“I shouldn’t have left.”
Once more they lapsed into silence. The evening breeze ruffled the leaves above their heads.
“How is Millie?”
Joseph took a moment to respond to his father’s question.
“I don’t really know. She’s … distant. I’m worried I’ve let her down so badly she won’t be able to forgive me. I should have been here to protect my wife and son.”
“I understand. I keep going over it myself. I think Millie blames herself for Robert’s accident.”
Joseph turned to his father in surprise. “Why would she do that?”
Thomas shook his head. “We all felt we should have done better to prevent it.”
“I don’t understand, Father, what was Robert doing out at the house in the dark?”
“Have you talked about it with Millie?”
“Yes. She said he got restless some nights but she didn’t elaborate and I don’t like to press her.”
“She hasn’t said anything else about that night?”
“No.” Joseph leaned towards his father. “Did something else happen?”
“She didn’t want me to say anything.” Thomas continued to stare into the night. “But I’m worried about her.”
Joseph’s stomach squirmed. He reached out to touch his father’s arm. “Please, if there’s something more tell me. I need to know what happened.”
Thomas turned weary eyes to his son. “Jack Aldridge was here that night.”
“Jack? What for?”
Thomas drew in a deep breath then slowly let it out. “I can only tell you what I know. The rest you’ll have to ask Millie.”
Joseph’s stomach churned more. What did that mean? Millie and Jack. Joseph felt cold. He had been away a long time.
“Before you go jumping to any conclusions, your wife loves you. Remember that. Jack Aldridge was not here that night at her bidding.” Once more Thomas looked off into the darkness. “We had all retired for the night. The girls were in my spare room, Millie and Robert up at the quarters and everyone else away. Like Robert I sometimes don’t sleep well. I took a walk along the creek and I came across Jack’s horse, tethered in the bushes a way back from the house. It seemed odd. I took his gun and went to find my own. I discovered Jack in the new house with … I believe he was going to … well anyway my arrival stopped him from hurting Millie any more.”
Joseph leapt to his feet. “He hurt Millie?”
“Not badly but there had obviously been a fight. He had scratches down his cheek and … Millie had a scrape on her neck.”
Joseph shook his head. “She didn’t tell me.”
“Jack left and then we realised Robert was missing. Millie had sent him to fetch me when she saw Jack coming but he never found me. For some reason he climbed over one of the walls. The top layer dislodged and he fell …” Thomas’s shoulders sagged. “Like you I wish I’d been there and I know Millie wishes she hadn’t sent Robert to find me but we can’t undo what’s done.”
“What should I do?”
“Give her time.” Thomas stood. “I’m going to bed. You should too.”
“Good night, Father.” Joseph put his head back and stared up at the stars. The night sky glittered like thousands of diamonds. He felt so useless and small. His wife needed him yet wouldn’t let him get close. He stood and picked up a stone from the small pile Robert had used to make his marble tracks. Joseph threw the stone into the darkness and turned for his hut.
The days continued to slip by and 1889 began with little acknowledgment from those at Wildu Creek. Like the months before, the gruelling weather continued into January. Even the cooler night-time breeze from the gully had deserted them. Everyone was listless from the heat. Dust seeped through the gaps of the quarters into every corner and flies made their lives a misery.
It was late afternoon, grey clouds were building on the horizon and the heat was oppressive. Joseph had taken it upon himself to improve their living conditions in the quarters. He was hammering some small pieces of wood over the larger gaps around the doors to each room in an attempt to keep them a little more dust free.
“Please stop.” Millie was at the door of their bedroom. She held a hand to her head.
“I’m sorry.” Joseph put down his hammer. “I thought everyone was down at the house.”
“I was … I just needed some sleep.” She swayed in the doorway.
Joseph reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. She had hardly let him touch her since he’d come home and now he could feel the bones of her arms through her shirt. She’d grown so thin in his absence. She spent most of her waking hours looking after Robert. He guided her back inside and sat her on the bed. Her eyes were round and full of sadness.
Joseph opened his mouth then closed it again. How was he to make up for all that he’d put her through alone? He didn’t want to alienate her more but he needed some answers. He sat himself on the bed beside her leaving a gap between them but taking her hand in his.
“Father told me Jack Aldridge was here the night Robert died.” He felt her hand stiffen. “Father is worried about you, like I am Millie. I have to know.” He put his large hand to her chin and gently turned her face to him. He saw more than sadness in her eyes, there was fear there as well. “Did Jack …” How was he to ask this question? “Did he hurt you?”
Millie’s lip trembled and large tears rolled silently down her cheeks. She shook her head. “He frightened me. I fought him off but he was so strong. Your father came just in time.”
A pain as sharp as a knife stabbed through Joseph but he kept outwardly calm.
“What did he—”
“Nothing more than some bruises.”
Joseph tried to pull her close but she pushed him away, her eyes focused on something on the wall beside them.
“I was down at the new house looking for Robert. I saw Jack coming and I was frightened. He thought I was playing a game with him and I knew that look in his eye.” She gripped Joseph’s hand tighter. “I told Robert to find your father.” She turned her anguished face to Joseph. “If I hadn’t sent him he wouldn’t have been injured.”
