Marcus refused to comment on the Sue and Simon relationship. Having had his suspicions for some time about them, he saw no point in telling Jessica that. It wouldn’t make her feel any better. Instead, he recalled his own experiences, how breaking up with Donna had affected him.
‘For a while everything feels strange. Waking up in bed, alone. Cooking for one, instead of for a family. Planning things, shopping for one. It’s lonely too; there’s no other half to talk things over with.’ He shrugged and shook off the dregs of the melancholy caused by remembering how it had initially been. Nowadays, it didn’t apply to him. He’d come to terms with the dissolution of his marriage months ago, realising it was the best outcome for him and Donna. ‘After a while, your life settles down, and you’re okay with it.’
Nan nodded. ‘Keep busy, that’s what I used to tell Marcus.’ She looked at her brother. ‘You’re happy now, aren’t you, love?’
‘Moderately. The only ongoing problem is the kids. I wish I saw more of them.’
‘Then I suppose I’m fortunate that children aren’t involved,’ Jessica said, wondering, if she would be where she was today if Damian were alive. Would her much-loved son have made the difference between caring whether she was loved by Simon and being prepared to accept the reality of married life as something less than perfect?
Nan sighed. ‘When children are involved, it’s rarely a happy situation for the parents or the kids.’ She looked at Jessica, ‘As you’d know well enough, seeing it’s the business you’re in.’
‘Was in,’ Jessica corrected. ‘I plan to dissolve my legal partnership in Perth and stay on Norfolk. And I’d like to buy Cassell’s Cottage, if I can convince the owners to sell it.’
‘What!’ Marcus’ eyes widened as he digested her surprising disclosure. ‘Why would you do that, Jessica? Are you sure it’s not a knee-jerk reaction to your marriage situation?’
She shook her head, smiling as the psychologist in him came to the fore. ‘I’m sure. I’ve thought about it a good deal. Every which way, in fact. I don’t want to go back to the rat race of the legal profession. I think, in time, I could become a,’ she paused, ‘pretty good painter. I’d like to try to anyway.’ She glanced at Marcus, saw he was about to say something, but then changed his mind. ‘What?’ she queried. ‘Say it, please.’
‘Are you sure you’re not just running away from the memories in Perth, the sadness? Damian?’
Jessica thought for a moment and acknowledged, ‘At one time that would have been true, but not now. I seem to have found a strange peace here, and perhaps Sarah has been instrumental in that happening.’ She let out a light sigh. ‘There will always be a special place in my heart for Damian, and I know now that I don’t have to be in Perth to be close to him. His memory will stay in my mind and heart and soul forever, wherever I am.’
Marcus nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer. He waggled a couple of sheets of paper at them. ‘This might buck you up, lighten the mood, so to speak.’ He waited until he had the two women’s attention before continuing. ‘My Internet contact, Billy Lane, followed up on the Stewart family to see what happened to them after they left Norfolk in February, 1854. Captain Stewart resigned his commission in 1857 and bought a large property near Morpeth, which is near Newcastle.
‘According to Cynthia Stewart’s diary, young Meggie grew up to be a pretty headstrong lass.’ His eyebrows lifted meaningfully. ‘Like mother, like daughter. Anyway, Cynthia’s diary states that Meggie met Bede Hunter at a church social, and it was love at first sight, evidently. But the Stewarts opposed the match. They reckoned Hunter wasn’t good enough for their daughter.’
Jessica, her problems momentarily forgotten, sat on the edge of the sofa to hear the rest of the tale.
‘Meggie exhibited the impatience of youth—things don’t really change much from generation to generation, do they?’ he commented wryly. ‘She and Hunter ran off to Sydney and got married. By the time the Captain found them, Meggie was two months’ pregnant.’
‘So the Stewarts had to accept Meggie’s husband?’ Nan interposed.
‘Right. The Captain found Bede work locally, and bought them a cottage. Unfortunately, Cynthia only got to see her first grandchild before she died of a heart attack. She was just forty-two years old.’
‘But how did the Hunters end up on Norfolk?’ Jessica asked.
