Elizabeth, The Shearer's Wife

By Mazi McBurnie

The novel is set in an outback town in NSW Australia during the period from 1952 until 1976. The story is about the challenges which are faced by two families in a time when gossip was rife in small towns. The main character is Elizabeth who goes to great lengths to protect her family by keeping a deep dark secret. Disclosure could mean the end

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authors' Tranquility Press
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781956480375

Mazi McBurnie

This is the eighth novel by this author. Mazi is a 75 yr old woman who loves to write about strong female characters. She cares for her husband who has Parkinson,s disease and her family of one dog, Albert and three Birman cats. She lives in the country area outside of Melbourne.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Mazi McBurnie

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

Mazi McBurnie/Author’s Tranquility Press

2706 Station Club Drive SW

Marietta, Ga 30060

www.authorstranquilitypress.com

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Elizabeth/Mazi McBurnie -- 1st ed.

Paperback: 9781956480368

eBook: 978-1-956480-37-5

This book is dedicated to my husband,

Douglas James McBurnie,

who asked me to write this story.

PRELUDE

This story is set in an outback town in country NSW, Australia and spans the years from 1951 to 1976. It is the story of two families, who face many trials and challenges as they link together. In country towns in Australia in the 1950’s, gossip was rife and illegitimacy and adultery were very much frowned upon. Elizabeth Bailey is the main character. She grew up in a wealthy environment, married young and was disowned by her family. She is a beautiful, clever and independent woman who faces life with positivity and grace.

The story offers something for everyone including a serious accident, murder, a suicide and childbirth.

Elizabeth carries a deep, dark secret which if disclosed could destroy her family life as she knows it. We follow Elizabeth as she watches the secret intrude on her life, not knowing what path her family would to take if she decides to reveal it.

CONTENTS

PART ONE

FRIENDS

MEMORIES

LIFE’S LONGING FOR THE PAST

ELIZABETH

RECONCILED

JAMES CAMERON

A SHOCK

TRAGEDY

A KNOCK AT THE DOOR

SURPRISE

GLORIA

CHANGES

PART TWO

THE BAILEY FAMILY

JAMIE

DISCLOSURE

PART THREE

NEW BEGINNINGS

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

FRIENDS

AUSTRALIA - CIRCA 1952 IN A LARGE WESTERN TOWN OF NSW.

Ellen stepped out of her Holden utility and walked towards her friend’s home, a toddler on her hip and a basket of goodies in her other hand. She smiled as she opened the squeaky gate which allowed her to pass through into Elizabeth’s glorious spring garden, awash with colorful bulbs and blossoms. Ellen was a pretty woman with brown curly hair and brown eyes. Although she was not classically beautiful, she had a sweet round face and a lovely wide smile. Elizabeth on the other hand was a classic beauty. They were a similar age, both having been married young, at age eighteen which was quite the norm during the years between the first and second world wars.

Hearing the gate from inside the house, Elizabeth immediately put the kettle on, looking forward to her friend’s visit and a sit down at last, after three loads of washing and baking for the school fete almost completed and the day not even half over yet.

Across the road a curtain fluttered, as old Aggie Grey watched the visitor arrive. I wonder what those two will gossip about today, she said to Arthur, her poor hen - pecked husband whose only break came when Aggie went to cards on a Wednesday or Bingo on a Friday. Well, you should know, my dear, you always manage to find out the gossip before anyone else in this town does, he replied. I do not, Aggie replied in an affronted tone. Well, what about the time that you told everyone that Vonnie Higgins was having twins and it turned out to be only a large cyst on her ovary, said Arthur with a sneer. Well, I was not the only one who thought that, because everyone thought she looked pregnant, said Aggie, angry at Arthur for bringing it up. Arthur ignored his wife as usual and turned back to the racing section of his daily newspaper.

