Eleanor II - Book Three: Thursday's Child, #3

By Shana J Carr

The third and final book in the Thursday's Child Series:

 

ELEANOR Part Two:   On the backdrop of the Second World War, and at odds with the conventions of her time, one impulsive act will land her in hot water.  Sent to live in Western Australia, she will meet new people, find new love and happiness as she settles down to life on a sheep station.  She will discover peace and contentment in the world around her.

 

But at night, PARQUIN comes to her still...her constant companion on her long arduous journey through time.  Over the long years, he'd been able to do little else but watch...and wait...hoping each time she was born, that perhaps, this time they would discover their way back to one another...

 

He decides he must do what is necessary.  With patience at an end, and with a strength of purpose that has all but left him, he has decided on an action...and just perhaps...this time...he will reunite with his ELEXIA once again...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shana J Carr
• Release date: Mar 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393520238

Book preview

Chapter One

‘Bet they don’t last the month, mate.’ Perry squatted on his heels and held his tobacco stub between thumb and forefinger and drew back hard, nodding towards the group of Americans that stood milling around over by the main encampment.

‘Oh, I don’t know… kept the Nips busy from the air at Rabaul.’ Ted had been squatting in the same way and was plunging his shirt into a tin washbasin as he eyed the new reinforcements, his hands stopping mid-plunge as he spoke.

‘Nah, like you said, from the air… wait till they’re waist-deep in swamp and kunai, then they’ll know what it’s all about.’ Perry threw his butt to the ground and stood up. ‘And will you look at that one! What’s he smiling about? Anyone would think he was on a bloody pleasure trip!’ Perry spat on the ground, narrowly missing Ted, who moved his leg at the last second. ‘Bloody Yanks! Probably all come down with bloody malaria and then we’ll have to carry ’em!’ Perry laughed derisively at his own comment and sauntered off.

Ted shook his head at the retreating figure of Perry and went on with his washing. The supply truck would be in soon, and hopefully bring some mail with it. Ted could do with some news from home, a brief but welcome reprieve to help take his mind away from his ever-depressing surroundings.

‘Got a light?’

Ted didn’t hear anyone come up and it startled him. He stood and fished around in his pocket while eying up the tall American standing there with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. ‘You know, sneaking up on someone like that might just keep you alive around the Japs, but around here it’s likely to get you shot.’ Ted flicked his lighter to the end of the taller man’s smoke.

The American drew back on his cigarette, letting out a long stream of blue-grey smoke. ‘Want one?’ He held out his pack.

‘Why not.’ Ted took one and lit it. ‘Thanks.’

‘Your buddy doesn’t seem too friendly… just me? Or is it all Americans in general.’

‘Perry? Oh he’s all right once you get on his good side.’ Ted grinned and drew back on his smoke. ‘It’s finding his good side that’s the hard part.’

The American grinned back at him and held out his hand. ‘Mike Ross is the name.’

Ted took his hand and shook it. ‘Ted… Ted Grayson.’

Mike’s expression froze, his stomach taking a sudden downward plunge.

* * *

‘Oh come on, Charlie! Please?’ Eleanor leant against the railing watching Robert and Roger skin the sheep carcasses that hung from long iron hooks on a wooden beam attached to the shed. Billy stood nearby sorting through the offal and placing aside the kidneys, liver and heart into a metal tub. ‘Good eatin’,’ he often said. Eleanor didn’t like to watch this part of the procedure too closely; in her condition, it made her stomach turn slightly.

Charlie lifted his head out from under the jeep’s bonnet and signalled for Dave to start it up again. He darted a look at Eleanor and pulled a face, though his eyes reflected his amusement. She gave him a pleading look in return.

‘Don’t you think it’s a good idea for me to get some exercise? And poor Winnie needs it as well!’ She raised her voice in an effort to be heard above the jeep’s engine.

‘Nope,’ was all he offered, his voice loud also.

Dave looked over at her and she widened her eyes pointedly at him while nodding in Charlie’s direction, signalling him to help her sway his boss’s mind. But he smiled and shook his head slightly; his expression said he was staying out of it. Eleanor sighed. Charlie caught the look she’d given Dave.

‘And don’t go bringing poor Dave into it again either!’