‘Well, interestingly, the Captain fell apart after his wife’s death and, within five years, he’d gambled, lost or drunk just about everything he possessed. There’s a death notice stating that he went riding, didn’t return and was found the next morning with a broken neck. There wasn’t much left for Meggie to inherit, either, ’cause the Captain’s annuity stopped at his death. Billy couldn’t find any written record, but I believe we can assume that the Hunters opted for a fresh start on Norfolk when Bede heard of a timber industry starting up here.’
Nan patted Jessica on the arm. ‘Well, love, just like Meggie and Bede worked out, your problems will work themselves out, too. You’re doing the right thing,’ she rubber-stamped Jessica’s decision. ‘And with regard to painting, you’re a good painter already, you know. I keep telling you to show your paintings, see if you can sell them.’
‘Funny you should say that,’ she said with a chuckle. ‘I took five unframed paintings to a gallery yesterday. The proprietor offered to show them for a month or two and put ridiculously high prices on them, so I doubt they’ll sell like hot cakes.’
‘You may be surprised.’ Marcus’ tone was thoughtful, almost vague. Jessica’s revelations had come as something of a bombshell, and he was still in a state of shock. He’d dreamed that sometime in the future she might be free, but had feared deep down that there probably wasn’t much chance of it happening. Now, all at once, the situation had changed, now he saw a chance…One day, when she’d got over the emotional turmoil of her separation, that is. And, importantly, she wanted to stay on the island. Who would have thought it?
‘Got any more surprises for us?’ he asked, half-jokingly.
‘No, I think you’ve had your quota for the day,’ she quipped back light-heartedly. Marcus was right, she decided. Getting things off one’s chest was good for the soul.
Nan began to bustle about, clearing the coffee mugs. ‘I’ve got to get my backside up and to the airport. I’m overdue sending some work to Brisbane.’ She glanced at Jessica. ‘Those vases you hand-painted before I glazed them will fetch a handsome price, might even become collectors’ items. Marcus, could you put the crate in the boot for me?’
When Marcus came back inside, he found Jessica in the kitchen washing the coffee mugs. ‘You don’t have to do that.’
‘I know, I wanted to.’
He studied her as she completed the mundane task and thought she looked bloody marvellous in her multi-coloured sunfrock. Her skin was now a light healthy tan, and her chestnut hair swung freely about her bare shoulders. For several moments he couldn’t think of anything to say, her beauty affected him so much. The best he finally came up with, to get his mind off her, was, ‘So, what’s happening with Sarah?’
‘I don’t know, she’s been very quiet.’ Jessica looked across at him and smiled. ‘Without Sarah manifesting herself and with Simon no longer around, it’s nice and peaceful at the cottage. Do you think she could have gone away permanently because the four faces have been painted in?’
He shook his head. ‘No. You still haven’t done what she wants you to do.’
‘But I don’t know what that is. Sarah hasn’t made it clear.’
‘She will, I’m sure.’ He grinned at her. ‘She’s probably off somewhere recharging her batteries, or doing whatever it is that spirits do.’
Christ, he didn’t want to talk about Sarah—no offence to his great-great-grandmother—and he didn’t want to talk about Simon or Sue either. He wanted to talk about them or, more accurately, about his feelings for her. He was near bursting to open up his heart, to admit that from the moment they’d met, h
e’d been fascinated with her and that that fascination had grown to a love so strong it had him all churned up inside. But should he? Would he frighten her off if he did?
They gravitated to the living room and Jessica sat on the sofa, while Marcus took the easy chair nearby.
‘I should go, I suppose,’ she said, but her tone lacked enthusiasm. ‘There’s still enough light for me to do some more work.’
She looked at him then and intercepted a stare so ardent she couldn’t mistake its meaning. Her heart skipped a beat at the intensity of it and, for a precious moment, time stood still, the revelation of his feelings for her shaking her to the core. He cared. For her! Those words were written in his eyes, his body language, as clearly as if he were actually saying them. She watched him heave a long, expressive sigh and then, slowly, his hands reached towards hers. She gave them freely, willingly, and he smiled at her.
There was no need for words. Words might break the incredible spell, the emotion that bonded them to each other from this moment on.
