Destiny's Path

by Anna Jacobs

9

  In the morning Reece got up early, slipped on some old working clothes he’d left ready and crept out past the huddles of blankets where Ronan and Xanthe were still sleeping.

  As he walked up the hill to dig Kevin’s grave, he enjoyed the morning chorus of bird calls and watched a flock of galahs chattering to one another raucously in the treetops, their pale grey plumage and pink crests making them stand out against the dull green of the gum trees. These cockatoos were his favourite among the parrot-like birds. He’d thought they actually were parrots when he first came here and had been corrected by Kevin, who had spent a lot of time enjoying the wildlife when he lacked human companionship.

  The previous day’s rain had passed and the sky was growing brighter by the minute. Reece sank his spade into the ground, hoping he’d not encounter any rocky outcrops, and began to pile the earth beside the grave

  He was working so hard he didn’t hear Ronan approach and jumped in shock as a voice said, ‘Let me help you.’

  He leaned on his spade for a moment or two, taking a breather. ‘Thanks for the offer, but you’ll get muddy and you’ve no other clothes with you. I seem to have fallen lucky here and the recent rain has softened the ground.’

  ‘Do you have a coffin? I noticed the body was still lying on the bed.’

  ‘I have some planks and I’m hoping to cobble them together into a box after I’ve finished this.’

  ‘If you’ll tell me where they are, I’ll make a start. I’m quite handy with wood, used to hang around the village carpenter when I was a lad.’

  Reece pointed down the hill. ‘There’s a pile of sawn timber stacked behind the stables. My tools are inside the stables, hanging on the wall above the workbench. I’ve not even sorted out the planks. Use any pieces you think might be suitable.’

  Ronan was greeted by Xanthe as he passed the kitchen at the rear of the house.

  ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ she called.

  ‘I’d love one. I’m very thirsty.’

  ‘I’ll make it in a half-pint enamel mug, if you don’t object to that. Everyone gets thirstier here than back home, and the mugs hold far more than a cup.’

  ‘I’ll be round the back of the stables, sorting out wood. I’m going to help Reece make a coffin.’

  Her smile faded. ‘What a sad task! Is there anything I can do to help?’

  He couldn’t resist saying, ‘Keep me company for a while, perhaps.’ He cocked one eyebrow at her and waited for an answer.

  She gave him a long, level look, as if considering this, then nodded. ‘All right. I’ll just make the tea and take a cup to Cassandra, then I’ll come and drink mine with you.’

  He felt as if he’d passed some sort of test with her during their recent conversations. Maybe he had. But he didn’t know what he’d done right – or what he was going to do next, right or wrong.

  The coffin was a rough, splintery affair, because Reece said ruefully that the only glass paper they had was too precious and hard to obtain. No use smoothing a surface which would only lie and rot in the earth. But the coffin was at least made of good solid pieces of wood, with rope handles nailed on the sides. A blanket covering it lent an air of decency to the proceedings. Ronan was pleased with his work, given the circumstances.

  Livia, the closest neighbour, arrived just before ten, having walked across from Westview Farm accompanied by a young man called Leo, who in spite of being slow-witted was clearly on good terms with everyone and of a cheerful disposition. Ronan didn’t think he would have been so well accepted back in Ireland.

  That made six people and one small child to say farewell to Kevin Lynch, all of whom spoke of him very fondly.

  Reece and Leo carried the coffin up the hill and didn’t seem to find it too heavy. Reece was a strong man and Leo was a young giant.

  Xanthe moved closer to whisper, ‘Leo may be slow thinking, but he’s marvellous with animals and he saved Cassandra’s life when she was having her baby. We’re all very fond of him and if there’s anything seriously wrong with an animal we fetch him to tend to it. Some of the neighbours do too, now they’re used to him.’

  Ronan didn’t comment but he hoped he wouldn’t need Leo’s doctoring while he was here. He’d been fortunate so far in his life, had been very healthy and hadn’t even broken a limb as a child, even though he’d been a devil for climbing trees or getting up on roofs. He turned to study the neighbour, a charming lady with a sad expression. He had to wonder what someone like her was doing here on a farm.

