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that part of it is the most important,' she added without thinking.
Ralph's eyebrows lifted a fraction.
'Is it?' he said slowly. 'It's important, yes, but I should have thought
that your attitude towards Stephen would have been even more
important. You don't run into marriage merely because you like the
place where you're going to live. Marriage, Miss Grafton, is
something that should be considered very seriously before the
irrevocable step is taken.'
Irrevocable--So he did not believe in divorce.
She wondered what he would say if he ever learned that she and
Stephen had been divorced.
'I agree,' she said. 'I suppose it seems strange to you that I haven't
wanted to see more of Stephen?'
'You're not enthusiastic, that's clear, in spite of that little love scene I
interrupted on the day you wrenched your ankle.'
Again she coloured, and turned away from his half- humorous regard.
She thought about another little scene that could have had the same
description put upon it the scene when he himself had kissed her.
Had he forgotten all about it? If not, it certainly didn't trouble him at
all.
'I did say, right at the beginning, that I wasn't sure about marrying
Stephen. Everyone here seems tO have taken too much for granted. I
didn't come with the firm intention of marrying him.' She shook her
head vigorously. 'I came as his friend, nothing more.'
Ralph nodded absently. She did not know it, but he had been
watching her intently, absorbed by the play of expression in her eyes
as she spoke, noticing their colour for the very first time.
'I seem to remember your mentioning that you'd known Stephen for
some long time.' He spoke at last, eyeing her curiously.
'I first met him when I was eighteen.' She had no idea why she should
offer this information; it seemed to emerge of its own accord.
'That certainly is a surprise. Have you remained friends all this time?'
Friends She felt she was becoming enmeshed in a net of deceit
which she ought to have avoided, since Ralph Douglas was not the
kind of man who would easily forgive of that she felt certain.
'We've known one another, yes,' was all she said, hoping the subject
would be dropped. And it was, thanks to a flock of screaming galahs
making for the branches of a paperbark farther along the bed of the
creek. The very air trembled with the fluttering of their wings; they
brought colour and movement and life to a scene of primitive silence.
Lena watched the soft silver-grey of their backs turn to warm
damask- pink as they swung around and upwards before landing in
the tree. Ralph was similarly interested, she noticed, thinking he must
have witnessed a scene such as this many times before. To Lena it
was fascinating and novel. She had seen the galahs before, but never
in a number like this. There was pandemonium in the lacy branches, a
spectacular avian bustle which seemed as if it might go on for hours.
She glanced at Ralph, to find that his attention had strayed... to her.
He was staring at her; she had no idea just how attractive she looked,
with the fresh bloom of the breeze on her cheeks, the brightness of her
eyes, the sheen on her hair. He seemed suddenly to frown, as if at
some secret idea that troubled him. And he turned away to unhook the
bridle with one hand while he pulled down the wide-brimmed hat
with the other. He sprang on to the horse's back, squaring his
powerful shoulders as he turned to look at Lena again. She fluttered
him a smile, hoping he would respond, but his attention had been
caught by a darting gecko at her feet. She glanced down at the pretty
mottled creature and when she looked up again Ralph was moving
off, bidding her goodbye and reminding her not to stray any further
from the homestead.
She watched until he was a mere speck in the distance, her mind
confused by darting thoughts she could not collect into any sort of
order. Ralph's manner had been strange, disturbing; she had felt
poised on a knife-edge at one moment, when he looked deeply into
her eyes, and she remembered his kiss, and her own profound desire
that something would happen
The Boss of Coolibah Creek was altogether too attractive; he was
causing her to emerge from the shell into which she had retreated on
the break-up of her marriage, a shell which protected her from the risk
of falling in love again. Not that she had considered this probable,
seeing that her love for Stephen stayed persistently alive. However,
she was realistic enough to admit that, should another attractive man
come along, she might just find her affections transferred. But as the
picture invariably presented the risk of another heartache, another
failure, she had vowed to clothe herself with an armour of
self-protection, and never discard it.
But now--
She thought of Corinne, a girl who had a splendid 'dowry' in the form
of six thousand square miles of grazing land.She moved at last, patted
Becky's neck and sprang into the saddle. The galahs moved at the
same time, wheeling up in a body, their shrieks rocketing between the
branches of the paperbark. There was a fleeting impression of
confetti-pink petals before they left the tree behind, the flutter of their
wings again vibrating through the air.
Becky was off; they cantered along the creek-bed, and Lena was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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