Ever since Eleanor had come to stay, the men had fallen over themselves to see to her every comfort, trying their best to make her happy. The fact that her pregnancy was obviously advancing served only to soften their resolve to deny her.

As a way of showing Eleanor around the station, Charlie had thought it might be a good idea to teach her to ride, so he’d put her up on Winnie, his gentlest mare. Before Eleanor had come to stay, Charlie had already decided that Jim should take the old mare to Dimitri and have her put down. Winnie was way past her prime and much too old to breed. Charlie could have shot the mare, but he didn’t have the heart, and then Eleanor had taken to the old nag like a bee to honey and Charlie had reasoned that if Winnie could still be serviceable in some way, then he might as well keep her around.

Eleanor had loved riding, the feeling of being up on a horse, even one as sluggish as Winnie, giving her such a sense of freedom.

But then when Eleanor’s waistline had started to thicken, Charlie, not wanting to take any chances, had put a stop to any riding, and Eleanor had suddenly felt like Lily’s pet cockatoo, Pitty-Pat, sitting within the confines of its cage on Lily’s veranda, its wings clipped, no longer able to fly.

Ever since, she’d pleaded with him, tried flattery, ranted and raved and even tried wheedling the men to let her back into the saddle, but apart from the one time that Dave had succumbed to her persuasive ways, all had refused her.

Dave revved the jeep and Eleanor pushed herself away from the railing towards him, her voice rising as she did. ‘But it’s been three weeks now and I’m going crazy just hanging around the house all the time! You won’t even let me walk too far on my own! I might as well be thrown into the back paddock with the rest of the sheep!’

Charlie peered around the bonnet at Dave and sliced a finger through the air at his throat, indicating to him to cut the engine. He let the hood fall shut and stared at Eleanor, the twinkle in his eyes belying his stern countenance.

‘That’s not a bad idea! It’s a wonder I didn’t think of it before.’

Robert and Roger snickered to themselves and even Billy suppressed one of his famous smiles as Charlie wiped his greasy hands on a rag and watched Eleanor storm off towards the house.

Dave came and stood next to Charlie, watching her stride off also, her gait beginning to sway a little to accommodate her burgeoning figure.

‘You know, that Winnie is as gentle as a new spring lamb – don’t think she’s worked herself up to anything faster than a trot in the last two years… I think your girl would be safe enough.’ Dave kept his voice low and out of hearing from the others, still looking on in the direction of Eleanor.

Charlie frowned. ‘Your girl’… that’s what he’d said. He sighed. ‘Old Winnie could still show some spirit if she got spooked – don’t think she wouldn’t – and then if Eleanor fell, and something happened… Christ, Dave, I’m responsible for her while she’s here; her parents expect me to look after her. I have to think about what they’d want me to do.’

Dave nodded, his tone suggestive. ‘Yeah, know what you’re saying. No one could blame you on that score – after all, you’ve been pretty good at sticking to what they would want you to do…’

Charlie turned to look directly at him, a frown on his face.

Dave changed tactics and raised his eyebrows. ‘I mean, none of us would like to see anything happen to the girl…’ Especially you. He didn’t say it but it hung in the air between them, and he gave Charlie a knowing look.

Charlie fiddled with the rag in his hands, refusing to look at Dave now. He shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, she’s so young… you know what I mean?’

Dave nodded. He knew exactly what he meant. A man would have to be blind not to notice the boss’s fondness for the girl, but he’d concluded that Charlie thought he was too old for her. His voice took on a softer edge now.

‘Then again, she’s not that young. How old is she? Twenty-four? Twenty-five? I pretty much knew what I wanted at that age… didn’t you?’

Charlie let out a frustrated sigh. ‘That’s the point! I thought I knew everything at her age, then I was fighting in a bloody war and after that? I came out here…’ Charlie suddenly grinned at Dave and punched his arm. ‘And I’ve had to put up with you silly bastards ever since!’

Dave laughed loudly and walked off, shaking his head, but Charlie’s grin slid away as he looked towards the house once again. Then he threw his rag to the ground and strode off towards home, calling over his shoulder, ‘Hey, Billy! Tell Jim to let me know when he comes in, will ya? If the grass is too long in that lower paddock, we better get it seen to right away in this heat.’

Billy raised his arm. ‘Okay, boss.’

Robert and Roger were now sitting in the shade and sharing a smoke and Dave went to sit beside them.

