Farewell to Lancashire (42 page)

Cassandra patted her arm with one wet hand and waited. If you gave her time, didn’t question too hard, Pandora usually told you her thoughts.

‘It’s Lancashire I miss, not England. It’s – home. But even if we wanted to go back, how could we afford the fares back for four of us?’ She bit back further words and tried to speak calmly. ‘There’s no use dwelling on it, love. I’m sure I’ll settle down now we’ve somewhere to live and work.’

‘We’ll be living in a tent. That will never feel like a home.’ Cassandra looked towards the house. ‘And their house isn’t much better, is it? I’m amazed to see people of their class living in such a – a shed. Here, catch hold.’

They each took an end of a sheet and twisted it till they’d got as much of the water out as they could, then slung it over one of the ropes, using the new pegs to hold it in place.

Reece stood up. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’

‘I’d love one.’ Cassandra was annoyed with herself for answering so warmly. She’d vowed to speak coolly to him and had broken that vow within a couple of hours.

‘Give me ten minutes.’

She turned back to the tub of rinsing water and dunked another sheet in it, not caring that she splashed her pinafore and skirt, since they dried almost instantly in hot weather like this. ‘I don’t see how we can starch anything.’

‘I don’t think we should even try. Anyway, Mrs Southerham didn’t buy any starch. She forgot quite a few things.’

‘She doesn’t understand what’s needed.’

‘It’ll have to be enough that the clothes and linen are clean.’ Pandora giggled. ‘There are rather a lot of underclothes to wash, aren’t there? They can’t have done any laundry for ages.’

‘They’re used to having servants to do that. And they have so many clothes that it wasn’t urgent.’

Reece hung the kettle over the fire and came across to join them. ‘Next time you’ve got some hot water, can I bring my own clothes across and give them a bit of a wash in the water that’s left?’

She couldn’t ignore that question. ‘Why don’t you put them out with the other things? We’re washing our own clothes as well as theirs, so we might as well wash yours. Your job at the moment is to make us a lot of pegs.’

His smile was so warm, she felt herself flushing and bent over the tub again. When she looked up, he was back at the cooking fire, which was set between neatly arranged stones. She watched him check the damper he’d mixed that morning and move the camp oven away from the hot embers. Taking the boiling kettle off its metal hook, he poured hot water into the big teapot, his movements so neat and precise, he was a pleasure to watch. He refilled the kettle and set it over the flames again.

Sighing, she pulled the final sheet out of the water and with Pandora’s help got that rinsed. They put the next pile of dirty clothes to soak and went to join Reece at the table.

‘We’ll need some more hot water soon,’ Pandora said.

‘I’ve put some on to boil. I’ll draw a fresh bucket of water after we’ve had our tea. We need more buckets and washing equipment.’

‘Are we allowed to stop work like this?’ Cassandra asked. ‘At the mill there were always set hours of work.’

He smiled at her. ‘We all work hard. They can’t grudge us a cup of tea, and we know better than anyone when we need a rest. Anyway, it’s so hard to find maids, they’ll know to treat you both well. I think it’s shameful not paying you any wages, Cassandra.’

Which showed, she thought, that he’d not missed anything. She shrugged. ‘I’m just glad to have somewhere to stay until – afterwards.’

He was stirring his tea, round and round, avoiding her eyes as he asked, ‘When exactly is the baby due?’

‘May.’

‘There isn’t a doctor near here. They’re very short of doctors in this colony. But if we can get to know the people who have farms nearby, maybe we’ll find a woman who can help you with the birth.’

She stared at him in shock. He was talking as if he was involved in the situation.

‘I’ll ask around for you,’ he said softly. ‘I see more people than they do. There’s a shop an hour’s drive away that Kevin told me about. I did the shopping for them there once and found the owners very helpful. From the looks of it, I’ll have to go there again soon. Mrs Southerham is more practical than her husband, but not a lot. The things she bought in Perth were mostly for herself, not household necessities.’

