Chapter Twenty-Three

Upstairs, Irene paced the floor in her room. It adjoined the sitting room that separated her room from Rufe’s. He had insisted that she have her own room, although she wondered if it was because he wanted his own privacy. True, he spent part of every night in her room, but she sensed he was not yet ready for the intimacy that came from sharing a bedroom.

Pausing at the window, she looked down at the busy street below then turned to take in the luxurious appointments in the room. It had been a glorious week. Rufe was an attentive and amusing companion, and everything had been going perfectly until they walked into the hotel and nearly collided with those two women.

She realized immediately that Kitty Barron was no mere acquaintance. The look on Rufe’s face had been enough to tell her that here could be a real threat to the relationship she’d been working so hard to foster. He dismissed Irene as if she was of no account, even if it had been done courteously enough.

Who was this Kitty Barron that she had such an effect on him? And whose child was she carrying? One would assume it was her husband’s, but was it possible it was Rufe’s? Could that be the matter of urgency they needed to discuss, now that the husband was dead?

She managed to compose herself and sit calmly. Picking up a newspaper, she turned the pages, reading news items without them registering. But when the door opened, she gave Rufe a welcoming smile as he entered.

“Irene, I’m sorry.” He sounded contrite as he closed the door and came toward her with his hands outstretched. “It was extremely ill-mannered of me to leave you up here alone for so long.” He took her hands in his. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Irene smiled as she replied. “Of course. I’m sure you had a good reason.”

“Mrs. Barron needed some help with a business matter that I was able to assist her with. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“The poor woman. How sad for her to lose her husband at such a time. She must be distraught.”

“Naturally.” Rufe’s face was impassive.

“Did you know him, too?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose you’d known them for a long time, had you? You seemed to know her well.”

“For some time, yes.” He dropped her hands. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must freshen up before dinner.”

Irene watched him go to his own room, her mouth set. During dinner, she again brought up Kitty’s name, probing gently in a seemingly innocent way, but a mask descended on Rufe’s face at the mention of her name and he steered the conversation in a different direction.

She smiled, and responded automatically when he attempted to make small talk in spite of his obvious distraction.

They retired to their suite a little later, and Rufe followed her into her room. That night, he made love to her with an intensity and passion that had been missing from their previous couplings. When he gasped and cried out as he shuddered to a climax, she gave a wild cry in unison with him. As he rolled away from her, she remained on her back, making little sounds of pleasure. He placed his arm across her and kissed her cheek before moving slowly away from her. A few moments later, he left her bed and retired to his own room, as usual. Then Irene drew up her knees and raised her pelvis from the bed, tilting it back toward her. It strained her back but she retained the position for several minutes. From now on there would be no more post-coital visits to the bathroom for her.

****

Kitty and Bella awaited Rufe’s arrival in their small sitting room the next morning, with Bella stitching at her inevitable needlework and Kitty sitting with a book on her knee, lost in her thoughts. She knew she should be feeling happy. She had achieved what she had come to Sydney for; she would soon have the money to pay William’s debts, and more. Yet she felt miserable, and she knew it was because Rufe had obviously found solace with Irene. Not that Kitty could blame him; he’d declared his love for her, but it had been too late. She didn’t expect him to spend his life pining after her. Nevertheless, she could not help feeling a pang of jealousy as she remembered how attentive Rufe had been toward his young and attractive companion as they entered the hotel.

Pushing such thoughts away, Kitty turned her mind to what lay ahead. Only a few hours more and they could leave Sydney. To her relief, they’d not seen Craddock. Was he still in Sydney, and what had brought him here? Kitty had pondered this question many times since their last visit to Sydney but to no avail. However, they only needed to venture out into the streets once more. When they boarded the afternoon steamer and left Sydney behind she would feel safe. The trip back would end the ordeal for her, and once back home she would be able to relax and await the birth of her baby free from anxiety.

A tap at the door brought her out of her reverie. She crossed the room and opened it, knowing it would be Rufe and looking forward to seeing him once more. She stepped back in surprise when she saw Jan van Mayen accompanied him.

“Good morning, Mrs. Barron,” Rufe greeted her formally. “You remember Mr. van Mayen, I’m sure. May we come in?”

Somewhat alarmed, Kitty opened the door wide. “Of course. Please come in and take a seat.” As she closed the door, she wondered uneasily why Rufe had brought the diamond merchant to see them. She turned around to see that Bella had risen and Jan van Mayen was raising her hand to his lips.

“Ah, Mrs. Morland, how wonderful to see you again,” he said. “I hope you will forgive me for intruding like this. And you, too, Mrs. Barron,” he continued, turning his attention to Kitty. “I know it is unforgivable on my part, but when you hear what my friend Cavanagh and I have to say, you will understand why we wished to talk to you in the privacy of your rooms.”

Kitty had a sudden fear that it was related to her theft of the diamonds. Had Rufe betrayed her? Turning to look at him she couldn’t judge by his expression.

