‘Those with wild tempers make the best lovers.’
‘Indy, you shouldn’t say such things,’ he said lowering his voice. But his expression was now one of a different kind of hunger.
‘So, dinner?’ she asked, the picture of innocence.
‘How can I deny your mother after the help she rendered me,’ Will said, running a hand across Indy’s hair. Her heart did a little leap at his touch. ‘When did you see her last? Is she well?’
‘I was at her house yesterday as a matter of fact. We have a wonderful vegetable patch and we’ve been busy harvesting as you can see.’ She held out the basket for him to take. ‘Do with this what you like. Share it or don’t. But tomorrow night we’ll have fresh sweet potatoes and carrots, and Ma is baking a pumpkin pie.’
His stomach grumbled in response and Indy chuckled, even though it made her heart ache to know he was probably surviving on very little food.
‘I will meet you at the river,’ he said, his gaze nervously sweeping about the camp. ‘Now get out of here before they arrest you for a spy.’
With an exaggerated curtsey, she took an apple out of the basket he held and walked quickly to the gates.
Taking a bite of the apple, she tossed the rest to the grateful sentry as she left the camp.
Chapter 18
The sight of Will riding towards her the next day as she waited for him by the river sent Indy’s heart galloping faster than the speed of his horse. Standing in the stirrups, he cut a fine figure leaning forward over the neck of the animal.
Smiling broadly, as he slowed the big black animal to a walk, he dismounted with an agility that thrilled her to the bone. Opening her mouth to say something smart, she was silenced abruptly when he took her in his arms and kissed her so strongly, so passionately, that all thought, other than the exquisite feeling of his warm lips on hers, left her brain.
They separated after a moment and Indy’s head took a moment to stop spinning.
‘Good afternoon, Lieutenant,’ she said, surprised she had breath left to speak.
She never knew how he was going to react when they were together. Sometimes he was hesitant with her, as though he were still questioning their new arrangement. Other times, like this moment, it was as though he had not seen her in a year and had missed her dreadfully.
‘I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you came to the government camp,’ he told her, his voice gruff with his desire.
Although he had ridden his horse neither of them was keen to rush their time alone together, so they set off on foot towards her mother’s house.
It was a blessing to be in the shade of the trees in the heat of the late afternoon and they walked in a companionable silence for a while, listening to the horses slow clopping against the hard, narrow road and the parrots’ incessant chirping overhead.
‘Indy, we haven’t had much chance to talk since our relationship changed,’ Will began.
The tone of his voice had her self-protection senses tingling. She liked him. More than she had expected or even wanted. But that didn’t mean she was about to lose her pride and fawn all over him like some silly schoolgirl. At least, not until she’d heard what he had to say about their ‘new relationship’. So she went on the defensive.
‘Will, I understand,’ she said trying to sound more confident than she felt. ‘You’re a soldier. You will leave Ballarat eventually.’
‘That’s very mature of you, Indy.’
She studied his expression closely. Was he mocking her? He wore no smirk. No smile at all. In fact he was frowning quite vehemently.
‘Did I say something wrong?’ she asked, confused by his suddenly stormy countenance.
‘No,’ he answered but offered no more.
‘You agree then? That there is no future for us?’ she asked. Was it possible he had begun to think they could have something more? She did her best to quash the traitorous bubble of hope that rose up into her chest. Dreaming would do her no good.
‘I do,’ he said with a nod and a sideways glance at her. ‘I’m glad we’re of the same mind.’
The bubble of hope burst.
They said no more on the matter and thankfully reached her mother’s house shortly after.
***
Mary was thrilled to see Will and even more thrilled when he handed her a posy of wildflowers he had collected on the walk into the bush.
‘You are looking well, Lieutenant,’ Mary said, but gave him a second look. ‘A little thin perhaps. Do they not feed you at the government camp?’
