by Anna Jacobs
It was over an hour before they got back to the scene of the accident, to find Pandora sitting on her trunk on a small slope by the side of the road, holding the open umbrella over herself and Bert, who was slumped beside her. Their lower bodies were covered by a tarpaulin. Leo was standing with the two remaining horses. He smiled cheerfully at the sight of the rescue party in spite of the rain dripping from his hat brim and running down his face.
Zachary was off his horse in seconds, hurrying forward. ‘Are you all right, Pandora?’
‘Just c-cold again.’ Her attempt to smile was unconvincing.
The injured man tried to move, groaning in pain, and all attention turned to him.
‘We’ll shift your baggage into our cart first,’ Martin decided, ‘then we’ll use the trunks to stop him rolling around in the back. It’s going to hurt to move him.’
Bert opened his eyes and glared at the newcomer. ‘I’m not deaf. I’ve broke me arm not me ears. There’s some rum in me bag, but they won’t let me have any.’
‘Surely it’s not good for him?’ Pandora whispered.
Their rescuer grinned. ‘A swig or two of grog never hurt anyone. Wouldn’t mind one myself. Keeps the cold out nicely, rum does.’
They passed the bottle round, even persuading Pandora to take a sip. But though the strong spirit burned down her throat, giving an illusion of warmth, she disliked the taste and refused to have any more.
By the time they got back to the inn, Bert had had enough ‘little swigs’ to make him tiddly and was considerably more cheerful. Their helpers carried him inside and laid him on a narrow bed in a room containing several other beds.
‘Can’t offer you a separate room to sleep in, miss,’ the innkeeper said apologetically to Pandora, ‘but we’ve put clean sheets on the bed in the corner for you. Your fellow can sleep in the next bed so you’ll be all right. Not that I’d let anyone lay a finger on you in my inn.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Better get out of them wet clothes. You two can change in my back room, and we’ll deal with this poor chap here. What about him?’ He jerked his head towards Leo, who was looking rather vacant now his special skills weren’t needed.
‘He needs to change too. I’ll sort him out some clothes when I’m ready. He’s good with animals and sick people, but he’s not . . .’ Zachary hesitated.
‘He’s not all there,’ the man said cheerfully, tapping his forehead. ‘If he’s good with animals, he’ll not go short of work, though.’
‘He’s already got a job waiting for him, but he’s helping us get to Albany before he starts it. Can we hire your cart to take us there tomorrow?’
‘As long as you get it straight back to me. Be best if I send Martin with you to drive it and bring it back again, I reckon. I’ll know it’s safe then.’
‘What about getting ours repaired in the meantime? It’s not mine, it’s a borrowed cart and they’ll need to take it and the horses back to their owners.’ He wondered if Leo would manage that, but Bert would be able to direct him, even with a broken arm.
‘If you’ve got the money, the repairs can be done. Good thing it’s not a big dray or we’d be in trouble. I’ll get my neighbour in to speak to you before you leave. He’s handy with repairs. Has to be, living so far from everywhere. Martin can bring a new wheel back from the wheelwright in Albany. Now, get out of them wet clothes, you two, before you catch your death.’
Pandora was too cold to let embarrassment stop her from changing and began to fumble in her portmanteau with fingers so stiff and numb they wouldn’t bend properly.
‘Shall I wait outside till you’ve put dry clothes on?’ Zachary asked.
‘No. You’re as wet and cold as I am. Just turn your back.’
But she couldn’t undo the small buttons on her chemise and in the end had to ask for his help.
‘Just a minute,’ he said. ‘I’m not—’
It was too late. She had turned round and seen him standing there, bare-chested. For a moment she couldn’t tear her eyes away, then she averted her gaze. But the image was still there in her mind. How strong and beautiful his body was! Like one of the Greek statues her father had shown her drawings of. Zachary’s face might not be handsome, but his body was very pleasing to the eye.
