by Janet Gover
As he turned for the fifth run, he caught movement out of the corner of one eye. Someone was standing just outside the ring. In the moment of lost concentration, he felt the bike slide just that bit too far out from under him. He lost control and as the wheels spun wildly, he kicked himself free and rolled away. The engine roared loudly for a second then died, leaving the bike in the dust, one wheel spinning.
A few seconds later, Dino cut his engine, and the world became suddenly silent. Finn leaped to his feet, pulled off his helmet and faced his father.
Ron’s face was dark with anger. ‘I told you not to do this. And you just went ahead anyway.’
‘But, Dad—’
‘And you.’ Ron turned his anger on Dino, who was standing next to his silent bike. ‘Let me make one thing very clear. I am ringmaster of this circus and I am telling you that my son is not to ride this bike. He is not to buy it. He is not to join your act. Do I make myself clear?’
Finn tried to catch his friend’s eye to tell him to back down. To warn him about what would happen if he didn’t. But Dino was only too aware of Ron’s temper.
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Get out of here.’
Dino cast Finn a sympathetic look as he wheeled his machine away. Finn braced for what was coming.
‘Not only do you disobey me, you disrespect me as ringmaster. And in front of everyone.’
‘It’s just Dino. He’s the only one who—’
‘The whole troupe will know soon. You have challenged my authority and I will not stand for it. You hear me, boy?’
Finn let his eyes drop to the ground and the tyre tracks that were still so clear between the clumps of grass. ‘Yes,’ he mumbled.
‘I will not tell you again. Now, get back to work on that grandstand. And while you’re at it, wash my trailer. It’s filthy.’
Ron turned and walked away.
Finn lifted the bike from the dust and checked it over. There was no damage. He swung his leg over and started the engine. He rode the machine slowly back to the homestead, but instead of stopping, he kept going, along the gravel drive and out onto the road to town.
He shouldn’t be doing this. He was too young to have a licence and the bike wasn’t road registered. There’d be hell to pay later if his father found out. But his father hadn’t even bothered to ask if he was all right after his fall, so he really didn’t care. He just had to get away.
A few minutes later he rode into Nyringa. On the left side of the road, just past the school, a group of teenagers were hanging around in a park. Finn slowed down. He could see the girl who’d waved at their truck a few days ago as they passed through the town. She was watching him again.
He parked near a set of kids’ swings. Leaving his helmet on the bike, he walked to a metal climbing frame. He took hold of it and swung himself up until he was standing on the metal bar across the top. He walked forward with all the cool he could muster, all the time aware that the other kids, especially that girl, were watching him. He could sense their admiration.
That felt almost as good as riding the bike.
Kate jabbed Jenny in the ribs with her elbow. ‘He’s checking you out.’
‘No!’
‘I know checking out when I see it, and that’s what he’s doing. Just saying.’ Kate jabbed her again and giggled.
Beside them, Billy was frowning. ‘You’re totally checking him out too.’ He sounded angry.
Kate tossed her hair in an extravagant gesture. ‘Can’t say I blame you. He is kinda cute.’
Jenny couldn’t disagree.
‘I guess he’s one of those circus people,’ Billy ventured. ‘My mum says they’re not to be trusted.’
Kate rolled her eyes. ‘Of course he is. Who else would he be? And why can’t they be trusted?’
‘Dunno. I heard her talking to Aunt Alice. Something about stealing. Or being perverts or something.’
Jenny ignored both of them as the boy on the other side of the park started doing chin-ups. Not just any old chin-ups—one-handed chin-ups.
‘Ooh. You should go and talk to him.’
‘Kate! No. I can’t do that.’
‘Course you can. Go on. Don’t be like Aunt Alice. Show him that some of us in this town are friendly and welcoming. Especially to someone who looks like him.’
Billy almost growled.
Jenny gave Kate a look, then decided that maybe she could just walk over there. After all, home was that way. She left her friends, but soon discovered that walking naturally was really difficult when you were trying not to look at the boy right in front of you who was openly staring at you. She was very conscious of the stain on the front of her skirt where she’d spilled some juice at lunchtime. She wished she’d changed after school, but in Nyringa, there really wasn’t any reason to change. Or wear makeup. Until today.
‘Hi.’
His voice alone was almost enough to make her blush, and when she looked at him, his green eyes were the final straw.
‘Hi,’ she said, wishing her cheeks didn’t feel as if they were on fire.
‘I’m Finn.’
‘I’m Jenny. You’re from the circus.’
‘And you’re from the town.’
An uncomfortable silence settled between them, until, from the other side of the park, she heard Kate giggling. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got friends like that too.’ Finn’s grin was just as devastating as his eyes. ‘Just ignore them.’
‘I’ll try.’
The silence returned while Jenny gathered her courage. ‘What do you do at the circus?’
‘I’m a performer.’
‘I guessed that. But what sort of performer?’
‘I’m an acrobat.’
‘Wow. That’s great. Can you show me something?’
Before she’d even finished speaking, he slowly bent forward to place his hands carefully on the ground and then kicked up into a handstand. She started giggling as he walked on his hands in a circle around her, then dropped his feet back to the ground and stood the right way up.
