Shadows Over Taralon Page 5

  “I’m sure they sound very nice people.” Her mother’s voice was a touch frosty. “But when do you expect to be home?”

  “Probably by Christmas,” Jenny promised. “I will have worked myself out of a job by then. See you soon, Mum.”

  She clicked off her phone, and thought about that kiss again. It was only a light brotherly kiss, just the merest butterfly touch on her lips but, despite her efforts, tell-tale color had flooded her face.

  Almost as if she had never ever been kissed before, she thought indignantly, staring defiantly up into his eyes. Her unexpected reaction had somehow transferred itself to her knees that had become curiously boneless. Wayne’s eyes became a more intense grey, and he touched her hot cheek in the lightest of caresses.

  Jenny couldn’t make up her mind whether she was pleased or offended. It was just a friendly kiss, she reminded herself again, but she had done nothing to encourage that sort of friendliness. It was embarrassing that the color had surged up into her face so hotly at the touch of his mouth. He was probably conceited enough to think he had made an impression on her.

  Which he had, jeered the unconvinced part of her mind. No one had caused her knees to feel so boneless before. If he had put his arms around her and kissed her properly, how would she have reacted? Jenny’s face flamed again at the intrusive curiosity of her undisciplined mind.

  Merry had spent the morning preoccupied with playing nurse. A row of battered dolls all had fresh bandages around their heads and her crooning babble had gone on and on as she played. The crooning suddenly stopped. Jenny looked up, and realized that Marise watched them from the doorway.

  “I’m sorry,” Jenny said. It was an effort to keep her tone pleasant, remembering Marise’s unconcealed dislike of her. “I didn’t hear you knock.”

  “I left the car around the back, and walked through the house,” Marise explained.

  Today she had a smaller and less cumbersome cast about her ankle and she was without crutches. She was obviously getting better fast. She wore a white silk shirt and well-tailored culottes. Her hair flowed back into an immaculate chignon like polished gold silk. She looked older with her hair pulled back so severely. Her lips were narrowed into a tight unfriendly line and there was a calculating look in her hazel eyes.

  Jenny was immediately aware of how faded her tee shirt was, and that her jeans were crumpled. She brushed back her hair that had tumbled around her shoulders as she worked. Marise always made her feel about the same age as Merry. Merry, unnoticed, made a subdued escape.

  “The place seems very quiet. Where is everybody?” Marise drawled.

  Jenny stood up and walked out to the veranda. It was probably Marise’s insolent tone that got her hackles up, Jenny decided. She kept the pleasant expression on her face with an effort of will. Why did Marise so obviously consider her a usurper? After all, she was only here on a temporary basis. Marise would be returning to Taralon as soon as her leg was out of plaster anyway.

  “Bill is working in the back paddock. The boys are at school. I’m sure that Mrs. Harris is in the kitchen and I believe Wayne is working at his own place today.”

  Behind Jenny’s courtesy was resentment. It was hard to be pleasant to Marise when she was made so aware of her undeserved antagonism. Marise prowled along the veranda, limping slightly. She had on soft-soled shoes and moved very quietly.

  “Actually, I came over to see Wayne.” She paused and examined Jenny. “I’ve only just heard of his accident.”

  Jenny schooled her face to blankness. “It was nothing serious. He just collided with something.”

  If the matter was being kept quiet, it wasn’t her place to discuss it. She wondered how Marise had heard about it. Tony hadn’t been around since it happened. Perhaps some of the hands had been talking.

  “I suppose you had to take your turn at nursing him?” Marise probed.

  “He was no trouble,” Jenny said. She felt her color rise. “Mrs. Harris and Bill took it in turns.”

  “Of course. ”Marise’s voice was smooth. “I feel I should have been a better neighbor, despite the handicap of my leg. I suppose poor Wayne really roughed it with just you three to take care of him?” Jenny remained silent. Marise’s red lips curled up into a sneer. “Poor Wayne! You should have let us know! After all, Wayne is a very close friend of mine.”

  “Are you staying for some lunch?” Jenny asked. “I’m sure Mrs. Harris would like to see you.”

