Ella

by Virginia Taylor

  Ella glanced at his offerings and averted her head. “Will the fish take long to die?” She wrinkled her nose.

  “No.” He whacked each fish on the head with a piece of wood and, without ceremony, cut off their heads and filleted them.

  She warmed the pan and melted the mutton fat into which he dropped the scaled fish. Rinsing his hands with the cooled billy water, he watched possibly the four smallest fillets of fish he’d ever seen curl as they cooked. “We’ll have lizard for breakfast,” he said in a curt voice. He wouldn’t apologize for the sparseness of his catch. She shouldn’t be here.

  “We have flour. I’ll be able to make pan scones.”

  He grunted. She served the fish on two plates and they ate them with the last of the bread.

  “That was nice.” After stretching, she put the billy on to boil again. She leaned back on her elbows, appearing less hostile. “A few years ago we went to a town picnic in Noarlunga. I ate an apple fried in batter with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on the top. I thought it was the most delicious and original treat I had ever tasted. We had never had anything other than fresh or stewed apples before that, but since then we haven’t grown any healthy apples. A moth burrows into them each year and they spoil. I imagine there’s a trick to keeping the moth away but I don’t know it. Do you?”

  He spread his hands. “I’ve never had anything to do with orchards. I told you before that the only business I know is sheep.”

  “And you’re so good at what you know that I can’t imagine why you are working as a shearer. What exactly did you do before you joined the team?”

  “Regular sheep-tending duties.”

  “But you weren’t the manager of a station.”

  “No.”

  “Talk to me, Cal. Tell me why you weren’t the manager.”

  “Because the place had a manager. He had his nose in everything and he didn’t want a second opinion.”

  “Did you leave because you had a second opinion?”

  He nodded.

  She put her head on one side as if considering, then she sighed. “We are, at the moment, an hour farther behind the thieves than when we started. That’s my fault, I know. I also remember saying that if I’m holding you back, we won’t go on. But I’ll do better tomorrow, I promise, and we’ll catch up that hour and more. I find that not doing as well as I intended spurs me to try harder.”

  He absorbed her words and knew them for the truth. One of her admirable qualities was her ability to muster herself and move forward. “Good,” he said roughly. “Because whether you continue or not, I will. I promised your sister I would get her pony back and I don’t mean to renege on my word.”

  “Most commendable,” she said in a tone indicating she meant the opposite.

  “Isn’t that what you would expect of me?”

  “It depends.” She gave him a sideways, almost challenging glance. “When your promise suits me, I hope you will be honorable. When it doesn’t...dear life, Cal. I don’t see a problem in you changing your mind. Flexibility in all things, I say.” She stood and brushed down her skirt, although she had no sand in particular to brush for she’d sat neatly on the blanket to eat. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hands on her hips and faced him. “But you are so determined to go where you think you ought to go because of giving your word that today you forced me to do something that...” Her voice shook and her palms slowly wiped down the sides of her skirt in an unconscious gesture of nervousness. “It wasn’t necessary for me to go through that part of the river.”

  “It was no more than six feet deep.”

  “No matter the depth, I dislike being in water. It...makes me worry.”

  “If you don’t face your fears you’ll never lose them.”

  “You faced my fears. I didn’t, and I haven’t lost them. Today you taught me little more than to be more wary of you.”

  “It’s a lesson well learned.”

  “Don’t be silly. You can’t want to keep people away from you, even though your only promise to me was somewhat along the same lines.”

  “We don’t need to discuss that.”

  “We’re alone.”

  “All the more reason for me to keep my promise.”

  “Which is what I said in the first place. It’s easy to make promises when the outcome suits you.”

  “How does the outcome suit me?”

  “Because I don’t appeal to you.”

  “Who said you don’t?”

  “So you don’t deny it?”

  He rubbed his fingers along his stubbly jaw, not certain whether a lie or the truth would serve him best. Her eyes glistened brightly as if the answer meant much to her. “I should deny it.”

  “You should apologize for frightening me today. And you should promise not to do so again.”

  “I’m sorry about the wetting. I was single-minded and thoughtless. I promise not to force you into the water again. There. Are you happy now?”

  She took two steps toward him and lifted her bare foot, placing her toes on the center of his chest. He instantly braced but she stared straight into his eyes. “Really, I should push you flat on your back to show you what I think of your high-handed action.”

  “You couldn’t.”

  “Perhaps. But I might get a lot of satisfaction out of trying.”

  Her foot rested right over his heart. She had a half smile on her face, which showed up one endearing dimple near her mouth. Not for a single moment did he doubt she was flirting with him and not for a single moment could he prevent himself from responding. Very slowly he lifted his flattened palms from the blanket, silently daring her to manhandle him.

  Her lashes lowered and her smile took on a hint of mischief. He relaxed and covered her toes with his hand, meaning to put her foot and her influence over him at a safer distance.

  Her knee flexed and she pushed him flat on his back.

  Unfortunately, she came tumbling down, too, with her loss of balance. She sprawled atop him, one knee bent on his chest and the other pressed beside his waist. Her hands rested on either side of his head.

