‘Yer no’ here on the Governor’s good graces,’ he said to the crowd, his voice clear on the cool, whipping breeze. Looking over at a groaning Dave, his tone became louder. ‘Yer here because yer choosing to be free, not held to the Crown. Even the English among us are treated like rats. They have no care fer yer lives, fer yer dignity,’ he paused, taking in their faces, ‘and they think they can beat ye into submission and silence? Well, lads…the time’s comin’ to answer a question I’d say. Are ye goin’ to let them treat ye the way they treat their own back there? You: Irishmen, Scotsmen, English, Welshmen like me…do you want the hells they made fer ye back home to be replicated in another land? And you: Americans, Canadians, Germans, Italians and all the rest, who are they t’say what this new colony should be? Why indeed a colony at all?’ He nodded at the Aboriginal workers and Macca. ‘Why not a free country?’
Striker walked over to stand by the side of Kieran and Dave. ‘We’re all different yet we all have one thing in common; one truth that unites us. We are diggers, yes, but we’re more than that now.’ He lifted his massive fist into the air. ‘We’re Australian.’
A cheer rang out as other fists lifted too.
‘We need to stand as one! United, lads! With respect fer one another,’ he added, looking meaningfully at Kieran. ‘Every man has that right and they canna take it from us.’
The breeze carried the miners’ murmurs of agreement as Kieran and Striker took Dave away to have Betty treat his injuries but there was more than words flowing within it now. That charge of rebellion was now palpable, the contagion alive and swelling as it passed from one man to the next. It would have to run its course until justice prevailed. Or until further blood was shed.
Thirty
‘What really happened?’
Amanda had been fooled by Kieran’s story about a horse giving him a black eye but not Eve, nor Arthur. They’d shared a sceptical glance when Kieran’s fabricated excuse was done but now, as they walked their lane, Eve was ready to hear the truth.
‘I don’t really want to tell you, love,’ Kieran said. ‘It’s not a very nice tale.’
‘I think I’ve seen enough of the darker side of humanity to hear it,’ Eve said, old pains echoing, and Kieran took her hand. ‘So, what was it? A bar-room brawl? A fight over a girl?’ She was trying to lighten things but that last comment actually cost her.
‘I already have the loveliest girl in the world,’ he said, kissing her hand now, and she smiled.
‘Stop blocking me with that charm.’
‘Well,’ he said, looking at the ground, ‘it was actually due to a punch from a trap. You know, the troopers on the fields.’
‘Yes, I know who they are.’ They were notorious to most by now. ‘Who was it that hit you?’
‘A man called Curtis. It’s his job to enforce the licence fees along our creek, only most can’t afford them. They’re barely surviving over there as it is.’
‘Yes, I’ve heard that too. Thirty shillings does seem extreme.’ It was in all the papers, which she read aloud to Arthur and Amanda every Monday morning.
‘Aye, and he’s a violent man to be doing the job. He…well, he tied Dave up to a tree and beat him with his bludgeon because he hadn’t paid.’
Eve dropped his hand and stopped walking to stare, horrified. ‘And you got that for trying to help him, I suppose.’
‘Aye.’ Kieran gingerly touched the bruise.
‘Why didn’t the other traps stop him?’
Kieran sighed. ‘It’s hard to go against the man in charge, I suppose.’
Eve shook her head, angry for Dave yet worried at how far things had deteriorated. ‘What will happen now?’
‘To Curtis? Nothing. He gets away with whatever he wants,’ Kieran stated with a shrug but there was fire in his eyes. She’d begun to recognise that side of him more and more, the passionate, rebellious man within. Originally she’d merely thought him kind and, yes, somewhat of a risk-taker to do what he did that first day in Parramatta, but now she saw a wildness in Kieran too. And there was danger in such unpredictability.
‘The miners shouldn’t have to stand for that,’ she said, watching his reaction closely.
‘No,’ Kieran said, ‘they shouldn’t…and they won’t be.’
Eve nodded slowly. ‘Is there talk of unifying and protesting?’