‘Not a lot,’ he answered. ‘I fear the inhabitants of the government camp are becoming as frustrated and aggrieved with their own lot in life as the miners. Desertions are becoming commonplace. Those who don’t desert spend much of their time slobbering drunk and often end up on suspension or locked up until they are sober again. There are so many soldiers in the camp now that rations are becoming meagre. I am beyond grateful to be eating one of your delicious home-cooked meals tonight, Mrs Wallace.’
‘More soldiers?’ Mary asked and looked at Indy with concern. ‘Are things getting so precarious in Ballarat that the entirety of the Queen’s Army will soon be descending upon us?’
Will laughed to set Mary’s mind at ease but Indy stayed quiet. Unusually quiet. He could see by Mary’s frequent glances at her daughter that she had noticed Indy’s solemnness too.
‘The fillets of kangaroo will be ready soon,’ Mary said. ‘Why don’t you two go and sit out on the porch? It’s cooled down now that the sun has gone.’
Mary handed them both a beaker of cold tea and shuffled them out of the house.
The evening was calm, and with a strange new unease between them, Will sat on the top step while Indy chose one of the little wooden chairs on the other side of the porch. They watched the stars beginning to wink into sight through the tops of the tall stringybark gums. Birds were singing their last songs of the day and crickets and other bugs warmed up to conduct the night symphony. But between Will and Indy, the silence was deafening.
Will had never seen Indy so subdued and wondered what was going on in that head of hers.
‘Indy.’
‘Mmm? What?’ she asked smiling weakly down at him.
‘Is everything okay? You’ve been so quiet since we arrived.’
‘I’m just relaxed. Mother’s house does that to me.’
It was obvious she was lying to him, but knowing of the secretive ways of women he decided to err on the side of caution and leave her to her thoughts.
Throughout dinner, Will kept Mary and Indy entertained with stories from inside the camp.
‘So Timmons pretended to be sick—dying of cholera or some such terminal disease,’ Will continued with a story he was telling about his tent mate and friend. ‘Turns out he was helping a young medic soldier named Briggs who is in love with a pretty nurse living in the Canadian camp. The young lovers had hatched a plan. Briggs was sent to care for Timmons in his terrible state, and called for the nurse to help out. Of course, when the nurse arrived Timmons made himself scarce so that the pair could have their time alone. Only while Briggs was entertaining the young lass in our tent, Timmons was sitting beneath a tree in the compound scoffing down that strawberry jam you gave him, Indy. Captain Wise comes along—’
‘Oh no!’ Mary exclaimed but then laughed, clearly knowing what was coming next.
‘Oh yes! Wise says, “I say, Timmons, I thought you were on your deathbed”,’ Will mimicked in an over-exaggerated voice of authority.
‘Timmons looks up at him, completely lost for a good excuse and with a face covered in strawberry jam and says “I got better, sir”.’
The ladies laughter filled the house.
‘Poor Briggs has been on latrine duty for the last week,’ Will said shaking his head.
‘And what of Timmons?’ Mary asked.
Will sighed largely for effect. ‘He lost his stash of strawberry jam to Captain Wise. The poor man is devastated. I think he’d hav
e preferred latrine duty.’
‘Oh, Lieutenant,’ Mary said, wiping her eyes that had teared up with her laughter. ‘You do tell a good tale. We’ll have to send Lieutenant Timmons some more strawberry jam. And what of the young couple? The Canadian nurse and Briggs?’
Will cleared his throat, his jovial mood gone. ‘I believe her father has banned her from ever seeing Briggs again. We soldiers are the enemy.’
And there was no more laughter.
He crossed glances with Indy. Her eyes were dull in the candlelight. The light they’d held and radiated throughout his story seemed to have been snuffed.
Mary’s movement to the kitchen bench broke the locked stare between them.
Will stood. ‘I should be getting back to the camp.’
‘Are you staying here tonight, Indy?’ her mother asked.
‘No,’ she answered, standing as well. ‘I should get back too.’
The three walked outside to where Will’s horse was tied to a hitching post.
