The Convict

By Lindsey Power

Life as a convict in colonial New South Wales has been hard for Jesse Morgan. Accused of a crime he didn't commit and betrayed by people he thought were his friends, the life of ease he knew came to an abrupt end.
After more than seven years of hard labour in the colony of New South Wales, Jesse is sent to work at Hillcrest, the home of Major George McKenna and his daughter Isabelle.
With less than three months left before he can apply for his freedom, he is determined to keep out of trouble. But that is before he lays eyes on Isabelle McKenna.
Major McKenna has resolved to find a suitably eligible husband for his young and beautiful daughter. With women of quality scarce in the colony he can afford to be choosy. However, Isabelle has other ideas and has not been impressed by her father's choices so far.
When Isabelle and Jesse lay eyes on each other the attraction is mutual. Their friendship grows into love, each knowing that they should not be pursuing this doomed romance but unable to help themselves.
Isabelle knows she must marry a man of means. Jesse knows that as a penniless ex-convict he would never be allowed to marry Isabelle.
They both know their relationship must come to an end when Jesse's sentence is finished and leaves Hillcrest.
As the time looms for Jesse to go, ghosts from the past threaten to complicate matters further. Isabelle's only chance is to try to convince her father to let her marry Jesse or she knows she will never see him again. Surely her father would not deny her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lindsey Power
• Release date: Jun 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301935048

Lindsey Power

I had thought about writing a novel for a long time but never got around to it - so many things to do! While watching in dismay as the release date for a favourite author's latest book got put back further and further, I decided to have a go at writing a romance myself.There are lots of Regency Romances set in England, but as I live in rural New South Wales, I thought I would base my story here. The result is my first novel, The Convict, set around Parramatta and the Hunter region in New South Wales in the 1830's. It is a romance between a convict and an innocent young lady. Not the usual regency romance!For my second story, I tried something contemporary. I read a blog from a book editor who mentioned a lack of stories featuring older women so... my next novel, Hell on Wheels, was a sexy romance between an older woman and a younger man, set in urban Sydney. Things get quite hot between this couple (adults only!)My third story, Parallel Wife, is a short paranormal adventure. Not strictly a romance but it does have some romantic elements. What would you do if you suddenly woke up in a parallel life in the middle of a drama you know nothing about? My heroine soon finds out!I think my fourth story, Gentleman Jack, is my best effort to date. It's a mix of romance, revenge and adventure set in Colonial New South Wales. Unlike my first historical novel, which was originally written to a romance formula, I just wrote this for myself. Knowing I was going straight to an e-book meant I didn't have to pad it out or worry there were too many secondary characters. They just appeared when they were needed.I hope you enjoy my stories and leave me some positive feedback.

Book preview

THE CONVICT

By Lindsey Power

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Lindsey Power

www.lindseypower.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission.

The principle characters in this book are fictitious,

however there are references made to real people and events in historical context.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

Colonial New South Wales, November 1831

Jesse Morgan settled into the sacks and stretched his long limbs on the back of the dray. It bounced and jerked slowly along the dirt road, while the horse kicked up small clouds of dust with each step. The old driver hummed tunelessly to himself somewhere in front of him.

It was unusual for Jesse to have a day of leisure, especially while the sun was shining. He closed his eyes and pulled his old straw hat down, letting the warmth soak into his face and chest through the open shirt. His breathing slowed and his body felt heavy in the sun.

Unlike the stink of town they'd recently left, the air here was fresh and clean. It was fragrant and warm, with a hint of eucalyptus... and the occasional whiff of horse and chicken.

Jesse relaxed into his own thoughts. He couldn't recall the last time he'd had the luxury of doing so. He supposed he should be thinking about his future.

Less than three months. That's all he had left on his Ticket of Leave before he became a free man.