“You weren’t to know Robert would climb the wall instead of going round.”
Millie’s mouth crumpled. “I heard him whimper.” She gasped. “I thought he must have bumped himself and then Jack was there, he grabbed hold of me. He had his hand at my throat. I pushed him and scratched his cheek. He reeked of liquor and became angry. He was so strong I knew I wouldn’t survive if I tried to fight him …” Her voice trailed off.
Joseph closed his eyes as black dots of anger clouded his vision. That bastard.
“If it had just been me I would have.”
Millie’s voice forced his eyes open. “What do you mean?”
She put a hand to her stomach. “I was with child, Joseph. Our baby. I didn’t care about me but the baby … I was terrified if I fought him I would lose the baby.”
Joseph reached for her and this time she fell into his arms. Great racking sobs shuddered through her body. He held her close, stroking her hair, kissing her cheek until finally she was silent in his arms. Then he recalled her words. Was with child. She’d said ‘was’. His heart felt as if it would truly break.
Millie took a long deep breath and sat up. She put both hands against her skirt and he saw what he hadn’t noticed before. There was a small bulge even though the rest of her was so thin. “The baby still grows inside me.”
Joseph leapt to his feet then knelt in front of her taking her hands in his. He looked up into her tear-stained face. “Something good, Millie. We have to hang onto something good.”
She nodded. “I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you would be so angry you might do something silly, like go after Jack.”
“We must tell the constable.”
“No.” Millie’s tone was sharp and she shook her head. “What would I say? And what could the constable do? It’s my word against his and I can’t be
ar any more, Joseph.”
“We can’t let him get away with it. He threatened you.”
“Your father sent Jack away. I don’t think he’ll come back again.”
“But he might hurt someone else.”
Once more Millie shook her head and the tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m sorry Joseph but I can’t face it.”
He pulled her into his arms. “All right. Shhh.” He stroked her back and rocked her gently.
His thoughts turned to Jack and it was as if fire ran through his veins. Joseph would say nothing more to Millie but he knew what he had to do. There was only one way to atone for Robert’s injuries and for what Jack had done to Millie. Joseph had to kill Jack Aldridge.
In the gloomy light of the room next door William lay on his bed keeping as still as his fury would let him. Like Millie he had been trying to get some rest out of the heat. Outside there was not a breath of air. The sun was hidden behind the thickening clouds. There was no relief from its ferocity and yet William sensed something was building. Like a festering boil there was little to see until it exploded. Not a creature stirred except his father, even the birds had gone quiet as if waiting for something to happen. Inside his room the air was so hot it was like a great weight pressing down on him. He had been just about to get up and help his father with the hammering when Millie had spoken. William had remained silent and through the thin wall he had heard most of what had been said.
He should have told his father about Jack’s visit that day he’d almost bailed Millie up and William had fired a shot. Perhaps they would have dealt with their vile neighbour then and there and saved Millie and Robert from their injuries. William didn’t blame Millie for the accident. It was Jack Aldridge’s fault and he would have to pay for all the grief he’d caused.
Forty-nine
1889
Huge clouds rolled overhead as Henry rode up the hill to Smith’s Ridge. There had been no movement of air when he’d left Hawker now the wind whipped at his coat and swirled dust in his face. Something was brewing. A low rumble reverberated behind him. Henry didn’t expect anything much would come of it. For three years they’d had little more than showers of rain. A hawk wheeled overhead screeching its lonely cry into the wind.
Henry shuddered as a shiver ran down his back. He had been riding since early morning and his behind ached along with his back. The only reason he’d come by horse was to get here quickly and then be ready for a swift departure.
His anger at Jack Aldridge had deepened with every hour he drew closer to Smith’s Ridge. Jack’s audacity at coming into Henry’s home, playing up to Catherine and then leaving a sign of his presence was beyond endurance. Jack had to go and Henry was going to convince him with the last of the money he’d been able to scrounge and the point of a gun.
With Jack gone he would be able to rid himself of the burden of Smith’s Ridge. It would leave him only his shop and business was poor. To top it off he’d been ousted from the council at their last meeting. The council had survived but the number of councillors had been cut from ten to five and Henry had lost his position. He hated the thought of it but his only option would be to sell up and move back to Adelaide. He blew out a breath. At least his mother and Catherine would be pleased.
Henry halted his horse before he reached the clearing around the house. The noise of the wind covered any sounds he might make. He needed to sneak up on Jack and put himself in a position of advantage. The firearm felt comfortable in his hands now. He had stopped along the way to practise. He’d found it easy to imagine the large swirls of bark on a tree were Jack’s face. Even so, Henry hoped his threats and the money would be enough to send his half-brother away for good.
The sound of hammering drew his attention towards the shearing shed. Henry smiled. Jack was up a ladder fighting with a piece of loose iron on the roof. How very convenient. Here was a way to rid himself of Jack, permanently. His death would be made to look like an accident. A wayward shot during a fall from a ladder while carrying a firearm was perfect.
