Inheritance (11 page)

They rose from the table. Cassie smiled at her and impulsively clasped the older woman’s hand and held it for a moment. ‘I’ve enjoyed our chat. I’d love to visit you. And perhaps you’d like to see Yallandoo some time.’

‘I would like that very much. Now I am going to collect Gemma from the pool before she becomes waterlogged and she will drive me home in that wretched contraption. Goodbye for now, Cassie. I hope to see you again soon.’

‘Goodbye, Nadia.’

‘I hope you didn’t mind me leaving you alone with her,’ Mark said apologetically when his mother had gone, ‘but I could see that she was enjoying your company and she doesn’t take such a liking to many people these days. She can be a bit of an old tartar when she likes.’

‘She was telling me about her early days in Australia. Very interesting.’

‘Thank you for listening to her. She’s obviously taken a great fancy to you. Not that I blame her.’ The look of approval he gave her added extra meaning to his words.

‘Look,’ he continued, ‘our conversation was interrupted when she came and I’d like to discuss our business interests further. I seem to have upset you again in some way. We can’t talk here, there’re too many distractions. Will you come to dinner with me one night soon? We can talk then without being interrupted.’

Cassie studied him. He certainly seemed genuine enough. Could she have been mistaken about his motives? Perhaps she should give him the benefit of the doubt.

‘Very well, when did you have in mind?’

Mark smiled with obvious pleasure. ‘I have a meeting tomorrow night, would Tuesday suit you?’

‘Yes, that’ll be fine.’

‘Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. All right?’

‘Yes.’ Cassie smiled at him for the first time.

He moved very close and for one absurd moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but he reached out and ran his fingers along the warm brown skin on her arm. His touch sent a sudden shock through her.

In the seconds of silence that followed, she saw in his eyes an unmistakable look of admiration.

‘Cassie…’ his voice was low and caressing.

‘I…I must go,’ she interrupted, suddenly panicky. ‘I see Rosie waiting for me. Thank you for inviting us today.’

He moved back, the moment gone.

‘My pleasure. I wanted you to be here.’

As Cassie moved away she saw Stella approach, saw her place her hand on Mark’s arm as she reached him and heard her say, ‘I must go now. I’ll see you at my place later tonight.’

Cassie couldn’t hear his reply.

‘Oh my God,’ Nadia exclaimed as she looked out of the window. ‘That child, she will kill herself yet.’ She hurried outside. ‘Gemma, come down from there at once!’

From her perch, high in the tree, Gemma replied. ‘No!’

‘Gemma, come down. You will kill yourself if you fall.’

‘I won’t fall.’

‘Come down this minute!’

‘Silly old Grandy, you can’t make me.’

Suddenly, Mark appeared. ‘I want you out of that tree! Now!’ he barked.

Gemma stared at him defiantly for an instant, then, without a word, turned and slowly descended. When she reached the ground, her face mutinous, he took hold of her firmly and turned her to face her grandmother.

‘Now you apologise to Grandy.’

‘I won’t! I was all right.’

‘You were not all right and you were also very rude. Apologise!’

‘No!’

‘Then you’ll go to your room until you do.’

Gemma pulled away from him. Her face contorted with rage.

‘You fucking bastard,’ she screamed at him. ‘I hate you!’

He grasped her by the shoulders and glared angrily at her. ‘I’ve told you before I will not tolerate that sort of language.’

Tears welled in her eyes. ‘Mummy said it.’

‘Well, Mummy shouldn’t have said it! It was very wrong of her.’

She stared at him with wide eyes, not defiant now. ‘Like it was wrong of her to go and leave us?’

Mark stood silent for a few seconds and his voice softened as he answered her. ‘Yes. Sort of like that.’

‘When’s she coming back?’

‘Gemma, you know she’s not coming back.’

‘She will come back,’ she shouted, stamping her foot. ‘She will!’ With a loud wail, she turned and ran sobbing into the house, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Mark ran his hands through his hair. ‘Sometimes I’m at a loss what to do with her.’

‘Poor child. She still misses her mother.’

‘I can’t do anything about that.’

‘She needs to be part of a family. Maybe a brother or a sister. Perhaps it is time to think of marrying again.’

Mark’s head jerked back. ‘Marrying! No, thank you. I tried that once, never again!’

‘But not all women are alike.’

‘I can assure you I do not intend to take the chance.’

