Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [181]
Walking along the foreshore after the men had left the camp, Tyndall took Olivia’s hand and said simply, ‘So. What are we going to do?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said miserably.
‘I do. We have to stay together … it’s meant to be. You will have to tell him. You can’t live a lie.’
‘Gilbert has been so good to me … ’
‘Olivia, my dearest love … if he’s the decent man you say he is, all he would want is your happiness.’
She didn’t answer, knowing this was true.
Tyndall took her in his arms and said quietly, ‘Olivia, go and talk to him, then pack up and come back. Come home, my darling.’
With Tyndall’s strong arms about her, it all seemed so easy.
Tyndall tipped back her face and looked into her eyes. ‘Olivia, I’ve said it before, we only get one chance at happiness, and you know I’m right. You might try to cover it up, but you wear your heart on your sleeve. I suspect Gilbert has always known you love me, that there was always a chance you would come back to me. Listen to your heart.’
With this, all resistance melted away.
In the dusky mellow twilight Maya held on to Olivia as they said goodbye on the deck of the old steamer. ‘Dear Olivia, come back soon. I know it will be hard, but you only find a great love once in your life … ’
Olivia smiled softly into the young woman’s hair. ‘And only if you’re lucky. You had it once, I pray you will again, dear girl.’
Maya lifted her tear streaked face. ‘Olivia, all that matters to me now is that I’ve found my family, thanks to you. I’ve always felt you were special to me, now you’re going to be part of my family too. You and Tyndall belong together … ’
The loud blast of the steamer’s whistle interrupted them and Tyndall suddenly appeared from where he had been chatting to the captain about ensuring Olivia’s comfort on the voyage. Olivia looked at him in his white pearling master’s suit, the unbuttoned narrow high collar giving him a rakish air, his old skipper’s hat tucked under his arm. He was smiling broadly, his face full of love.
He crushed Olivia to him. ‘Be strong, my precious. If you want me to come down, cable me. I won’t be able to sleep, eat, relax until I have you back. I’ve waited for you, Olivia. I’ve known since the moment I first saw you that you and I are meant to be.’
Olivia swallowed and brushed away the tears. Looking at him she thought her heart would burst. She nodded and bit her lip and Maya took Tyndall’s hand. ‘We’ll be thinking of you.’
‘Every second, my precious one.’ Tyndall kissed her and he and Maya went down the gangplank.
Olivia kept her eyes on the two of them standing on the end of the jetty until the steamer was far out in the bay and the curtain of a soft night shadowed them from sight. The other passengers moved into the brightly lit lounges and cabins but she took a deep breath and stayed at the railing watching the lights of Broome recede. She felt so loved, so lucky and so hopeful. Sadness touched her too, but in her heart she knew Tyndall was right, Gilbert only wanted her to be happy. Somehow things would work out.
She finally turned to go inside, and went to her cabin thinking how very different this departure was from the last time she left Broome. She hoped Hamish was watching over her; much as he had liked and respected Gilbert, the boy had worshipped Tyndall. She remembered Hamish saying to her once ‘He’s every boy’s hero come to life.’
‘Mine, too, Hamish darling,’ she thought.
Olivia knew something was amiss the moment she stepped in the door of the house, yet she couldn’t put her finger on why. Maybe she should have gone first to Shaw House. Mollie, a younger plump version of Minnie, rushed downstairs to greet her, clearly distressed and wringing her hands, her words unintelligibly