“I expect she’s pleased to see you, too,” Cal said wryly to Ella.
Ella grinned. “I might grow conceited if I thought I stood before a pony in my sister’s esteem. Well, Cal.” She hesitated. Taking a deep breath, she moved toward him; put her hands on his shoulders; and, standing on tiptoe, kissed his cheek. “You’re a hero. I don’t know what any of us would have done without you.”
After a quick glance at Ella, Rose kissed his cheek, too. Then Vianna, who had been acknowledged by her pony and politely ignored in favor of a long drink of water, scooted through the gateway and kissed him, too. He stood, bemused. Ella’s kiss had been careful and friendly and, as her sisters had repeated her action, not inappropriate. So he nodded to the ladies and stepped aside as they made their way to the house.
“Me and Miss Vianna groomed Jed’s group of horses this morning and fed and watered them,” Frank said proudly. “I reckon I’ll do the Clydesdales, too, if Ned will do the others.”
“I’ll do a couple,” Benji said. “What about the borrowed horses? Want me to take them back to the neighbor when they’ve had a feed?”
“Tomorrow. They’ve traveled a fair distance. I think they should rest before their next trip.”
“Likely the dairyman can take them back with him in the morning,” Alf said prosaically. “Don’t you do another thing. The lads’ll tend the horses for you. Got nothing else to do this afternoon.”
“Have you finished today’s shearing?” Cal glanced over to the woolshed, where the yard stood full of cleanly shorn sheep.
“Yes. We’re planning a little celebration now you’re back. Got us a keg of beer on Sunday, waitin’ for the right moment.” Ned pushed his hair back from his face.
Alf nodded. “’Spect we’ll finish shearing on Saturday. Benji’s been filling the holding yard each day and whoever wants a good walk has been herding the shorn sheep back to the long paddock, like you said. We’re shearing to plan.”
“We’re shearing to Alf’s plan,” Frank said. “Each day we shear an extra hundred between us for you.”
“What do you mean, for me?”
“Alf wanted to pay you fifteen shillin’s a day while you was away. Course, we know you would earn more than that because you shear fast, but between us we couldn’t keep up.”
“That’s kind of you,” Cal said, his mouth tight. “But I don’t expect charity.”
“It’s not charity.” Alf tapped his pipe on the fence post. “I had to pay you anyway. You got back my Clydesdales. Know how much it would have cost me to replace them? More’n ten pound each, that’s how much. So if I give you five pounds as a reward, I’ll come out of it ahead.”
Cal rubbed his chin. The men had made a wage for him while he’d been away, and now this extra five pounds. If he’d been here shearing he would have made very little more. He had lost nary a penny. “I’m grateful to you, but I didn’t get the horses back to make a profit. I got them because the ladies needed theirs.”
“Don’t you think we know that?” Frank dusted off his hands. He had put the saddles away and Cal had no doubt someone would clean them later. “Probably wouldn’ta helped you if you’d done it for profit. We’da let Alf pay you the reward and left it at that.”
Cal eased the kerchief around his neck. He didn’t know what to say. “Well, thank you. Maybe I’ll go and change my shirt.”
“Reckon we’ll go and sit with you and Miss Ella while you eat.” Tommy, a shearer who rarely spoke even when spoken to, glanced over at the homestead’s veranda. “Looks like the food is coming out now.”
“What about the beer?” Frank asked in a loud whisper.
“Tonight,” Alf said reprovingly. “We need to wait ’til at least supper time.”
* * * *
Rose stared closely at Ella. “That kiss was nicely done,” she said. “Not too friendly. Not the kiss of a woman who has been compromised by a man.”
Ella knew that her sister was too busy to question her now, but she certainly would try later. Ella would certainly avoid her later. “I haven’t been compromised. We had Jed with us most of the time. He found us before we’d been gone an hour and he simply left a little early because he had to go walkabout with the others.”
“He arrived here before dawn. That means he wasn’t with you last night.”
