Homecoming

Grace was hanging a row of Alice's nappies on the line in the late afternoon sun when she heard men's voices coming from the track leading to the house. Tom must have returned from his journey, she thought.

Grace knew she should have been pleased her master was back to take care of things, but instead she felt an anxious knot in her stomach. She wondered what Tom would do when he discovered she had ridden his precious mare all the way along the East Trail and left the horse with a deep cut down her side. Grace wished she never had to face him.

Reluctantly, she picked up the empty washing basket and walked back into the house to tell her mistress that her husband was home. She knew Beth would be glad to see Tom - it had been very frightening for her to have a baby with her husband working so far away. But Grace was happiest when she was just with Beth and baby Alice.

When Grace reached the front of the hut, she found Tom and his friend and neighbour, Jerry, tethering the horse and wagon to the railing, and unloading their gear.

'Master Tom,' she said, bowing her head and keeping her eyes to the ground.

'Hello, Grace,' he answered. 'How is my wife? Is she well?' Without waiting for an answer, he rushed inside.

'How did you fare with the boss away?' Jerry asked, his eyes friendly and warm.

'Good, sir,' Grace answered. 'My mistress had a baby.'

'A baby? You have been busy, Grace!' Jerry smiled.

Tom raced back out of the house, his face flushed pink. 'I'm a father, Jerry! A father!'

'So I hear.' Jerry grinned at his friend, who was already on his way back inside. Jerry shook his head. 'He looks as happy as the day he brought home that blasted mare from the saleyards.' Jerry walked stiffly towards the front door. 'I hope you have some tea on for us, Grace. That was one very long week.'

I wish my master was as friendly as Jerry, thought Grace, as she followed him into the hut.

Tom was kneeling by his wife where she lay on Grace's bed on the hearth. The fire gave Beth comfort on the cooler nights, so Grace had slept in Beth's bed on the other side of the sack partition. Alice gurgled contentedly in Tom's arms. Tom and Beth were smiling at each other through joyful tears.

Grace thought she had never seen Beth look prettier, her eyes as bright and blue as the favourite ribbon she wore in her hair. It was as if having a baby had been good for her.

Tom looked up proudly. 'Jerry, this is Alice.' He held the baby out to his friend.

'Well done, laddy. What a beauty!' Jerry rubbed his backside. 'Any chance of a cup of tea around here? If I don't wet my whistle this minute, I'm likely to fall down dead and then how will I be able to give your lovely wee girl a cuddle?'

'Grace, would you put the kettle on for our hard-working men? Anyone would think they'd just had a baby the way they carry on!' Beth winked at her. Grace wished she felt as playful and happy as everyone else in the room but she could hardly manage a smile.

Kind Beth must have noticed. 'Tom,' she said, 'did you know that if it weren't for our Grace you might have come home to a very different picture?' She sat up in her bed and smiled at Grace. 'When the baby started to come, we didn't know what to do, did we, Grace? I didn't want to do anything but pretend it wasn't happening until you got home. But Grace found help.'

'Help?' Tom frowned.

'She remembered our new neighbours, Tom - the Clays. Grace fetched Liza, the wife. Turns out Grace knows her! And her daughter - Hannah. They came out on the very same ship together from England. Who would've thought it? It was Liza who brought Alice safely into the world, God bless her.' Beth took her husband's hand. 'As soon as you can arrange it I want you to take Grace to visit them to thank her. Will you do that, Tom?'

'Yes, I'm sure that can be managed,' said Tom. 'But how did Grace get all the way to the Clays' property? It's a fair distance along the East Trail. She must have walked the whole day . . .' Tom looked at Grace, his eyebrows raised.

Grace turned away from him to put the kettle on the stove. The cups clattered together noisily as she took them down from the shelf.

Beth sat up higher in her bed. 'She took Glory, Tom. And Glory did you proud. She carried Grace all the way there and back.'

In the long pause that followed Grace finished preparing the tea and stood back against the wall of the hut. The room felt very hot. Sweat dripped down the backs of her legs. Tom turned slowly to look at her. Ever since she had arrived at Wattle Park, Tom had treated her with suspicion. He had never trusted her around his precious horse, as if she might do something to deliberately hurt her.

The way Tom was looking at her now made Grace feel ashamed, even though she knew she had never meant any harm or intended to do wrong. If she hadn't ridden Glory to find help, Beth and Alice may not have survived - didn't Tom know that?

Grace worried that if things didn't improve between them, Tom might send her back to the Factory Above the Gaol, where she'd had to work when she first arrived. While she was there, she'd heard about convict-servants who had so disappointed their new masters that they'd been returned in exchange for better workers. Grace swallowed, her throat dry. She would rather die than be taken back to the Factory - so far away from Liza and Hannah, her best friend, who Grace knew now were living nearby, and from Beth and Alice - back where it was violent and dangerous. She felt her face grow hot under Tom's stare.