Jessica hadn’t expected it, but she had hoped he might have some feelings for her. ’Till this instant, however, his professional mask, his sense of decency had prevented him from admitting how he felt because she was married, had obscured them from her. Today, she guessed, her telling him of her separation had freed him of all constraints. For several moments, she was in a quandary. She hadn’t intended to reveal her love for him. It was too soon. The separation from Simon had left her emotions too raw, but a deep need, a desire to respond to his silent avowal made her want to answer him in kind. Which she did, with a slow, radiant smile that expressed her understanding and love for him, too.
Wordlessly, Marcus pulled her off the sofa, onto his lap and into his arms. In fascination she watched his mouth move closer, and closer and, as their lips fused, heat radiated and began to pulse through her body until it ignited the love and passion only he could arouse in her.
It felt so wildly, gloriously right between them. Hearts, minds, souls beating in tempo with each other. Jessica could no longer deny the pull of her emotions, and she didn’t want to. And she couldn’t recall the last time she’d felt like this, so alive, so vibrant, so damned happy. The feeling was long overdue.
Breathless, they broke away and stared into each other’s eyes. Neither, for some time, dared to shatter the mood with a single word, both savouring the moment of mutual discovery.
He held her close again, as if he never wanted to let her go, and she gloried in the feel, the warmth of him. Instinctively, she knew it was too soon to make plans, or even to talk about them—they weren’t free to do that, yet. Even so, today they’d discovered something precious and the possibility of, eventually, a life together.
For now Jessica was content.
‘Jessica!’
Alison’s high-pitched squeal of delight as she waved her straw hat over her head, after she recognised her sister, echoed above the relative quiet of the island’s small airport terminal.
Jessica waved back as she watched the Marcelle family march towards her with what seemed a mountain of luggage on a trolley. Tears of gladness at seeing them, for they were virtually all the family she had, stung her eyes. She hastily blinked the mistiness away, lest they notice, and gave them a wide, welcoming smile. In seconds she was enveloped in a family hug which, to outsiders, might have looked more like a loose rugby scrum.
‘You look, well, really good, considering,’ was Alison’s assessment as she stood back to give Jessica a critical once over.
‘Now, Al, give her a break,’ Keith chided. ‘Our feet have only just touched the ground. Let’s get settled first, then we can talk.’ He winked at Jessica. ‘I warn you she wants to know everything. Every little detail.’
‘Talk, who wants to talk?’ Andrew complained, with a teenage pout. ‘I want to explore, play tourist, buy things. Especially duty-free computer games.’
‘You’re such a Phillistine,’ Lisa, Andrew’s younger sister, murmured disdainfully.
‘Says who?’ asked Andrew. His expression betrayed the fact that he wasn’t sure what a Phillistine was, but instinct told him the word wasn’t complimentary.
‘Says me,’ Lisa insisted, her piquant features screwed up with dislike for her sibling.
‘Will you two stop!’ Alison ordered. ‘Truce. Remember, you promised to pretend to like each other.’ She saw Andrew roll his eyes. ‘It’s only for a week, then you can go back to hating each other.’
Keith shrugged his shoulders at Jessica. ‘Teenagers.’
‘So, what do you kids want to do first?’ Jessica asked, as she gave her niece and nephew a hug and tried not to compare them with Marcus’ children who, by comparison, were well-behaved and actually liked each other.
‘Snorkelling and a fishing expedition, and driving all over the place,’ Andrew said with youthful enthusiasm. ‘I’ve got my Ps, you know.’
‘Not likely, Fangio.’ Alison curtailed that idea. ‘Any driving you do will be with an adult. Okay?’
Andrew nodded sulkily and turned away in a huff.
‘I want to shop, Aunt Jessica. Your partner, Max, told Mum that the shopping here is terrific. Then I want to explore the convict ruins.’ Lisa looked at Jessica. They say there are ghosts at Kingston. Is it true?’
Jessica had difficulty in maintaining a serene expression. ‘Who says so?’
‘I read it somewhere, I’m sure I did.’
‘It is possible.’ Jessica kept a straight face in spite of Lisa looking enthralled by the possibility of ghosts. ‘My friends, Nan Duncan and Marcus Hunter, say that what with the awful past of the convict settlement, there’s bound to be a few spirits freewheeling amongst the convict ruins.’
