May 1892

In the morning, Emily showed me around and told me what my new tasks would be.

‘You will be looking after Mr Finnerty, and his new wife, doing their beds, their cleaning, their dusting, taking care of everything they need. Mr Finnerty has just been appointed warden for the district. It’s a government position, like a magistrate, but he’s not at all stiff and starchy. He’s a very noble gentleman, and Mrs Finnerty is lovely. You’re lucky because they’ve just moved in to the new suite. Everything is still easy to clean in here.’ She gave me a big grin and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, though I didn’t need reassuring because really it was not much different from what I did at home. The boys went out to work with Pa each day and I did the chores. Susan was so good at wriggling out of them I got tired of fighting with her. I was always happy when Mother needed me to go with her to deliver someone’s baby or patch up their broken bones. Even though she wasn’t trained and relied on her ‘doctor book’, as we called it, people trusted her. She has steady hands and doesn’t panic in emergencies.

‘It looks lovely,’ I said to Emily. ‘But don’t you find it very dull, living all the way out here?’

‘Oh, no,’ she said. ‘I love it here in the Cross. There are always dances and picnics and singalongs. Everyone is friendly.’ Then her face changed. ‘We do find it hard to get staff, though. Lots of girls won’t come here.’

‘Why?’ I asked.

She hesitated for a moment. ‘Come, let me show you the yard,’ she said, and steered me outside. When we were well away from the building she said, ‘Mary doesn’t like to talk about it and she certainly doesn’t want me to mention it to Mother, but the whole town is talking about it. Four weeks ago, Sergeant Williams arrested Baron Swanston for murdering his wife and children, and then his second wife, too. Everyone is in shock. Mr Swanston was the new chief engineer at Fraser’s Mine. We have just found out that his real name is Deeming and he was even engaged to be married yet again.’

‘Married!’ I said.

‘Yes. His new fiancée had already started her journey from Adelaide.’

‘She’s had a lucky escape then.’

‘Yes, but how awful to be on your way to a new home and a comfortable life with a chief engineer for your husband, only to find he’s a murderer!’ At that moment a flock of black cockatoos came screeching overhead, circling the town. Emily shuddered. ‘I hope I haven’t frightened you,’ she said. I shook my head. ‘Good. Let’s talk about more pleasant things. Are you fond of dancing, Clara?’ She asked as we walked back inside.

‘Oh yes,’ I replied. ‘I learned to dance in Queensland.’

‘That’s wonderful. I’ll organise a dance for Monday and introduce you to all the boys.’

The next day I started work at the Club Hotel. Mary came with me to the Finnertys’ suite of rooms to introduce me to Mrs Finnerty. When Mary introduced me as her sister, Mrs Finnerty took my hand.

‘Hello, Clara. It’s nice to meet you,’ she said. ‘I hope you’ll be happy here with us.’

‘I’m sure I’ll be very happy, Mrs Finnerty,’ I said, feeling the soft skin of her hands and the warmth of her smile.

‘And how old are you?’

‘I’m fourteen,’ I told her.

‘Well, well, I would have taken you to be much older than that. You are a big girl for your age.’

I was a bit put out by that. I’m taller than Susan, but then she is two years younger and fine-boned, like Mother. ‘I take after my father, Moroni Saunders,’ I said, lifting my chin.

Mrs Finnerty smiled reassuringly and said, ‘I’m sure things will work out very well.’

True to her word, Emily organised a dance for Monday evening. There would be a band, she said, with piano accordion, banjo and a tin whistle – as long as the musicians stayed sober. A keg of beer would be brought across from the hotel to the Miner’s Institute, which had a dance floor in the meeting hall and a small kitchen out the back. Supper would be provided by the women of the town, who were already busy baking biscuits and scones. The men would move chairs, later, and set things up for the evening.

‘Now, what are you going to wear?’ Emily looked me up and down, measuring me with her eyes.

I only had what Mother called ‘sensible clothes’ for working in, but Emily pulled out two beautiful dresses from her wardrobe.

‘What do you think?’ she asked. ‘The blue? Or perhaps the apricot?’ She held them against me in turn and I clasped them to my waist to check the length. Mary came looking for us and Emily asked her which dress she thought would suit me best.

Mary stood back and tilted her head. ‘Hmm … You have such beautiful dark eyes and olive skin, Clara. I think apricot is your colour, don’t you Emily?’

‘Try it on,’ said Emily.

The fabric was so light that the dress seemed to float around me. It was a little shorter than my work clothes and I asked if we should let down the hem, but both Mary and Emily agreed that it looked very stylish and showed off my ankles.

Mary, who is more like Mother and Susan, pulled out one of her dresses for Susan and a lovely skirt for Mother.

