The Parson's Daughter

  Taking note of the quirk to his lips, she now asked, ‘Did you resist all temptation?’

  The quirk widened. He looked to the side, then said, ‘Not all, madam, not all.’

  When her gaze suddenly turned from his, he brought her face almost roughly towards him again with the palm of his hand against her cheek and, his mood taking a lightning change, he said thickly, ‘Remember, Nancy Ann, you have been married twice.’

  There was a tight feeling in her chest. He was right of course, he was right. She had been married twice. But the thought of him with other women. Don’t be stupid, woman, don’t be stupid. The voice seemed to be shouting at her. He’s a man and has been for a long time, and so attractive women must have swarmed about him. And remember how upset you were by the name of Parson’s Prig. You were never priggish, so don’t start now. Accept the miracle that has happened. As he said, you’ve been married twice and the fact must have been agony to him.

  She smiled at him as she asked, within an assumed prim manner, ‘Are the Australian ladies pretty?’

  She saw him now bow his head and press his lips tightly together before he answered, ‘Oh, so pretty, madam, beautiful, voluptuous’—made a curving movement with his hand—‘you have no idea.’ Then his voice breaking into a laugh, he said, ‘There was hardly an Australian among them, my dear. From every gutter in the world they came. No, I can honestly say that those ladies didn’t attract me. But now’—he wagged his finger at her—‘the French mademoiselles. Oh, la-la. And the Italians. Oh, very warm, the Italians.’ His fingers twirled. Then on a sound that was half a shout, he pulled her roughly towards him, saying, ‘Why are we playing this game? The past is past for both of us. There is only the future and I can see it stretching down the years. We have a lot of time to make up for, you and I, Nancy Ann.’

  He now turned his head away from her for a moment and looked upwards towards the ceiling, and then to the fireplace. ‘I could live here,’ he said; ‘I like this house, it would hold no ghosts for me, not like the other place. And I thought Peter might like the farmhouse. What do you say? From what I know of boarding schools there’s no comfort for either master or pupil. That would be a good arrangement, wouldn’t it?’

  She stared at him in amazement, saying now, ‘You have it all planned out.’

  ‘Yes, yes, I’ve had a lot of time to think on the journey here. Yes, my dear, my beloved, I’ve got it all planned out. And this time it’s going to work just as I planned.’

  Then again his mood changed, and, his voice dropping so low she could scarcely hear the words, he muttered, ‘Hold me, dear. Hold me.’ And when she put her arms about him, he closed his eyes and said, ‘Tightly.’ And she held him tightly to her. Then as if she was listening to the voice of the child she had first seen sitting on the stone by the river, he said, ‘Never let me go. Promise you’ll never let me go. Promise you’ll stay with me always, no matter what happens.’

  His head buried in her shoulder, the tears were streaming down her face and her voice too was a mutter as she answered, ‘I’ll never let you go, my David. Never. Never. You’ll always be mine, as you have been from the beginning.’

  Neither of them saw Mary open the door and hold it wide to allow Brundle to push in the trolley of food. But what greeted her gaze caused her to push the trolley backwards and pull the door softly closed. And she smiled at Brundle, ‘We’ll have to wait a bit.’

  ‘But the broth’ll be cold.’

  ‘I don’t think they’ll mind.’ Mary’s smile widened. Then instinctively, they pushed their hands out towards each other’s shoulders, and Mary said something that Brundle couldn’t understand, for what she said was, ‘God bless our Agnes and Shane.’

  The End