An Uncommon Woman

by Nicole Alexander

  ‘Yes, it was. We wondered how much you remembered. It was an accident.’ Aiden dragged a stool next to her, sitting a glass of water on it.

  As far as Edwina could remember Aiden hadn’t been there. ‘Did Father tell you that?’

  ‘Ridgeway said it was a mistake. That the rifle went off by itself,’ explained Aiden. ‘He carried you inside. I came home about an hour later and then went into town to fetch the doctor.’

  ‘And then?’ asked Edwina.

  ‘Ridgeway left.’

  Of course he would have. Why would Mason linger when he’d almost been killed? Edwina doubted their wealthy neighbour’s return. There was a madness in this homestead and any right-minded person would do well to keep clear. Mason did what was required and then lied about the incident to Aiden, protecting all of her family. They didn’t deserve such help. Edwina touched the bandaged shoulder. ‘I dreamt there were maggots in my arm.’

  ‘It was just a dream, Edwina, just a bad dream.’ He patted her hand. ‘Comfortable? Because you have company. I’ll leave you two alone.’

  The caller was unexpectedly standing before her.

  ‘Mason?’ said Edwina in surprise.

  ‘How are you?’ He moved to sit on the edge of the verandah at her feet.

  It was so good to see him again. Edwina could feel his strength, the vitality running through his veins. She coveted that glowing good health, but more than that Edwina craved his company and comfort. ‘Better,’ she answered quietly, grateful now that her hair was brushed. It was difficult to form the right words. How did someone apologise for their father trying to kill him? You couldn’t. ‘I wanted to thank you for what you did, lying about the shooting.’

  ‘It seemed the best thing,’ replied Mason kindly. ‘I was worried about you, Edwina. You’ve been sick for a long time. Eighteen days. How are you feeling?’

  Was it really nearly three weeks since the accident? He was staring at the thick bandage on her shoulder. At the man’s shirt she wore with the sleeve cut off. Edwina guessed how she appeared. Thin, pale and tired. And yet there was hope that they could still be friends, for he’d come back. ‘I’m better, thank you. Have you seen my father?’

  ‘Briefly,’ replied Mason.

  ‘I haven’t, not since I woke.’

  Around them the trees of the orchard dropped leaves that fell still to the earth.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Mason. ‘It might take some time for him to come to terms with what he did.’

  ‘It will take time for all of us.’ Her father, guilty? Edwina never would have thought such an emotion possible.

  ‘Luke sends his best wishes. He wanted me to tell you that the purchase of Condo Station is on hold until you are fully recovered.’

  ‘I haven’t thought of it, Mason, and truly I don’t see how it could possibly go ahead now.’

  ‘You will get better, Edwina,’ said Mason firmly, ‘and when you are ready you will sign those papers and become the owner of a fine piece of land.’

  Only if her father agrees to it, she thought, for it was his money. The tiredness grew. Edwina struggled against it. ‘Apparently my father is much recovered.’ Which meant that Baker’s Run was no longer hers to control.

  ‘Yes, he seems to be.’

  Mason gave nothing away. Had the two men argued? She expected as much, recalling her father’s fury that day. It was remarkable that Mason was even allowed to set foot on the property. ‘Then there will be no sale,’ said Edwina. ‘Please tell Luke –’

  ‘I’ll tell him nothing. It is your business and must be handled by you. All you need do is send for him. He will come with the papers when you’re ready.’

  ‘And if I’m not ready, ever?’

  ‘Has your father taken so very much from you, Edwina, that even your spirit has gone?’

  ‘Maybe we have taken from each other,’ she admitted. ‘Father and I both have our wounds.’

  Mason rose. A hand forming a fist and then releasing, his anger controlled. ‘I don’t understand your family, Edwina. You bash at each other like a raging wind and still you come back for more. I can’t comprehend that type of loyalty. I really can’t.’

  Edwina felt he wanted to say more. There was a look about him. It may have been longing, but perhaps that was her wishing and, besides, she didn’t know Mason well enough to know for sure. ‘I’m sorry we argued that day.’ She could forgive him his deception. It seemed such a small matter now.

  ‘So am I. I must go. I promised not to stay long. Look after yourself. Be well.’