‘I won’t be wearing either of these until after this baby is born,’ Mary sighed. Her swollen belly pushed up and out under her apron and she rested her hand on it. I couldn’t help staring. ‘I’m sure this one is bigger than the others. And more awkward,’ she said, taking my hand and placing it on the tight bulge. Even through two layers of clothes I could feel the baby kicking.

‘Perhaps it’s a boy,’ Emily said. They both laughed.

‘Boy or girl, I wish it would hurry up,’ Mary said, straightening her back and pressing her hands against it to ease the muscles.

The Miner’s Institute was already crowded. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes with their hair brushed. The sounds of music and laughter greeted us as we carried our plates of food through to the narrow kitchen at the back. The long, wooden bench was already lined with plates, baskets and bowls, all covered by tea towels to keep off the flies that, even after dark, still had an uncanny knack of finding food. An urn bubbled away in the fireplace, heating and sterilising water ready for the inevitable cups of tea that would be served during the interval. A keg of beer rested on its own wooden stand and crates of bottled wine were placed on the floor. Everything had been donated, except these more expensive items which would be covered by the small entrance fee.

We moved into the main hall and sat together on chairs that lined the walls along with the other women. The men stood around in groups. Their hair was neatly brushed, their waistcoats buttoned up and their boots freshly cleaned. They chatted to each other while surreptitiously eyeing off the few young women in the room. When the music started several of the men came across the floor towards us. They obviously wanted to be the first to dance with the new arrivals. It made us feel very welcome.

My first partner was a young man with a charming smile and lively blue eyes. He was a good dancer and I enjoyed every minute of it.

‘You waltz well, Miss Saunders,’ he said.

‘Thank you,’ I replied. ‘You know my name already?’

A cheeky grin stretched his lips and showed his perfect teeth. ‘How could I not?’ he asked, twirling me around so that my skirts swung out and lifted above my petticoats. ‘I’m Jack Raeside.’

‘Pleased to meet you I’m sure, Mr Raeside,’ I said, gliding back towards him and matching my steps to his.

‘Jack,’ he corrected me. Our bodies fitted together again without missing a single beat of the music.

‘But we’ve only just met!’ I tried to sound shocked but I could not seem to keep the smile off my face.

‘Have we?’ he said. ‘I could have sworn we had known each other forever.’ The music wove some sort of magic as he held me in his arms. I felt a sensation of belonging, of the two of us moving effortlessly together, our bodies gliding across the floor. Then the dance was over. We bowed to each other and he escorted me back to where my mother and sisters were sitting.

I sat down and leaned across to Emily. ‘Who is that boy?’ I asked.

‘Jack Raeside,’ she said. ‘His father is a very important man. He is in charge of the water supply in the whole of this area. He and Jack have a string of wells and dams they take care of and a team of horses to deliver water to the town.’

The music started again and I danced with a Mr Roberts, but it was not long before Jack was back, asking me to dance with him again.

‘I’m sorry, Jack,’ I said. Even though he was a much better dancer than Mr Roberts, I felt that it wouldn’t be fair. ‘I promised I would share my dances. There are so few girls and so many young men.’ Jack’s face fell so I gave him a reassuring smile.

‘I’m disappointed,’ he said, looking steadily into my eyes, ‘but I do understand.’ I watched him walk away to join a group of men standing around the keg.

The next evening several of the boys I had met at the dance came along to the billiard room that Tom had set up at the hotel. There was only one table and they had to wait their turn to play. While he was waiting, the accordion player took up his instrument. Soon there was music and singing, clapping and stomping, along with the clack of billiard cues hitting the balls. Lots of voices joined in singing the more well-known songs. After a while someone changed the words, but sang them to the same tune. This brought on a lot of catcalling and laughter. Then it turned into a competition, with others adding new words of their own:

What shall we do with a drunken miner?

Earl-i in the morning.

Hang him in the washhouse till he’s dried out,

Earl-i in the morning.

Emily arrived with her friend, Tom Scully, who she had introduced to us the night before. Then Jack came over and we all joined in. The rowdy miners swore a lot, but they knew how to sing and harmonise. Time flew and I couldn’t believe it when the barman called for last orders. The musicians began to pack up their instruments and everyone talked louder, just to make themselves heard.

‘Jack has suggested a riding party to Hope’s Hill on Sunday,’ Emily said, leaning close to my ear. ‘He can bring a horse for you, and Tom will bring one for me. What do you say?’

I hadn’t done much riding at all, but I didn’t want to miss out on anything. ‘That will be lovely,’ I said, trying to look confident.

‘Good.’ I could see that Emily was pleased. I had seen her dancing with Tom Scully the night before and guessed that she wanted to spend time with him – without Mary, or Mother, having to chaperone them. ‘Until Sunday, then,’ she said to Tom, and let go of his hand. He and Jack turned to go but Jack stopped in the doorway.

‘I’ll see you on Sunday,’ he said, and I noticed again how blue his eyes were and how deeply they looked into mine.