Trudi’s heart sank at his words.
‘Are you certain the men will be catching the late ferry?’
The boy paused with a shade of doubt. ‘Sheridan might decide to stay longer. Dad will be wanting to get back, though.’
Trudi clung on to the hope that only Dave Forrest would return that night. With luck she could still leave before Dan returned. She couldn’t expect Mrs. Johnson or Anne to drive her home, but there could be a bus.
‘Do you ever catch the bus back to school?’ she asked.
‘Yes. We just grab it at the turn-off to Ti Kouka. It gets there about nine in the morning, but it can come slightly earlier or later. It waits on the ferries and sometimes that causes a delay.’
‘Do they stop for you?’
‘Sure, no problem to wave them down.’ Glenn stretched and pushed the log again, then pulled the jacket around him closer. Trudi saw him recognise it.
‘You gave us the jersey and your jacket,’ he commented. ‘You’re all right, I reckon.’
Oddly warmed by his words, Trudi crept to the entrance. It seemed darker than ever, and her heart sank. The wind still whistled and she thought at first that the sound she heard was a trick of the wind. When it was repeated she called Glenn, hastily explaining to him. The whistle sounded faintly again, and Glenn emitted a piercing whistle in turn.
‘That’s Dad’s whistle. He’s way over by Kiwi Hill!’ Mum thought we were going there.’ The boy’s voice was excited and they listened carefully, holding their breaths, waiting for a response.
‘Whistle again,’ commanded Trudi. ‘Try calling.’
‘Wouldn’t do any good if they can’t pick up the whistle. However, I’ll try again. Whistling carries, and the dogs could react even if Dad doesn’t hear us.’ Glenn emitted two more ear-shattering blasts. This time another whistle closer at hand sounded in immediate response, the pitch changing in mid-note.
‘That’s Sheridan! He’s heard me. Hear him acknowledge?’ The boy’s pleasure was obvious despite the dark. Heart dropping, Trudi turned back, wishing she could blot the next few hours away.
She winced as Glenn’s whistle sound shrilled again. The distinctive whistle replied immediately.
‘Sheridan sounded closer. My guess is that he’ll be driving the truck. I’d better give a blast every few minutes. He’d relay our position to Dad on the walkie-talkie. You listen, Trudi, I reckon we’ll hear Dad in the jeep soon on the top ridge. He can cross country, whereas Sheridan will have to drive back to Ti Kouka and round.’
A revving of a motor shortly afterwards was followed by Dave Forrest’s anxious voice calling from above them.
‘Glenn?’
‘Dad! I’m glad to hear you. Did you have a good trip?’
There was a strange-sounding snort, then Dave shouted again. ‘Are Angela and Robin and Trudi with you?’
‘Sure, Dad. We’re in a big cave well above high water line ten feet west from the old path. We’re fine.’
‘O.K. I’ll pass on the information to your mother.’
A brief silence followed and then Trudi heard the sound of another vehicle, and knew instinctively that Dan had arrived. A moment later she heard his voice speaking to Glenn. His tones sounded kindly enough as he explained that he had picked up Anne Forrest on his way. Even as she heard Anne’s voice the children stirred. Glenn reassured his mother and then Glenn signalled to Trudi.
Obediently she told Anne that the children were in good shape, then heard Dan issuing an order. Dan’s voice sounded crisp and cold as he told her that seeing they were safe temporarily it was advisable to wait until dawn. He informed her that they would be immediately above them should they need assistance.
Trudi walked disconsolately back to the fire, but even with throwing on all the wood she couldn’t get warm. Chips of ice from Dan’s voice seemed to have settled in her heart. Robin woke and began crying, and she comforted her quickly.
‘The boss didn’t sound very pleased,’ volunteered Glenn. ‘Guess I’ll be in big trouble.’ He sounded so worried that Trudi put her arm around him, assuring him it was just his imagination.
‘He would have been a bit worried about you.’
‘I suppose you’re right. They haven’t had any sleep, and it tends to get people scratchy, doesn’t it?’ He yawned and settled down again.