  She smiled at him. ‘I brought my prayer book, which contains the burial service, but it’s not the Catholic one, I’m afraid.’

  ‘I’m sure Kevin wouldn’t mind,’ Reece said. ‘It’s the same god, after all.’

  They took it in turns to read from her prayer book and the most fluent readers were the two sisters, which surprised Ronan. Xanthe in particular read with great feeling and listening to her was extremely moving.

  Afterwards they all sat and chatted quietly for a while on the veranda, remembering Kevin fondly and telling tales of him.

  ‘This is like an Irish wake,’ Ronan commented.

  Cassandra smiled. ‘Kevin told us about them and said this was how he’d like to be farewelled.’

  Once Livia and Leo had left, Ronan took off his money belt and produced the shiny gold sovereigns he’d brought from England. ‘There’s a note from the lawyer handling your affairs in England, a Mr Featherworth. I’d appreciate it if you’d count the money and sign the statement he gave me to verify that it all arrived here safely.’

  ‘As if we’d doubt you!’ Xanthe exclaimed, then blushed slightly as her sister stared at her in surprise.

  ‘You should doubt every stranger,’ Ronan said. ‘Those who trick people can be very plausible.’

  ‘Not if they’re long-time friends of Conn. He doesn’t give his trust easily.’

  ‘No, perhaps not.’

  ‘Why didn’t you want to talk openly about the money when we were at Galway House?’ Xanthe asked.

  ‘Because of Kathleen.’

  ‘You think she’d steal it?’

  ‘You can never tell what she’d do. Hurl it in a river, hide it somewhere where we’d never find it. Having been brought up to be scornful of servants and people like them, she’d probably be outraged about you even having an inheritance like this. The less we can upset her, the easier it will be for Conn.’

  ‘She treats servants like idiots,’ Xanthe said. ‘You don’t do that, though, and nor does Conn. He even asked us to use his Christian name, which is unusual in an employer, even here in Australia. He said he’d learned in prison that one person was not superior to another simply because of birth, and he’d been treated kindly by people others would spit on.’

  ‘I think he lost all his pride when he was in prison, poor fellow. But I’d like to follow his example and ask you all to call me Ronan.’ He looked round but it was Xanthe’s nod that he was after and as usual, she thought for a moment before agreeing.

  Cassandra counted the money, then divided it into three piles, putting those meant for her sisters into two little drawstring bags that clinked satisfactorily.

  Xanthe put hers and Maia’s into a pair of old-fashioned hanging pockets that Mrs Largan had given her. They tied round the waist and hung underneath her skirt. They felt more secure than the smaller modern pocket let into the side seam of her skirt, though she had to lift her skirts to get at them. She could feel the coins through the skirt and two petticoats, which were all she wore here. Even ladies didn’t usually wear crinolines in the country.

  ‘I must ask Pandora to keep the rest of my money in the safe at the shop till I go back and decide what to do with it,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Zachary told me when he was here that my uncle didn’t trust banks and had bought a safe from a man in Sheffield called Thomas Milner. It’s old-fashioned now but very strong and it’s even supposed to be fireproof. Imagine that!’

  Ronan was surprised. ‘Don’t you wan
t to put the money in a bank?’

  ‘So many banks have failed in the past few years that I don’t want to risk that.’

  ‘Safes don’t pay interest on your money, though.’

  ‘I know. It’s a dilemma. I’ve never had enough money to worry about before. What do you do with yours?’

  ‘I own various houses here and there, and my agent collects the rents. Most of my wealth lies in them. I keep my money reserves in two banks for safety, and I also have cash on hand in a secure place. I ought to buy myself an estate, but I’ve never yet wanted to settle down. And when I wasn’t travelling, my mother was always happy for me to stay with her, or I could have stayed with Hubert, so it wasn’t urgent. I’m very fond of the place where I grew up. There’s nowhere like Ardgullan. Though it won’t be the same without my mother.’

  His expression was so sad when he said that, Cassandra looked at the sky to give him time to recover. ‘It must be nearly one o’clock. We’d better get you some food before you leave.’

