Green Paddocks

by Jane Corrie

  Once it was out, she felt better, convinced now she would be able to do just that. She also felt a little proud of herself for standing up to Hayes Chester. Pete, she thought happily would be a walkover after that!

  'Mills is quite in agreement with this, is he?' he asked mildly.

  Holly bristled. 'Not yet,' she said, adding darkly, 'but he will be.'

  Hayes Chester sighed. 'Munt was right about you,' he said softly. 'An innocent abroad. Why do you think Mills got rid of him?'

  Molly coloured. Hal hadn't spared her blushes, had he? Hayes Chester nodded. 'So it will have to be me, won't it?' he said dryly.

  You're no better than Pete,' she flung out at him, then added, 'better the devil you know.'

  For one brief moment his eyes blazed into hers, and again she had the feeling he would have liked to have shaken her. 'There's just one difference, Miss Drew,' he told her icily, 'you need have no fear of a romantic attachment where I'm concerned. To me, you're just a young, very spoilt girl, who might or might not improve on acquaintance.'

  A slightly stunned Holly managed to retaliate, 'So much for the story you told Pete ! As if he'd believe a word of it !'

  'Ah, but Mills doesn't see you in that light, does he?' he said silkily. 'He's jealous enough to believe anything.' He glanced meaningly towards where Holly supposed the bar was. 'Well?' he asked curtly. Holly bit her lip, she was being cornered and given no time for second thoughts.

  'I can assure you I have no taste for this deception either,' he assured her haughtily. 'Munt's summing up of the position has proved remarkably astute up to now !' He gave her an assessing look. 'He's trying to protect you, in case you didn't know it.' Holly had no defence. Hal trusted this man; so did she, but she would have hated to admit it. 'So I can stay on at Green Paddocks?' she asked. 'And you won't interfere with anything I choose to do?' she persisted, her green eyes searching the grey ones.

  He gave a curt nod. 'I give my word, as I expect you to honour my terms. No interference in the running of the ranch.'

  'Very well,' said Holly quietly, and was a little surprised at the relief she felt flow over her now that the decision was made. Everything was now in Hayes Chester's hands; her worries were over and she still had her home.

  CHAPTER THREE

  HOLLY did not know how Hayes Chester got Pete to accept a cheque for the outstanding loan and relinquish any hold on her he thought he was entitled to. When she thought back to that time, her only memory was of Hayes Chester placing an arm ground her waist as they moved towards the bar and murmuring, 'Remember to call me Hayes, will you? Mr Chester is slightly formal under the circumstances.' From then on she followed his lead. She found herself referred to as 'darling' from time to time, and packed off to bed within fifteen minutes of the meeting, after being lovingly informed that an early start was required the next morning. Holly was only too happy to make her escape.

  She was up reasonably early the following morning, and might have been forgiven for believing she had imagined the whole episode, until a perfunctory knock on her bedroom door, and a most unloved like voice told her he had ordered breakfast and if she was not down in ten minutes flat she would have to forgo hers. They were to be on their way within the hour.

  An indignant Holly faced him later at the breakfast table. 'I am not,' she said furiously, 'used to being ordered about like a ten-year-old child. Will you kindly remember that in future?'

  He gave her a piercing stare as if she had spoken out of turn, then applied himself to his bacon and eggs again. 'Perhaps if I make an effort,' he answered dryly. 'But I'm not promising anything, mind.'

  Holly gave up; it was like coming up against a steamroller, and just about as comfortable !

  Three hours later an extremely relieved Holly drove through the white-fenced borders of Green Paddocks. It was a journey she prayed was never to be repeated, conscious as she was all twenty miles of the final lap of Hayes Chester's powerful car bearing down on her. When he had first beckoned her on to take the lead when the motorway was left behind and into what was to him unfamiliar country, Holly had felt slightly superior, and wished she could somehow manage to lose him on the home stretch. Unfortunately, her Holden, apart from being an elderly model, was hopelessly outclassed by the big Daimler.

