* * *
On the morning of the funeral the house was a hive of activity as water was boiled in the kitchen and carried to the bathrooms, everyone had to have a bath. Jim and William both grumbled, they would have been just as comfortable with a good wash. Around ten- o’clock, two carriages and a rider rode into Hawkins Grove. Matilda saw them first and she immediately recognized the rider, it was Constable Hopwood, looking impeccable in his civilian clothes. He was riding alongside the second carriage with Mr and Mrs Harrison. In the first carriage sat the doctor and his wife. Matilda tried not to show her excitement as she met them at the steps leading to the house, her eyes respectfully reaching out to all of the visitors, but really seeking the attention of Anthony Hopwood.
“Miss Hawkins, it is a pleasure to see you again,” said Anthony Hopwood as he tipped his hat to her.
“Mr Hopwood.” Matilda bowed her head to him ever so slightly and let her eyes linger on his a little longer than she should have.
Mrs Henderson climbed down from the carriage, preferring not to wait for her husband as she gave Matilda a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “After the funeral you must tell me all about your adventures in England.”
“Not so much adventures, Mrs Henderson, more like drudgery.”
“The education of one’s mind should not be looked on as drudgery,” added Mrs Harrison.
Lillian joined them as the men gathered around in a group at one of the carriages.
William was standing with them, and feeling proud as he stood alongside his elders, not as a boy, but as a young man.
“I thought it appropriate that Constable Hopwood join us,” said Charlie Harrison. “He needs to get to know the people in the district.”
“Did you find the bushrangers?” asked Jim, standing in the circle next to his son.
“The robbers split up,” said Charlie. “But Constable Hopwood here caught the smaller of the two men sleeping under a log, thanks to Billy’s tracking.”
“What about the other one?”
“Now that’s a completely different story,” said Anthony Hopwood. “Our second man is smart, and dare I say it, bold as well. He rode his horse along the main road mixing his tracks with all the traffic, and believe it or not, it looks like he rode into town."
“Then he is still in the district.”
“Yes, I would say so.”
Billy had brought the carriage from the barn. Matilda and Lillian would ride in the carriage while William drove. Jim would ride with the Constable Hopwood. He needed to get to know this man who seemed to have put some sort of a spell on his daughter. He had noticed the signs again this morning.
As they rode along the rough and sometimes muddy track leading to Cockle Creek, Jim engaged the young Constable in conversation.
“Did the bushranger give you any information about his friend?”
“No, he was quite tight-lipped,” replied the Constable, ducking his head under a low branch sticking out over the track.
“Can’t understand why he is hanging around.”
“Seems rather odd,” replied the Constable. “Bushrangers usually try to put as much distance as they can from the scene of their crime.”
“Have you settled in all right?” asked Jim, changing the subject.
“Yes, Mr and Mrs Harrison have been a great help.”
“Charles is a good man, as is his wife. They are both well respected in the community.”
“I hope to earn the respect of the community just as they have, Mr Hawkins.”
Jim smiled to himself. He was beginning to like the young Constable.
Lillian hardly spoke, while William and Matilda chatted away. She was thinking of all the years that had gone by, good years, happy years. The countryside began to take on a familiar shape. They were close to the house now. How would she react, could she overcome the urge to let her mother know that she was there and still alive? Would she be able to handle the emotions of the funeral? She would also have to face her brother. Again, she wondered if she was she doing the right thing, coming to the funeral and putting herself and her family at risk.
Lillian checked her veil. It would hide her features and her hideous face as well as her sorrow. Matilda’s face would also be hidden behind a veil. She looked back at Jim who was riding to the rear with the new Constable.
Jim saw Lillian look back and immediately sensed her apprehension. He kicked at the flanks of the horse and drew alongside. They stared at each other and smiled. There was no need for words as they both knew what each of them was thinking. He would stay by her side for the rest of the day.
As they approached the house Jim could see the carts, carriages, and horses gathered at the front of the two-storey sandstone house. People stood about, some grouped around the carriages and others on the front verandah of the house. William pulled the carriage up at the end of the line, at the same time the priest with his stately robes, walked out the front door of the house. The large procession then began to make its way to a small patch of grass that had been cordoned off at the rear of the house.
“Made it just in time,” said Constable Hopwood. He and Jim dismounted from their horses.
“So it seems,” replied Jim, taking hold of Lillian’s hand and helping her down. “Are you all right?” he inquired.
“While ever you are with me, yes,” said Lillian, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. She suddenly felt a moment of uneasiness. Was she doing the right thing by coming to the funeral? Yes, she conceded to herself. I had to come.
Matilda walked behind her mother and father with William on her right and Constable Hopwood on her left. Even though it was a solemn occasion, Matilda could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of excitement. She had two strapping young men at her side. There were people here from all walks of life. Well-to-do people, rich, the famous, the curious, and not so well known, they had all come to pay their last respects, just as they had.
The large gathering slowly encircled the freshly dug grave. Lillian held Jim’s hand with a sudden tightness as she saw her mother, her face covered by a veil. She couldn’t see her mother’s face but Lillian saw the trembling of her mother’s body, the thin hands that wrestled with a delicate white handkerchief. She knew that her mother was suffering deeply. Robert stood beside her, his face bare of emotion, his eyes as dark and unforgiving as ever. Lillian shuddered slightly at the sight of him. He had grown a goatee beard and it suited him in a demon-like way.
Jim cast his eyes around the crowd, some people he knew and some he didn’t. He couldn’t see Frank O’Connor among the mourners. He felt certain that he would be here as he had worked for the Langleys for over twenty years. All the rest of the workers on the farm were present.
