Boxed Set: Innocent Immigrant (2 page)

His size almost engulfed my light frame and for a moment, I wondered if this was how a well-loved child felt when carried by her papa to bed. Given up to the orphanage at three years of age, I had no experience of fatherly love.

My porter was thigh-deep in the sea, and after only two steps towards the shore, there was a shout as a large wave caught the punt, sweeping it towards us. Before he had time to react, the boat crashed into his back, and I felt him stumble, the force of the blow plummeting us face-down into the sea.

The cold water stole the air from my lungs, making my chest tighten and the drawing of breath impossible. The gentleman landed on top of me, forcing me under the water, but he quickly rolled, got to his feet and, with a hand around my chest, hauled me to the surface.

He was laughing!

In response, I could only splutter and spit the seawater from my mouth, still choking and trying to draw breath.

“First time that’s ever happened,” he said. “I usually prefer to offer a warm welcome to Kotuku...I’m sorry your welcome was cold and wet.” And with that he laughed again.

I would have been indignant, but I was still in a complete state of shock. My dress was soaked and clinging to my body so that I knew my breasts, although small, would be plainly evident to this man. I presumed my husband-to-be waited on the shore, and I wondered what impression this would give him.

“You can put me down now,” I informed him.

“Not until we’re safe onshore, miss. I have to be seen to be doing my work properly.”

“If that’s what you call a job well done, then there must be a sorry lack of good men in this town.”

“Well, aren’t you the fiery one!”

Not usually; in fact, I was surprised by my outburst. It had come from a need to protect myself against the newly-awakened wild emotions that this man’s presence stirred in me. Our clothing clung, wet against wet, as he carried me to shore. He had set the other female passenger onto the sand as soon as they were clear of the sea, but his firm hold as we crossed the beach suggested he had no such idea for me.

“I can walk from here,” I informed him.

“I’ll take you to the path. Being as soaked as you are, the sand will stick and make you even more uncomfortable.”

I swear he gave me an extra squeeze to emphasise his statement.

Off the beach, we continued along a small path through the sand dunes until we came to a large warehouse situated at the edge of a dirt road. There he set me down, giving me the chance to take toll of my state.

“Tell me who is here to meet you, and I’ll locate them.”

For a moment, I hoped that when I said the name of the man who had brought me to this country, my porter would turn out to be that man. “Mr. Watson...Sid Watson.”

With this information, the handsome gentleman inclined his head and raised one eyebrow.

“So, you’re the secret that Sid has been hiding?”

“A secret?”

“That’s right. Sid was bragging about a surprise coming for him this month. Said we’d all be green with envy. I can see why.”

I looked towards the small gathering of people who waited near the warehouse. They all stared back and unused as I was to being an object of attention, I stepped further from my bearer to give myself distance and hopefully retrieve what I could of my dignity. “I expect Mr. Watson is here to meet me. Can you point him out?”

“Well, this is difficult.” The man’s face had grown solemn, and he held out his hand. “I’m Griff Tucker. Pleased to meet you.”

I offered my hand to his. “How do you do, Mr. Tucker? My name is Katie Masefield. Is Mr. Watson here?”

“Why don’t you come with me, Miss Masefield?” he said, turning on his heel and walking swiftly inside the building. I entered behind him and looked around an open area with desks and cabinets, but he continued walking to a small hallway where there was a door to an office. I wondered if he was taking me to see his employer, to explain how he had dropped me in the sea, before I made a fuss in public. Instead, he ushered me into an empty office and settled me in a chair.

“Wait there. I’ll be back in a minute.”

The office was well furnished with ledger books stacked neatly on the desk. Through the window, I could see drays with enormous wheels pulled by three horses that stood calmly, chest deep in the sea with the waves smashing around them. Alongside them a number of burly men transferred goods from the punt to the wagon to be brought ashore. The men of the colony were certainly strong from their labour and the sight of them gave me a pleasing image with regard to Mr. Watson.

I had seen so many remarkable sights in one day that I hadn’t been able to take everything in. Now, I expected, I was to meet my fiancé.