  Edwina didn’t want him to leave. She needed his quiet assurance, the sensible confidence. ‘You will come back again?’

  ‘To this property, this house?’ Mason peered upwards into the orchard’s canopy where streams of light sifted downwards. ‘No, Edwina. I’ll never set foot here again.’

  She swallowed the sob in her throat. ‘I’m very sorry to hear that.’

  ‘What’s done is done. Take care. Be well.’ He leant down, kissing her softly on the cheek.

  She listened as he walked away. That was it then. Considering her initial reluctance to walk out with Mason why would he persist now, even for friendship’s sake? It had taken eighteen days for Mason to come and see her. To check on how she was. Edwina realised she was lucky that he’d come back at all.

  Chapter Forty-three

  A few days later Edwina was finally sitting at the dining-room table again. Hamilton hoped for something of a reunion with a roast leg of mutton, beans and potatoes served up by the smiling aboriginal girl.

  ‘Good. We are all here. A family once again.’ It was the first time he’d seen Edwina properly, up close. The first time since Ridgeway had scooped up his daughter, carrying her to the bedroom and then tending the wound. Ripping off the blouse and stemming the blood with his own hands. Tipping rum down her throat for the pain. Giving instructions. Hamilton understood that these ministrations went beyond concerned decency. Ridgeway cared for his daughter.

  ‘Father,’ said Edwina in acknowledgment as Aiden cut up her food.

  ‘Edwina. To your good health.’ There was no need for untidy words or platitudes. Simply a prayer of thanks for the food before them and her return to health. The subject need never be discussed again.

  They ate quietly, the conversation stilted. Hamilton attempted once or twice to talk of happenings on the property: the work ethic of the Chinese, the tangible evidence of the pear dying – fledgling attempts that barely received a response. He watched as his daughter stabbed at the bloody meat with a fork, the liquids dripping, the injured left arm unmoving. Aiden glanced up from an already near-empty plate, eager to be gone. Yes, his family were indeed all back sitting at the table, on his property, this misery farm. Best to get things over with then.

  Hamilton placed the folder before his daughter. Waited for the hurried explanation, the excuses, the plea for forgiveness. Edwina flipped open the file. Hamilton watched the pale, expressionless face studying the legal papers sent from Wywanna’s solicitor.

  ‘It’s the legal documentation for Condo Station,’ Aiden blurted.

  Hamilton observed the slow pulse in Edwina’s neck. A blue thread in diaphanous white.

  He was against the purchase of the western Queensland property. Any man, any father in his position would be. Edwina was far too quick to act. It was as if she hoped for his death or at least an ailment that rendered him incapable of heading the household. Such duplicity would sour any relationship but for a child to attempt such a thing, Hamilton knew that this was a wounding that would take some time to recover from, if ever.

  Across the table his daughter studied the document, holding her injured arm as she peered at the settlement details. This was an audacious act. Edwina’s defiance was not over some small plot of land; instead the proposed transaction was enormous and the venture was brokered by Luke Gordon. Not him.

  That fact stuck in Hamilton’s craw and he didn’t like it. Not one little bit. Discard
ed and overridden by a presumptuous daughter. His money parlayed by a rich outsider. And yet he was conscious of one overarching fact. Hamilton didn’t have the gumption to embark on such a scheme. How could she, a mere slip of a girl, have the temerity to believe that she was capable of running such an enterprise? It made the mind boggle.

  ‘As you can see, Edwina, I know about your little escapade,’ said Hamilton. ‘You were quick to see me kick the bucket.’

  ‘The property is broke,’ countered his daughter. ‘The money-lending was our lifeline. I was trying to prevent a disaster.’

  ‘Two days after my fall? Without even pausing to contemplate my recovery? I’d applaud the forethought if it wasn’t a little too fast for my taste. Unconscionable behaviour.’ The words bounced off the timber walls. Edwina stared at him. Aiden’s mouth opened. Their faces said it all. They judged him, even his son. As if it were their right to weigh his faults and find their father wanting.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ he thundered. ‘The shooting was an accident, while your actions were unforgivable. It is my money you were intent on using. Mine!’

