Beyond the Sunset (27 page)

Leo had been checking Bert’s clothing and undoing his coat and shirt. He pulled back both collars, ready to slip both garments off at once. After a look at Zachary, who nodded and lifted Bert’s body, Leo very quickly removed the garments.

Bert let out a smothered scream and fainted.

Leo began to feel the arm. ‘It’s not a bad break. I can push the bone together. We have to tie it to a flat piece of wood to keep it straight till it heals.’

‘Are you sure of this?’ Zachary asked, worried they were doing the right thing.

‘The farrier at the big house taught me. He says I have a gift for healing.
He
doesn’t call me stupid.’

And with that they had to be content, because they were miles from any habitations and there were few doctors in Western Australia anyway, certainly none in most country districts.

‘There are some broken side rails on the cart,’ Pandora offered. ‘Would one of them do for a splint?’

Leo got up and without a word wrenched some strips of wood off the damaged side. He looked round, still frowning. ‘I need some cloth to tie his arm to this.’

‘I can find you something if you take the horses,’ Pandora said.

Leo moved to tie them loosely to a tree while she opened her portmanteau and pulled out a pinafore. ‘I need some scissors. I can’t tear this into strips.’

‘There’s a knife in the cooking box,’ Zachary called, from where he was still kneeling beside Bert.

She fumbled through it, her hands shaking as she heard Bert regain consciousness and start groaning again. She cut the strings off her apron and then sawed the hemmed edge off jaggedly with the knife, and made a couple more strips from the material above it. ‘Is this enough?’

‘Yes.’ Leo knelt by Bert. ‘It’ll hurt,’ he warned. ‘Zachary, you and Pandora hold him down. He mustn’t pull the arm away when I’m straightening it.’

‘Can you do that, Pandora?’ Zachary asked.

She swallowed hard and nodded. A sick, greasy feeling settled in her stomach, but this was no time to give in to faintness, so she forced herself to do as Leo directed.

He didn’t tell Bert he was about to straighten the bone, just nodded to her and Zachary. As they tightened their grasp, Leo moved the arm, holding it tightly enough to feel the break move together. The injured man screamed and convulsed.

When Leo stopped moving the limb Bert sagged back, eyes closed, sweat trickling down his brow. Pandora used what was left of her pinafore to wipe his forehead.

Leo now had the arm supported by two pieces of wood and was binding it carefully in place against Bert’s body, with Zachary’s help. When he’d finished he turned to Zachary for directions, as did Pandora.

Zachary looked round. ‘How on earth are we to get help?’

‘I wish we had some laudanum,’ Pandora said.

‘I’ve got some rum on the cart,’ Bert suggested. ‘It’d help the pain if I got drunk. Should’ve had a good slug before you did it.’ He shuddered at the memory.

‘I don’t think getting drunk would be good for you.’ Zachary frowned, thinking aloud. ‘There’s nothing we can do to mend the cart, so we’ll have to get help. A few minutes before the accident you said we weren’t far from Mount Barker, Bert. There must be someone there who can come out with a cart and take us and our things to an inn – you did say there’s a small inn there?’

‘There is,’ Bert said faintly. ‘And Mount Barker’s about an hour away.’

‘Will you be all right if I go for help, Pandora?’ Zachary asked.

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Leo, which horse should I ride?’

‘Nellie.’

‘Look after Pandora and Bert. I’ll come back as soon as I can.’

Leo nodded, then looked up at the sky. ‘It’s going to rain.’

Zachary stared at the dark clouds massing above them. ‘I can’t leave you like this.’

‘Just go for help,’ Pandora urged. ‘We’ll be all right.’

He set off, not daring to urge the horse to gallop, because he wasn’t confident enough of his skills as a rider to stay on a galloping animal, but he managed to urge it into a trot over the smoother ground.

After a few minutes rain began to fall and he hunched his shoulders against a heavy downpour, hoping the tarpaulins were keeping the others dry.

It seemed a long time before he saw a huddle of buildings ahead and breathed a sigh of relief. When he got closer, he saw that one of them had a sign saying ‘The Bush Inn’ and muttered, ‘Thank goodness!’

A man standing in the doorway brightened up at the sight of a rider. ‘Good afternoon, sir. You’ll be needing a bed for the night in weather like this.’

