Where Rainbows End

  A servant scuttled by the window, Eve, she thought it to be in the quick flash she saw. She heard Millie and the cook talking in the next room, no doubt discussing the week’s menu. What a fine sensible woman that Millie was. Philippa had done well to befriend her.

  Esther glanced again at Robson. They wouldn’t have done so well without him. She was glad he and Millie married a few months ago. They suited each other and were obviously in love. Davy needed a father, too. Esther frowned. Would Davy be as close to a grandchild as she would have? Poor Hilary still wasn’t with child and they’d been married eight months …

  Abruptly, Philippa’s pacing blocked Esther’s view. She studied her daughter, noticing the frown she wore, that she always seemed to wear now. Something had happened to her some months ago; she didn’t know what had changed her, but something certainly had.

  Not long after the fire and Gerald’s death, she’d lost all her softness, become hard. She demanded the best from everyone and usually got it. Her daughter became a work demon, a strict businesswoman with a singlemindedness that frightened Esther in its intensity. Philippa never laughed any more; the most they could hope for was a grim smile or a wry lift of her mouth. Her stiff resolve to make the stud a success had taken a toll on the happy young woman she had been.

  Esther didn’t understand her daughter, she was the first to admit it. The stud gave them a steady income and, added to that, they had the yearly wool clippings, rent from two shops Philippa had started in Goulburn, the profits from the half share in the timber mill in Mittagong recently bought, and lastly, the cattle she pastured on the vacant Meredith property. Those in England who had taunted the Nobles’ bankruptcy, their inability to rise again, would be silenced if they saw them now. They lived very comfortably, so why did Philippa insist on looking for other ways to earn more money? It ruled her life and Esther didn’t comprehend it.

  The Lindfield loan was repaid, although how that was done Esther didn’t know, and the stud was a growing success, so she hoped that perhaps now Philippa would relax. Maybe she would think about marrying Gil Ashford and having children. The poor boy had waited long enough for certain, and was violently in love with her, even if she didn’t see it.

  ‘Mother!’

  Esther shook herself, realising that Philippa had been talking. ‘Forgive me, dear, I was miles away.’

  Philippa raised an eyebrow, her face a mask of irritation. ‘Indeed!’ She folded her arms and tapped her foot. ‘I was saying that we can no longer keep paying the outrageous wages that labourers demand. I’ll not see our profits dwindle to satisfy the greed of men who end up wasting their wages in inns and brothels.’

  Esther flinched at her words. Her daughter’s bluntness always surprised her. ‘Well, what do you mean to do?’

  Grant flexed his arms and straightened in the chair. ‘The goldfields are attracting not only men from this region but from the whole country and beyond the oceans. Those who don’t go seeking gold know they can command high wages to landowners needing assistance because of the shortage of available men.’

  Pippa snorted and paced again. ‘I’ll not be held to ransom from workers who work no harder despite the higher rates!’

  ‘You’re acting as though the departing labourers are slighting you.’ Grant shook his head. ‘They aren’t. They are just looking for ways to better themselves.’

  ‘At my expense!’ Pippa glared at him. ‘I’ll not go under due to their lack of loyalty.’

  ‘Will you stop that infernal pacing, dearest?’ Esther frowned. ‘You exhaust me.’ She put a hand to her heart. She never rested easy when Grant and Philippa were in close proximity. Her daughter’s unpredictable nature in regards to Grant kept everyone who knew her on edge, waiting for her to do something untoward. Thankfully, the past had not repeated itself and Philippa had done nothing to cause scandal between the two families so far. In fact, her daughter only looked at Grant with something akin to loathing now and refused to talk about him in conversation. It was hard to imagine she once loved him.

  Stopping by the window that looked out over the valley, Pippa drew breath. ‘We must think of a way to compensate our expenses in wages.’ She nibbled her fingernail, forehead creased in concentration. ‘These damn gold diggings! They will destroy us if we aren’t careful.’

  Robson nodded. ‘And you can’t tell me that every man who goes there is finding gold. So many families will be ruined by a man’s greed.’

