by Jane Corrie
Holly's eyes flashed. 'Thank you,' she answered. 'Do you mind if I get my breakfast now?'
'It can wait,' the girl replied carelessly. 'Hayes will be back shortly, no doubt you will make yourself scarce again and I want to find out just what you're up to. Hayes and I—' she shrugged elegantly. 'Well, I suppose I needn't spell it out to you. Suffice it to say what affects him affects me, and I rather gather you've not proved cooperative and I'm wondering why.' She flashed Holly a quick speculative look. 'You see, there could be several reasons, but only one really concerns me. If you've fallen for him, forget it. These childish pranks are not likely to cut much ice with him. As far as he's concerned you're just a spoilt little madam he'd rather not have to deal with. I'm telling you this for your own good,' she went on. 'The sooner you face up to the fact that you haven't a hope with Hayes and stop obstructing him, the sooner he'll be able to get on with his other affairs.' She studied her well manicured nails. 'I'm extremely glad I came down here,' she said carefully. 'I couldn't understand why he was staying on. Hayes, Miss Drew, is a very busy man, he's not likely to have much more patience with this kind of foolishness. I don't know much about the business side of this venture but if he decided to pull out I rather think you would find yourself in some financial trouble. You would do well to consider this possibility.'
Holly stared at her, too surprised to be angry. It was amazing how everyone insisted on linking her romantically with Hayes. Where Dulcie was concerned it was understandable—she was jealous. As she had said, she wondered why Hayes had not returned to Coomela and thought Holly was the reason, which simply was not true. A man of his calibre was not likely to let someone he considered a tiresome child stand in his way. Whatever the reason for his delay in returning to Coomela it had nothing to do with her, and the sooner Dulcie Fields realised this the better.
'Look,' she said abruptly. 'You've got it all wrong, you know. I wouldn't take Hayes as a gift.' She passed a hand over her hair. There must be some way she could make Dulcie understand. 'Haven't you ever been mad at someone?' she demanded. 'So mad you'd do anything to get your own back? Even something entirely out of character? Well,' she went on before her question could be answered, 'that's just how Hayes gets me. He insists on treating me as if I were ten years old and I'm sick of it! Take last night,' she went on earnestly warming to her subject. 'I made a special point of leaving you alone to dine together, and what do I get for my pains? Dragged out of the cookhouse as if I'd committed some misdemeanour, and told—told, mind you—to dress as a young lady ought to dress. Well?' she demanded furiously. 'What would you have done?'
Dulcie's eyes showed anything but sympathy. 'The question,' she said coldly, 'wouldn't arise where I was concerned.' She fixed a narrowed gaze on Holly. 'Worries you, does it? That he doesn't see you as a woman?'
Holly gasped—her explanation had not had the desired effect, in fact the reverse. Dulcie's claws were out. Well, at least she had tried. 'Not in the way you think, Miss Fields,' she answered haughtily. 'I just don't happen to like the label tagged on me. I can assure you you've no need to worry about my forming any attachment to Mr Chester. You're more than welcome to him; I wish you every success. If you could persuade him to go back to Coomela with you I'll be your friend for life !' she added fervently.
'There speaks my fiancée of hardly more than two weeks,' drawled Hayes from the doorway.
As Holly swung round to face him, she heard Dulcie gasp, 'Hayes!'
Holly glared at him. 'You see?' she told Dulcie bitterly. 'He actually enjoys baiting me.' Her teeth clenched. 'All right!' she ground out. 'I'm used to it, but Miss Fields isn't.' She shrugged. 'Or perhaps she is—she's known you longer than I have, after all. Perhaps a perverted sense of humour appeals to her.' She looked back at Dulcie, whose eyes were fixed on Hayes in mute appeal, and felt a sense of pity. Poor girl, she loved him.
Holly turned back to Hayes still standing nonchalantly by the door with that bland expression of his that gave nothing away. 'Now you can apologise,' she said quietly as the explanation for his extraordinary behaviour hit her. They had quarrelled; a lovers' tiff was not unusual—it would account for the reason Hayes had left Dulcie like that, and for the attitude Dulcie had adopted to her. It might also account for the reason he had stayed at Green Paddocks, forcing Dulcie to come to him. Holly almost nodded to herself. He was that kind of man, he would demand complete obedience all along the line. Dulcie must have annoyed him in some way.
