Will’s boot crushed the cigarette on the floor. ‘If you weren’t so good at making yourself a headline I wouldn’t have come till next week,’ he continued, changing the subject. ‘And then you would’ve been gone. Which would have made it easy for you, wouldn’t it? You see, Edwina, I’ve a job now. It’s not much of one, but I’ve been loading wheat on the trains, so I’ve money for rooms at a boarding house, I’ve … but it’s not good enough now, is it? Not after what you’ve just told me. I’m not good enough.’
Edwina rose. ‘I never said that, Will.’
‘But that’s what you think, otherwise you’d be asking me to go west to that property of yours.’
Edwina was stunned. ‘Will, Aiden will be back any moment to find me. We’re due to leave.’
‘I thought you were better than that. I thought you loved me.’
‘I never said that, Will. Never.’ Edwina wrung her hands. ‘You must go.’ She was worried if her father recognised Will as the attacker, Davidson would kill him. ‘Will, you must leave. It’s not safe here for you. If my father –’
‘You were like the moon to me, Edwina. Did you know that?’
He walked towards her. Gently touching her wounded arm, Will’s fingers moved to linger on her neck. Edwina knew she should turn away, but when Will’s lips met hers she couldn’t. They stood there silently. His arm on her waist, their bodies barely touching. Kissing.
Distantly Jed’s bark could be heard. When they broke apart, Edwina looked at Will, wondering what may have been if things were different, if she were different. She did care for him. She really did.
Aiden entered the bedroom. ‘What on earth are you doing here? Get away from my sister.’ He tugged at Will, yelling for help. Punches were thrown. However, Will was light on his feet; he pushed her brother and he tripped on the bed, falling to the floor.
The room filled with people as dawn broke in the east. Davidson halted Will’s escape at the door as Han Lee extended a hand, pulling Aiden up from the timber boards.
The stockman twisted Will’s arms behind his back.
‘Are you alright, Edwina?’ asked Han Lee.
‘Yes, I’m fine. Let him go, Davidson. Will was visiting me before I left. He came to say goodbye. This has nothing to do with anyone else. He’s done nothing wrong.’
‘Except steal a lion cub?’ queried Aiden. ‘I never imagined my sister capable of such a thing.’
Her father was the last to arrive. He blinked in confusion, clearly wondering at the chaos. Then he saw Will. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ The gradual expression of returning memory transformed into fury. ‘It was you.’ He pushed a finger into Will’s chest. ‘You were the one that punched me on the road that day.’
‘It was Will?’ Aiden clearly didn’t believe it.
Will stopped struggling.
Edwina looked at her brother, then Davidson.
‘It wasn’t Fernleigh?’ said Aiden.
‘No,’ answered Edwina, ‘it wasn’t.’
For once, Davidson’s expression actually registered surprise.
‘Take him away, Davidson.’
Edwina stretched out a hand. ‘No, Father. Don’t let Davidson take Will. One man has already died because of the attack on you that day.’
‘For once in your life, Edwina, stay out of my business!’ yelled her father.
Davidson dragged Will outside, binding his wrists with rope.
‘Tie him up in the stables, Davidson,’ instructed Hamilton. ‘We’ll see to him later.’
‘Aiden, we have to do something,’ whispered Edwina. ‘If we leave Will to Davidson …’ She was incapable of articulating what she thought. She rushed to the stockman. ‘I know you cut yourself, made a pact to get the person who attacked Father, but please, don’t take out your revenge on Will. He’s my friend. I care for him.’
Aiden put an arm around her shoulder and began walking Edwina towards the waiting wagons. ‘Forget about this. I’ll speak to Father and Davidson and see what can be done to satisfy everyone’s pride.’
‘No.’ Edwina ran back to where Davidson and her father were standing with Will. ‘It wouldn’t be right if anything happened to Will. And if something does happen I’ll inform the police, about everything that’s been going on here. And I mean everything.’
Her father scowled. Han Lee stood nearby listening to the conversation and Edwina knew her father would be very aware of witnesses. ‘March him up to the front porch, Davidson. Aiden and I will take him to Wywanna and leave him at the town limits.’
