Beyond the Sunset Page 24

  At Galway House the twins were thinking of both their sisters. Mrs Largan tried to reassure them that Pandora would be all right and reminding them that Cassandra was still a month from having the baby, but they still kept worrying.

  ‘I shan’t feel right till I hear Pandora got away safely,’ Maia said.

  ‘Well, even if she does, it’ll be a long time until we hear anything,’ Xanthe said bitterly. ‘The distances are too far for comfort here. No railways, no telegrams, no neighbours or villages even, so that news can spread. I can perfectly well understand why Pandora wanted to go back to civilisation.’

  Maia stared at her in dismay. ‘Are you regretting that you didn’t go with her?’ She saw her sister’s fierce expression soften.

  Xanthe reached across to give her arm a little pat, the way she occasionally did. ‘Sometimes I regret it. But you still need me here, so it was right for me to stay.’

  ‘I’ll always need you nearby.’

  ‘No, you won’t. One day you’ll marry and then it’ll be your husband you turn to.’ She saw Mrs Largan looking at them anxiously and smiled at the older woman. ‘Sorry. We’re not getting on with the work very well today, are we?’

  ‘Bother the work. It’s natural that you’ll both be anxious about Pandora.’

  ‘And Cassandra,’ Maia added.

  Zachary and Pandora left the agent’s office and made their way to the church of St John the Evangelist on York Street.

  ‘Will this one do?’ he asked when they stopped outside.

  ‘It doesn’t matter to me where we get married, as long as we do.’

  ‘Let’s go and find the minister, then.’

  It took them nearly an hour to do that and the minister looked at them in disapproval when they explained what they wanted.

  ‘I cannot approve of such a hasty marriage. What your family was thinking of, young woman, to let you set off on such a long journey without the protection of this man’s name, I cannot imagine.’

  Pandora held back her anger at his officiousness, afraid he’d refuse to marry them. ‘We had to leave quickly after we received an urgent summons from England. The sister I was living with is about to have a child, so she couldn’t come with me, and the minister only comes to the barn where we worship once a month.’

  There was silence, then the minister let out a sniff that still sounded disapproving. ‘Very well. Meet me at the church in an hour’s time. You’ll need two witnesses.’

  ‘I don’t like him. I wish it was a kinder man marrying us,’ she said wistfully as they walked out of the clergyman’s house.

  ‘You can always change your mind.’

  ‘Zachary, will you stop saying that!’

  ‘I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.’

  She sighed and tugged at his hand. ‘Come on. I shan’t change my mind and I need to look my best for my one and only wedding.’

  ‘You always look beautiful.’

  ‘So do you.’

  He chuckled. ‘With this bony face?’

  ‘Your kind nature shines through and makes it beautiful.’

  He stopped walking to stare at her, unable to speak for shock.

  Smiling, satisfied that she’d surprised him, she tugged him forward again.

  Mrs Tyler gaped when they told her what was happening, gaped again when asked to be one of the two witnesses to the marriage, together with her son Martin.

  ‘Well, I never!’ She stood for a moment in thought, then turned to Zachary. ‘You go and fetch our Martin from the stables at the end of the street while I help Pandora get ready. Good thing I’ve got some winter daisies blooming in my garden. Can’t have a wedding without a bouquet, can we?’

  But it was a wedding without anything very special, not even the shining brightness of new love, Pandora thought wistfully. She hadn’t got new clothes and her one straw hat was very plain with a narrow brim decorated only by a navy blue ribbon.

  Mrs Tyler frowned at the sight of this and went to her bedroom, returning with a much prettier knot of ribbons attached to a white silk flower. ‘Here, we can fasten this to your hat. It’ll brighten it up a bit.’

  ‘I can’t take your—’

  ‘It’s my present to you. Can’t have a wedding without presents, can we? Let me help you with your hair. Such lovely hair you have. It’s a pity to hide it all under the hat. You’ll make a beautiful bride, whatever you wear, though.’

