Shadows in the Valley

by Elizabeth Haran

  After his father’s sudden passing, Jack had asked his mother to move to Bungaree, where he could keep a closer eye on her. At first she had resisted, but she changed her mind after suffering a short illness. She missed city life terribly, however, especially her work designing sets and costumes for the Rubenstein Theatre Company that performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Grote Street in Adelaide. Putting all her valuable knowledge to use in training young actresses had also given her great satisfaction.

  To be suddenly thrust into the country, amongst sheep, flies, and dung, was nothing short of a shock for Sybil. She’d held a glimmer of hope that there would be some sort of theatre life in Clare, but quickly discovered that all country folk cared about were livestock, crops, and wool prices.

  Jack was certain that a suitable companion for his mother was the answer. If he’d been married, then his mother would have had company in their big house, but that was not the case, and Jack was taking his time about it, much to his mother’s annoyance. He had been casually courting Clementine Feeble, a dressmaker in the town of Clare, but he had so far avoided the state of matrimony. Clementine was quite attractive, but she could be moody and even a little malicious if she didn’t get her own way. Jack had always imagined himself settling down with a girl who had an agreeable disposition, someone who was interested in life on a farm. But as there weren’t an abundance of suitable women to choose from, he still held on to Clementine.

  “I’d love a decent cup of tea,” Sybil complained. “Could we go to a tearoom up the street, Jack?”

  Jack felt embarrassed for Milton Sharp, who’d already given his mother a cup of tea, which was now cold. “I think we should make a choice first, Mother,” he said, hoping to convey that the decent cup of tea would be a reward if she chose a companion. He looked at Mr. Sharp’s list again. “How about Miss Marcia Budgeon? She sounds nice.”

  “How can you tell?” Sybil asked caustically. “The only information Mr. Sharp has on her is that she’s been a governess, and she’s twenty-one years old.”

  “For one thing, under ‘Personal Attributes’, it says Miss Budgeon is patient. As your companion, patience would be a valuable asset,” Jack snapped.

  Sybil gave her son a withering look.

  “Miss Budgeon’s father is a friend of mine,” Mr. Sharp interjected. “So, I know her quite well, and she’s a very nice young lady.”

  “There, you see, Mother?” Jack said. “Miss Budgeon has a good recommendation.”

  “I don’t want to spend my time with someone who will treat me like a child in her charge,” Sybil grumbled.

  Jack rolled his eyes in sheer frustration.

  “I’m sure she wouldn’t do that,” Mr. Sharp said.

  “I don’t know. Miss Budgeon doesn’t sound appealing.” Sybil rolled the girl’s name off her tongue in a melodramatic tone that was not complimentary.

  “Her name doesn’t have to be appealing, Mother,” Jack complained. “Many good people have unfortunate names.”

  “Miss Bethany Bimble is also a very nice girl,” Mr. Sharp said, trying to prevent the brewing argument. “Her father is the manager of the Savings Bank here in Clare, and her mother is president of the Country Women’s Association.”

  “Bethany Bimble,” Sybil said and laughed.

  Jack was not amused and frowned. “I’ve had enough, Mother. Are you going to choose someone, or shall we begin the journey home?”

  Sybil pouted.

  ***

  It was extremely hot, and Abbey was terribly weary when she came upon the township of Clare. She knew she was dangerously dehydrated because her head ached, her lips were cracked, and her legs were wobbly, but she couldn’t afford to buy a drink, so she began a search for a communal well. She was walking down the main street, receiving strange looks from people she passed, when she began to see spots before her eyes.

  “Oh, dear!” Sybil suddenly got to her feet and looked out the office window. “Did you see that?”

  “What?” Jack asked, disinterested. He was fed up with his mother and didn’t bother to look at what his mother was referring to.

  “A young woman just collapsed outside,” Sybil said.

  “Are you sure?” Jack asked, wondering whether his mother was deliberately creating a distraction.

  “See for yourself,” Sybil said, pointing through the window.

