The Virgin Bride (The Australians) Read Free

when she doesn’t let them get to first base, will he? We all know she’s just waitin’ for Dean to show up on her doorstep again. If and when he does…’ Muriel shrugged resignedly, as though it was a foregone conclusion that Emma would fall readily into the arms of her long-lost lover.
    And he had been her lover. Jason didn’t doubt that. Women in love were rarely sustained by old-fashioned standards.
    Still, the thought of Emma falling victim to such a conscienceless stud churned his stomach. She was such a soft, sweet creature, warm and caring and loving. She deserved better.
    She deserves me , Jason decided. Modesty had never been one of his virtues.
    â€˜What happened to the girl?’ he asked. ‘The one Ratchitt got into trouble.’
    â€˜Oh, she moved away to the city. Rumour has it she got rid of the baby.’
    â€˜Do you think it was his?’
    â€˜Who knows? The girl was on the loose side. If it was Dean’s child, it’s the first time he slipped up thatway. Odd, since over the years he’d made out with just about every female under forty in town, married and single.’
    Jason’s eyebrows lifted. ‘That’s some record. What’s he got going for him? Or dare I ask?’
    Muriel laughed. ‘Can’t give a personal report, Doc, since I’m headin’ for sixty myself. But he’s a right good-lookin’ lad, is our Dean.’
    â€˜How old is he?’
    â€˜Oh, a few years younger than you, I would say, but a few years older than Emma.’
    â€˜And how old’s Emma?’
    Muriel straightened, her expression reproachful. ‘Doc, Doc…what have you been doin’ these past few months during your home visits? You should know these things already, if you’re serious about the girl. She’s twenty-two.’
    Jason frowned. He’d thought she was older. There was a maturity and serenity in her manner which suggested a few more years’ experience in life. Hell, at twenty-two she was barely more than a girl. A girl who’d lived all her life in a country town. An inexperienced and innocent young girl.
    Emma’s brief engagement to Dean Ratchitt came to mind, and Jason amended that last thought. Not so innocent, perhaps. Nor quite so inexperienced. Men like Ratchitt didn’t hang around girls who didn’t give them what they wanted.
    â€˜Do you think Ratchitt will come back?’
    â€˜Who knows? If he hears about Ivy passin’ on and Emma inheritin’ the shop and all, he might.’
    Jason didn’t think Emma inheriting that particularestablishment would inspire even the most hard-up scoundrel to race back home. The small shop had provided the two women with a living, he supposed, but only because they didn’t have to pay rent. The shop occupied the converted front rooms of an old weatherboard house, as did most of the shops in Tindley. But it was smaller and more run-down than most. As real estate went, it wasn’t worth much.
    Jason couldn’t imagine Ratchitt returning for such a poor prize. But who knew? Those who had nothing…
    â€˜If he did come back, do you think she’d take up with him again?’ Jason asked.
    Muriel pulled a face. ‘Love makes fools of the best of us.’
    Jason had to agree. Just as well he wasn’t in love with the girl. He wanted to make his decisions about her with his head, not his heart.
    â€˜See you tomorrow, Muriel,’ he said, and gathered up his lunch. He’d already tarried far too long in Tindley’s bakery. Muriel was going to have a field-day gossiping about what she’d gleaned.
    Not that it would matter. Jason had made up his mind, and he would make his move this evening, after afternoon surgery. He had no intention of waiting till the dastardly Dean showed up. He had no intention of wasting time asking Emma for a date, either. He was going to go straight to the heart of the matter…with a