The Virgin Bride (The Australians) (11 page)

Something exploded in Jason's brain. Something white-hot and violent. Ratchitt was on the ground and out for the count before he knew what had happened. Jason was grimacing and shaking his bleeding knuckles when the cattle dog which had been chained up suddenly leapt at him, its fang-like jaws closing over his clean white shirt-sleeve, just below his elbow.

‘N
OW
you know what it's like to be on the other end of sutures,' Doc said as he pulled the cotton tight and reached for the scissors.

Jason had called his partner from his mobile phone, after old Jim Ratchitt had pulled the dog off him and he'd escaped into the sanctuary of his car. They'd met up at the surgery in town. No point in going to Doc's house, since it was a good fifteen-minute drive on the other side of Tindley.

Jason gritted his teeth. ‘Do you have to be so rough?'

‘Grown men who brawl like louts don't deserve to be treated with kid gloves.'

‘A dog did this,' Jason growled. ‘Not a man.'

‘So you told me. You up to date with your rabies shots?'

‘What?'

‘Only joking,' Doc said, smiling through his white moustache. ‘But a booster for tetanus might be a good idea. And I'll shoot you full of antibiotics for good measure.'

‘How's Ratchitt, do you know?' Jason asked as Doc went about his business.

‘Have no idea. What's your guess?'

‘I only hit him once, but he went down like a ton of hot bricks. Must have a glass jaw.'

‘Or a coward's heart. When some men go down, they stay down, till the danger's past.'

‘Mmm. Do you think he might press charges?'

‘No. His type don't go to the cops. They simply have you beaten up in retaliation one quiet night. Or they seduce your wife.'

Jason glowered at him. ‘This town knows too damned much about everyone else's business.'

‘True. But you just have to live with that. So what's the situation? Emma still hung up on that low-life?'

‘Your guess is as good as mine. She says not, but the evidence isn't all in. On top of that, he's hanging around the shop and bothering her. Given his reputation with women, I find that a bit of a worry.'

‘I'd be worried too. Speaking of Emma, where is she, exactly? Hard not to notice the little wife isn't here in the house, offering succour and comfort to her wounded husband.'

‘She's spending a few nights at the shop. We have some things to work out.'

When Doc arched his bushy white brows, Jason gave him a narrow-eyed glare. ‘And will that piece of news be on the village grapevine tomorrow?'

‘Lord, Jason, you're way behind the action. That will have already done the rounds, the moment Emma's old bedroom light behind the shop went on earlier this evening.'

‘I don't believe this,' he muttered.

‘Then believe it. Oh, and by the way, the going odds on you and Emma divorcing are about even money. But don't worry, lad, my money's still on
you. There! All done. You'll be as good as new by morning surgery.'

‘Thanks a bunch.' Jason sat up and began rolling his shirt-sleeve down, till he saw it was ripped and bloodied. Muttering under his breath, he ripped the thing off and threw it in the corner, which was a pity, since it had cost a hundred bucks.

‘Tch-tch,' Doc said as he tidied up the consultation table. ‘Emma won't like that. She's a meticulous girl, is Emma.'

‘Well, too bad! She isn't here to notice anyway, is she? I can be a slob if I want to be.'

‘You can be an idiot if you want to be too. Why don't you go down there and tell her you love her?'

Jason's eyes whipped round to stare at him.

Doc shrugged. ‘We all know your marriage wasn't a love match in the beginning. But I'm betting you love her now. She's a treasure, is our Emma. Only selfish, ignorant bums like Dean Ratchitt can't appreciate that.'

Jason considered the suggestion for what it was worth, then discarded it. ‘She won't believe me.'

‘Why not?'

‘Partly because she thinks I still love another woman.'

‘Just like you think
she
loves Ratchitt. Looks like we have two fools here instead of one.'

Jason frowned. Could Doc be right? Could Emma have fallen in love with
him
?

‘Don't let too much water run under the bridge before you tell her, Jason. Dean won't be. You mark my words. I didn't like to mention this before, but I heard
a motorbike rumble down the street a little while back. You were in too much pain to notice. If you don't want to lose Emma for good, then I suggest you hotfoot it down to the shop before this evening's incident is given a slant you won't recognise.'