  Mr. Sharp went to the window, and Jack went outside to indeed find a girl lying on the footpath. Two elderly women had also stopped and suggested that the girl must have fainted. They commented that she was rather dirty, and neither recognised her. Jack bent to examine her. When she wouldn’t wake up, he gathered her in his arms and carried her inside the agency.

  “Have you some water to splash on her face or a wet cloth?” he asked Mr. Sharp’s shop assistant after depositing Abbey on a sofa in the front of the office, which served as a vestibule.

  “Yes, Mr. Hawker,” Miss Brown said and went to fetch the water and cloth.

  Jack, his mother, and Mr. Sharp looked Abbey over, noting her cut hand, scratches, and bruises.

  “What could have happened to her?” Sybil asked, thinking aloud. “She looks like a vagrant.”

  “I don’t know,” Jack said, puzzled.

  Miss Brown arrived with the water just as Abbey began to awaken. Jack put the glass to her lips and suggested she take a few sips.

  With shaking hands, Abbey clasped the glass and drank it all. “May I have some more?” she asked breathlessly. She was still so thirsty.

  Giving her a strange look, Miss Brown took the glass away to refill it.

  “Are you feeling better?” Jack asked Abbey.

  She nodded but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “I’m just terribly thirsty,” she said in a voice that was little more than a hoarse whisper. “What happened? Where am I?”

  Miss Brown brought another glass of water, which Abbey drank just as quickly as the first.

  “This is the Sharp Employment Agency,” Jack said. “You fainted on the footpath outside.”

  “Oh! I’m sorry,” Abbey said, dismayed that she was causing trouble.

  “There’s no need to apologise. Can we give you a ride home?” Jack asked.

  “No,” Abbey said hastily. “I don’t have a home,” she admitted, seeing that Jack looked confused. “I just arrived in town.”

  “Oh, where from?” Jack asked curiously.

  “I used to live in Burra,” Abbey said, trying not to cry when she thought of her father.

  “How did you get here? I didn’t see a horse outside.”

  Abbey self-consciously looked down. “I was driven part of the way,” she said. “But I walked from Mintaro.”

  Jack blinked in surprise. “Strewth! No wonder you fainted. Mintaro is at least ten miles away, and it’s terribly hot. You’ve been hurt. What happened?”

  “I fell,” Abbey said evasively. She could hardly admit that she had stolen a horse, and it had thrown her.

  “Do you know anyone in Clare you can stay with?”

  “No. I have to find work and somewhere to live.” Abbey tried to stand up, but her head began to spin.

  “Perhaps I can help with the employment,” Mr. Sharp said. “What sort of work have you done before?”

  Abbey paused, embarrassed. “I’ve never had a job,” she said in a small voice.

  “You’ve never been employed?” Mr. Sharp enquired in surprise.

  “No,” Abbey admitted. “But I’m a quick learner, and I’ll do anything.”

  Jack had an idea and glanced at his mother, who was standing in the background regarding Abbey with a frown on her face. “Perhaps we can offer you something,” he said to Abbey.

  Looking up at Jack, Abbey didn’t see the look of shock on his mother’s face.

  “We’re here to find a companion for my mother,”
Jack said. “And you don’t need any qualifications for that position.”

  Sybil was flabbergasted and couldn’t hold her tongue. “At the very least she needs to be presentable,” she said rudely.

  “I’m sure she’ll clean up well,” Jack said casting an appraising eye over Abbey. He noted her azure blue eyes and raven hair, even the bits of grass in it. He also noted her fine features: high cheekbones and a determined chin, complete with a smudge of dirt. Her lips were also a pleasant shape, so he imagined she’d have a beautiful smile. “Would you be interested in the position?” he asked.

  “A companion,” Abbey said, considering. “What kind of work would I have to do?” It sounded like she’d simply have to keep his mother company, but surely there had to be more to it. After what had happened with Ebenezer Mason, she was not as trusting of strangers.

  “My mother is lonely on the farm, so she needs someone to make conversation with. There might also be the odd outing to town, but in general she needs someone to keep her amused.”

