Australian Odyssey

by Pauline Saull

  »»•««

  After waiting almost two hours for Jonnie to return, Lucas felt his temper rising. He could just see her turning those gorgeous amber eyes on the unsuspecting lad and in that state of undress too, imagined her having him running around like a lapdog. Unable to stand the wait any longer, about to set off for Woomba, he at last heard Jonnie’s cheerful whistle as he rounded the corner, swinging the empty plate.

  “What kept you?” Lucas demanded.

  “Hey, Lucas. I’ve had a lovely time. She’s a great woman isn’t she?” Jonnie chuckled, shook his head. “You’re a quick worker for sure, but hey, who can blame you!”

  Lucas raked his hair. “The clothes on the grass? For goodness sake, that’s how she’d chosen to work in the heat I suppose, mate! I finished the shelter for her, nothing more.”

  Jonnie laughed. “Okay, okay. I was only joking. Anyway, she asked me to join her. Said it would be a change to have some convi-convivial company. What’s that mean?”

  Lucas stared at Jonnie’s bright eyes and felt laughter rising. “Friendly, I think she meant.”

  “And she told me a bit about life in London, said it’s a dirty smoky place and how she loves Australia.” He paused. “Her husband died on the way here, that’s rotten luck isn’t it? He was a chemist in London, taught her all sorts, she said. The poor woman must feel lost without him, all alone in a new country. Though,” Jonnie said, frowning, “she seems pretty perky for a new widow.”

  Lucas shrugged. “Death affects different people different ways. I’m having an early night. Thanks for doing that for me, Jonnie.”

  »»•««

  Monday morning, waking up with a stiff neck, Ella gingerly tested her foot on the floor. It hurt, but not enough to stop her from doing her morning at Birk’s, and she hobbled into her bedroom to wash and dress. The walk to the paddock to harness Star tested her a little more, but she managed. Lucas, she could see, had made a far better job of the shelter than she would have done. It brought a wry smile to her face.

  I will have to thank him for his trouble.

  Though how she couldn’t imagine. Clambering carefully into the trap, she drove into town, arriving at Birk’s just after nine o’clock.

  “Ella!” Phillip rushed to help her as she limped into the shop. “What have you done?”

  “It’s only a sprained ankle, Phillip. I’ll live! Would you be so kind as to fetch the comfrey mix from the back room? It’s in the largest blue jar on the bottom shelf, it will help enormously.”

  As soon as the comfrey and fresh bandage were applied, Ella’s ankle felt much better. The shop kept her and Phillip busy, the thoughtful young man providing a tall stool for her to keep the weight off her foot, which made it bearable. That morning, she dispensed a mix of pulverized rhubarb, magnesia, and laudanum for an intestinal problem causing painful stomach cramps, the poor woman explaining she felt as though her insides needed flushing out! Next, for a customer suffering from severe bouts of melancholy, Ella suggested a potion made from St. John’s Wort.

  William Birk passed through the shop. “A busy day for you, Mrs. Bickerstaff? Your fame is spreading.”

  Ella smiled. She thoroughly enjoyed her work in the shop, but if the cordial business took off as she envisaged and hoped, would she be able to spare the time at the chemists? She doubted it. The only other possibility as she saw it would be to pass on her skills to Phillip.

  Finished with her customer, she followed William across the shop to his office.

  “Could I have a word with you please, Mr. Birk?” she asked.

  “Come through, my dear. More bad news for me I fear!”

  Ella sighed. “I would hope not.”

  William offered her a seat opposite him at his large desk.

  “I have heard,” he said, “about the plans for enlarging your cordial business. You must be working very hard, so I think I can see what is coming. You need to spend more time at Woomba. Am I correct?”

  “Yes, I do, but I feel confident that young Phillip will be more than eager to take over my role. He has watched and learned quickly. I thought for my remaining time here, say four weeks, I could hone his skills. I’m sure he will be a great asset to you if you’d allow it.”

  William nodded. “I’m happy with that. I’ve been sort of expecting something like this, one cannot be in two places at once after all. And your own business must come first.” He rose to his feet. “Perhaps I could entice you to dine with us one evening soon. My dear wife has heard so much about you and longs to meet you.”