  When the homestead came into view, she felt a rush of pride. Mellowed with age, it sat surrounded by the paddocks from which its name was derived, like a gracious old lady, content to ride out her time come what may. She wondered what Hayes Chester would think of it; it was far older than Coomela, and not quite so pretentious. Coomela would possess all modern trappings, while Green Paddocks had only been partially modernised. Holly shrugged; she'd rather have Green Paddocks any day.

  Milly had been on the watch for her and now stood on the verandah, arms akimbo, waiting. Her black eyes were fixed on Hayes Chester while she summed him up silently. As they approached, she broke into a beaming grin and gave Holly a hug before taking her case from her. 'Milly, this is Mr Chester,' Holly said. 'He'll be staying for a while.'

  Milly turned her beaming smile on him. 'Welcome,' she said softly, and to Holly's surprise almost shyly.

  'Meet Milly,' Holly said to Hayes. 'I don't know what I'd do without her,' she added softly, and received another surprise when Hayes held out his hand to Milly. A half-startled Milly accepted it as if she had just been awarded the George Medal.

  'I'm sorry to arrive at such short notice,' he said courteously. 'But I gather you have ample accommodation.'

  Milly's grin grew even wider. 'Sure have,' she assured him delightedly, and turned her attention back to Holly. 'What you do to that fella Pete, eh? He was madder than a whole nest of hornets. Moved out bag and baggage first thing this morning.'

  To her total embarrassment Holly flushed as she met Hayes' sardonic eyes, and did not fail to see the gleam of speculation in Milly's before she turned to open the screen door for them. 'I'll tell you about it later,' she said hastily. 'Perhaps you'd show Mr Chester his rooms. Oh, and the study, Milly,' she added as an afterthought. 'I expect he'd like to use it while he's here.' With that she escaped to her room and a longed-for shower.

  The rest of the day was spent in acquainting their new arrival with the routine chores of Green Paddocks—at least Milly did. She appeared, Holly thought with a certain amount of disgust, to have taken to Hayes in a big way. Holly left her to it, listening to her chatter while she took him on a tour of the house and the out yards.

  After lunch Holly waited to know if he wanted to go on a short trek of the ranch before dinner, and was relieved when he said it could wait until the morning. He asked her permission to go over the station's accounts, and a slightly surprised Holly gave it. Having bought Pete out, he now owned the lion's share of the ranch, and it had not really been necessary to ask her permission, but she was grateful for the small courtesy. He could, she thought, watching him selecting several files out of the cabinet for perusal, be devastatingly charming when he chose. At that precise moment he looked at her and his brows lifted. Holly flushed as he. murmured, 'I'll let you know if there's anything more I want.'

  In other words, she thought furiously as she left the study, 'Get lost !' She wished she had had the courage to say 'Yes, sir, you'll let me know if there's anything else, sir, always happy to oblige, sir.'

  She found Milly in the middle of preparing one of her specials—a chocolate layer cake normally only produced for celebrations. She looked down at the newly baked cake and back again at Milly. Milly grinned. 'That one fine fella, girl. We okay now, you see.'

  'Is that what that's in aid of?' Holly asked, nodding towards the cake.

  Milly's grin deepened. 'You home, ain't you? Time we had one of them cakes.'

  'Is it?' Holly said caustically. 'I only hope time proves you right.'

  In the middle of mixing chocolate icing Milly stared at her, the spoon suspended. 'What's biting you, girl? Milly knows a right one when she sees one. He sure lit a cracker under that Pete Mills' f
eet.' She burst out chuckling. 'I sure'd like to have been there !'

  Holly departed hastily before Milly asked just what had been said at that meeting. It also occurred to her that Milly had not even had to be told that Hayes Chester had taken over the ranch. Like many of her race she had been born with a built-in radar service, unerringly and uncannily correct.

  The men were assembled early the next morning in the outer yard where they would gather for instructions on the day's work, given in the past by Hal.