  Pippa’s head snapped up. ‘Of course! That’s the answer.’ Her brown eyes shone. ‘There must be men down there who have lost everything and have no employment. If we go to Melbourne and offer good wages and transport back here, then I’m certain some would grab the opportunity.’

  Robson scowled. ‘You want to go to the goldfields?’

  ‘It’s the only answer.’

  ‘No, Philippa.’ Horrified, Esther shook her head and painfully rose to her feet. Today her joints ached worse than ever. ‘Goldfields are unlawful places. Wild. No place for a woman. Robson will go.’

  ‘Mother, we have very few men left here to run the stud. We cannot spare Robson.’

  Esther stared at her. ‘And you cannot go alone. I forbid it.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of such foolishness.’ Grant stood, his expression showing his surprise. ‘This is utterly ridiculous, Pippa. You can’t go there.’

  ‘I’ll do what I like.’ Pippa’s expression was one of triumph. ‘I don’t plan to go alone. I’ll ask Gil to accompany me. His estate is also suffering from the lack of good men. He will agree with me this is a good idea. We work well as a team and will soon have labourers back here and the stud shall go on as before.’

  ‘I thought you two were quarrelling again?’ Esther stepped from behind the desk, hoping they could now have some refreshments. ‘I’ve never known two people who argue as much as you and Gil Ashford do.’

  ‘Our quarrels never last long nor are they serious.’ Pippa shrugged. ‘He was unhappy that I won our race from Mittagong to here.’

  Esther raised an eyebrow. ‘I wish you’d behave more ladylike. Also, Gil said you cheated.’

  ‘Is it my fault he didn’t nominate the route? Of course I’d choose the quicker way.’

  ‘But through unknown bushland? You could have been lost and never found!’ She shook her finger at her wayward child as Pippa started to protest. ‘He had a right to be angry. Your every action worries the life out of him and us.’

  ‘Nonsense.’ She tutted and turned for the door. ‘He just doesn’t like to be beaten by a woman.’

  ‘The whole district enjoys gossiping about your behaviour both in business and social life.’

  Pausing, Philippa glanced over her shoulder. ‘Men gossip about me being in business because I beat them at their own game and social gossip keeps people guessing about me, which in turn helps my business interests. They really know nothing about me, and if the district actually knew what I was up to, they’d have a lot more to gossip about!’ She gave Grant a defiant stare and left the room, with Robson following.

  Esther walked to the window and watched her daughter stride down the path towards the creek. She hoped Gil would hurry up and propose. Philippa was too wound up all the time. She’d always been high strung, but not to this extreme. There were days when her daughter’s eyes burned fever bright with some secret no one knew of. No challenge was too hard for Pippa, no task too difficult. And now she planned to venture to the lawlessness of the goldfields.

  ‘You need to rein her in, Esther,’ Grant murmured. ‘She’s too headstrong. I’m frightened by her ruthlessness in business. There are men who will not like her interference.’

  ‘Like you?’

  Grant shrugged and stepped to the door. ‘My time here is short. Pippa can do nothing to hurt my interests.’

  ‘I don’t understand her, Grant. She needs to settle down and not be so driven.’

  ‘Hasn’t she always been so? She gets fixated on something and nothing else matters,
’ his tone was cutting.

  Esther stiffened at the insult, knowing he meant Pippa’s previous devotion to him. ‘Yes, perhaps, and she has made mistakes when she was younger, but now she is focused on making this family successful. I won’t have her slighted for doing that.’

  Grant snorted dismissively. ‘Unless it becomes her ruin. She could overstretch herself and you’d be no better off than you were in England. You need to talk to her, calm her intentions. You don’t want your daughter to copy the follies of her father, do you?’

  Lifting her chin, she stared at him and the shutters slipped away from her eyes. He was no gentleman like his father Howard, and she wanted him gone. ‘Do you plan to sail to England soon?’

  ‘In a month or two. I want my children born at home.’

  ‘Cynthia is with child?’

  ‘No … but one day I hope we will be blessed.’

  ‘Then if we do not see you before you sail, I wish you every happiness,’ she said, making it clear they would not travel to Sydney to see them off.

