TWENTY-FOUR
Twenty-four
12 April 1863
Jack lightly brushed a lock of hair away from Emeline’s face as she lay beside him sleeping.
A pair of small wallabies grazed near the camp; their outlines just decipherable in the pre-dawn light, and he could hear the horses shifting their weight where they’d been tied nearby overnight. Soon the sky would pale and the first slivers of daylight would begin to pierce the shadows. He wished he could freeze this moment and savour it at leisure, but he knew that was impossible. It was only a matter of time before the police caught up with him if they continued to travel at the pace they’d been going. The only way to lose them would be to cut through the mountain range, into the bush where there were no roads. No tracks, even. But it was dangerous, with steep descents and almost impassable terrain, and Emeline, as good a horsewoman as she was, was not cut out for that kind of hard riding. Her mount even less so. Also, he was supposed to have met up with his brothers and the rest of the gang at one of their hideouts deep in the bushland hills two days ago. They would be worried about what had happened to him, and he was worried they might do something rash.
His dream of starting a life with Emeline was becoming just that—a dream. His heart was heavy as he faced the reality of their situation. I have to send her away.
He watched as her eyes fluttered before opening slowly. His breath caught in his lungs. God, she was beautiful. Her full red lips softly parted as she smiled a sleepy smile up at him and his heart momentarily stopped before lurching into a gallop. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked softly.
‘Just watching you.’
‘Is it time to go?’ she asked, the lazy slumber quickly vanishing from her eyes.
‘Soon. But not just yet. I just want a moment longer to savour you, just as you are right now.’
He loved the way she blushed when he spoke his heart to her, open and unafraid of how ridiculously romantic it sounded. He’d often used words to sweet-talk women into pretty much anything he wanted, but it wasn’t till Emeline came into his life that he realised the true meaning of love. The way just a smile from her could render him speechless—one look and he was putty in her small, delicate hands. She owned him, heart and soul.
He lowered his head to kiss her lips. They felt soft and warm underneath his, and although he hadn’t planned on anything more than just a gentle kiss, the passion between them reignited almost immediately. Her soft moan sent his senses reeling and she opened her mouth, deepening their kiss until desire became a raging inferno and they began to hurriedly discard their clothing.
In the aftermath, just as the sunrise flushed the sky, they lay spent and breathing heavily on the coarse blanket beneath them. He would love this woman until the last breath left his body, and then he would continue to love her throughout eternity beyond.
‘I’ll get ready to leave,’ she said eventually, after they’d caught their breath and their bodies had cooled.
‘No. Wait,’ he said, and the urgency he’d wanted to hide clearly caught her attention.
‘What is it, my love?’ she asked.
‘I have to get you back.’
For a moment, confusion crossed her beautiful face. ‘Back?’
‘Home. To your family.’
‘I’m not going back,’ she stammered. ‘I can’t go back.’
‘You must. It’s too dangerous to stay.’ Jack shook his head. ‘I can’t take you where I need to go. It’s too remote, too rough. And there’s no other way to escape them.’
‘I go where you go. That’s what we agreed to,’ she said stubbornly.
‘That was when I thought we could outrun them,’ Jack argued. ‘We can no longer do that and I will not risk you being caught in the crossfire if they manage to ambush us. This is my fault, Emeline. I allowed my selfish desire to be with you outweigh my common sense. I should have waited until I was in California and then sent for you, not put you in harm’s way like this. I was a fool,’ he added bitterly.
‘No, you weren’t,’ Emeline said, gathering his hands in hers and cradling them against her chest. ‘I wanted to be with you too. Besides, my father would have had me married off before you could have sent for me. I cannot go back. They will disown me after running away.’
‘You didn’t run away. I abducted you and sent a ransom note.’
‘You did what?’ She stared at him incredulously. ‘When? Why?’
‘For this very reason. If anything were to happen to me, I wanted you to be able to return to your family, to be protected.’
‘Jack …’ She seemed lost for words.
Jack reached into the pocket of his coat and took out the ring. He’d imagined giving her the ring on their wedding day as they’d stood in front of a priest and made their vows, but there was no time for that now. ‘This is for you.’
‘Oh, Jack,’ Emeline breathed, her eyes widening as she stared down at the magnificent opal he slipped onto her finger.
‘Take care of it until we are together again. My darling, I promise I will send for you. I will organise passage to California and we will go together the moment it’s safe to do so.’ He tilted her face towards him and searched her sad eyes. ‘I would never suggest leaving you if I thought there were any other way. But I will come back for you. I promise.’ He kissed her deeply. ‘We have to get moving.’
They made short work of dressing and had just finished saddling the horses when a shout of warning came. Barely moments later, the first shot hit a tree nearby. Jack reached for his gun and fired back before he even saw who he was shooting. He grabbed Emeline and pushed her down behind the rocks where they’d set up camp as he continued to return fire.
He swore as Emeline’s thoroughbred reared and broke free, galloping into the surrounding bush. His own mount, set off by its high-spirited companion, pranced sideways but remained reasonably calm, despite the noise and confusion around it.
There was no time to second-guess his next move. He grabbed Emeline, one arm around her throat and held the gun to her temple, dragging her to her feet and shouting, ‘I will kill her.’ He knew the terror in Emeline’s struggling was real but could do nothing to reassure her. ‘I swear to God I will.’
There was a moment of silence as the shooting stopped and he heard low murmuring. ‘Let the girl go,’ a toffy-sounding voice demanded from the tree line.
‘I’m not stupid. She’s my hostage and I’m keeping her until I have safe passage.’
‘You will never leave, McNally. Not alive, anyway. We have you surrounded.’
Jack calmly scanned the area and detected slight movement on at least three sides of the camp. He knew the way behind him was a ridge and the slope down too steep for anyone to have snuck up from that direction. ‘Then you’ll have to explain to Judge Oldsfield how you stood by and watched as his intended daughter-in-law was killed.’
‘Let her go and it will be taken into leniency.’
‘And you are a man of your word,’ Jack scoffed.
‘I am,’ the trooper assured him, sounding affronted at the challenge to his honour.
‘All right,’ Jack called back. ‘I’ll send her out.’
‘No, Jack,’ Emeline sobbed. ‘Please.’
‘I love you,’ Jack whispered roughly against her ear. ‘I’ll come back for you,’ he vowed, pushing her out in front of him. He waited until they passed the safety of the rocks, then pushed her to one side, leaping away and making a dash for his horse. The shots peppered the ground at his feet as he sprinted, darting and weaving between the trees. Within moments, he was on his horse and heading along the edge of the ridge. The sound of general confusion was followed by the jingle of metal and the pounding of hooves but they faded into the distance as Jack leaped over the edge of the ridge and down the steep incline to the gully below.