‘Yes. Four beds, actually. But first we need help getting the other people here. We’ve had an accident and our cart’s been damaged. The axle cap broke on rough ground and we lost a wheel. Our poor driver has broken his arm. Is there someone who can help us?’

‘There isn’t a doctor hereabouts. Nearest is in Albany.’

‘One of our party was able to set the arm. He says it’s a simple break, so he straightened it and fastened it to a splint.’

‘You were lucky to have him.’

‘Yes. But they’re sitting out in the open a few miles back and they’ll be soaked. Can someone help me fetch them here?’

‘I’ve a cart. I’ll have to charge you for its use, though.’

‘I can pay. One of the party is a lady.’ He saw the landlord raise an eyebrow and added hastily, ‘She and I are betrothed. We have to get to Albany before the end of April to catch the mail steamer to England.’

‘You’re cutting it close. It’s the thirtieth tomorrow.’

‘I know.’

The landlord grinned. ‘Well, I reckon we can help.’ He yelled for someone called Martin to come quickly and within minutes a man had gone hurrying off to harness a horse to the inn’s cart while a lad gave Nellie a feed and drink.

The landlord produced a big tin mug of strong black tea for Zachary while this was happening, and he cradled it gratefully in his cold hands between sips.

It was over an hour before they got back to the scene of the accident, to find Pandora sitting on her trunk on a small slope by the side of the road, holding the open umbrella over herself and Bert, who was slumped beside her. Their lower bodies were covered by a tarpaulin. Leo was standing with the two remaining horses. He smiled cheerfully at the sight of the rescue party in spite of the rain dripping from his hat brim and running down his face.

Zachary was off his horse in seconds, hurrying forward. ‘Are you all right, Pandora?’

‘Just c-cold again.’ Her attempt to smile was unconvincing.

The injured man tried to move, groaning in pain, and all attention turned to him.

‘We’ll shift your baggage into our cart first,’ Martin decided, ‘then we’ll use the trunks to stop him rolling around in the back. It’s going to hurt to move him.’

Bert opened his eyes and glared at the newcomer. ‘I’m not deaf. I’ve broke me arm not me ears. There’s some rum in me bag, but they won’t let me have any.’

‘Surely it’s not good for him?’ Pandora whispered.

Their rescuer grinned. ‘A swig or two of grog never hurt anyone. Wouldn’t mind one myself. Keeps the cold out nicely, rum does.’

They passed the bottle round, even persuading Pandora to take a sip. But though the strong spirit burned down her throat, giving an illusion of warmth, she disliked the taste and refused to have any more.

By the time they got back to the inn, Bert had had enough ‘little swigs’ to make him tiddly and was considerably more cheerful. Their helpers carried him inside and laid him on a narrow bed in a room containing several other beds.

‘Can’t offer you a separate room to sleep in, miss,’ the innkeeper said apologetically to Pandora, ‘but we’ve put clean sheets on the bed in the corner for you. Your fellow can sleep in the next bed so you’ll be all right. Not that I’d let anyone lay a finger on you in
my
inn.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Better get out of them wet clothes. You two can change in my back room, and we’ll deal with this poor chap here. What about him?’ He jerked his head towards Leo, who was looking rather vacant now his special skills weren’t needed.

‘He needs to change too. I’ll sort him out some clothes when I’m ready. He’s good with animals and sick people, but he’s not . . .’ Zachary hesitated.

‘He’s not all there,’ the man said cheerfully, tapping his forehead. ‘If he’s good with animals, he’ll not go short of work, though.’

‘He’s already got a job waiting for him, but he’s helping us get to Albany before he starts it. Can we hire your cart to take us there tomorrow?’

‘As long as you get it straight back to me. Be best if I send Martin with you to drive it and bring it back again, I reckon. I’ll know it’s safe then.’

‘What about getting ours repaired in the meantime? It’s not mine, it’s a borrowed cart and they’ll need to take it and the horses back to their owners.’ He wondered if Leo would manage that, but Bert would be able to direct him, even with a broken arm.

‘If you’ve got the money, the repairs can be done. Good thing it’s not a big dray or we’d be in trouble. I’ll get my neighbour in to speak to you before you leave. He’s handy with repairs. Has to be, living so far from everywhere. Martin can bring a new wheel back from the wheelwright in Albany. Now, get out of them wet clothes, you two, before you catch your death.’