‘Cool,’ Lisa said, thrilled.
‘You’re not likely to come into contact with spirits, Lisa,’ Alison said in a businesslike tone as she stared reprovingly at Jessica. ‘Don’t encourage her. She’s into all that ghost stuff. Used to absolutely devour those Goosebumps stories when she was younger.’
Somehow, in between the talking, Keith managed to propel his family and Jessica towards the airport exit, where mini-buses waited to take holiday-makers to various destinations.
Jessica watched Keith usher Alison and the kids into a mini-bus. ‘I’ll follow you to your hotel.’
‘Just a minute, young lady,’ a stern, masculine voice said from behind.
Jessica turned about sharply and her jaw went slack with shock. ‘Max! Max Lowe, what are you doing here?’ Her business partner and his wife, Tania, smiled back at her. Why was he here, she wondered? She gave Alison an accusing glance. ‘You knew, didn’t you?’
Alison nodded. ‘Max swore us to secrecy. He wanted to surprise you,’ she replied with a grin, unashamedly proud of having been able to keep the secret for several weeks.
‘But,’ Jessica blinked with astonishment, ‘I can’t believe it. You’re really here.’
‘Tania wanted to do some shopping, and I wanted to see you. It’s as simple as that.’
Jessica shook her head, though she didn’t voice her disbelief. She knew Max, and it wasn’t that simple at all. She waggled a finger at him as she warned, ‘You won’t get me to change my mind, Max, if that’s why you’re here.’
‘I’m here for a holiday,’ he said with mock innocence, ‘and you, Jessica Pearce, are far too suspicious, which made you a good barrister.’ Then he added, ‘We’ll talk about that matter later. We’re staying at the Colonial. Why don’t you meet us for drinks, about six?’
‘I’m sure I’ll be going to dinner with the family.’ Jessica prevaricated, still mildly shocked by his unexpected appearance on Norfolk. She couldn’t believe he’d come all this way to try to get her to change her mind about resigning from the practice. In a way she admired his tenacity, and was flattered, even though it was a waste of his time. Nothing, now that she and Marcus had confessed their feelings for each other, was going to make her move off Norfolk.
‘Of course you will,’
Max, ever the diplomatic animal, agreed. ‘I have your number, I’ll call you tomorrow.’
‘Fine.’ Jessica glanced to where the Marcelles were now ensconced in the mini-bus. It began to leave the kerb. ‘I’ve got to go,’ she muttered half-apologetically to her business partner, then made her way to her car, frowning.
What followed was a week of frenetic activity for Jessica. Outings, picnics by the ocean, scenic drives, taking in the history of Norfolk by day and dining out at night. Of course, both Alison and Max had their opportunity to talk to Jessica and, for Max, it was an enlightening conversation.
Leaving Tania to yet another shopping spree, he drove a hired car to Cassell’s Cottage for morning tea with Jessica.
‘It’s partly your fault,’ Jessica said as she settled him in the living room with a tea tray. ‘You did a good job convincing Simon that coming here was the right thing for me, and that’s how it’s turned out.’
‘But you’re a talented barrister, Jess. It’s a shame to throw it all away.’
‘I may not. I might start a small, maybe a part-time practice here, just to keep my hand in.’
‘Doing what? Conveyancing? Neighbours’ disputes? Workers’ compensation? Making wills?’ A trace of scorn was evident in his laugh. ‘You’re a specialist. Routine work like that would drive you crazy.’
‘Maybe. But I’d have my painting to keep me sane. That’s what I really want to do.’ She beckoned him out of his chair. ‘Come see what I’ve been up to.’ She took him out to the verandah which had, over the months, taken on the look of an artist’s studio, and showed him two completed paintings. Another on the easel was half-finished. ‘Well?’
‘I’m impressed.’ Max’s praise was grudging. ‘Actually, I’d like Tania to look at that one of the ocean, with the island in the background. What do you want for it?’
‘You’re kidding, aren’t you? Max, it’s not like you to try to bribe a colleague with an offer of cash,’ she teased.
Whispers Through the Pines Page 31
