‘You’re lying.’
‘Ask anyone,’ said Davey. ‘Anyway, what’s it to you?’
It made no sense. Luke ran to the tack room, stowed his precious swag, grabbed a bridle and headed for the stockhorse night paddock. The herd raised their heads at his approach. Sheba reared, her silver coat burned bronze by the blood-red moon. With a low nicker, she came to him with a proud, high-stepping walk. Luke whispered to her, kissed her nose, stroked her neck. The mare nuzzled him and consented to the bridle. Luke looked around for Bear, thinking to lock him up should he try to follow. The dog was nowhere in sight. Unwilling to waste another moment, Luke swung up bareback and took off down the hill at a gallop.
By road, a carriage might take upwards of an hour to complete the trip to Canterbury Downs. But with a swift horse and a full moon Luke could halve that time, cutting across country by way of Murderer’s Hill. Sheba sensed her rider’s reckless urgency and raced on, trusting Luke to steer her course.
With flying hooves they cleared a fallen tree, half-seen in moonlight. Luke checked his mare as they neared the summit. Flanks heaving, Sheba gulped down great lungfuls of air. Careful now. The ground ahead was rocky and he wouldn’t risk laming her. The mare cocked back one ear as Bear caught up with them. Luke swore and yelled for him to go home, but nothing could convince the dog to turn back. Luke started down the other side of the hill, holding Sheba to a canter until he cleared the steepest slope of loose stones. Then they took off in earnest, thundering down the dim hillside with the shadow of Bear at their heels.
CHAPTER 35
Edward finished a waltz with Grace. The whole affair was becoming tedious. It would be different if he could have each dance with Belle. Where was she anyway? He longed to search her out, but he’d promised to join his mother in the quadrille, the last dance before supper. Edward’s irritation grew. Burning wax dripped onto his neck from the overhead candelabra and small talk left him cold. Perhaps Mother had forgotten? But no, she caught his eye as the band struck up and dutifully he went to her side.
Rosy moonbeams striped the grass on their way to the conservatory. Such a beautiful night. They barely needed the lantern. Belle paused, glanced back over her shoulder towards the house. ‘We should let Edward know.’
Henry touched a finger to his lips. ‘He must think I chose this engagement present myself, without advice from you.’ Too much brandy caused his words to slur together. A prickle of unease nipped at Belle’s spine.
‘You don’t need me,’ said Belle. ‘Edward will love your gift, whatever it is.’
‘No, Isabelle, I want your opinion. You know my son better than anyone.’ Henry smiled, perhaps for the first time that evening. ‘He’s a lucky man to have found such a lovely wife.’
Belle felt a small rush of gratitude. This was the first time she’d heard Henry say a positive word about their engagement.
He reached for her hand, patting it in a fatherly fashion before releasing it. ‘Shall we?’ He gestured to the moonlit path. Her apprehension melted away.
The conservatory was dark, even with the lantern. Henry led her past palms and orchids, their exotic leaves casting mysterious silhouettes against the glass. Belle’s steps faltered as her disquiet returned.
Henry turned to face her, the fixed smile on his lips no longer kind. Belle’s stomach tightened. She willed herself to stay calm, though the knowledge of Becky’s rape was looming larger and larger in her mind. Surely Henry offered no threat? Not on her engagement day. Not with a house full of people.
‘Where is it?’ she asked. ‘What have you brought me to see?’
He seemed closer now, too close, though she hadn’t noticed him move.
The lantern went out – no accident, of that she was certain. Every instinct screamed run but her feet were frozen, like in a nightmare. By the time her legs would move, Henry was upon her, tearing at her bodice, grabbing at her breasts. She tried to shove him away, and he struck her in the face.
She tasted blood in her mouth when she screamed.
Luke had approached the homestead from the rear. An assortment of carriages, large and small, littered the grounds. Coach drivers and footmen lounged against their vehicles, smoking and playing cards to wile away the time. Luke tethered his heaving mare to a rail. Crowds and darkness would work to his advantage. He might not be noticed, at least until he entered the house.
Suddenly, Bear took off across the garden. Why had he ever let that damned dog come? Luke gave chase, heading for the conservatory.