He hastily pulled on a dry vest and thrust his arms into his shirt sleeves. ‘Right. What did you want me to do?’
‘I can’t unfasten the buttons. My hands are still so cold and these are rather small and fiddly.’
He came to stand close, avoiding her eyes, touching the damp material gently as he undid one button after another. He took care not to let her chemise flap open.
She quivered involuntarily as his fingers brushed lightly against her skin. Each button seemed to take an age to unfasten. Suspended in the moment, she was aware only of him.
After he reached the final button and his hands dropped, she had to force herself to step back because what she really wanted was to walk into his arms and lay her head against his chest. ‘Thank you. I can manage now.’
He turned and walked abruptly across to the other side of the room, but not before she’d seen the longing in his eyes, not to mention the fact that his body had reacted to hers the same way Bill’s had done sometimes. That was good – wasn’t it?
When she was dressed again, she said, ‘I’m ready,’ in an unsteady voice.
He turned. ‘We have to make sure you don’t have a relapse.’
‘I’ll be all right. I’m feeling much warmer already, not like last time when I couldn’t stop shivering.’
They went back into the main room without looking at one another, leaving their damp garments on a wooden clothes horse in front of the fire.
Leo was standing to one side of the fire, his wet garments steaming gently. Zachary sorted out some clothes for him and took him into the other room to change in privacy.
Food was provided in the public room, but Pandora didn’t notice what she ate or whether anyone else spoke to her. She was conscious only of Zachary, squashed beside her at the common table, his thigh touching hers, his strong, capable hands cutting up his meat and passing bread to her. When they joined the ship they’d be separated, and she hated the thought of that.
After the meal, Zachary said, ‘If we set off really early tomorrow, we may have a chance of making it in time. Are you up to that?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Better get to bed straight away then.’
Since the inn had only three rooms in all, the public room, the owner’s living quarters and the guests’ sleeping quarters, there were two other men sleeping in the room with them that night, as well as Bert and Leo. The strangers stared at Pandora in such a hungry, appraising way, she was glad Zachary was sleeping beside her.
It took a long time for her to get to sleep, tired as she was, but she watched him fall asleep almost at once. Firelight showed that if she stretched out her arm she could touch him. She almost did so.
Whatever happened from now on, she wanted to be with him. Whatever she could do to make that happen she would. If that made her a forward hussy, then so be it.
On that decision, she smiled and fell asleep at last.
The following Friday, Hallie woke feeling sick with fear, but when she went out to the market, leaving her mother at home because it was raining, she saw their cousin John Stoner again.
He came up to her, raising his cap politely. ‘I’ve spoken to Tom and he’s had a word with Harry, who claims he was only teasing you for a kiss.’
‘He hurt me. He wanted me to—’ She couldn’t finish it.
‘Well, he’ll leave you alone from now on.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, very sure.’
‘Thank you.’
Even so as nine o’clock passed, Hallie began to feel afraid, her skin going clammy. She pretended to read her book, but couldn’t take in a word.
When the door knocker went, her mother looked up. ‘That’ll be Zachar
y’s wages. It’s kind of Harry to bring them round each week, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. I’ll go.’
At the door Hallie found the shop lad. He held out an envelope and ran off.
She shut the door and leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy with relief.
Harry walked home that night feeling furious. Who the hell did his cousin Tom think he was to spoil a bit of fun? It’d have given Harry a great deal of satisfaction to use Zachary’s sister like a whore. It’d have been even better if she’d fallen for a child. And she’d not have dared say a word to anyone.
He knew how to terrify lasses.
But Tom was much older than him and didn’t always agree with what the rest of the family did and somehow, you didn’t mess with Tom. He was a big man, took after the Stoner side of his family, and good with his fists. The Stoners hadn’t the wit to take what they wanted from life. They were sickeningly honest. But so strong you didn’t dare run up against them.
He shrugged. Ah, well, there were plenty of other fish in the sea. Who needed a tall scrawny thing like Hallie Carr?
