‘Olivia, this is James Hungerford - I thought you might like to meet a fellow Englishman! James is staying with us for a few days, so we’ve brought him along to see his first rodeo.’
‘I’m delighted to meet you.’ He had an attractive voice, though it sounded quick and rather clipped to her ears, which were accustomed to Guy’s deeper, slower tones. His smile, as he shook her hand, was clearly appreciative of her vivid beauty. ‘I was beginning to feel quite a foreigner, so perhaps you can give me some moral support!’
Olivia laughed. ‘I know how you feel! What are you doing so far from home?’
‘I’m a record producer - classics mainly. One of our orchestras has been playing at the Adelaide Festival, and I’ve tagged on a couple of weeks’ holiday while I’m out here. A friend of mine once worked as a cook for the Richardsons, and she suggested I look them up …so here I am, seeing the outback at first hand!’
‘He’s coping all right,’ Janet put in with an approving smile. ‘Though it’s not really what he’s used to, is it, James?’
‘It certainly isn’t!’ he agreed, and they all laughed at the feeling in his voice.
‘You’d get used to it after a while - look at Olivia here!’
Olivia gave a wry smile. ‘I don’t think I’m much of an example, Janet.’
‘Nonsense!’ the older woman said briskly. ‘Even Corky has told me how good your cooking is, and, let me tell you, compliments from Corky are hard to come by!’
The colour rushed into Olivia’s cheeks. ‘Did he really say that?’ she said, ridiculously pleased.
‘Well, he said “a bit fancy, but not bad”, which is the same thing! And David told me that, although you’re very boring about washing properly, you tell the most marvellous stories.’ Janet paused and looked at Olivia with direct grey eyes. ‘Diane would be very happy to know you were looking after him so well.’
Had Janet guessed the reason for her son’s hasty marriage? Olivia met her eyes for a brief, revealing moment, then she glanced away to where David, in company with all the other little boys, was perched on the railings with the ringers.
‘I hope so,’ she said quietly. ‘I hope so.’
‘Oh, there’s Alison Black … I’ll see you two later.’ Janet hurried off, a small, neat figure in a bright red dress.
‘She’s quite a lady.’ James looked after her thoughtfully. ‘She’s the sort who can wear lipstick and lasso a cow! Do you think you’ll be like that one day?’
Olivia burst out laughing. ‘Why, James, what makes you think I’m not like that already?’ she teased.
He pursed his lips and surveyed her slim, stylish figure. ‘Just a feeling!’ Then he laughed too at the absurdity of the idea of her lassoing anything.
Olivia felt rather than saw Guy straighten and turn to watch the two of them laughing together. They must look perfectly matched, she realised, both so out of place and both so English.
She half expected Guy to come over and join them, and when he only turned back to his companion she felt obscurely piqued. He ought to be jealous, he ought to have come hurrying over to make sure James knew she was married, he ought to have dragged her away and made her discuss cake recipes with the other women … but he was obviously more concerned with discussing the price of feed, or comparing how many points of rain they had had recently, to care that she was enjoying herself with another man.
Turning her shoulder on Guy, Olivia gave James a bright smile. ‘Which orchestra have you been with?’ When he told her, she nodded in delighted recognition. ‘Then you must know …’
They were soon happily absorbed in talk of the music business, and for a while Olivia even forgot about Guy. It was wonderful to talk to someone who understood her world for a change, wonderful to hear the gossip, wonderful to meet someone to whom she wasn’t just a woman at Willagong Creek. She liked James. He was good company, witty without being cruel or pretentious.
‘I must say I’ll be glad to get back to Townsville tomorrow,’ he was saying, when they had exhausted music. ‘It’s been quite an eye-opener, and the Richardsons are the kindest of hosts, but I feel such an alien most of the time. I know you’re married, so it must be different for you, but don’t you ever wish you were back home?’
Home? Olivia took off her hat and fanned her face. It took almost an effort of memory to recall her flat in London. All she could think of was the vast sky, the silent creek and Guy’s brown, sure hands on her body. She swallowed. ‘Sometimes,’ she said.
