Read Online Winter by John Marsden - Free Book Online Page B

stagger. Then he recovered. Slightly.
    â€˜You what?’
    â€˜You heard me.’
    â€˜You sacked Sylvia and Ralph?’
    I didn’t answer.
    â€˜All by yourself? What, you just went up to them and said, “You’re fired, get out”?’
    â€˜I got the trustee to do it.’
    â€˜I can’t believe it. My God, you really are something. The other day, when you went for me on that track through the bush, I thought, “Wow, this girl is running on nuclear power”. I was right about that. My God. You sacked Sylvia and Ralph. This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. They’ve been there ten years. You’ve been here three days and you sack them. Wait till I tell Dad.’
    â€˜It’s a bit more than three days.’
    â€˜What, four days?’
    â€˜No, no way. Give me a break. It’s a couple of weeks.’
    We both started laughing then. Suddenly we were both having absolute spaz attacks. We kept walking but we were in hysterics for about a hundred metres. Eventually we calmed down. Matthew took off his helmet and wiped his face.
    â€˜So, am I the biggest bitch in the district?’ I asked. ‘Is everyone going to hate me?’
    â€˜Are you kidding? For sacking Sylvia and Ralph? Those two are the biggest crooks I’ve ever seen. They’ve been robbing Warriewood blind, from the day they started there. No-one’s going to hate you for giving them the shaft. You’ll get a standing ovation from here to Christie.’
    It was my turn to buckle at the knees. Such a tidal wave of relief hit me that it’s lucky it didn’t knock me over. Although Mr Carruthers probably thought I had no idea, I knew what a major thing it is to give someone the sack. Especially when they lose their house as well. We’d watched Tree of Wooden Clogs in Italian classes at school. I didn’t want to be one of those old-style property owners, treating employees like they were markers on a Monopoly board.
    â€˜Listen,’ Matthew said. ‘You look like you’re going to pass out. Why don’t you come back to my place? Have a coffee or something. I mean, it can’t be a lot of laughs for you at Warriewood at the moment, with Ralph and Sylvia slinking around probably thinking they’d like to put a wedge between your eyes and then attack it with a large sledgie. How long before they go?’
    â€˜Five o’clock,’ I said, glancing at my watch.
    â€˜Five o’clock today? Wow. You really don’t mess around. I’d hate to be on your bad side. Lucky we’ve always gotten on so well.’
    I blushed at that. I was feeling nothing but embarrassment at the way I’d treated Matthew.
    â€˜I don’t think I can. Come back to your place, I mean. I’m going out to dinner, at the McGills.’
    â€˜What time?’
    â€˜I think he said he’d pick me up at six thirty.’
    â€˜Well, you’ve got heaps of time. And honestly, you’d be better off at our place until Sylvia and Ralph drive off into the sunset in their brand-new Range Rover.’
    â€˜I must admit, that Range Rover did bother me a bit. That’s what first made me wonder about them. I mean, I don’t know much about cars, but I think they’re at least a hundred thousand bucks.’
    â€˜Yeah. Worth almost as much as Hutch here.’ He patted the horse’s neck as we turned around and started back.
    â€˜Is he worth a lot?’
    â€˜Yeah. But not as much as he thinks he is.’
    â€˜He’s a beautiful horse. And you’ve got him in such good nick.’
    â€˜Thanks.’
    â€˜But I wouldn’t like to get on his bad side either.’
    â€˜No.’ He looked at me with new interest. ‘Hey, for someone who doesn’t ride, you’re a pretty good judge. Maybe you have got your mother’s eye.’
    â€˜What do you do with your horses? Breed them? You said you had a stud. Do