Ella’s blisters had hardened and her hands toughened. She’d also firmed her attitude. Her private life was her own. She would neither share her secrets nor admit them. Nor would she make love with Cal again. She had to live in the real world now, the world of making her family secure.
“Jed wanted to take a shortcut he thought I couldn’t manage. Perhaps he meant to cross the river a number of times and you know I can’t. There was no help for it.” She filled her bedroom jug with warm water from the kettle. “Aside from that, who knows that I went with Cal other than my sisters and a few shearers?”
“The whole district.”
“Mr. Lannock thinks that Cal and Jed went.”
“Are you certain?”
“No. But there’s no need to bring up the subject. We have the horses back. No one in the district will want to talk about more than the theft.”
“Pray that’s so, Ella. After the sale of the horses, we’ll have enough money to leave. We won’t be rich, but if we don’t have good reputations, we will be seen as no account.”
“We won’t be seen as no account. We’ll be seen as strong and brave women who ran a station when their father died. We’ll be respected.” For no discernable reason, tears welled in Ella’s eyes. She brushed at them angrily. “I’m tired. I’d rather rest than eat.” Her voice cracked. “Cal said we should start the dipping as soon as possible. As soon as I work out how to manage it alone, I’ll begin.”
She spun on her heel and left the room. She wanted Vianna to attend a good school. She wanted Rose to find a suitable husband. She wanted to live in the city.
She wanted to be held again by the man she loved.
* * * *
Cal folded his arms behind his head and stared at the chinks in the slate roof where the moonlight glinted through. He’d turned down the lamp long since, but despite being weary and even a little beery after the companionable celebration he couldn’t sleep.
Mentally totaling his wages of the past three months, at fifteen shillings per hundred head of sheep shorn, less room and board, he had earned more than eighty pounds. With the wage from the Beaufort clip, he would have close to one hundred pounds. Three months ago he’d committed himself to getting together exactly that sum, for with one hundred he could match his silent partner’s investment.
He had to move quickly. He’d made love to Ella more than once, and although he hadn’t released inside her, he still might have impregnated her. Many a man who had taken precautions had been caught out. However, he loved her and he fully intended to wed her as soon as he could afford to support Rose and Vianna, too. As the sisters couldn’t leave Beaufort Station until they had the wool money, he had at least three months to make a success of his business, or at least have the promise of success.
If not, he had another option—he could go back to Farvista a failure, his pride in the dust, and live the wealthiest of lifestyles. For Ella he could do that, but for Ella he wouldn’t. She wouldn’t expect him to degrade himself for her sake and she wouldn’t respect him if he did, despite her insistence on marrying a rich man. In her eyes, “rich” meant “comfortable.” Independently, he could promise her no more than that—and all his heart. This meant he had no time to waste.
Massaging the back of his neck, he took a deep breath. By Sunday, he would be in Adelaide, where he would have to stop off and see his mother. He hadn’t let her know his plans and she didn’t deserve to be left any longer in ignorance of her only son’s whereabouts. However, he wouldn’t stay with her. She always had so many functions organized that a man couldn’t get out of her toils in a six-week period.
He
’d agreed to be present for the beginning of the ball season. Two weeks maximum. Every year she used ploy after ploy to keep him for five. She accepted invitations for him and looked disappointed that he might not be there as her main support for the functions she planned. And she planned functions one after the other—tea dances, music recitals, garden parties, suppers, and dinners.
Added to that, she hauled him to every ball on the social calendar as her partner, she said, or she might not be able to attend. Naturally he didn’t believe that a sophisticated woman like his mother would be at a loss without a partner, but he couldn’t deny her what she obviously wanted—the presence of her son. She had no ulterior motive to keep him. She merely wanted to introduce him to as many eligible young ladies as she could. No doubt she wanted grandchildren while she was of an age to enjoy them.
In this, he had disappointed her. No lady he had met through her had shared his interests, and his mother wanted a lady for him or no one. She preferred those like herself—charmers who would enjoy impressing others with their wit and fashion sense.