  Mrs Tyler proved surprisingly adept. ‘There’s not many suit a centre parting like you do,’ she said through a mouthful of pins. ‘I don’t know why young women ever started wearing it like that.’

  Pandora watched in the mirror as her older companion puffed the side hair out to hide all but the lobe of each ear and twisted two long strands into thin plaits, which she looped towards a loose chignon low on the neck. Pandora usually screwed her hair into the tightest knot she could and skewered it with hair pins to keep it in place, but this . . .well, it did look nicer. Would Zachary like it? She hoped so.

  ‘There. What do you think?’

  Pandora stared at herself in the mirror and nodded. ‘It looks lovely. Thank you. Look, I need to write a letter to my sisters, but my writing things are at the bottom of my portmanteau.’

  ‘I’ve got some writing paper and some ink ready made up. Won’t take me a minute to find them.’

  Pandora gave her a quick hug. ‘Thank you. You’re so kind.’

  Face red at the unaccustomed compliment but with a smile softening her lips, the normally gruff Mrs Tyler bustled out of the room.

  Pandora took one more look at herself in the mirror, then hurried to finish packing.

  When she went into the small parlour where Zachary was waiting, she held her breath. His expression said all she could have hoped.

  ‘You look even more beautiful than usual.’

  They stared at one another for a moment or two and it felt as if they were alone in the world, then he nodded and offered her his arm.

  Leo accompanied them to the church, smiling broadly. ‘I said you’d be marrying Pandora,’ he told Zachary.

  ‘Yes.’ It’d have been nice to have asked Leo to be a witness, but they needed someone able to sign his name. Zachary didn’t want anyone to be able to question the legality of the marriage if . . . if Pandora didn’t change her mind once they got back to England.

  The ceremony itself was brief. The bride and groom made their responses without faltering while Mrs Tyler mopped away a sentimental tear or two. Leo continued to beam at everyone and Martin fidgeted with his collar, as if uncomfortable inside the church.

  By the time they had signed the parish register and received their marriage lines, it was well after noon, so they had to get their luggage and board the ship.

  Pandora gave Leo a parting hug. ‘Don’t forget to tell Cassandra all about the wedding. I’ve given you the letter for her. Don’t lose it.’

  ‘Won’t lose it,’ he repeated, nodding several times and patting his pocket.

  Martin cleared his throat to get their attention. ‘Time to go. I’ll nip down to the house and fetch the handcart with your luggage, Mrs Carr.’

  Mrs Carr! She was a married lady now, Pandora thought as they walked through the streets. She should feel different. But she didn’t. Now it was done, she felt numb more than anything. So many things had changed in the past two weeks and she felt exhausted. She hadn’t recovered completely from the cold and hardships of the trip to Albany. Indeed, she felt as if she’d been running non-stop for nearly a year and now all she wanted was to have a good long rest.

  Beside her, Zachary was equally silent and a quick glance showed that his expression was thoughtful. She promised herself to make it a real marriage well before they arrived in England. Surely, living so closely together, sharing a cabin, he would want to love her?

  ‘I’ve never seen a steamship before,’ she said as they approached the ship after showing their marriage lines to the agent. ‘It’s much bigger than the Tar
tar was. And how strange it looks with the chimney in the middle and the big sails on either side of it.’

  ‘They call it a funnel, not a chimney.’

  She pulled a face at him. ‘Well, it looks like a small mill chimney to me.’

  ‘I should think it’ll travel more quickly than a sailing ship, though it’ll use the sails as well as the engine.’ He paused, his voice taking on a hushed tone. ‘I can’t believe we’re going to Suez, across Egypt by land – Egypt! – and then across the Mediterranean. Me, Zachary Carr, going to all those places I’ve only read about!’

  ‘How Dad would have loved to see them!’ She heard her voice wobble on the words. ‘Cassandra and Reece always used to read books about other countries when they could get them, and now they’re settled on an isolated farm in Australia and I’m doing it instead of them. Yet I never wanted to travel. Strange, isn’t it, where life leads you?’

  ‘At least you’re going home now. You must be happy about that.’

