Windflowers

by Tamara McKinley

‘Bugger off,’ yelled the cockatoo. ‘Repel boarders.’

  Ellie stifled the nervous giggle as she looked at the extraordinary woman waiting for them on the top step. Dressed in a man’s jacket and with baggy trousers stuffed into thick woollen socks, she stood squarely on the verandah in sturdy brogues. The monocle glinted in the glare, the pipe smoke drifting, leaving its mark in a wave of ginger across the front of the thick silver hair. Aunt Aurelia was certainly nothing like she’d expected. In fact she looked incongruous against the female wisp of white that was draped against the verandah railings.

  ‘Dad said Aunt Aurelia was fair dinkum,’ she said with more optimism than she felt as they approached the homestead. ‘She might look fearsome, but Dad said she’s a bonzer lady with a good heart.’ She took a deep breath in an effort to still her racing pulse. ‘It’s not her you’ve got to watch out for,’ she added bitterly.

  ‘Who’s the bloke standing next to your aunt?’ muttered Joe as they walked the horses shoulder to shoulder towards the verandah.

  Ellie shrugged. ‘Dunno. She’s a widow.’ She saw her aunt screw her monocle more firmly in place as she tried to make out who the visitors were, and realised she was eyeing Joe’s horse with deep suspicion. Ellie became suddenly aware of how they must appear to the three people on the verandah. The tough little stock ponies were poor relations to the prancing chestnut, their own appearance dirty and ragged after their experiences in the outback. But there was nothing she could do about it, and once she’d told them who she was it wouldn’t matter anyway.

  ‘Don’t fancy yours much, Joe. But the other one looks ripper to me, mate. Who is she?’ asked Charlie admiringly as the vision in white raised one elegant hand to shield her eyes from the glare. He slicked back his fair hair and re-positioned his hat. ‘Looks like the ride was worth it after all.’

  Ellie’s retort was stillborn as the woman’s voice drifted all too clearly across the yard.

  ‘I’d send them on their way, if I were you,’ she said firmly in her plummy English accent. ‘Rough looking bunch, even if they are young.’

  ‘Don’t look any different from a thousand other outback kids. And no-one’s going to be sent packing,’ drawled the man from the shadows. ‘It’s an unwritten law out here to give food and shelter to strangers, no matter what they look like.’

  Ellie wondered who he was in relation to the women, yet he seemed sensible and matter-of-fact, and she liked him for that.

  The woman sniffed. ‘Well don’t let them in the house, Aurelia. They probably stink to high heaven and will end up robbing you blind.’

  All the old anger rose in Ellie as they came to a standstill in front of the verandah. She slid from the saddle ready to do battle when she was halted by the deep contralto of her aunt’s voice.

  ‘Stay there,’ she ordered. ‘If it’s work you’re after then I’m sorry.’ She put up a hand to staunch Ellie’s protest. ‘But I’ll gladly give you tucker and a bed for the night.’

  ‘I told you we shouldn’t have come all this flamin’ way,’ hissed Charlie before Ellie could get a word in. He turned back to Aurelia. ‘We come ‘cos of him,’ he said crossly as he pointed to Ellie. ‘Now we’ve lost a good job in Richmond and got nothing to show for it.’

  Aurelia frowned as she adjusted her monocle and looked down at Ellie. ‘Do I know you, son?’ she asked kindly.

  Ellie was about to speak when an impatient voice interrupted. ‘For heaven’s sake, Aurelia, of course you don’t.’ The heavily made-up eyes flashed over Ellie with disdain. ‘He’s just a filthy urchin hoping to get something out of you.’ She turned to face Ellie and the boys, her tone imperious. ‘Clear off and get some food from the cookhouse, then be on your way. There’s nothing for you here.’

  Ellie had had enough and all the years of hurt and resentment burst from her in a torrent of rage. ‘Selfish bitch,’ she spat. ‘You haven’t changed a bit, have you? Still ordering people around, thinking you’re so much better than everyone else when all the time you’re just a mean-minded, spiteful cow.’ She was red in the face and panting as an awestruck silence fell.

  ‘Fair go, Ed. Bit strong, mate,’ warned Joe as he put a placatory hand on her shoulder.

  ‘Repel boarders,’ shrieked the cockatoo who was now getting thoroughly over-excited. ‘Rollocks.’

