And Those Who Trespass Against Us (4 page)

Katherine returned to the kitchen in short time and put her small bundle of toiletries on the table. "I couldn't help but notice the painting in the hallway, when I was going to my room."

Miss Pelham heaved the unwieldy kettle two-handed off the stove, and walked to the bath. She poured the hot water into the vessel in front of her. "As you've probably guessed, that's my family. When we have some more time, I'll tell you about them. But if we do that now your water will get cold.

Katherine released a silent prayer of thanks at the tendrils of steam rising from the surface. "Oh, of course."

Miss Pelham motioned at the jug on the sink. Add cold water as you see fit. I'll be in my room so you can bathe in private, but if you need me then yell. The house is not so big I won't hear you." Miss Pelham sidestepped Katherine and continued down the hall.

Katherine's bath was just the cure for a long train journey, during which she'd spent her time bathing out of a bowl. This coupled with her day of hot and dirty work, made her ablutions border on decadent. It had been a long time since she'd been allowed so much time to herself to just think. She traced a circle in the water's soapy surface. She wondered what sort of brother would go away and leave his sister on a farm for so long. She was certain Miss Pelham could look after herself, but why such a long journey?

After a time Katherine felt guilty about reclining in such liquid luxury, especially given Miss Pelham hadn't had a bath after her hard day. Quickly determining that she'd washed the dirt and perspiration from her tired limbs, she stepped out of the bath and shivered. She reached for her towel, surprised at how cool the air had become. She looked at her meagre bathing belongings on the kitchen table and sighed. "I must have left my nightgown on the bed." She covered herself as best she could with the undersized towel, continuing to shiver at the scant warmth the towel afforded.

Feeling a trifle embarrassed she called out to her host, "Excuse me, Miss Pelham, are you there?"

Katherine had barely finished when a reply came from the other side of the door. "Yes, what is it?"

"I'm sorry but I've left my nightgown on the foot of my bed in the guest room. Could you get it for me, please?" Katherine waited for a reply, but instead heard footfalls moving away from the door. It wasn't long and Miss Pelham had returned.

"I have it here, do you mind if I open the door?"

"Of course not." Katherine tried to ensure she was decent as possible, given her decency was currently restricted by the length of a towel.

The door opened barely wide enough to accommodate a head and a hand. "I hope this is what you wanted," Miss Pelham said, her eyes downcast and her outstretched hand holding a threadbare nightgown.

"Thank you very much. It was silly of me not to bring everything." Miss Pelham looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Are you all right?" Katherine asked.

"Yes," murmured Miss Pelham. "I think I'm tired after such a long day."

"I'm finished with the bath now, and I expect you'd like one too. If you could wait while I get changed I'll help you empty the bath and draw a fresh one." Katherine turned her back to Miss Pelham, affording herself some privacy to slip into her nightgown.

"There's no need. I'll top up yours with a bit of hot water. Miss Pelham came into the room and busied herself with the fire. "Unfortunately we don't have enough water to afford the luxury of fresh baths all the time. Besides, as long as the dirt comes off it doesn't matter all that much."

Having finished lacing the front of her nightgown, Katherine turned to Miss Pelham, and ran one hand through her wet, cropped curls. "In which case, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Miss Pelham baulked at the question and, for a fraction of a second, Katherine saw her features change, as though she dropped her guard, but with the same speed with which it had faltered, she quickly regained her composure. "No, thank you, I should be right now." Miss Pelham turned to lift the water kettle from the fire.

She looked at the back of Miss Pelham with curiosity, almost sure she was about to say something. Why had she turned her back? Was everything all right? Although her education in the convent had taught her to pursue such matters, the hour was late. At that moment Katherine didn't feel strong enough to listen to the troubles of yet another person. She felt all she'd done all day was listen to problems. Katherine caught herself, guilty at such feelings, but knowing her tiredness currently overrode her guilt.

"I think I'll go to bed. Good night and thank you once again for extending to me the courtesy of your home." The nuns had taught Katherine the last phrase as a convenient way to end a meeting. She wasn't entirely sure she'd used it in its right context, but found again she was too tired to care. Lifting her lamp, she wound her way through the house to her bedroom and said the necessary prayers and climbed into bed.

CATRIONA LISTENED TO Sister Flynn's footfalls recede. Only then did she trust herself to turn from the fire and look in the direction she had taken. Her face felt flushed, which wasn't unusual when one stood so close to a fire. Only Catriona knew that the warmth of the fire had nothing to do with the heat radiating in her cheeks.

Chapter Three

KATHERINE AWOKE EARLY the next morning to a cacophony of birds outside her window. Never having heard such a raucous noise in her life, she placed her shift around her shoulders and headed across the room. The tree outside was full of at least a hundred white birds, their heads adorned with an impressive feather comb of sulphur yellow. "You're like washerwomen on market day, shouting and singing at the same time."

The morning sun's rays beaming through the French windows enabled her the first daylight opportunity to view her surroundings. Brown-green grass, which dominated the landscape as far as she could see, was interspersed with lofty trees of white bark and green leaves, called gum trees--as she'd learned on her train trip. She wistfully smiled. "It certainly isn't the rolling hills of Ireland."

Her stomach grumbled as she walked to her dresser. Deciding a cup of tea and breakfast might be in order, she pulled a shawl over her nightgown and quietly walked through the house, mindful of not waking Miss Pelham.

CATRIONA LOOKED UP when the door to the kitchen opened. "Good morning, Sister. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to get up at all." Catriona stood and reached for an extra teacup.

"Thank you." Katherine took the cup. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise you rose so early. Is it customary out here in Australia?"

