Minnie was quiet and said little when Olivia relayed the news of Niah's death at sea.

'I worry about little Maya, out there. She hasn't lead that sort of life. Will she be all right?' Olivia asked.

'She learn quick. They look after her.'

'Will they bring her back, Minnie? Tyndall is her father after all.'

'She know her story when she bigger. Maya decide that.'

'It doesn't seem fair. But at least she is with family. I imagine the poor little thing is missing her mother though.'

'Niah my family too.'

Seeing Minnie's sad face, Olivia spoke gently, 'Don't blame yourself, Minnie. You did what you thought best for them both.' Then it dawned on her that Maya must be remotely related to Minnie too. The complex family connections of Aborigines were confusing, but maybe it meant that there would be some hope that Maya would be returned to Tyndall one day.

Eventually a steamer arrived with mail that included a letter from Monsieur Barat. It elaborated on a cryptic cable which had arrived months earlier, indicating that a satisfactory sale had been achieved.

The 'Star of the Sea' pearl cl.u.s.ter had been sold for a record price to an Indian prince. The flamboyant prince, well known in London society, had no objection to publicity and the purchase had been written up in the London newspapers. Accompanying photographs showed the lavishly dressed prince, music hall chanteuse and actress on either arm; the pearls still on the sh.e.l.l which the prince was sending to Tiffany's to be made into a brooch; and, supplied by Monsieur Barat, a photograph of Captain John Tyndall, 'the dashing pearling master of Broome, Australia' who made the fabulous find.

Having discussed what to do with this sudden wealth, Olivia and Tyndall chose to plough the bulk of the money into the business, but Olivia decided to put some aside to buy a house in Fremantle as an investment. Tyndall announced he was going to build a new house on a hill overlooking the sea, not far from the foresh.o.r.e camp.

Some weeks later when he unrolled the blueprint on Olivia's verandah, she was flabbergasted.

'It's a bit of a palace, isn't it, John. I mean, it's so large and the garden rambles everywhere, though I love the terraces. It will have a great view to the bay from the front verandah.'

'You can watch for the fleet coming in,' he said shyly.

'From your house?' She gave him a puzzled look.

'Well, yes, Olivia, I was rather thinking it would be your house, too.'

Her heart did a flip-flop and she caught her breath, then gave a teasing smile. 'Are you asking me to formalise our relationship?'

'Formalise our relationship?' he repeated in astonishment, missing the humour in her voice. 'I'm asking you to marry me.' His tone made it more of an explanation than a question. 'I've always loved you, Olivia. Since the moment I first saw you on the beach. I never thought there would be a chance for me, and I was content to be close to you. I loved working beside you and thought you were an extraordinary woman. But these past months, since we have come together ... I can't bear having to hide my feelings and not being able to be with you, all the time, has made me realise ... '

Olivia started to tremble. She had never admitted to herself that there had been some fateful pull between them since they'd first met. She had fought her feelings, fought against the sheer physical attraction of the man, determined not to be conquered by him. For as she'd always known, once she let herself go, and fell into his arms, she would be bound to him for ever. She'd never known such s.e.xual pa.s.sion, such a deep sense of knowing they belonged together.

Since they'd become lovers she had dared not think past every moment they'd shared.

'Olivia ... say something.' He reached for her hand and felt her trembling.

She put her fingers to his lips. 'It's all right. Everything is all right. I love you, too. Yes, John Tyndall, I will marry you.'

He swept her into his arms and kissed her fervently, his mouth lingering on hers.

Later, holding hands, they broke the news to Minnie.

Minnie beamed and nodded sagely. 'Thought so.'

Olivia told Hamish when they were alone together after dinner that night. He was immediately delighted and relieved. Since his father's death he had felt insecure and worried about the future. The burden of responsibility for his mother quickly slipped from his young shoulders.

Tyndall was against a formal announcement and they simply told friends and acquaintances about their plans as they saw them. However word spread quickly around the community. The news did not surprise anyone. Most people considered it a logical and convenient arrangement. But few realised the depth of pa.s.sion and emotion between them. For both what had gone before was special and not to be demeaned or dismissed; but this connection between them, this physical and emotional bonding became their life blood. They gave each other's life new meaning and fulfilment. They were almost afraid to show the world how joyous they felt.

Plans for the house were eventually finalised and building began. Tyndall and Olivia would start and end each day by walking hand in hand about the site, visualising the rooms and what would be in them.

The wedding date was set for several months ahead-a simple affair in the small wooden church to be followed by a reception in the garden of the Continental Hotel. They'd tried to keep it simple but the town had taken the event to its heart and everyone wanted to be involved, help or just attend.

'It's probably going to be the most egalitarian and mixed party they've seen here for a bit,' laughed Tyndall. 'The RM and Mrs Hooten rubbing shoulders with our crews and everyone we do business with!'

Indeed, it rankled a little with some of Broome's white society when Tyndall and Olivia made known their plans to include all races and cla.s.ses of their friends. Ahmed was to be best man, Hamish would proceed his mother down the aisle and Mabel Metta would be matron of honour. Minnie was given her own invitation and had bought bright new hats for herself and her daughter Mollie especially for the occasion.

