by Jane Corrie
downstairs again, and when she answered it, she was not at all surprised to hear Pete Noonan's voice on the other end of the line. 'Hi, gorgeous!' he said lazily. 'Said I'd be in touch. Got anything on tonight?' he asked casually.
Vicky was still getting over being called 'gorgeous', and wondered how Mrs George would have appreciated being so called. 'How did you know it was me?' she asked, more for playing for time than for curiosity.
He chuckled. 'She's got her foot up, hasn't she? News travels fast on the two-way radio. Well?' he asked.
`What have you got in mind?' Vicky asked cautiously.
`Nothing special,' Pete replied. 'We have a social club up here. We're allowed to invite guests—thought you'd like to come up.'
Vicky thought that over. At least they would not be alone. She knew most of the station hands and their wives, and there wouldn't be any harm in spending an evening with them. 'All right,' she said
quickly. 'What time shall I come?'
`I'll collect you,' he replied in a pleased voice. `Say around seven?'
It couldn't be better, Vicky thought, as she put the phone down. Ross would be settling down to his meeting by then and could cause no awkwardness. Mrs George had said that the meetings went on for hours, and she ought to be back before the meeting broke up. Even if she wasn't, it wouldn't matter. It was not as if she was going behind Ross's back, she was free now and could please herself who she went out with.
Vicky went about her various duties with a happy feeling that at last things were going right for her, and it was not until sometime later that she realised that she would have to go back to Dale's Creek some time before that evening to collect something to wear for her evening out with Pete. She couldn't possibly go as she was. Her old jeans were freshly laundered, but they were still shabby, and her checked shirtwaister was now faded to a ghost of its former bright colours.
She sighed. It would mean running the gauntlet with Mary, who never missed anything. She would be sure to put two and two together and get the sum right. That meant a lecture. Vicky's chin went out. It was about time she was allowed to do what she wanted to do without being treated as if she was fresh out of kindergarten!
Having taken the pies out of the freezer and left them to defreeze in good time for dinner, Vicky, after providing Mrs George with a light salad
lunch, and being assured that she would be all right for an hour or so, as she would settle down for her usual after-lunch nap and saw no reason why Vicky should not slip back to Dale's Creek to collect a few odds and ends that she had forgotten to bring with her, for that was how Vicky had put it, there had been no need for any other explanation.
Back at Dale's Creek, Vicky found Mary washing up the lunch dishes and at her surprised, 'What are you doing back?' she explained carefully that there were a few things she needed and had not had time to pack properly that morning.
After giving her a hard look, Mary accepted her reason for her return, but Vicky had an idea that she knew very well why Vicky had returned and what clothes she had forgotten to pack, but to her relief Mary made no comment, and she made her way to her room before anything else could be said.
Still feeling as if she was working against time, Vicky threw her best velvet trews and two of her nicest blouses into what had been her mother's overnight case, and on an afterthought tucked in the vanity case that Aunt May had given her for her seventeenth birthday and that contained some make-up which she hoped was still usable. Then finding the finely made moccasins that she kept for special occasions, she was on her way again, calling out, 'Cheerio,' to Mary as she went out of the door.
Mary's veiled warning of, 'You take care,' followed her out of the house, showing Vicky that
she had got her sums right, and it did occur to her that she might just give her father a hint of the company his daughter was keeping, and she knew what would happen then. He would lose no time in contacting Ross. Her brow darkened. She would never forgive Mary for letting her down, if she did.
A few miles farther on from Dale's Creek, Vicky relaxed and gave an amused smile. She didn't know what she was worried about. After this evening everyone would know that she and Ross had split up. It meant a few lectures all round, but she was prepared for that. There would be no need for her to see Pete again either, it was a case of mission accomplished, and it was too bad if Pete had other ideas, for she had no intention of becoming further embroiled with him
At dinner that evening, Ross had no complaint to make about her cooking. Which considering everything was not surprising, for all she had had to do was put it in the oven and take it out when it was ready, then serve it up!
