Stolen Desires

Winter, 1877

Hughenden, Queensland, Australia

Nellie Randolph trudged down the street, her gaze focused on the dusty ground in front of her, her fingers rubbing her small, cloth purse. She had only a few shillings left from the meagre funds she’d brought with her to this town. Once they were spent, she’d have nothing. Despair consumed her as she brooded over what was to become of her. She’d tried to use her qualifications to get a job as a governess since her arrival but to no avail. Nervously biting the corner of her lip, she thought of what she’d have to do to earn money if she couldn’t teach children. A loud noise up ahead caught her attention. Men were standing out the front of the Great Western Hotel, laughing and cheering their glasses, prostitutes draped over them. Eying the scantly dressed women, her palms grew sweaty. Would this be her destiny? Would she be forced to become one of those who sold their bodies for coin?

Her gaze drifted back to the road, her steps quickening. Such work couldn’t be her only option...could it? Accepting there were few other employment opportunities for a woman in a town such as this filled her with dread. This certainly wasn’t the land of opportunity she’d been led to believe it was. That said, she’d been under no illusion when she arrived in Hughenden that it would line her pockets with unspeakable fortunes. Still, she’d expected more opportunity than what she’d found. In the almost twelve months she’d been here, the only fortunes she’d heard of being made were from cattle cockies, or gold prospectors. There wasn’t even a school where she could teach. She would’ve left town months ago if it wasn’t for the rumours that there was the same lack of opportunity for women in the surrounding towns. She was stuck in this dusty, little town until she could find a way of replenishing her finances.

Nellie grimaced, glancing around at the townspeople roaming the streets, noticing they wore some of the best-made clothing she’d seen since arriving in Australia. It was foolish of her to long for the life of comfort these people seemed to have, but she couldn’t ignore her yearning. She had struggled for so long, that now she hungered for better opportunities. Looking toward a woman shamelessly throwing herself at the man accompanying her, Nellie lowered her gaze again. There was one other way for her to find a comfortable life – a man. Her brow furrowed. It was foolish to think any man was capable of giving her the security she longed for. Her hand unconsciously clenched, her fingers grazing the circular scar on the bottom of her palm and she shuddered as the memory of who put it there returned to haunt her. Another man in her life wasn’t an option. She would have to think of another way to get the money she needed. Maybe there was still something in her luggage she could pawn off. Sighing heavily, she accepted that would only postpone the inevitable. Sooner rather than later she’d run out of money if she couldn’t find employment.

A slight tugging on her wrist dragged Nellie from her musings. She was just about to look around to see what she could have gotten herself caught on when a young man appeared out of nowhere, brushing past her. Losing her balance, her steps fumbled, and she felt his hands going to her shoulders to steady her.

“I’m so sorry, miss,” he said with a smile, glancing at her skirt before continuing on his way.

Sensing something wasn’t quite right about his actions, Nellie’s gaze dropped to where the tugging was still coming from to see dirt-smeared fingers holding her purse. Stepping back, she saw a small, red-haired child no more than ten, gazing back at her, his eyes large.

“What the devil do you think you’re doing?” she yelled.

Suddenly the child’s hand fell away from the purse and he ran down the street after the man who had run into her. She had assumed her brief collision had been an accident, but now she started to wonder if he and the child had been working together to try and rob her. If they had been successful, she’d be left with nothing but a few items of aged clothing. Her steps quickened down the dusty road. She couldn’t stay here and wait for those boys to find her again. Next time she mightn’t be so lucky.

Her fingers tightening their grip on her purse strings, Nellie’s steps quickened in the direction of the hotel. She had enough money to stay there at least another night. Maybe she could talk to the bartender again and see if he’d let her wait tables or something to help pay for some food too. If she were lucky enough to get the job, she could question the patrons as she wandered around. Surely one of them would know of some work that wouldn’t require her lying on her back in a brothel.

A few yards away from the hotel, footsteps hurried behind her. Next, a hand grabbed her shoulder, another pulling at her wrist. When she didn’t budge, she felt herself being pushed hard. Losing her balance, Nellie fell toward the hard, dusty road. Her fear increased when a startled horse reared, followed by the wheels of a carriage growing closer. She didn’t want to die like this. From out of nowhere, a strong hand gripped her waist, pulling her upright and against the well-dressed figure of a man.

“Are you all right, miss?” Holding her against him, he stepped in the direction of the footpath and set her safely down. “Did those little vermin manage to take your purse?”

Nellie looked up at him, studying this man who had just saved her life. He was so handsome, his brown eyes like dark pools for her to drown in. Where had he come from?

“Miss, are you all right?”