Arthur had worked on the local council for many years until he was caught being drunk on the job and ran over his mate’s foot with a tractor. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for his foreman, who had put up with Arthur Grey’s drunken ways for far too long and finally got up the courage to sack him. Arthur got a decent payout, hiding much of it from Aggie, and now spent his days pouring over his racing paper and placing bets with his bookie. He sat in an old chair listening to his radio all day and Aggie left him to it, only talking to him at meal times, and then only to tell him the latest gossip occurring in the large country town in which they lived. Most of the gossip came from her friends at cards or bingo. It was typical of all small towns in that era.

Ellen knocked and following Elizabeth’s come in, took her youngest, William to the playroom, just off the large friendly kitchen at the back of the house, overlooking the beautiful garden and beyond the glorious dark mountains which made up part of the Blue Mountain Range. Ellen knew Elizabeth’s house as well as her own and the large playroom was almost the centre of the home.

Sit down Ellen, tell me how you all are. Is George still away shearing? Yes, he has been gone nearly three weeks this time. It is really hard on the children, especially now that the older two boys are involved in so much sport. I get really tired, running them around to one sport after another. I’m glad that Emma is a reader and always has her head in a book. What about your lot? she asked Elizabeth. Both women were blessed with four children each, with Ellen having three boys and a girl and Elizabeth having two boys and two girls. Well, they are all fit and well. I am busy with cub scouts and brownies, with tennis in the summer, but the eldest three are at school and I only have Emily at pre-school now. John has been gone three weeks as well. I don’t know when he will be home. He doesn’t seem to communicate very well with me these days about the sheds he works at, said Elizabeth. But I always thought that John was a good communicator, said Ellen. Well, he used to be okay. I always used to know what shed he was working at, not so much lately, added Elizabeth.

The kettle started to make sizzling noises on the stove just as Elizabeth pulled out a tray of fresh baked scones from the oven. Ellen buttered the scones and topped them with jam as Elizabeth made the tea in John’s grandma’s old English Rose patterned tea pot. The girls then took the scones and tea pot and English bone China cups on a tray, out on to the lovely old wide verandah and sat on the rattan wicker chairs, lovingly cushioned with Elizabeth’s handiwork in patchwork fabric of bright hues.

Elizabeth’s old house was a beautiful colonial style residence with five bedrooms and three bathrooms and was surrounded with verandahs all around the white timber structure. The lounge, dining and three of the bedrooms all had French doors opening onto the verandahs and then to the beautiful garden. Elizabeth had used a small inheritance from her grandmother which John did not know about, to put a deposit on the home and had paid it off with her savings. The mortgage was now paid off which was a great relief to her. John seemed oblivious to anything to do with the house. He did not oppose the idea of a larger nicer house, but neither did he contribute to the cost of the house. There were always lots of little jobs which needed attending to, so Elizabeth did a carpentry course at the local technical college, so that she could do them, having given up the idea that John would one day get around to doing them. John never asked where the money came from to buy the house. Elizabeth thought that he probably considered it to be a rental home and it was never discussed. John left household finances to Elizabeth, putting money from his shearing work in her bank account whenever he finished a shed which was usually two or three weeks unless it was a large shed.

Today was a stunning spring day, the kind of day when sitting out of doors made one think of summer looming closer and bringing with it Christmas, a very busy time of the year for the Bailey family, when they all packed up many of their belongings and moved to their coastal residence for six weeks. Whilst Elizabeth looked forward to that time of year with much joy, she also recognised the huge amount of work to get ready for the household of six plus two dogs to re-locate for that time. Elizabeth had purchased the seaside cottage years ago, out of her savings. After the war, beach houses were sold for a song.

What’s all the news around town? asked Elizabeth, yawning as she sat down for the first time all day. Ellen noticed the yawn and said Are you still having trouble sleeping Elizabeth? Elizabeth replied, Yes most nights now, Ellen. Well, did you know that the new Minister is giving his first service this coming Sunday, replied Ellen. What, so soon. I thought he was not coming until the New Year, said Elizabeth. Well apparently he decided to come earlier, since we have been without a minister for so long and there was a new minister from Canada available to take his place in his old parish,