Chapter Twenty-Six

Tonight was the night. Jack came early to warn them and to insist they keep their doors locked at all times, as soon as it turned dusk, no matter what happened.

“You might hear shots,” he warned them, “but under no circumstances must you unlock the doors unless Rufe, Patrick, or I ask you to. And keep well away from the windows.”

Kitty’s heart pumped with a mixture of excitement and fear. “Are the police here yet?”

“They’re nearby but keeping well out of sight until dark, and then everyone’ll take their places.”

“Is Rufe here?”

“Yes. Everyone’s ready.”

Mary twisted her hands together. “I’m worried about Patrick. Seems to me he’s got a dangerous part to play.”

“We’ve been through it all, Mary. There’re no guarantees, but we hope no one at all will be hurt, least of all any of us.”

Bella twisted the beads at her neck. “You take care, Jack.”

“Don’t worry.” He gave her a quick smile. “You don’t get rid of me that easy. Now, don’t forget, don’t unlock the doors. And keep well away from the windows.” With that reminder, he left them.

****

Too keyed up to do more than pick at the light meal Mary prepared, the three women sat together in the sitting room as night deepened. The air was thick with tension as time crept by. Bella stitched her needlework. Mary mended linen. Kitty tried to read. Talk was sporadic.

The sound of gunshots, muffled by the curtains, followed by three more in quick succession, had them all up from their seats.

Kitty hurried to the window. “Quick Mary, lower the lights.”

She drew back a curtain and peered out into the blackness, Bella and Mary pressing behind her. They could see nothing, but the sounds of shouting came dimly through the closed window. Two more shots rang out, sounding further away this time.

“Oh my God,” Bella cried. “I hope Jack’s not been hurt.”

“Or Patrick,” Mary added.

“I hope all our men are safe,” Kitty whispered.

They stood there, by the window, a silent tableau, listening, for several minutes. But there were no more shots. All was silent now.

At the sound of a horse approaching at a fast gallop, Kitty pulled the curtains to and Mary quickly turned up the lights. Seconds later, there was knocking at the door, accompanied by Jack’s voice calling out to them. Kitty rushed to open the door.

“Well, it’s all over! Eight villains are now being escorted to Gloucester by a group of police,” Jack exclaimed, his voice full of excitement, “

“Tell us what happened. Is anyone hurt?” Kitty asked.

“None of our people. Everything went according to plan. Patrick led the ruffians in on foot, as arranged. Of course the miners were ready and waiting for them. They waited until they’d packed the loot into the saddlebags, ready to take back to the horses, and then they pounced. The scoundrels were taken completely by surprise. Then the troopers came out of hiding. One of the thieves pulled his gun and fired and the captain fired back. Wonderful marksmanship. Shot him in the arm. Then as they were being rounded up, the leader tried to make a break for it, but he didn’t get away.”

“Was that the second lot of shots we heard?” asked Kitty.

“Yes. Cavanagh quickly loosed off a couple of shots, pulled him up short.”

Kitty swallowed. “Mr. Cavanagh wasn’t hurt?”

“No. None of our fellows. Only one of the rascals, with a bullet in his arm.’

“What about Patrick?” Mary asked. “What did he do when the attack started?”

“He just melted away, like he’d been told to, and went straight back to his bed so he can act as surprised as everyone else.”

“And the others?” Kitty asked. “Where’s everyone now?”

“The troopers are taking them off to the lock-up, and Cavanagh and van Mayen went with them to see them safely under lock and key. Cavanagh said to tell you he’ll contact you soon.”

Kitty took a deep breath. Did that mean he would come and tell her what happened himself, or would he just write to her with the news?

****

Days passed without any communication from Rufe, and Kitty could barely contain her impatience. The whole town was buzzing with rumors, according to Jack, and the gossip increased when it was learned that the miners had packed up and left.

When Kitty heard the sound of a horse arriving late one afternoon, she rushed to the door. Excitedly, she stepped out onto the verandah.

“Rufe. At last. I thought you’d never get here.”

“Kitty.” He bounded up the stairs and grabbed her, and swung her off her feet, spinning her around, laughing. “We did it. We did it.”

Kitty clung to him and when he put her down he kissed her full on the mouth. Her arms went around his neck, and suddenly the kiss changed from one of jubilation to deep passion. He crushed her to him. Kitty’s heart pounded throughout her body.

Rufe lifted his head. “Kitty. Kitty.” His voice was thick. “Why have we wasted so much time?” And with that his lips were on hers again.

A moment later the door behind them opened, and they jumped apart as Bella stepped through. Her fingers sought her beads, her face pink.