They stood for a while at the railings, watching the rodeo. On the far side of the dusty ring, a line of ringers sat perched on the wooden rails, identically dressed in jeans and boots and hats, and cheering good-naturedly whenever anyone fell off their horse. The bucking broncos had given way to roping a calf, and now they were trying to bring down steers by hand. James watched mystified.
‘What’s the point of it?’ he whispered to Olivia.
Olivia had been watching Guy out of the corner of her eye. There was a certain tension about the way he stood, but he didn’t look her way. ‘Don’t ask me!’ she said, adding abruptly, ‘Let’s go and find a drink.’
They began to push their way through the crowd towards the beer tent. It was stifling under the canvas, and they soon escaped outside again.
‘Phew!’ James wiped his face with a handkerchief. ‘It’s worse than a sauna in there. How do you think they keep the beer so cold?’
Olivia didn’t answer. Through the crowd she had caught a glimpse of Guy. He seemed to be deeply involved in a conversation with a girl in a pretty pink and white striped dress. As the girl turned slightly, Olivia realised with a blaze of incredulous jealousy that it was Robyn. A very feminine Robyn. She had flown home in the helicopter earlier that day and now she looked transformed. She was standing just that bit too close to Guy. They matched each other almost as well as Olivia and James had done.
As if to underline the thought, Guy glanced up and saw her watching him.
Above their heads, the loudspeakers played a tinny version of a well-known folk song. Olivia could only stare back at Guy, her eyes green and hostile. He’d ignored her all day, and now there he was fawning over Robyn! He was probably telling her how nice she looked, pretty but not too pretty, practical but not too practical. She looked like the perfect wife for him.
Olivia turned abruptly away. What had she expected? That sleeping with Guy would change the facts? The facts were that she was the wrong wife for Guy. She loved him, but he had given no indication that he felt anything for her. There was last night, of course … but how many men would refuse when a girl begged them to make love to her?
Somehow she got through the afternoon. She chatted and smiled and shook hands and agreed that there hadn’t been a woman at Willagong Creek for a long time, and all the time she was aware of Guy. Guy drinking his beer, Guy nodding seriously at some discussion, Guy watching the rodeo with narrowed, thoughtful eyes. He didn’t spend his whole time with Robyn, but she always seemed to be around, part of a group, or standing casually nearby at the railings.
At last the crowd began to drift away. ‘Olivia, I’m going ahead to get dinner on,’ said Janet, bustling up. They were to stay at Pingunaguna that night, where the Richardsons traditionally held a party after the Barclinty Rodeo. ‘Could you and Guy give James a lift back?’
‘Of course.’ Olivia pinned her stiff smile back into place. ‘I’ll go and find Guy and David.’
‘David’s over by the horses, and I saw Guy disappearing over there with Robyn too. Tell them not to be late, won’t you?’
‘Is Robyn coming as well?’ Olivia asked reluctantly.
‘Oh, yes, the Wilsons always come. She’s such a nice girl, isn’t she? We’ve always been very fond of her. In fact, at one point we wondered if she and Guy -’ As if she suddenly realised that she was being tactless, Janet broke off to glance at her watch. ‘I mustn’t stand here chatting! You round the others up, and I’ll see you later. Don’t be long!’
/>
Olivia took off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair rather shakily. What had they wondered? That Guy would marry Robyn? She would obviously have been a more acceptable bride for him. But if that was the case, why hadn’t he married her? Was he counting on the fact that his marriage to Olivia would only be for the three years he had made such a point of specifying?
Awash with jealousy and miserably conscious of how unwelcome a wife she must have been, Olivia took refuge once more in grim pride. She would not cry in front of all these people who disapproved of her! Biting her lip, she straightened her shoulders and wearily went in search of the others.
Chapter Nine
Guy and Robyn were inspecting a horse together when they found them. Guy looked round quickly at Olivia’s approach, but his expression hardened perceptibly when he saw James close behind her.
‘I told your mother we’d give James a lift back,’ Olivia said, summoning up all her reserves of pride to sound cool and unconcerned.
‘I see.’ Guy looked from her to James with a faintly contemptuous expression, then turned back to Robyn. ‘What about you, Robyn? Do you want a lift?’