Mr. Tucker returned with a woollen shawl that he placed over my shoulders before rounding the desk and sitting on the other side.

“I know you must be cold, Miss Masefield, and I’ll see to getting you dried off and into fresh clothes soon, but I’m afraid first I have bad news to impart. Unfortunately your husband-to-be, Sid Watson, was killed ten days ago in a mining accident.”

If I was cold before, I was chilled to the bone now. My thoughts were jumbled as I tried to make sense of this news.

“This is a trick...it can’t be so. I don’t know anybody in this town...”

Mr. Tucker leaned back on his chair, pushing the broad hand that had recently held me through his dark hair. “Don’t you worry, Miss Masefield; we’ll see you right. I’ll make certain you’re taken care of until you decide how you wish to proceed.”

I was in a worse predicament than I had been before I had left England. I had twenty-five pounds to my name, and that was certainly not enough to buy my passage back to my home country. I was marooned in a township with wild natives and strange handsome men. What was this life God had planned for me?

“I don’t want to trouble you, but you need to know that this town can be a little wild at times. It’s filled with men come to make their fortunes with gold—some of them less than savoury. There are not enough rooms to accommodate them, so many are in makeshift camps under poor shelters. My family has been in Kotuku for many years before the rush began, and my friend, Mr. Raukura, and I have a fine house. We have a spare room you are most welcome to make use of.”

That was impossible. How could I ever spend time unchaperoned with two men I didn’t know? Particularly one as handsome as Mr. Tucker. On the other hand, my intention had been to do the same with Sid Watson, the difference being we were to be married immediately.

“I am sure you are aware that as a single woman, I can’t possibly do that, Mr. Tucker. I’ll find a boarding establishment.”

“These days in Kotuku, we call finding accommodation—particularly a boarding establishment—a miracle. I don’t doubt you’ll have plenty of offers of a bed, although you’d have to share, if you understand my meaning.”

Despite the cold, my cheeks heated at his lewd suggestion. But my embarrassment, mixed with the shock and fatigue I felt, meant I had to clench my teeth to stop them chattering.

“I don’t see that you have any choice, Miss Masefield,” he continued. “You don’t seem to understand when I say this town is filled with single men. They outnumber the women at around six to one.”

To what hellhole had I been delivered? With my fiancé deceased and little money, I couldn’t see I had an option beyond the one offered by Mr. Tucker.

I straightened myself in the chair, ignoring the revealing clinging of my wet clothes. “In that case, Mr. Tucker, I shall have to put my trust in you and accept your offer, which I hope is as genuine as you make it sound.” As if the effort of my decision were the last straw, my teeth began to chatter, and a violent shivering overtook my body.

“Come now, I’ll take you to my house to get you dried off and warmed. You’ll have the cold and a fever if you sit much longer in that sodden dress.”

“Wait.” I put a hand up to stop him as he rose from his chair. I knew my husband-to-be had done well with his gold claim, and perhaps I had a valid claim on his fortune myself. The idea was vulgar, but I had been thrown into a desperate situation.

“Mr. Tucker, I believe my husband was a man of means, am I correct?”

“
Was
would be the appropriate word. You see, Watson had trouble with gambling and drink. A number of men hold his promissory notes from card games, and the local storekeepers and public houses have been left with unpaid accounts. You could say you’ve had a lucky escape.”

This news caused my heart to sink to a new depth.

Book 1, Part 2

GRIFF

I couldn’t believe that falling in the tide with that beautiful young woman in my arms would be the portent of such good luck. When I’d seen her on the deck of the steamship, my heart had squeezed with a pang of envy. I’d wondered who the lucky devil was who had managed not only to find such a pretty young thing, but to entice her to Kotuku rather than a larger town like Auckland.

My manners abandoned me when the wind turned in my favour as she descended the ladder, and I’d taken advantage of her billowing skirts to enjoy the turn and sweep of her fine legs. I couldn’t wait to introduce her to my friend, Ari.

