With Ella, Violet and Rosie safely installed with his mother, Edwin returned to his Melbourne practice and his own wife. Appalled by Ella’s total retreat into herself, Alice Sanders called in her own doctor. When the circumstances that had brought Ella to this state were explained to him, he prescribed rest and good food. This confirmed Alice in her belief that he was an excellent doctor, for she would have prescribed exactly the same.
Gradually the colour crept back into Ella’s cheeks, her appetite returned and she began to take an interest in Violet. The subject of the farm, even of William, seemed taboo. Alice calmly awaited further instructions from her son.
Summer was already sliding into autumn. Because William was never mentioned, it was almost as if he did not exist. Then, one unusually quiet and peaceful afternoon, Rosie took Violet out for a walk while the three women sat on the patio outside, a tray of tea between them and sewing in their laps. Each was lost in her own thoughts; Beth wished she had gone with Rosie and Violet, Alice was planning just where to plant the lemon tree she had just purchased and Ella was simply relishing the peace of her surroundings.
‘I think … about there.’ Alice pointed vaguely across the lawn, but her quiet voice was lost by a hammering on the door at the front of the house. They all started and Beth got up to investigate. She was followed back by William.
‘Oh!’ Ella jumped to her feet, dropping her teacup. She stared at the broken pieces, burst into tears and fled into the house.
Alice Weston, after a slight nod to her daughter, interpreted correctly as instructions to follow, put down her cup, rose to her feet and extended her hand.
‘Good afternoon, Mr Weston.’ Her voice was as cool as if he had been expected. ‘Do sit down and have a cup of tea.’ She gestured to the vacant chairs, picked up the broken cup and fetched a fresh one from the house. William had obediently sat.
‘You have come to see your wife, I expect?’ Alice smiled as she poured his tea.
‘Thank you.’ William reached out and accepted it. ‘Actually, I have come to take her home. I am sure she has prevailed on your kindness quite long enough. And, well, there are things to do. I am finding it very hard to manage on my own.’
‘I am sure you are, Mr Weston, but your wife has been very sick. I do not think she is ready yet to return to her duties on the farm.’
William drank his tea thoughtfully then looked directly at Alice Weston. ‘That is as may be, but she had a long lie in after … after my son died, and then several weeks of doing very little. The girl, Rosie, kept things going.’
‘I can understand your difficulty, Mr Weston, but if she has a relapse, things will be worse for everyone – you particularly.’
William scowled into his teacup; he had the uncomfortable feeling that he was not in charge of this conversation. ‘I have to say, Mrs Sanders, that while I am grateful, under an obligation to you, in fact, for the care you have given my wife, I do feel that your son behaved in a somewhat high-handed way when he removed her. I am sure you must realize how very difficult it is for me to manage without her.’
‘I realize,’ Alice returned dryly, ‘but I am sure that you also understand that having a sick wife could be worse than no wife. In fact, you must know that from experience.’
‘Will you allow me to talk to my wife, or do you intend to keep her away from me?’ William asked, an undertone of belligerence roughening his voice.
‘But of course you may speak to me, William.’ Ella’s voice behind them made them both swivel in their chairs. Alice was relieved to see that Ella had a firm grip on her emotions. Her face was white but composed and only the faint tremor in her voice betrayed the depth of her feeling. ‘But Alice is right. I do not yet feel strong enough to return. In fact, it is questionable whether I ever will.’
‘But … but … you are my wife!’ William spluttered.
‘Yes, I am. But I am not your slave or your chattel. Violet and I will stay here for a while longer. That is, if Mrs Sanders can continue to put up with us.’
‘For a while longer’ did not suggest she would never return, so William controlled his feelings and conceded: ‘Very well, my dear, another couple of weeks if Mrs Sanders will be so kind as to keep you. Maybe I should take Rosie back with me – to get things ready for your return.’
Alice Weston bit her lip, determined not to get any more involved in this difficult marriage. She was wondering how to say that it was not quite proper for Rosie to return with him on her own when William got abruptly to his feet.
‘I will return in two weeks’ time, and take you all home.’ He inclined his head slightly to Alice. ‘It is extremely kind of you, Ma’am, to look after my wife. I can see she looks a great deal better. But in two weeks’ time, she must come home.’
William realized that if he took Rosie and left Ella and her child, she would probably never return to him. He must think up a foolproof way to get his wife back, or he knew he could kiss goodbye to any further financial help from his father-in-law. He was fast coming to rue the day he had met Ella. Penury in England would be preferable to his present situation. Sheep farming, he had discovered, was a hard life and his debts were now just as great as they had been in England. He knew that if Ella did not return to him, he had little or no chance of her father releasing any more funds. In spite of his thoughts, he managed to smile and bow graciously over Alice’s hand as he bade them goodbye, assuring them that he would return when Ella was fit enough to take up her position once more as his wife. Controlling his anger in front of the women, he left, not to return to his property but to take the train to Melbourne.
It was no surprise to Edwin when a truculent William Weston arrived at his office right at the end of the day. In fact, the working day had ended, but Edwin had stayed behind to finish some work and was about to leave.