‘And the lion cub?’ asked Will.
‘That animal is no concern of yours anymore,’ replied her father. ‘Consider yourself very lucky, boy, that I don’t have you thrown in jail or worse.’
Edwina thanked her father. He grunted in response.
‘You will make sure the cub is returned to the circus, Father?’
‘Oh he’ll have a good home with someone who deserves him,’ he answered.
‘Goodbye, Will.’ Would she ever see him again? Edwina knew it would never have worked between them. For all of Will’s concern and care, he needed a woman that would be content with the life he offered. He was better off without her by his side, but it hurt to look upon him knowing it would be for the last time, especially as he returned her gaze with sadness.
‘Look after yourself, Edwina,’ Will called, as she and Aiden headed back towards the wagons.
‘I always knew you liked him,’ admitted Aiden with a smile.
‘Yes, I do. But he’s a friend, Aiden. Just a friend. Nothing could ever have come of it.’
‘You best get moving, Edwina.’ Her father waved at her from the porch. Will was seated in one of the chairs, Davidson at his side. ‘I’m sure you’ll understand if an old man doesn’t walk you out to your new life.’
What had she expected? A hug or a handshake from her father? They were doing well to be speaking to each other.
Aiden clasped her hand, kissing her on the cheek, wishing Edwina safe travels. ‘You will write and tell me all about the trip and what the property is like and –’
Edwina shushed him. ‘Yes, yes, I’ll do all that. Be well, Aiden.’ On the verandah their father waited. ‘Look after him.’
‘We’ll be fine.’ Aiden helped her up into the high wooden driver’s seat where Han Lee waited to ensure she didn’t fall. Lifting Jed, he sat the old dog at her feet. ‘Have you enough cushions and blankets?’
‘Yes.’ Edwina bit her lip.
Another Chinaman took Han Lee’s place in the driver’s seat and the headman mounted up as the wagons jolted to movement. The teamsters twitched the reins and the vans turned steadily, the horses strong and confident, straightening onto the track that led away from the homestead. Ahead rode Han Lee, behind were their two supply wagons, the walking Chinese gathering together to eventually bring up the rear, two abreast with their hawker wagon the last vehicle in the convoy. The horses walked smartly, the dust pitting their faces in the morning breeze. Edwina grasped the seat with her good right hand, feeling every pothole and crack in the summer-dry ground.
‘Are you comfortable, Miss Edwina?’ called Han Lee. No longer dressed in a suit and necktie, he wore stockman’s attire, the jacket coat-tails flapping on the horse’s rump.
‘Yes, thank you,’ she replied. It was just as well the covered wagon prevented her from a last backwards glance. There were already tears in her eyes and the sight of her father and brother watching the procession, of Will staring after her, their figures dwindling in the distance, would have been far too much.
‘You definitely the boss lady now.’ Constance gave a wide grin as she ran from the kitchen to the second moving wagon, a bundle of belongings tied in a piece of material.
‘Yes,’ answered Edwina, ‘I guess I am.’
Chapter Forty-nine
The wagons rolled down the road as if floating on waves of dust. There she was, Edwina Baker, travelling westwards to the station that was hers to run. L
et’s hope she didn’t make a disaster of it, Hamilton prayed. For all their sakes, but especially hers. There was more than reputation riding on this. There was money. His. Hamilton thought he caught a glimpse of tawny fur inside the rear of the last dray. The lion cub would be discovered tonight and then it was up to his daughter to find a home for the creature she’d been a party to stealing. She could arrange for it to be returned to the circus. To explain to the authorities how the animal came to be in her possession. So, that was one win to him, at last.
It was done then. Edwina was gone. Dust from the departing wagon train stung his eyes. At least that’s what he told himself as he wiped away a tear.
‘Father,’ interrupted Aiden, ‘will we head straight into town?’ He glanced to where Will sat guarded by the stockman.