  Ella smiled. “I would like that.”

  The shop was empty of customers and Phillip, replenishing shelves, turned on hearing her. “What did he say?” he asked anxiously.

  Ella patted his hand. “The arrangement is fine with him. Over the next few weeks on my Monday mornings here, we’ll go over everything once more, and maybe add a few new remedies. Are you happy with that?”

  “I’m thrilled, Ella.”

  “You’ll do well,” she said. “Enthusiasm plays a big part in success. Hard work is important, but you need that little extra bit of something, without which it is easy to become blasé.”

  »»•««

  Coralee turned up for her first Tuesday with a youth in tow.

  “This is Jack, Ella,” she said. “He really wants a job. I said you might consider him if he made himself clean and tidy and worked quickly. I know his mother,” she added.

  “Well, Jack.” Ella eyed the stout broad shoulders. “I think you’d be a big help here. You look a strong young man, which is what we need.”

  “I’ll work hard Miz Bickerstaff,” he said eagerly.

  “Good. Come, I’ll show you both how we’ll be operating.” Ella took them to the shed and showed them how she intended running the business once everything was in place. “The press should be here by the end of the week, but for now I’m afraid the fruit will have to be squeezed by hand. Also, the bottle man hasn’t been to see me yet, so it will still have to be delivered to town in the buckets. Not very good but it will have to do.”

  Eager to start, Jack took off his jacket and hung it on the peg. “I’ll go fetch the fruit, Coralee, then I’ll help you squeeze it.”

  Ella smiled at Coralee as he disappeared. “He’ll do me just fine,” she said.

  The representative for the Adelaide Glass Works showed up at lunchtime that day, keen to show Ella the choice of bottles on offer.

  “I think two hundred of the clear glass. It will show off the juices to perfection, and I quite like the dimpled effect. What’s your best price, bearing in mind that production is on the up and up.”

  The young man sucked his breath in. “The best I can do them for is sixpence each. It’s a good price,” he added anxiously.

  “Then I’ll take them.” Ella wrote a promissory note for him to take to her bank, receiving an assurance from the grateful man that the bottles would be with her by the end of the week.

  Ella clapped her hands when he’d left. “Full production next week,” she said gleefully to Coralee, pushing to the back of her mind the rapid rate she was going through her money.

  Chapter Eight

  Time had passed quickly since Ella’s arrival in Australia and memories of cold grey England had all but faded. Taking up William’s invitation, she joined him and his wife, Grace, one evening for dinner at their attractive house on the outskirts of town.

  “So, you have settled well, Ella?” Grace asked as they were finishing a delicious apple pie.

  “I have never been happier in my life. My health is good, I have, thanks to Mr. Birk…”

  He coughed and Ella smiled. “Thanks to William for allowing me to work in the shop, met some wonderful people, made good friends and have my own successful business. In England, Grace, none of this would have happened. I feel very fortunate indeed.”

  Grace smiled. “Good. Let us hope your fortune is enhanced at some time in the future by marriage and a family.”

&nb
sp; “Grace, me dear!” William cleared his throat.

  Grace smiled at Ella before replying. “William, I adore you, but you can be so old-fashioned sometimes! Ella cannot wear the proverbial widow’s weeds forever. She is far too attractive. The young men of Adelaide must be falling over themselves.”

  “Hardly!” Ella laughed. “Besides, I am too busy to think along those lines.”

  She omitted to add that yet again the sight of a young mother cuddling a tiny baby in the shop who was suffering from colic had really unsettled her. She’d wanted to take the child and comfort it, murmur into its sweet little neck, but had to harden her heart against its pitiful cries, had to dismiss notions of marriage and motherhood by reminding herself of her many blessings instead. Watching the easy companionship William and Grace enjoyed, their obvious fondness for one another, Ella felt a shiver of alarm.

  Would she be alone always?

  Coralee and Dorothy seemed to cope all right with their own company, but for herself, she thought she needed more. Someone to talk with at the end of the day, to share a joke or two over a leisurely dinner, and later strong arms to hold her in the comfort of her bed. Into Ella’s mind immediately sprang a vision of Lucas doing all those things with her.

