A Changing Land(47)

‘We can’t afford not to do it,’ Anthony replied soothingly. ‘We need to manage this place better and faster to ensure Wangallon continues into the future.’

‘Damn it, Anthony. What has got into you? I can’t believe you would go off and do something like this. It’s almost as if you don’t give a damn about Wangallon or my opinion anymore!’

Anthony held up an envelope. ‘You and Wangallon are the only things I ever think about.’ He passed her the letter. She plucked it from his fingers. It was creased and smeared with a blob of grease. Although unopened it was clear he’d been carrying it around for some time. ‘We are in debt, Sarah. You know that yet you seem to be living under the misguided impression that Wangallon can keep functioning as it always has in the past.’

‘All big stations work on overdrafts. But we do make a profit most years and we always make our interest payments. Even if we have a bad year the banks will carry us. Wangallon is like a great ship that keeps sailing straight ahead regardless of the weather.’

‘Yeah, well,’ Anthony nodded at the letter, ‘here’s your iceberg.’

Her eyes focused uneasily on the airmail letter. She looked at the postmark. It was from Scotland. Sarah felt her stomach turn.

‘A good wheat crop would give us a mighty cash injection,’ Anthony said slowly, ‘if we managed six bags off 2000 acres and if the price stayed at two hundred dollars we would repay this year’s development cost in a season. In a couple of years with 5000 acres in and the possibility of a ton we could be looking at a return of …’

Sarah looked again at the Scottish postmark. ‘Minus tax, minus chemical costs, minus the infrastructure required.’ She tore open the letter. ‘Minus the fact you didn’t bother to consult me about it first.’ She read the letter.




Sarah,





Having reconsidered my initial inclination of allowing a solicitor to handle this mess, I have decided to pay Australia a visit. I do not do this lightly, nor with enjoyment. I do, however, having discovered and reconciled myself to the fact that we are half-brother and sister thanks to the dalliances of your father, wish to visit Wangallon. If you ever returned my sincerity I hope you will welcome me. You have seen my parents’ poor crofter’s cottage and met the woman that your father deserted. I believe through my inheritance I can put right the wrongs done to her. I arrive on the 8th of next month and have booked a charter flight that will land me at the small strip at Wangallon Town. This I know cannot be a glad reunion, yet I hope for the best.





Jim





‘Sincerity?’ Anthony was reading the letter over her shoulder. ‘Was he in love with you?’

Sarah crumpled the letter. ‘A crush.’ There was little point denying it.

‘I see.’

There was no possible way Anthony would understand. Her trip to Scotland two and a half years ago made in an effort to find herself had unintentionally led her to the place her father Ronald had had an affair 25 years earlier. Sarah and Jim met through chance and spent a week traversing the lochs and hills around the most northerly tip of Scotland. And while Jim developed a crush on her, Sarah had soaked up the joy of being free.

‘So sometime between then and now this bloke’s discovered that the woman he was keen on is actually his half-sister, his father is not his real father and his mother was unfaithful.’ Anthony turned to look about the large garden, his face unsettled by thoughts. ‘Then he discovers he’s been left a share in a big spread in Australia.’ Anthony looked directly at Sarah. ‘Well, Jim Macken was named in your grandfather’s will. It’s all legal as I keep on telling you.’

Sarah crushed the letter into a ball. As the months went by and they heard no word from the Mackens, she truly believed that his Scottish family chose not to reveal his association with the Gordons in Australia.

‘Sounds like he’s not coming for a social visit. Well, what’s he like? Can we sway his mind?’ He’d crossed his arms defensively, stuck out his chin a little.

‘How the hell would I know? Your thoughts are as good as mine at this point.’

‘Well actually you probably have the edge, after all you’ve met him on his home turf and he didn’t fall in love with me.’

For a moment Sarah felt like screaming for everything to just stop. She took a deep breath. ‘It’s the 8th in four days,’ she calculated. ‘Shit, I can’t believe Grandfather did this to me. Dividing up the place like a piece of cake. It’s made everything impossible.’