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

She began to lose patience and inched forward. The animal stopped with its back to them and began again to scratch in the earth. Assuming it was more likely to have its fill with some small grub or insect, Mary threw caution to the wind and launched herself in the direction of the small creature, determined to grab it by the tail. It was gone in a flash, leaving her sprawled alongside the tree, her skirts having flown up around her knees and her face planted in the grass.
    William couldn’t move for laughing and was still doubled up with mirth when she pulled herself upright and turned to him with a furious scowl.
    ‘Why didn’t you help me, you useless piece of lard?’ She brushed down her skirt and pushed back her hair but then she could maintain her angry face no longer. She too doubled up with laughter as they moved back together and fell into each other’s arms.
    ‘You tried, love. You tried.’ William managed after he’d contained his laughter. ‘Looks like it’s fish tonight after all, eh?’
    ‘If I can cook it early, before the others finish their work in the garden, perhaps we can share it… just the two of us.’ She looked up at him, still resting against his chest. She felt safe. She was sure she could sense the beating of his heart. ‘What are we going to do, Will?’ Her eyes filled with glassy tears and she laid her head on his shirt and felt his arms tighten around her.
    ‘What if we tried to get assigned to the new area? Parramatta?’
    ‘Para…what? Where?’ This was not the direction she’d hoped this moment would lead but he was always surprising her with his ideas.
    ‘Parramatta. It’s an Aboriginal name for an area the Governor and a few explorers discovered in April. I think they’re going to call it Rose Hill. It’s about twenty miles from here, along the river, and apparently it’s better land for farming. The two of us could request a move to there.’
    ‘Two of us? You mean…together?’
    ‘Yes. Mary, you know I want us to be together.’
    ‘I thought you’d gone off the idea. You haven’t said anything since that first day, when I thought you were proposing.’ She looked up into his eyes, searching for any sign of his feelings for her. He’d looked out for her these past few months since they’d arrived. He’d tried to keep her spirits up and she knew if anyone had dared to approach her with any intention to hurt her, they’d have had his wrath to deal with. But he hadn’t touched her in any way except to console or encourage her. He hadn’t looked to her for any comfort or relief, not the kind of relief she knew men wanted. She was beginning to wonder if he’d sought that from someone else, and if he really had any intention of marrying her at all.
    ‘I’ve not gone off the idea, honest,’ he said earnestly. ‘I’ve just been waiting for the right time.’
    ‘Waitin’ to see if I’d die of the scurvy, eh? Or get speared by one of the natives? Or just waitin’ to see if someone better showed up?’ Mary hid her self-doubt with jibes though she knew in her heart William was too decent for anything she said to be true of him.
    ‘I’ve always cared for you, Mary. It’s just that…’
    ‘Just nothing, Will. Either you want me or you don’t.’ She pushed back from him and raised her chin, her eyes questioning.
    ***
    William was for a moment speechless. As much as he wanted to shout out his love for her, she always managed to evoke an uncertainty in him. He studied her face, her expression sharp and yet vulnerable. She’d always been part frightened kitten, part snarling tigress and he was still not quite sure which part he might be faced with at any time.
    ‘I do,’ he eventually said. ‘I do want you, Mary.’ His face was still passive but his arms reached out and drew her back to him. He felt awkward and was annoyed at himself for being so. It was foolish, he knew, for he was sure he wanted them to be together, and yet he was still struggling