Settling the Account (64 page)

‘You’ll tell me everything you did up there,
won’t you?’ Amy asked. ‘All the plays and things you went to, and
outings and everything?’

‘Everything,’ Sarah promised, laughing.
‘Even all the meetings I had with the people who look after my
affairs for me, if you like—I warn you, you’ll find them very
boring.’

‘Well, you two have got a bit to catch up
on,’ Lizzie said. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

Sarah drew Amy over to two chairs close
together, and they were soon talking animatedly. But Amy could not
give Sarah her full attention; not when she had to keep glancing
over at Charlie to see how he was coping.

Not too badly, she was relieved to see. He
still had some food on his plate, someone had topped up his cup,
and he was managing the tea without spilling more than a few drips
on himself. He was even making an occasional monosyllabic remark in
response to something said by one of the other men, and with
Charlie known to be such a poor mixer no one would expect more of
him than that.

Amy let herself relax a little in the
pleasure of Sarah’s company, until she realised the men were
standing up and about to move away.

‘Frank? What are you doing?’ Lizzie asked in
the sweet voice she usually tried to use when they had visitors.
‘You’re not going off somewhere, are you, dear? We’re going to have
some hot savouries in a minute, then we’ll all go in and listen to
Beth play a song.’

‘I just thought I’d take these fellows up
the back,’ Frank said, casting a guilty look in Lizzie’s direction.
‘Tom hasn’t seen this year’s calves. We won’t be long.’

‘All right, dear,’ Lizzie said, resignation
tinged with a hint of warning. ‘Just as long as you bring them all
back before those savouries get cold. Kate, you can stay here with
me, I don’t want you getting that dress all muddy.’

‘Yes, we’ll only be a minute,’ Frank said,
giving Kate a small push in her mother’s direction and looking
eager to make his escape before Lizzie changed her mind. He noticed
Charlie slumped in the chair.

‘Ah, do you want to come too, Charlie?’
Frank asked. ‘I’ll, um… I’ll give you a hand if you like.’ He held
his arm out, embarrassment clear on his face.

‘No, I don’t,’ Charlie said, scowling at
Frank. ‘I’ve cows of my own. I’ve no need to go traipsing around
admiring yours.’

‘Well, if you’re sure…’

Charlie’s face showed the answer clearly
enough. Frank and the other men wandered off together.

Amy saw Charlie watch the men walk away, the
harshness of his expression marred by the tremble in his lower
lip.

‘I’d better go and see to him,’ she
murmured. Seeing Sarah’s look of surprise, Amy realised that Sarah
had no idea who Charlie was. She looked Sarah squarely in the eyes.
‘Come and meet my husband.’

‘Your… that’s your
husband
?’ Sarah
stared at her in obvious disbelief, then collected herself. ‘I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like that. I just… well, I didn’t
realise.’

Amy gave her a rueful smile. ‘I know,’ she
said simply. ‘Let me introduce you to him.’

Sarah hung back, clearly reluctant, but Amy
took her hand and led her over to Charlie.

‘Sarah, this is Mr Stewart,’ Amy said.
‘Charlie, this is my friend, Miss Millish. She’s Lily’s cousin,
she’s come down from Auckland.’

Charlie gave a glance at Sarah, then stared
harder, frowning. Sarah in her turn narrowed her eyes and stared
back.

‘Shake hands, Charlie,’ Amy murmured.

He made no move to offer his hand to Sarah,
instead turning his scowl on Amy.

‘Bloody stupid idea of yours, coming here,’
he grumbled. ‘Sitting around listening to this lot talking about
Kelly’s cows.’

‘I know, I’m sorry,’ Amy said, trying to
sound soothing. ‘I didn’t think they’d go off like that,
either.’

‘Wandering off looking at a lot of damned
cows! Thinks he knows it all, that bugger does.’

‘Shh, Charlie,’ Amy said, uncomfortably
aware of Sarah at her side. ‘Shall I get you another cup of tea? Or
would you like something else to eat?’

‘I want a decent drop to drink,’ Charlie
said petulantly. ‘I want a beer.’

‘There isn’t any. Wouldn’t you like
something nice to eat?’

‘Why can’t I have a beer? Kelly’s meant to
be made of money, why doesn’t the miserable bugger put a bit of
beer on the table?’

‘Charlie, please don’t talk like that.
Lizzie doesn’t like to have beer at soyrees. I’ll get you some
tea.’

Amy snatched up his empty cup, then took
Sarah by the arm and tugged her away. ‘I’m sorry, Sarah, I didn’t
think of him saying those words in front of you. He’s got a bit
upset today, you mustn’t take any notice of the way he talks. He’s
not used to people, that’s all.’