Charlie entered the house, taking his boots off at the front door. He threw his hat on the sofa as he walked past, the fan spinning overhead giving him instant relief from the heat, cooling his face and flattening his hair down briefly as he walked directly underneath and through to the kitchen. He wondered how Eleanor could stand the heat outside. Lily had told him that women in her condition suffered the heat more than others, though Eleanor had never complained about it.

He came up to the kitchen door and, resting his shoulder against the entrance, stood watching the ever-present subject of his thoughts cutting up lamb on the wooden board. He could tell at once she was angry by the way she wielded the knife, her movements quick and purposeful. She’d donned a flower-print pinafore apron since she’d come inside, the light blue sun frock she wore underneath shifting from side to side with her actions. She’d tied her hair back away from her face with one of his shoelaces. It made him smile.

He looked down at her slender legs, noticing they’d tanned in the time she’d been here. She wore open-toed sandals that he now noticed seemed to be cutting into the side of her feet. He frowned. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if you took your shoes off?

Eleanor turned briefly to stare at him, the sight of him leaning casually against the door jam in jeans and a grey, grease-spattered shirt and looking more potently masculine than a body had a right to look did little to cool her temper. She kicked off her shoes and went back to her cutting. ‘Is that better? Barefoot and pregnant, isn’t that what they say? A man should keep a woman barefoot and pregnant?’

Charlie started to smile but suddenly stopped when she turned back and looked at him once more, his face now striving to take on one of innocent indignation. She let out a sigh of irritation.

He let out a deep sigh in return. ‘Oh come on, Eleanor. I only saw that your feet looked a little swollen and thought you’d feel more comfortable with them off, that’s all.’

Eleanor reached into the cupboard for the big saucepan used for stews. She threw him a resentful look as she banged it down on the wood stove, the loud clang making Charlie blink. Eleanor started tossing the cut-up lamb into the saucepan.

‘Well, they get that way sometimes! Who cares! They match my horrible swollen body, don’t they?’ Eleanor’s voice wavered as she finished talking, her hand coming up to angrily wipe away the tears that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Charlie sighed. ‘Your body doesn’t look horrible. You’re just getting yourself all upset over nothing, and if you’re not careful, you’ll end up making yourself sick or something!’

‘So?’ It was an immature thing to say and she knew it.

Eleanor reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Charlie watched as she dabbed at her eyes. He wanted to go to her and put his arms about her, but he held back.

He became angry, but it was aimed more at himself for his own weakness whenever he was around her. ‘Look, Eleanor, the fact is… you’re pregnant. There’s no getting away from it, and all this crying about it or yelling at me isn’t going to change things! All this started because I said you couldn’t ride Winnie, but I’m only looking after your best interests! Can’t you see?’

Eleanor’s eyes flashed at him, her anger coming to the fore. ‘Why should you have to look after my best interests? My condition is my business! After all, you’re not the father, are you?’

Her anger died as quickly as it had come when she realized what she’d said. She now stared at him, her eyes wide. The sudden silence in the kitchen was almost deafening. Charlie stared back at her and Eleanor swallowed, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

Charlie’s voice was quiet. ‘No… I’m not.’

She stifled a sob and made a dash for the door behind him, but he grabbed her and pulled her close, his arms holding her from behind, his hands clasped in front of her as she struggled to be free.

‘Let go of me!’ She was sobbing openly now.

He leant forward and bent his head over her shoulder, pushing his face up against her cheek, his voice low, urgent. ‘Listen to me! You’re right, I’m not the father of your baby… I don’t know who is, and what’s more, I don’t bloody care! But I’ll tell you something, and God strike me dead for saying it… but there’s not a day goes by that I don’t wish I was!’

Eleanor immediately stopped struggling. Charlie let out a deep breath and let his arms fall to his sides. She turned to him, her head bent down, her eyes resting on the large patch of embedded grease on his shirt. She didn’t dare look up at him and neither did she move.

He stepped closer, the bulge of her stomach coming up against him first and then, very slowly, he reached up and placed his hands on either side of her cheeks, tilting her face up to look at him. She was so close to him, she could see the stubble on his chin; see the fine wrinkles around his eyes – deep blue eyes that now peered down into hers. He had an attractive, no-nonsense sort of face that bore all the signs of many long days spent outdoors – heavily tanned and rugged.