  “Let’s not be hasty,” Sybil said, wide-eyed.

  Jack chose to ignore her. Addressing Abbey again, he said, “You’d have your own room in our house, and your meals would be provided.”

  Abbey couldn’t believe her ears. She’d never met anyone who could afford to employ someone just to keep them company. The offer was certainly tempting.

  “Jack,” Sybil interrupted. “I think we should discuss this.” She couldn’t believe her son was offering this girl the position outright without talking it over with her. He’d have to be blind to see that she wasn’t suitable!

  “You’d also receive a small stipend,” Jack said to Abbey, as if he hadn’t heard his mother. As far as he was concerned, this girl had fainted on the agency doorstep at just the right time, and he wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass. If his mother wasn’t prepared to choose a girl from those on offer, he was going to do it for her.

  Abbey thought the job offer sounded wonderful, and her blue eyes lit up with delight.

  Sybil stepped forward and took her son’s arm, leading him to the other side of the vestibule. “Have you gone mad?” she hissed. “She’s Irish, for God’s sake, and terribly untidy. Just look at the state of her!”

  “A bit of soap and water will clean her up,” Jack said. “Be reasonable, Mother. She has walked for miles in the heat and fainted on a dirty footpath.”

  Sybil couldn’t believe Jack was serious. He wasn’t usually impulsive, which was why Bungaree was doing so much better than Anama or Parrallana, his brothers’ properties. “We don’t know anything about her, not even her name,” Sybil said, panicked.

  Jack turned to Abbey, who could hear every word Sybil Hawker was saying. “What’s your name, young lady?” he asked.

  “Abigail Scottsdale,” Abbey replied. “But call me Abbey. What’s yours?”

  “Forgive my rudeness,” Jack said, coming back to her to offer his hand. “I’m Jack Hawker, and this is my mother, Sybil. We live at Bungaree Station, just out of town. Station life is never boring,” he said. “But”

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” Sybil added sarcastically from the background.

  Jack ignored her. “But it is very quiet if you’re used to living in a town. Do you think you could handle it?”

  Peace and quiet and somewhere to keep out of sight for a while was just what Abbey needed. “Yes,” she said. “I would like the position, but only if it’s what” She looked past Jack to his mother. “Only if it’s what you want, too, Mrs. Hawker.”

  For a tense moment, Sybil glared at Abbey with her lips pursed. She was very aware that Jack was giving her a scolding look, but she ignored him. “It seems my son has made up his mind, so that’s that,” she said and walked out of the vestibule and back to where she had been perusing Mr. Sharp’s candidates as her potential companion.

  Abbey was dismayed, but improving her desperate situation had to take precedence.

  “Please excuse my mother, Miss Scottsdale … Abbey,” Jack said kindly. “She’s missing life in the city, and is missing my father, who passed away about eighteen months ago. At the time of his death, he and my mother were living in Adelaide, and she was very involved in the theatre, which is a passion of hers. As you can imagine, life at Bungaree with me is very different for her.”

  “I understand,” Abbey said, thinking of her own father and Neal, missing both terribly.

  “I’d be very grateful if you took up the position of companion to her, but I won’t lie and say it will be easy. I suspect it will be quite the opposite, in fact. Challenging! Are you up to it?” Somehow, he thought a girl who would walk so far alone was undoubtedly quite brave. He also suspected she had spent the night in an open field, and that suggested she had gumption.

  Abbey knew she had no alternative. She needed work and a roof over her head, and she was being offered both. “Yes,” she said. “I’ll take the position.”

  Visibly relieved, Jack smiled at her. “I’ll be right back,” he said. He left the vestibule and went after his mother.

  “Would you still like to visit the tearoom before heading back to Bungaree?” Jack asked his mother.

  “Not if you insist on taking that girl inside in the state she’s in,” Sybil said, not caring that Abbey overheard.

  “I’ll wait outside,” Abbey said, humiliated. She didn’t want to cause further disagreement between a son and his mother.