Nobody paid much attention to the pair as they raced across the shadowy lawn. Nobody except Molly. She was carting two buckets of perfectly good food to the pigsty. Those pigs eat better than most people, she thought. Then she spotted him. Adam or Luke, or whatever his name was. There was a big reward on that boy’s head. Molly returned to the house, wondering who to tell.
Bear crashed through the conservatory door, with Luke close behind. What the hell? Luke surveyed the scene inside with shock and rising fury. The dog was heading straight for Belle, where she struggled with Henry Abbott in the shadows.
Tearing free from Henry’s grip, Belle rushed to Bear and crouched behind him. Luke took in the missing buttons on Belle’s bodice, the torn sleeve and bloody lip. She buried her face in Bear’s fur. The dog stood stock still, eyes trained on Henry, a menacing growl in his throat.
Henry turned to Luke. ‘Get out, Adam,’ he said in a drunken drawl. ‘This has nothing to do with you.’
Time stood still.
‘My name’s Luke Tyler, you bastard, and this time I’m going to kill you.’
‘Luke Tyler?’ A stunned recognition dawned on Henry’s face as he straightened his waistcoat. ‘And to think I paid your wages, welcomed you into my home, nursed you back to health, lauded you as a hero. What a fool you’ve made of me.’
Henry reached for his pistol.
Bear was upon him before the firearm cleared his belt. Crushing fangs choked the scream from Henry’s throat as the dog took a death grip. Luke put his hands on Belle’s shoulders, guiding her outside, shielding her eyes. He knew what was coming.
‘He said he had something to show me,’ sobbed Belle, while Luke rocked her in his arms.
Moments later, Bear emerged from the conservatory. He went over to Belle, smearing blood on her lilac gown.
Her face contorted in horror. ‘Bear, what have you done? Luke, do something!’
‘It’s too late. Abbott’s dead.’
‘No!’
Luke stroked her hair, hating himself for what he was thinking. It was no use. He needed to know. ‘Is it true, Belle? You’re to marry Edward?’
Belle confessed everything in a great outpouring of emotion. She told him of her terrible loneliness, of the weeks worrying about her pregnancy. She told him about the baby and about her mother. ‘Mama threatened to expose you if I didn’t agree. She thinks she’s saving my reputation.’
Luke felt himself burn with shame. He’d made Belle pregnant, and now she was entering into a loveless marriage – sacrificing herself to protect him and their child. How utterly selfish he’d been. Putting the girl he loved in an impossible position, deceiving Daniel, allowing Edward to stand up in his place. To be the man he couldn’t be. It was unforgivable, nothing a bag of gold could atone for. And, now, having as good as murdered Henry, he was more of a liability than ever.
Voices called from the darkness. Luke pulled her further into the garden, crouching down behind a swathe of lavender.
‘We can run away together,’ said Belle. ‘Right now.’
‘No, listen to me. I love you. I’ll always love you, but what future would you have with me? A fugitive who has dishonoured you and your family. Who’s as good as killed a man.’
‘You’ve done nothing wrong,’ said Belle. ‘It was Bear. It wasn’t you.’
‘It’s the same thing. Do you think I’d let them shoot Bear for saving us both? Abbott’s dead and I did nothing to stop it. We’re equally guilty, B
ear and I.’
‘Do you expect me just to let you go?’
‘You’ll do it for our child,’ said Luke fiercely. ‘I’m not like you, Belle, however we might fool ourselves. I might have been once, but now I’m changed. I’m like Bear, not truly civilised. Abbott attacked you and still you wished to save him. I stood by, my heart a cold stone in my chest. You deserve better than me.’
For a minute that felt like a lifetime, Luke clung to Belle, kissing her, holding her, absorbing her.
‘I love you,’ she cried.
Then he ran with Bear to the horse lines, mounted Sheba and sped away towards Murderer’s Hill.
CHAPTER 36
Molly felt faint, head throbbing, legs so weary she could hardly stand. This party had been a nightmare for the kitchen staff, who’d worked nonstop since before dawn. Molly pulled her cracked, aching hands from the washtub full of soiled pans and dabbed them on her apron. She’d had enough. It was time to tell somebody about Adam and claim that reward. To the astonishment of the other scullery maids, she marched upstairs right under the head cook’s nose.
