Beyond the Sunset (23 page)

As they continued to bump along the rough road, Zachary braced himself on the armrest to his left and offered her his right arm. ‘Here. You’d better link arms with me or you’ll bounce right off this seat.’

She took his arm, grateful more for the warmth and human contact than for his strength.

She had never felt so alone in her whole life.

The following Friday Hallie’s mother noticed how tense and upset she was.

‘I don’t know what’s got into you lately, love. You’re forgetful and you jump if anyone so much as knocks on the door.’

‘I’ve not been feeling the best.’

‘Have you got a fever?’

‘No. I’m just – a bit down. I’d be better if I could get a job.’

That set her mother off worrying about the hard times and how many people were out of work and what was to become of the poor things if this went on for ever.

But Hallie hardly heard a word because the clock kept ticking and as soon as it turned nine, the time the shop shut on Fridays, she kept listening for the door knocker.

When it went, she jerked to her feet, her only thought to protect her mother.

She opened the door a crack and thought her heart would leap out of her chest as she saw Prebble standing there.

He thrust the door further open and stepped into the hall before she could stop him. ‘I hope you’re feeling friendlier tonight, Hallie.’

‘I’m not. You’ve no right to treat me like this.’

‘Might is right. How are you going to stop me?’

‘I’ll tell Mr Dawson.’

‘And I’ll tell him it’s just a lovers’ tiff. Who can prove it isn’t?’ He grabbed her breast before she could stop him and gave it a hard squeeze, hurting her so much she couldn’t hold back a moan as she tried to push him away.

But he was stronger than he looked and trapped her against the wall, continuing to fondle her in that loathsome way.

Then a man’s voice said, ‘Are you all right, Hallie?’

Prebble moved away, smiling. ‘Just having a bit of a kiss and cuddle. Aren’t we, Hallie?’

She looked at his face and shuddered, but couldn’t say a word.

Her tormentor felt in his pocket and shoved an envelope into her hand. ‘Here’s your Zachary’s money.’ He pushed past the man standing in the doorway and walked off whistling cheerfully.

It was the way he whistled so cheerfully that upset her. As if what he’d done to her was nothing. Hallie burst into tears, trying to muffle the noise with her hands, ashamed that Cousin John should catch her in this position.

‘Nay, lass,’ he said gently. ‘I won’t let him do it again.’

‘How can you stop him? He’ll hurt my mother if I don’t do as he says.’

John’s expression grew grim. ‘Is that what he’s been threatening?’

She nodded. ‘Someone knocked Mum over at the market a few weeks ago, jabbed her in the stomach so hard she couldn’t breathe. I know
he
arranged it.’

‘Well, he won’t arrange it any more.’ He bent to pick up the envelope.

Her mother called, ‘Are you all right, our Hallie?’

She realised her mother had opened the door of the other room so kept her back to it. ‘Yes, I’m fine. I just got something in my eye.’

John moved to stand between them. ‘Hello, Cousin. I’m back in Outham so thought I’d call in.’

‘Eh, your mother must be glad to have you back.’

‘She is. Sends her regards. I was just passing the time of day with your daughter. Fine lass she’s grown into.’

‘Yes, she has.’ Mrs Carr turned and exclaimed, ‘The tea’s burning!’ She vanished from sight.

‘I
will
sort this out for you, Hallie,’ he said in a low voice. ‘He’ll not trouble you again.’

‘How can you?’

‘I know one of his uncles. He’s not as bad as the rest of them and owes me a favour.’

She looked at him, not daring to believe him.

‘It’ll be all right from now on,’ he repeated.

She managed to eat enough tea to stop her mother questioning her about how she felt, and listened to a complicated explanation of exactly how John was related to them – some sort of distant cousin – and what he’d been doing in Manchester for the past few years.

When Hallie got undressed in Zachary’s room, where she was sleeping while he was away, she was shocked at how bruised her breasts were. Prebble had hurt her so quickly!

He was a beast, a beast who pretended to be polite and hardworking.

Could Cousin John really make him leave her alone?

She couldn’t go on like this, living in fear. And she wasn’t going to give Prebble what he wanted.

