Australian Odyssey

by Pauline Saull

“Oh, just I’m more certain than ever now that he’s from the old country. He’s not putting on any accent, it’s real.”

  “But why would he try and hide his origin? Why not just tell everyone where he’s from and stop all the supposition? It doesn’t make sense, but if you’re right I’ll feel a little silly after driving him off Woomba so many times, if for no reason.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ella rode home from Dorothy’s, enjoying the evening sky. The swathes of orange had turned darker, and close to the hills puffs of soft golden clouds floated slowly. Soon the light would be gone altogether. Beside her in the trap sat a large covered jug of Dorothy’s homemade rhubarb wine. Ella intended to relax out on the porch in her favorite chair, a lantern lit, contemplating the last hours of what had been a most interesting day.

  At the end of her drive, alarmed to see the gate open, she drove slowly through and suddenly pulled Star up with a jerk.

  He whinnied in protest. “Sh, sh.” Ella jumped down and patted him, leading him forward to where Lucas sat in her rocking chair on the porch. They stared at each other.

  The nerve of the man!

  “Why have you come here?” Ella asked without an ounce of social politeness. His presence was confusing and alarming her.

  Lucas rose, ambled down the steps, and her pulse raced. He shrugged and she saw a twitch play around his mouth. “You said I could buy cordial in town. I tried the stores you mentioned, they’d sold out. It must be damn good.” He shrugged. “What else could I do but come to the source itself?”

  Ella couldn’t help it, she smiled. “It’s impossible to stay angry with you. You’re persistent I’ll give you that.”

  “So.” Lucas’ eyes twinkled. “Now you’re no longer mad at me, perhaps you wouldn’t object to spending a little time on such a beautiful night with a very patient gent!”

  Ella gazed back steadily. “The night is indeed very beautiful. I don’t see why the company of a gentleman could not be a pleasant way to end the day. But first I have to see to Star.”

  Lucas took the reins from her. He was laughing. “I’ll do that.”

  Reaching in the trap, Ella collected the jug and held it up. “Rhubarb wine made by Dorothy, I can offer you a glass.”

  Lucas smiled. “I’d like that.”

  In her bedroom Ella poured water in the bowl, took a cloth and dipped it, rubbed lavender soap on it and wiped across the back of her neck, forehead, and down between her breasts. She told herself she must stay cool, but oh, for heaven’s sake!

  I feel like one of the under-set jellies Thomas’ London cook used to serve up.

  It may have been madness to invite him to share a drink, but she was looking forward to it in a way she had never thought possible.

  In the kitchen she collected glasses, her glance flickering to the window from where she could see Lucas had unshackled Star. He gave him oats and Marmaduke muscled in. Lucas laughed, pushed back gently at the old donkey with his shoulder, and gave him some too.

  Ella smiled and took a step back to watch covertly as he ran his hand down Marmaduke’s back slowly, his head close to the animal’s, and she saw the horse quiver. He was, she conceded, a complex man, one who would be very interesting to know. Her gaze slid along his virile strong body, a sight which, against her better judgement, excited her—the hand stroking Marmaduke almost felt as if it was running over her own flushed skin.

  How she wished…but no, she must not think along those lines. “Just enjoy the evening, Ella,” she muttered.

  With the glasses and jug on a tray she carried it outside, setting it on the porch table. Lucas returned from the horses.

  “You’ve a strong one in Star,” he said. “A lovely creature.”

  “Yes, I’m happy with him. Please, take a seat.” He did, sprawling his long legs out, and Ella looked away as he stretched his arms above his head. “Help yourself to a glass of what I am sure will be delicious wine.”

  Lucas cleared his throat and straightened up before taking a sip. “May I make a toast? That we try to forget all that has gone before and become good neighbors.”

  Ella raised her glass. “Of course and let us hope we stay that way.” She took a long swallow of the wine. “It is delicious! Goodness. Too much of that could be dangerous!”

  Lucas laughed. “Not when shared with a good neighbor, Ella.”

  Night had crept upon them quickly. The scent from the fruit trees mixed with the frangipani wafted over in the warm air, birds settled noisily to roost, and stars appeared like scattered fairy dust in the clear blackening sky.