“Oh. I…I thought I heard a horse…I didn’t know. I didn’t realize it was you, Mr. Cavanagh.” She gave a small, embarrassed laugh.

“Mrs. Morgan.” Rufe was breathing heavily but he stepped forward to greet her, kissing her cheek. “I’ve come to give you the good news. Our plan was successful in every way.”

Bella clasped her hands together. “How wonderful.” She stepped back and opened the door wide. “Please come in. Come down to the sitting room.” She turned and led the way back down the hall.

Kitty tried to pull herself together, tried to still her thudding heart.

Rufe smiled down at her and offered her his arm. “Caught,” he whispered to her. “We’ll continue that a little later.” His eyes danced. “In the meantime, I must contain my impatience and tell you what’s been happening.”

Kitty took his arm. He squeezed it tightly against his side, and they followed Bella down to the sitting room.

“I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting so long to know what’s happened, but I wanted to have everything tied up before I came. And the news is the very best. When we reached Gloucester we kept them all separate and questioned them one at a time. The leader of the gang was stubborn; we got nothing from him at first. However, one of his henchmen, when he realized we knew a great deal about the gang’s activities, and that he was facing the rope, opened up completely.”

Kitty leaned forward. “Are they the gang that you and Mr. van Mayen have been trying to catch?”

“Yes. There’s no doubt about that. When the leader realized one of his men had talked, he knew he was in big trouble. With the threat of the noose dangling over him, he finally told us everything, with the promise that he’d escape hanging.”

“And the police agreed to that condition?” asked Bella.

“Yes. When he offered the name of the person higher up who gave the orders in exchange, they were agreeable.”

Kitty drew in a sharp breath. “And who was that?”

Rufe regarded her through half-closed eyes, a smile hovering about his lips. “The name he gave us is Craddock.”

Kitty drew in a deep breath, her pulses racing. She stared at him wide-eyed then let out the breath in a rush. She licked her lips. “I wonder if…”

Rufe leaned over and took her hand in his. “The best is still to come,” he said, cutting across her words. “When I learned this, van Mayen and I went down to Sydney ourselves and accompanied the police when they went to arrest Craddock. At first, he was all bluster and tried to deny everything. Finally, he realized how long we’d been watching the Arnolds. A lot of what we suspected turned out to be true and we were able to make him believe we knew more than we actually did. He confessed that he’d been George Arnold’s right hand man and that he’d come here to help his cousin employ highwaymen to rob shipments of gold and diamonds. So our friend George Arnold will finally pay the price for his crimes.”

Bella paled as her fingers twisted her beads. “I always believed George Arnold was lying to us about that diamond shipment being stolen. He is the cause of Kitty’s father’s death.” She covered her face with her hands and burst into tears. “Oh Charles. My poor Charles.” She sobbed.

A fierce thrill of exultation ran through Kitty. “So, at last I’m vindicated.”

Bella looked up, hiccupped, and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Yes, Kitty, at last I can stop worrying about what you did.” She turned to Rufe. “I don’t know how to thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“I think I can guess,” he answered gently. “Now, no more tears. We should be celebrating.”

Kitty jumped up. “Yes. We must have Patrick here as well as Jack. They both played a big part in the plan, and they’ll want to know how it all ended. We’ll have a big dinner to celebrate.”

****

It was much later that night before Kitty and Rufe were alone together in the drawing room. When all the others had gone, Rufe came to sit beside Kitty on the sofa. She turned to him.

“In all the discussions you and Mr. van Mayen had about the Arnolds, was the matter of the diamonds taken from George Arnold’s study ever discussed?”

“No. You need have no fear about that, the incident was never mentioned, neither between van Mayen and myself, nor with the police.”

“So Craddock never brought it up, or mentioned my name?”

“No. Craddock had more to worry about than that, believe me. He was fighting for his life. Highway robbery is a hanging offense and he masterminded robberies in conjunction with both the Arnolds.”

“So what will happen to him?”

“Van Mayen and I,—and the police,—agreed that as we have sufficient evidence to convict Thomas Arnold and the others here, it was better to take Craddock back to England to testify against George Arnold, against whom we had little firm evidence. He agreed to do so in exchange for leniency.”

Kitty took a deep breath. “So at last it’s all over.”

His eyes, black with intensity, looked deep into hers. “Yes, Kitty. It’s all over.” He picked up her hand that lay on the sofa between them, and played idly with the fingers. “And now it’s time to think about us.”

A pulse beating in her throat almost stifled Kitty. “Us,” she whispered.