Frank O’Connor watched the gathering from a distance and when he saw the Hawkins family ride in, he backed away into the shelter of the trees. Then, he climbed up onto his horse and quietly slinked away.
The service was conducted with the due respect it deserved. Everything was going along smoothly, until a sudden gust of wind carrying dust and leaves swirled through the crowd just as the coffin was being lowered into the ground. Men and women grabbed their hats, some were too late as the wind carried their finery off into the air. Matilda was one of those who lost her hat, her face clearly visible for all to see.
Robert noticed her first, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Matilda. It was only seconds later that Matilda Langley looked across and saw the beautiful face of the young woman, but she didn’t see Matilda Hawkins, she saw her daughter Lillian standing before her. It was too much for her mind to take as she felt faint and reached out for Robert’s arm.
Robert held onto his mother as she collapsed at his side, it was probably the only moment of concern that he had ever shown toward his mother in many a year. Emily also rushed to her side and took hold of Mrs Langley’s. Robert looked around. The young woman was nowhere to be seen. He had been right in sending Frank O’Connor to search the Hawkins house.
Jim Hawkins had sensed it immediately, Lillian too, as well as Doctor Henderson and his wife. Charlie Harrison sensed it as well, but he didn’t know the real truth, he only had his suspicions that had dogged him all these years. Constable Hopwood, Matilda and William were oblivious to the feelings of their elders as William scurried away to retrieve her hat. Matilda had seen the elderly lady almost fall and felt for her in her time of loss. It was then she saw her parents turn to leave, along with the Henderson’s. She followed them to the carriage as William returned her hat to her.
All the way back to Hawkins Grove her parents never spoke a word. William was riding his father’s horse alongside Constable Hopwood, while she rode in the carriage with her parents.
On arriving back at the house they were met by one of the maids who was in a fluster, someone had ransacked the house. Jim's thoughts turned to the missing Frank O’Connor as he made his way through the house and saw the opened cupboards, the contents of which were strewn all over the floor. Lillian made her way to the bedroom. Her heart was pounding as she saw the drawers opened at her bedside table. She reached to the back of the drawer where she kept the amulet. It was gone. Lillian slumped into the chair beside the bed as Jim walked into the room.
“It’s gone, Jim,” she said faintly, her voice hardly discernible.
“Then he knows.”
“Yes, he has all the evidence he needs.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Maybe it is time to confront the past,” said Lillian as Constable Hopwood walked into the bedroom.
“Anything missing?” he asked.
Lillian looked up at Jim as if to ask the question and he nodded to her. It was time to bring it all into the open. Nothing could be gained by keeping it a secret anymore.
“Yes, an amulet with a painting of myself when I was a young girl,” said Lillian.
“Is it valuable?”
“In monetary terms yes, but its personal value is priceless. Mr Hopwood, could you ask everyone into the dining room, I have something to say.”
Lillian sat down at her place at the table. It was a big table, large enough for all of them to be seated. Tea was being poured and cakes set out on the best plates. Lillian began to speak.
“I have asked you all here because I feel it is time for me to be honest with you. This incident with the house and the loss of an amulet has been a major factor in my decision. All these years you have known me as Mary but my real name is Lillian Langley.”
The Hendersons sat quietly, Charlie Harrison nodded his head, it was as he suspected. Matilda’s face mirrored surprise, as all the pieces came together in her mind. Constable Hopwood listened with interest. William was more forthcoming.
“You are a Langley?”
“Yes, William.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I will explain,” said Lillian as her voice faltered. She would have to visit those pain filled memories that had tortured her all these years.
“Do you want me to tell them?” asked Jim, sensing Lillian’s agony.
“No, it’s something I must do.”
Save for the ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece, no other sound entered the dining room as Lillian told her story. When she had finished Matilda, who was sitting next to her mother, reached across and held her mother’s hand.
“Then Jim is not my father,” said Matilda somewhat shocked at the revelation.
“As far as I am concerned he is your father,” replied Lillian.
“What do you want to do about this?” asked Charlie Harrison as he looked at Lillian and then across to Jim.
“It’s Lillian’s call,” said Jim.
“Nothing,” said Lillian. “I just want to go and see my mother and introduce her grandchildren to her.”
Constable Hopwood, who hadn’t said a word until now, spoke up. “Do you think you are still in any danger, Mrs Hawkins?”
Lillian wasn’t sure how to reply to Constable Hopwood’s question. Yes, she did feel that she was still in danger, her brother was totally unpredictable. But she didn’t want to frighten her family, so she gave the only reply she could. “No, I don’t, Mr Hopwood.”
“What about the farm and the businesses, now that your father has passed away?”
“It would all go to Robert.”
Charlie Harrison caught Constable Hopwood’s eyes for a brief second as both men realized where this could be heading. It would depend on what was written in Arthur Langley’s will, if he left one. Lillian being alive was something that Robert wouldn’t have counted on.
“Why don’t you let me go to Langley Park tomorrow in an official capacity and inform your mother and brother that you are alive? I will also emphasize the fact that the law is fully aware of Robert and Frank O’Connor’s participation in the stagecoach incident.”
Lillian was glad that Constable Hopwood had seen fit to take on the task of confronting Robert. That was something that she certainly didn’t want to do. “I would be more than pleased for you do that, Mr Hopwood.”
“I will ride out in the morning.”
“Do you want some company?” asked Charlie Harrison.
“No, this is something I want to do,” said Constable Hopwood, glancing across at Matilda. He knew he would protect this young woman and her family with his life if he had too.