They had pulled up the cattle for the night at the head of the usual gully. Alice drove Jeremy mad while she meticulously nightlined Rose and Carmen and set up camp. Seeing his look of reproach, she spoke to him encouragingly. ‘You’ve waited this long, Jeremy. Another few minutes can’t hurt.’
Six weeks before, driving home to Redstone after her initial reunion with Jeremy, Alice had been engulfed by a wave of happiness so overwhelming it had seemed that if she didn’t share her feelings with someone, she’d surely drown. On arriving home at Redstone, she’d run past a curious Beryl with only a joyful wave. Back in her cottage, she’d picked up her phone and dialled. She told Leilani the news all in one breath.
‘That’s deadly, sweetheart,’ said Leilani. ‘Wait’ll I tell your Mary. The silly old fish might even smile. But your white folks might have a fit if all us blackfellas blew in for your wedding,’ she’d exploded with laughter at the very thought, ‘so make sure you bring your man north to our place soon.’
Then in early April there had been the wedding. Lara and family had driven up from Brisbane and joined the group of locals who gathered in the church for the occasion. On greeting Alice before the ceremony, Lara had kissed her softly on the forehead and clasped a fine string of milky baby pearls around her throat. They had been Olive’s, and Lara had worn them on her own wedding day.
Father Callaghan had come out of retirement, driving up from Toowoomba especially for the day. Bonnie had been vibrantly present in a shockingly bright, lime-green wrap-around dress, and the O’Donnells had filled their traditional family pew and were generally docile and respectful, as was their custom in church. Sue’s pretty eyes had been full of tears, but without the sorrow that usually resided in them. Instead they had twinkled with a clear blue contentment.
Hammerhead, Mushgang, Dan and Stretch had rolled up looking unusually tidy. Beryl Sawtell had cried, while Arthur held her hand affectionately. Ellen had wheeled Mr Collins into the church and he’d dozed throughout the ceremony, opening his eyes just long enough to make a muttered observation to his invisible comrade Cedric. The smiling Mesiti family, with a precious Keira in their midst, had commandeered a whole pew, and the ruddy-cheeked Fred Campbell had beamed from the front seat with Heidi clasping his arm. A grinning Ewan Webber, who had drifted into town for the weekend, sat with Jeremy’s old drinking buddies. They hadn’t anticipated a churchy wedding like this one for their King Jed; in fact, they had never expected a wedding at all. And Brandi was nowhere to be seen.
Swept up by the excitement of a wedding in the town, the Country Women’s Association ladies had overcome their feelings of disapproval towards the youngest O’Donnell and decked out the hall with leaves and flowers from their gardens. They had covered the trestle tables with crisp blue and white tablecloths and an afternoon feast.
When at last the newlyweds found themselves alone together, driving the dusty road out of town towards their home, Alice had given Jeremy some less than welcome tidings. There was to be no ‘wedding night’ at Redstone. She’d insisted they wait for a few more days until their first night out on the bush run.
They’d taken a tent, as rain was forecast for the week. It would be a tight squeeze with all their saddles if the sky did choose to open, but Jeremy was looking forward to cuddling up. He climbed inside and waited impatiently while Alice did some final jobs outside and checked on the loose ponies one last time. But when at last she lifted the flap and poked her head in through the door, it was to reach in and take his hand.
‘Not in there,’ she said, pulling on his arm. ‘Out here, under the evening star.’
Jeremy was suddenly anxious. She’d need some careful handling, this one. ‘Just like that touchy little Arab mare,’ he thought to himself. All at once he found that he was no longer in such a hurry. His nerves made him hesitant, so he was gentle and tentative with Alice. But after a few moments she took his hands and let him know that there was no need to be. He knew then that Alice was no longer afraid to love him. She’d truly given herself to him and was holding nothing back.
At long last King Jeremy had won his Queen. Sex with love. It was something new for Jeremy and it took him by complete surprise, someone who had believed he’d tried it all.
Finally he understood: ‘Making love,’ he sighed one night, lying in one of the old slab huts, the arms of his new wife wrapped tightly around him. Then another thought occurred to him. Before Alice, he too had been a virgin in some ways, never having really entered into the spirit of the thing. He was about to say so to Alice, but decided that she might have trouble seeing it from that angle. And was it any bloody wonder? No, he’d keep quiet for once. Warts and all, she loved him, even with full knowledge of what he really was. And she was the only person in the world to truly possess that.
Then, once again it was time to return to the real world. Their honeymoon bush run was over. Yet as they rode closer to the Redstone boundary Alice felt none of the usual regret. Instead her heart was full of anticipation. The medley of bush and cattle sounds combined, and the earth seemed to be singing with the same joy that the two of them were feeling.
They rode side by side behind the mob, content to let the dogs do all the legwork. The pack ponies were following loose, also happy to be on the home stretch. Alice and Jeremy rode along so close to one another that occasionally their knees brushed. A glossy willy-wagtail flew from tree to tree, staying just ahead of them, seeming to tease the young lovers with his cheeky swinging dance. At each new perch, he’d turn to look at them, taunting them with his grating chirp and insolent, stuck-up tail.
Their knees touched again and Alice looked across at Jeremy. She felt a sudden powerful thrill at the sight of the intense emotion in his eloquent blue eyes. For the first time, she experienced no hint of her usual hesitation or shyness. Instead she felt alight with pure, passionate love and desire for him.
Jeremy seemed to read her expression. He jerked impulsively on the reins and Carmen came to an abrupt halt, throwing her head up in indignation. The next moment he was off the big grey’s back and lifting a protesting Alice out of her saddle. Despite her show of annoyance, Alice wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her down. Rose skittered sideways in alarm; then, seeing that Carmen had dropped her head unconcernedly to graze, the dark mare followed suit.
Jeremy held Alice up off the ground triumphantly, like a treasured prize, squeezing her so tightly that the air was forced from her lungs. Then he lowered her a little so that her head was only slightly higher than his and grinned up into her face. But Alice was serious and thoughtful. She’d nearly lost him. How thankful she was to have him here with her now. Her husband. She stroked his cheek softly, and tears of joy sprang up in his eyes.
Neither of them noticed the cattle disperse a little and begin to crop the grass. The willy-wagtail wagged and scolded insistently from a branch above them, outraged that they were paying him so little attention. Darcy and the Bennet sisters lay down in a thick patch of shade and with panting smiles looked on tolerantly. But Alice and Jeremy were oblivious to everything but one another.
Tomorrow morning they would arrive back at Redstone. There was still so much to do, so many improvements to be made. It would take years. Their whole lives. Alice quivered with excitement at the thought of it. She and Jeremy. She could hardly wait to begin.