Gough and Cash went ashore, listening to the soporific creak of the oars as the convict boatman sculled them through the quiet water. The surface of the cove glittered like golden fish scales in the sunlight. Flocks of birds – blue, yellow, crimson, white – flew shrieking over them as they neared the shore. The waterline smelt of weed overlaid by the harsh, peppery smell of the dry land behind it.
They climbed out and walked across the beach towards the path. Only then did Cash put words to what had been blazing in his mind since the meeting in the cabin.
‘You dumped me right in it!’ he exploded. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘You said you wanted to make money,’ Gough said. ‘Now you’ve taken the first step.’
Grasshoppers sawed in the vegetation on either side of the path as the two men walked up the hill towards the cottage. The sun was warm. The smell of the hot grass was in their nostrils and a fine silt of dust puffed about their feet with each step. A sentry drew himself up and saluted as they passed.
‘Springing it on me like that …’
Gough said, ‘Pike says he doesn’t know you. He’s right. No more do I. I had to see how you’d react with Pike watching you. I’d say you did very well.’
Cash knew he wasn’t ready to start handling people like Silas Pike. ‘You say you want me to run things … I don’t know enough.’
‘You’ll learn.’
‘Look at the way you haggled with him over rates. I couldn’t do that. He’ll run rings round me.’
‘No, he won’t. You learned something today already.’
‘What?’
‘How to do a deal.’
‘I saw how you do it.’
‘So do the same! Knowledge – that’s the way. Know what you can give away and what you can’t. It’s simple enough, when you get used to it.’
‘I still say you should have warned me.’
‘No. I had to know how you act under pressure.’
Cash’s temper flared again. ‘You make me jump through hoops just for that?’
‘Just for that, you say?’ Gough stared him down. ‘I’d do it again tomorrow if I thought it was necessary. You want to handle men in this life, you got to earn their respect. That’s the most important thing of all. I was watching your face when Pike asked you those questions and I’ll tell you something – I was proud of you. You gave nothing away.’
‘I didn’t know enough to give anything away.’ But the idea of his father being proud mollified him a little.
‘True enough. But you hid that, too. And earned Pike’s respect.’
‘How?’
‘Because you made him think we had discussed it. That you were in my confidence.’
‘What does that prove?’
‘It means he will respect you in your own right, not simply as a front for me.’
‘So what?’
‘So it’ll be easier for you to deal with him in future!’
They reached the house and looked down at the cove spread out below them in the warm morning sunlight. On the far slope, a small group of people was gathered in the open space in front of one of the barrack buildings.
Cash pointed. ‘What’s happening there?’
Gough glanced indifferently. ‘A flogging.’
Cash could make out the bare back of the victim, arms secured to the whipping triangle, the two floggers lashing the air with the steel-tipped cats as they loosened their shoulder muscles, the military escort, the thin cluster of spectators.
‘Does it happen often?’
‘Several times a day.’
‘What did he do?’
Gough shrugged. ‘Who knows?’
‘Poor devil.’
‘Better than being hanged.’
They went into the cottage.
‘I’m going to take Jack up to Parramatta today to look at the farm,’ Gough said. ‘I want you to organise the loading of the cargo.’
Panic gnawed like rats’ teeth at Cash’s stomach. ‘I don’t know where to get boats or crew. I don’t even know where the cargo is.’
Gough laughed. ‘We’ll have some breakfast and I’ll tell you all that.’
They sat down at the table which was already spread with a variety of food – hard-boiled eggs, chickens and cold meat, bread and jams. Gough helped himself and ate ravenously but Cash had no interest in the food.
Gough gestured at the laden table. ‘Eat, my son,’ he said through a full mouth. ‘You’ll be weak later if you don’t.’
‘Where’s Jack?’
‘I’ve no idea. Mrs Clark!’ he roared.
She appeared moments later and stood in the doorway. She was wearing the same dress as yesterday. As then, her feet were bare and she did not seem to have brushed her hair or washed her face. Cash would have dearly loved to ask his father about his relationship with her but knew he would never dare.
‘Where’s Jack?’ Gough asked. He buttered a piece of bread and thrust it into his mouth.
‘He went out.’
‘When?’
She shrugged. ‘Shortly after you did.’
‘Did he say where he was going?’
‘Not to me.’
Gough thought about it, frowning. He’d be somewhere around the settlement, no doubt. He surely wouldn’t be stupid enough to wander off into the bush by himself?
He picked up a chicken leg and began gnawing on it.
‘He’s upset over that girl of his,’ Cash said.
Gough’s dark eyes flashed silver in the light. ‘You’re a pair of damn fools,’ he said. ‘If I hadn’t stopped you, it might have been you down there at the whipping triangle. Or headed that way.’
‘If you hadn’t stopped us, Gwen and her brother might have got away.’
‘He’s not her brother,’ Gough said automatically. He tossed the chewed bone back on the plate.
Cash hesitated, then made up his mind. Some things are better out in the open, he thought. ‘Yes, he is.’
They looked at each other.
‘Eat,’ Gough said again. ‘You’ll need it, later.’
But Cash was not ready to drop the subject. ‘Jack told me what you said to him.’
