18

February 1884

Frank was just stepping aside to let Lizzie walk up the steps into the porch ahead of him when a burly figure pushed past with barely a grunt of recognition.

‘That’s Charlie Stewart!’ Lizzie said. ‘What’s he doing here?’

Frank shrugged. ‘Anyone’s allowed to come, I guess. I bet he hasn’t come for the dancing, though.’ They laughed together, and Frank felt a warm glow as he walked into the room behind Lizzie.

‘What have you two been up to?’ Bill said with a smile when they rejoined the group.

‘I didn’t feel very well, the heat was getting me down, so Frank took me outside for a minute.’ Lizzie challenged Bill with her eyes to say any more about it.

Bill laughed. ‘Frank looks as though he got a bit overheated himself.’ Frank felt his face burn, and he looked studiously at the floor.

‘I suppose you think that’s funny,’ Lizzie said indignantly.

‘Well, I’m supposed to look after my little sister,’ said Bill. He slapped Frank on the back. ‘Looks like I don’t need to bother if you’re going to do it for me, Frank.’

Marion Forster had relieved Jane of her singing duty. When the next dance started Harry again claimed Jane as his partner, while Jimmy led Amy onto the floor once more. ‘I see your skirt-hating old neighbour’s turned up,’ Jimmy said.

‘Yes,’ said Amy. ‘He hasn’t talked to anyone, just sort of grunted at a couple of the men and helped himself to some beer, then plonked himself down in that corner. I suppose he’s come for the free beer.’

‘Hmm. That and a look at the pretty girls, I’d say. He’s been having a good stare at all the women—especially you, of course. At least he’s got good taste.’

‘He makes me a bit nervous,’ Amy confessed. ‘He looks so grumpy all the time.’

Jimmy held her more tightly. ‘You’re safe with me, darling.’

‘I know.’ For the next few minutes Amy was aware of no one in the room except the two of them.

When supper time came at ten o’clock she was amazed at how quickly the evening had passed. The supper table was attacked with vigour, and the food was rapidly demolished.

‘Gives you a good appetite, all this dancing, eh?’ Harry said through a mouthful of cold chicken.

‘So does courting.’ Jimmy gestured with his eyes towards Frank, who was devouring a slice of pie as though it was the first edible item he had seen all day; but he spoke too quietly for Lizzie to hear.

After supper the dancing was about to start again when there was a noise at the door. Amy glanced over to see what was going on. ‘Oh, no,’ she said as four young men, all in their early twenties, sauntered into the room. ‘It’s some of the Feenans.’

‘The mad Irish?’

‘Yes. Oh, I do hope they don’t cause any trouble.’

Bob Forster and Matt Aitken walked over to the uninvited visitors. ‘You fellows can only stay if you behave yourselves,’ Matt said sternly. ‘Understand?’

‘Course we will,’ Mike Feenan, spokesman for the group, said. ‘You won’t know we’re here.’ They walked a little unsteadily over to the supper table and picked disconsolately at the chicken bones.

‘Kicked out of the hotel, I’d say,’ Jimmy murmured in Amy’s ear.

‘Hey, red, you going to sing?’ one of the Feenans called, seeing Marion standing by Bob.

She looked at her husband questioningly; he shrugged and picked up his fiddle. Marion began to sing, and the various couples took the floor.

Amy ignored the Feenans as best she could, though every time she and Jimmy danced past the supper table one of them would whistle at her, and occasionally they called out to one another, ‘Here comes the good-looking one again’. It spoiled her pleasure in dancing. When the song ended she was about to ask Jimmy if they could sit down for a while when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It made her jump, and she was even more startled when she turned around to see that it was Mike Feenan standing behind her.

‘What about a dance with me now?’ He pushed his face close to hers so that Amy got a whiff of beer-sodden breath.

‘No, thank you.’ She stepped away from him. He made another grab for her shoulder, misjudged the distance and stumbled, then lunged again, this time making contact. Amy tried to twist away, but he held her tightly. She jerked her head around towards Jimmy in fright.

‘Come on, gorgeous, you want to dance with me, don’t you?’

‘You heard the lady,’ said Jimmy. His mouth smiled, but his eyes glittered. ‘She doesn’t want to dance with you. Take your hands off her.’

‘What’s it to you?’ Mike Feenan jeered. ‘You in your fancy clothes—let the girl dance with a real man.’

‘I said take your hands off her.’ Jimmy knocked Mike’s hand off Amy’s shoulder.

Despite the amount of alcohol he had obviously consumed earlier that evening, Mike moved fast. His fist snaked out and caught Jimmy on the chin, and Amy screamed as she heard the crack of bone on bone. Jimmy’s head was jolted to one side. He recovered himself and looked at Mike in naked fury for a moment before swinging his arm to connect with his opponent’s jaw. Before Mike had recovered from the blow Jimmy followed it with another, then a third which saw Mike sink almost gracefully to the floor.