Trudi nodded. Her own lack of sleep had caught up with her. The sight of the fire dying down woke her instantly to alertness. Hastily she broke off a couple of the bark chips and twigs and, thus encouraged, it blazed again. Glenn had settled and within a few minutes his even breathing made her smile. He at least had trust in their imminent rescue, and wasn’t too scared of the master of Ti Kouka.
She watched as the grey light crept over the sky. A scrabbling sound alerted her to someone’s arrival. The light was blocked by a dark figure silhouetted against the opening. Instinctively she put out her hand to help.
‘That’s not necessary.’ Dan’s voice was cold, like the angry seas. ‘This isn’t the time or place to say what I want to say.’ His eyes raked her like sharp knives before turning towards the sleeping children. ‘Can all the children move? Any injuries?’
‘All of them are fine.’
‘I’ve set a small rope ladder down the cliff,’ he told her. ‘After that we’ll go over the rocks to Bell Bay. The tide’s starting to come in as we’ve waited for light. It’s safe for half an hour—any longer and we’d have to go up. On this cliff that’s not a risk I want to take. I’ll wake the youngsters.’
He moved forward quietly, speaking in gentle tones. The children rubbed and stretched and then threw themselves at him, welcoming him with joyous cries, kisses and hugs. Trudi shivered, trying not to feel the change as Dan threw her sweater back at her after taking it from the girls. He removed his own pack to provide hot drinks and hot wedges of pie. Glenn passed one to Trudi and she took it gratefully. She had the feeling that left to Dan, she might have been ignored. Excitedly the children told him about their adventures. A minute later he had them doing warming exercises to make sure they were completely awake.
He led the way with Robin, then Glenn with Angela and herself bringing up the rear. Trudi, looking at the cliff beside her, marvelled that they had managed to scrabble up to safety.
The sea danced innocently on the rocks, showing the strip of sand in the centre of the Bay in the grey light of dawn. Dan helped the children over the worst rocks and he turned to assist her too. Their hands touched and their eyes met. Trudi saw a hard look shutter Dan’s face and felt her heart set up its own protest. She scrambled over the rocks, determined not to need further assistance. With a sigh of relief she saw the waiting vehicle and Anne Forrest, anxiously watching for them. The children ran to their mother’s arms. Dan spoke to Dave through the walkie-talkie he wore, and as she walked Trudi heard him give instructions to reel up the rope ladder as the children had reached safety.
Dan drove them back to the Forrests’ farmhouse, where the delicious smell of baking wafted towards them. Catching Glenn’s eye, Trudi smiled weakly. Despite Glenn’s fears, breakfast was a merry affair, but Trudi, sitting miserably beside little Robin, was too aware of Dan watching her to do more than pick at the mountains of food before her. In an amazingly short time the children were fed, bathed and tucked up warmly into bed. Trudi felt a deep weariness, wishing she could do the same.
Mrs. Johnson, with a conspiratorial smile at Trudi, asked Dan to run her home, adding that she would stay and help Anne tidy away. Trudi felt her shoulders sag. The thought of being alone with the master of Ti Kouka was the last thing she wanted. Amid the lavish praises and thanks of the Forrests, Mrs. Johnson and the children, Dan’s attitude to her had been ominous. ‘He had questioned Glenn quietly and the boy’s answers as he explained about the watch had been received with apparent understanding. Quite obviously he didn’t blame Glenn.
Trudi looked up at Dan and her heart sank at his expression. He eased her chair back for her, then led the way
to the jeep, making a mockery of opening the door for her. Quietly she scrambled on to the high seat. The seat-belt she fumbled with anxiously, not wanting Dan to touch her. Her hands were puffy, scratched and cut, but she ignored the pain, buckling the belt as Dan climbed in beside her.
The engine revved immediately and they began lurching down on to the drive with scant respect for the suspension. Trudi risked a side glance at Dan, then wished she hadn’t. By the time Dan pulled up at the side garage at Ti Kouka, the silence between them was like a scream.
‘What time is it?’
The blank question astonished her, and automatically she glanced at her watch. ‘Seven-fifty.’