  ‘I know, but I acted with good reason, Father. You were severely injured and the property has not been making any money for a number of years. Every time I tried to offer a suggestion as to the running of the business you’ve ignored me.’ She turned to her brother. ‘Both of you have. What was I supposed to do? Wait and hope for you to recover only to be told that I had no idea what I was talking about? That I was only a woman and as such should stay out of men’s affairs? I was trying to do something that would help this family. It is a good business decision.’

  ‘It was a good decision for you, you mean.’ Hamilton knew the dinner would digress to this. A messy finish.

  ‘You intended to shoot an innocent man,’ argued Edwina.

  Hamilton shrugged. ‘A trespasser on my land, Edwina. My land.’ He settled in the chair as his children dropped their gazes. Hamilton was determined to ensure their lives returned to a semblance of normality. First, however, his own position as head of the household needed to be re-established. No-one was going to make a fool out of him, least of all his own daughter. ‘Do you remember what I told you the day of the shooting? That Ridgeway came when you were away and asked permission to walk out with you.’ That’s what he wanted, that look on Edwina’s face, the obvious desire to know more. He was right then. Here was a singular opportunity to make his daughter understand once and for all the difference between right and wrong and that included staying away from people like their neighbour. ‘And Charles Mason Ridgeway? Are you still enamoured with the man?’

  ‘What sort of question is that?’ queried Edwina.

  So he’d stirred her from the lethargy. Two bright spots of colour dotted Edwina’s cheeks. A far greater response than the one elicited by the thought of title deeds. They’d been together that morning. Embracing. Edwina’s beatific face poised and waiting for a kiss. He was right then. The truth was out. Edwina was in love with the man and no doubt believed Ridgeway would come for her once she was well. It wasn’t going to happen. There had to be a totalling of accounts.

  Aiden was sworn against telling his sister of Ridgeway’s daily vigilance. Promised never to reveal that a bargain was struck between Hamilton and Ridgeway. One visit only. Never to return.

  ‘Charles Mason Ridgeway is no good. Well, you must know that yourself, my dear, considering you thought him another person altogether. He can’t be trusted.’ Hamilton dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin. Constance was a far better cook than the old Scotswoman.

  ‘And?’ asked Edwina.

  ‘You have proved ungrateful, but considering everything that has occurred I will make you an offer. You can have one of two things. Charles Ridgeway or Condo Station. Love or land. Your brother sits here as witness. What we agree on tonight will be adhered to.’

  Edwina looked to Aiden. Clearly she doubted the proposition. Her brother bowed his head.

  Patience was not a virtue Hamilton was endowed with, but he was quite prepared to bide his time. He knew women. Understood the muddled ticking of their hearts. His daughter may well be running her hand across the legal papers; however, her mind would be on that kiss. The thought of it. Of what it could bring. Escape and love. With the promise of money. And wasn’t that what his daughter aspired to – a better life? Edwina would choose Charles Mason Ridgeway only to discover that the landed upstart was no longer interested. They had shaken hands on it and a gentlemen’s agreement was never broken. So his daughter would choose him and lose Condo Station. Lose the two things she hankered for. No-one, least of all his daughter, was stealing his money, no matter how plucky the venture. Hamilton considered it a life lesson. He’d been through far worse.

  ‘I choose the property,’ came Edwina’s slow reply. She rested her good arm on the edge of the dining table. ‘Also I’ll need money for livestock and staff, Father. But all that, including the purchase price, is in a budget already drawn up. One that’s been checked by Luke Gordon. You would have seen it in the study.’ She halted, wavering for the first time.

  What had she said? The consumed mutton began to rise in Hamilton’s throat. This wasn’t at all what he’d planned. How could this be when Edwina was a woman with feminine failings? Why did she not choose Ridgeway?

  ‘Father?’

  Aiden was speaking, worrying about the overtiring of his sister.

  That compressing of the lips, which Hamilton so often considered as petulance in his daughter was, he understood, something far more formidable: determination.

  ‘Father?’ prompted Aiden.

  Saints preserve him. Outplayed by his daughter. Hamilton pushed back the chair, undoing the necktie that threatened to strangle him. The boy was witness. There was no reneging on his word and yet the thought of all that money. What could he do? There was no manoeuvre available in this simplest of options he’d devised and offered, a choice between two things.