They travelled slowly but steadily all through that day, resting the horses at regular intervals and alternating the one pulling the cart. Occasionally they’d meet another rider or vehicle and stop to exchange greetings, always asking about the condition of the road ahead.

Mid-afternoon they stopped briefly at Bannister, where the mail changed horses. The place seemed to consist of little but the way station, stables and stores.

Bert chatted to the people there, then came striding back to the cart carrying a loaf. ‘You owe them five shillings for this,’ he told Zachary.

‘That’s robbery!’ Pandora said indignantly. ‘How can one four-pound loaf possibly cost that much?’

‘It’s better to pay high prices than spend hours waiting for a loaf to bake in a camp oven at night. They tell me there’s a small stream a few miles down the road that’s starting to flow, so I reckon we should push on and stop there overnight.’

Leo didn’t join in the conversations very often, but Zachary noticed how he stared at everything, shutting his eyes regularly and muttering to himself.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked at one of the rest stops.

Leo nodded vigorously. ‘Yes. I’m learning the road so I can find my way back to Mrs Southerham’s house.’

‘Bert will bring you back after Pandora and I’ve sailed.’

‘I like to know my own way. I can always remember a road once I’ve been along it.’

Bert looked sceptical but caught Zachary’s warning glance and shut his mouth on what he’d been going to say. Later, Zachary took him aside to make matters plain.

‘Don’t treat Leo as if he’s completely stupid. He isn’t. If he says he can find his way once he’s travelled a road, I believe him. I’ve seen for myself how good he is with sick animals. On board the ship there was an accident in rough weather with several people injured. Leo set a valuable cow’s leg so skilfully it healed straight and good as new.’

‘Leo did?’

‘Yes. He can’t read or write and he doesn’t think as you and I do, but he has his own skills.’

Bert shrugged. ‘Well, he’s good with horses, I’ll give him that. Never seen animals take to anyone like they do to him.’

As they set off again, Pandora asked, ‘How far do we travel each day?’

‘About forty or fifty miles, barring accidents,’ Bert said. ‘More if we can.’

‘A train can take you hundreds of miles in one day.’

‘And it frightens the animals in the fields.’

She laughed. ‘Dad told me they used to say that in England when the first railways were built, but they were wrong. The animals don’t seem to mind the trains at all.’

He shrugged. ‘Well, trains will never replace horses, not in a big country like this.’

‘No, I don’t suppose they will. But I think they’ll have trains between the main towns eventually and
I
still prefer travelling that way.’ Travelling by cart was uncomfortable and already her body felt bruised all over from the jolting.

There was little to see, compared to England. No pretty villages like those near Outham, or the ones she’d seen through the train window on the trip to London. In fact, no villages at all, not what she’d call villages anyway. No farms either, most of the time, just every now and then a roof in the distance or a sign indicating a nearby property. Oh, and the occasional group of kangaroos or flock of parrots, but such creatures had lost their novelty for her now.

In fact, to her this land felt empty.

By the end of the first day’s travel, Pandora was stiff and sore. They went on till it was nearly dusk and just as she was wondering if they’d ever stop, Bert reined in the horse and thrust the reins into Zachary’s hands.

‘I reckon this is the place they said would be good for overnighting. I’ll take a quick look round.’

She stared at the flattened sandy space next to the road. It had a thread of greenery to one side, but there seemed nothing special about it. She watched Bert walk off between the trees and move down a small slope beyond it until only his hat showed.

He vanished completely from sight, but was soon back again. ‘It’ll do. The stream’s flowing, which it doesn’t do in summer. It’s only a trickle at the beginning of winter, but someone’s made two or three deeper pools where we can get water for the horses.’

She looked round and shivered at the darkness creeping in on them, couldn’t help saying, ‘I thought we were going to sleep at farms.’

He shrugged. ‘We can look for shelter if it starts to rain, but that’ll mostly take us off the road so it’ll cost us extra time. You’ll be all right sleeping on the cart tonight, missy. Probably sleep like a log after a long day’s travel. Folk usually do.’

‘Where will you three sleep?’

Bert grinned. ‘On the ground. Under the cart, if it starts raining. That’s why we brought the tarpaulins. Your Mr Largan thought of everything. Good bloke, he is, even if he is Irish.’

