With a quick turn of the handle he whisked the door open and she walked slowly inside. He had already installed a bed and mattress, a hanging rail for clothes and a small chest of drawers with a jug and bowl for washing, but that was as much as he had achieved so far. He watched Laura turn a full circle, taking in the details of the sparsely furnished room until she was facing him again. He held his breath, wondering what she would think.
“It’s perfect,” she said. “I have my quilt for the bed and there’s a piece of fabric I can use for a curtain instead of the skirt I had planned. It will be just the right colour.”
“There are bedsheets in the drawers. I have got more things to bring out. I will make it more habitable.”
She reached up and gently put her hand over his mouth. “I will be able to do things too, and then when we’re married this will be our little patch of heaven.”
Johannes chuckled and kissed her fingers. “You are definitely my angel.”
She wrapped her arms around him and nestled into his chest. Johannes wanted to hold her close but he didn’t trust himself. They were not yet husband and wife. He carefully extracted himself from her embrace. “I will unload the cart.”
“I can help.”
While he carried in the chairs she was busy in the bedroom.
“Come and look.” She beckoned him excitedly from the doorway.
He took in the bed, which she had made. She had draped a bath sheet across the window.
“You see.” She took both of his hands in hers and gripped them tightly. “It looks cosy already.” She stretched up and kissed him. “I wish we were married now.”
“We will have a year to plan for it.”
“No fuss,” she said. “Just us.”
“Have you no-one to stand with you?”
“I’d like to ask the Hemmings — they’ve always been good to me. But that might put them in a difficult situation with Charles.” She put her head to one side. “Perhaps my friend, Margaret Hill, and Mrs Prosser of course.”
“If it’s all right with you I should like to ask William and Georgina Baker.”
“Oh, Georgina is lovely.” She put a hand to her mouth to cover her giggle. “You know Charles always fancied her as his wife but she married William instead. It caused such a stink at the time. I’d love to have them at our wedding.”
“Very well.” Johannes stepped back. Her close proximity made it difficult to control his emotions. “Now we must go.”
“Oh no,” she cried. “Not yet surely. Can’t we spend a little longer here?”
He couldn’t deny her, especially when she kissed him again.
They wandered the tiny cottage, and Laura looked in every nook and cranny as they talked about the future they planned together. It seemed to Johannes that her hand brushed his more times than could be accidental.
“I really must get you back to Mrs Prosser’s.”
Laura followed him to the sitting room where he’d left his coat over the back of a chair. Before he reached the coat she put a hand on his arm.
“Please let us stay just a little longer.” Her grey eyes were wide and round. She slowly leaned in and kissed him. Not the sweet chaste kisses she’d given him until now, but a long, slow kiss that sent his blood racing.
“Laura, stop.” He gently eased her lips from his. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“I know I want to be your wife and I want us to be together now, here in our own little home.”
“No, Laura.” He was shocked but excited by her suggestion. “We’re not yet married. I must think of your reputation, even if you won’t.”
She took his hand and placed it on her breast. “In my heart we are married already.”
“Laura,” he pleaded as he felt his defences slipping away.
She reached for his hand. “Please, Johannes. I feel as if I have waited for this moment for so long already. This is our house now. We don’t have to worry about anyone else. I want us to be together properly, today.”
As she spoke she was walking backwards, towing him towards the bedroom. He pulled her up. “Laura, are you sure this is what you want?”
She looked him directly in the eye. “I am.”
His reserve crumbled. He scooped her into his arms and laid her gently on the bed. As he climbed up beside her she reached for him and he was lost.
Fifty-seven
January 1914
William adjusted the cushions on Johanna’s couch before he beckoned Georgina to sit.
“Really, William, I’ve been sitting in the cart for nearly two whole days. I need to stretch my legs.”
“That long? From Prosser’s Run?” Johanna’s eyebrows arched.
“The poor horse was allowed to do little more than amble.”
“Doctor’s orders, my love. We want to do all we can to keep that baby safe.”
“Very well.”
He took her hand as she eased herself onto the couch. They had left Prosser’s Run in the cool of pre-dawn the day before and William had deliberately made the journey a slow one, so that Georgina was jostled about as little as possible. They had been lucky that the heat of January had abated a little but he had stopped during the hottest part of the day so that they could rest in the shade.
“This room and your bedroom are the coolest in the house.” Johanna put a glass of cool lemonade on a small table beside her daughter.
“Thank you, Mother. I am fine really. Just a little tired from the long journey.” She looked pointedly at William.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. He was as relieved as she was that the journey was over. He tried not to fuss but this was the first baby since Eleanor to survive this long. It was still a couple of months away but the doctor wanted her to stay in Hawker until the birth. He had suggested she stay at Mrs Ward’s lying-in home but Georgina had insisted on her mother’s house and Johanna had agreed. The doctor was just as close either way.
“Well you’re here now, safe and sound,” Johanna said. “How is Eleanor? You could have brought her.”
“She would have driven you both mad cooped up here in the house,” William said.