  His eyes grew cold. ‘Thank you, and I you.’ With a small bow he left.

  Esther sighed and worried her fingernail with her teeth. She was getting too old for all this anxiety. Looking around the room, noting the accounts on the desk, the ledgers on the shelf, it dawned on her that with Pippa gone, she would be in sole charge of the stud. For a moment panic filled her, then her heart rate steadied and her mind cleared. Never in her life had she been allowed to participate in business matters, much to her annoyance, as she was certain she couldn’t have muddled it any worse than Gerald had done. Yet now she had a chance …

  She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. A small smile played on her lips as she left the room.

  Pippa shuddered as a drop of rain slipped under her collar. The grey wash blighted the landscape and reduced visibility. Her rented horse stumbled on the muddy, rutted road. She gathered in the reins, not yet familiar with this mount. They had agreed at the start of organising this venture that they’d not take their own beloved mounts and instead take a selection of horses from the Ashford stables in Sydney. Now she wished she’d demanded to bring Honey.

  To take her mind off the inclement weather and her wet clothes, she thought of the few days they spent in Sydney before sailing to Melbourne. It had taken them weeks to prepare and organise the trip to the goldfields. It was November before they departed Berrima for Sydney. She had managed to spend an hour with Hilary and Toby. She was delighted they were blissfully happy in their sedate way.

  At times, she’d missed Hilary’s steadying influence, but thankfully, she’d made her life so busy that Hilary’s absence wasn’t as acute as it might have been. Besides, she had Millie and was grateful.

  Unbidden, Grant came to mind and she straightened in the saddle. Her plan to see him ruined was gradually taking shape. He knew nothing of her revenge and she smiled inside at the thought. Let him think that she harboured no ill feelings towards him. Let him assume she believed his silly lies that he’d always been her friend. God rot him! She knew the truth. Nothing would make her think of him in a kind way again, but she could pretend. Oh yes, she was doing exactly what he had done for years.

  His infrequent visits to the valley allowed her to make veiled inquiries about his investments and business dealings, which later she made sure to be secretly a part of. With Gil’s help, she had already bought shares in one of Grant’s companies, unbeknownst to anyone, by using an agent. At the time, it had taken all her capital, which had been difficult to hide from her mother, but she’d done it. If all her plans came to fruition, the day would arrive when she would be wealthier than Grant and ever so slowly she would begin to buy up his properties, reducing him to nothing. Her goal was Lindfield Manor in Yorkshire. One day it would be hers.

  A splatter of rain dislodged from an overhead tree branch hit Pippa’s face, and she jerked back to the present. The wretched day matched the horrid journey since leaving Sydney harbour. They had endured stormy days at sea, being tossed around like a cork in a bucket, hugging the coastline down to Melbourne. The appalling weather, not at all summery, continued on their arrival and had them holed up in their hotel for over a week before Pippa lost all patience and decided to head out for the goldfields anyway, against Gil’s angry demands to stay.

  She slowed the horse’s stride to glance at her companions. Gil’s handsome profile seemed to be etched in granite, so cold and detached did he look. They hadn’t spoken to each other since that morning. Augusta rode hunched over the saddle in dejected misery. Pippa shook her head. Augusta had insisted on accompanying them on this journey, wanting to share the adventure. She had no one to blame but herself if she now found it harder than expected. Behind them rode Mick, Gil’s man, leading the packhorse.

  Shivering from the cold, she looked over at Gil again. She wasn’t used to his silence, his indifference. She relied on his humour and good spirits to cheer her, to save her from becoming too harsh. Usually, Gil never took anything seriously. He laughed away concerns with a sense of ease that impressed those who knew him. She so much enjoyed his company. His intelligence and caring made him a perfect friend, but lately they’d been bickering more often than not and she wasn’t sure why.

  Their argument this morning was regrettable, certainly, but she stood by her decision. Nothing could be gained by being cooped up in a hotel room. What was a bit of rain, for heaven’s sake?