  “I’ll get some lunch from Wayne,” Marise said shortly. “Don’t bother Mrs. Harris.”

  Jenny kept up her smile as the tall lithe woman limped back towards her car. Her face felt stiff with the effort of keeping her mouth curved the right way. Just how close a friend was Wayne to Marise, anyway?

  “Has she gone?” Merry whispered from behind her.

  Jenny relaxed and turned around. Merry leaned against the wall like a small thundercloud, her bottom lip pushed out with disapproval. Jenny felt an odd lightening of her heart. She wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the elegant, poised Marise Bickerton. It was odd that her duties had included looking after the children when the three of them disliked her so much!

  “Yes, she’s gone.” She took Merry by the hand. “What about seeing if Mrs. Harris needs some help with lunch?’

  She listened with downcast eyes as Merry chattered to Mrs. Harris of Marise’s visit and set the table with thoughtful deliberation. Marise’s comments had rankled. Wayne didn’t really seem Marise’s type. Perhaps the fact that he also ran a successful property gave them a lot in common.

  “Silly of Marise not to stay for lunch,” Mrs. Harris grumbled. “She won’t get much to eat over at Wayne’s place. At the moment there is only a station cook for the hands over there.”

  “She said she wanted to see him about something,” Jenny said woodenly.

  “Yes,” Mrs. Harris agreed. “Marise often asks Wayne’s advice.” She gave her hearty laugh. “Although I’ve never heard that she takes it. Still, Wayne seems to go along with her. It will be interesting if he actually does marry her.”

  This brought Jenny back to the puzzle of Wayne’s kiss. Why had he kissed her? Of course he could have been just grateful!

  She met Bill’s eyes with some embarrassment when he came in for dinner, wondering if he would tease her in front of the boys. Much to her relief, he had obviously forgotten about the incident and was full of Pretty Boy’s progress.

  “Tell you what,” he said expansively to the table as he waved a fork. “If Pretty Boy comes in Allan can have his new saddle and we’re all going on a holiday.”

  There was an immediate uproar from the children as they started suggesting places they wanted to see. Bill Williams laughed as he tried to quiet them, his face smoothing out into a youthful and relaxed expression. Jenny grinned with everyone else, pleased to see him laugh so spontaneously.

  It was a dreadful thing to be pleased about, but Wayne’s accident had forced him out of his dazed grief, and all the hard work was helping him adjust to the loss of his wife and come down to the reality of getting on with his life.

  “I’m dying to see him beat Black Prince,” Jenny said, still laughing. “Are you sure it is going to be safe for me to risk my fifty-cent bet on him?”

  There was another outburst from the boys at her cowardice, as she and Mrs. Harris defended their thrifty streaks and lack of gambling fever. During the uproar, her odd heartache brought on by thinking of Marise and Wayne evaporated unnoticed.

  Chapter Seven

  It was Merry’s birthday. She had graciously received her presents at the breakfast table, including the matching party dress for the favorite doll. As it was a Saturday, her birthday was to be celebrated by a family picnic, at which Jenny was included as a matter of course. The clear blue sky promised a hot day and the children had clamored for a day at Panniken Bend.

  “We’ll all pile into the Land Rover, and drive down,” their father suggested hopefully.

  A chorus of groans
greeted this suggestion. Jenny grinned at the comic face he pulled. The last few weeks had seen a startling change to Bill Williams. His eyes still had a shadow of unhappiness behind them, but he had snapped out of his earlier apathy and supervised the work around the property with brisk efficiency. This morning there was even a rueful twinkle in his eyes.

  “You promised to ride,” Allan accused. “It’s no fun going on a picnic in a car.”

  “And I’m going to use my new bridle,” Merry insisted, as she patted it.

  “I’ll go and saddle my poor retired horse,” Bill Williams said in a resigned manner.

  “I already have, Dad,” John said. “All the horses are ready, and the lunch hamper packed.”