'Kiss and make up,' she advised him airily, feeling quite lighthearted at the thought that he would soon be on his way back to Coomela with his beloved. Her step was light as she walked to the door.
Hayes waited until she reached him, then murmured, 'Yes, let's,' and to her astonishment caught her in his arms. Her protests were never allowed to surface as his lips stifled them with a hard, almost vicious pressure. When she was allowed respite, Dulcie had gone.
Holly stood dazed and gasping for breath. 'How dare you!' she got out, very near to tears. 'How dare you use me to make Dulcie jealous ! I really p-pity her.' She drew a deep breath. Her heart was hammering, partly from shock and partly from an emotion completely new to her. 'W-what has the poor girl done to deserve such treatment?'
'Have you had breakfast yet?' he asked conversationally, 'I could do with a cup of coffee.'
Holly did not answer, she was beyond speech.
Hayes watched her with narrowed eyes. 'And that poor girl, as you put it, would save herself a lot of grief by accepting the fact that I prefer to do the running when and if I start courting. I did not invite her here, she invited herself. As for my using you, you're quite right, I did use you. As,' he said softly, 'you used me—to remove a similar obstruction. So we're even.'
Holly stared at him, then blinked. 'It was your suggestion we pretended we were engaged,' she reminded him angrily, 'not mine.'
He shrugged casually. 'Served the same purpose,' he said dryly. 'Useful, isn't it?' he added harshly. 'Neither of us is likely to let it go to our heads.'
She knew an odd sensation—as if chains were being woven about her, maybe for life, and that frightened her. She had not liked the previous label he had tagged on her, but it was preferable to this one. 'Until I do decide to marry,' she said pointedly, 'it doesn't really matter, does it? As long as you refute it then I couldn't care less.' She turned to leave in search of her belated breakfast, but her arm was caught fast and she was swung round to face him. She did not care for the expression in his eyes.
'Got someone in mind, have you?' he grated out.
Holly knew surprise, her eyes registered it, then she thought of Hal. He was still worried he might lose him. 'Oh, not Hal,' she said airily.
His fingers pressed hard into her arm and Holly winced. 'Who, then?' he inquired softly.
She began to wish she had never started this. 'No one you know,' she said hastily. 'Will you please let go of my arm, you're hurting me !'
'Pete Mills?' he persisted.
'For goodness' sake, no !' she said crossly. 'And it's no use bullying me, you're not going to find out. I have some private life, you know.' Her chin went up in the air haughtily.
For a long moment his eyes studied her, then he released her. 'Just remember, as your partner I'm entitled to know of your future plans. We'll leave it at that for the moment,' he said abruptly.
A very cross Holly eventually made her way to the kitchen.
Dulcie left that same afternoon, and Holly did not see her again. Hayes must have seen to all the arrangements as Holly saw his car was gone and presumed he had driven her to the station—which was something, she thought, he could have detailed Jaimie to do it, for it was Jaimie who had fetched her on her arrival. She still felt a little sorry for Dulcie—not too sorry, for she was inclined to be of the opinion that she ought to have had more sense than to fall for Hayes in the first place. Holly still nursed hopes that Hayes would relent and make it up with Dulcie. He must have some feeling for her, surely?
When Holly heard his voice an hour later, she knew acute disappointment, hoping against hope that he had decided to return to Coomela with Dulcie. The disappointment changed to a cold rage. What a heartless brute he was! He had probably waved her off with a smile and poor Dulcie would be enjoying a good cry on the train back. Her eyes narrowed. She could almost see the pattern of the future; Green Paddocks would be his refuge from all future involvements. It was ideal] for someone with his ideas on marriage. There was even a prefabricated 'fiancée' in residence!
Holly needed a change of view and a change of thought, so she made her way to the stables to collect Silky, only to find Hayes in the stabling yard. He was staring up at the homestead and gave no sign that he had seen her. As she went to pass him, he remarked casually, 'It's time something was done about that verandah. I noticed several slats need replacing. Think I'll do the whole thing while I'm about it. Windows too could do with being made larger—say one opening out on to the verandah.'