  She laughed. “You’re at my mercy now, Mr. Langdon. Never challenge a middle child. We learn early not to let bigger or smaller people influence us. The only thing that influences us is keeping balance.” Her lovely face hovered inches above his and she laughed with delight. “And when you pull us off balance...”

  “You land with a thud heavy enough to stun an elephant,” he said, knowing that again she had disarmed him. Certainly she flirted with him, but in such a lighthearted way that he felt at peace rather than on his mettle either to put her off or compete with her and win.

  She moved her knee off his chest and lifted, preparing to stand. “Let that be a lesson to you.”

  “I will.” He tried not to smile. “I won’t ever force you to do anything you don’t want to do because I know I’ll get the same treatment.” His hands moved to her neat behind, which he cupped in his palms, wishing he sounded threatening rather than husky. “But if I want the same treatment...?” His gaze met hers.

  Her lips parted slightly and a familiar rush of desire flooded him. The exact situation he had feared was about to develop and he could have avoided it without any awkwardness had he not been an impressionable male. His hands slid to the small of her back and he angled his head to take her mouth with his.

  A black shadow loomed behind her. Cal sat up, pushing her sideways out of danger.

  Jed stood there, dangling two rabbits from one outstretched hand. “Find good tucker.” He grinned.

  Chapter 11

  Jed sat with a look of comic appreciation on his face while Cal skinned and gutted the rabbits.

  “How many men would you say we’re tracking, Jed?” Cal offered the scraps to Girl.

  Jed held up two fingers. “Men.” Then seven. “’Orses. Not far. ’Ills ’igh.” He pointed into the darkness.

  “Will we catch them tomorrow,
do you think?”

  Jed nodded. “Rum.”

  “They’re drinking?”

  “Finish one bottle. Catch tomorrow.”

  “We’ve already eaten. Do you want me to cook the rabbits for you?”

  Jed grinned as if Cal had made a joke. “You keep. Jed eat bush tucker.” With that, he faded off into the blackness.

  Cal called after him, “Do you want a blanket?” The only answer was silence.

  “I expect the rabbits will make good eating tomorrow if we cook them now.” Ella glanced at the corpses as if she didn’t quite know what to do with them.

  And so Cal pierced them with a stick and let them roast over the flame. The flare from the fire spread for some distance. When he finished he doused the flame with soil.

  Ella covered the meat with the bag and sat opposite him. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”

  “I’m an only child.”

  “Are both your parents alive?”

  “Only my mother.”

  “Do you support her?”

  “She has a private income. However, she will inherit some money in the fullness of time.”

  “Which you, as an only son, will naturally inherit from her?”

  “I imagine so. However, I don’t expect her to pass away any time in the near future. Are you looking to borrow money from me? I don’t have any, I can assure you.”

  “I don’t want to borrow any money when I can’t pay the debts we already have,” she said in a cross voice. “I’m trying to find out your mission and I know you have one. Where do you mean to go from here?”

  “I’ll leave the team after this job and then go on to Adelaide.”

  “But whatever you plan to do isn’t pressing?”

  “It’s pressing, though I don’t work as hard as I can here because I shear faster than most. If I worked at my top speed, I would take money from their earnings. As you can imagine that would cause annoyance and I would prefer to be employed at this stage. I need money for what I plan to do.”

  “What do you plan to do?”

  He leaned back, lengthening his body, resting the upper half on one elbow. “Investigate the feasibility of setting up wool auctions in South Australia.” He crossed his outstretched legs at the ankles. “It seems to me that there’s good money to be made by keeping our profits in the colony.”

  She picked at the blanket near her knees. “It’s a good idea. Where do you expect to start?”

  “I have started already. While I’ve been traveling with the team I’ve been getting the support of the woolgrowers. On our last day here, I’ll discuss the matter with you, too, though I must warn you that not all have agreed to send me their clip.”

  “What will you do with the wool?”

  “Some months ago I arranged a loan with a reputable bank owner for the hiring of a warehouse. I’m to come up with half the money this month. He will guarantee the remainder as long as I can fill the warehouse within the following three months, during which time the shearing season will end. Benji is considering the position of my wool classer. As soon as I arrive in Adelaide, I’ll talk to auctioneers. I’ve had the whole thing organized in my head for some time.”

  “So, you’ll be a townie soon?”

  He nodded. “I see myself as a factor. I’ll set the wheels in motion but I won’t stay for the ride.” He moved her boots from beside the dying fire. “They’re dry now. Keep them near you while you sleep.”

  She straightened the laces and put her boots to one side. “I can see you dressed in a suit, and you would look impossibly handsome.”

  “In a suit?” His brows drew together. “I look the way I do now.”

  “Yes, impossibly handsome. You look that way no matter how you dress, or don’t dress, but in a suit you would have every young female in town chasing you.”

  He didn’t answer. Her compliment pleased him. He didn’t know how he looked to women. When his name had been Charlton Lynton, women had flocked around him. He didn’t assume his attraction came from his outer appearance and his mother had been quite clear on her opinion of his charm.