Jenny laughed and clapped her hands. ‘Cool.’
Without speaking, Finn did a little jump and began a series of cartwheels and backflips. Jenny was applauding enthusiastically when suddenly he collapsed.
‘Oh! Are you all right?’ She darted to his side and dropped to her knees next to him.
Finn sat up, ruefully rubbing a large red mark on one hand. ‘It’s fine. There was a stone. I really shouldn’t do that sort of thing on rough ground. But I wanted to hear you laugh again.’
Jenny blushed. Right now, she couldn’t have laughed if the world depended upon it. And she didn’t know where to look. His face, that handsome face with the sparkling green eyes, was just so close to her own. There was something … intimate … about being on the ground together like this.
‘I like your bike,’ Jenny said as she scrambled to her feet.
‘Thanks.’ Finn stood up and brushed the dust off his jeans. ‘Wanna see it?’
She nodded.
Her heart was beating wildly as Finn led her to the motorcycle. He was so cute. And nice. And different. He wasn’t like all the boys she knew. He wasn’t tied to this stupid one-horse town and her stupid large family.
‘Did you paint the flames?’
Finn ran his hand lovingly over the red and black paintwork on the fuel tank. ‘Nah. That was Dino. He’s one of the Magnificent Mancini Brothers. Actually, the bike’s not really mine. It’s Dino’s. But I’m buying it off him.’ There was a tone of defiance in those final words and she wondered if maybe his family could be as annoying as hers was.
‘And are you going to use it in your act?’
‘I could but—’ he looked down and kicked at the dust, ‘—my dad says I can’t.’
Understanding flared in her. ‘Parents can be such a total drag.’
‘They can a bit.’ He grinned again. It was a slightly sad yet cheeky gri
n and it made her insides turn to marshmallow.
‘Mine will probably expect me to stay here and marry some local farm boy. What I really want is to get away from here and explore the whole world.’
‘Hey—do you want to come for a ride on my bike?’
She did, so very, very much. ‘Is that all right? I mean, I thought you weren’t allowed to carry pillion passengers until you’ve had your licence for, like, a year.’
That heart-melting grin returned. ‘That doesn’t matter. I don’t have a licence at all. I’ve only just turned sixteen. I don’t even have a learner’s permit yet.’
Before she could say yes, there was a shout from the other side of the road. Her father was waving at her from the door of the agency.
‘Bugger. That’s my dad. I have to go.’
‘Will you come for a ride with me some other time?’
‘Oh yes, please.’
‘All right then.’
They stood just looking at each other for another few seconds, then Finn reached for his helmet. As he did, the sleeve of his jacket rode up and Jenny saw a dark line.
‘You’ve got a tattoo?’ Tattoos were so cool. No-one she knew in Nyringa had a tattoo.
Fin nodded and pushed up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a long, thin line reaching from his wrist almost to his elbow. Several shorter lines crossed it. Jenny had never seen anything like it before.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s Ogham—a medieval language.’
‘What does it say?’
‘Saoirse. It’s an old Irish word for freedom.’
‘How do you say it again?’
‘Sur-sha.’
‘Sur-sha.’ It sounded strange, but felt good on her tongue.
‘That’s right. I can teach you more of it if you want me to.’
She nodded.
Her father’s voice intruded again. ‘Jenny! Come on. Your mother is waiting.’ He sounded impatient.
‘I’ve got to go now.’ She reached out to touch the dark lines on Finn’s arm, then hesitated. She was afraid that touching him would create a flash of lightning.
Finn slipped the helmet over his head. He leaped into the saddle of the motorcycle, and with a roar and a blast of hot air redolent with the smell of burning fuel, the engine came to life. Finn steered the bike onto the main road, then lifted the front wheel clear off the ground. He travelled a few metres before letting the front of the bike drop again. With both wheels on the grey bitumen, he raised one arm to Jenny and then roared off in the direction of the circus camp.
Jenny watched him go, wishing she was sitting on the black leather seat with her arms wrapped around Finn’s body and the feel of the wind and freedom in her hair.
When he finally vanished, she crossed over to where her father was also staring down the road with an entirely different look on his face.
‘I won’t have you hanging around with those carnie people. They’re just bad news,’ he said as she approached.
‘Finn’s okay,’ she said.
‘You stay away from him. You don’t know anything about him. You don’t know where he comes from or who his family is. He’s probably trying to trick you out of your money—or worse. And he looks too young to have a licence for that motorcycle. So don’t even think about it.’
And from that moment on, she could think of nothing else.
CHAPTER
13
‘I’m sorry Jenny isn’t here to help you,’ Barbara said as she followed Alice up her front stairs, a box of groceries in her arms.
‘Where is she?’ Alice opened the door and led the way to her kitchen.
‘I’m not sure. Off with some of her friends, I imagine.’
Alice frowned. ‘You need to keep a better eye on her,’ she said as they unpacked the groceries. ‘I just hope she’s not off with some boy from that circus.’
‘I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem if she was.’
‘Are you indeed?’ Alice almost snatched the bag of self-raising flour from Barbara’s hand. ‘Well, I’m not. Those carnie people can’t be trusted.’