Dan looked at his own watch in turn. ‘Near enough. One and a half minutes out. Yet you told Glenn that your watch must have stopped.’
Trudi gasped, realising the simple trap Dan had set. She knew he would never believe her efforts to try to dry her watch. She hadn’t even realised it was going until that moment. Again he would never believe that she could have guessed the time with such deadly accuracy. Despairingly she looked up at him. His eyes reminded her of a hunting falcon.
‘The others think you’re a heroine. You’re clever, Trudi, but you don’t fool me. You were totally irresponsible.’
His words seemed like bullets fired into her heart. She turned away, but he reached for her, holding her face so she had to meet his eyes. His grip seared.
‘You’re not welcome on Ti Kouka. I never want to see you again.’
Releasing her, he jumped down from the jeep and strode away. Through a mist of tears Trudi watched him go. Too shocked to protest, she felt his words echoing over and over in her brain. Stumbling, she managed to leave the jeep and let herself in the side entrance. Climbing the stairs was something she could never remember, but she found herself in her own room.
The bed had the covers turned back for her, the blanket was warm. Mrs. Johnson had put a vase of tiny rosebuds on the dressing table. The room looked welcoming, and Trudi longed for rest, but after Dan’s words she knew she could not stay. Gathering her gear swiftly, she packed her bag and wrote a brief note to Mrs. Johnson. She knew carrying the suitcase was impossible, so she asked if the case could be dropped at the flat, or the bus depot, whenever it was convenient. Her watch told her she could catch the bus if she hurried. She sped out the back way, using the track towards the gap.
The grass was wet after the rain of the night and as she ran through the small plantation the branches seemed a barrier. Each time she pushed them, a shower cascaded on her, and by the time she arrived at the creek where she had played so long ago with Maria, she was past caring about the water. She jumped, but miscalculated the distance and her ability to leap, landing heavily up to her knees. Stopping only to remove her water-filled sneakers, she sped on again. She glanced at her watch and made her feet move faster, aghast at how much time had elapsed. Already it was ten to nine and the bus could pass without her.
Fear of the prospect made her pump her knees and when she turned the last corner she glanced anxiously towards the road. At least now she could see the bus as it rolled down the main road.
Collapsing in a gasping heap by the stand of cabbage trees that stood at the fork, she looked towards the road. Her watch still showed ten minutes to nine, and she stared at it disbelievingly. It had stopped, and she could only feel pain at the irony. She had no way of knowing whether the watch had still been moving at the homestead. She guessed her run must have dislodged some tiny droplet. Her bare feet were muddy and she tried to wipe them on some grass. Sanity was beginning to return and she regretted leaving her sneakers on the creek side.
A sound alerted her and she stood up as the bus came into sight. To her intense relief the driver stopped on her signal and she climbed on board. Scrabbling for the money, she leaned tiredly against the bus support, then sank down in one of the nearby seats, grateful few passengers were on board. She shivered despite the heat of the bus and looked back towards the waving flax-like leaves of the cabbage trees, knowing she would never see Ti Kouka again.
Pulling her jacket around her, she stared at the mud streaked on it, then gave up caring about her appearance. Some time she would tell Mr. Maugh the jackets made good survival gear, she thought sleepily.
‘Lady, wake up, end of the road!’
Reluctantly Trudi surfaced. For a moment she stared owlishly at the bus driver, before her memory returned. She stood up, and the movement made her conscious of aches from one end of her body to the other. Her shoulders felt as if they had been wrenched from the blades and the base of her spine seemed to have twisted itself from the jelly-like limbs which were supposed to support her. She made her way slowly to the taxi waiting by the bus and when the driver pulled up at the flat she could feel only intense relief to be home.
Her clothes had more or less dried on her, though the legs of her jeans were still wet. It was bliss to stand under a hot shower and just let the water steam gently over her. It was too much trouble to do more than wipe off the worst of the water from her hair, before climbing into her bed. With a deep sigh she turned over to sleep.
