reveal it to the press, their hands would be effectively tied. He would insist that the Herald hold back publication until the Governor had replied to his report, but if he did not, or if his reply should be unfavorable, then … With a jaunty step, Ned followed the directions he had been given, his mouth set in a firm, determined line.
CHAPTER V
Dusk was falling when Jenny Broome descended from the smart curricle that had brought her from the picnic she had shared with William De Lancey to her parents’ house in Elizabeth Bay, on the outskirts of Sydney.
William, a tall, handsome figure in his undress cavalry uniform, assisted her to alight, holding her hand for a trifle longer than good manners decreed.
“Did you enjoy our drive, Jenny?” he asked solicitously.
“Very much, Will,” she assured him, withdrawing her hand from his clasp and reddening a little as she saw his dark eyes light up. Their families were old friends; William’s father was one of the colony’s most respected judges, as well as her uncle through marriage, and she and Will, with only a year separating them, had known each other since childhood. But William had been commissioned into the British Army and had been on active service in India for the past five years, so that now, try as she might to revive their childhood relationship, Jenny found herself curiously shy of him. She had never been so before, and despite his long absence, she should not, she knew, regard him as a stranger now, or even … She lowered her gaze. Even as a suitor, because there was Edmund Tempest, with whom there had long been an understanding—on her parents’ part, as well as her own.
But Edmund, though, seemed always to be too occupied with his family’s farm on the Macquarie River, beyond Bathurst, to have much time to spend on what had always been a somewhat desultory courtship in Sydney… . Jenny bit back a sigh.
“You’ll come out with me again, won’t you, Jenny?” William urged. “I’ll not have much longer here; my leave will be up all too soon, confound it! But I hear the Fortieth Regiment intends to give a ball in their mess when their C.O. arrives, and I … that is, I’d deem it an honor as well as a pleasure if you would permit me to escort you to it. And of course there’s the race meeting next week. I was thinking of riding in the garrison officers’ race.”
Jenny hesitated, eyeing him uncertainly, taking in the strong, high-boned lines of his face and suddenly very conscious of his masculine attraction. He was much more mature than Edmund, she recognized, and she had heard that he had displayed remarkable courage in the recent war in India against the Sikhs—sufficient, at all events, to have earned him a commendation in the commander in chief’s dispatches. She had enjoyed his company this afternoon, for all her shyness, but … guiltily she recalled the reason for her haste to return home. Her mother’s illness was causing them all much anxiety, not least her father. The poor, dear soul had seemingly been ailing for some considerable time but had told nobody until her sudden collapse had caused her to take to her bed, almost a month ago, with frequent visits from Dr. Munro—of late twice a day.
“I don’t know, Will,” she evaded, unhappily. “There’s my mother, you see. I must be with her.”
“Is she very ill?”
“I’m afraid she is.” Jenny started to move toward the door of the house, her conscience pricking her. “Dr. Munro has been most kind and attentive, and Mama never complains, but she’s suffering a great deal of pain. I should not really have left her today, but she insisted that I needed a break and that it would do me good.”
“And has it?” William questioned. “Has it, Jenny?”
“Yes,” Jenny admitted. “I think it has, thank you, Will.”
“Call on me,” William begged, “anytime when you need a break and can be spared. I’m sorry about your mother, Jenny —truly sorry.”
He took
CHAPTER V
Dusk was falling when Jenny Broome descended from the smart curricle that had brought her from the picnic she had shared with William De Lancey to her parents’ house in Elizabeth Bay, on the outskirts of Sydney.
William, a tall, handsome figure in his undress cavalry uniform, assisted her to alight, holding her hand for a trifle longer than good manners decreed.
“Did you enjoy our drive, Jenny?” he asked solicitously.
“Very much, Will,” she assured him, withdrawing her hand from his clasp and reddening a little as she saw his dark eyes light up. Their families were old friends; William’s father was one of the colony’s most respected judges, as well as her uncle through marriage, and she and Will, with only a year separating them, had known each other since childhood. But William had been commissioned into the British Army and had been on active service in India for the past five years, so that now, try as she might to revive their childhood relationship, Jenny found herself curiously shy of him. She had never been so before, and despite his long absence, she should not, she knew, regard him as a stranger now, or even … She lowered her gaze. Even as a suitor, because there was Edmund Tempest, with whom there had long been an understanding—on her parents’ part, as well as her own.
But Edmund, though, seemed always to be too occupied with his family’s farm on the Macquarie River, beyond Bathurst, to have much time to spend on what had always been a somewhat desultory courtship in Sydney… . Jenny bit back a sigh.
“You’ll come out with me again, won’t you, Jenny?” William urged. “I’ll not have much longer here; my leave will be up all too soon, confound it! But I hear the Fortieth Regiment intends to give a ball in their mess when their C.O. arrives, and I … that is, I’d deem it an honor as well as a pleasure if you would permit me to escort you to it. And of course there’s the race meeting next week. I was thinking of riding in the garrison officers’ race.”
Jenny hesitated, eyeing him uncertainly, taking in the strong, high-boned lines of his face and suddenly very conscious of his masculine attraction. He was much more mature than Edmund, she recognized, and she had heard that he had displayed remarkable courage in the recent war in India against the Sikhs—sufficient, at all events, to have earned him a commendation in the commander in chief’s dispatches. She had enjoyed his company this afternoon, for all her shyness, but … guiltily she recalled the reason for her haste to return home. Her mother’s illness was causing them all much anxiety, not least her father. The poor, dear soul had seemingly been ailing for some considerable time but had told nobody until her sudden collapse had caused her to take to her bed, almost a month ago, with frequent visits from Dr. Munro—of late twice a day.
“I don’t know, Will,” she evaded, unhappily. “There’s my mother, you see. I must be with her.”
“Is she very ill?”
“I’m afraid she is.” Jenny started to move toward the door of the house, her conscience pricking her. “Dr. Munro has been most kind and attentive, and Mama never complains, but she’s suffering a great deal of pain. I should not really have left her today, but she insisted that I needed a break and that it would do me good.”
“And has it?” William questioned. “Has it, Jenny?”
“Yes,” Jenny admitted. “I think it has, thank you, Will.”
“Call on me,” William begged, “anytime when you need a break and can be spared. I’m sorry about your mother, Jenny —truly sorry.”
He took
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