Her Australian Cattle Baron

by Margaret Way

  “Yet you’ve been all over Europe?” Royce said.

  “I’ll get there,” she promised, on the defensive.

  “You will. I’ll take you.”

  She dared not look at him, such was the effect of his closeness to her. “These images are magic.”

  “They are.”

  “A bit spooky too. The Rainbow Snake looks like it’s moving. Surely that’s not a crocodile there?” She pointed to a creature executed in ochres with a broad primeval snout and a long, upturned tail.

  “Don’t they call Australia ‘the land where time began’?” Royce asked of her. “That is a crocodile. Ancient aboriginals might have seen them here. When our continent broke away from Gondwanaland over 100 million years ago, the Centre was covered by a vast inland sea. An American team in the 1930s from Harvard discovered a fossilized head over six feet long of Kronosaurus queenslandicus, a fearsome predator. They shipped the great hunk of dynamited rock containing the skull back home. It took them twenty years to get it out.”

  “Good grief! So the early explorers set out in search of the great inland sea and found nothing but sand. Imagine how they felt!”

  “They should have asked the aboriginal people,” said Royce dryly. “Even if they had to use sign language. The aboriginals had a 50,000-year start. Captain Sturt set out from Adelaide, Oxley from Sydney, Leichhardt’s from Brisbane. Leichhardt’s expedition disappeared into the interior, never to be seen again.”

  “I know. We learned the tragic stories of our early explorers at school.”

  “Sadly, most of them came to a very sticky end. Man can’t live without water. They had hoped to find it.”

  Amelia began to move about in an effort to break a mounting tension. Whatever he said, however much he appeared to condone her actions over Marigold, she knew he didn’t really trust her. Desire her? Yes. But there could be no real bond without trust. It was easy to pick out the warrior’s spears in hand, the kangaroos, the emus, and a goanna as big as a crocodile. She lifted her blond head to stare up at the ceiling. It was covered with stick people, clearly delineated as male and female. Many appeared to be on the verge of having sex. Most were actually conjoined. The ancient drawings were so graphic, her whole body flushed. The male buttocks were as full and rounded as any ancient Greek statue, the women’s breasts upthrust, pointed.

  “Men and women have been making love since time immemorial,” he said, with a hint of mockery in his voice.

  She didn’t answer.

  A strong wind full of raindrops suddenly blew into the mouth of the cave, startling her. “Perhaps we should go.” It was the oddest thing, but even to her own ears, she sounded out of breath.

  “It’s still raining,” Royce pointed out.

  “I’m more afraid of you than the rain.”

  There, it was out!

  “Works both ways, Amelia,” he said almost gently. “It appears we don’t trust one another enough.”

  “It’s because you have such a suspicious nature,” she accused.

  “It’s difficult not to be suspicious with some people,” he said mildly.

  She met his dark, mesmerizing eyes. “I’ve told you almost from the moment I met you that I played no part in the breakup of Marigold’s and Jimmy’s marriage. Jimmy only fancied he was in love with me.”

  “He didn’t fancy it, Amelia. He was. He is.”

  “He’ll get over it. He will.”

  “Not if he comes back here,” he said crisply. “Well, not for some time. Because I’m not letting you go.”

  Her heart fluttered so strongly she had to put her hand to it. Even her hand couldn’t still the flutter. “Do you really think I’m going to fall into your arms?”

  He gave a brief laugh. “A dangerous question. I’d say it was inevitable. Some things just are.”

  “What? A blessing or a curse?”

  “Neither seems to exist for me,” he said, almost to himself. “What I feel for you is something quite apart.”

  “A quirk of fate? Karma?’

  He put out his hands to cup her upturned face. “Tell me this, Amelia. When you first saw me, did you feel a sense of recognition?”

  She wasn’t about to lie to him. “I felt overwhelmed.” Hadn’t her heart taken off like a rocket? “Yet you looked back at me with barely concealed hostility.”

  “It went beyond you, Amelia,” he said. “In a strange way, you reminded me of my mother. Bewitching women, a man like me would say. Women who capture a man’s heart, his soul, his imagination, and never let go. Do you think I don’t understand Jimmy’s fascination?”