The pressing matter was to get Miss Masefield and her luggage to my home, for certainly she would take ill if she wasn’t soon relieved of her wet clothes. I took one more chance to look at her. Her red hair hung in bedraggled ringlets down her back, the pins that had held it so primly in place as she stood on the
Ondine
’s deck having been loosened during her unscheduled swim.

She appeared frightened, as any woman in her situation would be, but in her deep green eyes I saw strength and defiance. Her lips were full and a pleasing deep rosy red, but her mouth was small and perfect for her delicate face.

My cock hardened at the thought of her fine lips slipping over its swollen head. It had been months since Ari and I had made a trip to Auckland to visit Flora’s women there. Although we were well versed in the ways of pleasuring each other, that carried with it a certain element of risk. As far as the town was concerned, we were two bachelors in business together with the shipping, warehousing and farm—a not uncommon situation in these parts. We were popular with the women to the extent that no question had ever been raised concerning our living circumstances.

If Miss Masefield knew of my carnal thoughts, she would not be accompanying me so eagerly to the safety of my house. Yet it would be safer for her there than being single in this rough town.

I asked her to wait in my office and went outside to find my foreman, Wiremu. He was checking off the day’s consignment as the drays delivered the goods to the warehouse loading dock. With a brief explanation, I made certain he would keep an eye on things so that I could take Katie Masefield home. At the back of the warehouse, James Murphy leaned against his buggy, and I hailed him to take my guest and her luggage to my house. I would accompany them on my horse.

A gold miner’s worth fluctuated like that of a gambler, but the shipping and warehousing business had flourished with the demands of a rapidly growing town. So, too, had the farm, with its sheep, cattle, and horse breeding, for which we were known as the best in the district.

Our recently built villa was constructed from kauri—a native timber popularly used in construction because of its strength, and resistance to rot—and enjoyed amenities equal to the finest houses in Auckland.

A covered veranda ran around three sides onto which each of the three bedrooms opened to allow a cool breeze to enter in summer. We had a parlour and a drawing room, and out the back, a kitchen, scullery, pantry, and washroom, off which we had installed a water closet.

Our most modern convenience, though, was the bathroom, similar to the ones I’d been shown in the new, modern houses in Auckland. No more hauling the tin tub in front of the range for us!

Sid Watson had built a two-roomed hip-roofed cottage that he had shared with the wind, rain, rats and any drunks who stopped by to drink and play poker.

Our house was situated on a prominent gap that looked out to the wild ocean and the islands beyond it. To Ari and me, it was paradise.

Murphy’s buggy made short work of the trip across the flats and out to the bluff, and in no time I was showing Miss Masefield our villa.

Once the buggy had left, Miss Masefield stood in front of the house and stared. Either she was exhausted or the well-appointed villa had taken her by surprise.

Her clothing was plain and well-worn though in good repair. She had a small trunk and little else, making me wonder about her circumstances in England. It seemed she was a young lady of few means though her manner and deportment spoke of someone with at least a rudimentary education.

I led her onto the porch and directed her to the guest room off the hallway at the back of the house. We often put up visiting businessmen from around the country, seeing as Kotuku had such a demand for its accommodations these days. In any case, the few local public houses that provided accommodations upstairs were often rowdy and, by evening’s end, filled with drunks from the camps. I was confident our vacant room would be comfortable for her.

“You’ll find a bathroom through the door at the end of the house, on your right. I will draw you a bath and ensure you will have privacy there. Leave your wet clothing across the railing on the wall. When Maraea, our help, returns this afternoon with our laundry, she will take your clothing away. It will all need cleaning as the salt from the seawater will ruin the fabric.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

To my eyes, she looked drained. As much as I wanted to linger and drink in her beauty, not only did she need to free herself of her damp clothing, but I knew Ari would be returning from the stables soon. I had to let him know about our guest before he accidentally came upon her.

I filled the kettle to make tea, all the time thinking about Katie, naked in my bath tub. When I returned to town I would be sure to find her some scented soap and a softer bath towel, for her skin appeared delicate and a feminine scent would be a pleasing distraction.