Jason felt sick at the thought, but confused at the same time. ‘How would he know she was there and not here…with me? She only left at tea-time.'

‘I dare say he got the news from Sheryl.

‘Sheryl lives on the other side of the sweet shop,' Doc elaborated when Jason looked even more confused. ‘She's a legal secretary, works for Jack Winters, Ivy's solicitor. Went out with Dean, briefly a couple of years back. She's a good bit older than Dean but not bad looking. And she's never married. Probably still fancies him.'

Jason thought of Dean's boast that he had eyes and ears all over Tindley. Who better to tell him about Emma than a next-door neighbour?

‘I have to go and get a fresh shirt first,' he said, heading for the door.

‘Don't go getting into another fight!'

‘I'll do what I have to do to protect Emma from that creep.'

Doc sighed. ‘You do realise I'm getting too old for all this drama.'

‘Then retire, and I'll get myself a new partner,' Jason tossed over his shoulder as he hurried from the room.

‘You and what army?' Doc called after him.

Jason grabbed the first shirt he could find. It just happened to be a black designer number which had
probably cost more than Ratchitt's whole bloody wardrobe. He was still tucking it into the waistband of his grey trousers as he bolted down the stairs and ran from the house.

He didn't knock on Emma's back door. He bowled straight in, sucking in a sharp breath when he saw a decidedly worse-for-wear Ratchitt sitting at the kitchen table. The right hand side of his chin was swollen, and there was an ugly bruise spoiling his macho perfection. He'd never seen a better target for a woman's pity, whereas
his
wounds were well hidden.

Emma was at the kitchen sink when Jason burst in. She whirled, worry filling her face as her eyes searched
his
.

‘See?' Ratchitt taunted straight away. ‘Not a mark on him. He jumped me when I wasn't looking, Emma. The man's mad. And violent. He tried to kill me. If it wasn't for my dog, he might have.'

‘The world wouldn't be any the less for your death, Ratchitt,' Jason grated out. ‘But it won't be me who does the deed. You're not worth spending twenty years in jail for. Emma, don't believe a word he tells you. The man's totally without conscience. He told me this evening that his only interest in you was money, some trust fund you came into when you married. He called you a silly little bitch and said he'd never loved you. He also bragged that now he wouldn't have to marry you to get the money. He thinks he can seduce you, then con you out of it.'

She didn't say a word, just stared at him with startled, disbelieving eyes.

‘Just about word for word, wasn't it, honey?' Ratchitt drawled, rising to his feet and going over to a frozen Emma, placing a triumphantly possessive arm around her shoulders and drawing her to his side. ‘But it wasn't me saying any of that filth, you bastard,' he sneered at Jason. ‘It was you, as you very well know.'

Ratchitt tipped Emma's face up to his with a gentle little gesture. ‘He boasted to me that he'd twist it all around and make out I said I wanted to marry you for the money,' he told her, stunning Jason with the passionate sincerity in his voice and eyes. ‘But honest, Emma, I didn't know anything about this trust fund. You think your aunt would have told
me
about such a thing? She might have told
him
, though,' he went on, pointing an accusing finger at Jason. ‘He probably got her to confide in him when she was in a morphine daze. And what did he do? As soon as she was dead, he proposed. That proposal was a shock, wasn't it? He hadn't given you any indication that he cared for you before, had he?'

Jason watched, appalled, as Emma slowly shook her head.

‘I thought not. He lied to me about that, too. When I tackled him on the suddenness of your engagement, he said it wasn't at all sudden, that you'd become great friends during his visits to your aunt. More than friends, actually. He implied you'd become lovers.'

Her eyes flew to Jason's, pained and reproachful. Groaning, he did his best to adopt an aggrieved expression, but he had a feeling he just looked furious.

‘I didn't tell you this earlier, Emma,' Ratchitt was
saying, ‘but after you went away on your honeymoon I went to Sydney to check up on this man you married. I was worried about you. What did you know of him, really? I found this colleague of his, who turned out to be his old girlfriend, and what she told me about him made my hair curl. The man's a cold-blooded, mercenary monster. Money is his god, Emma. He'd do anything for it. Say anything. Marry anyone. On top of that he's violent, as you can see. I still love you, Emma, despite everything. But he doesn't. He'll hurt you, Emma. Let me move in here to protect you from him. Let me look after you and love you as you deserve to be loved.'