Sarah was staring at Charlie, her mouth
slightly open. When Amy touched her arm she gave a shudder, and
dragged her gaze back to Amy. ‘I… I had no idea.’

Amy gave a small shrug. ‘It’s just the way
he’s made. I shouldn’t have introduced you, but I thought it might
take his mind off things. I’ll get him some fresh tea and sit with
him for a while, maybe you and I can talk some more later.’

She took the tea over to Charlie. ‘Here’s a
nice, fresh cup,’ she said, putting it down beside him. ‘You’ll
feel much better when you’ve had this.’

‘I don’t
want
a cup of tea!’ Charlie
shouted. ‘I want something decent to drink! Can’t you understand
plain English, you dopey bitch?’ He thumped the arm of his chair,
and to Amy’s dismay he sent the cup toppling into his lap.

He yelled as the scalding tea struck him.
Amy snatched the cup off his lap, then mopped up the hot liquid
with her own handkerchief and one she took from Charlie’s pocket.
She was sure he had not spilt enough to do any real damage, but he
had got himself into even more of a state now.

‘Whatever’s going on?’ Amy looked up from
tending Charlie to see Lizzie standing beside her. ‘What’s all the
fuss about?’

‘We just had a little accident with the tea.
Charlie’s all right now, don’t worry. I’ll get you another cup,
Charlie.’

‘I don’t want tea. I won’t drink it,’
Charlie said, scowling at them both.

Amy looked at him helplessly, then turned to
Lizzie. ‘Do you think he could have a little bit of beer? I know
you don’t like having it at soyrees, but it might settle him
down.’

Lizzie gave Charlie a hard stare. ‘Such a
fuss over a cup of tea. Oh, all right then, he can have one. Just
one, mind you, so you’d better make it last,’ she told Charlie.

‘Thank you, Lizzie,’ Amy said. ‘I’ll run and
get it—the beer’s in the kitchen, isn’t it?’

‘There’s no need for you to go running about
after him,’ Lizzie said. ‘You do enough of that the rest of the
time.’ She looked around to find the nearest child, and spotted
Beth.

‘Beth, go and get a mug of beer for your
Uncle Charlie,’ she said. ‘Then you can sit and keep him company
for a couple of minutes.’

‘There’s no need,’ Amy said, but Lizzie took
her arm and steered her firmly over to where Sarah sat.

‘Now, you’re to sit here and talk to Miss
Millish,’ Lizzie told Amy. ‘You’re to enjoy yourself. I don’t want
to see you getting out of this chair until those men come back.
Miss Millish, you see that she doesn’t.’

‘I will, Mrs Kelly,’ Sarah assured her, the
hint of a smile hovering around her mouth. She turned her attention
to Amy, and the hint became a full smile. ‘Now I’ve got you all to
myself again.’

Amy was torn between the pleasure of talking
to Sarah and her concern for Charlie. She looked over at him every
few moments, but Beth seemed to be coping well with the task her
mother had assigned her.

Beth had brought the mug of beer, and now
she was sitting on the verandah floor beside Charlie’s chair with
her legs tucked under her. She was talking quietly to Charlie, and
though he was showing far more interest in the beer than in the
girl at his feet, after a few minutes he began to pay her a little
attention.

‘He’s talking to Beth,’ Amy said in
surprise.

‘And why shouldn’t he?’ Sarah asked. ‘She
seems rather sweet.’

‘Oh, Beth’s a lovely girl, I’ve always been
fond of her. But Mr Stewart’s not used to little girls.’

‘Isn’t he?’ Sarah gave Amy a quizzical
stare. ‘How old were you when you married him, Mrs Stewart?’

It took Amy a moment to grasp the
significance of Sarah’s words. ‘I see what you’re getting at,’ she
said with a rueful smile. ‘I was older than Beth, anyway—nearly a
year older than she is. I suppose I grew up in a bit of a
rush.’

It was not a subject that gave her any
pleasure to dwell on. Amy turned away from Sarah’s searching gaze
to look back at Charlie and Beth. Beth had disappeared into the
house briefly and reappeared with a small lidded box, which she
opened carefully and showed to Charlie.

He peered inside it, then looked up at Beth.
Amy saw him speak to the girl, and she nodded and seemed to be
explaining something about whatever was in the box. Charlie
listened in apparent interest.

‘Trust Beth,’ Amy said, smiling as she
watched them. ‘I think she’s decided Mr Stewart’s like one of those
calves and kittens and things she’s always patching up when they
get hurt. She’s always been like that, right from when she was a
little thing. She used to get Dave…’

Her voice trailed away, and she swallowed
hard to get past the lump in her throat.