15
In the morning Bert was much better and as the landlord agreed to keep an eye on him till the woman who was to care for him arrived, they were able to set off as soon as it started to get light.
Pandora could see how worried Zachary was about them missing the ship and set herself to distract him by asking questions about the shop and how her uncle had run things. She already knew that he loved the work and when she asked about the changes he’d like to make, he soon stopped being guarded about himself and talked for over an hour, encouraged by her prompting and questions.
Martin sat quietly beside them on the driving bench, not saying anything, but clearly listening.
‘I’ve bored you,’ Zachary said suddenly.
‘No, you haven’t. I hadn’t understood how much there was to do that customers don’t know about. I shall enjoy learning about it all. I’m definitely not going to sit upstairs like an idle lady and let someone else run it for me, though.’
‘I’m not sure Harry will allow that.’
She stared at him. ‘Harry allow? He doesn’t own the shop.’
‘He is manager at the moment. He’s very clever about getting his own way and will make it difficult for you to go against his wishes.’
‘We’ll see about that.’ The more she heard about this Harry, the less she liked the sound of him. He didn’t own the shop; she and her sisters did. And she’d make that very plain.
Anyway, Zachary would be there to help her and back her up, not to mention the lawyer.
Marshall was finding the shop work more interesting than he’d expected, even though Prebble still gave him all the lowliest jobs and seemed to hate it when he had to serve in the shop at busy times. He’d not been pleased when Marshall showed that he could add up the prices in his head as well as the next man without making mistakes in the amounts he charged.
Several times Marshall came to work in the morning to find things not quite as he’d left them the night before in the packing area. The changes were always very slight, but he was quite sure things had been moved – or taken. He didn’t say anything because it was such tiny changes, but he began marking levels before he left and memorising how many packets there were on a shelf.
It was cleverly done, he had to admit. A couple of times a week a few items were taken, just a little here and a little there. If you weren’t looking, you’d never notice.
He didn’t say anything to Prebble but he added it to the list of things he’d noticed and shared the information with Ralph at their weekly meetings.
Once Ralph had begun to employ a man to keep watch on his house, there had been no more men seen standing in or near the back alley, but Marshall counselled him to keep the watchmen on for his sister’s sake.
‘It galls me, Marshall lad, to have to pay out good money just in case.’
‘It’d gall you even more if your house was broken into, your sister upset or yourself hurt.’
‘We could be wrong, you know. Maybe it isn’t Prebble. Maybe it’s just chance. Mr Featherworth insists that we have to be able to prove it beyond doubt before we accuse him.’
‘It’s not chance that food is being taken from the shop when he’s the only one with a key to the gates. And I know that family better than you do. Prebbles are not to be trusted. You keep paying a watchman.’
Ralph sighed.
Marshall smiled. ‘I never thought to say it, but I’m enjoying shop work. It’s quiet in that back room and a man can think as he packs the sugar or flour or tea. And our dinners are a lot tastier since Mr Featherworth popped in that time. I can’t thank you enough, lad, for giving me this chance to do some honest work.’
Alice had also noticed the new employee and seen how different he was from the others. When she mentioned it to Ralph, he hesitated, then explained why.
In return she told him what Dot had seen the night of the storm.
‘Tell me again. Every single detail.’
‘She saw a figure come into the back yard of the shop. We checked in the morning but there was no sign that anyone had broken in, so we decided it must have been someone looking for an open window, as thieves do. But all the back windows of the shop are barred and the door is very sturdy so we’d have seen if anyone had broken in.’
‘I wish you’d told me about this sooner.’
‘We didn’t think much of it because neither of us has seen anyone loitering since then. And we’d have heard the back gate squeak if it had been opened. You can’t mistake the sound.’
‘Perhaps they climbed over the side gate instead. Would Dot have seen that?’
‘No, she wouldn’t. That gate is out of sight of her bedroom unlike the back gate.’