Hamilton pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting too old for such things. Maybe he should move into Wywanna for a couple of months. Leave his son to handle the farm during the week and then Aiden could join him on the weekends. The house wasn’t the same. It hadn’t been since the Chinese had cut down Caroline’s tree. It was funny how he could pinpoint the exact moment of the change. As if in the woody plant’s demise, the extinction of Caroline’s frivolous memorial, the homestead had lost meaning for him. Caroline had returned once during Edwina’s illness. Her presence had been there that night in her room, but now she was gone and Hamilton doubted his wife’s return, even in his imaginings. Quite simply the house he’d built with his own hands didn’t mean much anymore.
‘Father, did you hear what I said?’
‘Yes, yes. In a half-hour or so. Tie him to the chair until we’re ready to leave. And I mean restrain him, Davidson. No taking matters into your own hands as I’m led to believe you’ve done before.’ Hamilton met Will’s gaze. ‘We can’t have any shenanigans going on here. There’s been enough. We both know after Will’s criminal behaviour that the idiot should have been put in a sack with a rock at birth and dumped in a creek, but we can’t be taking the law into our own hands.’ The stockman gave little away; ho wever, an order had been given and Hamilton expected it to be obeyed. ‘As we’re on the subject of water, I should tell you that I saw Constance at the creek a couple of months back. She was the woman who drowned the half-caste child. She is your wife?’
This time Davidson nodded, holding up four fingers.
‘Your fourth? Good God, man, do you have a death wish? Four wives?’
For the first time since his arrival on the property, Davidson smiled.
‘And the child wasn’t yours?’ No answer was required. The fresh wound on the girl’s face that day was evidence enough of her husband’s wrath. ‘I have one more job for you, Davidson. I want you to go out west with Edwina. Make sure she gets there safely. It’s not right she’s travelling with all those Chinese. Oh, I’m sure Han Lee is honourable, but how good is he in a fight if it comes to that? And the blacks out there? Well, who is to say how they’ll take to a new owner. Talk to them. Placate them. Do whatever needs to be done if there are troublemakers.’
The stockman lifted the shirtsleeve, revealing the scars on his skin, the last relatively recent as if he was marking calendar days not counting lives.
‘Yes, I know you can be relied upon to despatch anyone. No doubt you were admired on the Western Front. You didn’t think I knew, did you? It was nearly a year after the war ended when you arrived and I noticed your actions immediately. The way you hold a rifle, handle a horse, almost stand to attention in my presence. The mark of an army man is hard to miss. You have my respect and a country’s gratitude, even if Australia isn’t capable of acknowledging you.’
Davidson observed him with cool detachment.
‘See my girl safely out there, Davidson, and then come home. We’ll be selling all the sheep in the New Year and Aiden will need as much help as you can give him. And, Davidson, take your people with you. Settle them out there. Yes, I had my suspicions. It may not save them from the missions or orphanages if they are discovered, but those who are of working age will at least find employment with Edwina and I think it will be better for them there than here.’
The stockman bowed slightly and left. Hamilton had always been more concerned with keeping the man in his employ than arguing about his reasons for silence. However, he would always speculate as to why Davidson chose to remain quiet. There was no scar near the man’s neck and he’d have never been accepted into the army if he couldn’t talk. Was his speechless existence due to the horrors of war? While he would always wonder, Hamilton appreciated that everyone had their own ways of navigating life. And strange though it was, for want of more evidence, he could only surmise that this was Davidson’s way of existing in a white world.
Chapter Fifty
They passed Mrs Landry’s Inn. Two horses were tethered to the railing outside, a stream of thick chimney smoke rising in the air. The owner of the inn looked up from where she was stooped over a copper, washing clothes. It was the first time in Edwina’s memory that the woman waved in acknowledgment.
‘Good for you, girly,’ she cried in a crackly voice, ‘good for you.’
Good for me. Edwina gave a weak smile. She felt anything but happy. Falling out with her father was no small thing. Having deceived herself into believing her decisions were based on concern, the truth was far more painful. Edwina stole from an ailing father under the guise of protecting her family, but in reality, she’d done it to protect herself. Now she was leaving home, alone, with a useless arm, which might never be fully recovered, to go to a strange place in the middle of nowhere. What on earth was she doing?
