chilled, and two of the fettuccine and chicken.’ She glanced at Sarah for confirmation and received a dull-eyed stare in return. The waitress smiled tightly, wrote down their order and left. ‘You better tell me what’s going on.’
‘Jim Macken has arrived in Australia. He wants his thirty per cent of Wangallon.’
Shelley found herself lifting the barely drinkable wine and taking a big gulp. Sarah’s eyes were wide as organ stops, her usually tanned face devoid of colour except for two bright spots on her cheeks.
‘The bastard thinks I’ll just bow down and take it up the proverbial.’
Shelley spluttered. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Well he’s got another thing coming.’ Sarah’s voice dropped.
The chardonnay arrived. ‘Bring the bottle,’ Shelley stated with an urgent nod to the waitress.
‘He thinks he’ll get it too. You should have seen that solicitor of his insinuating that Wangallon was built on dubious activities. For god’s sake, everyone stole a few head of stock back in the 1800s. He’s got another thing coming too.’ Sarah met Shelley’s concerned stare. ‘We’ll be going to court.’
‘Geez, to court, Sarah? You’re not going to contest your grandfather’s will?’
Sarah took a sip of wine. The action calmed her.
‘You’re going to contest Angus Gordon’s will.’ Shelley could barely believe what she was hearing. Angus’s word had always been law in the Gordon family. ‘You can’t do that.’
Sarah’s eyes hardened.
‘Hey, I’m on your side. Remember? What does Anthony say?’
‘You don’t want to know.’
‘So he’s against it?’
‘Anthony has his own problems at the moment. I’m his and he’s mine.’ Sarah drained her wine glass as the fettuccine arrived. She stabbed at the steaming bowl with her fork, chewed three mouthfuls in quick succession and then pushed the bowl to one side.
‘Talk to Anthony. He’s always supported you in the past.’
Sarah laughed and poured more wine for the both of them. ‘Not anymore. Those days are over.’
Shelley shook her head. ‘Sarah, you two love each other. Surely you can work together on this. Isn’t your relationship worth it?’
Sarah’s love for Anthony was absolute, however a relationship fractured by deceit was difficult to repair. Yesterday morning was proof of that. ‘Quite frankly, Shelley, I don’t know if it is.’
‘Sarah, Anthony and Wangallon are your life.’
Sarah thought about Wangallon: the expanse of sky that so totally engulfed the land, day and night; the sweet, unpolluted breath of the aged trees that stood sentinel along waterways; and the rich soil with its wavering vegetation that billowed across the great landscape like waves on the ocean. That was love, pure and unconditional. It was the type of love she once had for Anthony. Now only Wangallon remained constant.
‘What are you going to do?’ Shelley dabbed at the cream sauce on her bottom lip.
Outside the window the street looked cold and bleak. ‘There has to be a test to confirm Jim’s parentage and then we will go to court.’
‘Confirm his parentage?’ This was like listening to something out of The Bold and the Beautiful.
‘It’s a pretty standard thing in cases like this.’
Shelley took Sarah’s hand, pulling her attention from the window back to reality. ‘And what if you lose? Sarah, what if you lose part of Wangallon and Anthony. What then?’
Sarah shook her off. ‘I can’t think about that. I have to go to court and I have to win.’
‘What about your father?’ Shelley persevered. ‘Surely he has some suggestions.’
‘Yes, but not what I want to hear. And … Mum’s dead. Can you believe it? On top of everything else.’ She folded her hands in her lap.
‘Oh I’m sorry, Sarah. Can I do anything?’ Like grieve on your behalf, Shelley offered silently. She knew there was no love lost between mother and daughter yet surely there was some remaining bond left that warranted at least regret. Maybe not, Shelley decided. Sarah’s violet eyes were unblinking, except that she was looking a bit like a rabbit caught in a vehicle’s headlights.
She shook her head. ‘Dad thinks it’s best for Jim to get his share so everyone can get on with their lives.’
Shelley was beginning to think the same. ‘Go home, talk to Anthony. Whatever has happened between you two, you know he loves you. Anthony has always been there for you, Sarah. He’s always been at Wangallon. You can’t tell me you would want to live out the back of Woop Woop without him by your side.’
Sarah drained her wine glass. ‘You understand that I have to do this. I can’t let some upstart from the other side of the world take any part of