There was a yell of rage from the other Feenans, and they converged on Jimmy hot for vengeance. He faced the three of them with his fists up looking almost eager. Amy thrilled at his courage while at the same time she trembled with fear, but before the adversaries got within a few feet every other man in the room (even Charlie abandoned his mug of beer for the moment) had gathered round Jimmy.

Even in their drunken state the Feenan boys could see that three against ten was not a sensible proposition. They backed off, muttering darkly.

‘Get out of here,’ Matt ordered. ‘Don’t come back, either, if you value those lousy hides of yours.’

‘What about Mike?’ one of them demanded.

Bob Forster brought a jug of lemonade from the table and emptied it over Mike Feenan’s head. Mike coughed and sputtered, then rose to his feet even more unsteadily than before. One of his companions walked over to him and Mike leaned heavily on his shoulder.

‘Go, on, get out,’ Matt said, giving the nearest youth a rough shove to punctuate his words. The Feenans stomped out of the room, casting black looks over their shoulders.

‘We’ll see them on their way,’ Bob said. He and Matt, with several of the other men, walked out after the trouble-makers.

Amy saw a small trail of blood forming at the corner of Jimmy’s mouth. ‘Oh, you’re hurt.’ She brushed his mouth with her fingers.

‘You should see the other fellow,’ Jimmy said with a wry grin. ‘That’s one thing they teach you at a good grammar school, anyway—how to fight.’ He wriggled his lower jaw experimentally, and Amy saw him wince. ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing much—it’s my own fault, I should have seen that punch coming. I thought he was too drunk to move that fast. What about you? Are you all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine. I was frightened for you, that’s all.’

‘You look pale. Come on, let’s sit down.’ He led her over to one of the benches and Amy sank onto it. She realised she was shivering despite the warmth of the room.

‘You got a bad shock, didn’t you? You sit there quietly, I’ll get you a cool drink.’ Jimmy brought her a glass of lemonade, and she drank it gratefully. Her hand shook as she held the glass.

Jimmy looked at her in concern. ‘You really are very pale. I think I’d better take you home.’

‘No! I’ll be all right, and I don’t want to spoil your evening.’

‘Well, I’m not sure I feel much like dancing any more tonight—this would slow me down a bit, anyway.’ He showed her his right hand, and Amy saw that the knuckles were grazed. ‘I did that on his bony jaw. It was worth it, though.’ He gave a grim smile, then rose to his feet. ‘Come on, no arguing. I’m taking you home.’

‘All right. I do feel a little bit sick.’

*

Lizzie watched Amy and Jimmy walk towards the door. ‘What’s he doing with her?’ she murmured to Frank.

‘Taking her outside for a talk, maybe,’ Frank replied with a grin, but Lizzie frowned in thought.

As Amy was putting on her boots in the porch, John came back with the other men who had seen off the Feenans. ‘John, I’m taking Amy home, she’s a bit upset after all that,’ Jimmy said, lifting Amy’s cloak from its hook as he spoke.

‘Good idea,’ said John. He walked with them as far as the school gate.

When Lizzie saw John going out through the porch with Amy and Jimmy she relaxed. ‘It’s all right, John must be going home with them. Amy got a fright from that trouble.’ She allowed herself to forget about Amy and Jimmy, and instead concentrated on Frank. ‘I hope you can come around to my place again sometime soon.’

‘So do I. I like it at your place, it’s a real family. Ben gives me a hard time over it, though. I keep telling him it’s nothing to do with you… I might have to stop saying that now.’ He smiled.

‘Take no notice of him.’

‘Well, he is my brother, Lizzie.’

‘No reason to let him boss you around.’ Lizzie glanced across the room, and it took her a moment to register the significance of John’s presence at the beer barrel. Then she rushed over to him. ‘John, where’s Amy? I thought you were with her.’

‘Jimmy’s taken her home.’

‘By themselves?’

‘Yes—what’s wrong with that?’

Lizzie was quiet for a moment. ‘Nothing… I hope.’

*

Amy walked along the road at Jimmy’s side, savouring the night’s coolness after the noise and heat of the schoolroom. The moon had risen, giving them enough light to see their way clearly. The silence was broken only by their footsteps and the occasional mournful hooting of a morepork.

‘It’s so quiet here,’ Jimmy said. ‘It never seems to get really quiet in town. Even in the middle of the night there’re always a few people rushing about.’

‘It’s a beautiful night.’

‘And a beautiful girl beside me.’ Jimmy glanced over his shoulder to check that they were out of sight of the school, then put his arm around Amy’s waist. ‘Your dress is lovely—it’s the first time I’ve seen you in anything that does you justice.’

