Band of Gold

by Deborah Challinor

  ‘Me?’

  ‘Yes. I cannot go myself as I have commitments here, and she has told me she will not travel in the company of any other man unchaperoned, and I will not force her to. You must understand what lies behind her insistence about that.’

  ‘Yes, of course I do.’

  ‘I will pay all your expenses, of course, and compensate you for your absence at the bakery.’

  Kitty waved away such silliness. ‘I will need to speak to my husband. The situation is a little delicate at the moment. He managed to become involved in the battle last night and Rede’s men are still trying to track down the participants. If I were to go to Melbourne I’d want to make sure he’s avoided arrest before I leave. When were you thinking of sending her?’

  ‘If you are amenable, at the end of the week?’

  Kitty thought; it was Sunday today, five days should be long enough. Unless Sergeant Coombes decided to play out a vendetta. ‘I would be honoured to escort Bao to Melbourne, Mr Wong. We’ve become very fond of her over the past few months, and I’m extremely sorry to hear that she’s not well. But I do need to speak to Rian first.’ She stood and smoothed her skirts. ‘Can I give you my answer tomorrow?’

  Wong Fu rose too, his face almost slack with relief. ‘Of course, of course.’ He bowed deeply. ‘I am most grateful, Mrs Farrell. Most grateful.’

  Kitty felt herself going pink, and turned away. But at the flap of the tent, she paused. ‘Mr Wong: Searle and Tuttle—did you kill them? Because I thought Rian had done it, but he says he didn’t.’

  Wong Fu regarded her, the teapot and little china cups stacked in his hands. Then he shrugged. ‘What choice did I have, Mrs Farrell? She is my daughter.’

  Kitty walked through the Chinese camp until she found Amber and Bao, engrossed in playing with a litter of possibly the sweetest kittens Kitty had ever seen.

  ‘No—before you ask,’ she said to Amber.

  ‘But Ma—’

  ‘No, love.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘No.’ Kitty crouched in front of Bao. ‘How are you feeling, sweetheart?’

  ‘Very well, thank you. Have you been speaking to my father?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Bao just nodded, and stared at her feet in their little slippers.

  Kitty felt awkward. ‘Well, he did say you haven’t been feeling your best lately. So, if there’s anything you might ever like to talk about…’

  ‘I will remember. Thank you very much,’ Bao murmured, politely but effectively cutting her off.

  Kitty exchanged a glance with Amber, then stood up. ‘Well, come on, love, we’d better be going.’

  Amber gave Bao a little wave, and they left her where she was, her lap full of wriggling kittens.

  Kitty suddenly gave her daughter a quick hug.

  Amber looked at her. ‘What was that for?’

  ‘Because I love you.’

  As they walked briskly back into town, they began to encounter newly posted bills featuring advertisements offering substantial rewards for the apprehension of various ‘rebels’. To Kitty’s enormous relief, Rian’s name was not on them.

  The next day, Friday, they would be off to Melbourne, and Kitty was very pleased to be going. Two days ago, 800 troops led by Major-General Sir Robert Nickle had arrived in Ballarat and martial law had been declared. The mood in the town had quickly transformed from one of stunned shock to anger, and the authorities were responding accordingly. Rian had decided to stay behind, but had insisted that Amber go with Kitty and Bao, and that Simon and Haunui chaperone them, and, because Amber was going, Tahi demanded to go, too.

  As of the afternoon before, Daniel was also going, as he had fallen in the shaft and was nursing what he was insisting was a sprained arm. It was very obviously more than sprained, however, which is why he, Simon and Kitty were at the doctor’s surgery now. And while he couldn’t work, Rian reasoned that he might as well make the trip to Melbourne alongside Haunui and Simon, given the many rumours of bushrangers, and check on the Katipo.

  Rian, too, was at the surgery, slightly drunk from the whiskey he’d imbibed to dull the ache of a troublesome back tooth. But not as drunk as Daniel, who could barely stand up, such was the pain caused by his arm. The door opened, the doctor beckoned, and in they all trooped. Once the various maladies had been explained, the doctor told Daniel to remove his shirt then lie on a sturdy table, both of which he achieved with difficulty.

