Matilda's Last Waltz Read Free Page A

away at her insides. He could see her so clearly, it was as if she stood before him again.
    Unlike Abigail’s cool, fair beauty and striking height, Mary was small and angular with an abundance of red hair which she squashed beneath a disreputable felt hat. Freckles dusted her nose, and wide blue eyes and dark lashes stared back at him as she wrestled to still the black gelding dancing beneath her. She’d been furious, that first time they’d faced one another after her return to Churinga. The fences were down and her mob had got mixed in with his.
    He smiled as he remembered the Irish temper of her. The way her eyes flashed and she tossed her head as she yelled into his face. It had taken the best part of a week to sort the mobs out and repair the fences, and by that time they had called an uneasy truce that hadn’t quite become a friendship.
    â€˜What’s so funny, Dad?’
    Andrew’s voice dispelled the memories and Ethan dragged himself back to the present. ‘I don’t think we need worry too much about Matilda. If she’s anything like her mother, then it’s Merv we should feel sorry for.’
    â€˜You liked Mary, didn’t you? How come you never…?’
    â€˜She was another man’s wife,’ he snapped.
    Andrew whistled. ‘Strewth! I did touch a nerve, didn’t I?’
    Ethan sighed as he remembered the time he’d had his chance and lost it. ‘If things had been different, then who’s to say what might have been? If Mervyn hadn’t come back so crippled from Gallipoli then…’
    He let the unfinished sentence hang between them as the sights and sounds of war intruded into his mind. They still gave him nightmares, even after six years, but he was one of the lucky ones. Mervyn had finally been released from hospital almost two years after the war was over but was a different man from the one who’d eagerly caught the train in 1916. Gone was the lazy smile and careless charm and in their place was a shambling wreck who, after a long convalescence, found relief only in a bottle.
    It was a poor substitute so far as his wife was concerned, Ethan thought. And I’m to blame, lord help me. He pulled his thoughts together. At least all the time Merv was bed-ridden she could keep an eye on her husband’s drinking. But once he was up and back on a horse, he would disappear for weeks on end, leaving Mary to cope with the running of the station. She’d been tougher than he’d thought, and although his plans had come to nothing, Ethan couldn’t help but respect her strength.
    â€˜I admired her, yes. She did the best she could in a tough situation. Although she rarely asked for help, I tried to ease things the best I could for her.’ He lit a cheroot and opened up the wool accounts book. There was work to be done and half the day had already been wasted.
    Andrew unhooked his leg from the arm of the chair and sat forward. ‘If Merv runs up many more debts, Matilda won’t have an inheritance. We could always make her an offer in a couple of years’ time and get the land cheap.’
    Ethan smiled around his cigar. ‘I plan on getting it free, son. No point in paying for something when you don’t have to.’
    Andrew cocked his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. ‘How? Matilda’s trust is hard won. She’s not going to just give it away.’
    Ethan tapped the side of his nose. ‘I’ve got plans, son. But patience is called for, and I don’t want you shooting your mouth off.’
    Andrew was about to speak when his father interrupted. ‘You leave it to me and I guarantee Churinga will be ours within the next five years.’
    *   *   *
    Matilda was restless. The silence in the house was heavy and she knew her father would soon return. He never disappeared for more than a couple of weeks at a time, and he’d been gone that long