Without a word, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed the palm. Then his lips traveled slowly up her arm, dropping little kisses all the way. His mouth moved to the side of her neck. He kissed slowly from side to front, and then down to the tops of her breasts. A wave of heat swept through her. As his hand came up to caress her breast, she gasped and turned toward him. He lifted his head and his lips sought hers, tenderly at first then hungrily, demanding. Passion coursed through her as she responded eagerly.

When he raised his head, his eyes were shining. “Kitty, my darling, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Then his hands were on her shoulders, gently easing her back. He turned her toward him, pulling her to him. As his lips found hers again, his hands moved slowly over her body, caressing her. Every pulse in her body throbbed as she moaned with desire.

Suddenly he rose to his feet and pulled her up with him, crushing her yielding body to him. Had it not been for his arms around her, she could not have stood. She felt his hard body pressed tightly against her, his breath coming in gasps.

“My love,” he said hoarsely, “my wonderful, wonderful darling. I love you. I want you. I need you.”

There was nothing else in the world but the two of them. “And I want you.”

He swept her off her feet and carried her from the room, up the hall into her bedroom.

****

Kitty stirred and turned over, dreamily wondering at her sense of euphoria, then, as memory came flooding back, she sat up and looked at the bed alongside her. As the moonlight revealed Rufe’s figure beside her, she smiled and settled back on her pillow. Rufe put his arm around her, and then kissed her lingeringly.

“Are you happy, my love?” he asked softly.

“Mmmm. Deliciously, decadently so.” She stretched in his arms. “How about you?”

“Never been happier.” His hand caressed her bare arm, then moved to her breast and began tracing a pattern slowly down to her stomach. Suddenly she was on fire again and turned in his arms until they lay body to body. She felt his desire and pulled him fiercely to her.

They made love again as the moonlight slanted across the bed and the hoot of an owl came distantly through the window.

****

When the first light filtered into the room, Rufe leaned across and kissed Kitty gently. Sleepily, she lifted her hand and stroked his cheek. “Mmmm,” she muttered, “what is it?”

“I’ll go to my own room before the household wakens,” he whispered, and slid from the bed.

“Don’t go.”

But he was already pulling on some clothes. “I’ll see you soon, my darling.” He bent and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Go back to sleep.” He slipped silently from the room.

Kitty slowly wakened. She smiled as she stretched luxuriously. She could hardly believe the wonder of the night. Rufe had roused sensations in her she never knew existed. So this is what real love is like. She hugged herself, reliving the feelings of ecstasy over again.

****

After breakfast, Kitty took Joy outside and laid her on a rug under a shady tree, where she played contentedly, waving her toys in the air. Kitty sat on a chair nearby, happiness wrapping round her like a shawl. Her senses all seemed highly developed this morning, the air was laced with sunshine, the grass looked greener, the flowers brighter, and the soft daily sounds were a harmonious backdrop to her daughter’s gurgles and the drone of the bees around the wisteria.

Rufe appeared and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. “I must say you look extremely well this morning, Kitty,” he said with a smile. “I believe you must have had a good night’s sleep.”

“Well, no, Rufe, actually I slept very little,” she answered light-heartedly. “But I did have an extremely good night. And I am exceedingly happy this morning.”

“I’m pleased to hear that. I’m happy and I, too, had a very good night.”

“Really. Perhaps it has something to do with the fresh country air. They do say it’s very healthful.”

He seemed to consider this. “I think it had more to do with the company rather than the air.” His bantering manner disappeared. Suddenly he was serious. “Last night was the best night of my life. But it’s the forerunner of many more to come.”

“I hope so, my darling.”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “We have the rest of our lives before us, my love. When we’re married, we’ll be together every night.”

Kitty’s brow puckered. “Married?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Of course. Married. It’s what people do when they love each other. They marry.”

“But I thought…” her voice trailed off as confused thoughts whirled through her mind—Joy, Redwoods, their security here, that she had worked so hard for.

“What did you think, Kitty?” He sounded puzzled.

“I don’t suppose I really thought about it. At all.”

Rufe shook his head slightly. “Then you need to think about it. I should ask you properly, I suppose.” He took her hand. “Kitty, my darling, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Panic rose inside Kitty. She looked across at Joy and bit her lip. How could she marry anyone, even Rufe, when it meant that Redwoods, her daughter’s legacy, would no longer be hers but would automatically become her husband’s property? She would be betraying her trust.

“Oh, Rufe, I don’t know what to say. I love you, but…”

Rufe released her hand, happiness fading from his face. “But what? Don’t you want to marry me?”

“I do. Yes, I do, but, you see, I…I can’t.”

“Why can’t you?”

“I just can’t.”