She snuggled against him. ‘I had such a nice time tonight until all that trouble. I didn’t want it to end.’

‘Neither did I.’ He bent and placed a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Let’s make it last a bit longer.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We don’t need to go straight home, do we? Let’s have a bit more time together first. You’re always so busy in the daytime, I hardly get a chance to see you.’

Amy hesitated for a moment. ‘I suppose it would be all right, as long as we don’t stay too long. There’s a nice place up the road a bit, I’ll show you.’

Just before the track that turned off to Amy’s house, she led Jimmy away from the road into a small patch of bush. ‘They haven’t cleared this yet, even though it’s quite flat, but there’s an open bit just through here.’

They walked a little further until they came into a small clearing. Some large puriri had been chopped down there, and the second growth had not yet taken over, so that among the ferns there were patches of grass. The bush surrounded them on all sides, and the silence of the night seemed even deeper here.

‘Mmm, this is nice,’ Jimmy said. ‘Put those down for a minute.’ Amy placed her dancing shoes carefully on the ground. Jimmy held out his arms; she nestled into them and tilted her face up for a kiss. He kissed her very gently, then harder, but just as she was starting to enjoy herself he pulled away from her.

‘Ow, that hurts a bit,’ Jimmy said, touching his mouth gingerly. ‘I would’ve hit that ass harder if I’d known he was going to spoil my time alone with you.’

‘You poor thing,’ said Amy. ‘You were so brave, the way you faced them all. I was really frightened for you.’

‘When I saw him touch you I was so angry I almost wanted to kill him. Amy, I can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching you.’ He kissed her again, more carefully this time, but then to Amy’s surprise he turned away and began pacing around the clearing.

‘You’re being fidgety again, like you are when you’re stuck inside,’ she scolded gently. ‘What have you got to be restless about now?’

Jimmy looked startled. ‘Am I? Yes, I suppose I am. I get like this when I’m trying to make up my mind to do something, too. Amy, what happened tonight with that fellow—it made me think about how I’d feel if I lost you.’

‘You won’t lose me,’ Amy said. ‘I love you.’

He crossed to her and took her in his arms. ‘Let’s do something about it. I want you to belong to me.’

‘What do you mean?’

He was still restless. He pulled away and paced back and forth for a few more moments, then stopped and turned to face her. ‘Amy, let’s… no, I want to do this properly.’ He put his arms around her waist and picked her up, making Amy squeal in surprise, then he sat her on a large stump.

‘What are you doing?’ she said through her giggles.

Jimmy went down on one knee and took her hand between both of his. ‘Miss Leith,’ he said very solemnly, ‘will you do me the honour of giving me your hand in marriage?’

For a moment Amy’s heart was too full for her to make a sound. Jimmy looked at her with apprehension growing in his eyes. ‘Amy, please don’t turn me down. Please say yes.’

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ Amy said, half-laughing in delight while at the same time she felt tears of happiness fill her eyes.

‘Thank you!’ He snatched her up from the stump and kissed her again. This time his sore mouth did not seem to trouble him. ‘Oh, Amy, I love you so much.’ He planted kisses all over her face, finally coming back to her mouth. ‘Let’s sit down,’ he murmured. ‘We’ve got a few minutes.’

‘All right.’ Amy slipped off her cloak and spread it out for them both. She sat down beside Jimmy in a rustle of silk, and snuggled against his side.

Jimmy gently pushed her back to lie on the cloak with her arms around his neck. He stroked her shoulder, then slid his hand down to the space between her breasts till he found the hard lump of her brooch. ‘I’ve found my present,’ he said, smiling.

‘I told you I’d wear it every day.’

‘Now I know you were telling me the truth. You’ll be able to wear it on the outside soon, when we’ve announced our engagement.’ His hand slipped across to fondle her breasts. This time Amy did not struggle. He’s asked me to marry him. It must be all right now, just a little touch like this.

‘You are so beautiful, and you’re going to belong to me.’ Jimmy gave a moan as he lowered his mouth to hers. His embraces became more urgent, and Amy felt herself responding, pushing her own body against his. His hand stroked her leg softly over and over through the silk, then he seemed to be fiddling with something on his trousers. Amy raised her head to look, but he pushed her down with another kiss.

The night air was suddenly cooler against her legs. When she glanced at her dress, she saw that it had somehow ridden up as Jimmy stroked her. She tried to reach down to straighten it, but his chest was pressed too closely against hers for her to slip her hand between them.

Then suddenly he had his leg between hers, then both legs. ‘What are you doing?’ she said in alarm. He silenced her with a kiss. She tried to twist her face away, but his mouth had hers firmly captured. ‘Please stop it.’ But her words were muffled by his mouth, so all that came out was an unintelligible mumble. His hand was pushing the two sides of her drawers apart. Then she felt a sharp, tearing pain, and she knew it was too late to struggle.