‘Thank you.’ Cassandra drained her cup quickly and got back to work. It was too easy to get intimate with Reece, far too easy. They’d always been able to chat to one another comfortably, right from their very first meeting.

And if Pandora said one word about the situation, hinted at anything ... she’d ... she didn’t know what she’d do. But to her relief, her sister said nothing.

When their employers came back, Mrs Southerham praised what they’d done, then sighed. ‘I’m not a very good cook, but I’m even worse at washing, so I’ll make the meals today. We need another batch of damper and that I can manage, thanks to Reece’s teaching. Francis kills a kangaroo whenever we need fresh meat.’ She smiled across at the man sitting by the table, whittling. ‘I think you’re going to have to make a lot of pegs, Reece. There’s so much washing.’

Cassandra watched Mr Southerham sit down at the table and take out his pocket knife.

‘Perhaps I can help you with the pegs?’

But he proved useless at whittling and soon got tired of trying, so went off to kill another kangaroo.

The only things Mr Southerham seemed able to do, Cassandra thought, were care for the horses and shoot. She saw Reece watching his employer with a resigned expression on his face, then he turned, caught her watching him and winked.

She bent over the washing again, but soon her back began to ache. How was she going to manage such heavy work in the final month or two? The bump wasn’t very big yet but the child had quickened, become a real person in her mind. She kept wondering whether it was a girl or a boy, what it would look like, if it would be clever – if it would be cruel like its father.

She stood up to stretch her back, pressing one hand to where it was aching from bending over the washtub. She was conscious of Reece watching her, conscious of him every single minute they were together. She’d known this would happen if they lived at such close quarters.

But when the child made her look ugly and clumsy, he’d feel differently, she was sure. He’d not be able to bear the sight of her then.

Xanthe and Maia took it in turns to ride next to Conn on the cart. He’d had to bring his mother with him to Perth because there was no one to care for her back at his homestead. It must have been hard for a man to do the things Mrs Largan needed help with.

After an hour, he scowled at Xanthe and said, ‘You two had better call me Conn. I’m not fond of being called Mr Largan.’

‘We can’t do that if you’re our employer,’ she protested.

‘You can if I tell you to.’

‘Why don’t you like being called “Mr Largan”?’

‘It sounds like my father and brother, and I’m not fond of either of them.’

Xanthe turned to exchange surprised glances with her sister at this strange comment and saw Mrs Largan looking at her son sadly, as if she understood exactly why he was saying that.

What had happened to break up the family? What had he done to get himself transported? Were his father and brother dead? They must be or his mother wouldn’t be here in Australia with him.

They drove along gently, and she could see how Conn tried to choose the smoothest part of the track and kept to a slow pace so as not to give his mother pain. He was also thoughtful for the horses’ comfort, not pushing them too hard, letting them rest.

When they stopped, she and Maia helped his mother. They also slept on the floor in her room at the rough and ready inn where they spent the night.

Xanthe was itching to discuss the situation with her twin, but they were never alone, not because they were under strict supervision, but because Mrs Largan needed their help in everything she did, poor woman.

‘The journey to Perth exhausted her,’ Conn said abruptly as he and Xanthe got the cart ready for his mother, spreading out the quilts on which she sat or sometimes lay down.

‘Travelling isn’t easy here, is it? It seems so strange and old-fashioned not to have railways.’

‘The whole place seems strange to me,’ he said, talking to himself as much as her. ‘And yet there’s something about it. Look how clear and sparkling the air is.’ He gestured with one hand. ‘Back home in Ireland, it’d be raining or misty.’

‘It would in Lancashire, too. I like the sun.’

When he’d carried his mother out to the cart, Maia said, ‘I think it’d be better if I travelled in the back. I’m better at looking after people than my sister is.’

He cocked one eyebrow at Xanthe. ‘So you’ll be the housemaid?’

