Valley of the White Gold

by Tony Parsons

  ‘How wonderful. Are we in it? Dad is obsessed with the idea that we might be in your next book. You could show him up as the dinosaur that he is, except that nobody would believe there was anyone quite like him in this day and age,’ Bella said, a gleam in her eye.

  ‘No, you’re not in it. That would really put the cat amongst the pigeons, wouldn’t it?’ he laughed.

  ‘I suppose it would. Still, you’ve got him worried.’

  ‘I’ll worry him all right, but it will be with competition from my sheep and wool, not a book.’

  ‘Speaking of books, I’ve read yours and loved it, Rod. Beth gave it to me. Thanks so much for your autograph but I’m sorry to say I don’t have it any more. Wally found it and put it in the Aga. He made me stay and watch it burn,’ she said with a catch in her voice.

  ‘Bella, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ll sign another copy for you.’

  ‘He’d burn that one too. And that’s the least he’s capable of, so I’d better not risk it.’

  Wally had found Rod’s novel hidden behind some sup-plies in the pantry. He’d waited until Bella took her clothes off for him and then he’d hit her with his belt. Not once, but several times. She had turned on him then and laid it on the line. If he touched her again, she would leave him. Simply walk out. There was to be no more sex. And she meant it.

  She would run the house for him but that was it. They would sleep in separate rooms and, if there was one more breach on his part, the marriage was over. She knew she should have left that very night but pride prevented her. She knew her father would blame her for the marriage breakdown, not Wally. And she hated to imagine what the rest of the community would think.

  ‘Bella, it probably isn’t my business, but I have the distinct impression that you’re not happy. You don’t have to be very bright to put two and two together and come up with Wally,’ he said.

  Bella didn’t answer but looked around the big kitchen she knew so well. She had heard her mother and Flora McLeod discuss a lot of very intimate things in this kitchen. It had always been a place of warmth and friendship. A haven. Hector McLeod would never have hit Flora. And she could not imagine Rod hitting a woman. If Rod could see the bruises on her body, he’d get a shock. She was black and blue from Wally’s belt. Women’s bodies weren’t supposed to receive that kind of treatment. Instead, she longed to feel hands stroking, tenderly, lovingly.

  ‘Wally is a beast, Rod,’ she burst out. ‘There, I’ve told someone at last. When I read your book, I thought you might understand. He’s cruel and insufferable and I’m going to leave him. Would you believe me if I told you that he hits me? Wally doesn’t love me, he never has, but he’s insanely jealous if I even look at another man. He’s especially crooked on you for what you did to him at the cricket practice and for taking Bonny away from him. He flies off the handle if he even hears your name.’

  Rod nodded. ‘I do believe you, and I’m just so sorry to hear that he hits you. If Wally is mistreating you, and there is nothing in your marriage, you should get out before he does any really serious damage to you. There are plenty of good men, Bella. Plenty of pretty ordinary men, too. You deserve so much more than what you’re getting, and you’ve every right to be happy.’

  ‘A lot of women get a very raw deal out of marriage. I realise it’s an institution, but if a woman cops a bad husband, it can be a kind of hell too. It’s been hellish for me. And I’ve got so much to give to the right man. Actually, I’ve been wondering how you came to know so much about women,’ she asked. Her dark eyes locked into Rod’s and did not flicker. It was a loaded question. Bella was obviously trying him out.

  He laughed. ‘I refuse to answer on the grounds that it would give the game away,’ he said. ‘I hear that people are buying my book partly because I’m regarded as something of a mystery man.’

  ‘They’re buying it mostly because of what’s in it,’ she countered. ‘Do you love Beth?’ She thought she’d be more direct now.

  ‘Yes, I like her a lot. Beth is unspoiled and I think she’d be extremely loyal. But we haven’t had much of a chance to be together.’

  ‘Is there anyone else on the scene?’ Bella asked. ‘You don’t seem to be going hell for leather to make sure you get her.’

