Read Online Mary's Guardian by Carol Preston - Free Book Online Page A

we?’
    ‘Well it’s what we have to do here,’ he answered flatly. ‘Partly it’s our punishment, so there’s little we can do about that. But partly it’s the way we’ll get ahead. Change our lives for later. And for my part, that makes all the difference in the world.’
    ‘And I’m sick of the women in my tent as well,’ she went on, only half listening to him now. She’d heard his optimism over and over and today she had no mind to hear it again. ‘You think I whine! You should hear them. And none of ’em want to do a spit o’ work. They’re lookin’ for what man they can get to give ’em a loaf of bread or a cup of grog for a quick grope. Going back to their old trade, is all they want. An’ we could do better, Will. We’re hungrier here than back in Lincoln. We knew how to get a feed then, didn’t we? I don’t understand why you think we can survive any other way.’
    ‘This isn’t Lincoln, lass.’ William’s voice was quite harsh. He moved close to her and took the carrot from her hand, letting it drop to the ground. ‘Listen to me, Mary. You mustn‘t give up. Do you hear me?’ He shook her shoulders lightly. ‘Everyone’s hungry here. We wouldn’t just be thrown in prison here. We’d be hanged for so much as stealing a piece of bread. No, it’s either we all survive or we all starve.’
    ‘So what are you suggestin’ then?’ She looked up at him defiantly, her hands going to her hips.
    ‘Let’s go and see what you’ve got in that trap you’ve set behind the trees, eh?’ His face lightened. ‘Who knows? Perhaps this is our lucky day.’
    ‘Lucky day…no such thing,’ Mary muttered but followed him behind the tent and a short way into the bush where she’d set up a trap, hoping that one of the small bush rodents would stumble into it. There was little available to use as a lure for such a trap; a tiny piece of carrot or cheese had to be sacrificed in the hope of a bigger prize. And then they had to be careful to hide the trap well or their bait would be stolen by hungry convicts more willing to settle for the smallest scrap than to make more of an effort themselves.
    ‘It’ll be empty, I know,’ Mary anticipated glumly, taking quick small steps to keep up with William’s longer stride.
    ‘Now, don’t be pessimistic,’ he chided. ‘We can only hope some of these little animals are taken by surprise by our methods.’
    ‘That they would be,’ she giggled, cheering a little with the distraction from her garden work. ‘They’re used to a spear striking without warning. With the traps they could get to our dinner table just taking an afternoon stroll.’
    ‘What a nice thought.’
    ‘An afternoon stroll or a roo rat for dinner?’ Her voice was quietly cheeky.
    ‘Either,’ William answered without slowing his steps.
    Mary was sure he was genuinely expressing his desire to spend more time with her but she did wish he’d say it more plainly. She was trying to get up the courage to ask him more directly how he felt about her when she spotted a small animal sniffing around the front of her trap. She grabbed William’s arm and pulled him back, pointing at the animal and indicating he should stay quiet and still. He halted immediately and they both stood watching as the brown furry creature poked and scratched around the base of the tree, its nose going into the air after a moment as if it were picking up a strange scent. It had small twitching ears and a long thin tail and looked more like an overgrown gutter rat than anything they once might have considered eating. Nevertheless, they’d been assured by those who’d made attempts to communicate with the natives, that these were perfectly good eating. So they stood very still and continued to watch hopefully, though not daring to let their imaginations run to a hot meal for their dinner this night.
    The animal started to move away from the trap, apparently not interested in the scrap that Mary had secreted there.