  As Holly and Hayes approached, Holly's heart was lightened by their friendly greetings. Her eyes went over them. Pete had not done so much harm as she had feared. Only two had left, and one, she thought sadly, that they could ill have spared, Hal. There were calls of, 'Where did you take off to, girl?' and, 'Hear Hal's got himself fixed up fine.' Holly swallowed. She was grateful to Hal for keeping his dismissal to himself; she knew the men were curious about his sudden departure, but had put it down to Pete Mills' high-handed way of giving out orders. All knew there was not much love lost between the two men.

  Hayes Chester stood silently by her side, those keen grey eyes of his missing nothing and taking stock of the men in front of them, who were doing a little stocktaking of their own. Holly noted that they were under no illusions as to his status. They could have thought he was there to take Hal's place, but not one of them made that assumption; if they had they would have said so. She glanced under her lashes at him standing tall and straight beside her. It wasn't his clothes, she decided, for he had dressed that morning in much the same rig as the hands themselves. It wouldn't, she thought pensively, matter what he wore, he would always stand head and shoulders above any assembly. He had 'boss' stamped all over him.

  'Meet Mr Chester, boys,' she said, emphasising the 'Mr' and feeling his quick sideways glance at her.

  The men were introduced one by one, and it did not take Hayes long to sort out the spokesman and leader of the men: Dave. He must, Holly thought a little bewilderedly, have some sixth sense in these matters. Dave hadn't said much apart from the initial greeting and Hal couldn't have had time to brief him on everything. While she listened to Hayes' deep well-modulated voice explaining the position, she was again struck by the attention and respect he had already commanded from the men. With a pang Holly saw how it was going to be. Green Paddocks was well and truly under new management with a capital N. She heard the men ask questions and saw how each question was answered clearly and without any attempt to blind them with science on the scheme he had in mind.

  She thought how Pete would have handled the situation, bluffing his way out of awkward questions simply because he hadn't enough knowledge behind him. But the men were not trying to throw Hayes into confusion as they had Pete. Hayes was instantly recognised and accepted as a cattleman, the questions were purely technical ones and asked because they were interested. If some of the questions were to Hayes' way of thinking a matter of simple deduction, he gave no sign of it, patiently explaining to the not so bright questioner the whys and wherefores.

  In spite of her prejudice Holly found herself warming to Hayes. Jackie-boy was a little slow on the uptake and was given the mundane jobs around the ranch, rouseabout, in fact. Pete had shown him little patience and practically ignored his existence, but here was Hayes slowly and patiently answering him. Holly watched Jackie-boy's face light up as he fixed his gaze on the tall man by her side. Hayes probably didn't know it, but he had made a friend for life in Jackie-boy!

  As the days went by Holly found the only one Hayes talked down to was herself. She was made very much aware that he did not approve of her galloping around the spread and helping out in general chores. In this she was reminded of her father, who had had much the same attitude. A young lady's place was in the homestead, learning whatever young ladies learnt in preparation for marriage. This thought made Holly's lips twist wryly for she doubted if she would ever marry, and sitting around the homestead looking decorative was simply not her. She ought have been a boy, she thought, then she would not have to watch her every step and be forced to seek jobs out of the way of Hayes's eagle eye. She had a distinct feeling that he was only waiting for one opportunity to remove her from the work force.

  The men, except for Dave, were unaware of the undercurrents round Holly's position. Dave, she soon realised, had spotted it and without mentioning the subject had seen she was kept occupied well away from the central hub of the ranch, therefore out of sight if not mind of Hayes. At first Holly thought the problem had been solved, but it soon became apparent it had not. One evening she was back late, having spent most of the day with two of the boys fixing fences on the south boundary, and arrived to find an extremely annoyed Hayes waiting for his evening meal. Holly was given no chance of sneaking in and getting washed and changed before putting in a belated appearance at the dinner table as he was waiting for her in the unsaddling yard.

  'A little late on parade, aren't we?' he demanded in a voice loaded with sarcasm.

  Holly's dusty eyebrows rose as she studied his crisp appearance against her dust-plastered clothing. She wasn't sure what to say. So far she had kept out of his way, and it wasn't her fault a broken fence had been found at the time they were due to start back. His next words proved she had been suffering under a delusion that her movements had gone unnoticed. 'What was the hold-up? There were only two fences in that section requiring attention,' he stated with narrowed eyes.