  Bill Williams shrugged, but there was a grin on his face as he let himself be jostled out of the house and down the steps by the eager boys. Jenny suspected he wasn’t as averse to horse riding as he said. She watched his eyes light up at the sight of the bay gelding waiting for him.

  The boys had saddled up a pretty roan mare for Jenny, and she swung into the saddle, feeling light-hearted and happy. Merry had already scrambled onto her shaggy pony. It was going to be fun to go for a picnic on horseback with the prospect of the whole day with nothing to do but laze around the river and swim. Her temporary job was proving very enjoyable. None of her other employers had included her as a member of the family in their birthday celebrations.

  The birthday hamper was packed on a resigned-looking pony and they set off at a sedate walk, with Merry in the lead. They had not ridden far past Taralon, when a motor bike roared after them.

  The cavalcade looked around. The bike slowed and bumped alongside them before stopping. The rider raised his visor. Much to Jenny’s surprise, it was Wayne. She gave him an uncertain nod. He smiled at her before concentrating his attention on the Williams family.

  “Sneaking off on a picnic without me,” he announced. “Shame on the lot of you!”

  “Did you bring me a present?” Merry demanded.

  “Manners,” sighed her father.

  Wayne produced a small leather riding crop that he handed to Merry with a low bow. Merry squealed her delight, and tried to hug him. Wayne settled her back more securely on her pony.

  “Coming to our picnic?” John asked.

  “Of course,” Wayne said with a grin. “Want a lift down?”

  “I’ll say.” John’s face lit up. “Come back with me while I put this four legged donkey away.”

  “Can I drive down in comfort as well?” inquired his father.

  “It’s my birthday,” Merry retorted. “You have to ride with me on my birthday.”

  “So be it,” was the resigned reply. “Let’s get moving.”

  John kicked his horse into a gallop back towards the property. Wayne roared off after him.

  “What an idiot!” Allan sneered. “Fancy preferring a bike to a horse. He’s mad!”

  “Looks like some members of my family are never going to shift into the twenty-first century,” his father lamented, but his face was cheerful and he patted the side of his gelding’s neck as he spoke.

  They were still only halfway to Panniken Bend when the motor bike returned, passing them with its extra rider on the back who waved and yelled his derision.

  “I didn’t know Wayne owned a bike,” Jenny remarked.

  “Not many people round up cattle on horses these days,” her employer explained. “You’ve been watching too many Westerns, Jenny.”

  “I’m going to use a horse when I take over working cattle,” Allan said scornfully. “Bikes are stupid and they spook the cattle.”

  “Nice to have a conservative in the family,” his father teased. “We give away our tractor too?”

  Jenny fell behind with Merry and listened in amusement as the horse-mad Allan argued his case. Bill Williams had put aside his grief and looked younger today. He sat his horse with an effortless grace and grinned broadly at Allan’s indignation.

  When they reached Panniken Bend at last, Jenny’s pleasure dimmed slightly. The motor bike was parked in the shade of the big gum and a campfire crackled away cheerfully. John was already splashing in the water.

  A small boat with Marise and Tony in it pulled to the bank. Today, they both wore tee shirts and shorts and their resemblance was very pronounced, both tall, long-boned, and golden-skinned, with hair an almost identical shade of shining blonde. Wayne, his brief togs revealing a bronzed expanse of muscular back, stood talking to them.

  Of course the Bickertons were neighbors, and country people were friendly and hospitable and liked socializing but, for a bleak second, Jenny suddenly found her pleasant anticipation of the day clouded.

  “Happy birthday, Merry,” Tony and Marise chorused.

  Merry gave them a distant nod, but upon opening the gaily wrapped box and pulling out the severe black velvet riding helmet, her face dimpled up with pleasure, and she gave an ecstatic squeal.

  “Nice of you to join us,” Bill Williams said. “Hope Mrs. Harris packed enough sausages.”

  “We brought a hamper with us,” Marise explained. Jenny noticed that the cast was gone from her leg, leaving a startlingly white area against the golden brown of the rest of her leg. She seemed in a pleasant mood. Her hazel eyes moved over Jenny’s dusty jeans and faded shirt. “It’s too nice a day to waste working. Don’t you agree, Jenny?”

