Beyond the Sunset (18 page)

That was the moment when Marshall decided Mr Dawson’s suspicions must have some foundation. Why else would a manager be upset when a man worked extra hard and did exactly as he’d been instructed?

In the late morning Pandora hauled the dripping wooden bucket out of the well and rested it on the rough stone wall, panting with the effort. She often wished she had one of the modern galvanised metal buckets they’d used in Outham, which were so much lighter.

She wasn’t in a hurry to lug the bucket back to the cooking area, so stayed where she was for a few moments. She’d been working hard since early that morning, first doing the washing for Mrs Southerham with her sister, then continuing alone because Reece said Cassandra had had enough and needed a rest.

Her sister had obeyed him so meekly, Pandora knew he was right. In the last few days Cassandra had begun to look very uncomfortable and move more slowly.

The rain had held off, fortunately, but from the look of the clouds, it’d soon start again. She’d suggested waiting until another day to do the washing, but Mr Southerham’s fancy shirts were all dirty and since he insisted on changing his clothes every evening, they had to be done. How she was to get everything dry today, she didn’t know. The Southerhams didn’t even have a mangle so the clothes remained sodden and dripping after washing, however much you tried to wring them out.

It annoyed her the way they insisted on the necessity to ‘maintain standards’ as if they still lived in England and had plenty of servants, not caring about the extra work that caused her.

With a sigh she reached out to unhook the bucket from the well rope but drew her hands back as she heard the sound of horses’ hooves in the distance. Swinging round, she stared down the rough track that led to the farm and saw some distant figures coming up the slope. It was so unusual for someone to visit Westview that she left the bucket and ran to find her employers, calling, ‘Someone’s coming along the road. Someone’s coming.’

Livia came out of the shack and shaded her eyes with her hands as she too stared down the hill. Francis stepped out from the bark-covered shelter that served as stables to his precious horses and Reece appeared from behind the house, where he was doing some repairs.

Three men on horseback leading two loaded packhorses were moving slowly up the track. They all looked weary.

‘No one I know,’ Mr Southerham said. ‘Do you recognise any of them, my dear?’

‘No. Perhaps they’re pedlars.’

As the men came closer one of the figures began to seem familiar. Pandora waited a moment to be sure, then called, ‘I can’t believe it. I’m sure it’s him. Yes, it
is
! He’s changed a lot, though, looks stronger and more . . .’ She hesitated. She had been going to say ‘in charge of himself’ but that might sound strange. Instead she took a few steps forward and waited as the visitors came up the slope.

The man she recognised rode forward to her, ignoring the Southerhams, and dismounted with a smile. ‘Miss Pandora Blake. It is you, isn’t it? I remember meeting you once or twice.’

‘Yes. You brought us some food and I saw you in my uncle’s shop. I can’t remember your name, I’m afraid.’

‘Zachary Carr. And I still work in the shop, though not for your uncle now, of course.’

Pandora froze as a horrible thought occurred to her. ‘Our aunt hasn’t sent you after us, has she? What does she want now? She’s driven us away from Outham. Isn’t that enough?’ Her heart began to pound and a shiver of fear after what had been done to Cassandra ran down her spine.

‘No, no. It’s all right. Your aunt is dead.’

Pandora was so relieved she felt shaky and clutched his arm without thinking what she was doing. ‘Thank goodness! Oh, thank goodness!’ She didn’t care if it was wrong to wish someone dead. Her aunt had been a wicked woman and had deserved to die if anyone ever did.

She realised she was still holding on to Mr Carr and stepped back with a blush. ‘Sorry.’

The second man dismounted and came forward. ‘The horses need water, Zachary. They’re thirsty. Where’s the water, please, miss?’

She realised from his expression and the way he spoke that he was one of those simple souls who stay like children all their lives.

Francis had joined them by this time, but was sizing up the visitors’ horses rather than the visitors themselves. ‘These are tired old nags. They should be put out to pasture, not dragged round the country. Could you find no better to ride?’

Bert bristled. ‘No, we damned well couldn’t. They’ve got us here, haven’t they?’

‘Only just, by the looks of them.’ Francis turned back to Leo. ‘The well is down here and we have a horse trough nearby that your animals can use. I’ll show you.’