  “It is so beautiful,” Ella sighed. “How lucky I am to be here. I feel…settled, yes, that’s the word.”

  “A good word too. You can imagine how those very first people here said just that, can’t you? ‘I feel settled.’ And so they became settlers.” Lucas grinned. “That’s what I think anyway. Where was home in England for you, Ella?”

  “Home? I don’t really think I had one until this. When my father was alive I suppose the tied cottage felt a little like home, as my parents together tried to make it feel like one. But living in a house someone else owns can never truly feel like home. And after Father died Mother and I knew we wouldn’t be able to stay there, it would be needed for another laborer. The farm was in Hampshire. It belonged to Thomas my deceased husband.”

  “Ah, so where did you go after the cottage?”

  Ella leaned across and filled their empty glasses.

  Lucas laughed. “Are you sure? It’s pretty heady stuff.”

  She smiled waving her hand dismissively. “Where did I go? Straight into a marriage with Thomas to save my dear mother’s future. I became a pliant good wife to a much older man…” She stopped, biting her lip. “And, in return my mother was allowed to stay in the cottage that had been our home. Had I known…”

  Lucas watched her. “What?”

  “Sadly two years after the wedding, mother died and after that I sometimes wished I’d turned down the marriage offer. But fear is a strange thing.” She shrugged. “Perhaps I should have waited, thought things out properly, considered other options, though at that point there didn’t appear to be any! Maybe Mother and I would have been able to cope after all. But who knows. I did what I thought best at the time and through no one’s fault but my own quickly lived to regret it.”

  Lucas remained silent.

  The words tumbled from Ella’s mouth. “You see, I’d become nothing more than a sort of prize mare to be brought out, paraded before my husband’s envious friends…it excited him.”

  In the silence the whirring wings of a bat could be heard. Ella was ashamed to feel her eyes glisten with tears.

  “A marriage of convenience is not a good start for any young woman,” Lucas said quietly.

  Ella sighed. “No. Though I was lucky, Thomas could never be described as a cruel man. In all truth the seven years spent with him were for the most part bordering on tedium for both of us. I was far too young for him. We needed different things from each other which neither could give, yet I feel he was content with ‘the arrangement’ at the beginning. Later, I suspect, well, I know, there were mistresses.”

  “I take it there were no children?”

  Ella shook her head. “No.”

  “And I believe your husband died before reaching here?”

  “Yes, he did. A heart complaint. Now, that’s enough about me. Please, tell me something about yourself.”

  Ella felt a barely perceptible shift in the atmosphere at her words. In the light from the lantern she saw Lucas’ mouth tighten. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I seem to have embarrassed you. Let’s talk about something else.”

  Lucas looked across at her and took a large swill, emptying his glass, aware that what he’d had already had gone to his head. Nevertheless, he re-filled it. Ella covered the top of hers.

  “There’s not much to tell. I arrived in Western Australia almost twenty years ago…”

  “Ah! You are not a bor
n Australian?” Ella interrupted.

  “No. Like you I came from England, though in slightly different circumstances. Why do you seem so surprised?”

  “I’m sorry,” Ella said, smiling. “Clearly Dorothy has had her wools in a twist somewhere, she thinks you are an heir of the previous owner of your farm, Mr. Rogers, which cannot be if you came from England.”

  “Aha!” Lucas sounded jubilant. “So that’s the reason behind her hatred of me all these years. She told you the story of the affair way back?”

  “Yes. She said it destroyed the family.”

  “No doubt it did, though it had nothing at all to do with me. Why would she never give me chance to explain? The truth is Tubby Rogers was incredibly good to me when I arrived in Adelaide. He gave me a job as main stockman…and I’d like you to pass this on to Dorothy, Ella, as she’ll certainly never give me the time to tell her. You see before reaching this part of Australia I worked for years at anything, but most especially ranching. I learned new skills as I slowly made my way across the continent, living, I might add, the life of a virtual vagabond. Having no desire for rich trappings or fine food, content to sleep under the stars, the money I earned I saved. Any of that wine left, Ella?”