  She clenched her hands in her lap.

  No. Loneliness was no excuse for wild imaginings.

  »»•««

  Another month slid by, and the weather became hotter. Jack’s first job each morning in the dry spell was to make sure the pump worked, and that adequate water reached the fruit trees, after which he’d collect fallen fruit and also pick those ripening so quickly in the heat.

  “The press works well, doesn’t it?” Ella nodded her satisfaction as the juice ran clear and quickly into the large tubs.

  “It’s much better,” Coralee said. “And it makes the bottling of large amounts so much easier. Though,” she said, wiping her forehead with her apron, “phew. The boiler…!”

  “I know.” Ella bit her lip and looked at the huge copper machine in the corner of the barn which had been installed the previous week. “Trouble is, Coralee, we really need it for sterilizing. I can’t keep allowing the bottles to be thrown away, it’s too expensive. My idea to charge a sixpenny deposit, repaid to the customer to ensure they’ll be returned, but heavens, boiling the darn things makes the barn even hotter!”

  Coralee nodded. “We’ll just have to cope.”

  “You’re happy working for me then, Coralee…even in such awful conditions?”

  “More than happy. Why, Ella, you pay us for a full day when most times we only work until lunchtime. Of course I’m happy. And I know for sure, Jack is.”

  “Good.” Ella smiled. “I’m glad, because we work very well together.”

  The barn maintained a good flow of production with Ella working alongside them, and it thrilled her to see her business thrive. Hard work suited her. She rose before dawn some mornings, putting in long hours when large orders came in, and her body benefitted. Without losing her curves, the muscles tightened in her back, legs, and arms from the strenuous nature of the work, and looking in her bedroom mirror she saw a fit and healthy reflection.

  Many nights, after a quick refreshing wash and a light meal, she fell into bed early, sleeping through dreamlessly. Thoughts of Lucas couldn’t compete with exhaustion, Ella discovered.

  She hadn’t seen or heard anything from him since the day of her twisted ankle, though once or twice Jonnie had called around after work and they had tea together. Innocently, one time he told Ella the news.

  “Mary Wells has spread the story that in the New Year, she’ll become Lucas’ fiancée. I can’t believe it.” Jonnie laughed. “The boss said he’d never marry. Though you have to hand it to that one, she knows what she wants. Lucas said it’s drivel, but I’m not so sure.”

  Ella swallowed hard. “I’ve seen her. She’s a pretty little thing.”

  Jonnie looked wistful. “She sure is.”

  “Aha.” Ella smiled. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy there, Jonnie?”

  He laughed. “Nah, I wouldn’t stand a chance against Lucas.”

  Ella only smiled, thinking, it’s a shame, but no, probably not.

  »»•««

  On a rare day out, one very warm Saturday, Ella collected Dorothy for a drive to the farmer’s market.

  “I’m excited about this, Ella,” Dorothy enthused. “I was up at silly o’clock baking!”

  “Well it was worth it. It smells delicious. What have you made?”

  “Oh, cherry scones, bread.” Dorothy loaded her baskets beneath the canvas sheet protecting Ella’s cordials. “Let’s hope I sell plenty or I’ll be eating them all week!”

  “Have no fear, I’m sure they’ll fly off the back of the cart. I think this is such a good idea, Dorothy.”

  “It is. I can’t think why someone hasn’t come up with it before. Local growers definitely need to get their fresh produce sold more quickly. Fruit and vegetables standing in shops for any length of time soon wilt.”

  “I agree.” Ella clicked her tongue at Star and they set off. “Meat and milk are another problem, but hopefully with the American Refrigerator Company about to soon set up here, that should help considerably.”

  “Indeed. I love progress, Ella. May I say you look very becoming this morning, dear?”

  “Thank you. It’s new.” Ella smiled. “I was unsure at first of black and white polka, but the cotton is so soft and cool. Ah, here we are. Thank goodness we booked a spot. See how busy it is!”

