Treasured Land (Ebook and Paperback Sample)

Chapter One

Chapter One

Melbourne 1852

The wagon ride into town was always rough, but this time Brigid felt as though someone had taken a paddle to her bottom. The recent rains created holes in the already beaten road, leaving it even worse than normal to travel on, causing her to bounce up and down on her seat more than usual. She knew she would have bruises tomorrow, but for right now, she only had one thing on her mind besides her sore behind, and that was her father. After confirming the directions he’d left with the storekeeper, she’d left Thomas and his daughters back at the mercantile and set off to see him, clutching the note he’d left for her tightly in her hand.

She was excited to see him and practically ran through the muddy streets of Melbourne, darting quickly around anyone in her way. Brigid had a lot on her mind of late, things she needed to talk over with her father. Even though she lived with kind people, they were not family. She could not wait to lay her eyes upon the elusive man who’d raised her and then give him a hug.

Patrick Griffin’s last letter contained a promise that, on his next visit into town, he would have money to give to her to pay Thomas for her room and board. If he didn’t have anything for her to hand over again this time, Brigid didn’t know what she would do. She would have to insist she go back to her father’s land claim with him and live the life he was, helping him dig for gold. Although, if Thomas had been upset for not receiving his due for four consecutive months, she had not been able to tell. Brigid knew the money her father provided each month went a long way for Thomas’s family, especially after losing his wife, Mary. Starting a new farm was not cheap, and Brigid felt ashamed every time she found Thomas sitting in his porch chair at night, staring out over the fields he worked in. She knew what was going through his mind. Having the extra money would surely have made Mary’s passing easier. When Mary was alive, she would tell her constantly what a blessing it was to have the additional income, if only her father hadn’t stopped paying.

Like the gentleman Thomas was, however, he would never tell Brigid if it had been a problem. Also, for the first ten months, since her father left her in Thomas’s care, and after helping Thomas with the structure of the farmhouse, Patrick had not missed a payment. Actually, he gave more when he had more to give. Perhaps that was the reason Thomas hadn’t questioned her more about it. Brigid liked it on the farm, and she got along well with Thomas’s daughters. She had been with them through the grieving of their mother, and it would be a shame to have to leave them now. Naturally, though, as each day passed from the first missed payment until now, Brigid wondered how much longer Thomas would lend her his hospitality. Brigid was glad she didn’t have to face Mary as well as Thomas day after day.

Thomas and his girls knew where she was going. He agreed to give her private time with her father. Patrick normally stayed on the farm when he visited, but this time, he was at the tent city set apart for people like him, a gold digger. She had no clue why he wanted to stay in town this time. There wasn’t a spare bed in any other part of this growing settlement, and it was a poor option when he could come to the farm. People poured in each day, scrambling off the boats almost as soon as they docked, wanting to try their luck at finding gold. When Patrick had heard the news that gold could be found in this British colony, he’d packed their modest belongings back in Ireland. He’d purchased tickets aboard the next sea vessel heading this way, using the little he’d had to his name, which wasn’t much.

Brigid didn’t regret her father’s decision to leave Ireland. In truth, there wasn’t much left for them there. The boat ride was tolerable but long, very long. At times she’d felt as though they would never see these golden shores people spoke of. But the friendship they formed with Thomas and his family made the long days upon the endless ocean bearable. If only Thomas’s wife had survived the winter, she would have been happy with what this place had to offer.