Beyond the Sunset (9 page)

Cassandra smiled. She knew that now. ‘The days to our wedding seem to be crawling past.’

‘The first Sunday in February will be here before you know it.’ Pandora lowered her voice to add, ‘Once you’re married, you’ll be free.’

‘I’ll still be working here for a while.’

‘It won’t be the same. Your time won’t
belong
to them after work. They’re always asking us to do things after we’ve stopped for the day. It’ll be worse when there’s only me.’

Cassandra laid one hand over her sister’s for a moment or two and gave it a quick squeeze. ‘It’s annoying, I know, but you’ll not be here for ever, I’m sure. It’s just a way of earning your bread for the time being. And since Reece and I will be living with Kevin on the next block, you’ll be able to come and visit us often. It’s only a short walk if you take the track through the bush.’

‘I’ll come and visit you as often as I can, probably more than you want.’

‘Not possible, love.’

When someone knocked on the door, Hallie said, ‘I’ll answer it, Mum.’

She found Harry Prebble standing there. He eyed her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She was taller than him, but he still seemed threatening, somehow.

‘I brought Zachary’s money,’ he said, holding out an envelope.

She reached out for it and he seized her hand, holding it so tightly she couldn’t pull away.

‘Don’t I get a thank you?’

‘Thank you.’

‘Most lasses would give me a kiss for bringing the money round.’

She stared at him in shock. ‘Well, I’m not most lasses.’

‘You’re not acting very friendly.’ He let go of her hand.

Shuddering, she was about to shut the door when he shot out one hand to hold it open.

‘Next time I expect you to be more friendly.’

‘Well, I shan’t be.’

He shook his head, making a soft tsk-tsk sound. ‘You may change your mind.’

‘Why should I?’

‘For the sake of your mother.’

She couldn’t understand what he meant.

He stepped back, smiling. ‘You’ll see.’

She shut the door and leaned against it. What had he meant? Should she tell her mother? No, it’d only worry her. And anyway, he hadn’t threatened anything really. Had he?

The evening before their sister’s wedding, Maia and Xanthe sat together in the kitchen at Galway House enjoying a final cup of tea.

‘Do you like working here?’ Xanthe asked idly.

Maia looked at her in surprise, wondering what had made her ask this. ‘Yes. I love looking after Mrs Largan. Poor lady, she’s in so much pain and never complains. She’s really interesting to be with and is teaching me all sorts of things. Do you like being the housekeeper better now you’re more used to it?’

‘It’s all right. I have a lot to learn, so that keeps me interested. It was Cassandra who organised everything like that back home. We just did as she told us. It’s a good thing I’ve got Mrs Largan to guide me, or you’d all be in trouble.’ She stirred her cup of tea slowly. ‘I’d not like to stay here for ever, though. There’s not a lot to do, apart from the job, no library or proper church, nowhere to go for walks even. I’m grateful Conn lets us read his books in our free time or I’d go mad.’

‘We’ve been so lucky to get jobs together in Australia. I’d hate to be separated.’

‘It’s bound to happen one day, unless we both dwindle into old maids together.’

‘Would that be so bad?’

Xanthe stared into the distance. ‘I think you were made to get married and have children.’

‘I’ve never met a man who’s tempted me.’

‘And you’re not likely to meet anyone here. As for me—’ She broke off as their employer came into the kitchen, flapping his hand at the moth that had tried to follow him inside the house.

‘Any chance of another cup of tea?’ he asked, cutting their confidences short.

Maia stared at him dreamily as Pandora rose to do as he’d asked. He was a very good-looking man. She’d been lying when she told Xanthe she’d not met a man who’d tempted her. Conn Largan did. But he was far above her in station, so it was a hopeless attraction. She knew that and still couldn’t prevent her pulse racing when he was close.

For once he sat down to drink his tea with them. Usually this happened only at meal times. He often seemed lonely and she knew his mother worried about him.

He accepted the cup Xanthe gave him with a smile. ‘Are you looking forward to seeing your sisters tomorrow?’

Maia beamed at him. ‘Yes. We still aren’t used to living so far apart.’