  Pippa frowned and thought hard, trying to remember when they had last spent a day without some heated discussion on some subject or other. With surprise she concluded that most times, Gil started these snappy little word wars. Why? Why was he changing from her cheery friend into this man of sullenness whenever he was in her company? Their friendship had turned for the worse in the last few months. Sometimes Gil went from being devoted to near hating her. None of it made sense.

  ‘Pippa?’ Gil suddenly reined in closer.

  Her head snapped up and she stared at him. ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear you.’

  ‘I said we should stop and make camp. I’ve checked the map and there isn’t another inn for miles yet. We’ve seen no shelter for an hour. The evening is drawing in earlier with this weather.’

  Nodding, she peered into the cold gloom, praying for a wayside inn to appear from nowhere. ‘I guess you’re right, but it shan’t be a comfortable night for us.’

  ‘No. And I’m not happy that we are fair game for any bushranger or scoundrel that may come upon us.’

  ‘You have your gun?’

  ‘Yes, and Mick has one, too. Damn, this is not what I had planned.’

  ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine. Don’t worry.’

  His green eyes narrowed for a moment and she expected to hear his grievances again. Instead, he twisted around in the saddle and called for Mick to search for a suitable campsite.

  A short time later they reined in at a small clearing that showed evidence of an old campfire. Gil and his man rigged up a canvas sheet as a sort of shelter to cook under and erected two tents while Pippa worked hard to get the damp wood to burn hot enough to boil water for a pot of tea.

  As Gil predicted, the light faded under heavy, slate-grey clouds. The fire spit and spluttered in vain against the misty drizzle; that it held any embers at all was a mystery.

  Pippa shifted her weight, flexing each aching foot. There was nowhere dry to sit; could she stand all night? Glancing over at the forlorn tents being buffeted by the rain, she shivered again. Sleeping in that would be no pleasure, for Gil had carried it only as a precaution. They never really expected to sleep in it because maps and information they’d gleaned since arriving in Melbourne showed many inns on the route to the goldfields. Stupidly, they were not prepared for sleeping rough.

  As if to make their little camp more miserable, the wind blew again, slanting the rain in under the awning. Behind her, she heard Gil curse as he and Mick secured the horses for the night.

  ‘I should have listened to Mama.’ Augusta snif
fed, pulling her coat tighter around her shoulders. ‘She said I should not go with you.’

  ‘We’ll have a hotel room for tomorrow night, I’m certain,’ Pippa soothed.

  Augusta wiped her damp hair off her face. ‘We should have kept riding and found proper shelter. It was silly to stop out here in the middle of the bush.’

  ‘Where is your sense of adventure?’ Pippa frowned at her friend’s petulance. ‘I never thought you’d be the one to complain about one night of being uncomfortable.’

  A large sneeze erupted from Augusta, bodily shaking her. Pippa stepped closer and peered at her. A sickening thud of fear gripped her as Augusta raised watery eyes and a flushed face. In a flash Pippa felt her friend’s forehead and even though her fingers were numb with cold, the heat from Augusta’s face shocked her.

  ‘I’m all right, Pippa.’

  ‘No, you’re not, by God!’ Pippa pulled her so close to the fire they risked being singed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you felt ill?’

  ‘I’d only have slowed you down and become a responsibility.’ Augusta swayed. ‘But I seem to be getting worse.’

  ‘You silly fool!’ Pippa hugged her and then quickly pulled away to look around for Gil.

  ‘No, don’t let him know.’ Augusta shook her head, eyes pleading. ‘He’ll worry too much, take risks. I shall be well by morning.’

  ‘In this weather?’ Pippa snorted.

  ‘It’s just over an hour’s ride back to that last inn we passed.’ Augusta trembled, her face grew redder. ‘I could—’

  ‘We have the tent. Why not lie down for a while? I’ll make you some tea.’

  ‘The tent is damp, everything we have is damp. No, it’s best if I go back.’

  Gil stepped into the circle of weak light cast by the pitiful fire. ‘We’ll all go back.’ He looked at his sister, anger tightening his face. ‘Look at you. You should have told us you were sick. I am responsible for your welfare.’

  ‘I refuse to be coddled like a child. A few sniffles won’t see me perish.’

  ‘Heaven forbid,’ Gil snapped.