Georgina gave him a knowing look and he was pleased to see some spark back in her eyes. “William’s right on this occasion, Mother. Eleanor wanted to come, of course, but I have put her in charge of the horses in my absence and she is perfectly happy. She loves the outdoors and would be no good here with us for two months.”
“And she has her Uncle Robert to look out for her,” William said.
“Dance to her tune you mean.” Georgina chuckled and shifted her position on the couch. “She has him wrapped around her little finger.”
“What about his new wife?” Johanna asked.
“Alice is there too,” Georgina said. “They came a few days before we left and it was lovely to spend some time with them, wasn’t it, William?”
“It was. We only met Alice for the first time at their wedding.”
“She’s rather shy,” Georgina said. “But Robert adores her and she him, so that’s all that matters.”
“Perhaps Laura will call on you while you are here,” William said.
“Yes, although her baby must be nearly due.”
“I assume she’s still an outcast from the Wiltshire home?”
“Of course.” Johanna tutted. “It was only my plea added to Edith’s that convinced Charles that Laura and Johannes must marry to avoid a scandal. He finally gave his permission but neither he nor Edith have spoken to her since. More people have boycotted their shop because of it.”
Georgina looked at William. Her eyes shone. “I do know what it’s like to want a man the family doesn’t approve of.”
“Really, Georgina.” Johanna shifted in her chair and a sad look settled on her face. “What’s done is done. I’ve learned my lesson. Helping Laura was my way of proving it.”
“Johannes is a good man,” William said.
“And Laura has made him the perfect wife,�
�� Georgina said.
“I saw her just last week,” Johanna said. “We still take tea together when she comes into town. I enjoy her company. She was always a pretty girl but she has blossomed, and she is so excited about the baby.” Johanna turned to William. “But perhaps you could go and fetch her in the cart. Johannes is often working away and she walks into Hawker and back from her house.”
“Isn’t she lucky she can take some exercise.” Georgina swung her legs to the floor. “I really am too uncomfortable to lie here a minute longer.”
“Why don’t you come out to the front yard with me?” Johanna said. “It’s cooler now and we can take a walk in the garden.”
Georgina stretched, rubbed her back and then took her mother’s arm.
William went to the window and watched them, mother and daughter, one grey head and one red head bent towards each other in conversation. It was early evening, the air was still and across the street, houses were glowing in the red and orange rays of the setting sun. They had been lucky with the weather for their journey but William didn’t think it would be long before the full strength of the summer heat returned. He let out a long slow breath. He was relieved he had got Georgina safely there.
He turned and paced the room. Tomorrow he had some business to do. He would probably stay one more night after that and then he would return to Prosser’s Run. They had just purchased their fourth windmill and it was to be put up near their drafting yards on the eastern boundary. While Robert was with him they would work on it together. William knew he would need to be busy every day to distract himself. He hated the thought of leaving Georgina but he was relieved she was close to the doctor. He hung on to the knowledge that Eleanor had arrived safely after nearly a full-term confinement. He prayed this baby would do the same.
Charles strode down the hall towards the noise. It had been an uncomfortably warm night, he hadn’t slept well and now his head ached. The air was dry and outside the wind was picking up. He stepped into the kitchen and something wet hit him on the chin and dripped to his vest.
“What the devil?” he bellowed.
“Father,” Victoria gasped.
Leonard lowered the spoon he had had just flicked and Grace gaped wide-eyed.
“Sorry, Father.” Leonard’s voice was contrite.
All three looked at him in alarm.
Charles took his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his chin and then his vest. The break from school was interminably long. It also meant Edith was unable to help him at the shop. “Where is your mother?”
“In the wash house,” Victoria said.
“Finish your breakfast quickly and go outside.”
“But it’s hot,” Grace whined.
“You need some fresh air.”
“Yes, Father,” they chorused obediently.
The children ate in silence while Charles poured himself a lukewarm tea and served himself some of the porridge. He gave them one final glare. The sounds of giggling followed him into the hall. He shut the door and retreated to the dining room to eat his breakfast in peace. He had just settled over his paper when Edith burst in with Emma on her hip.
“Did you send the children outside?”
Her sharp tone grated. Charles took a breath. “They needed some fresh air.”
She walked around the table and plopped Emma on his lap. “It’s far too hot.”
Charles took Emma’s grubby grasping hands from his white sleeve and sat her on the ground. “They needed some air.”
“There’s a hot wind out there, Charles.”
“I was only thinking of you, Edith.” He brushed at the dirty mark Emma’s fingers had left on his shirt. “Let them run around outside for a while. You are the one who will be home with them all day.”
“Oh no I won’t.” Her hands were on her hips. “Leonard and Victoria can go with you this morning.”
Charles frowned. Leonard was old enough to be useful but the two of them together would not be good. He shook his head but Edith was at him, her finger wagging before he could speak.
“It’s all right for you going off all day. I am stuck here with four children. It’s going to be a terrible day. I will have my work cut out managing the younger two.” She plucked Emma away from the small table she had just reached. The child wailed and waggled her hands at the ornament she had been intent on grasping.