‘No!' Jason cried.

‘It's not up to you, Steel,' Ratchitt snapped.

Jason looked straight at Emma with an imploring gaze. ‘Please, Emma, I beg of you. You don't have to come back to me yet, if you don't want to, but don't let him into your life, not for a moment.'

‘How…how did you know about the trust fund?' she choked out.

Jason grimaced. ‘I didn't. Not till Ratchitt told me tonight.'

‘Yeah, right,' Dean sneered. ‘As if I'd do that if I
did
know.'

‘You knew all right,' Jason said with sudden inspiration. ‘Your friend Sheryl told you. She works for your aunt's solicitor, Emma, and lives next door. Doc told me she and Dean were lovers once. She's still crazy about him and would tell him anything he wanted to know. She must have told him you were here, and not up at my house. Why else did he come
here
tonight, instead of the surgery? Someone had to tell him. I certainly didn't. Did you?'

‘N…no.'

‘Then ask him. Ask him why he came here.'

‘Dean?'

‘He's grabbing at straws, Emma. Sheryl didn't tell me anything of the kind.
He
did. That's why he came looking for me out at the farm. Because you'd left him and he was worried stiff you'd find out he never loved you.'

‘Jason never promised to love me,' she said in a puzzled voice.

‘And neither will he,' Ratchitt insisted. ‘Ever!'

‘That's not true,' Jason denied with an anguished groan. ‘Not true,' he repeated, his shoulders sagging as his heart began to despair. ‘I
do
love you, Emma. I love you with all my heart. I didn't marry you for any money. I knew nothing of any trust fund till I heard about it from Ratchitt tonight. He thinks all men are tarred with the same brush. He couldn't seem to imagine my actually loving you. Yet I cannot imagine
not
loving you. I certainly can't imagine my life without you.'

Jason knew he wasn't being very impressive with his declaration of love. His voice sounded tired and defeated, probably because of the look on her face. The shock and the patent disbelief. He was wasting his breath. Totally wasting his breath.

‘I can't make you love me back,' he continued, driven on by desperation, not any real hope. ‘I can't make you come home with me. I can't make you stay away from this…creature. All I can do is appeal to
your common sense. I know you have heaps. Think, Emma. Think and judge. A man is known by his actions, not his words. Would I have acted as I have acted this past few weeks if I hadn't been sick with a very real jealousy? And would Ratchitt have acted as he has acted this past year if he really loved you?'

She didn't say a word, just kept staring at him.

He sighed. ‘That's all I have to say. That's all there
is
to say. I'm going home now. I'll wait for you till morning. If you don't come, I won't be staying in Tindley. I couldn't bear it. You can have a divorce. You can have
him
, if he's what you really want. I won't stand in your way. But God have pity on your soul if that's the way you choose, Emma, because he'll destroy you.'

‘Don't listen to him, Emma. He's the one who'll destroy you. He's evil. And clever. Far cleverer than me. I don't have his power with words. Or his fancy education. I only have what's in my heart. Feel this heart, Emma,' Dean Ratchitt said, taking her hand and placing it on his chest. ‘It's beating for you. I know I hurt you a year ago. I was wrong. All I can say is that I was lonely for you, and that girl threw herself at me. But that wasn't love, Emma. That was just sex. Surely you can see what I mean now. You've been to bed with this man. You've had sex with him. But that's not making love. That doesn't come from the heart. When we're finally together,
that
will be making love. It'll be incredible, princess. I promise you…'

She was staring up into those penetrating black eyes of his as though hypnotised, seemingly unable to break away from the sexual spell his words and his
presence were casting over her body. Jason could not bear to watch it any more. His heart was breaking.

He turned and walked through the back door, stumbling a little on the steps. Somehow, he made it back up the street and into the surgery.

Doc had left, thank God. He would not have wanted another man to see the tears streaming down his face. He made it into the living room, where he slumped into the big armchair to the right of the empty hearth. He didn't turn on the reading lamp next to it, just sat there in the semi-darkness staring into nothingness, the tears slowly drying on his face as the minutes ticked away. For a while his ear strained to catch the sound of Emma's steps on the front porch, his heart aching with one last, final, futile hope.