  ‘Was that not the answer you expected?’ asked Edwina. There was no coy sweetness, only curiosity. ‘Anyway, it is a small amount compared to your share portfolio.’

  Hamilton reached for the water glass on the table. ‘I never know what to expect these days, my girl,’ he answered between gulps. ‘It’s up to you if you want to waste your life – and my money – on a block of dirt in the middle of nowhere. You thought it tough here. Wait till you move out west with the blacks and the flies and the dust. Then you’ll wish for your old life back. Then you’ll wonder why you ever complained while under my roof. And you will be moving out there as soon as you are well enough to travel. Sign the papers. I’ll ensure the full purchase price is paid tomorrow.’

  ‘Father,’ interrupted Aiden, ‘you can’t send Edwina out there alone. It’s not right.’

  Reaching for the cane, leaning on the table, Hamilton rose. ‘Your sister wanted the place and went behind my back to ensure she got it. Well now, Edwina will soon be the owner of Condo Station. And as the owner she must live there.’ He turned to his daughter. ‘There will be money for an overseer not a manager. That is your job, my dear.’

  ‘But, Father,’ Aiden stood, gestured to his sister, ‘we don’t even know if Edwina will be able to use her arm properly yet.’

  ‘If she thought that were a possibility, Aiden, your sister wouldn’t be taking on the responsibility. Would you, Edwina? Besides, she has Luke Gordon to assist her with any problems that may arise. She certainly doesn’t need us. Do you, my dear?’

  Edwina exhaled loudly.

  ‘You see,’ said Hamilton, ‘she is relieved to be going out there alone. So now,’ he rubbed his hands together, ‘everyone is happy. You will have to get organised, my dear, to ensure you’re there by Christmas.’

  ‘Christmas – this is ridiculous,’ complained Aiden.

  ‘It’s probably for the best, Aiden. Once I have left for the station Father will undoubtedly feel happier bringing the divorcee, Mrs Gloria Zane, home as his wife.’ />
  A tightness erupted in Hamilton’s chest. If not for the walking stick he may well have stumbled. What else did this little miss know? This daughter with her cunning ways. This girl-woman born of an inadequate wife. ‘It’s best you leave as soon as possible.’

  ‘For once, Father,’ answered Edwina, ‘we are in agreement.’

  Chapter Forty-four

  Aiden collected the mail from Mrs Landry’s Inn and, arriving home, set it on the table. With no-one venturing off the property since the shooting there was a pile of letters and papers to go through.

  ‘Where is Edwina?’ asked Aiden, removing his hat.

  ‘Who knows,’ answered Hamilton, tossing the unopened bills onto a table. ‘Any news?’

  Aiden sat down, crossing his legs. He smelt of horse sweat. ‘Only that there’s been a big crash in America on Wall Street.’

  Hamilton looked at his son. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘Mrs Landry says it’s in all the papers. There are businessmen committing suicide, companies have gone bust and some of the banks have closed.’

  Hamilton rifled through the mail. There were a number of newspapers in the pile and he began scanning the headlines, his mind returning to Gloria and the collapse of the London market in September. ‘This can’t be happening. It isn’t possible.’

  ‘What isn’t possible, Father?’ asked Aiden. ‘Whatever is the matter?’

  The headline, when he finally found it, said it all. The American markets had lost thirty billion dollars in the space of two days. They were already in the first week of November. The crash had been and gone. The markets were still in turmoil. The paper fell to the floor. ‘I’m ruined.’

  ‘Father, are you going to tell me what’s going on?’ Aiden poured rum into a glass and handed it to him. ‘Remember what Han Lee said. You’re on the mend but you must try and not upset yourself.’

  Hamilton swallowed the rum. It did nothing for him. The majority of his life savings were invested in shares. Among the letters was a telegram from his broker outlining the worst of his fears, but also offering some hope. There was still some money left. His advisor of fifteen years was savvy enough to sell the few Australian shares Hamilton held at the first whiff of what was happening abroad. His losses were major; however, there was some money left and it now sat in another of his personal bank accounts. An account safe from prying eyes, including those of his daughter.