  Holly's heart sank. Was there nothing the wretched man missed? 'The boundary fence on the run side was down near the water hole,' she said defensively. 'We couldn't leave it.'

  'You could have done,' he pointed out grimly. 'John and Tim are fixing those fences. I don't remember detailing the work to anyone else.'

  Holly flushed. Dave could be in trouble, and she knew another sinking feeling. 'No one detailed me,' she said quickly. 'I do all sorts of things. Just go where I can be useful.'

  'Odd,' he murmured, 'how I never catch a sight of you.' He glanced at her quickly, catching her unawares, and saw the way her lips set obstinately. 'In future,' he said brusquely, 'you'll be in or near the homestead boundary. Got that? I've enough to cope with without the worry of what you're getting up to. I dare say,' he added darkly, 'Milly could do with some help about the place.'

  Holly wondered what Milly would have to say about that. What he actually meant was 'Toe the line or else', and it infuriated her. Her eyes showed her feelings. 'You promised you wouldn't interfere with what I chose to do,' she blazed at him. 'I'm not interfering, am I? I'm doing what I've always done.' She drew her slim boyish figure up straight and tossed her head back defiantly. 'I was brought up on this ranch, Mr Chester. There's not a job I haven't at one time or another helped with.'

  'In case you haven't noticed,' he drawled, 'the ranch is under new management.'

  While Holly digested these true but hurtful words she was further infuriated by the way his eyes travelled over her slim figure, resting for a moment on her small high breasts. He didn't have to say what he was thinking. She felt herself flush and hated herself for showing him she had read his thoughts. Her eyes sparked fire. 'So I'm a girl! What difference does that make? There are jobs I can't do, but a lot I can—and will do!' she flashed at him.

  'Only on my say-so,' he said quietly. 'So watch your step, young lady. Now go and get cleaned up. I'm hungry. You have just five minutes.' To her further fury he caught her shoulders and swung her round in the direction of the shower rooms and gave her a firm push.

  Holly showered in double quick time and went to vent her feelings on Milly before joining Hayes. 'Why didn't you serve up?' she demanded crossly. 'He wouldn't have known I wasn't back then!'

  Milly's innocent eyes raised heavenwards. 'Lordy, child, there ain't nuthin' you do that fella don't know. I put his food on the table, but he said to wait for you.'

  Holly felt ashamed of herself; she ought to have known Milly would try to cover up for her. She gave her a brief hug. 'Guess I'm a bit tuckered, Milly,' she
said, and dashed out to the dining room.

  During dinner Hayes outlined jobs she could do—if she really did want to make herself useful, that was. Inwardly Holly fumed, but held her temper. They were mundane jobs normally given to someone recovering from a spill or illness, in fact light work of a menial nature. Holly sensed his purpose; she would soon kick over the traces and that was what he was waiting for. Next would come banishment to the homestead proper. She gritted her teeth, determined to give him no such cause to carry out the veiled threat. She thought of the muster due to start the following week and knew orders had been given to round up all existing stock ready for the new breed of cattle to be brought in, some from Coomela and some from other ranches on a similar project.

  Holly loved mustering time and was afraid she would be cut out of the working team. She glanced at Hayes absorbed in his meal. He had only meant to spend a short time there, but a fortnight had come and gone still with no sign of his departure. Already the ranch was buzzing with activity; the men, now settled, went about their work happily; she knew by their constant tuneless whistling and occasionally sung ditties that all was well with them. It was almost, she thought sadly, like old times when her father was alive and Hal was there; but Hal was not there, and it made all the difference to her existence. Hayes Chester didn't understand and definitely did not approve of her. She was made to feel an interloper on her own ranch. Miserably she wondered why Hayes was staying on and when the manager he had mentioned was going to take over. Things were going smoothly and Holly couldn't imagine any project Hayes embarked on not doing so; he was too sure of his facts to make any errors of judgment in that direction.