She shrugged. ‘Yes. I’ll do my best. I know how to keep a small house clean, but I’ve never served the gentry before.’

‘I wouldn’t call myself
gentry
now.’

He sounded so bitter, she didn’t even try to reply.

They drove along without speaking for about half an hour, then, as if he could stand the silence no longer, he asked abruptly, ‘Why did you come here?’

She debated briefly then decided on the truth. She hated lying to people. ‘Our aunt forced us to.’

‘You don’t seem like the sort of girls to be easily forced into things. You’ve both got an independent air to you.’

She smiled. ‘Lancashire manners, someone said to me on the ship – only she didn’t mean it as a compliment.’

‘So how did your aunt force you?’

‘She had our eldest sister kidnapped and threatened to harm her if we didn’t leave.’ When he said nothing, she added, ‘It sounds strange, but that’s the simple truth.’

‘I’ve learned that relatives can be far more cruel than strangers,’ he said abruptly. ‘And anyway, I believe you. You’ve got a very expressive face. It’d betray you if you tried to tell lies.’

‘Dad used to say that. Oh, I do miss him! He died just before we left. Is your father dead?’

‘No.’

He looked so grim she didn’t ask the next obvious question, which was why his mother was here if her husband was still alive.

In the late afternoon of the second day’s travel, they turned off the main highway a short distance past a wooden shack which he said was a shop. They were now on little more than a track. Here, Conn slowed right down, but even so the jolting was painful for his mother and her face was chalky white.

The house was only a mile or so along this road. A big wooden sign said
Galway House
. She was surprised at how large the place was.

An elderly man came limping out to greet them and stroke the horses’ heads, murmuring to the animals in Gaelic.

‘These are Maia and Xanthe, who are going to look after my mother and the house,’ Conn said. ‘This is Sean, who looks after the stock. He does speak English, though he prefers not to.’ He picked up his mother, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. As they exchanged fond glances, he said softly, ‘Home to stay this time.’

She patted his cheek, just once, and the sight of their love brought tears to Xanthe’s eyes.

‘Someone open that door, please.’

Xanthe hurried ahead to do this while Maia gathered up Mrs Largan’s quilts.

‘Last door on the left. Turn down the bed,’ he ordered as he entered the house.

Not taking time to look round, Xanthe ran ahead and found herself in a comfortable bedroom which looked out on to a veranda at the rear. She turned down the covers, finding a soft feather mattress below them.

As he laid his mother on the bed, she sighed in relief and lay back on the pillows.

‘I think if I had to make that journey again, Conn darlin’, it’d kill me.’

‘I won’t ask you to, Mother.’ He looked at the two newcomers. ‘Not unless our new helpers let us down.’

She smiled at the two maids. ‘I’m sure they won’t. I’m a lot better when I can lead a more peaceful life, so I won’t always be as troublesome as this, girls. Welcome to Galway House. I hope you’ll be happy here. Now, if you’ll leave us in peace, Conn, I’ll get these young women to help me undress.’

When Mrs Largan was in bed, with Maia still fussing over her, Xanthe went to look for the kitchen.

She found Conn there, heating water on a proper stove, which had a hot water tank to the right of the fire, an oven to the left of it and a hob above. ‘I can take over now, if you like.’

He turned round and nodded. ‘Just hunt through the cupboards for what you need. We still have some of the bread we bought in Perth, though it’s stale. There’s no milk today, but I’ll arrange to buy some from our neighbours from tomorrow onwards.’

‘You have neighbours? I thought yours was the only house on this lane.’

‘They’re about four hundred yards away in that direction.’ He pointed. ‘We buy milk and eggs from them until we can set up our own stock properly.’

‘What about a meal for tonight? What should I make?’

‘There’s a ham hanging in the cellar. It’s down there, and it’s a lot cooler than up here.’ He pointed to a door. ‘The candles are on the shelf at the top of the cellar steps.’