‘So?’
‘I met her, too, you know.’
Gough grinned. ‘Willing little doxy, was she?’
Cash shook his head impatiently. ‘That girl’s never a whore. And he’s her brother, sure as day.’
‘Maybe they fooled you too.’ Gough leant back in his chair, picking at his teeth. His dark-skinned face gave nothing away.
‘No. And you don’t fool me, either. Jack, maybe, but not me. What you told him was a pack of lies.’
Gough chewed, swallowed. Dark eyes measured his son. ‘Aim to tell him, do you?’
‘No.’
‘Why not? If you’re so sure you’re right?’
‘Because if I did he’d only keep on trying. And probably end up getting caught, like you said.’
‘You helped him yourself yesterday.’
‘Once was worth a chance. Particularly when they’d just got here. I thought no one would be expecting it so soon.’ He grinned at his father across the table. Any awkwardness between them had gone. ‘I underestimated you.’
‘Another thing you need to learn,’ Gough said. He poured a cup of chocolate from the china pot Mrs Clark had left on the table – no fancy silver in this house. ‘Never underestimate anybody. Always be on your guard. Always watch your back. It’s a condition of survival here.’
‘Including Pike?’
‘Including everybody. The only person you can trust is me.’
Cash shook his head. ‘I doubt Jack would agree with that. If he knew.’
‘He doesn’t know so it doesn’t matter. What I did was for his own good.’
‘I know that.’ Cash had changed his mind about breakfast. He leant forward and helped himself to a piece of chicken meat from the carcass.
‘Jack worries me,’ Gough said, frowning.
‘Why?�
�� The chicken was good. Cash took another piece.
‘I wonder if he’s tough enough. He seems a little … unworldly to me.’
‘I’ll look after him.’ Cash tore a piece of bread off the loaf. ‘Tell me about this cargo business.’
‘Nothing to it. Get the cargo on board Centaur quick as you can, then start collecting another one for when she gets back.’
‘But where is the cargo?’
‘Down the coast.’
‘Surely it would be easier to load her in harbour?’
‘There are one or two problems about the timber that you should know. You remember I told you about the convicts who took a boat to Timor? The party that went after them claimed they’d seen coal deposits north of here.’ Gough grinned. ‘I talked the governor into letting me send a party to look for it.’
‘And?’
‘There was coal, sure enough. But they found something else, too – whole forests of cedar trees. I organised a felling party before anyone thought to claim the timber for the Crown. Just as well. As soon as George Crabbe heard about it, that’s exactly what he did.’
‘But if it’s all government timber, what happens to the logs you’d already felled?’
‘That’s the point, isn’t it? Seeing it was cut before Crabbe gave the order I made what you might call a unilateral decision that it belonged to me and not to the Crown. All the same, it didn’t seem too smart to bring it here, into Sydney Cove. Asking for trouble that would be. So I had it stored a little way along the coast.’ Gough looked at his son. ‘You knew I was in the trade back in Cornwall?’
‘Running spirits? Yes, I knew.’
‘You learn a lot in that game. Like looking out for handy inlets that no one else knows about. There’s a little cove, a few miles down the coast. The timber’s there. Water enough for Centaur to get in and out at high water. Better still, while she’s there no one can see her from the seaward side.’
‘And the sealskins?’
‘With the timber.’
‘Will Pike agree?’
Gough showed his teeth as he grinned. ‘Up to you to persuade him. You’re in charge now.’
‘Is that why you didn’t tie up the arrangements before we came ashore?’
‘He’s got to get used to dealing with you, hasn’t he?’
‘But he still thinks he’s dealing with you.’
‘Then tes up to you to make him think different, isn’t it?’
‘Where do the skins come from?’
‘There’s a string of bays and islands far to the south of here. The beaches are packed with seals. Millions of them.’
Cash poured himself a cup of chocolate. ‘You trust Pike yet you hardly know him. Why?’
‘Judgment. You form an opinion of a man – or a woman – and stand by it.’
‘What if you’re wrong?’
‘Make sure you’re not.’
‘And if you are?’
Gough shrugged. ‘You lose.’
Cash put his cup down. ‘It’s frightening,’ he said.
‘What is?’
‘Everything comes back to judgment, doesn’t it? One mistake can wipe out everything.’
‘They call it standing on your own feet, my son. Nothing frightening in that.’
‘Maybe frightening’s the wrong word. A challenge, rather. It’s exciting. I know I’m going to like it here.’ He looked thoughtfully at his father. ‘Though I can’t promise I’ll never make a mistake.’
‘Show me the man who’s never made a mistake, I’ll show you the man who’s never made anything.’
‘Has the Home Secretary really banned trading by members of the Corps?’
‘He has.’
‘Isn’t that a catastrophe?’
‘No. In fact it helps us.’
‘How?’
‘Hagwood was talking to Pike last night. I’ll lay you odds he was offering him much the same sort of deal we’ve given him. For some reason they never came to an agreement and now it’s too late. The Home Secretary’s banned trading so Hagwood can’t go ahead, not until he’s organised someone to act for him like I have. So we have an edge; only for a couple of days, even less, maybe, but that’s enough. It’s given us the chance to get in with Pike instead.’
