A Wicked Deception (15 page)

His body moving urgently against hers fired the blood in her veins, as a dormant passion was fanned into life by his promises, and the skill of his experienced, masterful hands.

“Melanie, Melanie,” he groaned her name. “I can’t wait any longer, my darling.”

Although
quaking with nervous fear as his body covered hers, she sensed he fought to hold his rampaging passion in check. His back was damp with perspiration, his breathing harsh and ragged by the time he eased himself between her quivering thighs.

For an instant, her body rejected the invasion of his hard shaft, and
his ultimate penetration caused her to cry out.

“Don’t cry, my sweet,” he soothed, and his rhythmic movements
and endearments eased her pain and fear.

He licked her tears away, only they continued falling, and she couldn’t stop them. She wept over the twin losses of Robbie and her virginity.
She should have given her virginity to Robbie, would have, if the redcoats hadn’t murdered him.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you, but you
’re mine now.” He tried not to gloat. She tasted as sweet and enjoyable as he’d always known she would. “It will be better next time,” he promised, wrapping his arms around her to keep their bodies close.

They slept, until Melanie awoke a few hours later with Michael’s insistent lips against her throat.

“Did I wake you?” he murmured in the soft tones of a satiated lover.

“Michael, I
….” Her hand stroked his stubbly cheek.

“We have to be leaving soon, my darling, but I desperately need to make love to you again.
It won’t hurt this time, I promise.”

His mouth seduced her with a practiced expertise until she let him take her again
. Would it always be like this? Her passive and unresponsive because she would always love Robbie? Michael demanding and insatiable? When his passion was spent, they lay facing each other for a time without speaking.

Michael moved first. “Sweet Melanie.” One finger traced the outline of her face. “We must be up and about now. Once I’m dressed, I’ll go downstairs to see if breakfast is prepared. Come when you’re ready, but we need to be off as soon as possible.”

The blackness outside was almost total. After Michael departed she had a wash in freezing water then dressed in the same clothes she had worn yesterday. It would be nice having something new to put on, but thinking of the gowns he had previously mentioned buying and sending straight to the ship, made her feel a little better. They were man and wife now, but in a few short hours, she would be Mrs. Michael Guilford in the eyes of God and the law as well. He would take care of her, would ease the pain of losing Robbie. One day, maybe she could return his love, thus paying him back for risking his reputation, his freedom even, by helping her escape from Major Douglas’ evil clutches.

They breakfasted on bacon and eggs, followed by toast and tea
. Before the first signs of pink streaked the sky, they started on the final leg of their journey. On arrival at the docks, Michael insisted she wait in the shelter of a storehouse in case any police were watching.

She shivered.
“Do you think they might be here?”

“It’s hard to say, but there’s no point in taking chances. You mustn’t move away from here. I’ll return for you as soon as I can.”

“I promise not to move away from here.”

“Sweet, sweet, Melanie.” He kissed her soft tremulous mouth and she clung to him. He was her lifeline to sanity.

He buried his face in the soft, vulnerable hollow of her throat, straining her body close. His mouth returned to hers, and he kissed her with an almost savage passion, as if taking in all her sweet youthfulness, yet still craving more. Finally when he stepped back, she felt bereft. He put out a finger and ran it gently across her quivering lips, turned and strode away.

People crowded on to the dock now, but she stayed out of sight as Michael instructed. As dawn broke, the crowds, shadowy images before, turned into flesh and blood people
. Her heart plunged to her boots at the sight of police uniforms. When she saw Major Douglas standing at the gangplank scrutinizing every passenger, her fear escalated.

Shrinking back into the shadows, she pushed her knuckles into her mouth to stop
the screams. She waited. Those embarking slowed to a trickle, although the number of onlookers seemed to be swelling. Where was Michael?

Fear clawed at her stomach, cruel
, deep and unrelenting, until she almost doubled over with the pain. If he could not get back to her, what would happen? Except for a few coins in her purse she was destitute, wanted by the police and had a price on her head. Hysterical sobs rose up into her throat and with a huge effort she gulped them back.

Michael would return
. Of course he would. They were going to be wed. Even if they could not board this ship, he would think of something. She scolded herself for being so weak-willed and lacking in faith. The fight had gone out of her at the news of Robbie’s death, and of James being hunted like some wild beast. Michael was all she had left to cling to. Her head ached and she started feeling faint, so she staggered to a box and slumped down on it, making sure to keep well hidden.

Shouts and oaths, sailors casting off the ropes preparing to sail. Impossible. Dear God, like a graceful bird skimming across the wave, the ship
moved away from the wharf. Michael had not returned. She shook so much her teeth chattered. She dared not stand up in case her legs crumpled and she collapsed to the ground.

The crowd dispersed as she waited with tears coursing down her cheeks. Except for hearing about Robbie, this was the worst moment in her whole life
, crippling in its devastation.

Instinctively, the desire for
self-preservation came to the fore. As a policeman headed in her direction, she sidled around to the back section of the building, took to her heels and ran. Terror gave her the strength to keep on running until the wharf area had been left far behind. Her headlong flight ended near the main road to Geelong. With her face resting against the rough trunk of a large gum tree, she forced herself to think about her terrible predicament.

Michael must have
boarded the ship and then been prevented from getting off. He had sailed away without her. She could do nothing but head back to Geelong. Surely Charles and Sophia would give her refuge again, and advise her on what to do for the best. Following Michael to England seemed the only logical thing, but how?

