Lauren's Dilemma (2 page)

The clouds
had swallowed up the sun, and it was cold by the time they left the cave. He
made sure her clothes were back in place, and ran his fingers through her
tousled curls to tidy them up.

“There, you
look the same as when I brought you here.”

“Do I?” She
took his proffered hand. I'm not like before, though. She felt sad. A little
inner voice whispered. ‘One day you might regret giving away the most precious
gift a woman could bestow on her husband.’

They
dawdled along, their arms entwined, stopping every now and again to kiss. At
the bridge, he released her, shoved his hands into his pockets and put a couple
of paces between them.

He did not
speak again until they stood under the verandah of the store. “Goodbye, Laurie.
I'll write when I get
settledTake
care.” He traced
the outline of her jaw with one finger before adding. “Try and see me off at
the station.”

She watched
as he loped towards the back paddock, where he had tethered his horse, and then
with a pounding of hooves he raced away, giving her one last careless wave. Her
heart felt weighted down with rocks. What if he didn’t come back? Sobs rose up
in her throat and tumbled out of her mouth in a low, guttural wail. Tears
welled up in her eyes and overflowed, the droplets burning her cheeks as she
brushed them away with trembling fingers.

The shop
bell tinkled as she opened the door. “Lauren,” her father roared. “I won't put
up with this defiance.” He strode towards her, ready to let go with another
angry tirade. He must have realized how upset she was because he suddenly
opened his arms and she dashed straight into them. “What is it, princess?
 
You can tell your old dad.”

“Danny
joined up.” She sobbed against his chest.

“Joined
up?
 
You mean enlisted in the army?”

“Yes, he's
leaving on tonight's train for Melbourne
with the Bryson boys. I don't want him to go.”

“Enlisted
eh? Well, I didn't think he had the guts. Let's have a cup of tea, hmm? It was
always your mother's panacea for every little upset.”

As an only
child, she had always been close to both parents, but the bond with her father
had grown even stronger after her mother’s death. Mrs. Tresize, who came in
daily to help with the housework, was an absolute gem and without her, they
would never have been able to cope with the practical matters of life.

Laurie
glanced up at her father’s plump, ruddy cheeks and twinkling eyes. What would
he say if he knew what she had let Danny do?
 
What if Danny decided he didn’t love her any more?
 
Tears filled her eyes again and she tried to
blink them back. Don’t be an idiot. She reached in her pocket for a
handkerchief to soak up the tears. Too late for recriminations now.

“Danny will
be fine. The papers are saying the war will be over by Christmas.”

“Do you
really think so?”

“Of course,
princess,” he used her childhood name again as he put her away from him. “I’m
surprised Alf let him go. Miserable old coot’s used the boy as slave labor ever
since he arrived here.”

“Danny put
his age up.”

“I suppose
Alf could get him out if he went to the authorities. He’s probably too lazy to
bother now Danny’s refused to work for him anymore. How about getting your old
dad a cuppa?”

Their small
house attached to the store, had a kitchen, sitting room and two bedrooms, but
she liked its homely comfort. They made a reasonable rather than rich living.
Their biggest customers were from the outlying farms, although town families
patronized them as well. They never went without anything. In comparison,
Danny’s life had been a harsh, deprived one under the brutal rule of his uncle.
Many were the times he ate at their place when he was younger. Most days at
school she shared her lunch with the skinny, barefoot boy who had worked his
way into her heart.

“Dad.”

“Mm.”
Matthew Cunningham swallowed a mouthful of cake.

“I promised
Danny I'd see him off on the seven o'clock train tonight. Is that all right?”

“You should
have spoken to me first. You aren't going on your own, and I planned to do some
bookwork after dinner.”

“Please,
Dad, I have to go. He might be gone for weeks.” She tossed her head, and her
long, auburn curls danced around her shoulders. “If you don't drive me, I'll
walk.”

“Enough,
for heavens sake. That boy's a bad influence on you, always has been.”

“I love
him,” she whispered, the declaration coming from the depths of her soul.

“Love!
 
What rubbish, you're only seventeen.”

“I love
him, I really do.”

Matthew
Cunningham feared for his only child. She had always been impetuous, feeling
things much too deeply. Her association with Danny was far too intense. He
should have stopped it long ago. As he stared into her moss-green eyes he was
shocked. Behind the over-brightness lurked genuine pain.

What had
that young wretch done to her? There was a reckless streak in Danny Williamson
that even Alf’s brutal beatings could not eradicate. Good thing he was going to
the war. A bit of army discipline and responsibility might be the makings of
him. He cursed the day, more than eleven years ago, when the ragged orphan boy
had come to live amongst them.

“All right
then, I'll drive you.”

“Thanks,
Dad, it means an awful lot to me.”

They were
late. The train, already pulled in at the station, belched out clouds of black
smoke. Laurie dashed onto the platform, almost colliding with a signalman who
waited with his lamp.

Groups of
well-wishers made their farewells to loved ones through the carriage windows.
Her hasty glance confirmed the train was full of young men from further up the
line, all heading for the army camp in Melbourne.
She ignored a wolf whistle from one young man as she rushed from carriage to
carriage searching for Danny. I have to find him. It would be awful if he
thought she couldn’t be bothered seeing him off.

In desperation,
she used their childhood secret emergency signal. Putting two fingers into her
mouth, she emitted three loud whistles.

“Laurie?”
He poked his head through the carriage window. “Thank God you made it on time.”
He gave a relieved grin.