Molly almost collided with Edward on the porch. ‘Sir, I must speak with you.’
‘Get out of my way.’
‘Sir, it’s important.’ She blocked his path. ‘I saw that escaped convict Luke Tyler here tonight in these very grounds, along with his big brute of a dog.’
‘What are you talking about, woman?’
Molly trembled but stood her ground. ‘With respect, sir, Luke Tyler is passing himself of as Adam McLeod, that young miner who got the run of the house a while back.’
Edward stepped back. Luke was here? That man had Belle under a spell. He could ruin everything, snatch her away in the blink of an eye. ‘Have you told anybody else about this?’
‘No, sir,’ said Molly, her voice quaking. ‘Not a soul. I’ll claim that reward if I may, sir. It’s to start a little shop.’
Edward’s mind raced. It wasn’t too late. He could simply pay this woman off, send her away and nobody would be the wiser. He owed Luke that, surely. Yet a small voice whispered in his other ear that this was the perfect opportunity to dispose of his rival. Even though Luke had saved his life, even though he’d promised Belle and Elizabeth never to betray him.
Belle. In his mind’s eye he saw her lovely face, her sweet mouth swearing that she loved Luke, not him. A love that would destroy her reputation and break her heart.
‘What is your name, woman?’
‘Molly, sir. Molly Swift.’
‘Well, Molly, you shall have your reward,’ said Edward, keeping his voice low. ‘But first you must find Mr Cornish, the house steward. Tell him what you told me.’ She mumbled her thanks. ‘And Molly . . .’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘There’s thirty pounds more if you keep my name out of it. Don’t tell Mr Cornish who sent you to him.’
Molly clutched his hand. ‘Of course, sir. Thank you, sir. I’ll never tell a soul.’
Edward watched her go, torn between guilt and elation. Cornish would undoubtedly send for Sergeant Murray. It was out of his hands now.
A cry came from the garden and he hurried off to find Belle.
When Edward reached the conservatory, Tom Howard, the station manager, beckoned him inside. A dreadful scene greeted him. His father lay on the floor, drenched in blood, a gaping hole where his throat should be. What in hell’s name had happened here? It seemed more like the attack of some monstrous animal than that of a man.
Edward turned away from his father’s blank eyes and the frozen look of horror on his face. A movement caught his attention – someone lurked in the shadows. ‘Who’s there? Show yourself.’
An ashen-faced figure emerged from behind the palms.
‘Belle, oh my Lord.’
Her golden hair was down and tangled, her gown torn and bloodstained. Edward ran to her, and she fell to her knees. He knelt too, taking Belle’s trembling hands in his as she confessed every last appalling detail.
Elizabeth sat beside her daughter in Jane’s upstairs parlour, while Belle finished her story.
Daniel touched her cheek. ‘Abbott didn’t . . . he didn’t violate you?’
‘No, Papa. He tore my buttons and put his hand up my skirts. Then Bear arrived.’
‘Thank God.’ Daniel marched around the room, grim-faced, finding it hard to think clearly through his anger and hurt. ‘We must go to the police at once and report that Abbott assaulted our daughter.’
‘Edward hopes to spare his mother that shameful fact,’ said Elizabeth.
‘What? And whitewash that monster even in death? Do you care nothing for the truth, Lizzie?’ Daniel stopped at the curtains, took the satin fabric in his hand. ‘I can hear the accusation now. They’ll say Luke deliberately set the dog on Henry. How can we defend him if we can’t raise that he acted in Belle’s defence?’
‘Belle is with child,’ said Elizabeth softly, ‘and Luke is the father.’
Belle gasped like she’d been struck, but she didn’t deny it.
Daniel looked down at his hand, white-knuckled against the rich red drapery. He let go. ‘I don’t understand, Lizzie. Luke promised me there was nothing between them.’
‘Then he lied.’ Edward entered the room, his face ghostly white. ‘There’s no protecting him now, sir. I’ve just come from the conservatory. Luke has been recognised.’
‘But how? All here know him as Adam.’
‘That I don’t know,’ said Edward. ‘But I do know he’ll face the gallows. His only hope is to escape.’