  ‘Well, for starters, there’s a fellow by the name of Dan Stafford who’s a complicating factor…’

  Bella thought she’d better change the subject. Talking to Rod about her father wasn’t going to get Beth anywhere at the moment. ‘Hmm.’ She looked around the huge lounge room. ‘Hey, what happened to the furniture? The McLeods had some lovely old things. Some of it came from Scotland with Hector’s grandparents.’

  ‘Most of it went to family. Rightfully so, if it had a history. I told them to take what they wanted and I bought the rest. They certainly took me at my word. I’ve had to buy a few things to replace what they removed. I’ve mostly bought stuff for my bedroom and study. I think that buying furniture and decorating should really be done by the lady of the house, though,’ Cameron said with a half-smile. ‘They’re usually much better at it.’

  ‘That’s a nice thought. Can I see what you’ve done?’ she asked.

  ‘By all means. Look at anything at all,’ he said. Bella walked ahead of him from the kitchen and down the long hall. ‘This is the study,’ Cameron said. The walls of the room were lined with shelves holding an assortment of books. Along one wall, there were two large desks with an electric typewriter on each. A tape recorder sat alongside one of the typewriters. The study was furnished with a large brown leather sofa and two matching chairs, a shade or two lighter in colour than the chairs in the lounge room at Mattai. It was a large enough room to absorb all of these items with room to spare. On the walls there were pictures of champion merino sheep and a large print of Tom Roberts’ famous painting Shearing the Rams.

  ‘I must say, this looks very comfortable,’ Bella commented as her eyes roved about the study.

  ‘I spend quite a lot of time in here,’ he said.

  Bella noted that along the shelves sat dozens of books devoted to women and sex. There were books by Stopes, Kinsey and Ellis as well as more contemporary experts. It seemed that Rod had done a lot of homework. ‘It looks to me as if you should have a thorough knowledge of the basics,’ she said dryly.

  ‘I can get to this study from the bedroom,’ Rod said quickly. He wasn’t keen to discuss his knowledge with Beth’s sister. ‘If I happen to think of something I want to jot down in a hurry, I can nip in through this door and do it. Quite often the best ideas come to you in bed.’

  Rod’s bedroom was notable for the size of its bed. It was the biggest Bella had ever seen. ‘Wow, that’s some bed!’ she said.

  ‘I like big beds,’ he explained. ‘I spent a lot of nights in narrow, uncomfortable beds and I vowed that one day I’d sleep in the biggest bed I could buy. This was it.’

  Bella sat on the edge of the bed and tested it. ‘Isn’t it rather large for one person?’

  ‘I live in the hope that it will have dual occupancy one of these days,’ Rod said evenly. He looked at her very directly and she blushed slightly.

  ‘Why are you looking at me like that, Rod?’ she asked.

  ‘Why did you come today, Bella?’

  She started at his question, which caught her off guard. ‘What do you mean?’ she stammered, blushing even more.

  ‘You didn’t come here just to have tea and scones with me or to find out how I was managing. You had something else in mind.’

  ‘What else would I have in mind?’ she asked.

  ‘You are a very forthright woman and I respect that so I will talk to you in kind. I think you came to see me today because you’re very unhappy. You’re married to a poor sort of man and you want to find a way out of a bad situation. I think you’ve reached the desperate stage of your marriage and don’t know which way to turn. You seem very much in need of a lot of affection – which maybe you hoped, whether consciously or not, I would give you,’ he s
aid.

  ‘You have no right to presume such a thing,’ Bella said weakly.

  ‘You gave me the right when you came in here,’ he said. ‘You came to see if I would make a pass at you in the bedroom. You might have done it for Beth to see if I could be trusted or perhaps you simply need what Wally isn’t giving you.’

  Rod was right and he was devilishly clever too, Bella had to admit. Both of his reasons had an element of truth to them.

  ‘But what you really came for,’ Rod continued, ‘was to try and find a way out of your present situation. Bella, I’m really sorry for you and the predicament you’re in. You wouldn’t be the first young woman to find yourself in such a situation and you won’t be the last. But how on earth did someone as smart and attractive as you get involved with Wally Osborne?’ he asked.

  Bella gave him a stricken look and burst into tears.

