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She started on her work strangely warmed by his words. He believed her. Why should his good opinion matter so much? Yet, it did. It was terribly important, more important than the finding of the ring. Appalled at where her thoughts were leading her, she immediately concentrated on her work.

She checked on the beer, made the sandwiches, and filled a carton with clean glasses. She wanted to leave the house in the same spotless condition she had found it.

She stacked the dishwasher, stripped the beds and gathered up all the dirty linen and loaded the washing-machine. She wanted to rush straight out and look for her ring, but kept doggedly on until the house was vacuumed and dusted, the kitchen, porch and washhouse mopped out and fresh flowers placed in the vases.

She walked through the house with a critical eye to satisfy herself that all was well, admiring as she went the way the magnificent native timber had been used so extensively throughout the building, especially the massive beams. Hudson had told her it had been taken from trees grown on the property. It was a beautiful home, pleasing in every aspect, from the architecture to the lawns, gardens and trees surrounding it.

Satisfied at last she walked out into the bright sunshine. As she searched the road and grass verges her mind was in a turmoil. What if the ring wasn’t found today? Could she stay and look for it? Would Hudson allow her to stay? Yet how could she go away without searching every inch of the woolshed?

As she neared the woolshed Hudson appeared at the doorway. ‘Come and have a farewell drink with the boys, Serenity.’

She wanted to refuse, she wanted to keep on looking, the very next step might reveal her ring, but it would look terrible if she refused.

‘Love to, it’s so hot out here.’ She came into the shed, smiling even though it cost her considerable effort.

Everyone was talking about rings, lost ones, found ones; incredible stories but she knew they were true. One had been lost a year, another eight years, another nineteen years, but they had all been found eventually. She couldn’t wait that long, though. It was a relief when they left, but Cam stayed back, and young Ben, the two boys Gary and Tim who were permanent staff, and herself and Hudson.

‘Let’s try an experiment,’ Hudson suggested. ‘Get me your jersey, Ben.’

Ben rushed out and came back with a thick Arran jersey knitted in natural wool.

Hudson took it, and slipping off a signet ring he always wore, he hung it on the nail, then hooked the jersey on top of it. ‘Now Ben, take it down as you did that night.’

Ben walked over and flicked the jersey down and headed for the door. The ring flew halfway across the wool floor and bounced into a pile of skirtings.

No one said a word as Hudson walked to retrieve it, not without a bit of difficulty.

Silently they stared at each other. It could be in the wool, pressed and baled and ready to go for auction.
Thirty
bales of it, each weighing about four hundred pounds. An impossible task to find it.

‘We’ll try again,’ Hudson said calmly. ‘The best of three.’ The experiment was repeated, and the second time the ring fell flat then rolled under the wool board itself which was about three feet high where all the oddments and bellies were thrown to keep them from spoiling the good fleece wool. Another mammoth job if it was to be searched, hours of work. The third time the ring repeated the centre bounce and landed against the wool press.

Serenity sighed with despair. ‘There’s no use looking for it. It’s hopelessly lost.’

‘Never say never, Serenity,’ Hudson said cheerfully, almost as if the magnitude of the problem excited him. ‘Let’s consider it from all angles. What do you think happened to it, Cam?’

‘After that exhibition, I’d say there’s a fair chance it’s buried deep in those bales, or second guess would be it hung on to the jersey, and got carried to the cottage, or part way there.’

‘Ben, how about you?’ Hudson asked.

‘About the same as Cam’s, but one of the gang could have pocketed it. If it was that classy, and sat there four days, it’s a mighty big temptation. I’m not saying that happened but it’s possible.’

'That’s right, I want all the possibilities. Tim you’re next, then you, Gary.’

‘I’ll pick under the wool board, because I'm naturally lazy and that will take less effort to sieve than the other lot,’ Tim offered with a rueful grin.

Everyone laughed and Gary said, ‘All that the others said, but I have an itching to search around the edges of the shed. Remember, it happened the first night, and there wasn’t so much wool about like there is now. Secondly, your ring is large and heavy, Hudson, a man’s ring. Serenity’s ring, being lighter and a different shape, could have bounced or rolled further than yours.’