‘Please, Daniel,’ said Elizabeth. ‘Please. The truth will further humiliate our daughter. Have you no regard for her?’
Daniel looked at Belle. She’d changed into a plain gown and sat beside her mother, looking like a frightened child. ‘What would you have us do?’
‘I’ll tell my story to save Luke,’ she said. ‘Of course I will.’
The fear in her eyes tore at his heart. What was the point? With Luke unmasked there was no saving him if caught.
‘Very well,’ he said. ‘I’ll hold my tongue. But if Luke stands trial the truth must be told. Not that the truth seems to stand for very much around here.’ Elizabeth heaved a relieved sigh. ‘So, this marriage? A pretence all along to salvage Belle’s reputation?’
‘No pretence for me, sir,’ said Edward. ‘I love Belle and will cherish her child as my own.’
‘Very good,’ said Daniel stiffly, so used to disparaging Edward that anything else felt odd indeed. ‘Right, then. I’ll go downstairs to keep an eye on things. Ah . . . I would offer my sympathies, Edward, but I think there’ve been quite enough lies told for now, don’t you?’
‘Father was a complete bastard, to me perhaps more than to anyone,’ said Edward. ‘And after what he did to Belle? It’s hard to summon grief through so much anger.’
Daniel went downstairs and stood on the verandah overlooking the courtyard. A few carriages were leaving. It was a good night for travelling, clear and bright. Luke could go far. The boy had betrayed him, lied to him, deceived him, but he didn’t deserve this.
Daniel prayed Luke would have enough sense to avoid Binburra. It was the first place they’d look for him.
CHAPTER 37
The bloodshot moon guided Luke and Bear surely back to Binburra. He was oddly blank. Not sad exactly, but stripped of hope. The homestead lay asleep. He collected his swag from the tack shed, feeling insubstantial, like a ghost. Like he was already dead. Then he rode north, cantering up ungrazed slopes, which were swiftly reverting to forest.
When the going became too rough, he turned Sheba loose. She followed him for a few minutes, until spooked by a high gust of wind in the trees. Then she whirled and galloped down the mountain. Luke trudged on. Perhaps up at Tiger Pass, Bear would be safe.
Hour after hour, they forged into the wild uplands. When Luke lost his way in the dark, Bear set him on the right course. When the moon burned out, they paused for a brief sleep. When dawn bro
ke they were already on their way.
Sunrise saw a group of riders set off from Canterbury Downs for Binburra – Sergeant Murray, two constables, three men from town, and Edward Abbott.
Edward was a reluctant conscript. It was bad enough he’d put Luke in this predicament, and he was already sick with guilt. He’d wanted his rival out of the picture, that was all – not hanged. In truth he wished Luke all the best, wished he might escape and start a new life far from Hills End. The last thing Edward wanted was to hunt him down like an animal.
‘I’m no bushman,’ Edward had told Sergeant Murray. ‘I’d slow you down.’
‘You’ll do fine,’ said the sergeant. ‘And we could use the extra man. I had trouble raising a posse in town.’
Edward knew why. His father was widely hated, and his death considered a well-earned one. The folk of Hills End would be more inclined to cheer his killer than hunt him down.
Sergeant Murray shot him a shrewd look. ‘I assumed a man would want to help track down his father’s killer.’
Edward had managed a half-hearted nod. It would look suspicious if he didn’t go.
When they arrived at Binburra, Daniel was waiting for them on the verandah. ‘Adam McLeod? Shot through last night and took his things. You’re welcome to take a look around.’
Murray gave him a knowing smile. Daniel was bound to have sworn the servants to secrecy. He doubted he’d uncover any leads.
Davey was shaving in a bucket outside the shearers’ quarters when Sergeant Murray found him. ‘Morning, son. Did you happen to see Adam McLeod around here last night? Or maybe this morning?’
Loyalty demanded his silence, but jealousy made him speak. Davey didn’t know what Adam had done, but the chance to get him into trouble proved irresistible. ‘He was here. Last night. Him and his dog took off for the Abbott place. Haven’t seen him since.’
It was the truth, wasn’t it? What right did Mr Campbell have to make him lie?
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