  Releasing Star, who wandered off, they laid out their goods on the back of the cart parked beneath a large tree. “Such fun!” Ella said to Dorothy as customers began to queue. The loaded cart rapidly began emptying, and it wasn’t long before Ella sold her last bottle of cordial.

  “I wish I’d brought more,” she said in amazement. “I’ve sold three dozen bottles in less than an hour.”

  “And I sure won’t be eating bread and scones all week.” Dorothy wrapped the last loaf and handed it to a customer. She glanced over Ella’s shoulder, a tight smile on her face.

  Following her gaze, Ella swiveled and found herself looking directly into Lucas’s penetrating blue eyes. Her hand went involuntarily to her hair. She pushed a stray strand over her ear.

  Lucas took off his hat, raked a hand through his hair. “Good day, ladies.”

  Ella felt a trickle of sweat run down her back. “Good morning.”

  “You’ve sold out I see?” He indicated the cart. “I was hoping to buy a bottle. Talk around town is that it’s the best ever.”

  Feeling ridiculously flustered, Ella nodded.

  “She certainly puts a lot of hard work into it,” Dorothy said. “Much more than I ever did, and as you well know, Lucas, hard work always pays off.”

  Ella had the chance to watch him as his attention was held briefly by Dorothy. The sleeves of his blue shirt rolled up revealed tanned, muscular forearms smattered with dark blond hairs. And the hands which had held her foot so tenderly looked strong, masculine, and capable, the long slender fingers tipped by clean clipped nails. He turned, catching her observance and smiled, a soft slow smile which crinkled his eyes and made Ella’s stomach lurch.

  He knows how he makes me feel, she thought.

  “I don’t suppose I could call to Woomba for a bottle of cordial?” Lucas held her gaze steadily.

  “There’s no need it can be purchased at a couple of places in town. I delivered to the store in King Street and Martin’s teashop only yesterday. I would imagine they still have some left.” She smiled sweetly and turned away, pleased to note that, although he hadn’t verbally reacted to her put down, his eyes had given him away. The pupils had dilated—with anger? She couldn’t be sure.

  “Then I shall go into town especially. Take care, ladies.” He said it coolly, the humor gone from his voice.

  “Mm,” Dorothy said. “He didn’t like that!” Ella had turned. They both observed his retreating back.


  She flounced with an empty crate to the cart. “Oh, the man just infuriates me, Dorothy. He’s insolent, arrogant…honestly, the way he looks at me…I had the greatest urge to slap his face!”

  Dorothy strove to hide her bemusement. “I suspect,” she said carefully, “that your inability to deal with the emotions he arouses causes you to react uncharacteristically.”

  “Oh heavens. Is it that clear?”

  “I’m afraid so. Unless Lucas is blind, which I doubt, he’s recognized it too. I have,” she added, “warned before. Go carefully, Ella. I strongly suspect Lucas Helm has ideas…ideas which could cause you heartache.”

  Ella looked at her. “Heartache? I think not. I won’t allow it! Besides, he is to be engaged to a local girl soon.”

  Dorothy smiled, folded her cloths, and put them in the cart. “Mary? She would like it but I don’t think for one minute it will happen. Come to my house for tea, and disregard my foolish words, I don’t like to see you frown. I made a vegetable and chicken pie yesterday which needs disposing of.”

  “And I’m starving,” Ella said. “I’ll forget all about Lucas Helm and what he does or doesn’t want.”

  »»•««

  “Ah, that was scrumptious!” Ella sighed and placed her knife and fork on the plate. They had eaten outside on Dorothy’s small back porch. The day was fading, the sky turning a soft pink deepening to orange toward the horizon. Ella surveyed her empty plate and leaned back, patting her stomach. “I shan’t need to eat for at least two days.” She breathed deeply. “Isn’t life wonderful, Dorothy?”

  “It is indeed. We are very lucky I think to live in such a lovely climate.”

  Ella nodded, smiled. “You would not have survived an English winter. They can be fierce. Speaking of England.” She played with a tress of hair. “I was wondering, do you remember when you talked about him, how you thought he’d managed to become the owner of Glen Ayre?”

  “Lucas? Yes, I do, I said it had come from Tubby. Why?”