He put a trembling finger to her lips. ‘Shhh. Let me speak first. Please?’ He eyed her solemnly and cleared his throat. ‘I know I’m not the healthiest bloke in the world, or the most educated. I’m gunna be stuck with this malaria for the rest of my life, but I have a good station in Jarrah, and because of you and Aurelia there’s money in the bank and a healthy mob of cattle in the pastures.’
Alicia could feel his rather damp grip on her hands and wished he’d release her. Yet she realised he was determined to have his say, and because of the fragile friendship she’d shared with this man she couldn’t quite bring herself to her usual cutting iciness.
‘War taught me many things, Alicia, and one of them is that a man isn’t meant to live out his life alone. I want you to marry me,’ he said firmly. ‘I want you to come and live at Jarrah as my wife.’
Alicia froze. She had known this was coming. Had prepared for it ever since his return from the military hospital. It was time she put him out of his misery. ‘I...’ she began.
‘Don’t give me your answer now, Alicia,’ he said with a touch of desperation. ‘Think about it. We’ve got all the time in the world now the war’s over.’
Alicia looked into his face. His skin was dark from the sun, the streaks of grey more prolific in the jet of his hair. He was too thin, but still handsome. Yet she wasn’t prepared to sacrifice her life for an invalid – not when she didn’t love him. ‘I can’t marry you, Mickey,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m leaving for England soon.’
‘But you’ll be coming back. Won’t you?’ His eyes were fearful, his hand suddenly cold as he gripped her fingers.
She disentangled herself and moved away. ‘I don’t belong in the outback, and I have no special feeling for Australia. It’s been an experience working with Aurelia and Ellie – an adventure of sorts – but not one I wish to prolong.’
Mickey slumped on the picnic bench, his hands drooping between his knees.
Alicia forced herself to ignore his obvious misery and forged on. He had to be made to realise she was adamant. ‘I can’t spend the rest of my life here,’ she said tamping down on her impatience. ‘The open spaces are closing in on me and I need the bright lights of the city and the noise and bustle of people who think as I do.’
He raised his head and looked at her. ‘We could always go to England for long holidays,’ he said hopefully. ‘I have the money.’
Alicia stood and brushed the dust from her shantung suit. ‘It wouldn’t work,’ she said brusquely. She was tiring of this and wanted to return to the party. She needed a drink.
‘What if I sell Jarrah and we move to England?’ His face was alight with hope as he stood and grasped her hands. ‘Would you marry me then?’
Alicia pulled away from him. ‘No,’ she said sharply.
The colour was gone from his face and beads of perspiration beaded his forehead. The fever was returning and he looked ghastly. ‘So there’s nothing I can do or say that will change your mind?’ he said in defeat.
‘Nothing,’ she replied as she turned and headed back to the hotel. Alicia was aware of him standing there watching her go and felt a twinge of unease at the callous way she’d rejected him. Then she lifted her chin and climbed the verandah steps. Life for her was about to take a turn for the better and she could hardly wait to step on to English soil again – to be amongst people she understood – to pick up the threads of the life she’d abandoned. Mickey would get over it, she decided.
*
Aurelia had eaten well and was tired despite the nap she’d had that afternoon. Now she rested back into the pillows and stared out of the window at the moon as she thought of her wedding day. She could understand her sister’s reluctance to marry Mickey, but as things turned out it would have been a brief marriage. For Mickey had died only weeks later. His heart, weakened by the sustained attacks of malaria, had finally given out.
She closed her eyes and her sigh trembled as the tears began to seep through her lashes. Mickey had been a close, dear friend and she still missed his bluff heartiness. Yet he could have had little idea of the devastation he’d wrought by his good intentions later on. And would have been mortified to know they were still reaping the whirlwind he’d sown in those last days of his life.
*
Ellie was waiting for Leanne and Angel’s return from the stockyard and was deeply engrossed in a raunchy novel she’d found on the shelves. She was rather shocked at how explicit some of the scenes were, and wondered if life really was like that in America – or if it was merely an overcharged imagination on the part of the author. She turned another page, unable to resist. The slam of the screen door and hurrying footsteps brought her from steamy LA to warm Queensland. With a guilty start she shoved the book down the back of the cushions as Claire appeared in the doorway.
