Inheritance (5 page)

‘Now, where shall we go?’ His lips twitched into a roguish grin, as if he knew he had won her round.

‘I don’t…Oh!’ Cassie laughed and her body relaxed. Why not? Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. Perhaps it would be fun to ride with him. ‘Oh, all right, I’m going to ride down by the river. At least it should be green along the bank.’

‘Great. Let’s go.’

Cassie felt her spirits lift as they cantered across the dry paddock, the sun hot on their backs. They pulled up in the shade of a large, spreading lillipilli tree a few metres back from the river.

‘Oh, it’s so good to be up here again.’ She patted the mare’s neck, which turned her head and whinnied. ‘And Tango’s pleased to see me again, aren’t you, old girl?’

‘I imagine everyone up here’s pleased to see you,’ Mark said, glancing across at her as they walked the horses along under the trees. ‘Rosie was certainly excited about you coming. You two seem close.’

Cassie nodded. ‘Oh, yes, we’ve known each other pretty well all our lives. Almost like sisters.’

‘You don’t have a sister?’

‘No, I’m an only child.’

‘Your father was Len’s brother I understand, but he didn’t live up here?’

‘No, he left here when he was young. He preferred the city.’

‘And you? Which do you prefer?’

Cassie gazed across the river, glittering silver in the sun, as she thought about it. ‘I’m not quite sure. I’ve always loved coming here. It’s been my second home but, well,’ she shrugged, ‘I enjoy life in Sydney, too. I never thought I’d have to choose. I suppose I thought things would always go on the same.’ Sadness tinged her voice. ‘As they should have, for many years yet.’

‘Yes, we never know what’s around the corner.’ A shadow crossed Mark’s face and he fell silent for a moment. Then he turned to her with an enquiring look. ‘And is there someone special in Sydney? A boyfriend, perhaps, who wants you back there?’

Cassie shook her head. ‘No, I’ve lots of friends, but no one special.’

Mark raised his eyebrows. ‘Really? I’m surprised. You’re beautiful, intelligent. I would have thought you’d be paired off with someone by now. Sydney boys aren’t usually backward.’

‘You don’t need to flatter me.’ Cassie frowned, grimacing. ‘I just haven’t met the right person, I guess. And you?’

‘Divorced.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be.’

His abrupt reply told Cassie the time had come to change the subject. ‘And you haven’t always lived up here, either. Where are you from?’

‘I’m from Sydney, too. I still go down often. I have some business interests down there.’

‘Who looks after those while you’re up here?’

‘My brother. We run things together.’

‘I envy you having a brother.’ Cassie sighed. ‘What type of business are you in?’

‘Construction.’

‘I see. And is this the first country property you’ve had?’

‘Yes.’

‘Quite a change. What made you decide on that?’

‘Just that, I guess. I wanted a change.’

They reined in their horses as they reached the start of the rainforest. Trees and vines grew thick to the water’s edge and the track veered sharply to the right to skirt the dense growth.

Mark’s face lit up as he surveyed the thick tangle of tropical greenery ahead of them, extending back from the river as far as they could see. ‘Wonderful. I’d love to have rainforest like this on Binbin.’

Cassie felt surprised at his enthusiasm, expecting him to be more concerned with the number of cattle he could run, rather than the beauty of the country. ‘I love it, but you can’t use it for cattle, you know.’

‘I know, but there are other uses.’

‘Such as?’

Without answering, Mark pulled his horse around, flicked the reins and urged it forward along the track. He called back to Cassie over his shoulder. ‘Come on. I’ll race you to the bottom of the hill.’

Cassie set off immediately in pursuit. Tango seemed to fly over the ground, but Mark pulled up a little ahead of her. Short of breath but laughing, she reined in alongside him.

‘You see, I knew I could beat you,’ he teased.

‘You had a head start,’ she replied, catching her breath. ‘And besides, I haven’t ridden for nearly a year. But that was fun, anyway.’

‘Great fun. You’re a good horsewoman. I have the feeling you’re good at most things you do.’ He smiled down at her. ‘You should laugh more often. It suits you.’

Cassie sobered, remembering her earlier worries. Her voice lost its gaiety. ‘Not so much to laugh about just at the moment.’

Mark looked concerned. ‘Anything you’d like to talk about?’