  “Of course,” Jenny agreed evenly, aware that her blouse and jeans were shabby, and her hair was escaping from its ponytail in untidy curls.

  “Come on in, the water’s beaut,” John yelled.

  “As soon as we change,” Jenny promised.

  She and Merry took their costumes to the thick clump of bushes to change. Merry wriggled into her brief ruffled bikini, and looked critically at Jenny’s bathers.

  “They’re old-fashioned,” she sniffed.

  “Just well used,” Jenny assured her, as she folded their clothes into a neat pile.

  Marise and Tony had pulled off tee shirts and shorts to reveal bathers beneath. Jenny immediately understood five-year-old Merry’s definition of old-fashioned.

  Marise wore black bathers, cut high across the thighs and plunging to a very low back. It displayed her eye-catching figure to perfection. Her skin was golden brown all over, except for the white patch on one leg and foot.

  Jenny suddenly felt dowdy. Her bathers were black too, faded to almost green with age and cut sensibly for energetic swimming. Her arms and shoulders were still lightly tanned and freckled from her previous exposure to the sun. Marise’s sharp eyes missed nothing and amusement crossed her face.

  “Well,” she drawled. “You both look very nice. Are we all going in?”

  The awkward moment passed as they splashed into the water. John and Allan swung from the rope their father had tied to the tree, whooping like wild Indians as they dropped into the water. Merry, after being turned back from the deeper water, got over her sulks as her father took her on his back and swam nearer the bank.

  Wayne bobbed up beside Jenny and shook the water from his eyes. Today his eyes were dancing with merriment. “Race you to the other bank,” he challenged.

  Marise gave a throaty chuckle as she overheard and she and Tony put their heads down in a flurry of foam. Tony led and then Marise caught up, but Wayne streaked ahead to overtake them effortlessly. Jenny followed at a more sedate pace, envious of Marise’s strong length. Marise swam like a fish. Wayne reached the bank and climbed out.

  “Your swimming is improving,” Tony admitted, as he followed him out of the water.

  “Practice,” Wayne laughed, as he gave his hand first to Marise and then Jenny to help them out of the water. “Race you back.”

  Jenny sat on the bank to regain her breath as she watched them drop back into the water and thrash back. She was content to admire their ability in the water and rest for a while. The three heads reached shore together and argued a few minutes. Bill Williams jerked a thumb. They nodded agreement, and walked upstream.

>   Jenny guessed what he was advising. They were walking further upstream to have the distance to race down. She decided to walk upstream along the opposite bank to watch their race. However, soon the bush became too dense to push through. The cheerful voices on the other bank became fainter, as she moved away from the river trying to find a way through the dense bush.

  A cattle track seemed to lead back to the water. She doubled over and pushed her way along the tunnel of greenery, wishing she had something on her feet. The track led back to a filtered clearing by the river.

  She looked through the concealing fringe of leaves down the river to Panniken Bend. It was a very peaceful scene. The river was wide on the sandy bend and Bill Williams relaxed against a tree watching Merry splashing in the water in front of him.

  The boys were still swinging from their rope and their yells came faintly as they dropped into the water. The horses dozed in the shade and the motorbike made a bright splash of color against another tree.

  Jenny thought about the first time she had come to Panniken Bend with the children and the creepy feeling she had of an invisible watcher. The concealed clearing was in an ideal position if anyone wanted to spy on the visitors at Panniken Bend. The grass was flattened out by the bank. She stared at the cigarette butts in the grass. Had the mysterious watcher hidden here as he watched her?

  She gave herself a shake. It was a ridiculous thought! Probably it had only been a bored angler sitting smoking as he waited for a bite. The sky was too blue, and the bush too peaceful and sunlit, to even think of anything so sinister.

  She followed the narrow track from the clearing. It angled away from the river and then twisted back. The bush thinned so she could walk along the bank. She walked around the next bend. On the other side the trees were high and dense and there was no sign of life. The river was narrower and deeper, and swirled and eddied against the high banks.