“What is there to stop you?”

Kitty looked across at the baby. “Well, you see, it’s Joy.”

Rufe frowned. “Your baby? Why…” he stopped. His face cleared. “But she’ll be with us, of course. Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t want her? I’ll treat her as if she’s my own child.” He smiled. “She’s the image of you. You need have no fear that I won’t love her and take care of her.”

“It’s not that.” How could she explain? Nerves caused her voice to falter. “You see…when William died and Joy was born…well, I decided then that I would never marry again. You see…under the law this property…” she stopped, brought up short by the cold look on his face.

“What are you trying to say, Kitty? Spell it out clearly, please. I need to know what this is all about.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s not you, Rufe. I love you, but I decided I would never marry again. It’s too risky. For Joy. Because of the law, that says a married woman has no property of her own. And Redwoods is for Joy. I can’t let it go out of my possession.”

The blood drained from Rufe’s face. “And you think I would take the property and leave her destitute. Is that what you think? Is that what you think of me?”

“No, no. It’s not like that. But you never know what will happen in the future. And it’s the law.” She clasped her hands together. “I want us to be together, I want to be with you, but I can’t marry you.”

Rufe stood and looked down at her, his eyes blazing. “And what about me? What about what I want? Do you think I’m going to be content to come and spend time with you whenever you call, then go off alone?”

“No, no, of course not. That’s not what I meant.”

“I know you never experienced love before. But there’s more to love than sexual gratification, Kitty, even if you might not think so at the moment, having just experienced it for the first time. But if that’s all you’re after, you need a gigolo, not me.”

Kitty jumped up. “That’s a terrible thing to say. That’s not what I want at all. You don’t understand. I’ve known what it’s like to lose everything, to have no money, nothing. To have to work for someone you hate just to have a roof over your head and enough to eat.”

“I knew there had to be a reason for you to marry Barron, and this is it, isn’t it?” He swept his arm around to take in their surroundings. “You fell on your feet when you landed here. How happy you must have been when he died. Now it all belongs to you.” His lip curled.

“How dare you,” she blazed. “It’s not for me, it’s for Joy. It’s her heritage.”

“Then far be it from me to take it from her. And now I’ll leave you both to enjoy it. Goodbye.” With that he swung around and marched away toward the stables.

Kitty stood frozen, feeling her world crumble around her. She stood watching until she saw him ride away without a backward glance. Then a sob started deep inside her. Pain tore at her heart, stabbed deep, forcing a cry from her.

Joy started to howl, and Mary came rushing from the house. She looked around, and when she could not see Rufe, she put her arm around the sobbing figure.

“There, there,” she soothed. “Has he gone?”

“Yes.”

“Come inside.” She pulled on Kitty’s arm. “Come on. You’re upsetting Joy.”

Kitty raised her head and saw the red-faced baby, her arms thrashing the air. She managed to straighten herself, but as she took a stumbling step, Bella emerged from the house and ran to Joy, sweeping her up into her arms.

“Whatever’s the matter?” Bella asked, looking around for the cause of Kitty’s distress.

Mary just shook her head. “I’ll get her inside if you look after the baby.” Then she half-led, half-dragged Kitty inside. In her room, she undressed her and put her to bed.

****

At first Kitty hoped he would come back, or at least contact her, but there was no word from him. She lay in her bed, the clothes pulled over her head, her room dim. She refused to leave the room or allow the curtains to be opened. The food Mary brought her was untouched. She left Joy’s care to Bella and Mary. After the first hysterical outburst of grief, there were no tears. Kitty was numb. All that day and the next she laid there until Bella strode into the room and pulled back the curtains. Ignoring Kitty’s protests she threw back the bedclothes.

“Get up,” she ordered. “You’re going to take a bath and get dressed.”

“No,” Kitty protested, turning on her side and drawing her knees up to her chin. “Leave me alone.”

“No. You’re getting up. I don’t know what happened between you and Mr. Cavanagh, but you have a responsibility as a mother. You have a baby. She’s fretting for you.”

Slowly Kitty straightened her legs and turned on her back. “You can look after her.”

“She needs you. She’s fretting for you,” Bella repeated firmly. “She won’t take her food.”

Kitty took a deep breath. Slowly she sat up.

“Kitty,” Bella said gently, “perhaps if you tell me what happened, and we talk about it, you might feel better.”

Kitty drew a deep breath. Haltingly, she tried to explain. “Rufe asked me to marry him, and I said no. But it was because of Joy. I tried to explain to him it was because of the law, because I must keep Redwoods for Joy, I couldn’t risk losing it, but he didn’t understand.”

