you with Thai food and force you to our will!"

"Well, I concede. Let me wash up and we can wend our way."

Mum disappeared, too. I sipped some of my (instant!) coffee. Sarah just stared at me. "I'm Patrick Manchu in disguise; Fu's ever-more-devious grand-nephew."

"I believe you."

Dad must have overheard: "But I, Nayland Smith, am never tricked for long. You may as well spill the beans, little ones."

"When mum's back."

"I'm here." She had changed blouses. "What's the big plot?"

"Not much of one," I said. "But I've spent the afternoon with Sarah and I thought this would be an opportunity for a family conference and a communal repast."

"OK. Let's go," said dad.

"I'll begin, and then turn everything over to Sarah. Late last week, before Sarah returned here, I realized what she was doing. Up to just over a year ago, everything she did was under parental direction." I saw mum start and held up a hand. "That's not bad, children need direction. But children, especially teenagers, need independence, too. The two of you determined that Sarah would go to the College mum had gone to. And, in fact, ECU was pre-designated. But then, what happened? Sarah may have chafed, but she was never rebellious. And then her jailers absconded: you two moved here, leaving her at ECU. And Chaz and Michiko left, too." I paused till we were seated and had ordered.

"So Sarah was freed. And what did she do? She ran away to join the circus. Just like a late nineteenth or early twentieth century novel. But that didn't work out. So she fell back on the fact that she'd always admired my python. So she sought out, enrolled in and successfully completed a course in taxidermy. And I think that was revealing: Sarah had come to Sydney from Perth, but now was returning to Perth to study; but now she was studying something 'other'. Not only hadn't Weena indicated the direction, she vilified and opposed it. And by doing so, taxidermy was validated. And it was further re-enforced and validated when I, her elder brother, supported her effort financially."

I stopped and ate my soup.

"And I did the same thing today." That got my parents' attention. "I encouraged her and paid for a course of study that she had selected."

"Really," said dad.

"You didn't!" ejaculated mum, "What? Where?"