‘I’m back,’ she said unnecessarily as she came into the room and flopped into a chair. ‘I’ve had a wonderful day.’ She smiled, her eyes very blue, her cheeks flushed.
‘So I see,’ said Ellie with studied mildness. ‘What have you done with him? Or shouldn’t I ask?’
‘He’s had to go home. Early start in the morning,’ said Claire airily as she poured herself a drink. ‘I said you wouldn’t mind if he came over to Warratah tomorrow night for dinner.’
‘You can cook it then,’ she replied. ‘Can’t do much with this blasted arm.’ She grinned at her daughter. ‘I’m glad you and Matt are getting on well. He’s a nice man and it’s time he moved on after Laura.’
Claire handed her a glass and sank back into the couch beside her. ‘He told me about her today. She was very young when she died, you know. Only in her twenties.’
Her expression was sad, but Ellie noticed she couldn’t quite disguise the happiness in her eyes. ‘You’re up to something,’ she said. ‘I can always tell.’
Claire’s gaze drifted from her mother to the flash of colour peeking out from behind the cushion. ‘So are you,’ she giggled as she pulled the paperback from its hiding place. ‘I know this book and it’s filthy. Really mum. Whatever next?’
Ellie lifted her chin and tried to keep her expression stern. ‘I like to keep up with what’s popular, so I thought I’d scan through it.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Claire flicked through the pages to where Ellie had turned down a corner. ‘I see you managed to scan at least two thirds of it,’ she teased. ‘Enjoying it, are you?’
Ellie felt the heat rising in her face and burst out laughing. ‘I didn’t know people did things like that,’ she spluttered. ‘Quite makes me feel inadequate. For goodness sake don’t lend it to your father.’
‘Daddy never has time to read,’ Claire said as she sipped her drink. ‘He doesn’t sit still long enough.’ She put down the glass and after tucking her feet beneath her she turned to Ellie, her expression solemn. ‘I’ve been offered another job.’
Ellie watched her daughter’s face as she talked about Matt’s plans. It was a splendid idea and she was amazed no one had thought of it sooner. ‘I don’t know what to do, mum. Matt’s a really nice bloke and it’s an exciting concept. But the post in Sydney is an opportunity I won’t get again, and I was so lucky to get it.’
‘Are you still set on returning to the city?’
Claire chewed her lip. ‘I thought I was. But now.’ She lit a cigarette and expelled the smoke in a long sigh. ‘I have to admit I’m tempted. Coming home has made me realise how much I love this place. But I hardly know Matt. What if we end up hating one another? Then there are the practicalities. I’d need money to buy in to the partnership, the patience and guts to learn how to fly, and somewhere to have as a base to work from.’
Ellie smiled. ‘You could run your practice from here,’ she said without thinking. ‘Jarrah’s perfectly placed to reach the interior.’
Claire frowned. ‘Why would I want to live here?’ she asked. ‘If I did decide to go through with this totally insane idea, I’d prefer to live on Warratah. Leanne and I are hardly the closest sisters
in the world.’
Ellie bit her lip. She’d been careless. But before she could speak a voice from the doorway interrupted. ‘What’s all this about Claire living here?’
‘Mum was just saying Jarrah was a perfect place to set up my practice.’
Leanne came in to the room followed by Angel. She poured them both a drink and remained standing by the fireplace. ‘I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, so you’d better explain.’ Her tone was flat, her eyes cold.
Ellie fidgeted while Claire repeated Matt’s plans for the flying veterinary service. She was aware of the tension rising in Leanne and knew that a furious row was about to erupt between her daughters. She picked up the glass, but her hand shook so much she spilled some on the table.
‘I never said I was planning to live here,’ Claire protested. ‘It was Mum’s idea.’
‘Good,’ said Leanne coldly. ‘I’ve got plans for this place and now I’m married you’d be in the way.’
‘Plans?’ Ellie realised she’d spoken sharply and little too loudly. She reddened as the girls eyed her. ‘What plans, Leanne?’ she said with more calm than she felt.