‘Hagwood won’t be pleased.’
‘He certainly won’t.’ Gough laughed, then sobered. ‘Watch your back with Jonathan Hagwood. He’s not a man you can trust.’ He pulled out his watch and frowned at it. ‘I wonder where your brother’s got to?’
*
The tide was flooding and the Hagwoods made good time to Parramatta. Jonathan had arranged for them to have breakfast on board and he and Elizabeth ate and watched the banks as the boat travelled upstream, the silence broken only by the peaceful sounds of the water, the creak of the rigging, the occasional clamour of birds. The air was fresh and sweet-smelling. The trees stood still as the day came silently out of the east.
They arrived and went ashore, Elizabeth looking about her from beneath the parasol she had put up to protect her features from the sun. It was her first sight of what would be their home – Jonathan had refused to bring her here until the allocation was beyond doubt – and she was delighted by what she saw.
The settlement lay on either bank and was connected by a small footbridge spanning the river. Buildings were set at intervals beside a roadway that shone white with dust in the sunshine. The ground was pleasantly undulating and with its widely spaced trees and grassy meadows it looked for all the world like some gentleman’s park in England. Certain areas near the tiny settlement had been cleared and crops planted – wheat, rye and maize, all of them turning golden in the warm sun.
‘It’s beautiful!’
Her pleasure delighted him. ‘Ours is the best land.’ He pointed to the bend a quarter of a mile downstream where the river disappeared out of sight behind a line of gracefully swaying trees. ‘I believe it has the finest outlook in the colony.’
‘The soil looks rich, too.’
‘It is.’
She squeezed his arm. ‘I am so glad we are moving here.’
She saw his expression change.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘One moment.’
His lips were white, his eyes set. Bewildered, she turned to look where he was staring. By the bridge, a group of convicts was working in a desultory manner on a cart that had lost a wheel. The soldier guarding them was sitting in the shade of a low tree, watching them with an indifferent eye. He had not noticed the new arrivals.
Jonathan left Elizabeth’s side and strode rapidly over to the man. The guard saw him coming and struggled to his feet, barking orders at the working men.
‘C’mon, your bastards, let’s be havin’ some action ’ere.’ He gave Jonathan an elaborate salute. ‘Good morning, sir!’
Too late.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
The soldier was rigid, eyes fixed on the distance. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead from beneath the rim of his peaked hat.
‘Guarding these men. Sir.’
‘Slouching in the shade?’
The man said nothing.
‘Answer!’ Jonathan barked.
‘Sir!’
‘Giving these men a fine example. Discipline, that’s what this colony needs. Discipline. You hear me?’
‘Sir!’
‘Your behaviour is a disgrace.’ The green eyes glared angrily. ‘What’s your name?’
The soldier gulped. ‘Larkin. Sir.’
‘You’re on report, Larkin.’
It meant a flogging.
‘Perhaps it will help you to remember the importance of discipline, Larkin. At all times, d’you hear me? At all times.’
He turned away. The soldier stamped and saluted, cursing under his breath.
The episode immediately banished from his mind, Jonathan walked with Elizabeth towards the land that at last, with the governor’s announcement, he could truthfully call his own.
Every few yards she paused, exclaiming at the wild flowers that even towards the end of summer grew in profusion amid the tall grass. The humming of bees and the clean, green scent of flowers and grasses filled the air about them.
Their land lay on the southern bank of the stream immediately facing the acres that had been allocated to Gough Tremain. Out of habit, Jonathan scowled acquisitively at the land on the other bank but was confident his property would soon outstrip his rival’s. Being on the southern bank, it was on the same side of the river as Sydney Cove itself and would have a direct link with the port as soon as a road was built. Besides, Tremain was no farmer.
The land on either side of him had not been allocated but he planned to make an offer to the Crown for it as soon as he was ready. In the meantime his first priority was to get the house built so he could move in as quickly as possible.
Ira Thornton, the man Jonathan intended to use to build his house, was waiting for them at the site. He was a tall, thin man of about thirty. He had a narrow, white face and a mouth so tight that the lips were barely visible. His hair was dark and neatly groomed, his eyes pale and empty of expression. He looked dangerous and he was. He had been transported for stealing cloth and Jonathan expected great things of him. He took off his hat as they walked up to him.
‘Morning, sir. Morning, ma’am.’
*
It had been full daylight for a long time when Jack came back to the summit of the ridge and saw the settlement outspread below him.
He did not know how far he had gone, but he could well believe how easy it would be to get lost in such country, where even the vegetation was everywhere the same.
Several times during his wandering, he had picked up handfuls of the soil and sifted it through his fingers. It was thin, poor stuff. He was sure nothing worthwhile would grow in it. Looking about him, he could see no grass or undergrowth of any kind, only the dry, naked-looking trees, the earth bare beneath them.
Drought, dust, monotony – you could keep the bush. And fire, he thought. All these trees … A strong wind from the mountains, a fire well established and the settlement would be a torch. He wondered that the blacks had not thought to do such a thing.
He imagined an ocean of flame, stretching from the distant mountains to the sea, and shivered.
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