somewhere?â
Alys thought briefly of her motherâs freezing disapproval, weighed it against the pleasure of being with Race, and made up her mind.
âIâd love to. Will you pick me up?â
âYes. About half past two.â
âAll right. Iâll be looking out for you so that you donât have to face Mummy.â
It was a perfect afternoon with a brisk breeze blowing puffs of white cloud across the sky, blue as morning glories, and whipping up matching white frills on the sea. In St Georgeâs Road the English trees provided patches of shade but the sun shone bright and harsh on the houses, bouncing off roofs and stuccoed white walls with a brilliance that was hurtful to the eyes.
âWhere are we going?â Alys asked as Race turned the Morgan down over the hill and the vista of Melbourne, roofs and spires, patches of green amid the grey, spread out beneath them.
He executed a racing change. âI had thought of Phillip Island â to see the fairy penguins and the seals.â
âOh yes, theyâre sweet â¦â she broke off. âWait a minute â youâre the crafty one, arenât you? The penguins donât parade until dusk, on their way back to their burrows in the sand dunes after a hard dayâs fishing. Thatâs just an excuse. You want to go to Phillip Island because of the race track!â
He laughed. âNo, honestly, I hadnât given it a thought. Though I have to admit itâs because of the race track that I know about Phillip Island. People from my background donât have as much time to go out looking at wild life as you do.â
There was a tiny, awkward silence. It was the first time he had mentioned the difference in their lifestyles.
âOn the other hand,â Race said, âwe could just go up to the Dandenongs. But wherever it is, weâd better make the most of it. This could be the last time for outings in the Morgan.â She turned to look at him in alarm and he gave an elaborate shrug. âItâs the one asset Iâve got. If I canât get the money from anywhere else, I shall have to sell the Morgan.â
âOh Race, you canât do that!â she protested.
âDonât make it harder for me. I donât want to, of course. But Iâm damned determined to get into Grand Prix racing and if the only way I can do it is to sell the Morgan, then the Morgan has to go.â
His tone frightened her. Yes, she had known he was determined but never before had he struck her as ruthless. If he could get rid of the Morgan which he loved so much then he would sweep aside any obstacle which he found in his way. Admirable, but also a little scary.
âAnyway, letâs not talk about it now. Why spoil a lovely afternoon? And letâs make it the Dandenongs, shall we?â he said.
They left Melbourne, heading east and with the wind in her hair Alys felt herself relaxing. The country, open and green, not yet scorched to match the colour of the sandy earth, quickly became rolling hills fringed with forests. Race turned the Morgan into a narrow track where the sun, filtering through the high and spidery branches of the trees, made sparkling patterns of heat on the dusty ground. On and on it went, winding now and then around a knoll of higher ground, rising and dipping, then suddenly opening out to reveal a reserve where the bush, virgin in appearance, surrounded a small clear water lake. Race pulled the Morgan off the track onto a patch of scrub and turned off the engine.
âWho wants to go all the way to Phillip Island when itâs nice so close to home?â He put his arm around her, his touch light on her warm skin. âAnyway, itâs you I want to see, not a penguin, fairy or otherwise.â
Warmth trickled through her veins, but she smiled at him teasingly, pulled away and clambered nimbly over the side of the Morgan.
âCome on, Iâm going to
Lexy Timms, B+r Publishing, Book Cover By Design
Clare Revell
Jr H. Lee Morgan
Larry McMurtry
Shannon Stacey
Mary Daheim
Alexandra Sirowy
Runaway
Norman Spinrad
Christine Nancy u Bell Catherine u Warren Maggie u Spencer Michele u Shayne Hauf