‘It’s very worrying. I must admit I shall be glad when the owners return and the responsibility for the shop is taken off my shoulders.’
‘I shan’t. I shall have to find myself a new job once that happens and I expect I’ll have to leave Outham.’
‘Leave? I thought you’d look for a job round here to be near your cousins.’
‘I doubt I’d find one here, given the hard times, and governesses have little free time, even if I did.’
‘I should miss you.’
‘And I you. I’ve not had friends like you and Judith for a long time.’
He gave her a strange look then took his leave.
She couldn’t help hoping the look meant what she thought it did, though she told herself she was past the age of such foolish hopes.
Because of the muddy road conditions, the cart didn’t reach Albany until the early evening. As they approached the town, the taciturn Martin stirred himself to say he knew a good place for them to stay the night.
‘We need to find out first whether we’ve got cabins on the Bombay,’ Zachary said.
‘You won’t find anything out about your passage till tomorrow. The ship isn’t in yet, as you can see, and the agent will have shut the office hours ago. He won’t thank you for disturbing him at home, so you might as well get a good night’s sleep.’
Zachary had been concerned for Pandora, who was white with exhaustion, though she’d not complained. ‘Very well. Where do you recommend we stay?’
‘My mum will put you up for a night or two if the ship’s late. She doesn’t charge as much as some and she’s a good cook. She won’t let you two sleep together, though.’
‘We don’t sleep together in that sense,’ Zachary said curtly.
Martin winked at him. ‘A-course not.’
He opened his mouth to protest, but Pandora jabbed him in the ribs, so he said nothing more.
Princess Royal Harbour took Zachary’s breath away. The inlet was big enough to contain several islands. No wonder the mail ships stopped here and not in Fremantle. They’d be well protected from storms. Small boats and a couple of larger ships were rocking gently to and fro on the water, as if someone had put them to sleep for the n
ight.
The town itself reminded Zachary of Fremantle in some ways, though it was much hillier. There was the same patchy pattern of settlement across the townsite, with empty blocks of land between some houses, though there were more buildings along the seafront, set closer together as if jostling for a view so magnificent it took your breath away.
The town was overlooked by a small but steep hill at whose foot stood a large house with a windmill behind it. Martin obligingly pointed out the convict depot, which seemed to be the largest set of buildings.
‘Got a lot done in Plantagenet Shire and Albany since the convicts arrived,’ he said. ‘They’ve built roads and them lighthouses on Breaksea Island and Point King. Some folk worry about the convicts causing trouble, but they haven’t done. I reckon it’s good to set them to useful work. Have to watch people don’t stow away on board ships leaving for eastern Australia though. The police search all the ships before they’re allowed to leave.’
In the town itself some of the streets were rolled and gravelled, which was an improvement on the rutted track they’d been following all week.
‘Let’s go and see my mum, then.’ Martin clicked his tongue to signal to the horse to walk on.
Mrs Tyler brightened when her son told her he’d brought her some paying guests and within half an hour, Pandora was able to retire to a small but comfortable bedroom with a jug of hot water.
She sighed with pleasure as she closed the door. To wash herself all over was a wonderful treat after the days on the road. As she took her stained clothing off, she looked at it in disgust, choosing instead some of the clean clothes intended for wear on board the ship.
Martin said Leo could sleep with him on the back veranda. He’d been very kind to Leo, saying at one stage to Zachary, ‘I reckon if you treat them decently, people like him are less trouble than a lot of so-called normal folk.’
‘You’re right. But not many would agree with you.’
‘I don’t pay no attention to what others think. I choose my own way in life.’
Here it was again, Zachary thought, this independence that so many ordinary Australians seemed to exhibit. He couldn’t imagine Martin kow-towing to customers at the shop in Outham as Harry did. Do I fawn over them when I’m serving? he wondered. He didn’t think so, though he tried to be courteous and help them find what they needed, whether the customers were rich or poor.