  She nodded, but her feelings were all but overwhelming her. How far away from her sisters she’d be! Would she ever see them again? And yet, she was longing desperately to see Lancashire, to feel herself truly at home once more.

  She realised Zachary was saying goodbye to Martin and thanking him for his help, so added her gratitude to his and gave Leo another hug for good measure. Then they were moving on to the ship, leaving the soil of Australia.

  She let her new husband do the talking to the officer who greeted them. She tried not to pay attention to the way the other passengers were staring at them as they followed the officer across the deck to their cabin.

  Now that it was all done, the tiredness had taken over.

  Zachary stood back to let Pandora go inside their cabin first. It was a little larger than the one he and Leo had occupied on the way to Australia, but still not all that big. He took care to slip the steward a tip while Pandora – his wife! – studied their bunks and the tiny space left for them to move around.

  ‘It’s not that much bigger than steerage was coming here,’ she whispered when they were alone.

  ‘No, but it’s a lot more private. Besides, we’ll be spending quite a lot of time on deck or in the day cabin if the weather isn’t good. We have our meals there.’

  ‘I see. Do you want the top or bottom bunk, Zachary?’

  ‘I don’t mind. I’ll take whichever you don’t want.’

  ‘I think I’d prefer the bottom one, then. I’d be afraid of falling out of the top one. What a pity we shan’t be able to sleep together. I love it when you hold me in your arms.’

  He was trying not to think about that because not giving in to the temptation to make love to her when she cuddled up to him was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. ‘It’s probably a good thing in the circumstances.’

  ‘We could always sleep together on the floor. It’s no harder than the beds we’ve shared during the journey.’

  He put a stop to that quickly and sharply, because he was a man not a saint. ‘It wouldn’t be right.’

  ‘That’s your opinion, not mine.’

  He was relieved when someone knocked on the door. It proved to be a sailor bringing their bags into the cabin.

  ‘Your trunks have been taken down to the hold, Mr Carr,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you.’

  The steward turned up again a few minutes later, to tell them about meal times and various other details of shipboard life.

  Zachary listened carefully, not wanting to embarrass himself when dealing with the other cabin passengers, but it sounded very similar to his previous voyage.

  ‘Let’s unpack and go up on deck,’ he said when they were alone. ‘I’d like to have a breath of fresh air.’

  When the Bombay set sail later that day, Zachary and Pandora went up on to the part of the deck reserved for cabin class passengers to catch a last glimpse of Albany. A movement of the deck made her stumble against another lady and apologies led to introductions.

  No rowdy laughter and teasing here, and fewer restrictions on where they could go, Pandora thought. Polite conversation and pleasant smiles. So different from her voyage to Australia with the other mill lasses, where they’d been herded here and there like a flock of unruly sheep. She gazed up at the black smoke pouring from the funnel. It looked even more like a mill chimney at the moment to her, but the chimneys had stopped smoking in Outham when the mills closed for lack of cotton.

  She really wanted to go to bed and sleep for a thousand years, but made the effort to attend the evening meal for cabin passengers. It was called dinner, not tea, and was much more elaborate than she’d expected. Zachary seemed quite at home with the array of cutlery so she followed his example on how to eat, while trying to respond to the people closest to them, who all chatted politely.

  Inevitably someone asked, ‘How long have you been married, Mrs Carr?’

  As Pandora blushed, Zachary smiled and took out his pocket watch. ‘Just over eight hours.’

  There was silence then their companions began to congratulate them and someone called for wine to toast the newly-weds.

  Pandora had never tasted wine before and although the deep red colour was beautiful, she found the taste disappointing, having expected it to be sweet. But she hid her feelings and took tiny sips now and then, refusing a second glass.

  Everything still felt unreal, as if this was all a dream. And if it was, she didn’t want to wake up. Zachary might make her wait to become his true wife but she knew she’d not change her mind, that they’d be together eventually.

  Unless he changed his mind.