‘Some,’ he said, ‘although everyone is waiting to hear what the new governor will do. Here’s hoping your captain will have positive things to say to support us.’
Captain Cartwright would be joining Governor Hotham on his tour of the goldfields in two weeks’ time before coming home. It seemed both events were going to have a massive impact on their lives now.
‘Kieran,’ Eve said, choosing her words carefully, ‘if the captain says yes to us marrying…’
‘You mean when,’ he corrected immediately. Amanda and Arthur were openly accepting of the two of them courting by now and Eve’s hopes that the captain would allow it were quite high too, so she smiled and agreed.
‘Yes, when, are you hoping to…to become a farmer once more?’
‘Well, we’d have to settle nearby until he lets you go from service…if he does.’
‘But your family want to settle further south, didn’t you say? How would you afford a farm of your own around here? Or are you planning on going to them and only visiting me occasionally?’
‘Of course not.’
Eve knew he had no immediate plans at all, save marriage. And she knew why. ‘You’re not planning to farm at all for a while, are you? You want to stay on the goldfields with your friends having adventures.’
‘No,’ he said vehemently before collecting himself. ‘I want to stay there,’ he acknowledged, ‘but not for adventures.’
‘What then?’ The truth sat between them and she waited for him to admit it.
‘I…want to stay for all of our sakes, to see this thing through…’
He wouldn’t say the word so she said it for him. ‘Is there going to be a rebellion, Kieran?’
Kieran looked away, his hands on his hips. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Because if there is I don’t want you anywhere near it.’
His eyes flicked back at her and there was a warning there now. ‘Eve, you cannot ask me not to stand up for what is right. This is about justice.’
‘It’s about money and…and violence. And you’d risk our very futures for it!’ she said, losing all composure and throwing her hands in the air. ‘Do you think an English naval captain will allow his convict servant to marry a rebel? Do you?’
‘I…haven’t thought about it…’
‘No. No, you haven’t,’ she said, tears forming now. ‘Kieran,’ she said, grasping his hands in hers, ‘I love you so much, but if you do this, if you rebel against the authorities and end up being caught, there’ll be no hope for us marrying. And there’ll be no hope for your freedom…or perhaps even your life.’
Kieran was listening but he was struggling too. ‘You…you cannot ask me not to stand up for what is right, Eve,’ he said again. ‘It’s who I am. It’s the reason we met and you fell in love with me, remember? A decent man doesn’t walk away when people he cares about need him.’
‘And how decent or kind would it be to break my heart once more? To break your own? Would it really be worth it then, to rebel against a power you know you can never defeat?’
‘Would it be worth it not to, and know I never tried?’
She dropped his hands, hating to force it but knowing she would have to make him choose now. ‘It’s either a life with me or a life of protest, Kieran. It cannot be both.’
She held her breath as he stared at her for a very long moment before pulling her into his arms. ‘Aye, you’re right, my love. You’re right.’ Eve buried her face against his chest, closing her eyes in relief. ‘I’ll keep my head down and when we marry I’ll leave the goldfields for good.’
‘Do you promise?’ she said, needing his vow.
He hesitated and she waited anxiously until he did. ‘Aye, I promise it, love. You have my word.’ Eve held him tight as he sealed his declaration with a kiss and she loved him more at that moment than any before. Because he’d given her more today than his love and his word. He’d sacrificed part of his very essence: the Irish rebel that beat in his heart.
Thirty-One
He’d avoided running into him on the goldfields with Governor Hotham as he toured, but there was no avoiding Captain Cartwright now and Kieran stared at the door nervously before knocking.
‘Come,’ boomed the captain’s voice and Kieran took one last look outside where Eve was reading to Amanda to pass the nerve-racking time before entering.
‘Ah, Mr Clancy. I must say I never thought we’d meet again but it’s a small world, eh what?’
‘Yes, sir. Good to see you again.’
‘Brandy?’ the captain offered and Kieran accepted it gladly. ‘So, I hear you’re quite the apothecary.’
‘Well, it’s more my sister Eileen, although I did learn a bit from her growing up.’