  Ellie shook Joe’s hand away. ‘You weren’t dumped in the Domain ‘cos she wanted a good time with her latest boyfriend,’ she snapped. ‘You weren’t left at five years old wondering what you’d done that was so bad your mother hated you enough to leave you behind.’

  Aurelia gasped, and Ellie could see she was torn between horror and mirth as she stepped down from the verandah and crossed the yard. ‘Elspeth?’ she boomed. ‘Is that you under all that grime?’

  Ellie’s chin was resilient, her gaze defiant as she pulled off her battered bush hat to reveal the shaggy crop of fair hair. At last someone had recognised her, but the wait had been agonising. ‘You must be Aunt Aurelia,’ she said simply. ‘This is Joe, and Charlie.’

  She flinched as her mother’s screech tore through the silence. ‘Elspeth? Elspeth what’s happened to your hair? And why are you dressed like that?’

  *

  ‘Shut up Alicia,’ murmured Aurelia. ‘The poor child’s obviously been through enough without you banging on about things that don’t matter.’ She clasped Ellie’s hands. ‘I’m glad you’re safe my dear,’ she said softly. ‘We’ve been so terribly worried.’

  Ellie looked up into calm grey eyes and realised she had an ally. But before she could say anything, she was swept in to a generous embrace that almost smothered her in ample bosom. Ellie clung to the soft, welcoming anchor. Aunt Aurelia might look fierce, but she obviously had a good heart and, unlike her mother, had really cared what happened to her. Tears pricked as the weariness of her long journey and loss of her father swept over her, and it was only the explosion of Joe’s laughter that drew her from the embrace.

  ‘Bloody hell! You mean we’ve been dragged half-way to the north pole by a bloody sheila?’ he spluttered. ‘Well if that don’t take the flamin’ biscuit, I don’t know.’

  ‘Flamin’ biscuit,’ yelled the bird as he danced along the perch.

  ‘Fair go, Joe,’ said Charlie through his own laughter. ‘She never let on either way, and sure had us both fooled. What a coupl’a gallahs we turned out to be.’ He got down from his horse and shook Aurelia’s hand. ‘Glad to meet you at last, missus,’ he said as the smile tugged the corners of his mouth. ‘You’ll have to excuse me brother. Didn’t mean no disrespect.’

  He was almost knocked down by the whirlwind that was Alicia as she shoved him out of the way and tore Elspeth from Aurelia’s arms. ‘My baby,’ she wept as she carefully avoided contact with the filthy dungarees and jacket. ‘Thank god you’re all right. We thought you were dead. What on earth was your father thinking of to bring you all the way out here?’

  Ellie felt the bile rise at the hypocrisy of it all and pushed her away. The last thing she needed was one of mum’s dramatic turns.

  But Alicia didn’t seem to notice as she looked out over the paddocks. ‘Where is he by the way? It’s time I gave him a piece of my mind.’

  Ellie wiped her nose on her sleeve. She had a handkerchief, but knew this would annoy her mother far more than anything else and got some satisfaction from the look of disgust on Alicia’s face. ‘He’s dead,’ she said flatly.

  ‘Dead?’ gasped Alicia. ‘He has no business being dead. How dare he do that and leave my precious baby all alone in the middle of the desert?’ She lunged towards Ellie in an attempt to embrace her again.

  Ellie side-stepped the clutching fingers and stood in the lee of Aurelia’s bulk. ‘He didn’t do it on purpose,’ she snapped. ‘In fact he was trying to protect me from the storm. Reckon he saved my life.’

  Aurelia glared through her monocle. ‘For goodness sake pull yourself together Alicia and stop making that awful racket. You’re upsetting Elspeth a
nd poor old Kelly’s beside himself.’ She put a firm arm around Ellie’s shoulders and led her up the steps. ‘Come on,’ she said bossily. ‘Time you met Kelly. You two as well,’ she added over her shoulder to Charlie and Joe. ‘I have a surprise for you both.’

  ‘Reckon we’ve had enough surprises for one day, missus,’ chuckled Joe.

  ‘You’ll like this one,’ said Aurelia firmly.

  ‘You’re not going to…?’ Alicia began to protest.