Jesse had been quite content working for a merchant on a property south of Sydney. It was one of the better places he had been sent. Unfortunately the death of his employer had meant the convicts and labourers were now re-assigned and he was part of a group being sent to the Parramatta district. The man organising this business, Major George McKenna, had picked a couple of the healthiest looking men for his own use before distributing the rest. A perk of the job no doubt, Jesse thought.

So it was that Jesse and his travelling companion were being driven west to Major McKenna's property outside Parramatta, some twenty five miles away. They shared the dray with several crates of chickens, barrels and sacks of grain, and what felt like potatoes under Jesse's back.

How far is this place? asked a tentative voice beside him, after some time on the road.

All day at this pace… but I'm not in a hurry to get there Jesse grinned without opening his eyes.

The sun was starting to bite through his shirt and a bead of perspiration formed on his brow.

I think we'll be working together, the voice said. I am Thomas Linford.

Jesse tipped back his hat, leaned up on one elbow and smiled, meeting the man's tentative gaze. He nodded and shook his hand.

Jesse Morgan he said, then settled back down to his bed of sacks and closed his eyes.

Thomas observed the man who lay in front of him, surprised by his speech. Not the voice of an uneducated man. Jesse must have been a handsome young man once with his piercing green eyes and strong dark features, but the years of hard living showed on his body. Thomas wondered what had brought him here.

Several scars on Jesse's face, arms and chest were noticeable through the suntanned skin. The deep scar on the left side of his wide mouth made his lip curl slightly when he smiled, revealing the missing second tooth. His brown hair was long and lightened by the sun, and loosely tied with a leather thong. He looked like he belonged in the landscape.

Jesse was well muscled and his hands were rough. Thomas supposed it was from years of physical labour - something he had yet to look forward to.

Thomas thought how his own appearance must have deteriorated in the past year. He looked every bit the recent arrival. Thin, with his blonde hair just starting to grow again after the recent shaving. The raised welts on his back and the raw marks on his wrists and ankles were still stark on his pale, sallow skin, made all the more visible in the ill-fitting clothing. It was only the fact that most of the other convicts he saw had similar marks - or considerably worse - that made him no longer feel self-conscious about them. Nobody in this God-forsaken place was what they once were.

How long have you been in New South Wales Mr Morgan? Thomas ventured.

Jesse, surprised at the formal address gave a short laugh from the back of his throat. He stretched and sat up against the sacks and looked at Thomas.

Over seven years…. and call me Jesse, he replied.

So you are near the end of your sentence?

Jesse smiled and nodded. I have a little under three months left on my Ticket.

Thomas looked thoughtful. Ticket? I have heard this term. Is it a pardon?

Ticket of Leave, Jesse explained. It is a parole you earn…, his lip curled slightly ... if you behave.

And you are free to move about?

With conditions.

Jessie turned to Thomas, his eyes showing a hint of amusement. Fortunately I have only to keep out of trouble for three more months and I will be a free man.

Free to go home?

Jesse paused, the amusement leaving his face. He shrugged. I think not. There is nothing for me there.

Unwilling to elaborate he changed the subject. How about you Thomas? Have you been in the colony for long?

"No indeed. I arrived on the Georgiana in July and have been mostly confined to the barracks up until now. This is my first work assignment. He looked around and inhaled deeply. I must say the Major shows a remarkable degree of trust to let convicts out to work. Do people not escape?"

Hmf. Jesse grunted. He knows there is nowhere to escape to. Beyond these settlements is nothing but wild bush, wild animals and wild people. Most of the escaped convicts who survive come crawling back, preferring to take their punishment than stay loose a moment longer.

Thomas was thoughtful. Still, it can be no worse labouring than being on that stinking ship.

Jesse nodded regarding Thomas's soft white hands. Have you laboured before? What was your profession in England?

Thomas sighed. I was a schoolmaster.

Jesse raised his eyebrows slightly. Convicts came from all walks of life. He had met thieves, sailors, farm labourers, tradesmen and apprentices. He had not met a schoolmaster in the colony before. He wondered what this mild-mannered man had done to earn his transportation.