‘It’ll seem strange them getting married in a barn.’ Xanthe topped up her own cup from the big teapot and joined them.

‘I miss proper churches.’ He stared down into his cup, not trying to hide his sadness, for once. ‘I miss the beauty of stained glass windows and the sound of a choir’s voices echoing up to the rafters.’

‘We didn’t have real stained glass windows in ours,’ Maia said, ‘just coloured edges to the windows. The Methodist church was quite new, a red brick building. But our minister was a very caring man.’

‘It was a clergyman who betrayed me,’ Conn said abruptly. ‘Even Catholics were expected to go to the churches the English set up and listen quietly as they were told to rejoice that England had stolen our country. After they took me away, the minister of that church told my mother she should forget she’d ever had a son like me. She never went to his church again, even though my father tried to persuade her to conform.’

He took another sip of tea, then it seemed as if he had to let out more of his pain. ‘My father believed what they told him about me, can you imagine that? He didn’t even ask for my side of the story. He lives in their pockets, tugging his forelock – yes sir, no sir, whatever you say sir.’

‘It must have been hard for you to be imprisoned.’

He shrugged. ‘Others had it worse. I survived, did I not? I saw others give up and die.’ He drained his cup and put it down. ‘I’ll drive you to the service tomorrow. I like to attend when I can. The visiting clergyman is a decent fellow.’

‘That’s kind of you.’

‘You’d better sit apart from me if you want to meet people and make friends. They don’t like to get too close to emancipists. A man may receive a pardon, but once a convict, always suspect. Why, even the poor look down on fellows like me.’

With a twist of his lips that didn’t quite turn into a smile, he stood up, gave them another of his nods and left them to clear up the kitchen.

‘I never saw anyone as lonely as that poor man, even with his mother here,’ Maia said softly. ‘I wish there was something we could do to make his life happier.’

She realised Xanthe was looking at her with a smile. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘You’ve started again, trying to solve everyone’s problems. You’ve got a kind heart, love, far kinder than mine, too kind for your own good. I think you’d be happy wherever you lived as long as you were among people who were friendly. I’m – different. I need more than just to be with people.’

Her departure from the kitchen was as abrupt as Conn’s and Maia didn’t try to follow her. There were times when Xanthe needed to be alone. She knew her twin would never settle permanently in a place as quiet as this, and that worried her. Was that why Xanthe had spoken of them not being together? Was she trying to prepare her for a parting one day?

If Maia had to choose between looking after a woman who depended on her for everything and being with her twin, what would she do? She shivered, hoping it would never be necessary, because for the first time in her life, her answer wasn’t instantly, ‘My sister’.

5

T
he following morning the twins tidied up the kitchen quickly, then got ready for the wedding, trying to look their best. Mrs Largan insisted on seeing them and nodded approval.

‘You must be the four prettiest sisters I’ve ever met. Usually there’s one who’s not as pretty, but all four of you would turn heads as you passed. I’m surprised you’re not married already.’

Xanthe laughed. ‘Not many heads to turn here, Mrs Largan, unless you count the kangaroos.’

‘There’ll be plenty of young men at church to show interest.’

Conn came into the kitchen. ‘Are you ready? We can—’ He stared at them and let out a long, low whistle. ‘You both look beautiful today.’

Maia could feel herself blushing at this spontaneous compliment, but Xanthe merely laughed and said, ‘You’re quite a fine fellow yourself, Conn Largan.’

‘He is, isn’t he?’ Mrs Largan looked at her son fondly.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, mother?’

She shook her head. ‘I’d rather rest and anyway, that barn never seems like a real church to me.’

When they got there, Maia noticed that people nodded briefly to Conn then looked away, not trying to hide their wish to have nothing to do with him. Some men even stood between him and their families, as if on guard.

No wonder he was bitter, she thought sadly.

While he drove into the side lot to see to his horse and cart, the two sisters waited outside the barn for the bridal party. Once he’d left them, people paused at the door to chat to them.