Olivia clenched her teeth, and forced herself to smile as Robyn glanced at her rather uncertainly. ‘There’s plenty of room,’ she said stiffly.
‘In that case, I will come,’ said Robyn. ‘Thanks.’
Only David seemed oblivious to the tension in the car. James, in the front seat, tried to talk to Guy, but his efforts at polite conversation met with curt, monosyllabic replies.
Olivia glared at the back of Guy’s head, embarrassed by his rudeness. There was no cause for him to be unpleasant to James! When another awkward silence threatened, she launched into a brittle flow of reminiscences about a tour she had once done in Japan. James turned gratefully from the grim figure sitting beside him to listen, and Olivia forced herself to continue, even though she knew that to Guy and Robyn, effectively excluded from the conversation, she must sound unbearably pretentious. Too bad, she told herself. If they couldn’t be bothered to be polite to a visitor, she wasn’t going to the effort of including them!
Guy’s face was like concrete as they drew up outside Pingunaguna. It was a fine old homestead, and set in a lovingly nurtured garden. Olivia couldn’t help exclaiming in delight when she saw the sweep of lawn, and the bougainvillaea scrambling over the veranda. The house looked settled, cared for, an oasis of green and plenty.
Willagong Creek could look like this, she thought - but it would take longer than three years. She would never see it.
‘Guy, I’ve put you and Olivia in your old room,’ Janet called from the kitchen where she was busy chopping up salads. ‘Show her where it is, then come and give me a hand with the carving, will you? David’s sleeping with all the other children over in the old ringers’ quarters.’
In glacial silence, Guy led Olivia along a corridor and opened the door into a small room. This was where he had grown up, she thought, looking round at the shelves of tattered books, the faded photographs of children beaming on horses - was that really Guy there? and that little boy with him looked so like David that it must be Pete! - and the collection of dusty rocks that at one time must presumably have had some significance.
When Guy still didn’t speak, her gaze moved on, and stopped at the narrow bed pushed against the wall. ‘We’re not supposed to both sleep in that, are we?’ she asked involuntarily.
Guy shut the door and threw the overnight bag on to a chair. ‘You wouldn’t have objected last night,’ he said. ‘What’s the matter? Have you suddenly got fussy since you met Hungerford?’
Olivia flinched at the cool note in his voice. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’d have thought it was obvious - it certainly was to everybody else at the rodeo.’
‘What was obvious?’ she asked, dangerously quiet.
‘You were cosying up to him all day. Do you think nobody noticed all that giggling and whispering? Everyone was talking about how Guy Richardson’s new wife could hardly keep her hands off the English bloke!’ He turned away in disgust. ‘I suppose he reminded you of Tim!’
Olivia’s face was white with anger, her eyes a cold, clear green. ‘As a matter of fact, he did! He’s very good company and I like him very much!’
‘As soon as I saw him, I knew he’d be just your type!’ Guy said bitterly. ‘And sure enough, every time I looked round, there you were, flirting with him, fluttering those eyes of yours, laughing at his jokes. What was so funny anyway? Were you comparing notes on how unsophisticated everyone was?’
‘You know your problem, Guy? You’ve just got a huge chip on your shoulder about not being sophisticated enough!’ What had happened to last night’s dreams? Olivia was frightened at the way the quarrel was escalating out of control, but she couldn’t have held back her bitterness if she had wanted to. ‘You’re jealous of James because he doesn’t need to jump on to a horse to prove that he’s a man! He’s successful and charming and amusing - all the things you’ll never be!’
‘You’d have liked me to be like that, wouldn’t you, Olivia?’ Guy sneered. ‘You’ve wanted someone to replace Tim all along, and I was just a poor substitute. No wonder you practically fell into Hungerford’s arms! A kindred spirit after all that cultural deprivation in the outback!’
‘That’s not true!’ Olivia protested hotly. ‘And I did not fall into his arms! Yes, I enjoyed talking to James, but why shouldn’t I? We’ve got a lot in common. At least he talked to me, which is more than you did, or treat me like just another bloody woman at Willagong bloody Creek!’