Jesse nodded. I had not laboured much before I came here either, but I have learned many new skills in the last seven years. I am hoping some may be useful in the future.

Oh? Thomas was interested. What have you done?

Well, there was road building. A lot of stump digging and breaking rocks. Tree felling, woodcutting, farming, house building, horse breaking, milking, well digging. And whatever else they can make us do. The whole colony is built by convicts.

Still, said Thomas, I suppose I should prefer it to being in a prison.

Yes, you don't get much time to brood, Jesse grinned, and if you work on a farmstead with a good master, at least you eat nearly as well as they do.

As if in response, Jesse's stomach rumbled. It had been a few hours since they were given damper and tea for breakfast in Sydney.

Hello driver!, he called. Are we to have dinner on this tour?

The old man at the front of the dray turned around with a nearly toothless smile.

Aye. The master had me bring some grub for us. I'll stop in the shade and we can eat.

Jesse sat up, looked around and coughed as dust was kicked up by a passing gig. The road between Sydney and Parramatta was quite busy with vehicles drawn by horses and oxen as well as riders. There were clusters of homes and inns along the road, which grew more sparse the further west they travelled.

They found a flat, shady spot to pull over and Old Jim - having introduced himself - put the nose bag on the horse. He opened a small barrel of water, ladling some into an old kettle.

You boys get us a fire started and we'll make a brew, he said, tossing Jesse the flint.

Jesse picked a place on clear ground and made a circle of rocks to contain the fire while Thomas gathered sticks and kindling from the nearby bush.

They soon had the kettle heating on the flames with a good handful tea leaves added to stew. Nobody ever got a weak cup of tea in the Colony, Jesse thought.

Old Jim unwrapped the parcel of food - reasonably fresh bread, salted mutton, even some cheese and apples. Things were looking up. Maybe this work assignment would be one of the better ones.

So, Jim, Jesse began, Do you work for Major McKenna? What is the place like where we are going?

Aye. I've worked for him these last two years at his new homestead as overseer, he said. The house and some of the outbuildings are finished but there is work still to establish the farm and gardens.

Are there other convicts working there?, asked Thomas.

Only Sarah the housekeeper - now that I'm a free man, Jim added with a smile as he poured the stewed tea into tin mugs. The stonemason and carpenter who were there have been re-assigned to government work. You are to work on the gardens and help tend the animals.

Does the Major have a family? Thomas continued.

He is a widower. He only has his daughter Miss Isabelle… who he is very protective of, he said pointedly, looking both men in the eye.

Thomas blushed. Jesse gave an amiable grunt and his lip curled slightly as he smiled to himself. He was certainly not looking to jeopardise the last months of his sentence by upsetting the Major. She'll be safe from us, he smiled looking at Thomas, who was just nodding. Poor sod probably hadn't seen a woman for months, he thought.

Jim shook his head. The Major hoped that bringing her out to his new posting in Parramatta would get her away from the attentions of the rakes in Sydney. He knows many of the soldiers and settlers out here and can keep an eye on her suitors. She just needs to make up her mind… from the few that her father thinks are good enough!

So she's fussy then? Thomas ventured.

She can afford to be, Jim replied, nodding to himself. A more bonny lass you never did see. And with decent women so scarce in the Colony, she can take her pick.

Jim rose stiffly and doused the fire with the last of the water. Come on then. I'd best be getting you home before nightfall".

Passing the township of Parramatta, they proceeded several miles along the Windsor Road before turning off to the south. The track became narrower and the dray rocked from side to side in the wheel ruts making the chickens squawk in their confinement. Jesse and Thomas sat up and took in their surroundings. Large tracts of native bush with intermittent cleared sections showing small homesteads, crops and grazing animals.

Turning into a property with a white entrance gate, they saw the sign Hillcrest. They took in the sight of the newly built sandstone house elevated on the hill - single storey with a wide verandah and separate kitchen. There were several newly constructed outbuildings to the right of the main yard.