‘Dave’s your son, isn’t he?’ Sarah asked.
‘Lily told me about him.’

Amy nodded. ‘He’s not… I can’t…’ She lapsed
into silence for a few moments, then began again. ‘I’m sorry,
Sarah, sometimes I get a bit upset when I talk about Dave. I’d just
as soon not just now.’

‘I’ve no desire to hurt you, Amy,’ Sarah
said. ‘I’m sorry, I’m forgetting my manners,’ she added quickly,
her smile oddly stiff. ‘Mrs Stewart, I meant to say.’

Beth scurried off to put her box away when
the men returned from their stroll, and Lizzie soon enlisted her to
help with passing the savouries around. Amy saw Charlie lift his
empty mug towards Beth when she put some small pies on his plate,
the request clear in his gesture. When Beth looked over at her
mother for approval, Lizzie’s lips tightened. She frowned at
Charlie and shook her head firmly. Beth gave a helpless shrug and
moved away from the men.

‘Oh, dear,’ Amy murmured. ‘I hope he doesn’t
get in a mood again.’

She watched as Charlie stared morosely at
his empty mug. He lifted his gaze to the men who had come back onto
the verandah, and for a moment Amy thought he was going to try and
join in the conversation.

But even if he had wanted to, it would have
been difficult for Charlie to have any real part in the talk.
Knowing that they would be going inside before long, none of the
men bothered to sit down. Instead they chatted away standing up,
and all Charlie could do was shift his eyes from one speaker to
another until he grew tired of straining his neck with tilting his
head so far back. He looked across the verandah at Amy, caught her
eyes on him and scowled.

‘I think I’ll have to take him home,’ Amy
said.

‘Must you go?’ Sarah asked.

Amy nodded. ‘I’m afraid I’d better. He’ll
only get in a state if we stay much longer. I shouldn’t think he’d
be very interested in the piano playing, either.’

She made to stand up, then reached out to
take Sarah’s hand. ‘I don’t think I’ll be coming to any soyrees
again,’ Amy said, speaking quickly because she was not sure how
long she could trust her voice. ‘So I don’t know when I’ll be able
to see you again. I… I’ll miss you, Sarah.’

Amy felt her hand squeezed in return before
she released Sarah’s and stood up. She went over to Charlie and
knelt beside his chair.

‘We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,
Charlie,’ she said, speaking quietly so as not to interrupt the
conversation. ‘Would you like to go home now?’

Charlie glared at her. ‘Aye, I bloody well
would like to. Stupid idea of yours, coming here.’

‘Yes, I know it was,’ Amy said. ‘Never mind,
we’ll go home. Take my arm, I’ll help you up.’

‘Silly bitch,’ Charlie grumbled, struggling
to his feet with Amy’s assistance. ‘What have you got to be such a
silly bitch for?’

‘Shh, Charlie, shh,’ Amy urged. ‘Don’t talk
like that in front of people.’

‘They all know you’re a silly bitch. They
all know you’re no better than—’

‘All right, Charlie, that’s enough of that,’
Frank broke in. ‘Watch your language in front of the ladies,
eh?’

Charlie scowled at Frank, and seemed about
to find some fresh abuse to fling, then he turned away as if too
weary to bother. ‘Bugger the lot of them,’ he muttered under his
breath.

He caught Sarah’s eyes on him, hostility
clear in her gaze. ‘What’s she looking at me like that for?’ he
demanded, glaring back at her.

‘I don’t think she’s used to hearing people
talk like that,’ Amy said. ‘Come on, Charlie, we’ll go now. There’s
no need to get in a state.’

‘Do you want a hand, Amy?’ Frank asked,
taking a step towards her, but Amy shook her head.

‘No, I can manage. Thank you for
offering.’

‘Can’t I do anything?’ he persisted.

Amy saw Lizzie bearing down on them, and
knew she would have to move quickly to get Charlie away before he
caused more of an upset. ‘Yes, you can,’ she told Frank, keeping
her voice low. ‘You can help me a lot. Act as if nothing funny’s
going on, so people won’t stare at Charlie and me too much. And
thank Lizzie for me, and tell her I’m sorry for leaving in such a
hurry.’

She led Charlie away, catching Sarah’s eye
again for the briefest of moments before they were around the
corner of the house and out of sight.

Charlie sat in the gig grumbling away under
his breath. ‘Bloody Frank Kelly,’ he muttered. ‘Thinks he’s smart,
that bugger. Him and his cows.’