Nadia sighed. ‘Let us talk about Gemma then. She needs a firm hand. She needs to be with you.’

‘I want her with me.’

‘We cannot shunt her backwards and forwards between here and Sydney. Once she commences school, she will need to stay in one place.’

‘I suppose so.’

‘Have you decided whether you are going to live here or in Sydney?’

‘Permanently, you mean? I have to be here for some time yet, until the resort is finished and up and running. There’s still a lot to be done.’

‘How long will it take?’

‘Possibly six or seven months. The kitchen has to be fitted out and all the public rooms have to be built yet. And the suites have to be decorated and furnished. It’ll be time consuming.’

Nadia sniffed. ‘Hmph! I suppose Stella will be helping you with the decorating. I do not like that woman. She is too much like Rowena.’

‘Mother! I don’t want to listen to this.’

‘All right, all right. After it is all finished, then what?’

‘After that? Well, I’m not sure. I may stay and run it myself. I like the life up here. Laurence doesn’t need me in Sydney. He runs the company very efficiently without me. But,’ he shook his head, ‘I really don’t know.’

‘For Gemma’s sake, you are going to have to decide. She is booked into the school in Sydney next year, but if you are not going to be there, then she should be here with you.’

‘It’d be difficult for her go to school here. The closest school is miles away. She’s too young to have to travel such distances every day in a school bus on her own. She’d have to be driven. Would you stay here too?’

‘Mark, I will stay for some time but I may not be able to stay forever, much as I would miss her. We would have to find a good nursemaid for you.’

‘I wonder if that’d be possible up here? I suppose there are women who’d be interested. We’ve had no trouble recruiting staff for the resort.’

‘This is a little different, but I think it is possible. Otherwise, we bring someone up from Sydney. Hmm…’ she thought for a moment. ‘I may ask Cassie if she knows of anyone locally. What a pity she is not available, she would be excellent.’

Mark laughed. ‘I can’t see Cassie as a nursemaid.’

‘Perhaps not. She would make an excellent wife, though.’

‘What? Mother, please! I do not intend to marry again.’

‘Well, you could do worse than marry Cassie. I like her. She is a sweet, caring girl. Smart. Pretty.
And
she would be a good mother for Gemma. Better than Rowena ever was.’ Nadia snorted. ‘Pah! An alley cat would be a better mother than Rowena.’

‘I agree with that, but I have no intention of marrying. Now, could we leave it, please? I must go. I have a meeting with Laurence.’

‘Very well. But I still think she would make you a good wife.’

***

Laurence handed Mark the sheet of paper he had been studying.

‘Well, that all looks pretty good. I thought yesterday went well, too. We should get some good publicity from it. Now, one more matter before we finish. Yallandoo Station. What’s happening about that?’

‘I’m working on it, but it’s a bit slow going at the moment. Cassie isn’t inclined to sell. I was getting further with Len than I am with her.’

‘Hmm. Pity he had that accident. We want that property.’

‘That’s a bit insensitive, isn’t it?’

‘Business is business. You better turn on the charm a bit. She’s young and gullible; you can get around her. Play up to her a bit. But don’t go falling for her.’

‘I can look after my own affairs, thanks very much.’

‘Well, she’s a pretty little thing. We know how your head can be turned by a pretty face, and I saw how you looked at her. Remember it’s strictly business; you don’t need any more emotional attachments. Love ’em and leave ‘em.’

‘You needn’t worry about me. She’s attractive, I admit, but I have no plans for any further serious relationships in my life.’

‘Good. I heard Cassie talking about putting in cabins. You should encourage that. Let her build them and then we’ll squeeze her out, take them over. There’s nothing like financial problems to persuade someone to sell.’

‘You’re a callous bastard, aren’t you? Never mind about anyone else.’

‘The old man didn’t build this company without stepping on a few toes. You’re too soft. We want Yallandoo for the final stage of the project. That’ll be the icing on the cake. How we get it doesn’t matter to me.’

‘I’ll manage it my own way.’

‘Just remember it means big bucks to the company. I’m relying on you, Mark, don’t let me down.’ His tone was commanding.

Mark scowled. ‘Fuck you, Laurence! Just because you’re ten years older than me doesn’t give you the right to act like the old man. He was always pushing me, I could never please him. Now you’re acting the same. Remember, we’re equal partners in the business.’

