Wild Lands (14 page)

Mrs Kable raised an eyebrow. ‘A few weeks at the native school does not prepare a native child for our life. You can't expect it to.'

‘I only meant that –'

‘I am sure you mean many things. The directness of your character was made most plain to me last night.' Mrs Kable rang the brass bell, which sat on the hall stand. ‘After this morning
maybe it is best for all if you don't join the party when they travel northwards. You could put lives at risk by your wanderings. Had anything happened to you while you were out strolling aimlessly on the farm, then our men would have been placed in danger searching for you. As it is, the Major and his men have given chase to the attackers. One can only hope for their safe return.'

‘I apologise, I certainly didn't mean to cause a problem of any sort.' Perhaps it was just as well she was not to be this woman's companion. Kate's dislike of Mrs Kable was growing by the hour.

‘And your misguided notions towards the natives could be more than a hindrance to the proper functioning of the Hardy farm.'

‘Yes, Missus?' The pointy-nosed maid, Jelly-belly, appeared. ‘Is there news?'

‘I would take my midday meal in my room. And after Miss Carter speaks to the Reverend, please take her to the kitchen and see her settled with a' – she paused for emphasis – ‘consuming task.'

‘Of course, Mrs Kable.' The maid gave a half-hearted curtsey and left the women alone.

‘Reverend Horsley is due to leave today and has consented, once again, to take you into service. I thought it a kind and generous offer, considering the inconvenience you have caused him, and others.'

‘I did not mean to inconvenience anyone,' Kate began, ‘and I certainly have no intention of –'

‘Considering your current situation,' Mrs Kable interrupted, ‘and in the absence of any other relatives, I have agreed to the Reverend's most generous proposal. It is on condition that you are accommodated according to your position.'

‘You have agreed?' Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. ‘So you would send me back there, to the Reverend's cottage, under his care, after all that you spoke of last night?' It seemed that Mrs Kable's moral compass could change as quickly as the wind.

The older woman chose to ignore this comment. ‘The Reverend assures me that there is a suitable room adjoining the kitchen
and that this room is not attached to his own abode. He has been gracious enough to offer you the position of teacher, a role he tells me your mother held until her passing. His school is closed on account of your leaving. I wonder at your ability to desert the lower classes when they are surely in need of an education. You of all people should recognise the importance of such schooling.'

Mrs Kable opened the door to the parlour, shooing Kate into the room. The Reverend stood on her entry, folding the newspaper he held. ‘I'll have the dray brought around after noon.'

The door was firmly shut behind her.

The Reverend gestured to a straight-backed chair. Only yesterday Kate thought she'd been on the brink of a new life here in this very house, but she would not let this man see her dismay. Kate refused to give the Reverend that satisfaction. ‘Reverend Horsley, I have no wish to live in your household, whether it be in the manner of domestic or not.'

‘My dear, you are overwrought by the events of the morning.'

Kate began to pace the room. Of course she was upset.

Resting an elbow on the mantelpiece the Reverend grasped the lapel of his black coat. ‘Mr Kable has offered patronage in recognition of the humble work I do in the Lord's service,' he began, a smile settling on his lips. ‘It is something of a relief to have my ministrations noticed and rewarded for it means we may well have funds for the building of a dedicated church, as well as retaining the school.'

‘And does Mrs Kable share her husband's generous spirit?' asked Kate dryly, stopping by the window.

The Reverend ran his tongue over his lips several times. ‘I have no doubt that with this news and having discovered the location of your potential employers, that you may be inclined to reconsider that discussion that we had some weeks ago.'

‘My mind is quite made up, Reverend. I would not have travelled here if it were not.'

He gestured for Kate to sit and they took up position before the smoky fire. ‘I admit to misleading you. I am only a man,' he extended his hands, palms up, ‘and selfish in my needs. However, I thought it necessary for you to understand the limited opportunities available to you. Indeed, I am aware of that stubbornness of character that may well make it difficult for you to change your mind. You are, after all, your mother's daughter. I would certainly not find it intemperate of you were you to reconsider your situation in light of my good fortune.' The Reverend raised an eyebrow. ‘You do know the hardships, the very dangers that may befall you should you journey elsewhere. The world is not a kindly place for a single young woman.'

‘There are other alternatives,' Kate replied, trying to keep all emotion from her voice.

Scratching his whiskers the Reverend leant forward on the sofa. ‘So I've been informed. As a housekeeper in one of the lesser houses, a limited position, unlike my own offer, with no chance of rising above your station, something that we both know your mother would have wanted for you. To see you reinstated into society proper following the loss of your small holding would have given her pleasure. But then, considering the blood that runs in your veins, you may feel that such a role is more appropriate.' The Reverend hoped to pique a response, but when one was not forthcoming he persevered. ‘Then there is the question of marriage. Mrs Kable suggests the pasty-faced young Lieutenant as a possible husband. But one has to wonder how long you would be happy to live with the other wives in the barracks before his term of service expired. Would the land granted him be productive? Is he capable of turning his hand to farming? Would he be promoted?' He shrugged, as if such a possibility were unlikely. ‘Would such a union satisfy you? For we both know you are proud and have every hope for advancement in this world, an unlikely aspiration for a woman of your standing.' A fly settled on his knee and he swatted
at it irritably. ‘In deference to your mother I will ask you one more time if you will not reconsider.'

Kate formed her words carefully. ‘But surely now that you have found such favour with the Kables your need for my services has become somewhat redundant. A teacher will be found for your school,' Kate answered sweetly, ‘and I believe I would make an excellent lady's companion, a role that you cannot offer me.'