  “That’s all over with.” She shook her head, in the process freeing it from its long, smooth coils.

  “Yes and no,” he replied in an ironic voice. “Beneath the surface, feelings always flow. Jimmy will move on. He may even connect with Charlene again. That would be a good thing. Charlene is not a predatory woman like your adopted sister.”

  “Wouldn’t you prefer to believe I am too?” There was a kind of despair in her voice.

  “No. You’re beautiful,” he said, grasping a fistful of her glorious hair. He was burning for her, burning to take her in his arms.

  “So it all comes back to Frances, your mother?”

  “I wonder if she ever loved my father? I can’t imagine how.”

  “Your father was a very handsome man. He was heir to a great station. Your mother may well have fallen in love with one man and then found he wasn’t the man she thought she’d fallen in love with at all. Why don’t you ask her? Or have you decided you never will?”

  “I know what I’ve decided,” he said. “I want you” It was true. If he only admitted it, he cried out for her. Really and truly cried out for her. His enchantment was absolute. The weakness he had despised in some men, including his father, now extended to him.

  “You want to make love?” she asked, huskily, her heart swelling with desire.

  “God, more than anything else.” The days and the nights were starting to feel endless without her. He wouldn’t tell her that. Not yet.

  “Desire and love can be polarized, Royce. Men have their . . . needs . . . but . . .”

  He kissed her midsentence, cutting off her voice.

  It was a kiss so deeply passionate, so ravenous Amelia was left breathless unable to swiftly recuperate. He hadn’t appeared to move at all, yet he had full control of her swaying body.

  Holding the whole luscious length of her against him was not nearly enough for Royce. The ache, the longing had to be appeased.

  She felt his hand move to unbutton her shirt.

  “You can stop me,” he murmured in a hypnotic voice.

  Not when his hands were radiating such heat.

  The first button, the second, the third, the last, and her cotton shirt was hanging open, exposing her undergarment, a flimsy cotton and lace bra. There was a kind of tantalising terror in sexual excitement. It was agonizing and blindingly blissful at one and the same time.

  “Say the word,” he invited, in one smooth movement reaching back to unclasp her bra.

  “So I can topple into your arms?”

  “You are in my arms.” Now he was easing first her shirt then her bra off her.

  “Could I make you pregnant, Amelia? You must tell me.”

  He looked and sounded utterly serious, as he should. “Would you want our child?” she asked, knowing how terribly upsetting the whole topic of pregnancy had been.

  “You know the answer to that.” He had to express what he felt. He bent to kiss her beautiful, generous mouth. He wanted all the time in the world with her,

  “As I know how to protect myself,” Amelia told him, gently drawing back her head. “No, you can’t make me pregnant, Royce Stirling. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not until I say. Do you suppose the ancient spirits will be happy about our making love here?”

  “I don’t see why not.” He began to unbuckle her soft leather belt. “We are ourselves, Amelia and Royce. We are them. We are e
veryone. I think I’ve been waiting for you since the day I was born.”

  There is a corner of heaven on earth.

  It’s reserved for lovers.

  Chapter 9

  Amelia called her parents when she got back to the city. She had total respect for them, love, admiration. When they were all together, it was like being under a protective shining light. Her mother invited her to dinner that evening, as Amelia knew she would. There were so many life-changing decisions to be made. She needed her parents’ approval.

  How Marigold was faring would be one topic of discussion. Amelia had tried to put out of her mind what she believed Marigold had attempted to do. Had she been successful, Amelia would be dead and Marigold would be locked up in some psychiatric unit of a jail. None of them—not her, not her parents—had rushed to blame. There were people like Marigold in the world. She had grown up under their roof. All three genuinely cared for her. All three continued to pray Marigold would respond to proper treatment.

  “I’ve been assured Marigold is responding well,” Ava Boyd, said. “She doesn’t want to see any of us at the moment, but apparently she’s behaving like a model patient.”

  “Let’s hope it lasts!” Jeremy remarked in a dry voice. He knew enough to know how the worst criminals could behave like model citizens if they could turn it to their benefit.

  “So what is your big news? I know you have it.” Ava turned to her daughter. They had almost finished a delicious dinner. “You’re in love, I take it?”

  “Mum!” Amelia’s voice wavered. “How do you know?”