  Ella smiled and poured him the last of it, amused by the way his tongue seemed to have acquired a life of its own. “But I must light the lantern,” she said. “I can barely see you.”

  “I’ll do it.” Lucas jumped up, not too steadily, Ella noticed, and collecting the lamp, lit it.

  I like this, Ella thought, having a man do things for me is pleasant, comforting. The soft wavering light cast shadows over the strong lines of Lucas’ face as he sat, pulling his chair a little closer. He enthralls me, she thought.

  “Cheers!” He grinned, raising his glass. “Where was I? Oh yeah. So, by the time I reached South Australia I had a nice stash of money. Arriving at Glen Ayre was to be the best thing I’d ever done. Tubby took me on and I worked damn hard for him. When he became ill, I looked after him at home where he wanted to be. He was a wonderful man, the father I’d never had. The day before he died he asked me to take a document to his lawyer. I had no idea it held instructions to bequeath Glen Ayre to me.”

  Ella heard the catch in his voice. He stood and walked to the railing where he rested his head against the post, and without thinking about it, she rose, going to stand quietly behind him. She placed her hand lightly on his back.

  Oh, my! It’s only the wine…

  Lucas turned. In the semi-darkness their eyes met and held. He took the hand that had touched him, raising it to his lips and placing a soft kiss in the palm. A breath escaped Ella as she watched him do it. They swayed their arms, reaching, finding each other, tightening with need. Ella’s lips parted and her head fell back as Lucas rained kisses up and along her throat, leaving her gasping with desire, until at last—and against all her instincts—she had what she’d wanted from the first moment she’d set eyes on him, his mouth on hers.

  She clung to him as their eager tongues met and explored, and knew at last desire for a man. She wanted him to make love to her—there on the porch. It would be glorious. It exhilarated her, yet at the same time terrified her. She was not in control of Ella Bickerstaff’s body. Lucas now had complete command of it. Whatever he wanted he could do and she was helpless. And for what?

  “I want you,” Lucas whispered into her ear.

  It brought her to her senses. “No. Stop.” She struggled, wrenching away from him.

  Breathing deeply, Lucas stared at her, a frown creasing his face. He reached for her again, but she stepped farther back, remembering not only the vow to herself, but Dorothy’s words. The woman and the lake…what he wants he’ll get.

  “What, Ella? I don’t understand.”

  “We’ve both had too much wine. Please forgive me. It would never have happened otherwise.” She pushed the hair off her hot neck. “Besides, aren’t you to be engaged? I certainly would not like to upset your intended. How many women do you want, for goodness sake?”

  “I see.” Lucas, his eyes black in the darkness, regarded her frostily. He now appeared stone cold sober. “I must apologize also, for I completely misread the signs.”

  “Signs? I beg your pardon! I don’t give off signs.”

  “Signals, then, call them what you will. I got the distinct impression—well, never mind it doesn’t matter. For whatever reason you decided to back off. Fine by me.”

  Ella lifted her chin defiantly. “I was not about to give you the pleasure of seducing me…who you probably consider, wrongly, to be a lonely widow. I will only ever be your neighbor.”

  Lucas nodded slowly. “Sometimes your tongue can be incredibly sharp. You’ve called me a trespasser, hinted at criminal intentions and now called me a seducer of lonely women. Goodnight, Ella, I’ve had enough insults from you. Oh, and as for an engagement, believe what you will. I can assure you no woman is worth my freedom and never will be. Thank you for, if nothing else, good wine and until now, an interesting evening.”

  Striding off the porch, he made his way down through the paddocks. She watched until the white of his shirt could no longer be seen. The urge to call him back almost overwhelmed her, but in the end good sense prevailed. She could not, would not, let him have such a devastating hold over her.

  From that point on, Ella resolved to stay well out of his way.

  Chapter Ten

  On Monday morning when Jack turned up, Ella was waiting, money in her pocket.

  “Morning, Jack. Before you start work, I have another job that needs doing.”

