Katherine's tears mixed with the water dripping down her face. Regardless of all the religious excuses in the world, this was what she wanted. "I just hope it isn't too late to tell her." Feeling like a great weight had been lifted, Katherine urged the horse forward.
As she rounded a bend, a horse and rider skidded to a stop in front of her, and she stared into the eyes of the young bushranger, Joshua, the boy she'd helped that night, which now felt like an eternity ago. Despite his sudden intrusion, she refused to allow it to dampen her spirits.
"What is it about you people? Do you keep constant tabs on me or something?" She stopped, seeing something other than cockiness in his eyes. "What's wrong?" She leant forward to catch his reply over the noise of the downpour.
"We raided a homestead yesterday and it went horribly wrong. We were trying to make our escape when a posse of men were on us, and we had to fight our way out of there."
Katherine felt an uneasy feeling settle in her stomach. She struggled to remain calm. "What about injuries? Did you all manage to get away unscathed?" She tightly gripped the reins, somehow sensing what the answer would be.
"Three of us were killed." Joshua fought to steady his horse as lightning, closely followed by the sound of thunder, rolled not far from them. "Mary wasn't so lucky either. She's been badly wounded and has been asking for you ever since."
Katherine flinched at the thunder. "Where is she?"
"This way." Joshua wheeled his horse.
Any thoughts of a warm homecoming with Catriona were temporarily put on hold while Katherine followed.
AFTER AN INTERMINABLE period of bashing through virgin scrub, Katherine and Joshua finally emerged through a break in the bush. In the clearing was a grey upright slab hut, even more diminutive than the Connor's. Looking around the hut's general surrounds, Katherine noted a conspicuous absence of horses and activity. She alighted and turned to Joshua. "Where's the rest of your, er, gang?"
"Spread to the four winds." He tethered his horse to the closest tree. "As soon as they saw Mary's injury they split our gold between them and took off."
"So, there is no honour among thieves." Joshua's face whipped around in defiance and Katherine held up her hand. "Present company accepted of course."
They ran toward the hut, with Joshua opening the door to allow her to enter. He immediately closed it behind her, to keep out the unrelenting wind. Katherine's eyes adjusted to the low interior light and she saw a bed along the opposite wall with the figure of a pale woman lying on it.
Katherine hurried across and knelt beside the cot. "Oh Mary, what have you done?"
Mary's face lit up and she managed a weak smile. "I told him you'd come. He didn't believe me," she said, her breathing laboured. "All I needed was for him to find you."
"And here I am." Katherine's eyes travelled down to the bloodstained sheet concealing Mary's legs.
"The hit was one in a million. The bullet ricocheted off the pommel of my saddle and lodged in my thigh. Fortunately the constable and his men didn't follow us, and I had time to stop and tourniquet it before we got here." Her attempts at nonchalance were betrayed by the look of pain imprinted on her face.
Katherine pulled back the bloodstained sheet to get a better look at the wound, sucking in air through her teeth as she did so. "God in heaven, you don't do anything by halves." She was hard pressed to make out the source of the bleeding. "If you're going to survive this wound, we've got to get you into the back of the wagon and into town now."
Her attempt to rise was halted by Mary's restraining hand. "Why would I want to go all the way into town, have it tended to by a doctor and healed so they could hang me? Even if that were an option, you know I wouldn't do it. Besides, the wound's too far gone. I know it, and so do you. I've lost far too much blood to recover. It's only a matter of time," she finished gently, her voice tinged with a finality Katherine hadn't previously heard. "Before I go to wherever it is I'm going, I had to speak to you and clear the air between us."
"Let me at least first look at the wound and clean it."
Mary settled back on the bed and, fatigue etching her face, nodded her head.
Attempting to get a better look at the injury, Katherine used a knife to quickly tear the trouser leg away. Finally being able to see the full extent of the damage, she knew Mary's words to be true. The wound was high up on the thigh and, despite the tourniquet, still oozed blood. The flesh immediately surrounding the wound was reddened, the telltale purulent smell of decay cloyingly evident.