  “Mothers are very intuitive people. Apart from the fact you’re looking positively glowing, you spent your vacation on Kooralya station. Obviously you enjoyed it there.”

  “It was wonderful. The Big Sky Country. Channel Country is a revelation. The wildflowers were out after all the rain. A glorious, unforgettable sight! I have photographs.”

  “And I’ve seen Royston Stirling,” Ava said, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Very impressive. I simply put two and two together. It is Royston, isn’t it?”

  “You certainly didn’t let me know, Ava.” Jeremy spoke as if she had somehow betrayed him.

  Ava reached out to pat her husband’s hand. “There was a reason, darling. Marigold caused such pain in the brief time she was with James Stirling, it could have rubbed off on Amelia.”

  “It did,” Amelia confessed, nervously twirling her wine glass. Her father wasn’t on side like her mother, leaving her with a sudden frisson. “Marigold actually told Royce I was Jimmy’s ‘golden enchantress. ’ It was a term he apparently used. He even used it when he told his family he and Marigold would be getting married.”

  “And the minute Royce laid eyes on you, he knew you were the golden enchantress, not the bride-to-be?” Ava guessed correctly.

  Amelia nodded. “That’s exactly what happened. Jimmy’s behaviour didn’t help. On the very eve of the wedding, he begged to kiss me.”

  “You didn’t let him?” her father asked, looking quite scandalized. “What sort of man does that?”

  “Dad, what is it?”

  “You’re such a level-headed young woman, Amelia. A lawyer!”

  “Even a lawyer can make mistakes, Dad.” Amelia turned imploring green eyes on her father. “It happened because he looked so sad.”

  “Sad? Good God, Amelia!” her father exploded. “Why wouldn’t he be sad, marrying the wrong woman?”

  “Well, he wasn’t going to marry me. I had no romantic interest in Jimmy. He was my friend. He knew that.”

  “James took advantage,” Jeremy Boyd said. “I know all about your mother’s and your tender hearts, but really! James Stirling went through with the wedding because he believed Marigold pregnant?”

  “Jimmy loves children. He will make a good father.”

  “He has a lot of maturing to do before that,” Jeremy responded severely. “At least there’s some honour in telling Marigold he would marry her.”

  “You’ll like him, Dad, when you get to know him better.”

  “Will I indeed!” Jeremy grumbled, shaking his handsome head.

  “They’ll never get the truth out of Marigold,” Ava broke in. “The last time I saw her, she was still maintaining she had lost the baby.”

  “There was no baby,” Amelia said. “Or I’m 99.9 percent sure.”

  “There had to be a baby for James Stirling to marry her,” Jeremy said. “Is he a complete fool? Didn’t he check it out? I’ve made it my business to find out all about him. He’s one of those ‘Another champagne, Charlie!’ types.”

  “Oh, Dad! Jimmy has reformed. He’s getting back on track. There will be a divorce.”

  “Have you ever!” Jeremy spread his hands. “How long were they married? Five minutes, ten?”

  “Let’s forget about Marigold and James Stirling for the time being,” Ava said. “We want to hear about you, Amelia. What are your plans? I’m assuming you have plans?” Ava raised her finely arched eyebrows.

  “It’s as you suspected, Mum. I love Royce. He loves me. For both of us, that means total commitment.”

  Jeremy, for once in his life with his womenfolk, looked about to hit the roof. “You love Royce. This man you hardly know. The man we don’t know. He loves you. I can understand that. What about your career, Amelia?” Jeremy asked. “You have a very bright future. Are you going to throw that away to go live in the back of beyond? Just about as far from your mother and me as you can get? I mean, is this it?” Jeremy Boyd was clearly upset. It must have seemed to him like the old life was gone forever. Vanished.

  “Calm down, darling,” Ava said, in her soothing voice, knowing her husband doted on Amelia and couldn’t face the thought of her moving so far away. “Let’s go into the living room.”

  “This is my daughter!” Jeremy cried, not about to be soothed. “Isn’t that true? My daughter. Your daughter. Our precious daughter. Our only child together. She’s so clever!”

  “You’re going to have to remember, Jeremy, you passed on your cleverness to her. I’m absolutely certain Amelia can turn her cleverness to account. Now I’ve been doing a spot of detective work.”