  It had been such an eventful two weeks she was glad when they took an early leave of the others. She hadn’t got her old energy back, she couldn’t understand why, because she usually enjoyed excellent health.

  ‘Would you like to take a turn round the deck?’ Zachary asked.

  ‘No, thank you. I’m so tired I’d like to go straight to bed.’

  But when they got to the cabin she hesitated, realising she’d have to undress in front of him and feeling shy about doing that.

  He gave her hand a squeeze as she hesitated in the doorway. ‘I think I’d like a little fresh air before I seek my bed.’

  When she was alone, she marvelled at how understanding he was, standing smiling foolishly for a moment or two. Then she yawned and stretched, her body aching with tiredness, and picked up her nightdress, a simple cotton garment, old and shabby like most of her clothes.

  After she’d undressed, she got into bed and waited. Where was Zachary? It seemed to be taking him a long time to stroll round the deck. The whole ship couldn’t be much more than sixty or seventy yards long.

  The night wasn’t warm and she snuggled down under her covers.

  Eventually someone knocked on the door and he said, ‘It’s me,’ before opening it. After closing it, he glanced at her by the light of the lamp hanging on its safety hook. ‘You look to be nearly asleep.’

  ‘I am. I’m not usually so tired.’

  ‘Well, you’ve only just recovered from an illness and a tiring journey.’ He found his nightshirt and blew out the lamp.

  She let her eyes close and found it comforting to hear him moving nearby. The bunk frame moved as he climbed into the top bed and she smiled again.

  He was here. She was safe. Sleep wrapped itself round her like a cosy blanket.

  It took him a lot longer to get to sleep. Hearing her soft breaths below him, remembering the feel of her lying against him gave him a restless hour before he settled.

  Leo and Martin arrived back in Mount Barker late that night after an uneventful journey. Bert was glad to see them.

  ‘We’re setting off back as soon as that damned cart is mended,’ he announced.

  Leo ignored this, his mind on one thing only. ‘I have to see to the horses.’

  When he rejoined Bert in the public room, supper was almost ready.

  ‘Did you hear what I said? I want to set off tomorrow as soon a
s the damned cart is mended.’

  ‘Let me look at your arm first.’ Leo took off the cloth sling, his hands gentle. ‘It’s healing properly.’

  ‘It’s not hurting as much.’ Bert hesitated then added, ‘Thanks to you.’ He knew how lucky he was to have had someone who knew how to set the arm properly.

  Leo nodded absent-mindedly, concentrating on tying the sling, tongue out at one corner of his mouth.

  Bert watched him, not interrupting until he’d finished. ‘Can you manage the horses and driving without my help, lad? It’s not going to be easy and it’ll be at least a week’s travel.’

  ‘Oh, yes. They’re good horses.’

  ‘Fine. That’s settled then.’

  They sat and waited for the landlord to bring their food across. It was good, Bert thought, to have a companion who didn’t talk at you all the time.

  At last the food arrived. ‘Mr Carr’s already paid the bill,’ the landlord said, ‘even remembered to pay for the repairs. It was a pleasure to do business with someone like him.’

  Martin came in to join them. ‘I can attach the new wheel as soon as it’s light. The rest of it’s been repaired already. You were lucky there wasn’t more damage done.’

  ‘Good.’ Bert tackled his food one-handedly, with renewed appetite.

  ‘Did I tell you Zachary and Pandora had got married in Albany?’

  Bert nearly choked on a mouthful of potato. ‘They didn’t!’

  ‘Yes. They had to do it to get the last cabin. That P&O agent is a real stickler. Still, they were engaged, weren’t they?’

  ‘They love one another,’ Leo said. ‘I’m glad they’re married.’

  ‘Me and Mum acted as witnesses. Oh, I nearly forgot.’ He pulled a letter out of his pocket. ‘She wrote to her sister. Can you take it back?’

  Leo reached out for it. ‘I’ve got another letter to her sister. I’ll keep them together.’

  Martin put a forkful of meat into his mouth.

  Without being asked, Leo reached across to cut up Bert’s meat.