Her reaction was swift; replace the verandah indeed ! This was her domain, he was making a big mistake if he thought he was making any changes here. He might be right about the slats; they were loose, but would not take much repairing. As for larger windows—she liked things as they were: 'Only a few slats need replacing,' she answered coldly. 'I'll see Jaimie does it.' She started to walk away.
'I'm afraid it's too big a job for Jaimie,' he said mildly.
Holly ought to have been forewarned by that mild tone of his, but she was slow on the uptake. She looked back at him. 'Nonsense!' she said sharply. 'It will only take him an hour or so.'
His brows rose in mock surprise. 'To fit a new verandah?' he drawled.
Holly finally caught on; her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparked. 'I can't afford a new verandah and I don't want one. I like it just as it is,' she snapped.
His brows rose higher. 'If I say we can afford it, then we can afford it,' he said coolly.
The 'we' bit hit Holly—it was about time this autocratic character was put in his place for once and for all. 'There's no "we" about it, Mr Chester,' she said haughtily. 'I own the homestead, remember. What I say goes. That means no new verandah —no new windows—no new anything!'
'Pity,' he murmured. 'I thought it was worth saving, myself.'
Holly gave him a surprised look, and waited; no doubt he would elucidate, and he did.
'I'd give it perhaps two years, not much more,' he went on. 'Still, if that's the way you want it. It's up to you.'
'Give what two years?' she demanded.
'The homestead,' he answered calmly. 'Of course, I couldn't expect you to notice things like rotting timber and plumbing on its last legs.'
Holly bristled. 'It was good enough for my father and it's good enough for me,' she snapped, now sure she knew what he was after. Modernising the whole place just to suit his convenience! This was one battle he wasn't going to win.
'And your children?' he queried softly.
Holly flushed. He hit low, didn't he? As if she was likely to marry I 'Plenty of time for those kind of thoughts,' she managed to answer airily, 'if I ever marry.'
'Oh, you'll marry all right,' he assured her steadily.
Her flush deepened; she didn't care for the turn the conversation was taking, and turned away to end it.
'Of course,' he went on smoothly, 'you'll probably have to move away then anyway. Once these old places start to go, the deterioration rate is pretty fast.'
Holly's lips set. He was pretty determined, wasn't he? 'So it falls down,' she snapped. 'Why should you worry? Your manager will be rehoused, no doubt.'
'You know,' he murmured softly, 'you really do have to be saved from yourself, don't you? Would you really let it rot just to spite me?'
Holly looked away quickly. The answer was a plain yes as far as she was concerned ! All the same, she was worried. The wretched man was probably right—he had a nasty habit of being right, she thought bitterly. She swallowed her resentment and looked back at him. 'Is it really as bad as that?' she asked quietly.
His eyes mocked her. 'Yes,' he drawled. 'If anything's going to be done it ought to be done soon.'
Holly was out on a limb—to refuse to listen to good advice would be churlish and she did love Green Paddocks. She couldn't imagine herself living anywhere else. She glanced back at the homestead. 'And we can afford it?' she asked, unconciously linking them together.
He gave a slow smile that startled her. Hayes smiling was a rare sight, but a nice one. Anyone but her would have floated on air after receiving it, but Holly had not received much of that kind of treatment from Hayes. Besides, she hadn't forgotten what had happened to Pegleg. Her lips thinned; he could be nice enough when he got his own way, couldn't he?
'I don't usually repeat myself,' he said slowly. 'I believe I did say so.'
'I'll think about it,' she said casually.