She blinked and then sniffed; he smiled, and she watched the way his mouth curled up at the sides. Then his face became serious again and Eleanor, knowing what he was about to do, felt her heart begin to beat faster. She swallowed. And then slowly, very slowly, he lowered his mouth down to hers and Eleanor closed her eyes as his lips brushed hers.

He moved his mouth gently at first, tenderly, softly. She moaned and he responded with more urgency, more demand, as the kiss became deeper, more insistent, more controlling, her arms coming up to circle his neck as he slid his hands down around her back, pulling her towards him till she rested her head sideways on his shoulder as he ground his mouth down on hers, his arms crushing her to him. He moulded himself under her stomach and pushed himself against her, and Eleanor moaned again. She was lost, her mind dizzy, her legs weak as she clung to him. She wanted it to go on and on… and on…

‘Yoo-hoo! Eleanor! Yoo-hoo!’ Lily called out through the front screen.

Charlie immediately stepped back, causing Eleanor to stumble as her eyes flew open. Her heart was pounding, her breathing unsteady, her legs threatening to go out from beneath her as she looked about, trying desperately to find her bearings. Charlie made a quick beeline for the refrigerator, his hand reaching in to get a beer as Eleanor hurried over to the stove, the lamb meat still sitting in the pot where she’d left it, and she lifted it to the sink to cover it with water just as Lily came in the door. They were as far apart as they could possibly be in the kitchen and Lily looked from one to the other and then down at Eleanor’s shoes lying on the floor.

‘Oh that’s a good idea, love. Feet swelling a bit, are they? You know, I always found that sitting with my legs up of an afternoon helped with that.’

Eleanor was now fully composed, though her thoughts were with Charlie. She put a match to the stove and gave Lily a mild look of surprise. ‘I must try that then; my ankles do get a bit puffy now and then, and they ache too!’

Lily smiled widely, chuffed that Eleanor was happy to her advice. ‘You look a bit red in the face too. Heat getting to you?’ Lily didn’t wait for an answer but turned to Charlie, who was now pouring himself a beer. ‘Typical! We women suffer while the men open a beer!’

‘Aw come on, Lily, that’s not fair! I’ve been working all morning and I’ve only just come inside! Reckon I deserve one now and then, don’t you?’

Lily gave him a dry look. ‘Well, don’t go drinking too much, will you? Brian wants to know if you can give him a hand with the stock. They’ve broken through from the lower pasture; some of them must be clear down the gully by now.’

Charlie raised his eyebrows. ‘Well, if they are, not much chance in getting them back, is there?’ He laughed then as Lily pulled a sarcastic face at him. ‘Don’t worry. Tell him I’ll be right over! Want me to bring one or two of the boys?’

Lily’s face brightened. ‘If they don’t mind, that would be good. Most of our blokes have gone off for a couple of weeks now that the shearing’s over – you know how it is.’

Lily turned to Eleanor. ‘Means you’ll be here on your own – perhaps all night, love. You want to come over with me while they’re gone?’

Eleanor looked at her stew on the stove, her feelings still tumbling from her recent incident with Charlie. She desperately wanted to be with Charlie tonight, but if it wasn’t to be, then she much preferred to be on her own, away from other people who would just crowd her space. ‘No, not tonight, Lily. Thanks all the same. I think I’ll turn in early – this heat has worn me out a bit.’

‘You sure? Linda is down for a couple of days and we’d love to have you.’

Charlie wasn’t saying anything. Eleanor could feel his eyes on her. ‘Thanks, but I’m really quite tired; I’d be terrible company.’

‘Well, if you change your mind, we’re a phone call away, all right?’ Lily looked a little worried. Charlie finally came to Eleanor’s rescue.

‘A couple of the boys will be here. If anything happens, they’ll see her right.’

Finally, Lily shrugged. ‘All right then. Take care though, won’t you, love?’

Eleanor nodded. ‘I will – don’t worry.’

The older woman now turned to Charlie. ‘So do you want to come back with me? Or are you taking the jeep?’

‘No, we’ll ride over. Won’t take long. I’ll just grab some food to take with us and—’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ll fix you up a good-sized bag – be enough for all of you.’ Lily turned to leave. ‘Must fly then, better let Brian know… mind what I said about your feet, Eleanor.’