‘More than a bit I’d say. I’ve never seen Amanda in better health and she won’t stop singing your praises, let me tell you! I’d be green with envy if I wasn’t tickled pink to have my wife so recovered.’ He chuckled at his own joke. ‘Besides, there’s someone else you have your eye on, I hear.’
The captain looked over his glass at him and Kieran knew this was it: his moment to pitch. No pressure, he told himself, only your entire future at stake. He drove the thought away and focused on pouring every drop of Irish charm people said he possessed into what he said.
‘It seemed fortune smiled on me twice, to run into Eve in Parramatta and now here, of all places. She was always my friend but I never expected it to evolve into deeper affections.’ He paused, taking a sip of his brandy before continuing. ‘You’ve taken such excellent care of her and given her a life of comfort that she is so grateful for but if you could see it in your heart, sir, well, I would beg one further act of generosity from you. I’d like to ask for her hand.’
‘Hmm, yes, so I was warned by Amanda, romantic creature that she is,’ the captain said, taking out his pipe and stuffing tobacco in. ‘She’s an excellent maid, I must say, and Amanda and Arthur are both fond of her, so it seems. I wouldn’t be willing for her to leave our service, you understand.’
‘Yes, sir, I do.’
‘Although perhaps in a few years,’ he conceded and Kieran felt hope leap at the words. ‘I’ve really only one concern left.’
That paused the leaping and Kieran waited anxiously.
‘You’re a farmer, as I understand, yet you have been working the goldfields these past few years. Why is that?’
Kieran took another long sip of brandy before answering. ‘A bit of a lark, I suppose, but I’m ready to walk away and buy a farm nearby now. I’ve saved enough over the years to get a modest one.’
‘Just for marital reasons?’
‘Aye, the goldfields are no place for a lady.’
‘Yes, I saw the class of woman near there,’ the captain said, shaking his head. ‘Let alone some of the men. In all my born days, was there ever so much hair on men’s faces?’
‘Yes, sir, they tend to favour the look,’ Kieran said, joining the captain in a chuckle and glad he’d chosen to be clean-shaven.
‘How do you feel about this licence fee business?’
Wham, there it was, the question he’d dreaded most. Kieran kept his tone light, knowing his answer was crucial. ‘It’s harder for some than others. I’ve been lucky that it’s never been an issue for me.’
‘Do you think them unfair?’
‘I think it would be fairer if it were based on how much gold people found,’ he said carefully.
‘Humph, difficult to police though, eh? Hard enough for the troopers as it is, from what I’ve seen.’
It took a great deal of self-control for Kieran not to react to that comment but he managed to remain quiet.
‘Anyway, enough of all that. If you want to marry the girl you have my permission. Now go away and tell the damn women before my wife needs another tonic.’
Kieran closed his eyes briefly to allow the good news to wash over him before standing to take his leave.
‘Thank you, sir, from the bottom of my heart.’
‘Eh, well it’ll be a foolish heart from now on, son. Life’s never the same once a woman worms her way into it. Off you go, off you go.’
Kieran walked out and through the house, opening the door to a brightly fine if cool August day, and he looked over to the fairhaired woman of his dreams as she read in the sun.
By holy marriage: when and where and how
We met, we woo’d and made exchange of vow,
I’ll tell thee as we pass; but this I pray,
Kieran stepped forward into that brilliant sunshine, finishing the verse for her:
That thou consent to marry us today
Both women turned to see Kieran’s grin, which said it all, and Arthur began to cheer, overhearing as he pruned roses nearby.
‘Oh, bless my good husband!’ Amanda exclaimed, her dark curls bobbing as she jumped up and down, clapping, but Eve stood slowly, the little book falling onto the grass. ‘Well, don’t just stand there staring, girl! Go get your kiss!’ Amanda said, giggling happily as Eve ran to Kieran and he lifted her and spun her through the air.
Then he held her against him as she took his face in her hands and kissed him in that sunlight, with so much love and relief infused Kieran could feel it flow into him. He let it soak through, drinking it in like it was the most precious of elixirs, before sending it back in a wave of his own, and it filled them both with private, joyful promise.