‘You’ll never be a Willagong woman,’ Guy said cruelly. ‘I should have known that as soon as you had the chance you’d go back to your old London ways, looking down your nose at anyone not as grand as you, boasting about your precious job -’
‘I wasn’t boasting!’ she interrupted angrily.
‘Oh? What was all that about Japan in the car, then? You were out to impress!’
‘If you hadn’t been so rude to James, I wouldn’t have had to say anything! I could hardly sit there in silence while you bit his head off!’
‘I don’t like being patronised,’ said Guy flatly.
‘He wasn’t being patronising,’ she protested. ‘He was only trying to be polite!’
‘I don’t want to listen to polite conversation from a man who’s spent all day encouraging my wife to make an exhibition of herself.’
‘I’m surprised you noticed!’ Olivia’s eyes blazed at the unfairness of it. ‘You were so busy fawning over Robyn, I wouldn’t have thought you’d have time to see what I was doing!’
‘I could hardly miss what you were doing, Olivia, and for the record, I was not fawning over Robyn, as you put it. Robyn and I were merely talking about the things we have in common, but we managed to do it without attracting the notice of everybody else at the rodeo.’
‘Of course, you’ve got so much in common too!’ Olivia snapped. ‘What a pity you didn’t get round to marrying Robyn before, then you wouldn’t have had to put up with me embarrassing you today!’
A muscle was beating steadily in Guy’s jaw. ‘Yes, it is a pity! Robyn’s everything you’ll never be - she doesn’t flaunt herself for attention the way you do. Maybe she’s not as beautiful as you, maybe she’s not as sophisticated, but she’s a much nicer person. She’s genuine and hard-working and she wouldn’t dream of making a fuss about any of the things you do. Oh, yes, you’re right, it’s a pity I didn’t appreciate Robyn while I had the opportunity. I’m regretting it now, that’s for sure. I wish I’d never agreed to marry you!’
‘You can’t regret it more than I do!’ Olivia lashed out.
‘Do you regret last night too?’
There was a pause. Olivia was breathing heavily with suppressed fury, her eyes glittering dangerously in her pale face. ‘What do you think?’ she retorted at last in a contemptuous voice.
Guy’s eyes narrowed. ‘You almost had me fooled, Olivia, you and your big
blue eyes and your “please, Guy”!’ He mimicked her savagely. ‘Last night I really thought you wanted me, but all you wanted was a man, wasn’t it? What a pity you didn’t wait another day - you could have had yourself a sophisticated gentleman like you always wanted, instead of having to make do with me! Must have been tough for you, stooping so low, or did you enjoy roughing it for a change?’
White-hot fury was sliding through her veins. ‘Oh, it had the charm of novelty,’ she sneered, wanting to hurt him as much as he had hurt her.
‘It did, did it?’ In spite of her anger, the menace in his eyes had her backing nervously until she came up against the bookshelves. ‘Is that what you and Hungerford were sniggering about all day? Did you tell him that you’d actually got desperate enough to try the “cowboy technique”?’ His hands reached out to pull her against him with insulting ease. ‘How long does it take for the novelty to wear off?’
‘Let me go!’ Olivia twisted her head frantically away, but it was too late. He swooped down on her, capturing her mouth in a savage parody of the kisses they had shared last night, forcing her lips apart, punishing her.
She fought him, but he was too strong for her, and more dangerous was the crumbling resistance within her, the insidious way her blood leapt at the remembered excitement of his touch, even as she hated what he was doing to her.
Sensing the fight seeping out of her, Guy loosened his grip to let his hands roam over the thin silk of her dress, and instinctively her body arched towards him.
She closed her eyes against the contempt in his face. She wanted to push him away, and her fingers fluttered protestingly as she struggled against uncoiling passion, but it was hopeless. Slowly, inexorably, her hands crept up his arms and round his neck to tangle in his hair and pull him closer.
With a stifled oath, he released her, pushing himself away so suddenly that she staggered and fell back against the shelves. One of the rocks, dislodged, rolled over the edge and dropped with a crack on to the wooden floor.
Woman at Willagong Creek Page 12