‘Good thinking,’ Hudson commented. ‘And you, Serenity?’

‘Forget it. I’ll ring the insurance company,’ she said glumly. There were just too many places it could have lodged.

‘You do that. I’ll come over to the house with you and ring the local police. I know them well. Tim, you go with Ben and give that cottage a real going over. Shake out the mattresses, blankets, mats, sweep the floor, do it thoroughly and we won’t have to cover that ground again. Gary, and you Cam, if you’re staying, check all the obvious places in here. I’ll contact Terry and see how fast he can get out here. There’s no use us spending hours if he can find it in minutes.’

Serenity packed up the glasses into the carton and tidied up the sandwich boxes to take home.

'I'll carry those, Serenity. Get a move on.’ Hudson strode away making her half-run to keep up. it’s Saturday—I hope your jeweller friend is open for Saturday shopping. You ring him right now,’ he instructed, and ‘book it to the Station. 1 want this cleared up pronto.’

Serenity had to find the number from the directory service, then placed the call.

‘Did you make it person to person to the Manager?’ Hudson demanded when she returned to the kitchen.

She shook her head.

‘Then go and do so. You’ll save time and money going straight to the top, and they’ll get him at home if he’s not at the store.’

She changed the call and it came straight through. She stated the position, gave the date the ring was purchased, and hung on.

‘Are you there, Miss James? Look, I’m sorry, we’ve been through the insurance cards and can find no trace of your name or John Bellamy’s name. Things have been a bit chaotic here and the filing system is not as up to date as it should be. If you bought the ring here and asked us to insure it, then I think you can consider yourself covered. All I’m saying is that I can’t find proof and this call is costing you a lot of money. I’ll ring back and confirm it when we find the record of purchase. Give me your number.’

Serenity gave the number. What else could go wrong? ‘And you’re positive it will be covered?’

‘As positive as I can be without sighting the card. I’m new here, and the manager who has just left, let the place get into a shocking state.’

‘You mean he was fired?’

‘Yes. He was incompetent.’

‘So, he could have forgotten to arrange the insurance?’

‘I haven’t said that. Just wait until I have time to check it out. I am aware how anxious you must be and will make every endeavour to sort it out today and get back to you as soon as possible.’

Serenity hung up and went out to speak to Hudson. Carefully avoiding his eyes, she gave him the facts in a flat monotone.

'I’ll ring the Police,’ he said quietly and went through the door closing it softly behind him.

She had expected an explosion, yet he had just walked away. When he came back she asked wearily, ‘What happens now?’

‘Well, it’s obvious you have to stay here now. You’ve given this phone number to the jeweller, I’ve given it to the Police, Terry is coming out tomorrow afternoon, and is very confident. You’re on my payroll now, and you’ll stay on it until this mess is cleared up. Don’t you want to stay?’

‘Whatever you say,’ Serenity felt completely defeated by the further complications; there seemed no end to them.

‘You’re tired out, so don’t try to think now. Things will appear better in the morning. Pack your bags, and we’ll go home. Clear up here and I’ll put the last of the sheep away. Don’t worry—it’ll work out.’

The unexpected softness of his tone made her eyes brim with tears, 'I'm really very sorry this happened, Hudson.’

‘That’s okay, Paleface. I hired you for five days. You’ve panned out much better than I expected, you’ve kept up a cracking pace. I’d like to hire you for the next two weeks, no, until the end of the month. You’ll get reasonable time off to come over here and hunt for your ring, but I’d like to count on you as a housekeeper for that period. There’s haymaking ahead, the cattle muster, and I have to have someone I can rely on, someone who isn’t threatening to leave every five minutes. How about it?’

She couldn’t leave while there was a chance of finding the ring. It seemed the decision had been taken out of her hands and she felt relieved. 'I'll stay the month, then.’

He smiled down at her. 'It’s a deal. Now, listen to me. When that manager calls back. I’m positive you’ll find that you’re fully covered and will be able to replace your ring before John returns. Only a reputable dealer would deal in rings of that quality, you can be assured of that. And I am also positive that we will find it. So stop worrying. Be ready in about half an hour.’