  Doctor Hurley, his white sleeves held above his wrists by garters, grasped Daniel’s lower arm and proceeded to manipulate it rather energetically. When Daniel began to retch, the doctor gestured to Simon to retrieve a bucket from beneath the table.

  ‘You’ve broken it,’ Doctor Hurley diagnosed as he gave the arm an extra hard prod. ‘Not through the skin, though, that’s a bonus.’

  Daniel turned his head and vomited into the bucket. Mostly.

  ‘Go easy, for God’s sake!’ Simon exclaimed. ‘You’re hurting him!’

  ‘Yes. Unavoidable, I’m afraid.’ As though Daniel might be deaf as well as drunk and in possession of a broken limb, the doctor said loudly: ‘When did you sustain the break?’

  Daniel, his eyes bleary and half-closed, mumbled, ‘Yesterday.’

  Doctor Hurley nodded. ‘That’s all right, then. Not too late.’ To Simon, he said, ‘I’ll need your help, if you will. I want you to grip his upper arm while I pull the hand and align the bones, then I’ll apply a splint. How much did you say he’s had to drink?’

  ‘I didn’t,’ Simon replied, ‘but quite a lot.’

  ‘Yes, I can see that. I hope it’s enough.’ Doctor Hurley turned to Kitty. ‘You might like to leave the room, madam.’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I’ve seen worse,’ Kitty said.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Doctor Hurley asked Simon. Simon nodded and the doctor gave a firm, steady pull on Daniel’s hand, who passed out as pieces of his radius grated past each other and slid back into alignment.

  ‘Well, that was easy!’ the doctor said cheerfully. ‘Madam, would you mind?’

  Kitty kept the tension on Daniel’s hand while the doctor fitted a pair of splints from his elbow to his palm and bound them tightly with layers of bandage.

  ‘There, that should do it.’ To Simon, he said, ‘Presumably, you work with this man? Yes? Tell him, then, not to remove the bandages for six weeks. Should they become loose, simply apply more over the top. The bones should have knitted by then and the arm be functional. With luck.’

  Daniel’s eyes fluttered, then he coughed and let out a watery burp. Simon whipped up the bucket, but Daniel pushed it away. Instead, he almost but not quite focused on Kitty and slurred, ‘Kitty, angel, please: it hurts, make it go away.’

  Kitty and Simon exchanged a horrified glance, and Kitty shot a look over her shoulder at Rian, who, scowling and worrying at his bad tooth, fortunately hadn’t heard.

  ‘Get him out!’ she whispered to Simon under her breath. Simon helped Daniel off the table and hastily escorted him from the room.

  ‘Next,’ Doctor Hurley said, eyeing Rian.

  Reluctantly, Rian approached the table, but the doctor redirected him to a high-backed, upholstered chair. When the doctor depressed a pedal, the chair back lowered, affording him a better view into Rian’s mouth. He dug around for a minute, murmured ‘Mmm’, then reached for a large pair of pliers.

  Hovering nearby, Kitty said, ‘Excuse me, if you don’t mind’, and gestured at the instrument.

  Doctor Hurley looked at it. ‘Oh, I beg your pardon.’ He wiped the business end of the pliers with a piece of muslin and dropped the cloth into a tray.

  Kitty inspected it distastefully. As she had suspected—chestnut-coloured horse hairs.

  After a deft flick of the wrist and a muffled curse from Rian, the offending tooth was out a moment later. It was indeed rotten, and brought with it a clot of blood and foul-smelling pus.

  ‘That’s much better out,’ Doctor Hurley remarked, and pinged it into
the bucket into which Daniel had vomited.

  Rian spat, rinsed his mouth with the whiskey he’d brought with him, and said, ‘What do I owe you?’

  ‘Are you paying for the other chap as well?’

  ‘Yes, he’s one of my men.’

  As Rian handed over the money, Doctor Hurley said, ‘Are you sure he did it yesterday, and not last Sunday?’

  With his tongue, Rian probed the hole where his tooth had been. ‘Would it have made a difference?’

  Doctor Hurley looked as though he might be going to lie. Then he shrugged. ‘He wouldn’t have been the first. Ask Peter Lalor. What difference is it to me? I’m a doctor, not a politician.’

  Kitty lifted the lid and peered into the oversized picnic basket. ‘They look lovely, Pierre, thank you, but we’re only going to Melbourne, not England.’ He must have risen especially early this morning, because he’d made them a selection of really tempting pastries, speciality breads and pies for the journey and arranged them in a snowy white cloth. ‘We’ll never eat them all.’