Hayes' own lips thinned, and she watched his hands clench into fists. 'Why, you little minx,' he began furiously. 'All right ! If that's the way you want it! I don't know why the devil I bothered to mention it. I ought to have known I wouldn't get anywhere. Still, as I said, someone's got to save you from yourself. It's Milly I feel real sorry for, having to look after you. It's the only home she's got—but that wouldn't worry you, would it? I'm going ahead anyway, whether you like it or not!' With that he turned sharply on his heel and walked away, leaving Holly staring after him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MILLY'S thoughts on the subject of repairs were pretty definite. 'Your pa would have agreed; what for you so mad at Hayes, eh? You so all-fired set on disliking that fella, you got no sense nohow. Milly thinks it's 'bout time you took a good look around you. You so hornery these days, you forget to say thank you. I teach you better than that, don't I? Now you listen to old Milly, girl. That fella does what he thinks right. He ain't asking for no bouquets, like someone else we know,' her brow darkened. 'He sees what's wanted and gets on with it.'
'He'll modernise every inch, of it, just you see,' Holly muttered.
Milly stared at her. 'There you goes again,' she said. 'How you know, eh? Milly tell you something, she hear him ask Jaimie if we could still get that red wood for the verandah ! That don't sound like modernising to me—sounds just like it's going back as it was before. Now you get some tucker inside you, and don't go looking for trouble.'
Holly felt like a castaway on a desert island, the only record she had on hand was one that repeated, Hayes is wonderful, over and over again!
It was not often Holly had an hallucination, in fact she could not ever remember having one before, but she was certainly having one now, she thought, as she stared at the familiar form of Pegleg standing half hidden in the thick scrub of the ranch outer boundaries. Sitting transfixed on Silky's back, and hardly daring to breathe in case the apparition vanished as suddenly as it had come, Holly wondered if he had been so much in her thoughts she had conjured him up out of thin air. A snort and a rustling as he moved further out into the open quickly brought her out of her state of trance. He was real! He was really there! A feeling of exhilaration poured over her, comparable only to the day she had proved his existence so long ago. Dismounting hastily as if to reassure herself she was not dreaming, Holly walked slowly towards him. His brown gold-flecked eyes watched her steadily as she approached, and Holly's eyes misted over. 'Pegleg, you'll never know how glad I am to see you,' she murmured. 'I don't know how you did it, but I'm proud of you.'
He raised his great head and snorted again, as if to say, 'You should be!' Then he turned back into the scrub again and was soon out of sight. Holly was sorry to see him leave so soon, but the wily beast had no doubt remembered their last encounter and the resulting indignity.
Another surge of joy went through her. He could have bolted, but he had let her get quite close. Her brow creased in thought. How had he got out? The valley was absolutely secure, the only way out was through the gates and it was not likely one had been left open by mistake. Dave? 'He wouldn't risk it,'
she muttered; he knew only too well the eagle eye of Hayes would soon spot him on the loose. A pretty thorough job had been carried out clearing the ranch of all strays and Pegleg didn't have a hope of avoiding round-up once Hayes had seen him. Hayes? Disbelievingly she shook her head. It just wasn't possible ! Not Hayes, of all people—but who else would have dared to set him free?
As she remounted Silky, Holly's mind was in a whirl. It had to be Hayes! The idea was utterly inconceivable, yet it was the only answer—but why? As far as he was concerned Pegleg was an ordinary old scrub stray. Holly did not feel at all easy in her mind; it was not the sort of gesture folks at war usually made. Was it his way of making some sort of peace pact? He would know sooner or later, she would find out he was free. Her brow creased again—then what? What was she supposed to do? Behave herself and start saying 'Yes, sir, no, sir,' to him? Her mouth set stubbornly. That would mean Pegleg's freedom for hers. Her brows rose; now why should she think that? Besides, she thought darkly as she spurred Silky into a gallop, she wasn't at all convinced Hayes was behind it. She had to find Dave, he would know.
Unable to wait for an opportunity to show itself when she could talk to Dave, Holly disregarded Hayes' orders and started looking for him. It was vitally important for her to know the answer.
She eventually located him in the stores checking on the wire supplies for the reinforcing of the fences before the new stock were moved in. Holly found him squatting on his heels examining a length of steel wire neatly packed on the bottom shelf. He glanced up quickly as she approached. 'Well, look who's here !' he grinned. 'Thought you'd forgotten us.'
Holly smiled back. 'Been busy,' she lied, not able to lower her pride enough to tell him she had been banned from taking part in the ranch affairs, or from fraternising with the men.