‘I will!’ Eleanor called after her. With a bang of the screen, Lily was gone and suddenly there was awkwardness in the air.

Charlie downed the rest of his beer and looked over at her. Eleanor smiled shyly at him.

‘I’d best be going then – grab Billy probably… and maybe Roger.’

He walked past her and out of the door. Eleanor followed him to the kitchen door and just watched. He walked quickly to his bedroom and came striding out a couple of minutes later with a different shirt on and a corduroy jacket over his arm. Eleanor followed him with her eyes as he breezed past her and made his way into the front room. He picked up his boots from where he’d kicked them off at the front door and sat on the sofa next to his hat to put them on.

‘Aren’t you going to say anything?’ Eleanor looked at him for some sign that he was thinking about what they’d shared in the kitchen, but to her dismay, he looked as though nothing had transpired at all – like his only thought was chasing down sheep!

Charlie stood up, bending over to pull the hem of his trousers down over his boots. Then he picked up his hat, throwing the jacket over his shoulder and turned to her, his face softening slightly, his voice quiet. ‘Better get off those feet like Lily says, and don’t worry about being here on your own – the boys will be—’

‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it.’ She was hurt.

‘Eleanor, I… I need some time to think about this, about what just happened. We’ll talk when I get back, all right? I’m sorry… It’s just that I… I’m sorry.’ With that, he was gone.

Eleanor threw her hands up in the air and then plonked herself down in one of the armchairs. She banged her fists down on the armrests in frustration. ‘I hope you fall off your horse and break your stubborn neck, Charlie Bradford!’ And then in true schoolgirl fashion, she quickly said a prayer to take it back in case it actually happened.

The sun was going down as Eleanor sat on the front porch dozing. She’d cooked the lamb stew but had eaten very little herself, taking the rest over to Dave and Robert, who were grateful for it, seeing as how Roger usually cooked their meals and he’d gone with Charlie and Billy. They’d eaten most of it, then Jim had come in about an hour ago and finished off the pot. The men were now down in the station hand’s house. Eleanor hadn’t seen them since tea and was relishing the solitude.

Her months at Mell Pell had flown by. So much had happened since that first day when she’d come riding into the yard with Billy and had thrown up at the side of the house. After a few weeks, her nausea had finally subsided and she no longer craved things like milk or mashed potato.

She smiled lazily as she remembered waking in the middle of the night, thinking she’d go crazy if she didn’t get up and boil some potatoes, her mind feverish at the thought of mashing them up with plenty of butter and milk. On these occasions, Charlie would venture into the kitchen and shake his head at her… one time he’d even taken over and done it for her, ordering her back to bed and serving her mashed potatoes at four in the morning.

Charlie had kept his distance, not allowing himself to get close to her since that first night she’d woken to find him sitting on her bed. Of course, there’d been a brush of a hand here and there, an accidental bump of the shoulder as he’d passed by or an arm across her as he’d reached for something, but anything more than that had been non-existent… until today.

He’d never asked her about the father of the baby, never judged her, never even so much as looked at her in disapproval or criticism. Eleanor thought that, knowing Charlie, it meant that he would’ve had to get too personal with her. And of course, he couldn’t allow that to happen, could he? she thought sarcastically and sighed.

Of course, she’d had her share of condescending looks at the barbeques she’d attended in the district, but they hadn’t really bothered her. After all, Eleanor had expected a lot worse, and Lily was forever there beside her, showing one and all that Eleanor’s condition was all right by her, effectively instilling in Eleanor a devil-may-care attitude to those who looked down their noses at her.

She remembered Lily’s words. Most of those dried-up biddies are probably jealous now that you’re here and taking up all Charlie’s time. He’s still considered a catch, you know…

Eleanor smiled. Charlie did spend a fair amount of time with her, in between fixing fences, rounding up sheep and slashing paddocks, and then there was Dimitri, who came out and rode the station with him, and of course shearing time. The shearers and their roustabouts came and stayed for a few weeks in the station hand’s house every year, complete with their own cook, and Charlie made sure they had plenty of meat, flour, tea and such. It meant Roger, Robert and Billy had to slaughter a lot more sheep while they were here, though Charlie had informed her that the shearers were down in numbers due to the war. It was a very busy time.