Pandora was too cold to let embarrassment stop her from changing and began to fumble in her portmanteau with fingers so stiff and numb they wouldn’t bend properly.

‘Shall I wait outside till you’ve put dry clothes on?’ Zachary asked.

‘No. You’re as wet and cold as I am. Just turn your back.’

But she couldn’t undo the small buttons on her chemise and in the end had to ask for his help.

‘Just a minute,’ he said. ‘I’m not—’

It was too late. She had turned round and seen him standing there, bare-chested. For a moment she couldn’t tear her eyes away, then she averted her gaze. But the image was still there in her mind. How strong and beautiful his body was! Like one of the Greek statues her father had shown her drawings of. Zachary’s face might not be handsome, but his body was very pleasing to the eye.

He hastily pulled on a dry vest and thrust his arms into his shirt sleeves. ‘Right. What did you want me to do?’

‘I can’t unfasten the buttons. My hands are still so cold and these are rather small and fiddly.’

He came to stand close, avoiding her eyes, touching the damp material gently as he undid one button after another. He took care not to let her chemise flap open.

She quivered involuntarily as his fingers brushed lightly against her skin. Each button seemed to take an age to unfasten. Suspended in the moment, she was aware only of him.

After he reached the final button and his hands dropped, she had to force herself to step back because what she really wanted was to walk into his arms and lay her head against his chest. ‘Thank you. I can manage now.’

He turned and walked abruptly across to the other side of the room, but not before she’d seen the longing in his eyes, not to mention the fact that his body had reacted to hers the same way Bill’s had done sometimes. That was good – wasn’t it?

When she was dressed again, she said, ‘I’m ready,’ in an unsteady voice.

He turned. ‘We have to make sure you don’t have a relapse.’

‘I’ll be all right. I’m feeling much warmer already, not like last time when I couldn’t stop shivering.’

They went back into the main room without looking at one another, leaving their damp garments on a wooden clothes horse in front of the fire.

Leo was standing to one side of the fire, his wet garments steaming gently. Zachary sorted out some clothes for him and took him into the other room to change in privacy.

Food was provided in the public room, but Pandora didn’t notice what she ate or whether anyone else spoke to her. She was conscious only of Zachary, squashed beside her at the common table, his thigh touching hers, his strong, capable hands cutting up his meat and passing bread to her. When they joined the ship they’d be separated, and she hated the thought of that.

After the meal, Zachary said, ‘If we set off really early tomorrow, we may have a chance of making it in time. Are you up to that?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Better get to bed straight away then.’

Since the inn had only three rooms in all, the public room, the owner’s living quarters and the guests’ sleeping quarters, there were two other men sleeping in the room with them that night, as well as Bert and Leo. The strangers stared at Pandora in such a hungry, appraising way, she was glad Zachary was sleeping beside her.

It took a long time for her to get to sleep, tired as she was, but she watched him fall asleep almost at once. Firelight showed that if she stretched out her arm she could touch him. She almost did so.

Whatever happened from now on, she wanted to be with him. Whatever she could do to make that happen she would. If that made her a forward hussy, then so be it.

On that decision, she smiled and fell asleep at last.

The following Friday, Hallie woke feeling sick with fear, but when she went out to the market, leaving her mother at home because it was raining, she saw their cousin John Stoner again.

He came up to her, raising his cap politely. ‘I’ve spoken to Tom and he’s had a word with Harry, who claims he was only teasing you for a kiss.’

‘He hurt me. He wanted me to—’ She couldn’t finish it.

‘Well, he’ll leave you alone from now on.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, very sure.’

‘Thank you.’

Even so as nine o’clock passed, Hallie began to feel afraid, her skin going clammy. She pretended to read her book, but couldn’t take in a word.

When the door knocker went, her mother looked up. ‘That’ll be Zachary’s wages. It’s kind of Harry to bring them round each week, isn’t it?’

‘Yes. I’ll go.’

At the door Hallie found the shop lad. He held out an envelope and ran off.

She shut the door and leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy with relief.

Harry walked home that night feeling furious. Who the hell did his cousin Tom think he was to spoil a bit of fun? It’d have given Harry a great deal of satisfaction to use Zachary’s sister like a whore. It’d have been even better if she’d fallen for a child. And she’d not have dared say a word to anyone.