She looked at Zachary. ‘Will you be all right on the ground?’

‘I’m tired enough to sleep standing up. I didn’t sleep very well last night.’

‘Neither did I.’

He got down from the cart and turned to help her, his hands warm on her waist as he lifted her down. She could have managed on her own, but didn’t say so, because it was nice the way he always watched out for her. Comforting.

Bert gave a wheezy chuckle as she winced and moved to and fro stiffly. ‘You’ll be sorer still by the time we arrive in Albany, missy. This road doesn’t get any better.’

She was so exhausted all she wanted was to spread out her bed roll and lie down in it. But Zachary coaxed her into eating, toasting her a piece of bread and managing to do that without burning it.

‘You’re very kind,’ she said, forcing a few mouthfuls down as they sat round the fire. His answering smile lit up his whole face. Strange, she thought, how plain he looked till he smiled, then suddenly he became attractive. She felt herself flushing on that thought and admitted to herself, not for the first time, that her reactions to Zachary were similar to those she’d experienced when she first met Bill.

It felt strange to lie on the cart and look up at the stars. Patches of cloud were drifting across the sky but in between them the stars seemed brighter than any she’d ever seen before. As another cloud started to obscure the moon, she yawned, wondering if it was going to rain. She hoped not. She was so very tired . . .

Pandora was woken by rain pattering lightly on her face. She couldn’t for a moment think where she was, then realised she was lying on the cart. It wasn’t yet daylight but the sky looked lighter in the east. More drops hit her cheek and she sat up.

Zachary came to the side of the cart. ‘Oh good, you’re awake. It’s nearly dawn, so Bert says we may as well get ready to leave. Can you manage to get dressed under the tarpaulin?’

If she’d had one of her sisters there, they’d have giggled and helped one another, she thought as she wriggled around in the darkness, fumbling for her outer clothes. When she emerged from the tarpaulin, the rain was coming down in earnest and Zachary was waiting to offer her the umbrella as protection. The men, she noticed, had their hats on and sacks over their shoulders. She was using a shawl to cover her head during the journey. It was no time for hats or bonnets.

She felt guilty at taking the umbrella away from him, it being the only one they had, lent to them by Livia. Sheltering under it, she made her way along the stream to attend to nature’s call out of sight of the men. When she came back, she found a pannikin of tea waiting for her.

‘Good thing the embers were still alight,’ Zachary said, ‘or we’d have had trouble lighting a fire in this downpour.’

Bert chuckled. ‘That wasn’t luck. I know how to make a good camp fire and luckily it’s not been raining for long. Here.’ He held out an enamel plate to her with some bread and ham on it. He went to join Leo, who was fussing over the horses, as usual.

‘Why don’t you bring your food over here and eat it under the umbrella with me?’ she suggested to Zachary. ‘It makes no sense for you to stand out in the rain.’

When he joined her, they stood close together under the umbrella, using the back of the cart as a table. They didn’t chat, just ate steadily, but as before she felt better for his closeness. There was something wonderfully comforting about Zachary, who never seemed to get angry or impatient with anyone.

‘It’s only this leg of the journey that will be so rough,’ he said apologetically. ‘You’ll be much more comfortable on the ship.’

‘I don’t mind. I haven’t exactly been living in luxury in that tent at the farm. I wonder how they all are?’

‘They’ll be wondering the same about us.’

‘The Southerhams won’t find it easy to manage without a maid but I shan’t miss looking after them, I can tell you. It’s hard work, you’re on your own most of the time and as soon as you get the place straight, one of them messes it up again.’

Bert called for them to get up on the cart and that interrupted their conversation. She was sorry for it.

Once they were travelling again, Zachary asked, ‘What will you do with yourself once you’re back in Outham?’

‘Work in the shop, I suppose.’

‘Women don’t usually work in shops like Blake’s.’

‘Why ever not?’

He looked at her in surprise. ‘I don’t know. I never thought about it. They just – don’t.’

‘Not even if they own the shop?’

‘It’s usually the husbands who own the bigger shops and the wives still don’t work in them. I suppose they don’t need the money. They keep busy with their children and home.’

She pulled a face. ‘Well, I don’t have children and I’d get bored sitting around on my own all day.’