She watched him stride away full of confidence and was furious to find herself comparing his actions with the way John had behaved when she had had to face a difficult crisis.

John had slunk away shamefaced and left her to handle it on her own. Hudson had taken control immediately, not dodging the unpleasantness, and he had made the announcement without offending anyone, then continued on with responsible determination to cover all possibilities and details.

Even if she didn’t like domineering men, she had to admit that he had carried most of the load for her, and at the same time had managed to inject a feeling of anticipation that it would all work out well.

She washed the glasses, and flew out to bring the clothes in, beautifully dry and sweet smelling in the easterly breeze. She tried to quell the surge of joy that filled her, but she couldn’t help singing as she ironed the clothes and put them away.

Hudson
wanted
her to stay.

‘You can relax, now, Serenity,’ Hudson said as he braked the Subaru by the back gate. ‘No more cooking today. The boys will be across later, but they’ll only stop long enough to shower and change. It’s Saturday night, and they have big plans.’

Serenity got out and jerked her bag from the back. ‘What about you? Won’t you need a meal?’

‘No. I’ve got to go out tonight, too. But I must shift some stock first.’

She watched him drive away, then walked inside feeling vaguely disappointed. She had been constantly in his company since she had arrived, and the house seemed empty without his overpowering presence. How ridiculous, she had only known him for five days.

She bathed and washed her hair, then, putting on a bikini because it was still very hot, she wandered to the far end of the lawn and stretched out on a seat. It was time she got a suntan—she was sick of being called Paleface.

Serenity brushed her long fair hair free of tangles, and lay down again to let the sun do its work. She felt restless and unable to relax. Her mind was overactive, flicking from subject to subject. She tried to focus on John. Where was he? What was he doing? Was he happy? She couldn’t even remember the travel schedule they had spent many happy hours working out. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to picture his face, but all she saw was Hudson with his auburn hair and wicked hazel eyes smiling mockingly at her.

Resolutely, she thought about her car. She had been informed that the insurance company had written off the wreck, so she would buy a new one. If she had her own vehicle, she could have driven back to the Homestead and spent the evening looking for her ring. Still, the thought held no appeal. How was she going to fill the empty hours? Normally she loved having time to herself.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, she was shaded by a large tree, and that caused her to shiver, so she headed up to the house and made a cup of coffee for herself. Standing on the patio, she could see Hudson moving cattle down by the lake. He could have taken her with him, she thought resentfully.

Shocked by the trends of her thoughts, she admonished herself, ‘Lady, the day your happiness depends on being in the vicinity of Hudson Grey . . . you’ve got big trouble on your plate.’

She would spend the evening with Sarah Tarrant. She would dress up and pretend she was going to visit her grandmother—it was a harmless enough fantasy, and next week Tessa and Lee and the children would be back.

Delighted, she went to her room, and pulled out her large case. What would she wear? Something very feminine. Yes, her grandmother had been a fine lady, so she would expect Serenity to dress correctly. Cheerfully she rejected all plunging necklines and trouser suits, and chose a chiffon dress, dreamy in pale green with dark green leaf patterns. And her hair, she would brush and brush it and twist it in a smooth knot at the nape of her neck, and she would wear stockings, cobweb fine, and shoes with an elegant heel.

Sarah Tarrant would greet her from the verandah, ‘Come along in, Serenity James, and take tea with me. My, you’ve grown into a lovely young lady.’

It took her an hour to complete her careful toilet, and she twisted in front of the mirror, her eyes shining with pleasure. Her mother had always loved this dress, with its close-fitting bodice and flaring skirt, the dash of white lace at the throat and cuffs, and the twenty tiny looped buttons neatly fastened from the waist. Her coiffure was perfect, not a hair out of place, and her make-up was just right; eyebrows and lashes emphasised with mascara, the lightest touch of blusher on the high cheek bones, and lipstick. Now a dab of perfume, and she was off. She wandered through the shortcut she had discovered the first night, through the beech trees, and up the garden path.