  ‘Mais oui, Haunui is with you.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Kitty agreed.

  At her elbow, Haunui chortled.

  The sun was only just up, but it was already obvious it would be another scorching day. They had gathered outside Bath’s Hotel, and were waiting for the horses to be backed into the shafts of the Cobb & Co coach. Currently three coaches were leaving Ballarat for Melbourne every day, and they had booked the earliest as they wanted to arrive at their destination before sundown.

  Rian said, for at least the tenth time, ‘Are you sure you’re happy about doing this?’

  Struggling to keep the exasperation from her voice, Kitty replied, ‘Yes, of course I am. Really, what can go wrong?’

  Plenty, actually, and they both knew it. Delivering Bao to her relatives should be a straightforward exercise, but the Chinese were a very closed society not known for welcoming those it did not recognise or trust. However, Kitty would, of course, have Bao with her, and a letter from Wong Fu himself should she be unable to locate Wong Kai immediately in Melbourne. She had also been warned by Wong Fu that Wong Kai could be a difficult man, but Kitty had elected not to share this particular piece of information with Rian. The other undertaking on the agenda for Melbourne did have the potential for trouble, but Kitty was confident that, with the help of Haunui, Simon and Daniel, she would manage.

  The livery man fastened the final buckles on the harnesses, then signalled the driver that he was clear to start loading. Pierre passed the picnic basket to Haunui, who heaved it onto one of the bench seats inside the coach.

  ‘We won’t all fit, Ma,’ Amber said, peering in after it. ‘Can me and Bao sit outside with the driver?’

  ‘Bao and I,’ Kitty corrected. ‘No, you can’t. You’ll sit inside with me.’

  ‘But that’ll be boring,’ Amber complained.

  ‘I’m sure it will,’ Kitty countered, ‘but there will be plenty of stops.’

  Amber was right, though; the interior of the coach would only seat six comfortably, and now just five because of the picnic basket—two people would have to sit outside. She raised her eyebrows at Haunui.

  ‘Suits me, as long as you keep passing up those pastries. You want to sit up with the driver, too?’ Haunui asked Simon.

  Simon said yes, even though he knew he wouldn’t be next to the driver—he’d be perched on the little seat behind and slightly above him, because Haunui certainly wouldn’t be travelling all the way to Melbourne on it with his knees up around his ears.

  ‘I will,’ Daniel interjected quickly. ‘Could do with the fresh air.’

  He did look peaky, which was no surprise after the amount he’d had to drink the day before. Kitty wondered if he remembered what he’d said. Since he wouldn’t meet her eyes, perhaps he did.

  As the last of the luggage was loaded, Rian squeezed Kitty’s hand and said, ‘You’ll be very careful, won’t you?’

  ‘I will. And you be careful, too. Watch out for Sergeant Coombes—and for God’s sake, Rian, steer clear of Lily Pearce.’

  Rian grimaced as he handed Kitty into the coach. ‘Don’t worry, mo ghrá, I intend to.’

  Wong Fu embraced Bao, then watched sadly as she climbed on board the coach, followed by Simon. Tahi hung back to wait to see where Amber sat, then settled himself beside her. Observing this, Haunui leaned into the coach and tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Hey, boy, how do you know she wants you to sit next to her?’

  Tahi reddened.

  ‘It’s all right, Haunui, he can stay,’ Amber decreed graciously.

  Kitty suppressed a smile, and shuffled over so that Simon and Bao, next to her, had more room.

  Haunui winked at Kitty, then disappeared, and the coach gave an ominous groan as he climbed up onto the seat next to the driver. A more subdued lurch signalled Daniel’s arrival on his perch and then they were off, Kitty, Amber and Bao leaning out the window waving at Rian and Wong Fu until they went around a bend and could no longer see them.

  They struck trouble just after Bacchus Marsh, a little more than halfway into their journey. The horses were fresh because they’d been changed less than an hour earlier, so at first Kitty wondered why the coach was slowing.

  Then it stopped altogether. For perhaps ten seconds nothing could be heard but the horses snorting and the rattle of harnesses, then Haunui’s upside-down face appeared at the top of the window.