‘Farewell, Lieutenant,’ Mary said. ‘Take good care of yourself.’
‘Thank you for dinner, Mrs Wallace.’
‘William Marsh, we both know I am not a Mrs anything to anybody,’ Mary said sighing.
He smiled and moved to kiss her forehead. ‘Goodnight, Mary. Take care.’
She laid a hand to his cheek and smiled contentedly.
Will mounted his horse and then helped Indy swing up behind him.
‘Bye, Ma,’ Indy said as Will steered the horse into the darkness of the bush.
***
Only the pale moon peeking through the treetops lit the way along the road back to Ballarat. They rode in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts as the horse walked slowly.
‘I’ve missed you,’ Will said suddenly and lifted her hand from his waist to kiss her palm.
‘Have you?’
‘Of course. Have you not missed me?’
She stayed quiet. Her brain was full of his story about the Canadian nurse and her soldier. And all she could think about was that no matter what happened, whether they were caught fraternising or Will got his marching orders, this thing between them had no future. Any small admission of her feelings seemed fraught with danger for her suddenly very female heart.
Will twisted in the saddle and put his hand to her cheek. Then his lips were on hers, soft and warm and able to set fires burning low in her abdomen. He had a gifted mouth and she squeezed her arms about him, to hold him closer.
But he pulled his mouth away too soon and turned back to the road ahead. And her heart sank.
‘Have you missed me?’ he asked again, his deep voice sending shivers through her entire body.
She sighed, glad he couldn’t see her face and the tears that shimmered in her eyes.
‘Far too much for my own good,’ she mumbled, putting her cheek to his broad, warm back and inhaling his wonderful manly scent.
She felt his body relax and they walked the horse in silence back to Ballarat.
As they reached the edges of town, Indy could see Miss Margaret’s tent city.
‘I think it would be smarter for us to part ways here,’ Indy said.
‘But it’s dark,’ Will argued.
‘You are so clever, Will Marsh,’ she teased him. ‘You know we cannot be seen together.’
‘I know.’
Reining in his horse, he once again twisted in the saddle to kiss her. It was a long, soft kiss and when he ended it, he dropped a light kiss on her nose too.
‘Stay safe, beautiful girl.’
She hooked her arm through his and swung down to the ground.
‘You too,’ she said and continued to watch him as he urged his horse forward and away from her. Taking a deep breath, she left the road and disappeared into the bushland that would put her on a shortcut to the Eureka camp.
***
The man behind the tree no longer hid the glow of his cigarillo.
He watched the girl disappear into the darkness of the bush. His darling daughter, he thought grinding his teeth with disgust. When Sergeant Donnelly turned back to the horse and its rider, Will’s red coat caught the light of Miss Margaret’s as he passed by on his way back to the government camp.
Donnelly’s grin was venomous. So his girl was bedding a soldier. Seemed little Miss High and Mighty wasn’t so innocent after all. Like mother, like daughter.
Her mother had been just as willing as he had when he’d taken her into the shed all those years ago. She’d been flirting with him for weeks. He knew when a woman wanted him and when she was only playing coy just to get him even more excited. But then she’d acted as though he’d forced himself upon her. What rubbish! She’d been smart enough to stay silent on the matter. But then she’d announced she was with child and, although she’d never accused him, he knew the kid was his. Unfortunately, his friend, having seen him flirting with the kitchen maid, had also become suspicious. At that point Donnelly figured it was safer to keep his distance from everyone concerned.
Even after Mary Wallace had left the employ of his friend, he saw her and the baby out in London occasionally. He was close to being nominated for parliament and something had to be done to ensure the bastard child never came back to haunt him. Watching from the street, he’d seen the fear in Mary’s expression as she’d read the anonymous note he’d left on her doorstep. He knew the threat alone had been adequate when news reached him that she and his illegitimate offspring had left England for Australia.