Leo thrust the reins of his horse and of the packhorse he’d been leading into Francis’s hand and came for Zachary’s mount, leading it away without a backward glance, his whole attention focused on the animals’ needs.

The third man touched his hat to the ladies then led his own horse and the second packhorse in the direction of water.

Pandora had been trying to make sense of it and failing. ‘If our aunt is dead, then why are you here?’

‘The lawyer sent me to find you and your sisters.’ Zachary looked round, as if expecting to see them.

‘They don’t live here.’

‘Oh. I wanted to tell you all the news at the same time.’

‘Cassandra, my oldest sister, lives on the next farm, but the twins are over an hour away. We couldn’t find jobs any closer to one another.’

‘Could we send for Miss Blake, do you think?’

Reece came forward. ‘Cassandra’s my wife now, so she’s Mrs Gregory. What do you want with her?’

Zachary hesitated then looked back at Pandora as he explained. ‘You and your sisters have inherited the shop. It was yours even before your aunt died because your uncle didn’t leave it to her.’

She looked so shocked he thought she was going to faint, so put an arm round her.

As she leaned against him, she raised one trembling hand to her lips and murmured,
‘Then we can go back to England.’

‘Is that what you want to do?’

‘More than anything.’ Tears welled in her eyes.

‘Are you all right? Can I get you anything?’

It took her a moment or two to pull herself together. He held her till he could see her eyes begin to focus properly and colour return to her cheeks.

‘I’m just – astonished. I never expected— Oh, we needn’t have come to Australia at all!’

Frowning, Livia came forward and gestured to Zachary, who didn’t step back until he’d guided Pandora to one of the rough benches next to an outdoor table.

When he took his arm away, she held on to the edge of the table as if she felt dizzy, but after taking a few deep breaths she looked up again and gave him a faint smile.

‘If I can just sit quietly for a minute or two, I’ll be all right. I can’t seem to take it in.’

Livia took charge. ‘I’m Mrs Southerham. My husband and I own this farm. Shall we all sit down? I’m sure you gentlemen would like a cup of tea.’

‘That’d be most welcome, Mrs Southerham.’

‘I’ll go and fetch Cassandra,’ Reece said. ‘She should be here when you explain more fully, Mr Carr.’

He didn’t wait for an answer but strode off along the bush path.

Bert called from the water trough. ‘Are we staying long? Should we unsaddle the horses?’

Zachary looked at his host and hostess. ‘Could we spend the night here, do you think? We can sleep in the stables.’

‘You can stay but I’m not sure where we’ll put you,’ Francis said.

‘If necessary they can sleep on our veranda,’ Livia said. ‘There’s no inn nearby and it may rain again, so they’ll need shelter, Francis.’

‘Thank you.’ Zachary raised his voice to tell Leo and Bert to unsaddle, then sat down opposite Pandora, who still looked dumbfounded.

He’d forgotten how beautiful the youngest Blake sister was and found it hard to take his eyes off her. Such lustrous dark hair, such beautiful eyes. Like a princess in a child’s story book, she was. But she had an air of sadness as well, which he didn’t remember from the other times he’d seen her. He wondered why she was unhappy.

‘I’ll get the kettle boiling.’ Livia walked across to the stove and slid the kettle on to the hottest part of the hob, then got some enamel mugs from the shelves that Reece had built next to it.

Pandora made no effort to help her mistress. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she confessed to Zachary. ‘We’ve all been so afraid of having any contact with people back in Outham because of our aunt. We didn’t dare even write to our friends. When did she die? How?’

‘She died about three months after you left. She was rather strange already but she went quite mad when she heard you’d been left the shop. She had to be locked away, for her own and others’ protection, and after a while she simply refused to eat. They think she had her own husband killed, but since she’s dead, there’s no point pursuing that now.’

‘
She
killed our uncle? Oh, no! How terrible.’

‘I think so too. Mr Blake was a lovely man to work for and we missed him greatly at the shop.’

After a few moments of silence Pandora said in a tone of wonderment, ‘We can go home then. We really can. I’ve been so homesick.’

His eyes were steady and his gaze was direct. ‘For Lancashire?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. I ache to walk down the main streets of Outham, stroll in the park, hear Lancashire voices. It’s foolish, I know.’

‘Not foolish. Home means more to some people. I’m starting to miss Outham myself.’ He looked round. ‘It’s very different here.’