A movement coming from in front of the house caught their eye.

A well-dressed man on horseback was heading towards the gate at a fast pace on the grass beside the track. Old Jim gave the man a nod but he only shook his head and shouted bloody woman! as he passed without stopping or looking back.

It was going to be an interesting few months, Jesse thought.

*

Sarah looked out the window into the yard. Jim's back. And he's brought two men with him.

Men! fumed Isabelle McKenna, still pacing. If I never see another one again it will be too soon!

Sarah smiled to herself. I'll put the kettle on shall I? I daresay we could all do with a nice cup of tea.

Hmmff! was the only acknowledgment she got.

Isabelle resumed her pacing. That… that… MAN! she exclaimed, lacking a suitable expletive. Does he think I should be HONOURED by his proposal? Just because he's the son of some Lord or other? Hmmmff!

Her porcelain skin was nearly the colour of her hair as she paced around indignantly.

Sarah knew it was no use trying to calm Isabelle when she got all feisty like this so she just let her fume while she left and made the tea. The Major would not be pleased when he learned she'd sent Daniel King away with a flea in his ear. He was a free settler with land and money. A very eligible young man, if a little pompous.

Eventually Isabelle ceased pacing and sat down with a thump at the table and idly started flicking through a periodical left there.

Sarah came through to the house with a tea tray and set it down on the table in front of Isabelle. Shall I pour Miss?

Oh, yes please. Isabelle sighed, smiling at Sarah. … and that's another thing that so called son-of-a-lord said! When we're married there'll be no more fraternising with the servants, no more getting my hands dirty in the garden, no more riding around on horseback… shall I go on? And the man thought he was doing me a favour! I tell you Sarah if I was married to Mister King I would be locked up all day sewing and playing the piano without another person for company and only his presence to look forward to. Can you imagine?

Sarah smiled, pouring out the tea. She imagined - and well knew - there were worse lives you could lead in the colony but for Isabelle it would be like a prison sentence. Sarah couldn't bear to think of the spark going out of those beautiful blue eyes in an unhappy marriage.

At twenty, Isabelle was only a few years younger than herself but was native born - a Currency Lass.

Unlike the so-called Sterling settlers from the old country, she had been brought up in the colony and was used to the freedom, the disregard for authority and the blurring of social classes that characterised life here. Current and ex-convicts, free settlers and military men all lived, worked, socialised and interacted in a way that would not have been done in England.

Sarah had been with the McKennas for four years now as general housemaid, cook and companion and the position suited her well enough. The protection of being in the Major's household also stopped her being married off to some settler in need of a wife.

Would you like me to sit with you? asked Sarah, or shall I make some tea for the men?

Isabelle roused, Oh, I suppose they are the new labourers? Yes go and see to them. They are probably tired from their journey. I will come and meet them when I've had my tea.

Sarah went back through the covered walkway to the separate kitchen building and prepared tea and currant buns. She could see the men unloading sacks and crates from the dray and unhitching the horse. She rang the bell outside and Old Jim looked up and waved. The men stopped and washed their hands and faces in the trough outside the stable before making their way to the kitchen.

There were rough-hewn log chairs and a table outside the kitchen verandah. The men rose as Sarah came out with the tray and she sat to join them, motioning them to sit once more.

Miss Sarah, this is Jesse and Thomas, said Jim as the men murmured politely.

They noted Sarah's pretty rounded face under her frilly cap with blonde curls escaping.

Sarah will make your meals and ring the bell when they are ready. You may eat them out here, or in the kitchen if she lets you on her clean floor.

Sarah smiled and began to pour tea into tin mugs as the men looked hungrily at the buns. Please help yourselves, she said.

She observed the new arrivals while they ate. Both seemed relatively young, tall and well built - but the pale one could do with fattening up. As if he read her thoughts, Thomas looked up and met Sarah's eyes and smiled before looking away.