‘And don’t
you
forget that this project was your idea. I admit it’s looking good but we need the complete package for it to be really successful.

***

Stella straightened up from a table where she had been arranging a display as the door to the Hardwick Gallery opened.

A tall, slim young man entered. Clad in a bright floral shirt and cargo shorts, he had a jaunty air about him. His blue eyes, fringed by long, dark lashes, held a glimmer of laughter, as if he did not take life too seriously. His straight, dark hair was just a tad long and flopped over his forehead. He brushed it back as he sauntered towards her.

‘Ben! What a lovely surprise.’ Stella moved to greet him, smiling, hands outstretched to take his. After kissing her lightly on the cheek, he stood back to look at her, still holding her hands.

‘Well, don’t you look a million dollars?’ He dropped her hands and looked around. ‘Say, nice place you’ve got here. You must be doing pretty well.’

‘It’s okay. Though maybe not as well as it looks. Come out the back and we’ll have a cup of coffee and you can tell me what you’re doing here.’ She led him through a door at the rear of
the shop into a small hall and ushered him into her office. ‘Take a seat. I’ll arrange the coffee.’ Going back to the door, she called out. ‘Katie! Coffee for two.’ She closed the door and sat behind the desk.

‘Who’s Katie?’

‘My assistant. Now then, what are you doing up here? Last time I heard, you were in Rockhampton.’

‘Yeah, well, it got a bit hot there, so I thought I’d come up and check out Cairns.’

‘What are you doing with yourself?’

‘I’m working for a builder up here, good bloke, Gary Murphy. I’ve been here a couple of weeks and thought it was time to catch up with my favourite cousin.’

‘Gary Murphy? Shortish, fair hair?’

‘Yeah, do you know him?’

‘I met him on Sunday, at the launch of a big resort near here.’

‘He was telling me about that. Pretty ritzy place, apparently. He did some work there. The owner’s going to put in a good word for him with one of the neighbours who was at the bash. She might be wanting some cabins built on her station soon. Small world, isn’t it?’

‘Really? Would that be Yallandoo Station?’

‘I think that was the name.’

‘Would you be working there?’

‘Sure. I’m Gary’s right hand man now! Why?’

Stella sat back regarding him thoughtfully. A knock on the door announced the arrival of the coffee.

‘Put it on the desk,’ Stella told the young girl who brought it, in a sharp voice. ‘Have you finished packing that order yet?’

‘Yes,’ replied the girl.

‘Good. Then you can un-crate those artefacts that came in this morning. And be careful, they’re worth a lot of money.’

‘Yes, Stella.’

‘Make sure there’s no dust on them. I’m putting them on display.’

With a nod, the girl left the room, closing the door behind her.

‘Not a bad looker,’ Ben said.

‘Forget it. Staff are off limits.’

‘You’re a hard woman,’ he laughed. ‘Now what’s with Yallandoo Station?’

‘Well, it really is a small world.’ She leant back and narrowed her eyes, her look calculating, her voice deliberate. ‘Business has been a bit slow lately.’

She waited a few seconds before continuing. ‘Where the money is in this game, at the moment, is in aboriginal art, artefacts, anything done by the indigenous crowd. And there’s some original art in the homestead at Yallandoo. The owner said on Sunday that she has a replica of a print that’s hanging at the resort. She thinks hers is the original. I dismissed the idea to her, but I’ve been making some discreet enquiries and it’s probable that she’s right. Apparently this particular artist lived at the station in his early years.’

‘Did her family own it then?’

‘Yes. If you’re working there, you could do something to help me.’

‘Yeah? What?’

‘If you have the chance, take a look at any paintings hanging in the homestead, probably in the hallway. Take note of the artist’s signature. Check if they’re paintings or prints. But be discreet about it. She’s young and naïve, she’d have no idea of their worth.’

Ben cocked his head to one side and smiled. ‘So you think you’ll be able to pick them up for a song. What’s in it for me, cousin dear?’

‘I’ll look after you, Ben, don’t worry about that.’ Stella sat silent for a moment, regarding him intently. She seemed to come to a decision and when she spoke again, it was with a quiet intensity. ‘Where the
real
money is, though, is in stuff that you can’t put on the general market. I have collectors who will pay anything,
anything
,’ she emphasised, ‘for…shall we say…pieces they would never be able to put on show. Pieces they would only ever be able to look at themselves in private.’