The only disagreement arose when Vicky had wanted to have her meal with Mrs George, for she felt that she ought to make some effort to give her some company. Up until now there hadn't been much time for gossip between them, but Ross would not hear of her taking her meal with her. `Mrs George likes to listen to the news around now, and she won't thank you for making small talk,' he had said firmly, and that was that.
He was surprisingly good-humoured during the meal, and Vicky was tempted to fall back into their
old companionable relationship again, but the memory of what had taken place that morning was too vivid, and she found herself occasionally stealing a swift look at him when she thought he was not looking, much as one would do to a new acquaintance, as if trying to gauge their personality without being too obvious about it.
`Don't worry, I'm not going to make a grab at you,' Ross said, after Vicky sent him another of her surreptitious glances, proving that he had been aware of them all the time and making her want to throw the condiments at him. 'I'm too busy this evening,' he said airily. 'Besides, I believe in small doses for a start, anyway,' he added, his eyes showing his amusement at Vicky's fury.
`Chance would be a fine thing!' Vicky spat out at him. 'You'll not catch me napping a second time!'
`Want a bet on it?' Ross said silkily, one autocratic eyebrow shooting up in a mock challenge.
Vicky let the challenge pass. She knew it would be a waste of breath to argue with him in that mood, instead she asked him if he was ready for his sweet, and this further amused him as he acknowledged her refusal to take up the challenge.
After the meal, Vicky saw to the dishes, and got everything ready for the meeting which was being held in the dining room, the large circular table being used as the conference table. She had earlier prepared some crackers and buttered them, then cut up some squares of cheese and as directed by Mrs George, placed them on dishes ready to be
laid out beside the drinks tray.
When all was ready, she slipped up to see Mrs George. She had not as yet told her that she would be out that evening, and felt mean at walking out on her on her first day at Jana, but she hoped that she would understand. It was not as if she was helpless. She could move around on her own and was not absolutely dependent upon her.
Vicky found her engrossed in some tapestry work, and listening to the radio, and when Vicky told her that she had made arrangements to go out that evening, sounding as apologetic as she felt, Mrs George quickly reassured her. 'I'm used to my own company,' she told Vicky. 'Ross is more out than in, and if I'd wanted company I'd have left years ago,' she added with a smile. 'My radio is all I need, and I occasionally listen in on the open lines. You go ahead.'
Her assurance relieved Vicky, for she knew that she was speaking the truth. Her own life had been the same as Mrs George's, and she had been quite content to make her own amusements. Vicky then offered to make her a flask of coffee, but Mrs George told her that she would not be needing anything else until much later, and that she would appreciate a pot of tea as a nightcap when Vicky got back.
All that Vicky had to do now was to get ready for her evening out. She hadn't a great deal of time, fifteen minutes in fact, but it did not take her long to have a quick shower and change into her other clothes.
After a quick look at the make-up she had brought back with
her, she was pleasantly surprised to find it was still usable. With a little dab of powder on her face and a touch of lipstick that was not too bright, she felt equal to what she hoped would be an evening of enjoyment.
By now it was a few minutes to seven, and she was determined to meet Pete in the drive of the homestead, seeing all kinds of trouble ahead if he walked up to the homestead and asked for her.
Her fond imaginings of being able to slip out of the front door without encountering Ross were shattered by his, 'Where do you think you're going?' as she got to the door.
`Just out for a walk,' lied Vicky, wondering why she had been so unfortunate as to get caught. A second later and she would have been out of the door, but he just had to pass through the hallway at that particular time.
`Dressed like that?' Ross queried softly. 'And with that muck on your face? I'm sure you can do better than that,' he added meaningly.
`I'm only taking your advice and doing something about my appearance,' Vicky retorted sweetly. 'You ought to congratulate me for listening to you,' she added acidly.