The other man, Jesse, looked as though he was used to hard work, and hard living, she noted. He nodded politely This is delicious Miss.

She smiled and turned her attention to Thomas who was eating slowly. Do you not like the buns Thomas?

Oh yes Miss. It's just that for the better part of the last year I have had not much to eat but gruel, hard tack and weevils. I fear my poor innards and teeth may take a while to recognise the proper food I've had today. They all laughed.

So you are recently arrived? she asked, noting his kindly smile.

Yes Miss, this is my first assignment.

I am sure with some good food, sunshine and work you will soon be feeling your old self again, she smiled. And you Jesse, have you been here long?

Over seven years Miss. I have a little under three months left on my Ticket.

Ahh. I have a year left on mine, she said, nodding.

The conversation lulled as nobody wanted to ask on this first meeting what they had been transported for.

Old Jim broke the silence. Was that Mister King we saw leaving when we arrived? He looked none too pleased.

Yes. And the Major will be none too pleased either, Sarah replied when he hears the Mistress has rejected him - and him the third son of a Lord and all, she winked at Jim, …but he is not the man for her.

There must not be many left to choose from surely lass? said Jim. Are there any eligible bachelors left this side of Parramatta who are game to ask?

I'm sure the Major will keep trying. He wants her wed and settled. Lieutenant Hyatt is coming to tea next week.

He's nought but a young lad! She will make short work of him.

I fear you're right, said Sarah.

They heard light footsteps coming through the passageway behind the kitchen, a moment before Isabelle McKenna appeared in the doorway looking calm and composed.

Jesse looked up and breathed in sharply as Isabelle made her way gracefully towards them. He couldn't take his eyes away. Her navy blue dress accentuated the stunning dark red hair dressed up in curls off her slender neck. Wisps of loose hair hung in tendrils around her beautiful face. He realised he was holding his breath and let it out.

The group rose from the table as Jim spoke. Good afternoon Miss McKenna. These are the new labourers…. Thomas.

Thomas Linford, Miss.

She held out her hand. Welcome Thomas, she said, her pink lips curved in a smile showing small pearl-like teeth.

Thomas quickly wiped his hand on his shirt before taking her hand and bowing over it.

Jesse quietly wiped his own hand on his pants, all the while looking at her face. Her skin was not quite flawless. The few small freckles on her nose made her seem very young, though she must be a marriageable age. She turned her large blue eyes on him.

This is Jesse, said Jim.

Jesse Morgan, Miss.

He took her offered hand and inclined his head but couldn't take his eyes away from her. His heart lurched for an instant as he touched her. Her small hand felt soft and cool in his large calloused paw. She looked up and held his gaze for a moment then smiled. Welcome Jesse, she said, looking for a moment longer before turning away. She extracted her hand and broke the connection.

She stepped back a little. Jim will show you what to do. My father should be back tomorrow with more instructions. I trust you will be happy here. She smiled graciously, inclined her head and turned, disappearing back through the kitchen door.

Jesse only realised he was still looking when Jim prompted him. Come on then lads. There's more work to be done before dark.

For the second time that day Jesse wondered what the next few months would bring.

*

Isabelle was intrigued. There was something about that Jesse that unsettled her. Maybe it was his size and physical presence. His speech was educated but his voice was rough and deep - as though he was out of practise in its use. His tanned face was scarred from some past altercation, but those eyes! The dark lashes and brows highlighted the green of them. Slight crinkles showed around the edges as though he was secretly amused at something. What was he thinking? she wondered.

What did you think of them? Sarah asked as she entered the room, rousing Isabelle from her thoughts.

Oh, they seem healthy enough. she said nonchalantly. They should be more than suitable for the work.

Polite too, said Sarah. They both seem like gentlemen. The Major must have hand picked them.

Thank goodness. I'm sure he wouldn't want us left alone here with drunks or murderers.

Sarah nodded.