“I wanted
to see you off.” Her voice wobbled as she fought to keep it under control.
There would be plenty of time for tears later, in the privacy of her room. She
wanted him to carry away happy thoughts of her, memories that would sustain him
even in his darkest hour. “Good luck.” She forced a smile, vowing to keep it
pinned to her mouth no matter what the cost.

“Thanks.”
He squeezed her hand. “Remember, you'll always be my best girl.”

“Good luck,
Danny.” Matthew Cunningham strolled up to them.

“Thanks,
Mr. Cunningham. Look after yourself, Laurie, and don’t forget what I said.” He
gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

The whistle
blew several times in quick succession. There was a hiss of steam, black smoke
belched from the engine, and then with a loud groan the train started to move.
Laurie ran along beside the carriage for a short way clinging to Danny’s hand
until the engine picked up speed, forcing her to let go. “Write to me.”

The draft
from the train blew away his reply, but he waved enthusiastically until the
train took a bend in the line. He was gone.

It was
quiet on the platform now. She started trembling, and her father put a
comforting arm around her shoulder. “Don't worry, he'll be all right. A bit of
discipline could be the making of him.”

They drove
home slowly, neither of them speaking, each engrossed in their own thoughts.
The only sound was the clip-clop of hooves and the crunching noise of the
wheels on the gravel road. Heavy cloud had swallowed up the stars, and the
night was as black as a witch’s cauldron. Laurie shivered from cold and fear. A
pall of dread hung over her like a funeral shroud.

“We should
have brought a rug to put over your knees.”

“I'm
frightened for him, Daddy.” She hadn’t called him that in years. “He's so
reckless sometimes and doesn't know the meaning of fear. He won't even try to
be careful, because he wants to prove himself to everyone.”

“The war
might be over before he even gets there. The English will soon deal with those
Huns, so don't worry. The troops might not even leave Australia.”

“I hope
not.”

Her
father's sensible approach sounded reassuring. Europe
was thousands of miles across the ocean, so it would take weeks for the ships
to get there. The army had to train the recruits first, which would take even
more time. All the papers predicted that the fighting would only last a few
weeks.

They pulled
up in the back yard, and she moved to climb down.

“No, I'll
help you. You're not a tomboy any more. It's a sign of good breeding, when a
man is courteous towards a woman.”

She took
his proffered hand. This outward show of respect and courtesy pleased her, even
if the man in question was her father.

Chapter Two

Weeks
dragged by. Laurie couldn’t help thinking Danny must have forgotten her
existence or he didn’t like her any more. When a letter finally arrived, she
ripped the envelope open to find a single sheet of paper with his untidy scrawl
all over it.

Dear Laurie,

This is just a short note because you know how
much I hate writing. Everything is going
well,
the
feeling around camp is that we could be going overseas soon. I
can’t
wait. The training is tough, but I suppose
they're
trying to teach us as much as possible in a short
time.

You would laugh if you saw us at mealtimes. We
have to sit at long wooden tables in large groups, and eat off tin plates. The
food is not very good, always half cold by the time we get it. The weather has
been wet and miserable.

The day we embark for overseas, we are going to
march through the streets of Melbourne.
I wish I could come up and see you before I leave, but they
won't
give us more than a day off at a time. Do you think your father would let you
come to Melbourne
for a few days? You could stay with those posh relatives of yours.

Please come, Laurie. I miss you, and I love you
so much. If it
weren’t
for the war, I never would have
left.

There was a
line of X's across the bottom.

Visit Melbourne, what a good
idea. She felt suddenly cheered. Uncle Richard kept issuing invitations for
them to come down and stay. He was a successful businessman and Aunt Jane came
from one of Sydney's
society families. They had a large home, which they shared with their daughter
Helen. Laurie had only seen the house once, a number of years ago, but it was a
mansion, even if her recollection was rather hazy.

After dinner
that evening, she broached the matter. “Dad, I got a letter from Danny. He
wants me to meet him in Melbourne.
I could stay with Uncle Richard.”

“No,
absolutely not.”

“But, the
army won't let him come home before he sails.”

“I'm too
busy at the moment to leave the shop, and I don't want you traveling to Melbourne on your own.”

“How can
you be so cruel? I love Danny. I want to see him.”

“This rot
with young Williamson has got to stop. He's a bad influence on you.”

“Dad,
please.”

“Enough.
The answer is no, and that's final.”

She got up
from the table and hurried out of the room before she said something they would
both regret. I'm going. He'll have to chain me up to stop me.

All next
day she worked on a plan. No one would stop her from seeing Danny. I'll see him
or die in the attempt. She would write to Uncle Richard, telling him her father
had agreed to let her stay in Melbourne
for a few days. She always collected the mail, so when the reply came she could
intercept it.

Feeling
despicable, she searched through her father's private papers for the address.
I'm doing it for Danny. She pushed aside the feelings of guilt.

If her
father thought her behavior strange over the next few days he made no mention
of it, but she caught him giving her puzzled glances every now and again. Did
he suspect something?

It was
eight days before she finally left. Uncle Richard’s letter was cheerful.

Glad you’re
coming down my dear. Try and persuade your father to come along too.

She threw
some clothes into a small case and hid it under her bed. No one ever entered
her bedroom, not even the housekeeper, but she wasn't taking any chances.

“I’m going
to pick up a load of supplies in Benalla later on. Want to come with me,
Laurie?” Normally she would have accepted this peace offering.