Bella sat on the bed beside her. “Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“And he loves you?”

“He said so.”

Bella took her hand. “Kitty, not all men are like William. Your father wasn’t. Jack is not. You should have trusted your man.”

“But what if…if something happened…?”

“Surely you believe he’s trustworthy. Look how he’s helped us. I think you have to trust him. If you write to him, it might not be too late.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I do,” she said firmly. “I think you should write to him. He’s probably mortified that you don’t trust him.”

****

Kitty knew she had handled the matter badly. Perhaps in a letter she could explain how she felt at the time, tell him she knew she had expressed her feelings badly, that she loved him and wanted to be with him, to marry him. If she could make him understand, would he come back? Would he give their love another chance? She thought about it all day, thinking of what she could say, and then she wrote the letter and mailed it. And waited.

His reply, when it came, was formal. Rufe told her that in the interval since he had left Redwoods, he regretted that his circumstances had changed. ‘I am now married to Irene,’ he told her. He wished her all the best for the future.

****

Kitty’s hand shook as she reread the letter. It couldn’t be true. There it was, the words leapt out at her. Rufe was married to Irene. She crumpled the page and let it fall from her fingers. How could he do this? She felt sick and the air inside the house stifled her. She stumbled outside, down the steps and across the garden. Hurrying all the way through the trees she reached the steep track that led up the side of Bulahdelah Mountain and scrambled upward, her breath coming in gasps, until she reached a place that overlooked Redwoods.

Panting, she leaned against a tree and surveyed her home below. It was for this that she had rejected love. For Redwoods, and for Joy. As she stood there, catching her breath, the shock began to turn slowly to anger. How dare Rufe profess his love for her and then at the first setback rush off and marry Irene? She was well rid of him and his fickle love.

But that night, as she tossed and turned, her anger spent, she went over it all again. Rufe must have left her and gone straight to Irene. How could he have done that?

Had she misread the depth of Rufe’s feelings for her? Had she believed his love was as deep and intense as her own when all along it had been merely lust? But if that was so, why had he asked her to marry him? Did he simply want to be married now? When she rejected him, had he decided Irene would do instead? As the tears flowed she knew she didn’t have the answer, but she knew she had lost Rufe, and she felt as if her heart must break. Finally, she drifted into a restless sleep.

At the first light of day, Kitty rose, and dressed, and walked down to the river, shivering slightly in the cool air. The morning mist hung still over the water, its gray silence matching the emptiness inside her. How was she ever going to live, without that love she had known so briefly?

She sat on the stump, a small hunched figure contemplating the lonely future stretching ahead of her. How could she go on when there was only an empty hollow where her heart was meant to be?

When the first golden rays of sun coaxed a little warmth into her, she slowly straightened, then stood, and walked to the edge of the water. The mist had started to lift. Stretching her arms above her head she stood for a few moments, taking deep breaths of the fresh morning air, and looked around her. Then she turned, all the way around, looking at the grass and the bushes and the tall, straight trees.

Kitty began to walk slowly back along the path. Past the house, through the trees. When she reached the mill, she stopped. The smell of cut wood hung in the air. All was quiet now, but soon it would buzz as the men toiled to transform the waiting forest giants into timber.

Jack’s advice had been good; Harry Osborne’s patronage had been invaluable. At first, the other boat builders were reluctant to deal with a woman but when they knew she was supplying Harry, one by one they decided to give her a try. Their orders were small at first, but as she delivered on her promises, their orders increased, and the business grew to achieve the success it now enjoyed.

Kitty continued her walk. A group of kangaroos ceased nibbling the grass alongside the path and bounded away at her approach.

A little further on she reached the cutters beginning their day’s work and she stopped to watch the rhythmic movements of the axe men. Patrick called a cheery ‘good morning’ and she raised her hand and returned his greeting. A butcherbird in a nearby tree piped its morning call. Redwoods was coming to life.

When she reached the house, she headed for the nursery. As she came level with the dining room, Bella called out to her. “Kitty, are you all right?”

Kitty stopped and looked in at her mother, pushing her pain down deep. “I’m fine, thank you, just fine.”

In the nursery, Joy lay in her cot and she gurgled and lifted her arms to Kitty as she came into the room.

“Good morning, my darling,” Kitty said as she bent over and lifted her up. Joy’s waving hand grasped Kitty’s hair. Kitty nuzzled her face against her, inhaling the sweet baby smell. “We have so much to be thankful for, you and I. We have Redwoods to keep us safe. You have a grandmother and a grandfather, and we have friends. It’s time to start a new day, my little one. We have a lot of living to do, and we need to get on with it.”