‘When’s the priest due back in town?’ he asked, pausing to gaze at her.
‘Not till December,’ Arthur said from nearby and Kieran realised they still had an audience.
‘So long?’ Eve said disappointedly as Kieran reluctantly released her.
‘We could marry in Melbourne,’ Kieran suggested.
‘Oh no, I insist on you having it here! It’s not so long away and we’ve never had a party before,’ Amanda said. It was a testament to how isolated Amanda’s ill-health had made their lives that welloff people such as the Cartwrights could have so poor a social life. Kieran wondered who on earth she thought she could invite to her convict servant’s wedding, knowing it certainly wouldn’t be the Governor…nor the miners.
He’d been so focused on gaining the captain’s permission he hadn’t thought about when they would actually marry but now that he did December made sense. ‘I have to work the claim for a while anyway on account of my mate being er…away,’ Kieran reminded Eve. Dave appeared to have several broken ribs and wouldn’t be fit for months. ‘A December wedding would be perfect, love, and we can buy land and build our house in the meantime, not too far from here, of course,’ he said and Amanda clapped her hands again happily.
‘Oh, this is going to be such fun! Let’s see, how many months does that give me? I’ll need a new dress…actually, I think I may have some ivory material packed away…’ Amanda trotted off inside to investigate and Arthur walked back to his shed to celebrate by smoking his pipe, leaving the newly betrothed alone.
‘We could elope to Melbourne now if you want to avoid this,’ Kieran offered with a grin, glad to have her to himself once more and drawing her close.
‘No, no, we have to do it the way the Cartwrights dictate and Amanda seems intent on wearing ivory and being the bride now so…’ She paused as Kieran broke into a chortle and she began to laugh herself. ‘We’ll have to just watch the bizarre show unfold, I suppose. Anyway,’ she added, ‘there’s always our river.’
‘My beautiful water sprite,’ Kieran said, capturing her lips for another kiss. ‘I say we build right alongside it so we can make love in the water at night, beneath our cross.’
‘Sounds perfectly sinful,’ Eve said, then she blushed at the ref
erence to her old shame.
‘No, it won’t be, my love,’ Kieran assured her, kissing her fingers before going on to confess, ‘actually, I think it’s kind of sacred in its own way. It’s where I figure we really got married already, you know, that first time, when it was just you and me…and the river...’
She was still blushing but beginning to smile too as she teased him. ‘You weren’t being this romantic at the time, as I recall. In fact, I’m fairly certain you suggested I wear a rather scandalous mode of dress when we actually did marry.’
Amanda leaned out the window then, waving excitedly and draped in ivory silk, a sparkly crown perched crookedly on her hair.
‘I found it, Eve! Look! Oh, and my debutante tiara…you must come and see…’ she called, narrowly missing knocking it off as she ducked back through.
‘I think at this rate I’ll be lucky to rustle up any kind of outfit for myself at all,’ she muttered between giggles and Kieran chuckled too as he muttered back.
‘Perfectly fine by me.’
Thirty-Two
Ballarat, October 1854
It was getting harder, even for Kieran. The licence hunts were bad enough but the fact that there was less and less gold to be found just couldn’t be ignored. With Dave still too sore to do very much it was up to Kieran to dig, deeper and deeper each day until his back ached and the callouses on his fingers bled. It took enormous effort and yielded little reward, made worse by the intense mood circulating on the goldfields that day.
‘He won’t get away with this,’ Dave said, for what must have been the tenth time that morning. ‘I don’t care who he is.’
‘He’s got friends in high places,’ Kieran reminded him, yet again.
‘But it’s cold-blooded murder!’ Dave was sitting on a boulder, well enough now to be out of his bunk in their tent and back on site at the claim, but still weakened overall. He was sifting for smaller gold particles absently as they talked, an activity so habitual he barely seemed to notice when he picked little ones out and set them aside. ‘Just two ordinary blokes like us, Kieran, asking the publican for a drink.’
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