East of Alice by Annie Seaton

Author:Annie Seaton [Seaton, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2022-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

25

Ruby Gap

1892

When Tom Pearson knocked at the door of the Woodford homestead just before sunset, Rose was sitting on the sofa, cradling her two boys. It was a while before she could summon the energy to answer.

‘We’re in here, Tom.’ Her throat was ragged from crying and she could barely get the words out.

‘I have to talk to you, Rose.’ Tom walked over to her and his eyes widened as he looked at the two small boys in her arms. Bennett had cried himself to sleep and his warm little body was pressed hard against hers. Rufus was cold and stiff in her arms.

Tom broke down, his face stricken. ‘Oh, lass. Oh, sweet Lord, no.’

Rose’s shoulders were aching and her fingers were numb, and she moaned as Rufus slipped from her arms into Tom’s. She didn’t have the strength to hold him any longer.

She buried her face in Bennett’s hair, but there were no more tears. Rose felt nothing. The grief had leached her of emotion, and she found it hard to listen to Tom when he spoke.

‘What happened, Rose?’ His voice came from a long way away and as she tried to respond, Bennett stirred in her arms.

Her son climbed down from her lap, and Rose bent double as a tremendous ache ripped through her.

‘A snake bited Rufie, and Mumma hit it with the shovel. Mumma said he’s gone to sleep forever.’

*

Tom took them back to the Pearsons’ small house, and Betty tended to Bennett until they buried Rufus on the hill near the Woodford homestead two days later. That was how long it took Tom to fashion a small coffin. Betty washed Rufus and dressed him, and placed wildflowers around the edge of the coffin. Rose sat on the chair in their kitchen for two days and didn’t sleep.

She shed no tears, and held herself straight as Tom filled in the grave. She looked up at the clear blue sky where an eagle wheeled above. The chatter of the birds and the sound of the winter wind provided a backdrop to Tom’s prayers.

They all kneeled as he prayed. ‘Father of all, we pray to you for Rufus Woodford. Grant to him eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.’

As Tom’s voice broke, Rose stared at the sky. ‘I want William to come home and take us from this place.’

Tom and Betty looked at each other, and Betty gripped her husband’s hand.

*

A week after Rufus was buried, Rose stood at the door of their homestead. She was torn, but had not been able to talk to Betty about it. Leaving Rufus here alone in his grave was heart-wrenching, but she could not face the danger of losing another child to this wilderness. Paddy’s Rockhole Hotel at Arltunga took in boarders—several of the wives and children of the prospectors stayed there. Rose had decided to go there and await William’s return.

As she turned to pack the last of

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