  When the two sisters were alone in the kitchen, she said abruptly, ‘Don’t let your heart settle on a gentleman like that.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘I’ve seen the way you two look at one another. But however attractive he finds you, he won’t marry you. He’ll marry one of his own kind.’

  ‘I don’t intend to get married, as I keep telling you.’

  Cassandra smiled. ‘Neither Pandora nor I were looking for a husband, but when you meet the right person, you change your mind about marriage very quickly.’

  Xanthe tossed her head. ‘Well, I shan’t.’

  ‘Just don’t – let him be too free with you.’

  ‘You didn’t need to say that.’

  ‘I did! I know how loving someone changes people.’

  ‘I’m not in love with him or anyone else, either.’ Xanthe changed the subject firmly and her sister followed her lead, thank goodness. For some reason she didn’t understand, she didn’t want to talk about Ronan to anyone. She agreed with everything Cassandra had said about him, though, and at twenty-seven she was past being foolish about a good-looking man. Even one with a smile like his.

  After their meal, Ronan harnessed the horse and Xanthe said farewell to her sister and family. It felt strangely intimate to sit together on the wooden bench of the cart as they set off alone on the drive back – almost as if they were good friends who had known one another for years.

  Neither of them spoke for a while, but she was very conscious of his strong body beside hers, and saw him glancing towards her every now and then. In the end she decided it’d be more comfortable to break the silence. ‘You’re very quiet. Are you tired? If not, perhaps you could tell me about Ireland? I hope to visit it one day.’

  ‘I’d rather talk about you.’

  She looked at him sideways. ‘Why should a gentleman like you want to talk about me?’

  He hesitated then matched her frankness. ‘I’m very attracted to you, you must realise that, and I think you feel that same tug of attraction.’

  She stared down at her hands then looked back at him, not shirking his gaze. ‘I feel it, yes, but I’m not going to do anything about it. I know where that sort of attraction can lead. I don’t plan to marry and even if I did, a gentleman like you wouldn’t marry a mill girl like me.’

  ‘You like to speak the truth boldly, don’t you?’ She was right. People like him didn’t marry mill girls – unfortunately.

  ‘Yes. It’s better to face up to things.’

  His eyes lingered on her face and he smiled ruefully. ‘I can face up to things too and I’m definitely not going to do anything to hurt you, but that doesn’t stop me wanting to know more about you.’

  ‘Oh. Well, there’s not much to know.’

  He chuckled. ‘A mill girl called by an unusual name because her father was learning Greek, one who is better read than most men I know, who is not only beautiful but extremely intelligent – I think there’s quite a lot to know. Now what have I said to make you blush?’

  ‘I’m not used to lavish compliments. I wish you wouldn’t talk like that.’

  ‘I meant every word.’

  ‘Well, I still don’t like it. I wish my looks didn’t – please people. It’d make life so much easier. I feel embarrassed when people comment on them. And as I’ve not known many educated people, I can’t compare myself to them. I only know I love reading and that I want to see something of the world. Is that so unusual?’

  ‘For someone like you, yes. Oh, look!’

  A kangaroo suddenly leaped across the road ahead of them, followed by two others, one with a joey peering out of its pouch. As he reined in the horse to watch them, some whitetailed black cockatoos flew out of the trees, shrieking. No melodious singing from them. They sounded as if they were quarrelling and hurling insults at one another.

  ‘I’m in Australia,’ he said in tones of wonderment once the birds had flown away. ‘I really am and—’ He half-turned to her and what he’d been going to say vanished from his mind. She was smiling at him indulgently and her beautiful lips were only a few inches away. Before he could stop himself, he leaned sideways and kissed her quickly, moving back almost immediately.

  She clapped one hand to her mouth. ‘I wish you hadn’t done that.’

  ‘Was it so bad?’

  ‘No. It felt very – sweet. I wish it hadn’t.’

