Read Online South of Capricorn by Anne Hampson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anne Hampson
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the lady we saw at Daddy’s house!’
‘Lady?’ Kane looked at Gail, the words of censure he had been going to say to Leta having been stemmed for the present. ‘She had black hair?’
‘That’s right.’
Kane’s eyes took on a darkling expression, but at the same time he had that faraway look mingling with it. Gail waited, half expecting him to make some further reference to the woman who was his stepmother. But he lapsed into a silence and she began to stir restlessly. At length she asked about the Overlander, adding that she wished to get away from here as soon as possible.
Turning lazily, he regarded her with a mild inscrutable stare before he said, staggering her so that she could only gape at him unbelievingly,
‘If my daughter stays then you stay too, Miss Stafford.’
‘W-what did you say?’ she managed at last.
‘I believe you heard me.’ Totally unaffected by this moment which was to Gail overcharged, he took up the reins which he had previously hooked over the broken branch of a eucalpyt. ‘You don’t leave Leta with me unless you stay with her.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Her mind was so confused that she scarcely knew what she was saying. But she was acutely aware of the impregnable, granite-like quality of his face, and also of the fact that, should he prove to be immovable, then the whole point and purpose of her journey here would be destroyed. ‘It’s quite impossible for me to stay!’ She gestured with her hands, her mind still clouded by what he had said. ‘This ultimatum’s stupid! What would I want to stay in a place like this for?’
Ignoring this, he said calmly,
‘I need a mother for my child.’
‘You must be out of your mind!’
‘On the contrary,’ he rejoined smoothly, ‘my mind was never more ordered.’
‘But-’
‘I have no intention of entering into any argument,’ he broke in gently. ‘It should be plain to you that I can’t have Leta unless I also have someone to look after her.’
‘You want a nanny? But you said a mother.’ ‘A mother, yes.’
Gail made another impatient gesture with her hands, ‘What are you trying to say, Mr. Farrell?’
His grey eyes seemed to smile with amusement.
‘I’m not offering you marriage,’ he began, then stopped a second or two to watch the colour creep into her cheeks. ‘All the same, it’s a mother I want for Leta—not a nanny.’ He paused a moment as Leta came closer to him. She looked up and smiled. He flicked a finger and to Gail’s utter amazement the child instantly obeyed the unspoken command and moved away, out of earshot. ‘What I want is for you to pose as my wife— No, please don’t interrupt me! I want you to pose as my long-lost wife. We parted—a misunderstanding or silly quarrel caused it—but now we’ve come together again, a happy family—’
‘You are out of your mind,’ she interrupted, but even as the words left her lips the truth burst in upon her. So there had been some basis for her suspicions that he was planning something!
‘Either you remain here with Leta or you take her back to England with you,’ Kane Farrell was saying implacably. ‘And if you do take her back, then you mustn’t trouble me with her ever again.’ He sounded callous, she thought, but she made no comment, her mind being totally absorbed by what she had discovered. Kane Farrell wanted her, Gail, to pose as his wife, so taking his stepmother’s place as mistress of his home. And of course Leta was an important part of the plan; a few weeks of that little delinquent and Mrs. Farrell would know only one way to turn—towards the door!
It was an ingenious scheme, and it had come to Kane when he saw what kind of a child his young daughter was. She would quite literally drive his stepmother out, he had concluded. Gail had to smile despite the tenseness of the scene. How fortunate Kane must have felt himself to be—with his daughter coming along at a time like this!
‘Mr. Farrell—’ she
‘Lady?’ Kane looked at Gail, the words of censure he had been going to say to Leta having been stemmed for the present. ‘She had black hair?’
‘That’s right.’
Kane’s eyes took on a darkling expression, but at the same time he had that faraway look mingling with it. Gail waited, half expecting him to make some further reference to the woman who was his stepmother. But he lapsed into a silence and she began to stir restlessly. At length she asked about the Overlander, adding that she wished to get away from here as soon as possible.
Turning lazily, he regarded her with a mild inscrutable stare before he said, staggering her so that she could only gape at him unbelievingly,
‘If my daughter stays then you stay too, Miss Stafford.’
‘W-what did you say?’ she managed at last.
‘I believe you heard me.’ Totally unaffected by this moment which was to Gail overcharged, he took up the reins which he had previously hooked over the broken branch of a eucalpyt. ‘You don’t leave Leta with me unless you stay with her.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Her mind was so confused that she scarcely knew what she was saying. But she was acutely aware of the impregnable, granite-like quality of his face, and also of the fact that, should he prove to be immovable, then the whole point and purpose of her journey here would be destroyed. ‘It’s quite impossible for me to stay!’ She gestured with her hands, her mind still clouded by what he had said. ‘This ultimatum’s stupid! What would I want to stay in a place like this for?’
Ignoring this, he said calmly,
‘I need a mother for my child.’
‘You must be out of your mind!’
‘On the contrary,’ he rejoined smoothly, ‘my mind was never more ordered.’
‘But-’
‘I have no intention of entering into any argument,’ he broke in gently. ‘It should be plain to you that I can’t have Leta unless I also have someone to look after her.’
‘You want a nanny? But you said a mother.’ ‘A mother, yes.’
Gail made another impatient gesture with her hands, ‘What are you trying to say, Mr. Farrell?’
His grey eyes seemed to smile with amusement.
‘I’m not offering you marriage,’ he began, then stopped a second or two to watch the colour creep into her cheeks. ‘All the same, it’s a mother I want for Leta—not a nanny.’ He paused a moment as Leta came closer to him. She looked up and smiled. He flicked a finger and to Gail’s utter amazement the child instantly obeyed the unspoken command and moved away, out of earshot. ‘What I want is for you to pose as my wife— No, please don’t interrupt me! I want you to pose as my long-lost wife. We parted—a misunderstanding or silly quarrel caused it—but now we’ve come together again, a happy family—’
‘You are out of your mind,’ she interrupted, but even as the words left her lips the truth burst in upon her. So there had been some basis for her suspicions that he was planning something!
‘Either you remain here with Leta or you take her back to England with you,’ Kane Farrell was saying implacably. ‘And if you do take her back, then you mustn’t trouble me with her ever again.’ He sounded callous, she thought, but she made no comment, her mind being totally absorbed by what she had discovered. Kane Farrell wanted her, Gail, to pose as his wife, so taking his stepmother’s place as mistress of his home. And of course Leta was an important part of the plan; a few weeks of that little delinquent and Mrs. Farrell would know only one way to turn—towards the door!
It was an ingenious scheme, and it had come to Kane when he saw what kind of a child his young daughter was. She would quite literally drive his stepmother out, he had concluded. Gail had to smile despite the tenseness of the scene. How fortunate Kane must have felt himself to be—with his daughter coming along at a time like this!
‘Mr. Farrell—’ she
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