  ‘I’ll do what I want when I want,’ said Aurelia. ‘This has nothing to do with you, Alicia.’ She introduced them to Kelly. ‘My late husband won him at cards down in Sydney,’ she explained. ‘Unfortunately he was owned by a sailor with a questionable line in vocabulary. I’ve tried to teach him some manners, but I get the feeling he enjoys shocking people.’

  Ellie put out a tentative finger and stroked the snowy feathers. She’d never been this close to a cocky before and was wary it might bite.

  ‘Urrgh?’ said Kelly as his cocked his head and fanned out his yellow crest.

  ‘He wants a biscuit,’ said Aurelia. ‘It’s time for tea, but first let me introduce you to Jack Withers. He delivers the mail.’

  Ellie noticed the way her aunt blushed, but as her fingers were engulfed in a large hand she looked up at Jack Withers and grinned into friendly eyes and a sun-baked face. If only her mother wasn’t here, she might have really enjoyed this home-coming.

  Aurelia ordered a fresh pot of tea from Sally, the house lubra, and once they were all introduced and sitting comfortably, she coaxed Ellie into telling her about the long trek. After the long silence that greeted Ellie’s tale of horror Aurelia folded her arms beneath the headland of her bosom and smiled at the two boys. ‘I arranged for a reward for Ellie’s safe return,’ she began.

  ‘Don’t do this, Aurelia,’ warned Alicia. ‘Can’t you see it’s a put up job?’

  Joe put his cup down on the table. ‘I don’t like what you’re suggesting, missus,’ he said, the mildness of his tone belying the anger in his green eyes. ‘See, me and my brother don’t like being called dishonest, and what we done for Ed – I mean Elspeth – well we’d’ve done it for anyone. So I reckon you should keep your opinions to yourself.’

  ‘Too right,’ muttered Charlie and Ellie in unison.

  Alicia went pale, the long red nails clutching at the rope of pearls around her neck. ‘Well, really,’ she gasped.

  Aurelia ignored her. ‘As I was saying,’ she said firmly. ‘There is a reward of a hundred pounds and I would like you two boys to share it.’ She looked across at Ellie and smiled. ‘You’ve brought our girl safely through, and I only wish I could have thanked her father as well.’ Her monocle plopped onto her chest and she sighed. ‘It seems we’ve all misjudged him terribly, and I’m sorry for that.’

  ‘A hundred quid?’ breathed Joe. ‘Bloody hell.’ He reddened under the stern gaze of the older woman. ‘Sorry missus.’ His broad grin creased the early lines at the corners of his eyes, making him very handsome. ‘It’s just we never had that kind of money before.’

  ‘Just so,’ she said stoutly. ‘I hope you use it wisely.’

  *

  Ellie came back from the past and shivered despite the warmth of the early morning sun. For the dark shadows of those times were still long enough to touch the next generation.

  2

  Leanne hoisted the saddle and tack on to her hip and crossed the yard to the stables. Angel, her husband of eight months, was out East checking stock in his capacity as Government vet, and Jarrah was quiet for a change with most of the men out on the joint annual muster with Warratah. She would have gone with them, but she had a favourite mare in foal and couldn’t risk leaving her.

  She dumped the saddle in the tack room, grabbed a carrot from the feed store and headed for the stalls. Bonny had been brought in from the paddock and was in solitary splendour in the biggest stall, eating her head off and getting fatter every day. ‘How’s my girl, today?’ she murmured as she took off her gloves and stroked the dusty neck.

  Bonny curled her top lip and blew a raspberry before she dipped her head and searched for the treat she knew Leanne always had in her pocket.

  Leanne shook back her dark curls and laughed as she held out the carrot. ‘I know what you mean. Life’s a bitch, isn’t it? Never mind, girl. You’ll soon get your figure back.’ She pushed her out of the way and checked her water bucket and feed bag then left her to it. There wasn’t much to be done until the foal arrived and she wanted to finish the accounts before dad and the others got back.

  The sun was high and the gallahs were squabbling in the gum trees as she walked across the yard and up the steps to the verandah. It was quiet with the men gone, but she could still hear the ring of an axe and the clang of someone hammering metal in the forge. The cookhouse was deserted, as was the bunkhouse, but the aborigines’ humpies on the western edge of the pasture still hummed with life. The kids were playing football, the dogs were barking and smoke from their fire drifted skywards as usual. She shooed away the few chooks that had strayed on to the verandah and slammed through the screen door.