  She handed him ten pounds. “Go to Watkins Hardware on Levin Street and buy as many ‘No Trespass’ signs as you can,” she told him, “and lots of nails.”

  Jack scratched his head. “Okay, Miz.”

  He pocketed the money carefully and climbed into the trap.

  Coralee, looking anxious, stopped what she was doing to stand by Ella. They watched the trap disappear. “Is everything all right, Ella? You’re not being troubled, are you?”

  “No, all is well, Coralee. It’s just that as a new owner, I need to make my intentions clear. I don’t want any unexpected visitors.”

  Coralee frowned and shrugged. “Okay.”

  When Jack returned, he showed no surprise at either Ella’s buying of the signs or her request for him to post them along the boundaries of Woomba. He simply nodded.

  “Sure, Miz Bickerstaff.”

  “Make sure you post one on the gate,” Ella called.

  Coralee looked up from the press, but said nothing.

  »»•««

  Jonnie rode into Glen Ayre and dismounted in the stockyard.

  “Hey!” Lucas called out. “How did it go?’

  “Good.” Jonnie handed over the receipt. “It should be ready next week.”

  “That’s a relief.” Lucas pushed with his foot at the disintegrating wood on the cart wheel. “I thought we’d get a few more months out of it, but never mind…” He stopped. “What’s wrong, Jonnie?”

  “Aw shucks, Boss. I don’t like telling you this but I met young Jack in the hardware store and he said he was there to buy no trespass signs for Ella…all matter of fact like, he said it. An’ there was I thinking she liked me visiting. What does it mean?”

  Lucas’ face hardened. He rubbed his chin.

  So that was her game.

  After a bit of excitement, something she clearly hadn’t had from her husband, she’d decided a humble stockman was not good enough after all!

  “Don’t let it upset you, Jonnie, and don’t take it personal. She’s a woman, and like the rest of them, not to be trusted. All that ‘softness and butter wouldn’t melt in the mouth’ looks they give you…fine as long as everything’s going their way. They are,” he added vehemently, “neither use nor ornament! Well she doesn’t need signs to keep me away. The next time Mrs. Bickerstaff wants something, she’ll come to me, that’s for sure.”

  He strode away, calling over h
is shoulder, “Saddle up, Jonnie, we’ll repair those fences on the Northern border.”

  They rode fast, Lucas in the lead, wanting the feel of the wind blowing all thoughts of Ella Bickerstaff from his mind. She had bewitched him. Never had he felt such passion and desire for a woman before. He ached with it. Yet she wanted none of him. Her new signs made that clear. He’d had to go to satisfy his curiosity after Jonnie told him, and there they were. ‘TRESPASSERS KEEP OUT’, nailed at her gate and along the fences. She regarded him as a trespasser!

  On her body or her land, he wondered briefly. Anger urged him to nudge his steed into a gallop.

  With Jonnie alongside, Lucas worked all morning to repair a two-mile stretch of fencing along the northern border of his ranch. All that remained now was the eastern side, part of which abutted Woomba. They rode over to inspect and measure.

  “Mm.” Lucas stroked his chin. “This isn’t going to be easy, Jonnie. Before I increased the stock I hadn’t used this bottom paddock, simply because the borderline runs through the copse dividing the two properties. Now, with the damn signs in place I’ll have to ensure the animals stay on my side.”

  “I can see that boss. If we have to clear the trees to erect a fence, the other property will be in view. I don’t think that will please Ella. Do you want me to move the new steer farther up?”

  “No. I think what would be better is if we fenced here.” Lucas ran a line with his boot along his side of the small wooded area. “My neighbor is welcome to the rest. Yes, that’s what we’ll do.”

  »»•««

  In town the following day, Ella called at the dressmaker’s. The shop was busy and she noticed the blonde girl, Mary, picking through some swatches of cloth at the counter.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Bickerstaff.” Mrs. Rusting smiled. “How can I help you?”

  Aware of the girl watching her, Ella leaned forward and spoke quietly. “I need clothes for working. Can you make something lighter, more casual. I’m finding the superfluous material stifling in this heat. I wish,” she added, “I could dispose of the thick undergarments too.”