"Your leg's infected already." Katherine rose, opened the door, and thrust two pots into Joshua's hands.
"I need you to fill these with rainwater and bring them back inside so I can heat them on the fire."
Katherine returned to Mary's side. She tore the discarded trouser leg into strips with which to dress the wound. She was vaguely aware of the door opening and Joshua putting a pot on the fire, and then they were once again left alone.
When the water was warm enough, Katherine cleaned the wound as best she could.
She looked around the room. "Where's your food?"
Mary motioned to the corner of the hut. "Over there, she managed through gritted teeth. "What's left of it."
Katherine rifled through the bags until she found two calico pouches containing tea and sugar. Portioning the tea between two cups, she poured the remainder of the water into both, and then liberally sprinkled sugar into Mary's. Dragging a chair across the room, Katherine sat beside her and handed Mary a cup of strong black tea.
"Thank you." Mary took a sip. Her eyes temporarily closed and a ghost of a smile graced her face. She handed the cup to Katherine and eased herself back onto the bed. "I've no right to demand your help, especially after the way I behaved when we last met. I should never have intruded on you like I did. On top of that, my questions in the kitchen were rude and inappropriate."
Katherine gently stroked Mary's arm. "No, they weren't. You were right. Something had occurred between Catriona and me. For so long I'd been denying that anything had happened. On that morning when you visited, your questions were too close to the mark."
"I thought as much by the way you reacted, as well as what I'd heard about her actions on your safe return after the first time you, er, visited me. In truth, I was jealous at what the two of you had. She obviously cares for you very deeply."
Katherine mutely nodded, her hands tightly clasped in her lap.
Mary gently covered her petite hands. "You and I both know I'm dying, so now's not the time to mince words. I'm going to be honest with you. Can I expect the same in return?"
Katherine looked first to the hand resting over her own clenched fist and then to Mary's pale features. Unclenching her hand, she turned it up to gently clasp Mary's own. "Yes."
"I've been around lovely women all my life, from casual liaisons to the look of hopeful expectation in rich grazier's wives who I've divested of money. By far, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever known. Your beauty is not skin-deep. It's also within. God knows any man, or woman for that matter, would risk life to win just one smile from you. No matter how well you hide your beauty behind your habit, it won't be hidden from anyone."
Katherine blushed at Mary's candid comments and a familiar fire ignited itself in her stomach.
"Every time I'm close to you I sense energy between us which is almost palpable. I felt it the night when we argued by the fire and again in the kitchen when I held you, and I sense it radiating from you now. Katherine, do you not feel the same force between us?"
Katherine's eyes alternated between Mary's face and her hands. "I do, and it confused me at first. Prior to coming to Australia, I'd never been exposed to such feelings. Then suddenly both you and Catriona evoked the same reaction." She took a shuddering breath. "That day in the kitchen when you held me----I thought you were going to kiss me. I was afraid, but I was also excited. Then, after you left, all I felt was ashamed," she finished, relieved to speak to someone about that morning,
yet guilty at the same time. She turned her head away from Mary's probing eyes.
Mary eased herself up on her elbow and tenderly captured Katherine's face. "What you felt were your own emotions, Katherine. And they're powerful ones which won't be constrained by social or religious mores, no matter how hard you try. You didn't need to be afraid of me that day. I never would have hurt you."
Mary's hand wound its way to the back of Katherine's neck. "Let me show you," she said huskily and guided Katherine's face to her own.
She had barely touched Mary's lips when Katherine felt like a lightning bolt had passed through her. Leaning into the kiss, she trembled at the feel of Mary's tongue lightly teasing her upper lip as if in question. In answer, Katherine lips slightly parted to allow the gentle exploration of Mary's tongue.
Finally, Mary broke contact and eased herself back onto her pillows. Uncontrolled tears tracked down her face.
Confused, Katherine reached for Mary's hand. "Are you all right? Are you in pain?"