The day before the wedding, the steamer from Fremantle arrived on the afternoon tide. Tyndall and Olivia planned to sail on it after the wedding reception for a honeymoon in Perth.

There was the usual flurry of activity and socialising when the steamer docked. But one of the pa.s.sengers elicited more interest than most. She was an attractive woman, although some ladies might be inclined to regard her as a little bit 'loud' in manner and dress. A white linen ensemble showed off her curvaceous figure and trim ankles, and under close scrutiny her hair appeared unnaturally fair, her lips artificially red. She stood on the wharf, her blue eyes sweeping over likely candidates to a.s.sist her. Holding her hat and a parasol, she had a cabin boy fetch a porter. An enterprising Indian boy, a relative of the Mettas, was first to hoist her bags.

'There are still trunks to come, I do hope there is some conveyance at hand.'

'Oh yes, mem, many sulkies and carriage to take you to hotel. No trouble at all.'

'Oh, I'm not going to a hotel. I'm going to my husband's house.'

'Very good, mem.' He hastened ahead and put the first of her bags in a sulky and helped her settle herself.

She snapped open her parasol. 'I'm very hot. Could you get the rest of my luggage later?'

The boy hesitated and the driver shrugged. 'Very good, mem. Where you stay?'

'With Captain John Tyndall. The pearling master. I am his wife-Mrs Amy Tyndall.'

The porter and the driver stared at her.

'Captain Tyndall? He know you comin'?' asked the Indian driver.

She gave a pretty smile. 'No. It's a surprise. I've come all the way from London.'

The Indian porter shrank back through the crowd as the sulky pulled away. Instead of retrieving the trunks labelled 'Mrs Amy Tyndall', he raced along Dampier Terrace directly to the offices of Star of the Sea and rushed up the stairs.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Tyndall had difficulty grasping what the perspiring porter was telling him. It was too fantastic to believe.

The porter struggled to get the words out. 'White lady, yellow hair, fancy clothes, say she wife of Captain Tyndall and tell my brother take her to your house. He tell me I tell Captain Tyndall, quick smart. I got her trunk there; in sulky.' He wrung his hands feeling wretched, fervently wishing he wasn't the bearer of this unwelcome news.

Tyndall flipped a coin at the man and thanked him. Then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He saw himself as the hesitant young man who had been spellbound by the flirtatious blue eyes, laughing mouth and l.u.s.ty body of Amy. His father had warned him to stay away from 'a girl like that', but she contrived to be in his path wherever he went. The seduction had been swift, and he an eager accomplice. How naive he'd been. She wept and fretted and wailed when she found out she was pregnant. So, once he was over the shock, he had shouldered his responsibility and married the prettiest girl in the village.

The memories of the sagging narrow bed, the smoky grimy cottage, the coughing of her inebriated father, the nagging and whining and paddy temper of what he recognised was a spoiled and lazy girl, drove him swiftly to Belfast and then to London seeking work. He wanted to make the marriage work and hoped that once they were on their own, things would be better. He recalled the freedom of being at sea and the feeling of guilt at leaving his young wife. He had never intended to shirk his duty to Amy. It was simply easier to earn good money at sea. The eventual news of the loss of the child and Amy's apparent demise had saddened him but also given him a welcome sense of relief, of freedom from guilt.

Her bursting back into his life set his mind spinning and emotions churning. Tyndall felt a burning anger. Why should she come back into his life now, just as he was about to find the joy he'd always sought with Olivia?

He sat bolt upright. My Lord. He'd have to be first to tell Olivia. What a nightmare! He realised he must still be legally wed to Amy, unless she'd had the marriage dissolved, citing his disappearance so many years before. But his heart sank again at the knowledge that she was here and claiming to be his wife. Well, this had to be stopped and sorted out swiftly. He sprang to his feet, s.n.a.t.c.hed his hat and rushed from the office.

Rosminah and the Chinese cook hurried to meet him as he came up the path, noting the sea trunk on the verandah.

'Lady come, tuan, she no go away. Come inside, sit down, want tea and lemonade. She say she Mem Tyndall. She no listen to me when I tell her go away,' cried Ah Sing, the cook.

'Don't worry about it, Ah Sing. I'm fixing things up. Where is she?'

The cook, in a lather of sweat, his round face shining, answered. 'She in sitting room.'

Rosminah padded behind Tyndall as he strode down the hall. 'Mem tell me unpack and wash her things. What I do, tuan?'

'Do nothing, Rosminah. I'll speak to her.' Tyndall drew a breath and walked into the formal room that he rarely used in the centre of the house. He stopped and stared at Amy sitting in a cane chair, neither spoke as the years vanished and they sized each other up. They would have recognised each other in an instant. She'd kept her figure though the voluptuous curves seemed laced in place.

She was holding a tea cup which she carefully put to one side. Holding out a soft hand, she said triumphantly, 'h.e.l.lo there, Johnny Tyndall.' There was obvious amus.e.m.e.nt in her expression and she looked more than happy as she took in the striking and handsome man before her. 'You look well. I chose you for your looks and you haven't disappointed me.'