She started walking
. Surprisingly, numerous other people did exactly the same thing even at this early hour. Mostly men off to the diggings, some on foot carrying their swags, a few lucky individuals on horseback.

A man and a woman trudged along the road pushing two small children in a wooden barrow affair. They looked scruffy and dirty, but
for security she edged closer to them without making it obvious.

The sun rose
over the horizon like a giant orange ball. Dust swirled around in suffocating clouds as she straggled along. Men on horseback passed by, even a coach or two. Perspiration trickled down her face and throat before disappearing into the neckline of her gown. Crude remarks directed her way by several young men made her cringe. They obviously thought she was on her way to the goldfields, not to make her fortune out of the ground but by selling her body. The language used by the man to the woman and children became so vile and sickening, she couldn’t stand being near them for a moment longer, and dropped back to walk alone.

The sun climbing higher made the
journey so unbearably hot she finally had to find somewhere shady to rest. Trees and scrubs grew densely on either side of the road, yet these afforded little protection to the walkers on the road.

She
stumbled towards a grassy clearing not far off the track. Tears of relief pooled in her eyes when she saw a stream gurgling over shiny white pebbles. A group of ladies sheltered under the shade of colorful silk parasols, while their men folk lounged on the ground, enjoying a picnic hamper. When one of the ladies bit into a succulent chicken leg, the hungry grumbling in Melanie’s stomach reached a crescendo.

She washed her hands before cupping them together so she might scoop some of the water into her parched mouth. After she drank her fill, she mopped her face with a damp handkerchief.
The cool relief, though fleeting, was welcome.

Wandering away from the picnicking couples, she found a grassy spot under a tree. With her knees pulled up so she could rest her chin on them, she closed her eyes
. How long would it take to reach Geelong? What if Sophia and Charles refused to give her sanctuary?

S
pending at least one night in the open was her only option, as her small supply of coins wouldn’t pay for more than a couple of meals at some cheap wayside inn. As a party of police troopers passed by she kept her head averted in case they recognized her under all the dust and grime.

“
I must keep going,” she muttered, dragging her aching body towards the road once more. Every step was agony. The soles of her feet burned, blisters had formed on the back of each heel, but she dared not take her shoes off in case they would not go back on again.

The sun scorched through the thin cotton of her gown
and had she not been wearing a bonnet, she would have succumbed to sunstroke. On and on she traipsed, forcing her wavering limbs to the limit of their endurance. At a mean little wayside inn, she ordered the cheapest meal possible, guzzling down the weak tea and gobbling up the greasy stew like a starving dog.

***

Two days later, Melanie staggered into Charles and Sophia’s house. She’d walked most of the way, dozing at night huddled in the fork of a tree, too frightened to sleep on the ground for fear of being attacked. Fortunately, she had been able to cadge a lift in a wagon with a farming couple for some of the way.

“Melanie
! What’s happened?” She collapsed into Sophia’s arms.

A
fter a warm bath, followed by food, Sophie took her to the same room as she had slept in previously. The story poured out between hiccoughing sobs, she omitted nothing, except the fact that she had shared a bed with Michael. That was too shocking to mention. And she didn’t want to lose Sophia’s good opinion of her. Worse still, they might treat her like a fallen woman and banish her from their home.

Melanie awoke fifteen hours later
. She glanced around the room, flexed her legs and swiveled her feet. The sleep had refreshed her, she felt none the worse for her ordeal, except for a feeling of absolute desolation because Michael was gone.

“Look, my dear,” Charles said
, “it will be impossible for Michael to leave the ship once it sailed. Somehow you’ll have to disguise yourself so you can escape the authorities and go to him.”

“How can I get to
England?” she wailed. “I don’t have any money.”

“Sorry, but we don’t have much we could loan you, either, but we’ll think of something, won’t we, Charles?” Sophia promised.

After fate had treated her so cruelly of late, it took a sudden change for the better. Through a friend, Charles heard of a well-to-do young woman, recently widowed, who wanted a suitable companion to accompany her home to England.

“I told her you were a friend of Michael’s and she is interested in meeting you. Actually,
her family lives only a few miles away from him.”

Melanie
instantly liked Ann Locksley. Not yet thirty, rather on the plump side, with a kind face. Her hair was a deep, rich brown, worn in a neat chignon.

“I live
near Leeds, not too many miles from the Guilfords.” She gave a gentle smile. “My dear, we’re almost neighbors.”

“It’s been terrible, Ann.” Melanie tried not to weep as she told her about the troubles at
Eureka, Robbie’s death and Michael sailing for England without her.

“
My dear girl.” Ann nibbled her lip. “I don’t know. I mean, if the law is after you, I’d like to help, but I need to get to England in a hurry. I can’t risk being delayed.”

“I understand. I don’t blame you
. Why should you get involved? Major Douglas is so ruthless he’ll never give up searching for me.”

“Who did you say was after you?”
Ann grabbed Melanie’s hand and jiggled it.

“Major Douglas. Do you know him?”

“An arrogant man, with cruel, colorless eyes?”

“Yes.”

Ann’s lip trembled. “I’ll help you.”

“But you said
….”

“Major Douglas killed my husband.”

“What! You mean murdered him?”

“They held an enquiry, but
Douglas got off. Death by suicide they called it.”

“Suicide?”

Sobs distorted Ann’s voice. “My husband might have pulled the trigger on his gun, but that Douglas creature drove him to it. Geoffrey was always sensitive, not cut out for the army, but being the youngest of four sons, he had to do something. Douglas persecuted and humiliated him because he didn’t drink or gamble.”