`If you're doing what I think you're doing, then I'll tan the hide off you,' he growled. 'And you can take that innocent look off your face, and that stuff you've put on. Who are you meeting?' he shot out at her, then his eyes narrowed, and he gave a low whistle. 'I didn't think he'd have the nerve,' he said
softly. 'Outside, is he? Well, we'll both meet him,' and he wrenched the door open, giving Vicky no chance of running for it by holding her arm in a steel grip.
At this precise moment the telephone rang, and Vicky could see that he was torn between answering it, or settling Pete's hash, as he would have put it.
To her relief the call won the tussle, mainly because he didn't want to disturb Mrs George.
Vicky needed no second chance and was out of the door as Ross lifted the receiver, utterly disregarding his furious, 'You stay right where you are!'
Once outside, she ran down the drive, and saw Pete just getting out of his car. She hurried towards it and without any more ado got into the passenger seat, saying breathlessly, 'Let's get out of here—I'll explain later.'
When the car had moved far enough away from the homestead, and Vicky was able to catch her breath, she realised what a ridiculous start they had made to the evening. She couldn't have sounded more panic-stricken if she had just robbed a bank and the law was hot on her trail, and felt an irresistible urge to giggle, although it was not really funny
`Big brother on the warpath?' asked Pete, and Vicky caught the white flash of his teeth as he grinned appreciatively at the thought.
Not exactly,' she replied carefully. 'It's just that things are a bit awkward,' she ended lamely, feeling
a traitor, because Ross had her welfare at heart even if he had a funny way of showing it.
Pete shot her a quick sideways look. 'Time you stood up for yourself,' he said musingly. 'You'll never know what's what otherwise,' he added meaningly.
Vicky's ears pricked up at this, although she gave no sign that she was interested. Did he mean that there was something between Ella and Ross? she wondered. As she was not certain, she kept silent hoping for more information, but she was disappointed, for Pete confined the conversation to more general topics, remarking how colourful the wattle bushes were, and how he would never settle to live in the town.
As Vicky's eyes followed his, out to the golden bushes of the wattle that was Australia's emblem, she felt the same way, and wondered how she could ever have contemplated living in the confines of a town. Early summer was the best time of all, she thought. The grasslands around them had been cleared of natural woodland to the extent that there was a free run for the sheep broken only by an occasional mallee eucalyptus tree, and small groups of 'grass trees', dotted here and there, gave the impression of parkland rather than working stations. This was what man had created out of woodland and thick forest, and to Vicky, the loveliest part of the south-west, but then she was biased, this was her home.
As her eyes lingered over the sheep she could see roaming up the slopes ahead of them, now shorn
of their thick coats and looking startlingly white against the growing dusk of the evening, she forgot that only a week ago she had wanted to leave all this behind her and start a new life, and would have been surprised if reminded of it, for no such thoughts were in her mind now.
This was still Jarra land, and ten miles farther on they came to the boundaries of the Albury station, given the name simply because it had been bought up by a consortium of business men from Albury, and not because of its location. Of the three stations, Dale's Creek was the nearest to the town, being a mere fifteen miles away, Jarra and the Albury station adding a further ten and five miles respectively, distances which were mere pinpricks to the vast acreage of a grazier's station.
Seen on a map, the three stations formed a triangle with their lands meeting on three sides of their boundaries. Dale's Creek and Jarra homesteads forming the base of the triangle and only fifteen miles apart were practically back to back. With good roads and no traffic as such, the distance could be traversed easily and caused no problems.
It was a long time since Vicky had been to Ella's home, and she was struck by the various changes she saw. The homestead that she could see in the distance had undergone various alterations. A huge wooden structure had been added to the southern side of the homestead and was obviously offices. It now looked exactly what it was, a big business expansion rather than a homestead, and Vicky
wondered what Ella thought about that. Not that she or her father would have any say in the matter, but at least they had a roof over their heads, even if it didn't belong to them anymore.