Gathering her senses, she pulled her gaze away from his and glanced down to see the small cloth purse still hanging on her wrist. “They didn’t take my purse,” she finally answered his first question. Her hands shifted along his arms until they came to a rest on his firm shoulders. She’d been held in a man’s arms before but never had she felt anything like this. Surely her emotions were in disarray from the shock she’d just experienced. Lifting her gaze back to his, she hoped that was all it was. She was in no position to form whimsical feelings for any man, let alone this one. “If you hadn’t come along when you did, I’d have gotten trodden on for sure. How can I ever thank you for coming to my rescue, sir?”

He smiled, dimples forming on his cheeks. “You don’t have to thank me. Just to know you’re unhurt makes me happy enough.”

Someone clearing their throat dragged her back to her present surroundings, making her remember they weren’t alone. Glimpsing a disgusted look from one of the passers-by, Nellie remembered the consequences that could come from her disregard for propriety. She couldn’t allow herself to remain standing here with this blond-haired stranger’s arms around her for all to see. More to the point, if she lingered in his arms for much longer, she risked him getting ideas from her open display of intimacy. She hadn’t come here to Hughenden to try and conjure up a physical attachment to the first man who showed an interest in her. It wasn’t something she could encourage, certainly not from a man who could make her heart flutter as this one did.

Her hands pushed against his shoulders. “I assure you I’m fine, sir. You can let go of me now.”

His hands dropped away. “I didn’t realise...I mean, it’s not like me...” He cleared his throat. “I do beg your pardon.”

Nellie stepped back from him, her hands brushing over her blouse to straighten it. Her breathing was ragged, the feelings churning in her stomach so unlike the fear she’d grown accustomed to when forced into a man’s company. Lowering her gaze, she tried to regather her senses. This man was handsome to be sure, but that was no reason for her to lose all sense of herself. Her gaze darting back in his direction, she saw him still studying her. Why? Judging by his quizzical expression he was either trying to think if she was familiar to him, or was taken aback by her need to be distanced from him. Either way, she didn’t want this man to think she didn’t appreciate his heroics.

“I will never forget your gallantry, sir. If you hadn’t come to my rescue –”

“You would have been robbed and left for dead,” he finished her sentence firmly. “Those street rats never give up once they’ve found a victim, and a young woman walking the street alone makes the perfect target. It would be safer for you if you had a companion.”

She straightened herself, not wanting to appear weak. “None of that is required. I can take care of myself.”

His hands went to his hips, looking very irritated. “You sound so very certain of that. I wonder if you are so naïve that you believe those little vermin would have eventually asked you for some money when you didn’t give them your purse?”

She couldn’t answer him. Desperation and hunger could drive even the most kind-hearted of men to brutality. Surely these children were no different.

“If you have any education at all, you must realize thieves are the lowest form of mankind. They will do whatever necessary to take from those more fortunate than them,” he continued. “Even throw you under a horse and carriage.”

“Don’t talk to me as if I’m a brainless bint, sir,” Nellie snapped haughtily. “I’m not an uneducated, gullible woman who trusts everything in the world is fair and just. Even if I hadn’t lived through what life has dealt to me, my training as a governess has kept me well-versed in the ways of the world.”

“It appears I owe you an apology, miss. I meant no offence, but you need to understand the dangers that will find you in this town should you not be more careful.” He held his hand out to her. “Allow me to take you back to your place of employment now to ensure those thieves don’t come back to finish what they started.”

She glanced at his hand but didn’t take it.

His hand fell back to his side, his confusion obvious. “Are you so stubborn you won’t accept my apology? Or is it that you think I mean to rob you myself?”

She bit her lip nervously. This man had been so kind to her. The least she could do was give him an explanation, even if it meant revealing some of her misfortune to him. Unsure if she was doing the right thing, she cleared her throat. “Stubborn I may well be, but I mean no offence. I only refuse you as I have no employer I can return to right now.”

His gaze narrowed. “Then you must be returned to the family you’re staying with instead.”

She shook her head hesitantly, realising this was going in a direction she wasn’t prepared for. “I have no family.”

“With no placement or family, where are you staying?” he enquired hesitantly.

She glanced over her shoulder to the Great Western Hotel before returning her attention to him.

“You can’t be serious?” he asked in shock, understanding registering on his face. “A hotel is no place for an educated woman.”

“Perhaps not, but it is all that’s available to me right now.” She gripped the side of her skirt nervously, preparing to turn and leave. “Again, I thank you for coming to my rescue. I shall never forget what you’ve done for me.”

Turning, she stepped toward the hotel, needing to get as far away from this man, and the unfamiliar feeling he was creating in her. She should know better than to allow herself to be lured in by such a man, but she couldn’t ignore the flutter fanning her heart.

“Nor shall I forget you,” he uttered, his voice so soft she couldn’t be positive she’d heard him or imagined his response.

Her knees trembling, she continued on her way to the hotel and stepped inside without a backward glance. Who was that man?