‘Well, technically they’re circus, not carn—’
‘They’re all the same. Thieves and ne’er-do-wells the lot of them.’
‘Now, Aunt Alice, that hardly seems fair. I’m sure most of them are fine honest people. They’ve just chosen a life that seems a bit strange to the rest of us.’
‘Thank you, Barbara. You can go now.’ Alice wasn’t going to listen to the woman for another second. Ignoring the shocked look on Barbara’s face, Alice turned to her cupboards.
‘Well, if you’re sure you’re all right …’
‘Of course I’m all right. Now, off you go.’ There would be no tea and cake for Barbara this afternoon.
As soon as she’d put away the rest of her groceries, Alice set out again; walking this time. She headed for the real estate office, intent on speaking to Peter. He’d promised to have a word with Barbara about the circus, but it seemed he hadn’t convinced his wife the circus was a bad thing. He’d also promised to keep looking into any shire regulations that Madam might be breaking, but Alice was beginning to think he would have no more success in that endeavour. There had to be some way to get rid of Madam. Or if not her, at least that rag-tag bunch camped out on her property.
As she turned into the main street, she saw the new school teacher going into the hardware store. Alice frowned. According to Jenny, the circus visit to the school was all arranged. Well, it wasn’t too late to cancel it. That sort of thing was just encouraging Jenny and the rest of them. It was time Alice had another word with Meg. She changed direction and crossed the road.
Alice walked through the door of the hardware store and stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her, Meg was laughing, sharing a joke with Karen from the bakery, while Karen’s brother Jack spread some paint colour charts on the counter for Meg’s inspection. But that wasn’t what had reduced Alice to immobility. Just a couple of metres to her left that woman, that Madam, was looking through some brightly coloured nylon halters in the equestrian section of the store. She was holding a bright pink one. That would be right. The woman had no idea of decorum or taste.
‘Hello, Aunt Alice.’
Ignoring Karen’s greeting, her original reason for crossing the road now forgotten, Alice took the few short steps to confront her nemesis.
‘Bonjour.’
Alice found herself unable to speak. She looked closely at the woman in front of her. The face was lined now, as her own was, but in her youth, Lucienne must have been a great beauty. Had the grey hair once been blonde? She wasn’t tall, but she had the figure of a much younger woman. All that jumping around on horseback, Alice supposed. Madam must have broken more than a few hearts in the towns she’d visited with the circus in her youth.
‘Why? Why Nyringa?’ The answer to that question was suddenly very important to Alice.
‘I am sorry?’
‘Why did you come here? You must have visited hundreds of towns on your travels. Why did you choose this one? What was so special about Nyringa?’
‘This is your town, Tante Alice. Surely you believe there is something special about it?’
Ignoring the form of address, which was far too familiar for Alice’s liking, she pressed on. ‘But why here? You must have had a reason.’
A masculine voice spoke behind Alice. ‘Grand-mère? Is everything all right?’
Lucienne’s eyes shifted as Simon appeared at her side. She laid a hand on his arm in silent communication that sent a flash of jealousy through Alice. She had no-one with whom she shared such a bond. She’d probably never had. Her husband had been a good man, although never the object of an overwhelming and passionate love. Their life together had been pleasant, but with no children or grandchildren to love, they had drifted into an easy friendship. She had grieved when he died, but for the loss of friendship, not love. There was no-one with whom Alice shared the sort of closeness that did not require word
s.
‘One town is much like another,’ Lucienne said. ‘And some call to us like long lost friends.’
Alice studied Lucienne’s face. Was she hinting at something? Was something about that face familiar?
Alice took a step backwards and shook her head as if doing so might chase all the memories and fears away. It didn’t.
She turned and walked out of the shop without another word.
CHAPTER
14
Most of the cars that passed Simon on the road were familiar now. The drivers waved at him. He was sure most of them thought he was a bit strange, running where everyone else seemed to drive, but then, he was one of the circus folk, and they probably expected him to be strange. He reached the edge of town and crossed the road, heading towards the school oval.
As always, it was empty as he passed through the gate and began his circuit. And as always, he didn’t have long to wait before Meg appeared. She always timed it well, coming through the gate while he was on the far side of the oval and matching his pace. Thus they circled the oval, just not together. They would raise a hand in greeting, but that was all. He would finish his second circuit and set off home, while Meg continued running.
Simon didn’t know why she kept such a distance, but he wasn’t going to push the acquaintance. Whatever reason she had for being alone, he would respect that. When—if—she changed her mind, he’d be happy to share his run with her. But until then, her presence on the other side of the field was something like company. Knowing she was there was forcing him to try to run more smoothly to hide his limp. It was working; strength was returning to his injured leg. It would never be what it had been and he would never fly on the trapeze again. For the rest of his life, he would suffer some pain in the leg, but it was the least of the pain that day had caused, and he deserved it.
As he turned the corner at the bottom of the oval, Simon realised with a start that Meg was not running. She was leaning on the gate with every appearance of waiting for him.
When he drew close to her, he slowed to a walk and then stopped. Not too close. He knew that made her uncomfortable.