Beth placed her hand firmly on her husband's arm. 'Aren't you going to thank Grace, Tom, for making sure our baby was born safe, and that I was taken care of while you were away?'

The room was silent. Grace wished the wall would pull her straight through it and put her safely on the other side beside Jerry's tethered horse and wagon. How tempted she would be to ride away!

'Thank you, Grace,' Tom muttered.

But Grace knew Tom would regret thanking her when he saw what had happened to his horse. How could he possibly want to keep her at Wattle Park once he saw Glory's wound?

'I think this calls for a celebration stronger than tea!' Jerry's warm voice filled the room, and Grace was grateful he was there. 'It's not every day a baby as beautiful as Alice is born in Rose Hill!'

'I believe you're right, Jerry.' Beth smiled back. 'Maybe I'll even have a drop myself.'

Alice began to cry in Tom's arms. He rocked her and stroked her cheek, but she only cried louder.

'Tom, give her to Grace, she knows how to stop the tears,' said Beth. 'A proper little nurse, she is. And take down the nice glasses from the top shelf - the ones with only half as many chips.' She smiled. 'Today is a day to be remembered. Father and baby meet for the first time!'

Tom passed the baby to Grace and immediately Alice was quiet again, holding onto Grace's finger. Grace had never looked after a baby before but little Alice didn't seem to mind. If ever Alice was upset and crying, Beth would pass her to Grace and she would settle, as if she trusted Grace and liked to be in her arms.

Tom took down the glasses and Jerry poured a shot of whiskey into each. Grace gave Alice back to her mother and busied herself stoking the fire.

'To Alice!' said Jerry, raising his glass high in the air.

'To Alice!' said Beth and Tom, arms around each other, their daughter in between.

Grace stood back against the wall, wishing for Liza and Hannah. Finding them again so close by had been like a wonderful dream. But now it made her long for them even more. She could hardly wait to see them again. I don't know if I will ever truly belong here, she thought, her heart aching, especially now that Tom is back. This is his home - not mine.

At dusk, Grace went out to milk Moll the cow and give her a bucket of corn for her dinner. The weather was growing warmer as spring drew to a close. The air buzzed with the evening insects - she could smell sweet flowers and the minty trees she had grown so used to. She breathed in deeply.

As Grace was carrying the bucket of milk back to the house, she saw Tom over at the fence with Glory. Beth must have told him what had happened while I was riding her, Grace thought. Tom was stroking Glory's neck and looking into her eyes. Grace saw him move across to examine her damaged side and she held her breath. Grace had checked on Glory only an hour or so before Tom had returned, and the cut had looked as if it was getting worse. The blood had dried but the lips of the wound were swollen and leaking a watery fluid.

Tom must have sensed she was there, and he turned to look at her. Grace saw anger and mistrust in the shadows across his face. She carried the milk back into the hut so quickly that it sloshed over the sides, spilling onto her shoes.

Jerry spent that night at the hut, and Grace was glad. His noisy talk warmed the house as he told Beth about their time away clearing the land. Alice liked him too, sleeping peacefully in his arms even as he laughed loudly when Tom teased him about his snoring by the campfire.

Grace slept back in her bed in the kitchen that night, and Beth moved Alice's cot behind the hessian partition to be close to her and Tom.

As Grace was putting out the lamp, Beth came and sat on the edge of her bed. Grace could see her mistress's face in the soft light that came from the fading embers in the fireplace. It was full of concern.

'Grace,' she whispered, 'you looked so worried over dinner tonight. Remember what I told you about Tom? Just give him time. I warned you how bloomin' silly he is about that horse. You and I both know you did the right thing - even though Glory was hurt. It wasn't your fault, Grace.'

Grace felt a lump in her throat.

'Grace, are you all right?' Beth put her hand gently on Grace's arm.

'Yes,' Grace managed to answer. She watched as Beth pulled at the blue ribbon in her hair, so that her long dark locks fell loose around her shoulders.

'I wanted to give you something,' Beth said. 'To thank you for all you have done for me and Alice.' She pressed the ribbon into Grace's palm. 'And I wanted to tell you that Tom has promised to take you in the wagon to visit your friends very soon.' Beth leaned close enough for Grace to smell the scent of Alice mixed with the sweet lavender she liked to use, and kissed Grace on the cheek. 'Sleep well, dear Grace,' she said, before standing and leaving Grace's bedside.

Grace knew how few pretty things Beth owned, and the way she treasured the ones she did. 'Thank you, Beth,' she whispered into the darkness.