‘Then you’ll understand. My sisters love living here, but I just can’t settle.’ She gestured down the slope towards the horizon in the west. ‘Lancashire is somewhere over there, travel beyond the sunset and then turn north, Reece says. I look in that direction every night, wondering what my old friends are doing, whether the mills are still closed for lack of cotton, if there’s a mist drifting over the moors.’ Her voice broke on the final word and she shut her eyes for a moment, taking some deep breaths.

He said gently, ‘Times are still hard in Outham and the war hadn’t ended when I left England, so the mills hadn’t reopened. The North seems to be winning, though, so the war may end quite soon, which will be a relief to the cotton workers. But mists were still rising over the moors and I loved to watch them.’

‘Do the men who’re out of work still wait for those with newspapers to ask them if there’s any news from America?’

‘Yes. It’s hard to be without work, without enough to eat, to see your family suffering. Charitable ladies are still running soup kitchens and those men who’re strong enough break stones to earn a crust or two. The ones who aren’t strong have to attend reading classes to get their relief money. If truth be told, I think most people will be too weary to celebrate when they hear the war’s over. Times have been hard for years now.’

He waited for more questions, but she was staring into the distance so he didn’t interrupt her thoughts. An unwary movement reminded him of how sore he was and he tried to ease himself into a more comfortable position.

After a while she asked, ‘Who are your companions?’

Guilt shot through him as he explained about Leo. ‘I’ve spent some of your money on rescuing him but I’ll pay it back, I promise you. I couldn’t leave him to be ill-treated. I just – couldn’t.’

‘You don’t need to pay it back as far as I’m concerned. It’s our money and I’m sure my sisters won’t mind helping him. I certainly don’t. Is that why his face is bruised?’

‘Yes. He’d been badly beaten when I found him again.’

Livia interrupted to ask, ‘I wonder if you’d lift the kettle off the hob for me, Mr Carr and pour the water into our big teapot?’

Pandora jumped to her feet. ‘No need. I’m used to handling it.’

But he insisted on doing it, smiling at her as their hands met before she stepped back.

By the time the tea was brewed, Reece and Cassandra had appeared on the bush track, so Pandora got out more of the big tin mugs.

When invited to join them at table, Bert shook his head. ‘I’ll take mine over near the horses, missus, if you don’t mind, and leave you folk to talk. Leo lad, you bring your tea and help me look after the animals.’

Smiling happily, Leo took a gulp of hot tea and walked away from the table.

Francis came to sit down with them. ‘That young man may be lacking some of his wits, but he’s very good with horses.’

‘He’s good with injuries, too,’ Zachary said. ‘Seems to have an instinct for caring.’

‘It’s a good thing. He’ll always find a job looking after animals.’ Francis put two spoonfuls of sugar into his tea, stirred it vigorously and raised the mug to his lips. ‘Ah, that’s good, my dear. I was ready for a rest.’

Once Cassandra and Reece had had their cups filled, Francis took charge. ‘Now, Mr Carr, let’s hear the full tale of what you’re doing here, if you please.’

It was Pandora whom Zachary studied as he explained what had happened and why he’d been sent to Australia. It was her eyes mostly that drew his own back to her face as he spoke, so deep a blue, those beautiful eyes, gazing at the world with such intensity he wanted to know what she was thinking.

‘So,’ he wound up, ‘Mr Featherworth sent me to bring you all back home to take up your inheritance, Mrs Gregory, Miss Blake.’

Silence greeted his final words and he allowed them time to consider the news.

‘I don’t know what to say,’ Cassandra commented at last. ‘Or what to do.’

Pandora stared at her in astonishment. ‘What do you mean? It’s obvious what to do, surely? We’ll go home, and the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.’

Zachary watched the oldest sister exchange glances with her husband, saw Reece raise one eyebrow and Cassandra give a tiny shake of her head. Now what did that mean?

‘Cassandra?’ Pandora said in a voice which quavered.

‘I’m not sure I want to go back to England,’ her sister said at last. ‘Reece and I have made so many plans for building a life here and . . .’

Mrs Southerham broke the silence. ‘You’d be foolish to turn down such an inheritance and Blake’s Emporium is very well thought of in Outham. Reece could run the shop, I’m sure. I’m glad for you, very glad, but we’re going to miss you both greatly. And how Francis will manage without Reece’s help, I can’t think.’