  ‘Trouble. Stay inside.’ He disappeared again.

  Kitty, her heart sinking nauseatingly, looked at Simon.

  ‘Bushrangers?’ he whispered, his face paling.

  Beside her, she felt Bao stiffen with fear.

  ‘Bushrangers!’ Amber repeated far too loudly.

  Her exclamation must have travelled, because there was a subtle but unmistakable warning tap on the ceiling of the coach. Kitty lifted her reticule from the seat and nestled it in her lap under a fold of skirt, thankful she had left her lovely brooch back at Lilac Cottage.

  Outside, she could hear murmured voices. Knowing she shouldn’t, she leant as far to the right as she could manage and looked out the window. From her vantage point she could see two men on horseback in front of and slightly to her side of the coach, their shotguns aimed at the driver, and presumably at Daniel and Haunui. No doubt they had emerged from the stand of bush bordering the road. By straining her neck and looking up, she could just see the barrel of a gun aimed back at them. A stand-off. She pulled her head back in.

  ‘Can you see anything?’ she whispered to Simon.

  He looked. ‘Two on this side. Armed.’

  ‘Could we rush them?’ Tahi suggested, suddenly looking far more mature than his years. The hairs on Kitty’s arms began to stand up.

  Bao let out a whimper, and, very slowly, she lifted her feet up onto the seat, put her head on her knees, and folded herself into a tight ball. Kitty felt her heart constrict with compassion, but there was nothing she could do for the girl right now.

  ‘One’s dismounting,’ Simon said hoarsely.

  Footsteps approached, crunching through drifts of dry eucalyptus leaves on the road. Kitty tugged off her wedding ring and slipped it down the front of her dress. Tahi’s hand moved to the hilt of his knife.

  ‘Steady,’ Simon warned.

  A bearded face peered in at the window and inspected them, then its owner stepped back and called, ‘Man, woman an’ three kids.’ Then, still aiming the barrel of his gun at them, he opened the door and leant in, bringing with him the rancid stink of someone who had lived rough for a very long time.

  Bao gave a barely audible whimper.

  The bushranger had a good peer around the interior of the coach, presumably looking for potential valuables. He lifted the lid of the picnic basket, frowned at the remains of the pastries, then helped himself to one and stuffed it in his mouth. Chewing, he gestured at Kitty’s hands clasped in her lap, which she held out, revealing bare fingers. But he had seen her reticule beneath the folds of her
skirt.

  ‘Gimme that,’ he said, pointing.

  Kitty picked up her reticule, slipped Rian’s pistol out of it, cocked it and aimed it directly at the man’s forehead. His startled eyes comically round in his sunburnt face, he stared first at the pistol then at Kitty, before retreating from the coach so rapidly that he hit his head on the door lintel. Tahi rose in a half-crouch, snatched the pistol from Kitty’s hand, took aim and fired it at the bushranger. The ball hit the man in the arm; he let out a bellow, turned and ran.

  Instantly a shot rang out, then another followed by a flurry of hoof beats.

  ‘Tahi! I could have shot you!’ Kitty shrieked into the ensuing silence.

  ‘Have they gone?’ Amber asked, her voice squeaky with fright.

  Cautiously, Simon put a foot outside, then almost leapt out of his skin as something very large jumped down from the top of the coach.

  ‘Everyone all right?’ Haunui asked. ‘What happened?’

  The driver followed him a moment later, his face parchment white. ‘No one hurt? God help me, I didn’t even see them. Usually they’ll have someone in the middle of the road, but this time they just came straight out of the trees.’ He mopped his sweating brow with a large red kerchief. ‘I don’t know: I got off the escort carts to get away from this sort of thing.’

  Daniel climbed down, his rifle hooked over his good arm, his face like thunder. ‘I think I might have missed.’ He sounded disgusted with himself.

  ‘Good shot, though, eh, for one arm,’ Haunui said.

  ‘I still missed.’

  ‘They missed, too,’ the driver pointed out.

  ‘Why did they give up so easily?’ Tahi asked.

  They were all standing around the coach now, except for Bao, who had refused to come out. Kitty thought a drop or two of laudanum might be in order; it wouldn’t do her any harm to sleep the rest of the way to Melbourne, and it might help to settle the poor child’s nerves.