  “You must be very hungry,” Jack said to Abbey, appearing in the doorway.

  “I’m fine,” Abbey lied. She was actually weak with hunger, and Jack could see it. He had an idea.

  “Mother, I will meet you at the Carlisle Tearoom,” he said. “Please order tea, sandwiches, and cakes.”

  “Where are you going?” Sybil asked.

  Without answering her, Jack helped Abbey up from the couch. He then said good-bye to Milton Sharp, thanking him for the pains he had taken, and set off down the street with Abbey.

  ***

  “A friend of mine owns this hotel,” Jack said when they reached the Railway Hotel. “He won’t mind if you use the bathroom to freshen up.”

  Abbey was dying to clean off the grime that coated her, but she hesitated, wondering if Jack was ashamed of her. She wouldn’t blame him, but it was humiliating.

  Jack noted her uncertainty. “You don’t have to, but I thought it would make you feel more comfortable. I know what I feel like when I come in from a day of droving sheep. I can’t wait to get the dust and sweat off me.”

  Abbey felt better knowing that Jack was just being considerate, so she followed him into the hotel’s cool interior. He showed her where the ladies’ facilities were and told her he’d wait in the lounge.

  ***

  When Abbey emerged fifteen minutes later, with clean face and hands, she felt so much better. Her dress was still a little dishevelled from her fall from Horatio, but at least she looked more presentable.

  Jack smiled when he saw her. “Feel better?” he asked.

  Abbey nodded. She was very grateful for his thoughtfulness, but she suspected he also wanted to pacify his mother.

  Back at the tearoom, Sybil was pouring herself a second cup from the pot she’d ordered. When Jack walked in with Miss Scottsdale, she said nothing. When they were seated, Sybil passed around the sandwiches, while casting an appraising eye over her new companion. She could see she had indeed cleaned up quite well and imagined she’d look even more presentable in clean clothes. But she still wasn’t convinced that Abbey was the right choice as her companion. She’d been thinking and decided that Miss Scottsdale must have a questionable history. A girl who’d been brought up in a stable environment with good values wouldn’t be wandering the countryside looking like a vagrant.

  Abbey was absolutely ravenous, and although she tried to eat slowly because she knew that her new employers were watching
her closely, she couldn’t help taking enormous bites and gulping them down so quickly that she gave herself indigestion. She’d finished her second cheese and tomato sandwich and started on the cakes before Jack and his mother had finished their first sandwich. Jack smiled, amused, but Sybil was not impressed.

  Seeing how hungry she was, Jack made no attempt to start a conversation with Abbey, and Sybil was in a sullen, contemplative mood. There were plenty of questions Jack wanted to ask Abbey, but Sybil was just hoping that Abbey wouldn’t be around very long.

  After the tea, and without further delay, they set off for Bungaree. Jack and his mother rode at the front of the carriage, and Abbey sat in the back, grateful for the overhead canopy that kept the sun off them. Sybil had asked her if she had any luggage and had rolled her eyes when Abbey had said she had nothing. Sybil still thought Jack was mad for hiring the girl, but when he made up his mind about something, there was no changing it. He was like her in that regard, so they often clashed.

  On the journey, Abbey had plenty of time to think about the twists and turns her life had taken since her father’s death. She was worried that the authorities would be looking for her in regard to Ebenezer Mason’s death. She needed to support herself, but there was another reason she was quite happy to take up the position of companion to Mrs. Hawker. She was unlikely to be found on a station outside Clare … or, at least she hoped not. She prayed that a doctor would examine Mr. Mason’s body and declare that his death was by natural causes, but that might take a few days.

  ***

  The first thing Abbey noticed when they turned onto the road to Bungaree was a church on the left. It was something she was very surprised to see. St. Michael’s sat behind a fence with ornate iron gates and was built of stone with a stringy bark roof. It also had beautiful stained glass windows. On the opposite side of the road was a large cottage, also fenced, and a man was just coming out of the gate. Jack pulled back on the reins, and the horse brought the carriage to a stop near the man.