Leanne put one hand in her pocket as she rested the other on the mantelpiece. ‘Once Jarrah’s in my name I’ll tell you,’ she said mysteriously. ‘But until then you’ll have to wait.’ She cast a sly glance at her sister. ‘I can guarantee you’ll be amazed.’
There was a lump in Ellie’s throat that threatened to smother her. ‘I wish you’d said something earlier, Leanne.’
‘It would have spoiled the surprise,’ said Leanne. ‘Besides, it’s taken me this long to get the plans right. We don’t all have the benefit of a university education and friends in high places.’
‘That’s unfair,’ exploded Claire. ‘Don’t be such a bitch, Leanne. What did I ever do to make you hate me so?’
‘There aren’t enough hours in the day to even begin on that one,’ snarled Leanne.
Ellie was almost numb from the pain of seeing her girls so hateful, but she had to clear this up before it got out of hand. ‘Me and your Dad never made you any promises, Leanne.’ Her voice sounded as if it no longer belonged to her.
Leanne froze, the stillness within her transmitting confusion and anger as she looked down at her mother. ‘But you said you wanted me to learn how to run a station. You know how much I love it here, and although you might never have actually said Jarrah would be mine one day, you implied it.’ Her tone was icy.
Ellie clasped her hands on her lap. She could hardly bear to look in her daughter’s eyes – but Leanne demanded it. ‘It’s time we had a long talk,’ she said finally. ‘There are things me and your father should have explained to both of you a long time ago. Things Aurelia knew had to be revealed. It’s the reason why Claire’s here.’
‘Do you know what she’s talking about?’ Leanne whirled to face her sister, the spite clear in her pallor.
Claire glared back. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I was merely told to come home and clear the air.’ She saw the chill in Leanne’s eyes and the startled confusion in the silent, watchful Angel. ‘Mum? What’s going on? You’ve been telling me the history of Warratah and Jarrah, but there’s more, isn’t there? What are you hiding?’
‘I don’t know where to start,’ she replied lamely.
‘Try the beginning,’ spat Leanne.
Ellie couldn’t sit still any longer. She shoved her way out of the chair and began to pace. ‘I’ve wrestled with how I was going to tell you both, but now the time’s come I hardly know what to say. It’s been with me night and day ever since you got home.’ She put up a hand to silence her daughter’s protest. ‘It’s not your fault, Claire. It’s mine. Mine and Charlie’s, Joe’s and Mickey’s.’ She took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘If I could turn back the clock, I would. I’d give anything for the chance to change things. But I can’t. And we must all live with the consequences.’
Leanne knocked back her drink and lit a cigarette. Her eyes were cold as she glared at her mother. ‘With Claire back in the city there’s no reason why Angel and I can’t have Jarrah. We’ve made our life here, and I’ve got plans for the future.’
Ellie ran her tongue over her lips. Once spoken, the words could never be taken back. The floodgates were open and now she was being swept into the maelstrom that was the past. ‘Jarrah was never yours,’ she whispered. ‘It belongs to Claire.’
15
‘You bitch.’ Leanne was vibrating with shock and rage. It was a dangerous combination and she shrugged off Angel’s warning hand as rounded on her sister. ‘So that’s why you came home. You knew all about this didn’t you?’
‘No,’ gasped Claire, her eyes wide with horror. ‘I’d never do something like that.’
‘Miss perfect,’ she spat. ‘Little miss goody-two-shoes. Butter wouldn’t bloody melt would it? You waltz in here and take over just like you always do. You’ve got Mum and Dad wrapped around your little finger and you expect us all to dance to your bloody tune.’ She poked Claire in the chest – hard. ‘Well you’ve struck out. I’m not playing your game. Jarrah’s mine and I’ll kill you if you try and take it away.’
‘It’s not a game,’ shouted Ellie. ‘And it’s nothing to do with Claire. Please, Leanne, can’t we discuss this like adults?’
‘That’s it. Defend her as always.’ She glared at Ellie, the rage so great she could barely focus. ‘I’ve sweated and struggled to make a go of it here while Golden Girl’s been drifting about on Dad’s allowance in Sydney, and you’ve never given me a word of praise. I’ve had to work bloody hard to get what I want, but all she has to do is crook her little finger and you slobber all over her.’