It wasn’t fair. Maia had heard that half the population of this colony was made up of convicts. Were such people never to be forgiven? Besides, to her mind political prisoners like Conn were not bad people, not really. They were different from ordinary convicts. He hadn’t committed a crime like killing someone or stealing.

From what he’d let drop, things his mother had said, he might not even have committed a crime at all. How could a man who was innocent be convicted like that?

And why was his mother living here if his father was still alive back in Ireland?

It was all very puzzling.

She looked down the road impatiently, dying to see the cart bringing her sisters.

Pandora was both glad and sad when the wedding morning came. Mr Southerham drove his wife and their two servants to the store in his cart, an hour’s journey under the hot sun, so she put up an old umbrella Mrs Southerham had lent her. Cassandra seemed to enjoy the sun on her face and didn’t turn bright red under its influence as Pandora did.

Reece drove behind them in Kevin’s cart, with Kevin sitting on the bench beside him, making sure he did nothing foolish. Driving a horse and cart was only one of the many new skills Reece had had to learn. Cassandra would be going back to her new home with them after the ceremony, which would leave Pandora on her own with the Southerhams.

At the barn next to the store, they found the congregation gathered for the monthly Sunday service, with carts in rows in a nearby field, some horses with nosebags on. Not many people lived close enough to walk to church here.

The twins were waiting for them outside the big barn and their employer, who had been standing to one side, came to wish the bride and groom well.

After the sisters had all hugged one another, and then hugged Reece for good measure, they went inside. Pandora saw with surprise that when Conn would have gone to sit on a bench at the rear, Maia clutched his sleeve and pulled him forward to the same bench as them.

The Southerhams went straight to the front of the barn, as if certain the best places were theirs by right. The people there smiled at them and made room.

Most of the congregation frowned at Conn Largan and no one sat in front of or behind him. They treated Kevin like a pariah too, but he had stayed at the rear of the barn, sitting on his own so had not upset the usual seating arrangements.

She watched, intrigued as Conn continued to argue with Maia in a low voice. But her sister still kept hold of his sleeve – which was most unlike shy Maia.

The service started with readings and a short sermon. Pandora didn’t join in the hymn singing because she couldn’t hold a tune, but listened with pleasure to her three sisters, who sang beautifully. They moved into harmonies without realising what they were doing. It reminded her of the time they’d gone to sing on the streets of Manchester to earn money to buy better food for their sick father when they were all out of work.

At one stage the rest of the congregation fell silent to listen and her three sisters faltered to a halt in embarrassment.

The minister gestured encouragingly with one hand. ‘Don’t stop, my dear young ladies. Your voices are such a pleasure to listen to. We can’t have a choir here, with me only visiting once a month and no one to train it, but I do hope you’ll continue to attend and give us the pleasure of your beautiful singing.’

So they sang the hymn again, followed by another, then ended the impromptu concert, not wanting to seem to be showing off.

After the service, two weddings took place. Cassandra and Reece’s was the second to be performed.

Pandora knew Cassandra had chosen a good man and smiled as she watched her sister and heard her confident responses. She’d give herself a year with the Southerhams, she decided suddenly, then look round for something different, even if it meant moving away from her sisters.

That decision made her feel better.

Cassandra smiled up at her new husband as she drew back from his kiss.

‘Time to face them.’ Reece offered his arm.

She suddenly became aware of their audience and blushed, but the smiles were kind and some of the women looked misty-eyed. She glanced quickly at her sisters, who were beaming at her, then walked with her husband towards the door.

Outside they accepted everyone’s congratulations, finding that even strangers wanted to kiss the two brides and wish them well.

Some of the women came up to them carrying little parcels.

As if by arrangement, the first gave each bride a basket. ‘I make them myself. They’re not as fancy as the ones you can buy in Perth but they do the job. You always need an extra basket or two when you only shop every few weeks.’

‘Some good tealeaves for a little treat,’ one said, handing over a package.

‘A jar of my melon jam and I’ve written down the recipe and put in some melon seeds for you. They’re easy to grow.’

‘Just a bottle of my special chutney that I make every year from apples and sultanas. I’ve given you the recipe and if you want a cutting from our apple tree, let me know.’