  “W-h-a-t!” Jeremy, the brilliant barrister, managed to croak the single word.

  “I know for a fact the Stirling fortune is spread over many enterprises. They’ve long been diversified. The grandfather, Sir Clive Stirling, was a top-notch business man. Apparently so is Royce. The Stirlings have a finger in many pies. They have a team of accountants, solicitors. You might remember, my darling,” again Ava patted her husband’s hand, “Amelia studied accountancy as part of her degree.”

  “So?” Jeremy Boyd couldn’t have looked testier. He had been seized by upset.

  “Our daughter could prove very useful to the family businesses. Amelia will find a way. We haven’t raised a young woman who is prepared to sit back like a Jane Austen character.”

  “More like being told to get out there and help muster the cattle,” Jeremy huffed.

  “I daresay she can fit a bit of mustering in. She’s a splendid rider, thanks to me.”

  “What you’re saying doesn’t solve the many problems for me, Ava,” Jeremy told his wife sternly. “I don’t know this young man. We barely said hello, though I grant you he has presence. And he’s very courteous. But I can’t help feeling Amelia is rushing into things.” He put great emphasis on the word.

  “We did,” Ava gently reminded him. Her father hadn’t approved of a young man who could end up prosecuting criminals.

  “We were madly in love. I still am.”

  “So is our daughter with her Royce.”

  Jeremy wasn’t mollified. “When it comes to who is marrying our daughter, I have to tell you both, I’m very, very old school. It’s been an unfortunate start with Marigold acting so badly. There’s another worry. You were complicit to a certain extent, Amelia. You should have contacted us. We would have come home.”

  “It is as I said, Dad. It wouldn’t h
ave changed a thing. Marigold had arranged it that way. She only told me she was pregnant on the eve of the wedding. I believed her. Jimmy believed her.”

  “Let’s face it. She’s a pathological liar,” Ava gave a heavy sigh.

  “This is something entirely different, Amelia.” Jeremy maintained. “I know you want your mother and me to support you. We always will. You know that. But first I need to have a long meeting with this Royce. I’ll know whether he qualifies as a suitable husband for our beloved daughter. I can assure you of that.”

  Amelia leapt up from her chair, going to her father and flinging her arms around his neck. “He will, Dad. He will! I promise.”

  Jeremy accepted his daughter’s hug and a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll see about that. I have to tell you, I didn’t see this coming.”

  “Me either,” Amelia confessed.” It was love at first sight, Dad.”

  “Your father knows all about love at first sight,” Ava smiled. “Don’t you, darling?”

  “We didn’t get to be married, Ava, until I had satisfied your father I would be able to support you in the manner to which you were accustomed. He gave me quite a grilling. Were he here now, he would agree with me.”

  “Dads generally do,” said Ava. “Let’s have dessert in the living room. I whipped up some chocolate truffles. We can have them with coffee.”

  “I’ll help you, Mum,” Amelia said, keeping an anxious eye on her father.

  If she married Royce Stirling, it would be the break-up of their old lives. That she would be living so far away was a major part of it. At the moment, her father was acting as if he had forever lost her. That would never happen. Royce was a stranger to her parents. Her mother apparently had seen enough of him to understand how the bond between her and Royce had been so swiftly forged. Her father was yet to be convinced . . .

  * * *

  Amelia already knew where Frances Stirling lived. The deep rift between Royce and his mother seemed to her like an open wound. Wounds could be healed if mother and son were able to breach the huge gap.

  Amelia had seen sadness in the beautiful portrait of the young Frances, soon to marry a most unsuitable man. Had her parents pressed her into it? It happened all the time, parental pressure. Charles Stirling would have been considered a great catch with a most prestigious, landed name. Royce had lost his paternal grandparents, but his mother’s parents had never spoken to their daughter again after the divorce. Incredibly, they had taken their son-in-law’s part at the time, or actually, they had taken their son-in-law’s version of what had happened. Their daughter had cruelly abandoned both her husband and their child when they adored her and she had everything a woman could want. Not long after the very public acrimonious divorce, they had gone to live in Spain. The whole family was fractured. The fractures had never healed.