There was also Laura, an Aboriginal girl who came once a week to clean the house, a shy girl much the same age as Eleanor, and who, as Lily had said, carried a torch for Jim. Whether her feelings were returned was anybody’s guess. Eleanor had offered to clean the house herself, but Charlie had refused, telling her she wasn’t here to clean house for him… though Eleanor did like to cook, so she simply put her foot down at any attempt to chase her out of the kitchen.

Until recently, Eleanor had spent her time riding Winnie around the station, making her way up to the parts of the property where the jeep couldn’t go and looking down on breathtaking views. But now all that had stopped and so she would have to settle for doing things around the house, though it peeved her greatly.

In her spare time, which there was plenty of, she’d write to her parents or Lizzie, or Marjorie and Hazel. Marjorie had written that Richard Pinkle had finally proposed to her and that they were getting married in the New Year and would she be back for the wedding? Another had followed saying the wedding had been put off due to the war rationing and that Richard had suggested they wait a while because of the present state of the economy. Hazel had written about Richard Pinkle’s proposal to Marjorie also, but she’d said that he’d finally come round to marriage when Marjorie had got wind of a certain blonde that Richard had become friendly with and that his proposal was by way of Marjorie’s ultimatum.

Eleanor had wondered if it was the same blonde she’d seen Richard with the night of the dance. Hazel had lost her job in Marjorie’s father’s store due to cutbacks and she now worked in a munitions factory that she complained was filled mainly with women. There’d been a ban on some fashions – those that called for too much material – and stockings were that scarce that Hazel said she actually saw a woman the other day who was wearing leg paint! She wrote that hemlines had been set at a maximum length to save material and that underwear had gone sky high in price due to the shortage of elastic… and I refuse to wear those godawful button-up bloomers! In practically every letter, Hazel also reminded Eleanor that she hadn’t forgiven her for up and leaving so suddenly, that she was bored without her and if she wanted to cook and clean for someone so badly, why didn’t she simply get a job like that not so far away?

Eleanor had told her friends that she’d needed a change of scenery and that a trip interstate might be just what she needed – somewhere away from the constant news of war – and that she’d always wanted to travel. ‘I want to see something of the world while I’m still young,’ she’d said. It was a lie of course, but then she’d had little option open to her at the time.

Lizzie’s letters were all about Bobby and Danny, who, wrote Lizzie, was getting more of a handful every day, and the impending birth of her next baby, which by Eleanor’s calculations may even have been born by now. Lizzie had said she was hoping for a girl this time and Eleanor thought wistfully how it would be if she’d been able to spend her pregnancy the way Lizzie did… open, honest and naturally jubilant under the ever-watchful eyes of a society who would bless the coming event of a young married couple, rather than censure it as they would hers.

And then there were the letters from her parents. Her father’s leg still pained him, especially when he drank, which – her mother was quick to point out – was far too much. His job was secure with the hours still regular, but the prices of things were dreadful. Ruby and Lenny were the same as ever, though Lenny’s job was in jeopardy and twice, Ruby had had to go down for ration coupons. Kathy was finally seeing a man, a little old for her by some people’s standards, but he was nice and she was happy, which was of course the main thing to consider. Her grandmother missed her, though she wouldn’t admit to it, and constantly asked about her. Her mother said it was as though she must actually ‘sniff’ the mail coming, for she never failed to appear on their doorstep as soon as it had arrived. When her mother had suggested to Hillary that she might write a letter herself, she’d instantly declined, telling them just to say hello for her instead.

Eleanor had thought to write to her grandmother on a number of occasions, but what would she say? If she lied to her and came home with a baby, Eleanor felt it would be worse, and even though she was still lying by omission, she felt that her grandmother would be able to cope with it a lot better. To Eleanor, it was the lesser of two evils.

Her mother spoke of Ted still being in New Guinea. In his letters to her, he’d spoken of appalling conditions, hard terrain and diseases like the typhoid, dysentery and malaria. Any mention of fighting had been deliberately omitted, other than that the Americans had joined them in places called Cape Endaiadere, Buna, Gona and Sanananda. Anything to do with the actual fighting was interpreted on to her mother by her father, who listened religiously to the radio and read the newspaper from front to back.