Mary bitterly laughed. "I am, but it's pain of the heart I suffer. Life is cruel, Katherine. I've waited to be able to do that to you since we first met, and now it's too late. I once told you I could have never changed my ways. I'd have gladly given up bushranging though, to spend my life with someone as beautiful as you. Now it's too late--but it's not for you. Things can be different. Promise me you won't wait. Admit to what you want and take it."
Katherine looked down at Mary's pleading eyes. "I will. Now please rest for a while and conserve your strength."
Mary's eyes closed, the shallow breathing of her chest barely visible. As the rain fell outside Katherine shed her own silent tears for a woman whose life was almost over when it had barely begun.
CATRIONA CAST A disgusted glance at her attempts to maintain a halfway decent set of books. Katherine's last neat entries were such a contrast to hers. Catriona's writing looked like a cat had dipped its paws in ink and walked across the page.
Seeking any excuse to break away from the tedium, she glanced at the clock and frowned. It was two-o'clock. Katherine should have arrived by now. Although concerned by her tardiness, what unsettled Catriona more was unrelenting rain on the homestead's corrugated roof. If Katherine stayed true to form, then she'd have forgotten her oilskin. Catriona shivered. Despite the earlier heat of the day, a rainstorm could quickly chill a person to the bone. She pushed herself out of her chair and strode toward the barn, on the way grabbing her hat and two oilskins.
As she rode toward the Connor property, her concern grew. The deluge was falling in steady sheets, making it almost impossible to see the muddied track in front of her. At one stage her horse temporarily lost its footing, and she only regained control through luck and skilled horsemanship. Catriona reached forward and reassuringly patted her horse's neck. Anyone in a wagon would have been hard pressed to recover from that. All she could hope was that Katherine had displayed the sense to wait out the storm with the Connor family.
A dripping Catriona knocked hard on the door to the hut, only to have it opened by Aiden, the Connor's youngest boy. He stepped aside and Catriona entered, surprising Mrs. Connor.
"Miss Pelham, 'tis foul weather to be out riding." She motioned to a chair. "What can I do for you?"
Catriona politely shook her head. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Sister Flynn. She left me a note saying she was visiting you and that she'd return via Gleneagle at around twelve-thirty, for lunch. She hasn't turned up. I didn't pass her on the road and now it's getting on late afternoon. Have you seen her?" Apprehension seeped through Catriona's being.
"She left here just after eleven, my dear," Mrs. Connor said seeking confirmation from her eldest. "I wonder where she's gotten to?"
Chapter Fifteen
KATHERINE SPENT AN hour trying valiantly to stem the life force which slowly seeped from Mary's body. The trouser leg she'd stripped and used for bandages was now blood-soaked. Katherine knew, regardless of her efforts, Mary wouldn't last the afternoon.
She was unsure whether the loss of blood or onset of infection was the catalyst, but Mary alternated between calm and delirium. At times the words flowing from her told of one of Mary's more successful bushranging escapades. Occasionally her eyes would open and she would sit up, urging this man or another onto greater feats of daring. When this happened, Katherine carefully eased her down onto the cot and, for a fleeting period of time, Mary was once again at peace.
After a prolonged silent interlude, Mary opened her eyes and, she reached for Katherine's hand. "Thank you for coming and helping me this afternoon," she said with surprising clarity. She laughed humourlessly. "Even most of my loyal followers didn't hang around till the end."
Katherine tried to comfort her, but Mary gently batted her hand away. "It's all right. I always thought it would end like this. I'm glad you came." She closed her eyes, her face a concentration of effort. "It's time for me to move on."
"Lay back and conserve your strength. You need all the rest you can get if you're to get better."
"You make a great helper, darling, but a woeful liar. I've got to go, and we both know it. Know that, if things had been different, I'd have loved you with all my heart. Please go before I die. Joshua knows what has to be done."
"Let me stay. I've seen death." Katherine gently chided. "Do you think I'm afraid of it?"
