marshy here. Come round this way.’
Without thinking he held out one hand to help her and as she set hers in it, he paused for a moment in shock, because for the first time since Mabel’s death, the very first time, he was aware of a woman’s attractiveness. He carried on speaking, hoping she hadn’t noticed his reaction to her, but she had, he could see a hint of a smile in her eyes. Some women seemed to be born knowing the effect they had on men. Not that this one seemed a flirt, nothing like that. Just – a very attractive woman.
‘Get your water there. You’d better dip it up with the jug. Don’t disturb the bottom or the water will be cloudy. Tomorrow we’ll dig a deeper hole in the creek so you can put your bucket in more easily. I’ll put these branches as markers to show you the best path when you need more water.’ As he picked up a dead branch, something scuttled off into the undergrowth and she squeaked. ‘Nothing to harm you here, except snakes and they usually slither away unless you attack them.’
She shivered. ‘I’ll not do that.’
‘Stamp your feet when you’re walking in areas with debris and low plants where they might be hiding. They’ll feel the vibrations and get out of the way.’
‘I never thought of there being snakes,’ she said wonderingly. ‘We’ve a lot to learn about Australia, haven’t we, Mr Matthews?’
‘Gil.’
‘And I’m Irene.’
A voice called his name sharply and he sighed. ‘I’d better hurry. You hold the lamp and I’ll help you get a bucket of clean water first.’
While she held the lamp up, he dipped the water up carefully then carried the bucket back for her. By that time the voice was calling out for him again, sounding extremely indignant. ‘Got to go. Will you be all right now?’
‘Yes, of course.’
There were six tents up by the time it grew dark. As the eight families gathered round the two camp fires, Gil noted who sat there waiting for someone to tell them what to do next and who got on with things of their own accord.
‘We’ve got some bush rugs to keep you warm at night,’ he said once they were settled down and eating their corned beef hash, drinking tea from any kind of receptacle they could find to make up for the shortage of cups. ‘We’ve not unpacked all the boxes, but so far we’ve not found any groundsheets, so you’d be best sleeping in pairs with one bush rug under you and one over you. We call them blueys, by the way, for obvious reasons.’
Silence and a few nods greeted his words. The poor devils looked exhausted. Well, he was pretty tired himself.
‘I shall complain about this to the authorities,’ Bert said.
‘You go ahead and complain, mate. If they take any notice, I’ll get you to do my complaining too.’ Gil didn’t know what to make of that fellow. He’d worked hard and done a good job with the latrines, not the most pleasant of jobs – but had never stopped complaining. ‘In the meantime, we have to do our best with what we’ve got. Now, if you’ve all finished eating, I reckon we’d better sort out who sleeps where. Some of you will have to share tents tonight, but at least you’ll be out of the cold.’
He was going to sleep in the open near the fire. Not a hardship at this time of year and he’d had enough of being surrounded by people for one day. Pete could sleep where he wanted.
To his annoyance, Gil found himself watching Irene as she helped clear up then got ready for bed. That puzzled him. Why her? Why had being close to her roused his body after years of not desiring anyone or anything? She was happily married, from the way she looked at her husband, and at least ten years younger than Gil. Ah, he was a fool.
He fell asleep, still wondering about Irene, what had brought her here, how she’d get on as a settler.
Norah laid out the blankets in their half of the tent, arranged for Janie to sleep with a girl from the other family sharing with them, then went out for a
Without thinking he held out one hand to help her and as she set hers in it, he paused for a moment in shock, because for the first time since Mabel’s death, the very first time, he was aware of a woman’s attractiveness. He carried on speaking, hoping she hadn’t noticed his reaction to her, but she had, he could see a hint of a smile in her eyes. Some women seemed to be born knowing the effect they had on men. Not that this one seemed a flirt, nothing like that. Just – a very attractive woman.
‘Get your water there. You’d better dip it up with the jug. Don’t disturb the bottom or the water will be cloudy. Tomorrow we’ll dig a deeper hole in the creek so you can put your bucket in more easily. I’ll put these branches as markers to show you the best path when you need more water.’ As he picked up a dead branch, something scuttled off into the undergrowth and she squeaked. ‘Nothing to harm you here, except snakes and they usually slither away unless you attack them.’
She shivered. ‘I’ll not do that.’
‘Stamp your feet when you’re walking in areas with debris and low plants where they might be hiding. They’ll feel the vibrations and get out of the way.’
‘I never thought of there being snakes,’ she said wonderingly. ‘We’ve a lot to learn about Australia, haven’t we, Mr Matthews?’
‘Gil.’
‘And I’m Irene.’
A voice called his name sharply and he sighed. ‘I’d better hurry. You hold the lamp and I’ll help you get a bucket of clean water first.’
While she held the lamp up, he dipped the water up carefully then carried the bucket back for her. By that time the voice was calling out for him again, sounding extremely indignant. ‘Got to go. Will you be all right now?’
‘Yes, of course.’
There were six tents up by the time it grew dark. As the eight families gathered round the two camp fires, Gil noted who sat there waiting for someone to tell them what to do next and who got on with things of their own accord.
‘We’ve got some bush rugs to keep you warm at night,’ he said once they were settled down and eating their corned beef hash, drinking tea from any kind of receptacle they could find to make up for the shortage of cups. ‘We’ve not unpacked all the boxes, but so far we’ve not found any groundsheets, so you’d be best sleeping in pairs with one bush rug under you and one over you. We call them blueys, by the way, for obvious reasons.’
Silence and a few nods greeted his words. The poor devils looked exhausted. Well, he was pretty tired himself.
‘I shall complain about this to the authorities,’ Bert said.
‘You go ahead and complain, mate. If they take any notice, I’ll get you to do my complaining too.’ Gil didn’t know what to make of that fellow. He’d worked hard and done a good job with the latrines, not the most pleasant of jobs – but had never stopped complaining. ‘In the meantime, we have to do our best with what we’ve got. Now, if you’ve all finished eating, I reckon we’d better sort out who sleeps where. Some of you will have to share tents tonight, but at least you’ll be out of the cold.’
He was going to sleep in the open near the fire. Not a hardship at this time of year and he’d had enough of being surrounded by people for one day. Pete could sleep where he wanted.
To his annoyance, Gil found himself watching Irene as she helped clear up then got ready for bed. That puzzled him. Why her? Why had being close to her roused his body after years of not desiring anyone or anything? She was happily married, from the way she looked at her husband, and at least ten years younger than Gil. Ah, he was a fool.
He fell asleep, still wondering about Irene, what had brought her here, how she’d get on as a settler.
Norah laid out the blankets in their half of the tent, arranged for Janie to sleep with a girl from the other family sharing with them, then went out for a
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