“Perhaps we should all sit down,” Rufe now interjected. “This could take a little while.” He turned to Bella, who had gone pale. “Mrs. Morland, please make yourself comfortable, and don’t worry. What we have to say need not alarm you or Kitty in any way. Believe me.”

Bella let out a little sigh as she sat down, her fingers seeking her beads. “I do believe you, Mr. Cavanagh, but…”

Kitty interrupted her. “But what is it all about?”

Rufe took her firmly by the arm and guided her to a chair. “Sit,” he commanded, then nodded to his companion. “Now perhaps you’d better start.”

Jan van Mayen nodded. “As you know, I’m a diamond merchant. Over the last few years I have been becoming more and more alarmed by the increasing number of thefts and frauds that have been occurring, at first in South Africa and England and lately here in Australia, too. When I heard your story, Mrs. Morland, of how your husband lost a great deal of money, and the sad consequences, I wondered if it could be connected to these other felonies. My enquiries have led me to believe it might well be so.”

Kitty drew a sharp breath. “You mean George Arnold is involved in the thefts?”

“There are many things that point to his involvement.”

Kitty felt a sudden rush of elation. Was it possible that, at long last, Arnold would be brought to justice? “Will you be able to charge him with swindling my father?”

Rufe, who had been sitting back with his legs crossed, leaned forward in his chair to speak. “Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. We haven’t been able to discover any firm evidence to prove it.”

Kitty’s hopes plummeted. “But you do believe he robbed my father?”

“Yes,” Rufe continued, “and while we might not be able to prove that, we’re certain he’s been behind many thefts. We believe he’s the mastermind behind an organized crime ring that operates wherever there are large discoveries of gold and diamonds. We also believe his cousin, Thomas Arnold, has set up a similar operation here, under instructions from George.”

“So, is that why Craddock was here in Sydney?”

“Yes. He’s George Arnold’s right hand man. When you told me you saw him here in Sydney I immediately told Jan, and we are certain he came out here to help Thomas Arnold further his plans.”

“Then surely there’s some way you can prove all this.”

“Would you be willing to help us?”

“Me? How could I possibly help?”

“We need to set a trap for him.”

“A trap? What sort of a trap? And how could I help?”

“We want to create a diamond mine, a very special diamond mine.”

Puzzled, Kitty tried to think how they could do this. “But you can’t create a diamond mine, it’s formed by nature.”

“A genuine one, yes. But it is possible to fake one. There are certain signs, or ‘footprints’ as they’re called, that indicate diamonds might be present. These are certain outcrops in rocks, certain shapes that suggest the presence of kimberlite below. I won’t go into too much technical detail now, but it’s possible to fake these signs.”

Kitty shook her head. “Allowing for all that, I don’t see where I come in.”

“Not you so much as Redwoods,” Rufe told her. “The country surrounding your home is just the type of country where diamonds could be found. You have the river and Bulahdelah Mountain alongside you with its rock formations. Added to which, you’ve just had a flood. Which could well have washed away soil covering previously hidden rock formations.”

“So you want to create a fake diamond mine on Redwoods?”

“Yes. A diamond mine that yields several large diamonds. I have some of my own I’ll use to salt it with as a decoy. Then we’ll leak the information to certain people who are known to be working with the Arnolds.”

“Then what will happen?”

“Then we’ll arrange an extremely valuable shipment to be sent down to Sydney, all very secret, and we’ll be sure the details reach the right ears. We hope they won’t be able to resist a hold-up, and we’ll be waiting for them.”

“But surely Thomas Arnold won’t be involved himself; won’t he just arrange it all and send others to do the actual holdup?”

“Yes. But if we catch them in the actual robbery, the police will make sure they realize they’ll hang for it, and it’s amazing how the threat of the noose can loosen a man’s tongue.”

Kitty shuddered, her own fears well remembered.

Rufe and Jan were regarding her intently, expectant looks on their faces.

“So,” Jan asked finally, “will you help us? Can we use Redwoods? It could be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for.”

A picture of her father slumped across his desk, his lifeblood pouring from the wound in his head, sprang into her mind. She remembered her sick horror at the scene as her mother rushed to try and help him, and the sound of her own screams rang in her ears.

Biting her lip, she looked first at Bella, sitting like a statue, then back at the two men.

“Yes!” The word exploded from her mouth. “Yes, I’ll do anything to help bring that bastard to justice. Just make sure you implicate him, that’s all I ask.”

****

The trip back to Redwoods was uneventful, and a week later Bella and Jack were married quietly in the local church on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Bella looked as radiant as any young bride in a silk dress of pale lavender, with a string of pearls around her neck that was a gift from the bridegroom.

During the ceremony, Kitty thought back over the years since her father’s death. She had been instrumental in bringing Bella all this way to the opposite side of the world and her chest swelled with gladness to see the look of love on Jack’s face as he kissed his new wife. However, she could not help feeling sad as she wished Robert could have been here to see his mother’s happiness today. She pushed the thought away. Today was not a day for sadness.

After the ceremony they returned to Redwoods for a celebration dinner, and then Jack and Bella left to spend a week at the seaside village of Forster. When they returned to Redwoods, Jack moved into the house.