William had left home before the sun had come up enough to reveal the murky sky. His family would assume he’d gone early to check fences and waterholes as he often did. The light grey clouds of morning had turned to thick dark clouds as he’d ridden towards Smith’s Ridge and the wind had grown. In the distance he heard the first low rumbling of thunder. The skin on the back of his neck prickled. He peered up at the sky. The clouds were black and tumbling at speed just above the ridges. He prayed there would be rain in them.
He’d arrived by mid-afternoon and found a vantage point in the trees to the east of the house. His horse was tethered well away out of sight. Jack Aldridge’s gun rested on the ground beside him. William had taken it from his grandfather’s house while Thomas was sleeping. He thought about how he could use the gun to make Jack’s death look like an accidental shooting. For hours he’d watched Jack come and go, feeding horses, working on a broken rail in their yard and then beginning to batten things down as the wind had grown stronger. A piece of the shearing shed roof had started to clang and Jack had made his way up there and was now on a ladder trying to fix it.
William’s innards rumbled and churned as if something was clawing its way about inside him. He swallowed the saliva that pooled in his mouth and picked up the gun. The branches over his head tossed harder and somewhere more iron clanged. He took a deep breath. If he was going to do this he had to do it now. A movement caught his eye beyond the shed. He peered out from his tree. It was a man taking careful steps. William couldn’t make out who it was but he could see that the man carried a gun.
Joseph had made good time to reach Smith’s Ridge by late afternoon. He had followed the ridge top at the back of the sheds. This property had been his and he knew it better than anyone. From his vantage point beyond the shearing shed he had a clear view of everything.
He hadn’t been able to leave too early this morning. Not after Millie’s outpouring yesterday and then their tender lovemaking last night. She’d been so hesitant to even let him touch her. It had broken his heart that his happy, loving Millie had been so frightened by Jack’s attack. He loved her so much he only hoped that love could bring back the woman he knew. It would take some healing but she had accepted his love and gently offered it back. Last night had been the beginning. Now he was here to avenge her and his son’s injuries. Jack Aldridge was going to pay.
The weather was getting wilder. The clouds overhead were almost black and he could see lightning in the distance and thunder echoed across the hills. How ironic if they finally got some decent rain. Jack’s death would bring new life.
Joseph tethered his horse and settled to watch. The clanging of iron drew his attention, and Aldridge’s. Joseph watched as the bastard of a man took a ladder and moved to the shed. He disappeared from Joseph’s sight then reappeared on the roof. Joseph raised his firearm. It would be the perfect shot but Jack was too far away.
A clap of thunder sounded closer and a few drops of rain began to fall. Joseph pushed his hat firmly on his head and started down the ridge.
Jack was hammering the last nail into the iron when a loud clap of thunder overhead made him jump and he almost lost his footing. The wind whipped at him and large drops of rain clattered over the iron. The air quivered around him. He’d done enough. It was time to go inside and wait out the storm. The ladder wobbled precariously below him as he moved down a step.
“Stay there.”
Jack looked down in surprise at the figure standing below him. It was Henry and he was pointing a firearm at him. Stupid fool.
Henry shook the ladder and Jack slipped down one rung.
“What are you doing, Henry?” He slid down one more rung as Henry was startled by a flash of lightning.
“You’re going to have an accident, Jack.” Henry’s face was split in a malicious grin. He wobbled the ladder again.
Jack hung on tighter, assessing the distance between himself and the ground. “What’s the matter, Hen
ry,” he called calmly. “Has something upset you?”
“You living and breathing.” Henry shouted over the rumble of thunder. “That’s what upsets me, Jack.”
Jack judged he was close enough to jump. The next time Henry shook the ladder Jack sent his weight to one side. The ladder toppled sideways and Jack jumped to the ground, knocking Henry over as he went. Jack spied the iron bar he used to dig holes leaning against the shed, scooped it up and spun to face his brother. Henry was still sprawled on the ground trying to reach his firearm. Jack got to it first. He used the butt of it to hit Henry across the forehead. His brother fell back groaning.
“What were you planning to do with this, Henry?” he yelled into the wind.
“Shoot you, I think.”
Jack spun. William was crossing the yard, the firearm in his hands raised.
“So you took my gun.” Jack laughed. “You’ve come a long way to shoot wild dogs, boy.”
William raised the firearm to his eye and looked down the barrel. “I have one in my sights right now.”
Jack stopped laughing. The stupid boy was probably a good shot. He’d better be careful. He dropped the gun but not the bar. He flicked a look from William to Henry who was still moaning on the ground, then another movement caught his eye. Joseph Baker was coming from beside the shearing shed, only feet away. Jack saw surprise on William’s face. He swung the iron bar and connected with the boy’s shoulder. William let out a yell and fell to the ground clutching his arm.
“William!”
Jack spun, swinging wildly with the bar, as Joseph called out. He missed the man but knocked the firearm from his hands. Joseph reeled back but Jack brought the bar around knocking his feet from under him.
“Stupid fools.” Jack bellowed.
“Why didn’t you shoot him, Baker?” Henry was struggling to sit up.
Jack kept an eye on Joseph and shoved out his boot to push Henry back.
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