‘That’s not true, and you know it,’ protested a white faced Ellie.
‘Isn’t it?’ she hissed. ‘Tell me, mother – who left home under a cloud? Who caused so much trouble five years ago that you’ve hardly spoken to her since? Who has just been handed my Jarrah on a bloody plate?’
‘It’s not like that. Please, Leanne.’
Leanne was on a roll. All the years of bitterness rose to the surface and she wasn’t about to let the moment pass. ‘The prodigal returns! Hallelujah! Bring on the fatted calf as well as the rest of the mob. And here’s Jarrah, just in case you felt left out.’ Tears sparked in her eyes and she angrily dashed them away. ‘I was the one who stayed here. The one who desperately needed you to notice me. I thought you would love me once she’d gone. But nothing’s changed, has it?’ She ignored her mother’s gasp of horror as she caught her sister’s glance at Angel. ‘Why don’t you take him as well?’ she stormed. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at him, no doubt you won’t be satisfied until you have it all.’
‘Leanne!’ Angel stood helplessly between the girls, his dark eyes pleading with Leanne to calm down. ‘Is bad these things you say. I want you. Only you.’
Leanne’s cold gaze swept over her sister, noting the slender hips and flat stomach, the elegant neck and the long fair hair that fell to her waist. Even in times of trouble she still had the capacity to appear cool and composed. Bitch.
‘Grow up, Leanne.’ Claire’s tone matched the coolness in her eyes. ‘I don’t want your husband or your bloody station. One’s a pretty boy gigolo and the other’s a millstone.’
‘Is not so!’ Angel argued loudly. ‘I love Leanne – only Leanne.’
Leanne struck out, her hand connecting with Claire’s cheek so hard it left the imprint of her fingers. In the shocked silence that followed she stormed out of the room, her boot-heels rapping loudly on the floor.
Slamming into her bedroom, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe her parents could have betrayed her like this. Couldn’t believe that all she’d done here was for her sister’s benefit. ‘It’s not fair,’ she hissed through stormy tears. Claire had everything from looks to brains and the capacity to earn more than she ever could. Now she was being handed Jarrah. Her Jarrah.
Leanne pushed away from t
he door and found the roll of plans. She threw them on the bed, the tears hot on her face, the disappointment and hurt so great she thought she would die. All the hard work, the sleepless nights and harrowing days had been for nothing. Her future merely pieces of useless, flaming paper.
Moments later she gathered up the plans and strode back to the lounge. Tears wouldn’t do her any good. She had to make a stand and fight for what she wanted. It was time to make Mum see sense. Time to sort this out once and for all.
*
Claire was isolated in her misery, her arms wrapped around her waist as she stared out of the window. A solitary tear trickled down her face, but she was almost unaware of it. How could Leanne hate her so much? Why did she think Claire had deliberately stolen Jarrah from her when she’d had no idea of mum’s plans. What the hell were mum and dad thinking of to do this? She turned at the sound of her sister’s voice.
‘I want to show you something.’ Leanne placed the plans on the sofa table.
‘I don’t want Jarrah,’ Claire began. ‘I never wanted Jarrah.’
‘Doesn’t alter the fact it’s yours,’ Leanne snapped. ‘But then why should I be surprised? You always were Dad’s golden girl.’
It was a snipe, guaranteed to force a reaction. ‘That’s not fair,’ retorted Claire. ‘Mum and Dad have always treated us the same. I’m as mystified as you by all this.’ She approached Leanne, and hesitantly reached out in reconciliation. ‘Please don’t let’s fight.’
Leanne slapped her hand away. ‘I’m not going to stand by and let you take everything,’ she said coldly. ‘We might be sisters, but you know precious little about me if you think I’m going to let you get away with this.’
‘Stop it. Both of you,’ demanded Ellie. ‘Claire didn’t know anything, Leanne. And I’m ashamed of your outrageous behaviour.’
Leanne folded her arms. ‘So what am I supposed to do, Mum?’ she barked. ‘Roll over and let her take Jarrah?’ She breathed in sharply. ‘It’s mine by right. I demand you change whatever you’ve done and hand it over to me.’
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