It took her a moment to realise the telephone was singing insistently beside her and she forced herself awake as she reached for it. Her hair was wet around her face and she knew she hadn’t slept long. Groggily she stared at the phone, finally moving her arm woodenly like a string puppet to pick it up. Just as her hand closed around the receiver it stopped. She sank back again and then sat upright, thinking that the call might have been from Ti Kouka. Dan’s face seemed to appear before her, promising vengeance. Then she took the telephone off the hook, before shivering her way back among the blankets to sleep.
Trudi woke from her long sleep wondering if the whole affair had been a nightmare. She dressed and made her way to the front door to let the morning sunshine flood the flat.
Immediately she saw the envelope. The letter felt stiff and she knew even before she opened it that it was from Dan’s mother. The small neat cabbage tree design etched in one corner of the ivory-coloured paper was artistic as well as appropriate.
‘Dear Trudi,
I cannot express my deep regret. I can only guess at the words which must have hurt you so desperately. I beg you not to be too hurt by Sheridan’s anger. Because he is my son, I can only ask you to forgive him. In the short time I have known you I realise you have been gifted with a warm, sensitive heart. I’m sorry you must be suffering. I am staying at the flat and I would appreciate a phone call to let me know you are safe.’
Trudi frowned as she read the note again. She should have realised that her hasty flight would cause problems. She dialled the number, and the anxious voice on the other end sighed with patent relief when she spoke.
‘I’m sorry, Mrs. Johnson,’ she apologised, ‘I’ve been asleep.’
‘Trudi, you poor girl! What can I say? Thank you for letting me know you’re all right. You could have become seriously ill after such an experience. The children are all fine and they send their love. Robin said the next time she sees you she wants you to tell her the pearl story. Apparently she went to sleep in the middle of it and she wants to hear the end from you.’
‘Angela and Glenn will be able to finish it,’ said Trudi. ‘Tell Anne and Dave I’m glad the children are all right.’
‘You’ll have the chance to speak to them yourself later. Trudi, I know Anne and Dave are full of praise for you. Dave said he doesn’t know how you managed to get Robin over the last bit. Trudi, will you come and have some lunch with me at the flat, or if you would rather, I’ll take you to town.’
Trudi thought rapidly. She doubted if she could face that hurdle yet. Somehow Dan’s anger seemed to have hacked away at her courage.
‘Could I possibly leave it for some other time, Mrs. Johnson? Since I’ve been away there’s a lot to do.’ The understanding showed in Mrs. Johnson’s voice as she replied. It only made Trudi’s throat feel more full as she replaced the phone. Sadly she knew she could n
ot see Mrs. Johnson or the Forrests again. It would be better to try to forget Dan, his family and friends.
CHAPTER TEN
Trudi flicked her desk calendar over. The picture of a sunlit beach caught her eye and she frowned. A month had passed since the disastrous weekend at Ti Kouka.
Her eyes misted as she thought of Dan riding along the tracks, or lurching along the beach road in the four-wheel-drive, or out shifting stock.
Tiredly she reached for the mail the receptionist had just delivered. Flicking quickly through, she recognised the distinctive stationery Maria always used. At least everything seemed to be wonderful with Maria’s world, her work was challenging and the new house was offering lots of scope. John and she were having the most tremendous fun chasing the sort of Edwardian furniture the house demanded, and John was wonderful at finding all sorts of little treasures, from old windows to lamps. As she put down the letter the new calendar picture caught her eye again.
‘Blast you, Sheridan Jay!’
Trudi felt no better for her outburst. Annoyed, she picked up her clipboard and went along to Rita’s office.
‘Hello, love, you look as though you picked up five cents and lost a dollar doing so.’ Rita’s comment made her smile.
‘Something like that, I guess.’
‘Forget him, love. Other fish in the sea.’
Trudi nodded. There may be others, she thought, but never one like Dan.
‘It might take a little time,’ commented Rita, her eyes gentle. ‘I thought I’d never love anyone after Mac, and for years I told myself that. Stupid really, I’d shut myself off, and Alf had always been shy; it needed you to push us together a few times to see the joy we could share.’
The Man From Ti Kouka Page 15