A tremendous snore erupted from the far corner of the shearer’s quarters. Cal sat up, ready to throw a boot at the offender. The noise wasn’t repeated. He lay back down again, his train of thought interrupted.
He had the warehouse and he had wool from five stations stored already. Not enough. He needed at least another two. He had to talk to growers and he still needed to set up appointments with buyers or their agents. Using an assumed name gave him little standing, but because he refused to trade on his grandfather’s reputation or imply a guarantor, he had to rely on investors trusting him, a stranger.
Although he hadn’t wasted a day since he’d first mapped out his idea, his task had now grown urgent. He had a scant three months to set up the auctions and begin to earn himself a commission. After that, Ella would have her wool clip money, perhaps a house in the city, and many hopeful suitors. His head ached.
If he couldn’t make a go of supporting her by himself.... The thought of being Edward’s yes-man before his next haircut infuriated him. He punched his fist into his lumpy pillow.
He would pull out all stoppers to be a man worthy of the bright and beautiful woman he loved.
Chapter 16
When Ella saw the laundry that had accumulated over the past five days she shuddered, wishing Rose had kept up with the chore. But, of course her sister couldn’t when she had to prepare the men’s meals without Ella’s help. Perhaps doing the laundry gave Ella a feasible excuse not to begin the dipping, for she certainly didn’t know how she would manage that task alone.
She filled the copper, put the water on to boil, and hurried into the kitchen to find a bite to eat. Today she wouldn’t join the others at breakfast. Despite Cal’s excellent training, while she had laundry duties, she couldn’t perform the same tasks as a man on this property. While she stirred and poled the wash, she thought of nothing but Cal, his deep voice, his strong face, and his hard, exciting body. She dreamed of being held naked in his arms again.
“I see you had toast for breakfast,” Rose said, startling Ella into noticing the suds topping the copper and about to trail over. “Would you like a glass of milk?”
“Later. Why are you wearing your Sunday best?”
“It’s my Thursday best. Vianna and I always go to Noarlunga on Thursdays and I have to see the bank manager today.”
Ella glanced back to the suds, feeling quite unfairly martyred. The only time she’d been off the property in the past six months was to chase after a pair of horse thieves. “If he doesn’t want to free up the money to pay the shearers, you can always tell him about the carriage pair,” she said, trying not to sound put out.
“He’ll give me the money. Our wool clip is surety. And this morning...” Rose gave a smile of pure satisfaction. “Alf gave me three pounds for the team’s bed and board. Now I’ll be able to pay for our weekly supplies.”
“Oh, yes. The team will leave tomorrow.” Ella’s heart sank to her toes. After tomorrow she would never see Cal again. She cleared her throat. “Could you buy more soap? And sausages? We should be able to afford a treat for the men’s last day.”
“I’d like to buy something better than sausages, though sausages will do until we can afford better. Don’t worry about lunch. We’re leaving now and I’ll be back in time to prepare it. Oh, and Cal is coming with us.”
Ella stared at her sister, her hands on her hips. “He should be shearing. He needs the money,” she said, truly jealous. She would like to wear a pretty dress and go into Noarlunga with a handsome man, too, rather than rubbing her hands raw on other people’s shirts and underwear. Cinderella lived the life of a princess compared to her. All she had to do was sweep the ashes and prepare the meals.
“He wants to deliver the robbers’ horses to the police station. He thinks it could be seen as stealing if he didn’t report having them right away.” Rose lingered. “Mr. Lannock took his horses back this morning. You’re right. He thinks Jed went with Cal.”
Ella turned back to the washing
“We won’t take long,” Rose said cheerily.
Anyone with an ounce of kindness in her soul would have taken over the washing and let Ella be with Cal every waking moment before he left. One single tear dripped down her nose before she straightened her shoulders and told herself Rose would have done so had she known how Ella felt. Since she couldn’t ever be told, Ella may as well get used to Cal’s absence right now. For a full half hour she tried but thought of nothing but beautiful Rose and handsome Cal relaxing together while she huddled over steaming suds.