  ‘Come down to the kitchen,’ he said gently. ‘I’ll pour you a cuppa.’

  ‘Blast the tea,’ she said bitterly. ‘You’re a devil. You really are. How did you know what I came for? Am I that transparent?’

  ‘No, you’re that desperate,’ he replied. ‘Now, why haven’t you told your family about this?’

  ‘They wouldn’t understand. Well, Mum might but she didn’t want me to marry Wally in the first place. I suppose I’m too proud to admit that she was right and I was wrong. And even if I did go back there, Wally would find a way to drag me back to Glen Avon,’ she said with a defeated expression.

  Rod looked at her, noted the dark circles under her eyes and wondered what she had endured with Wally. He had certainly made her disillusioned about marriage. Her marriage, anyway.

  ‘Now listen to me, Bella. If you want to leave Wally and feel the need to get right away from here to a safe haven, I suggest you go to my mother,’ Rod said. ‘I’ll give you Mum’s address and phone number and I’ll phone her tonight. She has a big house at Terrigal and lives on her own. You could stay there until you sort yourself out – Wally wouldn’t know where you were. Mum’s a real bottler and you’ll find her very sympathetic.’

  ‘Rod, that sounds wonderful.’ Waves of relief washed over Bella. Although she’d never met her, suddenly she couldn’t think of anything better than staying with Rod’s mother. ‘Are you sure your mother wouldn’t mind?’

  ‘She wouldn’t mind at all. She’d be happy to help any friend of mine, and you can certainly regard yourself as that, Bella,’ he said reassuringly.

  ‘I have the feeling that your mother must be rather special,’ Bella said. ‘She produced an extraordinary son and some of his qualities must have come from her,’ Bella said.

  ‘Mum would probably agree with you,’ Rod said and laughed. ‘Now, let’s get serious. If you should ever need my help, be sure to call on me, whatever the time of the day or night. Don’t imagine that you have to stick with Wally because you’ve got nowhere else to go. My advice is to leave Wally pronto. If you run into trouble and need a quick refuge, come here to Glengarry. That’s if you don’t want to go back to your family.’

  ‘Thank you. You’ve taken a huge load off my mind,’ Bella said.

  Later, after a pot of tea and some of Bella’s homemade shortbread biscuits, they walked through the gardens and finished up at Bella’s car. Rod held the door open for her and she gave him a dazzling smile in return, reminding him so much of Beth. ‘I know you took a big risk coming here, Bella,’ he said gently.

  ‘I suppose so. I was pretty desperate,’ she said, her eyes barely able to meet his. ‘I think Dad is completely wrong about you. You would be marvellous for Beth and I really do hope you get together. If things were different and she wasn’t my sister, I’d have been putting up my hand to be with you myself…’

  Just as she was about to get into the ute, she turned and kissed him. To him, it seemed a kiss of regret, of lost opportunities, rather than one of real passion. Then she slammed the car’s door and sped off down the road in a cloud of dust and flying gravel. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the envelope from Beth.

  Beth had agonised over its contents. She wanted to convey how delighted she was that Rod had acquired Glengarry, but she also wanted to know what was going on between the two of them.

  Dear Rod

  It was great news to hear that you had purchased Glengarry. You must be delighted to have your fine-wool property, and such a good property too. I wish you had confided in me. It was just as big a surprise to see your face on the back cover of your novel. You are a dark horse!

  Now that you’ll be at Glengarry, I hope we can get together more often. I realise you’ll be very busy for a while, but I’m keen to hear what you’re up to.

  I should warn you that Dad is crooked on you acquiring Glengarry for reasons I won’t go into here and now.

  Bella is going to deliver this note for me. Be nice to her, Rod. I think she’s going through a tough time.

  Lots of good wishes and, once again, congratulations on the score of Glengarry and your novel.

  Your next-door neighbour

  Beth

  Chapter Eighteen

  At last, the wool market seemed to be emerging from the doldrums and prices were beginning to rise – and rise. At the same time, property values were increasing and the local real-estate agents reckoned that on the prevailing market Glengarry would make twenty per cent more than Rod Cameron had paid for it not so many months ago. He had bought at exactly the right time.