‘Ahh, Edwin, I’m glad I’ve caught you!’
‘Mr Weston, what a surprise.’ Edwin had no desire to enter into first name intimacy. ‘As you can see, I am just leaving for the night.’ He pulled his watch out of his pocket and consulted it. ‘I was going for a meal. Maybe you would join me if you need to talk.’ Edwin was hungry and tired and felt that unless he remedied this, he would not be able to cope with William. Fortunately, he had told his wife that he intended working late and would eat before he came home. He was sure she would not have been able to cope with an unexpected guest, especially one as truculent as this one might be.
‘Well, yes, that’s very kind of you.’ William, surprised by the offer, did not stop to reflect that eating with Edwin might possibly put him at a disadvantage. But he lost no time in coming to the point when they were seated opposite each other in the dining-room of a nearby hotel.
‘It’s about my wife …’ he began.
Edwin sighed. ‘I rather thought it might be.’
‘While I am grateful to you – of course I am – especially to your mother for looking after her so well, I feel it is high time she returned with me and, er, took up her duties as my wife.’
‘I would agree with you – in theory – but in practice, I am not sure she is capable of doing that. My mother tells me she is still far from well. But if she is anxious to return and you understand she needs care, then of course …’ Edwin shrugged as his voice trailed away. He could not stop the man taking his wife back home.
‘That is the point; she does not wish to return. At one point, she said categorically that she would not – ever.’
‘At one point?’ Edwin left the query hanging in the air.
‘Yes, then she more or less agreed to reconsider in two weeks’ time.’
‘In that case, what are you worrying about? You know my mother will care for her. There is nothing to concern yourself about.’ Edwin could not hide his pleasure that Ella had been reprieved for a while longer.
William itched to hit this bland, smug man who had virtually kidnapped his wife; however, he knew that if he had any hope of getting out of the mess he found himself in, Edwin held the key. He was wondering how to put it over in a reasonable and plausible manner that he needed money when Edwin continued.
‘Things looked a bit … shall we say, run down when I was up there. Your men told me that sheep numbers were down. You not only had considerable losses but had reduced your stock by selling.’
‘I thought selling sheep was one of the ways a sheep farmer made money.’ William’s voice was surly. ‘I have been up in New South Wales hoping to restock. I heard prices were very low there due to the dry summer. Unfortunately, they weren’t low enough for my limited means.’
Edwin ignored this. ‘I suggest you get back up there and do something to pull things together rather than buy more stock.’
‘I need cash for fencing, labour, etcetera.’
‘I am sorry, Mr Weston. But my responsibility is to my client in England, Richard Wagstaff, Ella’s father. The money he forwarded was to set you up, not to keep you going. I do not intend to request more; that is something you must do yourself.’ Edwin had no wish to be the go-between for William and his father-in-law forever.
‘But surely he would not want to see his daughter suffering?’ William was almost whining by now.
‘No, he would not, so I hope you will not consider forcing her to return until you have done something to get things in order and ensure that she has a little more care and comfort in future. If you undertake to do that, I will see what can be done when she returns to you. Until then, well, it is up to you. It is a pity …’ he could not resist adding, ‘that you did not find out a little more about Australia and conditions here before you set out from England.’
With rare restraint, William managed to resist saying that it had not been his choice to come to Australia at all.
Feeling, as he usually did, disturbed by William, Edwin decided to visit his mother and see for himself just how Ella was. He arrived early the following afternoon to find her weeping hysterically and his mother and sister distraught. Rosie and Beth had taken Violet with them to do the weekly food shopping. They had got into the habit of doing this together so that there were more hands to carry home their purchases. It had been a shock to meet William whom they both believed to be back at the farm. He had seemed pleasant enough, had even made much of Violet to the extent of giving Beth a fistful of coins to get a bag of sweets at a shop they were passing. Beth was at the counter when she heard a commotion and her own name being called. When she reached the door, it was just in time to see Rosie climbing into a cab. The only sign of William was his hand grabbing the girl’s arm as he helped, or hauled her in. As there was no sign of Violet, Beth assumed she was already inside. Frantic, Beth tried to push her way out of the shop, but new customers were blocking the doorway and by the time she had pushed past them and out into the street, the cab had disappeared.
‘Didn’t you follow?’ Edwin demanded angrily.
‘I was on foot; they were in a cab!’ Beth retorted. ‘By the time I had found out which direction they had taken, they had vanished. I had no hope of catching up with them.’
Edwin looked at the three distraught women. Ella pulled herself together first, to his surprise and admiration.
‘This is my fault,’ she told them, choking back her tears. ‘I should have agreed to return. After all, I married him. It is my duty. He has taken Violet to force me back and Rosie to look after her. Will you escort me – home – please, Edwin?’
He stared at her. The very last thing he wanted to do was hand Ella over to her husband, yet he knew that in the circumstances, he had little choice. At least he could see she came to no harm on the journey and do his best to impress on William the need to take proper care of her.