"It's not so much customary, as necessary. There aren't enough daylight hours to get all the chores done and sleep in as well. Alexander and I normally only employ additional workers for the harvest and divide the chores between us the rest of the time." Catriona poured Sister Flynn's tea. "Plus, it gets so hot here in the summer you can't work through the heat of the day. Honestly, I could think of nothing better than to go to bed and not have to worry about what I had to do the next day."

"Then I expect these early mornings are something I'll have to remember, Miss Pelham."

Catriona held up her hand. "Before we continue, there's something I need to explain. When I was a child, a particular governess educated Alexander and me. This continued until Alexander was seventeen and I was fourteen. For all the years she taught me, she never called me anything but Miss Pelham. I didn't like her very much and I
hated
being called Miss Pelham. I'm somewhat older now, but I've never grown to like such formality. Please call me Catriona."

"I'll do the courtesy of calling you Catriona only if you'll address me as Sister Katherine when the situation demands it. From what I experienced yesterday, Australians are generally more at home calling sisters by their first name rather than their last. I'm more than comfortable with such an arrangement. I'd be grateful though, if on all other occasions you'd call me Katherine." She sat back in her chair and sipped her tea.

"Then it's a deal, Katherine." Catriona extended her hand.

"I expect it is, Catriona." Katherine grasped the hand in front of her. "I hope you don't think me too forward, but isn't it strange for you to be all alone out here? Where are your parents now? Are they now living in town? I also remember you mentioning last night that your brother lived with you but he's away at the moment."

"I told you last night I'd explain things when we had time, and I suppose now is as good a time as any.

It may be easier for me to start at the beginning." Catriona made herself comfortable. "We have two types of weather out here. One is drought and the other is flood. About three years ago we hadn't seen rain for ages, and the whole country dried up, leaving behind soil as hard as iron. Then one day the clouds gathered over. They promised rain, but there had been so many times before when such promises hadn't been fulfilled. Unfortunately this time it did rain. The downpour wasn't the soft summer shower I expect you're used to. And the clouds, when they finally filled weren't black. They were green--green and full of hail. At the height of the storm, the rain came down in torrents so thick you couldn't see outside to the water pump. Flowing fast and hard, the ground had no time to absorb the water and so it ran into the creeks. The creeks couldn't hold the deluge and many rivers, already full of dead trees and branches, burst their banks.

"What you must understand is, at first, the day was quite normal. Although clouds filled the sky, they were wispy and very high up, holding not even a hint of any long awaited rain. It so happened that day was my parents' anniversary and my father chose to take my mother for a picnic. From what we could piece together, they didn't reach their picnic spot when the first light rain began to fall. Rather than have their picnic they must have turned for home. They were almost here when the full fury of the storm hit. Do you remember crossing a grate last night?"

Katherine nodded.

"The grate covers a moderately deep ditch which you need to cross to gain entrance to the property. It's not a very deep crossing but on that day it must have been deep enough. My parents were coming across the grate when the horse shied, most probably from a lightning strike, and fell into the ditch, carrying the buggy and my parents with it. The doctor concluded that my father died almost instantly for his neck was broken, but my mother drowned. When they found her, both her legs were horribly fractured and this could only have happened in the initial fall. Given her injuries, I suspect she was incapable of moving out of the path of the rising waters. She was carried down the river with her body finally being found in the forked trunk of a tree."

Katherine reached across the table. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you'd lost them both."

Catriona ignored Katherine's hand. Despite the passage of time, she still struggled to contain the pain that came with telling the story of her parents. "After their funeral, Alexander and I decided to stay on and work the property. My parents had been here the better part of their lives. So we decided we'd also try to make a living out of the land. He looks after any long distance business, only because no man would be seen dealing with a woman. He also attends social events that require a male presence, particularly a
marriageable
male. I tend to the property when he's away. When he's here, we work as a team. Alexander looks a lot like me except he's older."

"I can see their loss has deeply hurt you. I expect being here with your brother gives you great pleasure though."

Catriona smiled at Katherine's attempts to redirect the conversation to a lighter topic. "It does. Even though we're siblings and he's a little older, we're the best of friends."

"Is your brother conducting a social visit now, visiting a lady friend perhaps?"

"No, he's not. In fact he's already engaged to someone, but not someone miles away. She lived in this town." Catriona brought her hands to rest on the table and looked directly at Katherine. "Her name was Coreen Watson, commonly known around here as Sister Coreen."

Katherine shook her head, her face a study of disbelief. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. A nun, when she's accepted into the church, marries God. She wears a ring." She held up her hand. "Like the one I wear. How could she have consented to marry your brother after already taking such vows?"

Catriona rolled her eyes. "There you go, getting on your religious high horse. It's different out here. Things are not as cut and dry as they are in England, excuse me,
Ireland
. Do you honestly think Coreen came all the way out here for the sole purpose of breaking her vows? That's not at all how it happened." Catriona leaned across the table. "In life no one is perfect and nothing, excepting death, is permanent. There's room for mistakes in everyone's life and Coreen's mistake was marrying into the church. Surely your all seeing and all forgiving God can realise an honest mistake has been made and accept it must be rectified?"

Katherine stood and paced the room, gesticulating at no one in particular. "I don't know what to accept. I come all the way out here from Ireland and arrive at a deserted train station, nearly die from the heat, spend yesterday afternoon saying the last rights of a father, find I've no real lodgings, and the sister who was supposed to help me settle has passed away. And, even if she'd lived, she wouldn't have been a sister for long because she was getting married? I can't help but wonder whether my coming to this town was all a mistake."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. You're sorely needed out here. I hate to throw your religion back at you, but isn't your first duty to others and not yourself?" Catriona challenged, staring at Katherine. "Aren't you only thinking of one person at the moment?"