Before seeing to his political aspirations in London however, his own move to this horrid land became unavoidable when another woman, a business colleague’s daughter this time, had accused him publicly of assaulting her. It was flee the country or be arrested and quite possibly sent to Australia on a very different part of the ship.
The last thing he’d expected was to run into Mary and the girl in Melbourne. It had been over ten years but he’d recognised her out at the market one day. She was still a beauty. He’d followed her home and the look on her face when he knocked on her door was priceless. She’d been terrified. And after a short discussion he’d had no qualms that she would continue to keep her silence on the child’s paternity. What he didn’t count on though, was her telling the girl who he was. He’d passed her on the way out of Mary’s house. No longer a girl, she was closer to a woman, and just as beautiful as the mother. And he hated her for everything she stood for her—the death of his goals, the smothering of his ambitions.
A bitter taste filled his mouth and he spat at the ground. A miner girl whoring herself to a soldier. That little bit of information could be quite useful. His smile came slow and lecherous. Yes, quite useful.
***
‘You got in late last night,’ George said to Will as they strode across the compound to the mess hall.
‘I was on a patrol,’ Will entered the large tent to join the other soldiers and police.
He made a face at the sight of the runny oatmeal, the stale bread and the concoction that looked similar to what they’d had for dinner in the mess two nights ago. Even the blowflies that usually gathered en masse didn’t seem interested in the day’s offerings. Oh, how he wished for some of Mary Wallace’s home cooking.
‘This food is unfit to be given to the dogs,’ Will said.
His friend stared back at him with a look Will couldn’t discern.
‘What? Am I wrong?’
‘You’ve never lied to me before, Will.’
He closed his eyes. George was right. In the nearly twelve years they’d known each other, he’d never lied to his friend. Not once.
After his unusual evening with Indy the night before he was feeling out of sorts in so many ways. Telling George he had been out on patrol had seemed the simplest explanation for his disappearance, but he knew he owed it to his oldest and closest friend to be honest.
‘I’m sorry. Please understand, I am trying to protect you. The less you know, the better off you are.’
‘You we
re with the girl,’ George said with a hint of a smile. ‘I’m not an imbecile. But you might just be. Did Briggs’s little love affair teach you nothing? He’ll be lucky if the father of that girl doesn’t find him in the night and put a bullet in him.’
‘Indy has no father,’ Will shot back a little too loud. He looked around and lowered his voice. ‘At least not one we need to be worried about. At least, not in that way …’ He stopped. He wasn’t making any sense.
‘Why don’t you just find a woman at Miss Margaret’s like the rest of us, Will?’ George suggested. ‘This girl from the Eureka fields will give you nothing but grief, in one form or another.’
‘On that we can agree,’ Will said with a knowing grin.
‘But you’ll continue to see her anyway.’
‘Was it not you who told me I did not need to marry a girl to have a good time?’
George’s gaze narrowed. ‘Sounds like me.’
Will loaded some of the bread onto his plate before heading across the mess tent to find a table.
‘What happens when we get orders to ship out?’ George went on, following him through the maze of soldiers and police who sat and ate in segregated groups.
‘Then we ship out,’ Will answered.
‘Is it that simple?’ George asked, brightening suddenly. ‘So, you have no real feelings for this girl? Well, that’s splendid. Take what you please, enjoy her and all her amusements then cast her aside when the time comes. I underestimated you, Will.’
The anger Will felt towards George was misplaced and he knew it. He was simply being the voice of reason. But damn it if Will would have his friend talk about Indy as though she were one of his whores.
Before he could give George a piece of his mind though, he heard another voice raised louder than the rabble of the full mess tent.
‘When you tire of the girls in the brothels, boys, there are plenty of women who work the mines who would be glad of some company.’
Will’s teeth ground as he spotted the owner of the voice.
Donnelly.
‘Those who work the mines are not ladies, you see,’ Donnelly continued. ‘They may still wear skirts but they do enjoy riding with one leg on either side of the horse, if you get my meaning.’
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