  “Learn some conversational skills,” she had told him, “for the Lord’s sake. You can’t spend your life explaining about sheep and property sizes. Ladies want to be told they look pretty and gentlemen want to talk about their business interests. Relax, Cal. Life is far less serious than you suppose.”

  To him life had been serious. He didn’t want to impress by calculation. He wanted to be seen as a man with integrity rather than a man who could buy any opinion he chose with his grandfather’s money. Ella knew him as only the man she saw, a shearer, an itinerant worker.

  And she’d said he was impossibly handsome!

  He certainly liked the assessment given that she meant she didn’t have an eye to what she thought he might inherit—which was, of course, nothing in the foreseeable future. “Do you think life is less serious than I suppose?” He drew up one knee as a casual armrest.

  “Probably not, though a few months ago I might not have thought that. I think life is very serious now.” Her nose wrinkled. “It’s all very well to talk about money not being important, but without funding, money is irrefutably essential. Dreams are built on having enough money. And if we don’t seriously put an effort into earning money, we won’t realize our dreams.”

  Gazing at her he decided he’d made another mistake. He’d thought he would prefer no woman to others. She’d said nothing earth shattering. She’d expressed her thoughts. That they echoed his thoughts was no revelation either. Many people thought the same way. In this colony dreams of money and advancement were nothing new. Immigrants moved here to chase their dreams in this utopia of the south. Her words in themselves didn’t influence him. The whole of her did.

  Her physical appeal had impressed him from the start. His first glance at her had constricted his breath. From her first reluctant words, her humor had been apparent. Her smile came from within and easily. She worked with a will, showing a responsible attitude toward her family. He’d noticed those attributes over the past week. Today he’d realized she didn’t hold grudges. She forgave quickly. She’d forgiven him the river episode long before he’d apologized. She didn’t know how to make anyone feel small or lowly. She connected with everyone around her.

  The mistake he’d made was in assuming that she was simply another attractive woman. He certainly wanted her—although he doubted he could describe that as emotional involvement. His protective feelings might be masculine instinct. He might be able to explain away his interest in her as unemotional, and would probably have to, for if the tangled thoughts in his head meant that he might have begun to love her, he would have to cut off those thoughts right now.

  He had nothing to offer her. She needed money to get out of debt and off the station. Possibly he could support her while beginning his business but he would have to make a commitment that wasn’t so simple. In the deal, he would also get her sisters. While he didn’t want to think of them as deal breakers, he knew he couldn’t provide for four people and carry on as he planned with the wool auctions.

  Ella had fallen, dripping, into his life at the wrong time.

  Three months ago would have been more convenient when he’d assumed he was his grandfather’s heir; when he’d expected to take over the running of a successful business. If he’d fallen in love then, he could have married produced one or two children, assuming that he would in time fill his grandfather’s shoes. He would have ranged between living with his wife at Farvista or in the city, depending on the call of business or various festivities, just as his father had done. He would have worked hard to keep his wife and children comfortable, knowing that he had his grandfather’s sanction of trust and respect, knowing that he was no grasping dependent. Now he knew otherwise, and now he had nothing but his wages and his hopes.

  He thumped his fist on his knee and stood, wishing Ella back at the homestead.

  Her eyes
widened. “What did I say?”

  “Nothing that any other woman doesn’t think. Money is the be-all and end-all.”

  He grabbed his bedroll and moved as far as he could from her, while keeping close enough to protect her if she needed him.

  He couldn’t see her face as she settled down to sleep. No doubt he’d hurt her. He’d wanted to hurt her. Obviously the only way he could protect himself from her charms was to set her against him.

  He couldn’t afford to begin thinking that meeting Ella might be the most important event in his overly complicated life.

  * * * *

  Ella woke stiff and sore, hearing the irritating rattle of pans. Opening one eye, she saw Cal squatting by the smoking fire. She closed her eye again and groaned.

  “Are you awake?”

  “No.” If she’d had a blanket handy she would have pulled the thing over her head. The nearest blanket, however, sat hot and rumpled under her hair. She’d used it as a pillow, the weather being hot enough for her to require no covering.

  “We need to make an early start. I’m making damper.”

  She sat up and stared at him. The man had no end to his talents. “Perhaps you could make a round of cheese to go with it,” she said grumpily.

  “First I’d have to catch a wombat and milk it.”

  “I wouldn’t put that beyond you.”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  “I’ve never slept on the ground before.” She rubbed her shoulder. “It doesn’t make a person wake up in the best of moods.”

  “You’re the one who decided you had to come. You’ve made your bed, so...” He raised his eyebrows at her. He had not shaved, but he had brushed his hair back from his face. His shirt was fresh and she was a crumpled wreck.

  She sighed and rested her cheek on her knee. From there she could see Girl lying under a red gum, tongue lolling. The river quietly lapped at the sandy banks. A flock of ducks swooped in showing their turquoise under wings and began sifting for food on the top of the water. Pelicans joined the ducks. They, too, sifted and fished. The bird life in the area saw no threat from humans. Nor did a poisonous brown snake sunning itself in the dappled shade of the graceful river trees. She glanced at the reptile but didn’t mind sharing the bushland with one of the native inhabitants. Pulling the tie from her braid, she began untangling her hair.