His sympathetic voice encouraged her to confide in him, forgetting her earlier dislike. ‘Oh, it’s just, well, the drought really, I suppose.’ His solicitude made her relax her normal reticence. ‘Financially, it’s been a bad year. Of course, I know everyone’s suffering, not just us, but…’ Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, ‘That doesn’t make it feel any better.’

She looked down at her hands, tight about the reins now. ‘It makes me feel so…so inadequate. How am I going to pull us out of this? I wonder if I’m really capable of running things.’

Mark leant over and lifted her chin with a finger. When she raised her eyes, she saw compassion in his face, his eyes warm and gentle.

‘Cassie, you mustn’t take it so personally. Hard times hit every property at times. And a drought really is hard, you know. We’re all feeling it. Besides, you haven’t been personally running things, you haven’t been here.’

‘That’s just it.’ Her voice faltered, then she expressed the guilt that had been niggling at her. ‘Maybe I should’ve been here, instead of down in Sydney.’

Mark shook his head. ‘It wouldn’t have changed the drought. And you’d have had to leave your mother without help. I don’t think you’d have done that.’

Cassie took a deep breath while she considered his words, and then spoke again in a calmer voice. ‘You’re right, of course. You must think I’m a fool.’

‘No, just upset. And, conscious of your responsibilities.’

Encouraged by his understanding, she voiced the main reason for her worry. ‘I suppose, really, it’s the thought of having a mortgage on Yallandoo that worries me so much.’

‘You mustn’t let that upset you, Cassie. Most properties have a mortgage on them. I have one on Binbin. It makes sense to borrow money to free up your capital, or to tide you over a rough patch, like this. That’s why banks are in business. There’s nothing wrong with that.’

‘When you put it like that, I can see it’s not quite so bad. After all, my mother borrowed money when she started her business, and paid it back when she could.’ Cassie relaxed her tight grip on the reins and sat erect again. She smiled. ‘Thank you, you’ve made me feel much better.’

‘Good.’ He raised his hand and his fingers stroked the side of her face, slowly, gently. ‘Don’t worry so much, Cassie. Life has a habit of working out.’

The touch of his fingers made her cheek tingle and sent a quiver through her body. Cassie put her hand to her cheek briefly as her heart leapt. Startled at her reaction, she took a deep breath and forced her mind back to their conversation.

‘I…I know we’ll pull through this.’ She swallowed. ‘But I worry about the future. There’ll be other droughts. If only there’s something else we could do that didn’t rely so much on the weather. I’ve been trying to think of some way to diversify, but…I’m not sure…’

Mark looked surprised as he sat back and regarded her.

‘That’s a very forward thinking approach.’ He paused, seeming to turn it over in his mind. ‘I must say I agree with you, I have the same thoughts myself. Perhaps we can talk about it sometime. But now,’ he became cheerful again, ‘if you feel up to it, perhaps you could show me some more of Yallandoo.’

‘Of course,’ Cassie smiled. ‘Do you want to go into the rainforest? There’s a track a bit further up.’

‘Yes, I’d like that very much.’

They urged their horses forward and soon turned onto a narrow path that led them into a cool, dim world. Trees arched above them, forming the roof of a green cathedral, their leafy limbs lifted in homage to the sky. With just room for two people to ride side by side, they let the horses pick their way along the track, avoiding the rocks and gnarled roots that poked out of the ground, and stepping with sure feet over fallen tree trunks.

Even in here, signs of the dry weather were visible in the brown, curling edges to the less hardy plants. A few small green shoots pushed their way bravely through the leaf litter on the forest floor, but mostly the undergrowth was parched. Every living thing waited for the rain.

Creek beds with stony bottoms, some dry now, meandered alongside the path. Many trees, some with large buttresses at their bases, were clothed in green lichens. Bird’s nest ferns clung to trunks or high branches. Vines hung everywhere and ferns grew in profusion. Light filtered through the canopy high above. The midday stillness was disturbed only by the rustle of the dry leaf litter underfoot and the occasional fluting call of a bowerbird.

‘It’s so dry now,’ Cassie told Mark. ‘Normally this would all be damp and those little creeks would have water running through them. And there’d be heaps of those little ferns and things growing through the leaf litter.’

‘I think it’s still wonderful.’

‘I’ve always loved it, but it’s at its best in the wet.’