  He drew her towards him, surprised when she allowed him to kiss her again. And it was more than sweet, it was . . . the perfect kiss. He wanted very much to kiss her again, but when it ended he smoothed her hair back from her forehead and forced himself to move away. The sun had burnished it to blue-black and he’d been dying to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked.

  After giving him one of her grave looks, she too moved back a little and put out one hand to stop him when he gave in to temptation and tried to pull her close again. ‘No. Please don’t. I couldn’t resist that one kiss, just to see . . . but that’s all it was. One kiss. We have to be sensible.’

  He leaned against the backrest. ‘Sometimes I don’t feel like being sensible.’

  ‘I have to be. It’s the women who carry the fruit of wrongdoing and it can ruin their whole lives.’ She frowned. ‘I must say, I’ve never seen why women are so easily tempted before, but I think I can understand it better now.’

  Not a woman’s usual reaction to a kiss, but her serious deliberation about its effect on her enchanted him. He almost wished she’d said something stupid. If she’d mouthed inanities, it’d be much easier to forget how delightful her lips felt against his, how right it had seemed to hold her close!

  He told the horse to walk on and it was a few minutes before either of them spoke. He kept his eyes on the road this time and tried to keep his thoughts on it, too. The ground had dried very quickly after the rain of the previous day, because the soil was quite sandy, but he could see from the deep, sun-baked ruts to one side of the track that even these rough roads got waterlogged in winter.

  ‘How soon do you intend to leave Australia?’ he asked when she made no effort to break the silence.

  ‘I wish I could leave straight away and get it over with, because even the thought of me going is upsetting Maia so much.’ She sighed and added, ‘And me. We’ve never been apart before and twins are closer than other sisters, but the life I want wouldn’t suit her at all – and I’m not prepared to lead a dull life, even for her.’

  ‘Why can’t you leave now?’

  ‘Because servants are hard to find here and I wouldn’t feel right leaving Conn and Mrs Largan in the lurch. And because there aren’t a lot of ships sailing to and from Western Australia.’

  ‘I don’t like the thought of you travelling back to England on your own.’

  She smiled. ‘I’d not be on my own. There would be a ship full of people and this time I’d be a cabin passenger. How exciting to travel in such luxury!’

  He thought of his cramped cabin and couldn’t hel
p grimacing. ‘I’d not consider it luxury.’

  ‘It is compared to conditions in the steerage section. I ought to be quite safe as a cabin passenger, don’t you think?’

  His voice came out more harshly than he’d intended. ‘Someone as beautiful as you will never be safe travelling.’

  Her smile faded. ‘Even if I dress plainly and behave modestly?’

  ‘Even so. Beautiful women tempt unscrupulous men and if you don’t understand that, let me tell you that the urges men feel are very strong and sometimes overrule their common sense, even when they’re trying to behave decently. And there are some men who have no scruples, who take what they please if the opportunity arises, by force if necessary.’

  ‘I’m not completely ignorant, you know. Women of your class may be very sheltered from life, but we weren’t. And my father warned us when we grew older, told us how men feel. I know it isn’t going to be easy, but I’m not going to give up my dreams. There must be a way to do what I want. Perhaps I’ll have to hire a travelling companion, an older woman. Do you think that might help?’

  ‘A little. If you hired a strong man to protect you as well, it’d be even better.’ He couldn’t think of anything he’d like more than to be her guide and protector. It’d be a joy to take her travelling and show her other lands. But if he did, who would protect her from him?

  No, he’d better keep his distance. This attraction couldn’t be allowed to lead anywhere because the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

  ‘Well, I’ve got plenty of time to work something out.’

  Her chin was jutting out and her expression was quietly determined.

  No, he thought, you’ll not easily be deflected once you set your mind on something.

  ‘It’s on the left here!’ she called, jerking him out of his thoughts. ‘You nearly missed the turn.’

  When they arrived at Galway House, Ronan was swept away by their host and Xanthe went back to work. Their lives were separate here, even though Conn treated his staff kindly.

  It was just as well.

  Conn took Kathleen out riding, pointing out the things to look out for in the Australian bush. She was at her best on horseback, not only a good rider, but also careful about her horse, and she listened carefully to his instructions.