These thoughts reminded Vicky of her own situation. Dale's Creek didn't belong to a Dale any more either, and was now Ross Janson's property. If Ross did the same to Dale's Creek as the consortium had done to the Waden property, Vicky didn't think she could bear it. Perhaps she ought to marry him, she mused; she might just be able to talk him out of any such plans. This last thought pulled her out of her reverie. What was she doing even dreaming of such a thing! As if Ross would take any notice of her wishes—he would do exactly what he wanted to do, and that was that. -
Pete swung the car past the homestead and round to a group of buildings at the back, then pulled into a makeshift parking lot and drew to a stop. 'It's nothing fancy,' he said as he got out of the car. 'Just home from home, and it gives the boys somewhere to go of an evening. The consortium had it built a year ago—didn't spare the amenities either. We've a pool table as well as a full sized bar, as you'll see,' he added, as he went to assist Vicky to alight, but she jumped nimbly out. Whatever else could be levelled at Pete Noonan, he knew his manners she thought, as she walked beside him into the social club.
Vicky had been all set for a nice evening among friends, but even this, like all her plans recently, went slightly awry. What had been a happy soci-
able gathering settled into a hush of tense expectancy at their arrival. The atmosphere was electric and could have been cut with a knife; it was anything but a happy welcome.
It took Vicky a little time to work out the reason for her sudden unpopularity not only hers but Pete's as well. It was too marked to be put down to her imagination, and however hard she tried to ignore the way everyone seemed to be engrossed in their own conversation to the exclusion of Vicky and Pete, the message was too marked to be missed.
After an uncomfortable ten minutes in which Vicky tried to show an interest in the Babycham Pete had got her, and the light conversation that he kept up to put her at her ease, he gave it up. `Let's get out of here,' he said abruptly. 'I guess we're not welcome.'
As he led her out of the club and towards his car, Vicky wondered where else they could go, but she got into the car and waited for him to join her, telling herself that if he suggested that they go to his quarters, then it was definitely no go!
`Don't want to worry your pretty head about that,' he said comfortably as he go
t in the car. `Some folks are just petty-minded,' and he started up the car.
In spite of the heaviness he had tried to put into his voice, Vicky sensed that he was not displeased at their cold reception. 'I'm not worried,' she replied dryly. 'I'm not pretty, either,' she added. 'I know you're out to annoy Ross and I think I know
why, so we'll go from there. I'm not too struck on Ross myself right now,' she tacked on meaningly.
Pete gave her a sideways look. 'You know something? You're pretty cute,' he said quickly.
`I'm not cute,' Vicky retorted, 'and I'm not stupid. If anything, it's common sense. Where are we going?' she asked as she saw that they were heading towards the town.
`Don't underrate yourself,' Pete replied in an amused voice. 'I said you're cute and I meant it. You'd be surprised how many other guys think so too. Trouble with you is you've never bothered to look more than sixteen, and with that baby face of yours, you've got away with it, but you won't be able to sidestep attention for long. If Janson doesn't buck his ideas up he'll be pipped at the post,' he added, as he turned off the main road and down an old track. 'I thought we'd pay a visit to old Hansome. He's got a wonderful collection of antique saddles,' he explained, replying to Vicky's question.
`I suppose he'll let us in?' Vicky said ironically, deciding to ignore the compliment Pete had just paid her, he knew how to flatter a girl, and she wasn't going to be taken in like that. 'We're not exactly top of the popularity poll, are we?' she added dryly.
Now she was certain that Pete was enjoying himself for he gave a deep chuckle. 'Oh, sure he will. Old Handsome just likes to talk. He'll be too busy showing off his treasures to worry about anything else,' he said.
The rest of the drive was taken in silence, each busy with their thoughts. The fact that Pete had accepted her refusal to take his attention seriously proved that she had been right in her original thinking. If anything, he was probably relieved, she thought. If you were in love with someone, it couldn't be easy trying to make up to someone else. She thought of Ella's stunning good looks and wondered how Pete could have expected her to believe his blarney about her, Vicky's, attractions.