The laundry room lightened. “We’re havin’ smoke-oh.” Ned peered through the chink in the door and the steam. “Thought you might make time for a break.”
And so she sat limp-haired on a log outside the woolshed with the men, swilling her tea and staring into the depths of her cup.
The call of a white cockatoo seeking out food for his flock raised her head. With his wings at full stretch, he wheeled around the orchard and gave three echoing screeches. “If he thinks he has found ripe fruit to raid, he can think again,” she said grumpily. “I wouldn’t mind if they took a little fruit, but they spoil more than they eat.”
“Them peaches have been ripe for a couple of days. I picked a few for Miss Rose yesterday,” Ned said as the sulfur-crested scout flew higher than the tallest tree and turned into a speck in the sky.
“I suppose I’ll have to pick more today then.” Ella heaved a sigh. She expected when she’d picked a few, she would have to help Rose bottle them and she simply didn’t have the energy.
“The men’ll help you do that after lunch.” Alf scratched his stubble. “We’ve almost finished the clip. We can go a bit slower now. You’ll have a hundred and fifty bales o’ wool after tomorrow.” He swallowed the last of his tea in one big gulp. “You’ll get a tidy sum for it.”
A tidy sum was what she wanted—and a tidy new house in the city and a tidy laundry maid and no sheep to dip. While she imagined her better life in the city and her respite from financial woes, she hung out the third load of washing, not taking as long as she had expected. She had barely emptied the sudsy water and warmed the irons when she heard the clop and squeak of the trap wheeling toward the stables. She shaded her eyes, squinting as Rose and Vianna stepped from the vehicle. Cal dismounted from the dun. He held the piebald by a leading rein.
“Was the police station closed?” she called to Cal. She wanted to keep her distance from him, determined not to give away the fact that she would be desolate when he left.
“The constable in charge says they don’t want the horses.” In stripping off the dun’s saddle he avoided her gaze. “They don’t have an impounding area and asked if you could board them until they’re claimed. They’ll pay for this until their proven owners appear. It’s not the hardest way to earn extra money.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Ella said, her hands on her hips. �
��You don’t have to keep filling the water trough and lugging chaff.”
He laughed. “Nor do you. I have found you a man who is willing to do your odd jobs until you leave. He will begin with the dipping next week. He will want meals while he’s here and one live lamb a week until he leaves.”
Rose peeled off her gloves. “Cal interviewed him. He thinks he is trustworthy, though how he decided that I can’t say. He got into a conversation with him at the post office and that was that.”
“The postmaster vouched for him.” Cal unbuckled the chestnut from the trap and sent her and her twin into the paddock. Girl, ever vigilant, dogged his footsteps. “While I was there, I sent off an advertisement to put in the Adelaide newspaper about the chestnuts being for sale. I think you’ll have a good offer within a week or two.”
As he turned toward the shearing shed, Vianna stopped him. “I brushed Miffy down before breakfast. This morning I helped Frank with Salvation and Prejudice, although they are very tall and very hard for me to reach.” She aimed her pitiful little girl look at him.
“Salvation and Prejudice?”
“Sally and Judy. The carriage horses,” she explained, untying the pretty straw bonnet Papa had bought for her last summer. “Should I brush them every day even when we don’t use them?”
He glanced down at her. “They are very valuable assets. To take care of them would be a responsible and grown-up thing to do.”
Vianna turned back, looking satisfied. Anyone could see she admired Cal. Anyone could see he liked her and would advise or praise her as he did to Ella, whom he’d also taught to care for her assets.
And she had to learn to exist without this wonderful, clever, hard-working man.
* * * *
Cal couldn’t concentrate on shearing today, although he should have been making up his quota. He’d had quite a shock in Noarlunga. He’d spotted Sam.
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