  The higher wool prices injected a note of real optimism into the fine-wool business. Woolgrowers in the Half Moon were going to receive financial recognition for their wool and, suddenly, even people from outside the region were talking fine wool. The locals, confident that their sheep and wool could hold their own with those from any other district, had the opportunity to test their faith at the annual Mudgee show. The show was in effect the shop window of the Central Tablelands wool region.

  Jim helped his father with their sheep in the wool pavilion. When they were younger, Beth and Bella had also helped – until they became so attractive that the pavilion became the haunt of many of the district’s young guns. ‘You couldn’t move for falling over the buggers,’ Dan growled to Dorothy on one occasion. So, on this day, Beth accompanied her mother. They both missed Bella but hoped to see her at the show.

  It was with unusual confidence that Dan and Jim strode into the pavilion to find out how their show fleeces had flared fared. To their disappointment, their name was not on either the Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion Fleece awards. They had won a couple of ram’s fleece classes and that was it. The lovely broad Grand Champion sash stretched across an entry from Saxon Pastoral Company, and they didn’t have to ask who owned that. The Reserve Champion ribbon had been awarded to a fleece entered by Charlie Dillon.

  Dan couldn’t believe his eyes. He walked from his entries back to the Grand Champion Fleece and subjected it to piercing scrutiny.

  ‘It’s a lovely fleece,’ Jim said from beside him. Jim was always very straightforward about merino sheep and wool and wasn’t going to soften the truth on account of his father’s ego.

  The Grand Champion Fleece was a superfine, as white as snow, and exhibited a very neat tip. It was also very richly crimped for a superfine. It was a ewe’s fleece but a big one – it weighed 6.7 kilograms, a very good weight for a skirted superfine fleece.

  Dan suddenly recalled that Bill Stratton had told them he’d seen three very good ewes at Glengarry, and, though the third ewe was not quite up to the other two show-wise, she had a wonderful fleece. Dan now felt sure that the Grand Champion Fleece had been shorn from that third ewe. And in that case, the other two ewes had to be extra good. But how had Rod managed to produce such quality wool already?

  At the back of the sheep pavilion, Charlie Dillon, who was the head sheep steward, helped Dan and Jim unload their show team. Charlie had been the sheep steward for donkey’s years and it was generally conceded that he was one of the best judges of sheep, certainl
y fine-wool sheep, in the country. ‘Lovely pair of ewes down there,’ Charlie said, nodding towards the far end of the shed. ‘One’s only a two-tooth but she’s a beauty. The older ewe is a crackerjack. They belong to the new man at Glengarry.’

  Dan glanced quickly at the two ewes in question as he penned his own sheep. He could barely believe that Rod could produce two outstanding ewes so early in his career as a sheep breeder. Dan had never shown many ewes because he preferred to put his major effort into rams as they brought in the dollars. However, when it came to the top prize, for the Supreme Merino Exhibit, which was to be judged later in the day, the top ewe of the show competed against the top ram.

  In the meantime, Dan’s best ram took out the Grand Champion Ram award, but, when the ewe classes were judged, he found himself without a blue ribbon. His young ewe was beaten in the two-tooth class by the ewe entered by the Saxon Pastoral Company and his best ewe was beaten in the four-tooth class by the older Saxon ewe. The older ewe became Grand Champion and the younger Saxon ewe was reserve to her.

  Fortunately for Dan, he didn’t have to rub shoulders with Rod at the judging because the two Saxon ewes were shown by a tall, fair man he had never met before.

  Dan was big enough to accept defeat graciously. ‘Congratulations,’ he said, extending his hand in greeting. ‘I’m Dan Stafford and this is my son, Jim.’

  ‘John Berryman,’ the stranger said, shaking hands with them both.

  ‘You’ve got a couple of real good ewes there,’ Dan said magnanimously.

  ‘Thanks, Dan.’ Berryman had been thoroughly briefed by his brother-in-law so he understood that Rod had absented himself from the judging because he hadn’t wanted to antagonise his neighbour any further.