  Jarrah homestead was grander than the one dad had built at Warratah. No expense had been spared when the original owners had carted blue stone all the way from Sydney to build it. The tiled roof and screened verandah meant it was cool in the summer and waterproof in the wet, and in the cold winter nights it was cosy to snuggle up with Angel in front of the fire that roared up the vast stone chimney in the lounge.

  Leanne eased her sweaty shirt from her jeans’ waistband as she entered the cool dimness of the lounge and breathed a sigh of pleasure. She loved this room with its shelves of books and trophies. The beams were dark from the smoke of the fire, the floor polished, the chairs saggy and baggy and just right for flopping into after a hard day’s work. The windows looked out over the yard to the front and the miles of green pastures and pine clad hills to the back, and although they had a generator for electricity she preferred to light the oil lamps at night – it was softer and more romantic than the bright overhead light.

  She ran her fingers through her short dark curls and thought of the plans she had for Jarrah. For she would own it one day, she was certain of that – why else had mum and dad let her manage the place under supervision these past two years? She smiled as she kicked off her dusty boots and threw them in a corner. She might not be as academic as Claire, or as attractive, but she was ambitious enough for both of them and the plans she had would prove once and for all that you didn’t need to pass lofty exams to make your mark.

  The old jealousy rose bitter in her throat. Tall and slim, with a model’s figure, Claire had the ability to look good in anything and could float through maths and science exams as if they were easy – and although she suspected Claire was mum and dad’s favourite despite the recent estrangement, she’d come to terms with it and knew her future lay here on the red earth plains with Angel.

  Leanne padded into the kitchen and after washing her face and hands thoroughly, made herself a mutton sandwich and a cup of tea which she took to their bedroom. As in Warratah, the house was laid out with a square hall, the other rooms leading from it. Their room faced north so it was cool in the heat of summer, and the muslin curtains billowed delicately from the breeze that drifted down from the hills that lay only a few miles away.

  She’d stuck pictures of her favourite horses and the certificates she’d won at the stock shows and gymkhanas on the wall alongside Angel’s posters of the Argentine pampas. There was a postcard Claire had sent from Sydney, and the usual clutter of family snapshots, old letters and discarded books on the dresser.

  Biting into her sandwich she dumped it and the tea on the dressing table and changed her shirt. She eyed her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her short dark hair. If only she had her sister’s cheekbones, she thought longingly as she puckered her lips and sucked in her cheeks. She realised how ridiculous she was being and giggled. There was no doubt about it
, she would never make the cover of Vogue even if Angel did think she was gorgeous.

  Her gaze fell on the photograph Aunt Aurelia had taken four years ago. It was a good family photograph, and because there were so few of them around, Leanne had kept it. It had been taken the day Claire left for Sydney and her first semester at university. Claire looked cool and sophisticated in her cheese cloth mini dress and buckled shoes – almost exotic against the drab uniform of jeans and shirts the rest of the family were wearing. Mum was smiling, her light brown hair falling in her eyes as usual, and dad was handsome and obviously ill at ease in front of a camera.

  Leanne grew thoughtful as she picked up the snapshot and studied it more carefully. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good photo after all. Mum’s smile seemed forced, dad actually looked shifty and Claire. Claire looked as if she’d been crying. At the time, Leanne had put it down to the fact she was leaving home – but with the benefit of hindsight she now wondered if there was something more.

  She replaced the photograph on the dressing table and finished her sandwich. Claire had been in a strange mood that day she remembered. It had started the night before when she’d come back from Jarrah and asked about the gravestone. Mum had given some vague explanation, dad had been unusually sharp with her and after a heated exchanged the subject was dropped. Yet there had been a tension in the house and it hadn’t been dispelled the next day. In fact the estrangement had begun that day and had lasted for five years. Now Claire was coming home again, and she had a nasty feeling things were about to change.

  Leanne stared out of the window, but she didn’t see the waving grass or hear the chortling kookaburras – she saw only the gravestone that had been set apart from the others. Its very isolation was a mystery, but the fact it bore the family name and was on Jarrah was something that had never been fully explained, and she too was curious to know why. Yet the estrangement it had caused between her sister and her parents was a warning not to broach the subject. Curiosity was all very well, but it wasn’t worth falling out over and she had too much to lose.