Two men appeared from inside the travellers’ rest. One leant nonchalantly against a timber upright, the other, hands on hips; both observed the convoy.
The events of the last few months had made the reasons for her actions clearer now. Since the death of her mother, Edwina had been an outsider, sister to a father’s favourite, working in a man’s world and controlled by men. Edwina knew she couldn’t live that life anymore. It was a simple decision forged through rashness, but it was now a choice she was already regretting. She’d not prayed since her mother’s passing, saw little point in doing so now. However, Edwina recalled the comfort of calling on heaven and with a guilty sigh at the time past she closed her eyes. ‘Dear Lord,’ she whispered, ‘I’m sorry. Sorry for what I’ve done. Help me.’ There was no response. Only the whine of the wheels on the road, the stomp of hoofs and the squeak of leather and timber. What did she expect?
Edwina stared at the dirt track ahead as they passed the dwelling, the draught horses eager for the open road. It was not too late to turn back. There was nothing to stop her from acknowledging the enormity of her foolishness. Nothing except her pride.
‘How are you travelling, Miss Edwina?’ Han Lee called from up ahead.
‘Fine. Very fine.’ Her mouth stiffened into a smile. These were her people now. Her men. A rag-tag group from across the seas who trailed behind her because of one man. Somehow she’d gained Han Lee’s loyalty and she did not want to lose it.
‘Good. We will rest at noon.’
Perhaps it was the knowledge that it would be a long time, if ever, that she came this way again. However, as they continued along the road Edwina thought of Mrs Landry and the two bystanders watching the procession of wagons and men. A final goodbye of sorts from the district of Wywanna.
‘Hello, Edwina.’ Luke Gordon appeared next to her on horseback.
‘Luke!’ Edwina blurted out his name.
‘I heard you were leaving today and thought it best I tag along for the ride, if that’s alright with you. I thought you might need a chaperone, what with all these Chinese and him.’ He dipped a chin towards the other side of the wagon, to where Mason rode alongside.
‘Mason?’
‘Do you mind, mate?’ asked Mason. The Chinese driver was quickly dispatched, nimbly jumping off the slow-moving van. Sliding from his horse Mason tied the reins to the side of the wagon and then climb
ed up into the seat beside Edwina, assuming control of the team. ‘Luke and I stopped at Mrs Landry’s Inn and there you were in this great procession of wagons and men.’ He clipped the reins, expertly steering the horses away from a deep hole in the road. ‘I said to Luke that we could hardly leave you to go off on this adventure alone. So here we are.’
‘But I thought …’ stumbled Edwina. ‘I mean, you said –’
‘I waited days for word of your recovery, Edwina. You have no idea how worried I was so I came to an agreement with your father. I promised I wouldn’t come onto his land again. In return he granted me that one visit. He didn’t actually say not to see you ever again,’ Mason continued sheepishly, ‘although I understood that’s what he meant.’
‘But I don’t understand, you made me think –’
Mason took her hand in his. ‘I thought I could abide by the agreement. I shook on it. Gentlemen’s contract and all that, but there are some decisions that can’t be made in an instant and I regretted the bond the moment I rode away. Then Luke told me that you had bought the property and that you were travelling by yourself. So I waited for word of your departure date. It wasn’t hard to find out. Everyone was talking of it.’
Edwina was stunned. ‘So you’re not angry?’
‘About your father and the way he’s treated you? Yes, I am, and I’ll not forgive him for what he did.’ He looked at her shoulder. ‘You’ve done a brave thing buying Condo Station and starting life afresh.’
‘I don’t know. I went behind my father’s back,’ admitted Edwina. ‘At the time I believed I was doing it for the right reasons.’
‘If it was thought that you’d done the wrong thing, Edwina, you wouldn’t have all these men supporting you.’
‘Like bees to a honey pot, eh?’ interrupted Luke.
‘Are you still here?’ replied Mason with a smile.
Luke pushed his hat further back on his head, and rode on to join Han Lee in the lead.
An Uncommon Woman Page 36