‘You are a most stubborn woman.' The Reverend rose and paced in front of the fireplace, scuffing the coloured rug until he tripped on a corner. ‘Are you quite sure that you will not return with me? I leave after the noon meal and journey to Parramatta tonight and then onwards to home, your home these past ten years.'

‘I wish you safe passage.'

The Reverend took a step towards her. ‘This is silly, my child. You have a comfortable home, with me.'

‘I have the memory of what it was like to live there with my mother, and for that I must be grateful.' Rising, Kate excused herself and left the room. Softly closing the door, she rested against the cool architrave. The Reverend Horsley offered hearth and home, comfort and safety; everything that a woman required, but at what cost?

Mrs Ovens was not pleased to have Kate in her domain. Placing her at the far end of the long wooden table, opposite the wide stone fireplace, the large woman studied her, one lace-up shoe tapping the flagstone floor, a wooden spoon clutched in her hand. Kate expected to have her cotton cap struck off her head at any moment, but the cook soon lost interest when Kate said nothing, and returned to measuring out flour. The kitchen was similar to the Reverend's but more than twice the size, with herb racks on
the wall, cupboards, pots, and a heady aroma that emanated from a cast-iron pot in which a large veal pie kept warm.

‘Is that your trunk?' Jelly-belly, waiting for the meal to be served, opened the window and leant out.

‘What?' Kate joined her and together they observed the two convicts carrying her chest, another the Reverend's travelling bag, around the side of the house. Kate couldn't believe it. Someone had packed her belongings. They were literally throwing her out.

‘Looks like you're leaving.'

Kate lifted a finger to her mouth and began to bite the nail.

‘Perhaps it's for the best. I wouldn't go out there, no fear.'

Returning to her seat, Kate sat heavily. The pie was served up with fried potatoes and set on a tray with a glass of lemon cordial, a single white rose from the garden, silver cutlery and a linen napkin. Jelly-belly waited for the serving to be done and then lifted her mistress's luncheon tray. Mr Kable had already been served three courses in the dining room. ‘Well then, they won't make themselves.' She nodded at the racks of rose petals that had been dried near the fire and placed in front of Kate, a cool blast of air entering the room as she left.

‘And don't go talking your head off.' Mrs Ovens turned her wide girth to the bread box. Hunched over the deep bin she finished mixing the ingredients and then expertly formed the loaf with two wooden paddles, before lifting the lid on the adjoining compartment and placing the bread inside to prove. ‘But I will say I don't like the look of him, that Reverend of yours. Mean-spirited they all are, those types. Telling us what to do and how to do it. I'm not a believer and I don't mind saying so. It's just another way of keeping us down at heel.'

‘Neither am I,' Kate agreed.

The cook gave a single determined nod as if there were some goodness in the world after all and cut Kate a wedge of the pie.
‘You gobble it down now, lass, before that Jelly-legged English girl comes back. It's soup and bread for her.'

Kate mumbled her thanks, eating appreciatively, before turning her attention to the racks before her. After dusting the petals with powdered cloves and cinnamon, she placed quantities of them in small rose-satin sachets edged with coffee-coloured lace and then began to sew up the ends. It was difficult to concentrate. The soldiers were yet to return, the dray would soon arrive and here she was fiddling with rose petals while her mother's trunk sat out in the sun. If only she'd not been so outspoken last night, then perhaps Mrs Kable wouldn't now be forcing her out the door.

‘Leave with him if you must.' The cook had also been thinking on the matter for she sat opposite Kate, two bulbous elbows perched on the table on either side of a bowl of soup. ‘Don't be thinking you can't look after yourself, not yet. If things get real bad use those looks of yours. Plenty of women have had their bellies filled by fouler means. But I doubt if it will come to that.' Lifting the bowl she took a long drink from it. ‘You've got the look of a tom-cat, easily riled and hard to temper, but smart.' She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘Go where you can make a start for yourself, go where you'll be needed, but keep that uppity look from your eyes. You ain't nothing to anybody unless you can prove your worth.'

‘And how do I do that?'

‘Don't weep or cry out or faint, unless it serves a purpose, or it's before a man with coin. Do what's asked of you quickly and well and never ever complain or speak down to your betters. Be capable, but not too capable.' Mrs Ovens tapped her temple where a lock of grey hair poked from beneath her cap. ‘And don't marry no man unless there's money enough, and even if there is, never marry for love. That's the surest way to get yourself into trouble. For the man is always right, no matter if he's wrong.' She wiped a stubby finger around the bowl and licked it.

‘When you get to Parramatta,' Mrs Ovens continued, ‘beg old MacIntosh to take you a bit further down the Parramatta Road to the Square and Compass. Gwen Winters owns it with that layabout man of hers. She's a good woman, Gwen. Came out on the same creaking scurvy-ridden hulk as me. Made a pact we'd help each other when we could. She owes me so tell her I sent you. The place is well-known to the wool trade – you'll be safe enough and you can work off your board and food while you decide what's next.'

Kate smiled in gratitude but frankly she couldn't think of anything worse than working in a hostelry. Serving and cleaning after drunks and finicky travellers was not a role she aspired to.

‘They're coming, the soldiers are coming.' Jelly-belly entered the kitchen, dropping the tray on the table with a clatter, and moved to the window. Kate ran outdoors to the verandah. A flicker of movement caught her attention. The bush beyond the orchard appeared to be still, but a horse nickered from that very direction and then patches of red appeared, weaving through the trees. The indistinguishable figures spread out to ride three abreast, Major Shaw riding point, as if heading into action. The young Aboriginal girl was not with them.