Eleanor now gazed out over the horizon at the oranges, reds and yellows of a sun setting on the western sky and she was reminded of another time, another place, when she’d sat in a chair on a veranda and had done much the same thing, though at this moment, the details escaped her. What’s more, she couldn’t be bothered taxing her tired brain to try to remember either… the effects of her condition she supposed. Sometimes, she couldn’t be bothered with much of anything.

Eleanor hadn’t been with Parquin for over two months now. His absence made her curious, and if she admitted it to herself, a little miffed as well. With the volatile situation of Charlie to contend with every day, she could have done with the guidance of Parquin to put things in perspective for her a bit more, though it rankled her to admit that she needed him at all. She told herself that it was because she was in a place far from home and that she needed his familiarity, the continuity she’d always shared with him.

Eleanor looked out over the property. In one direction, she was able to see clear to the horizon, which now hid most of the sun, the tip of the orange orb blinking on the hills in the distance, and she could now make out the inky dots of sheep moving on the downward slope in the fading light. In another direction, her view was blocked by buildings and the huge rainwater tanks, all coming together to create a geometrical skyline silhouetted against the now twilight sky. She thought about the day she’d arrived and how she’d perceived it with its green hills and its thriving bushland, only to find out that had been merely due to the winter that had just passed. Afterward, as she’d witnessed the changing of seasons, it had quickly become dry and arid, the threat of fire forever in their midst.

Far away, there was a war going on. Eleanor knew that it was being felt everywhere. Soldiers were fighting, dying, being wounded, missing their homes. Families mourned their absence, grieved for their deaths and worried for their safety. Eleanor felt far removed from it, the letters from home the only reminders of its dominating presence being felt among those she held most dear. She felt a sudden pang of guilt that she was not there with them, that she’d somehow skipped out on them and left them there to face it all on their own. She was ashamed to admit that the war didn’t enter her mind as much as it perhaps should, except to think about her Teddy, and then she would imagine that if something happened to him, she would feel it was all her fault for not thinking of him as often as she should have.

Eleanor sighed. It was evident that Charlie wasn’t coming home tonight. In the back of her mind, she’d been waiting for him, thinking perhaps he might come home after all, even though it was expected that he wouldn’t. Eleanor rose from the chair and yawned. Well, tomorrow would come soon enough.

* * *

Charlie sat with his back against the fence post, smoking the last of a cigarette. It had been a tiring day, hot and dusty, the blistering heat of the sun bearing down on them as they’d weaved in and out of the dry brush, flushing out the stock that had scattered, though thankfully not too far from the perimeter. Charlie was at least thankful for the heat in this regard, the dry land and lack of water serving to keep them closer in, though there’d been a few that had escaped as far as the old dam, which was now all but dry and bogged out, some getting themselves stuck in the thick sludge along the bottom.

They’d gathered them all in by sundown, and though it had still been early enough to drive them onwards towards home, they’d decided to camp out, preferring to get a fresh start before the sun came up. Roger and Billy were over on the far side, checking the sheep before they turned in. Brian was no more than six feet away and dozing, his wiry frame stretched out as he lay with his hat pulled down over his face. Brian’s men, Tom and Lorry, were sitting across from each other by the small campfire and playing poker. They were out of Charlie’s vision, but he could mark the end of every hand by the loud curse of one mingled with the shout of glee from the other.

‘Ha ha! Gotcha that time, Tommy ol’ son!’

‘Yeah, well, we’ll see how you go this time, you arsey bugger!’

Brian suddenly sat up, slapping his hat against the ground. ‘For Christ’s sake, you blokes! Can’t a man get a bit a’ peace around here?’

Tom and Lorry immediately quietened down. As Brian settled back down again, he noticed Charlie over by the fence post. ‘Would’ve thought you’d be worn out now after today. Somethin’ on your mind? Worried about young Eleanor? She’ll be right – Missus is a stone’s throw away, and you’ll probably be back before she’s even had her first cup a’ tea in the mornin’.’

Brian quite often asked two or three questions in a row and then proceeded to answer them himself. One had only to wait until he finished talking to know what was going on.

‘No, I’m just soaking up the night air – pretty nice now that the sun’s gone down.’

‘Uh-huh,’ was all he got from Brian. Seconds later, his co-owner was fast asleep.

Charlie had been thinking of Eleanor. Did he ever think