They were deep in the forest when suddenly, without warning, a snake slithered out from beneath a log lying by the path as Tango passed. It raised its head and hissed before darting into the surrounding bushes. Cassie’s horse reared. Mark’s horse pranced, tossed its head and snorted, then stood its ground.

‘Whoa, steady girl, steady.’ Mark grabbed the bridle of the plunging horse. Cassie lost her balance in the sudden lunge. Struggling to retain her seat, she slid sideways and would have fallen had Mark not moved closer and slipped his arm around her to hold her as Tango slowly settled.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked anxiously.

‘Yes. I’m all right,’ Cassie replied, her breath coming in gasps as her heart raced with shock. She looked up at him and saw a protective concern in his eyes.

He was disconcertingly close as his arm remained tightly around her. ‘Are you sure? You’ve had a bad fright.’ His breath lightly touched her face as his eyes searched hers.

‘I…I think so.’ Her heart thudded even more as he encircled her with both arms and she felt the strength and warmth of his body against her. She dropped her eyes, afraid they might reveal her inner turmoil.

Mark sat quite still holding her for some minutes, waiting until her breathing returned to normal before relinquishing his hold. ‘Do you want to go back?’

‘No. I’m just a bit shaky. I’ll be fine. We’ll go on in a minute.’

‘If you’re sure you want to?’

‘Yes, I’m all right.’

Cassie stroked Tango’s neck and spoke in a soothing voice to the still trembling horse. ‘It’s all right now, Tango. It’s gone now. Settle down. There, now.’ Tango calmed at her words. She turned back to Mark. ‘There’s a creek further on that should still be running. We’ll go as far as that.’

Mark remained very close as they went on their way at a slow pace, watching for any signs of wildlife. But there were no more upsets.

Finally he broke the silence. ‘So does this rainforest go right up the side of the mountain?’

‘Yes, it does.’

‘Is it thick like this all the way?’

‘No. Three quarters of the way up there are granite outcrops and the trees thin out. There are two or three small caves up there. We used to go up to them a lot when we were children.’ Cassie’s voice became animated as she described the places she loved. ‘Up higher again, a spring comes up and becomes a creek. It runs down between the rocks and the boulders. There’s a rock pool where you can swim. It’s an amazing place but you have to be a bit careful. The boulders can be very slippery and the water’s deep after rain. It rushes down; it’s quite treacherous. There’s the danger of flash floods, too. There’s an aboriginal legend that tells about the water spirits taking those who are careless.’

‘I think I’ve heard something about that. It sounds fascinating. Do you think I could see it sometime?’

‘Of course. I’ll take you up one day, if you like.’

‘I’d like it very much.’

‘The creek’s not far now. I hope it’s still running. The wildlife relies on it.’

Soon a faint sound of water reached them, and shortly after, they arrived at the creek. They reined in the horses on the bank and sat looking down at the clear water moving slowly below them. Ferns grew in abundance along the edges and grass sprouted along the banks.

‘Well, at least it still has plenty of water,’ Cassie said with relief.

‘Yes, plenty. It’s a wide creek, you have a great supply of water on Yallandoo.’

‘Yes, we’re very fortunate. This goes down and empties into the river, so we don’t really use it. Of course, it helps the river and we use that.’

They sat watching for a few moments.

‘Time to go back, I think,’ Cassie said, and they turned their horses and started back along the track.

They rode in silence, enjoying the stillness and then, emerging from the rainforest, they halted and Mark spoke, as if he had been pondering something.

‘What are the caves like?’

‘Not very large. But one of them has aboriginal drawings on the walls.’

Mark turned to her. ‘You know, Cassie, you have something special here. The rainforest and the caves. You could develop it. People would pay to come and see all this.’

Cassie shook her head. ‘What, have day trippers all over the place? Buses bringing their hordes in? I don’t think I could stand that.’ Even as she spoke she remembered her own earlier thoughts about tourism. But she hadn’t been thinking about busloads of people.

‘Perhaps it needn’t be like that.’ Mark leant and stroked his horse’s neck. ‘It was just a thought, anyway. Thinking about diversifying. Probably not a good idea. Forget about it.’ He straightened. ‘Now, on a different subject. One of the reasons I came to see you today was to invite you and Rosie to a pool party on Sunday. I’m christening the new pool and I have a few people coming. Will you join us?’