Tyndall stayed where he was. 'Why are you here, Amy? This is b.l.o.o.d.y madness. I still can't believe you've just walked into my life as though nothing had happened. You should have written and told me. Not just landed on the doorstep.'

'That's not much of a welcome. It's been a long trip to find you.'

'And it's going to be a long trip back. You can't stay here.'

'Now, you can't mean that. I'm your wife. You're just in shock,' she said placatingly. 'I know how you feel, Johnny. It was a shock for me too when I read about you in the London Telegraph Telegraph. After all these years, suffering over what had become of you, how you'd run off and left me. Your little wife. What did I ever do to deserve that, Johnny?' Tears welled in her blue eyes and her voice dripped with self-pity.

'I thought you were dead for G.o.d's sake,' shouted Tyndall. 'You couldn't wait like a dutiful wife. No, you had to go to the bright lights of London then just take off and let your father and me believe you'd died. What the h.e.l.l have you been doing?'

'I don't believe you are ent.i.tled to shout at me,' she snapped in a steely voice. 'It wasn't easy for me, you know. I lost the baby, there was a flu epidemic and I went to Scotland while waiting for you to come back. But you never did, did you?'

'There was no point in going back. The priest wrote to me that your father had died and that they had heard you'd died in London. What was I to do? And how did you get to Scotland?'

She lowered her eyes. 'I had a kindly benefactor. I would have been lost without Lord Campbell ... and his dear family,' she hastily added.

'I see,' said Tyndall, seeing too clearly how Amy had survived. 'So why are you here now? If it's money you want, you could have written.'

'Would you have answered such a letter?' she asked, giving him a challenging stare.

'There are some honest men left in this world, it might surprise you, Amy'

'I don't want money. Oh, indeed no.'

'So what do you want?'

'You, my dear husband. I feel G.o.d and fate have reunited us after a dreadful misunderstanding. I am here to take my rightful place by your side.' A cloying smile curled about her lips.

'That's what you're going to tell everyone, is it?' He imagined she had rehea.r.s.ed her lines carefully.

'It's the truth, isn't it?'

'No, Amy, it's G.o.dd.a.m.ned not! I've had a lot of time to think about things over the years and you know what ... I came to the conclusion you tricked me. And I'll tell you something else, Amy. You're too late. I'm about to marry the woman I truly love.'

'How can that be?' she asked calmly with mock sweetness, spreading her arms in a querying gesture. 'You're married to me.'

'Not for long. We're getting a divorce. No way can you walk back into my life. You smell money. You're only here because of the pearls.'

Amy's face was hard, her mouth set in a firm line. 'I will never give you a divorce. I will fight you every inch of the way. I have come prepared with doc.u.ments, marriage certificate and letters. I can claim you deserted me and get ... rest.i.tution.' She resumed her artificially sweet pose. 'Is it such a poor proposition, Johnny? For me to be your wife? Many men would envy you. There is nothing for me back there. I intend to stay here. With you.'

'But I don't want you!'Tyndall shouted in frustration. Through his anger came the dawning realisation that this woman was dangerous, conniving and unpleasant.

'Think it over. This is a shock. You'll get used to the idea. By the way, you'd better inform your lady friend of your true situation,' she added with some smugness.

'You can't stay here,' said Tyndall stubbornly, feeling the ground giving way beneath his feet.

'What are you going to do? Send me to a hotel? Throw out your wife? I would be very distressed at that. Whatever would people think?'

Tyndall conceded momentary defeat. The pretty but manipulative girl who'd led him to the altar had become a shrewd, calculating and experienced woman used to getting what she wanted from life.

He slammed out of the house. Oh G.o.d, how was he going to tell Olivia? It would be hard, but he had no doubt Olivia's depth of understanding and love for him would help them to cope with the trauma. He'd get rid of Amy no matter how much it cost.

It took a few moments for Olivia to absorb the full import of what Tyndall told her. She asked him slowly to repeat the basic details.

He stumbled through a brief explanation and floundered to a halt as Olivia sank back into her office chair and stared at him across the desk. She'd come to work as usual to tidy up loose ends before their wedding and honeymoon.

Tears of hurt rage spilled down her cheeks. 'How could you not tell me you were married? married? Had been married, whatever ... ' Had been married, whatever ... '

'I thought she was dead. I haven't thought about her in years! I was a lad, she just disappeared ... '

'And you didn't try to find out what happened to her? You were her husband husband ... ' ... '

'I was barely twenty years old. I was on the other side of the world. The priest wrote and told me ... for G.o.d's sake, Olivia, try and understand ... '

'I am am trying to understand. Understand how the man I love, the man I believed my soul mate, the man I saw spending the rest of my life with, joyously with, has lied to and deceived me.' trying to understand. Understand how the man I love, the man I believed my soul mate, the man I saw spending the rest of my life with, joyously with, has lied to and deceived me.'

'Never, Olivia ... Never intentionally ... '

'What else have you not told me, John? How can I ever trust you again?'

'Olivia, we'll sort this out. I know it's unfortunate, her timing is bad, I agree ... '