"No, my love, it's not you I'm afraid of. It's me and my actions. I want you to remember me as I was, not with a face contorted by fear. Please, I beg of you, go now." Exhausted, she fell back onto the cot.
A steady flow of tears streamed down Katherine's cheeks as she leaned to kiss Mary. "I'll never forget you," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I'll remember your pride, stubbornness, bravery, and courage. Most of all, I'll remember the love you had for your people and your kindness towards those less fortunate. I'll always cherish that." Leaving her bedside vigil before separation became too much to bear, Katherine made her way to the door of the cabin. With one last look at Mary, she opened the door and stepped outside.
Joshua was where he had sat all afternoon, on the bench on the undersized front verandah, out of the rain. "Mary hasn't got long before." She let the words hang between them. "She told me you have instructions?"
Joshua silently nodded.
"I can help you if you like. There'll be things which need to be done to prepare her--"
Joshua held up his hand. "I'm sorry, Sister, but I have my orders. Mary was adamant you weren't to be here when she died. I was to show you to the main road and send you on your way. She made me swear I would, and it's a promise I'll not break. If you'll wait here, I'll bring your wagon around."
Katherine nodded, suddenly mute and feeling terribly disempowered. To go against Mary's wishes would be wrong. Yet every element of her willpower warred with her not to do just that. Stepping into the rain and up onto the wagon, she followed her guide back to the main road.
The force of the rain made it almost impossible for Katherine to see the road in front of her, and she shivered as a steady stream of water trickled between her shoulder blades. "How m-m-many times do you n-n-need to be told to take a darned oilskin raincoat with you when y-y-you visit?" Her teeth chattered uncontrollably and her hands were numb. She urged the horse onward.
She struggled on, her thoughts dominated by the events of the past few hours. The wagon suddenly lost it purchase on the slippery road and lurched. She slid sideways across the seat, barely managing to maintain a grip on the reins. By the narrowest of margins, she brought the buckboard to a halt. She jumped down to see if any damage had been done. Her feet sank into the quagmire that had once formed the road. Trudging around the side of the cart, she angrily shook her head. The wheel pin was dislodged. The rear wheel was more off than on. Katherine grabbed hold of the wet, muddy round object and struggled to force it back in place. Try as she might, it wouldn't budge in the sticky mud.
With a shivering look of disgust, she walked toward the horse. "I'll have to ride
you bareback. At least that's better than perishing in this cold."
She got closer to the beast and let out an anguished cry. He was balancing the greater amount of his weight on three legs and, despite her gentle coaxing, wouldn't put any weight on the fourth. "I don't believe this." She stomped her foot, only to have mud spatter up the front of her habit. Laughing through chattering teeth at the picture she must be presenting, Katherine began the slow walk home.
MRS. CONNOR HAD barely finished her sentence and Catriona was out the door and on her horse. She galloped away from the home and back from where she'd come. Where had Katherine gone? A sudden thought dawned on her. Wasn't it somewhere nearby that the bushrangers had kidnapped her? Had that happened again? If so, she hoped she'd at least be out of the bloody rain.
As her horse precariously negotiated its way around the next bend, Catriona froze. Sitting off to one side of the road was the horse and wagon used by Katherine, who was nowhere to be seen. "That wasn't here last time I passed by. Where are you?" she called out.
Catriona angled her horse to the side of the wagon and leant down, immediately recognising the extent of the damage.
She examined Katherine's horse. One of its forefeet barely touched the road. Catriona quickly unharnessed the animal and ran an expert hand down the lame leg. She gently coaxed its hoof off the ground. Deeply embedded in the centre was a sharp white piece of quartzite, a stone which regularly plagued horses in these parts. She carefully extracted the piece with her knife, and then allowed the beast to test its weight on the now unencumbered foot. She nodded. "There you go." Catriona remounted. "Once you feel a bit better I've no doubt you'll find your way back to Susan and a nice warm stable."
And Those Who Trespass Against Us Page 24