He sighed and picked up his paper. “Very well, Edith, but I should like to eat my breakfast in peace. Make sure they are dressed appropriately and ready to leave in half an hour.”
Her face softened. “Thank you, Charles. It really is quite exhausting with all four of them home all day. If only I had some help—”
Charles gritted his teeth. He was not in the mood for Edith’s complaints. “The shop is barely making us a living, Edith.”
“I thought that now that you’ve sold that ridiculous horse and cart—”
“The bank took that money towards paying off our ongoing debt.”
“I did suggest we go back to groceries.”
“There are two other shops doing that now and I cannot ask the bank for more money to make changes.”
“If only I had someone here, I could help at the shop, especially now you’ve let that young assistant go.”
Edith sighed. “Mr Hemming and I are managing. Business has been slow since Christmas but I’m sure it will pick up soon.”
“You should have tried harder to keep Laura here.”
He fixed her with a cold stare. “What would you have had me do, Edith? Tie her to the kitchen?”
Edith sniffed. “I saw her the other day. She is large with child.”
“That’s no concern of ours. She made her choice. She is no longer my sister.”
“But Charles, this house is hers. Now she will have a child to inherit it. If she ever finds out we’ll be destitute.”
Charles huffed out a breath and got to his feet. He was obviously going to get no peace this morning. “She won’t find out. We are the only ones who know and the executor deals directly with me.” Behind him the strengthening wind rattled the window. “I’m going to work. Leonard and Victoria can walk down when they are ready.”
He gave Edith a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. The ache in his head gripped tighter. He had that feeling it was going to be a terrible day.
Laura reached the shade of the post office verandah and leaned against the cool stone wall. She was momentarily protected from the hot wind and took the opportunity to draw her breath. Her back ached and she felt the weight of the baby today. Perhaps she should have stayed home, but she needed flour. Johannes would be cross with her — he was still away working on a building in the ranges to the north. She wanted to make sure the house was well stocked before the baby came.
She took a breath. Yesterday she’d had tightening sensations around her middle but they had stopped in the night. Now she felt it again.
The door to the post office opened and Mrs Crawford, the postmaster’s wife, poked her head out. “Oh, Laura, it’s you. I thought I saw someone out here.” She leaned a little closer. “You look tired, dear — why don’t you come in and rest for a moment? I’ll get you a cup of water.”
Laura licked her lips at the thought. She felt suddenly parched. “Thank you,” she said.
It was much cooler inside the stone building.
“Bring a chair, Stanley,” Mrs Crawford called to her husband.
They soon had her sitting down, a cup of water in her hands and Mrs Crawford pressing a cool cloth to her forehead and neck.
“I’m sorry to be a nuisance.” Laura was glad there was no-one else there to witness the fuss.
“Not at all, Laura, my dear,” Mrs Crawford said.
Mr Crawford studied Laura over the top of his glasses. “Oh, young Laura Wiltshire. I didn’t recognise you.”
“It’s Laura Becker now, Mr Crawford.” She put a protective hand over the bulge of her baby. At that moment a pain gripped her. She took a deep breath as the stre
ngth of it staggered her.
“What is it, dear?” Mrs Crawford asked.
Laura exhaled and the pain eased. “Nothing; I’m fine.” She took another mouthful of water.
“Laura, of course. I have a letter for you.” Mr Crawford hurried back around his counter. He rummaged underneath then came towards her waving an envelope. “I’m sorry it’s been sitting here for some time and I had quite forgotten it. I didn’t know where you had moved to, and the instructions on the front are that it should only be put into your hands.”
“Thank you, Mr Crawford.” Laura took the envelope, wondering who would be sending her a letter. She scrunched it tightly as another pain swept over her.
“You’re not all right, are you?” Mrs Crawford said.
“I keep getting a pain but it passes.” Laura forced a smile and stood up. She pushed the letter into the pocket of her dress. “I must get going.”
“Where is your husband, Laura?” Mrs Crawford asked.
“He is away working.”
Laura saw the concerned glance Mrs Crawford gave her husband then she gasped as the pain came again.
“Stanley, go and bring the cart to the front door.” Mrs Crawford put an arm around Laura’s shoulders. “We will take you to Mrs Ward’s, my dear. I think your baby may be on the way.”
“Oh.” Laura put a hand to her stomach. She felt so silly. Of course that’s what the pain would be. She had been so focused on making sure everything was prepared she had thought the pain was simply from being on her feet too long. “My husband. He should be back in a few days.”
Mrs Crawford gave her a kindly smile. “Then he will arrive to a new son or daughter. I doubt your baby will wait for him.”
Laura chewed her lip as another pain gripped her. She hoped Mrs Crawford was right. Two days of this pain didn’t bear thinking about.
Fifty-eight
Something woke William from a deep sleep. He lay still, trying to work out what the noise had been. He reached out a hand for Georgina but she wasn’t there. He sat up and as his eyes adjusted to the gloom he remembered they were at Johanna’s house in Hawker, not at home.
Jewel In the North Page 47
