Emma Darcy - The Ultimate Choice

What's wrong?' 'Not to worry, ma'am. Nothing to do with you.

Go ahead.'

The whole place was swarming with people. Even camouflaged SAS men with sub-machine guns! Kelly was left in no doubt that a search was going on. But for whom? Or what? Even when her presence was questioned again at the stables, no one would satisfy her curiosity. They actually checked her identity by walkie-talkie with someone at the house. And she noticed several army vehicles, as well as cars which were marked 'Federal Police'.

Whatever was happening was certainly out of the local league. But to be of national concern? Kelly's imagination boggled at the thought of spies or drugs or terrorists. Not at Marian Park! The mere idea was absurd. It could not be.

With Rasputin safely put away in his old stall for the night, Kelly hurried home, hoping that her grandfather could tell her something. Or Judge Moffat. His vehicle was parked near the veranda steps, and Kelly positioned her car so that the horse- float could be easily transferred to his.

Having achieved this awkward task, she raced into the house, eager to hear some answers from her grandfather. She headed straight for the kitchen where he and Judge Moffat invariably sat over the table when they weren't playing chess.

It was a huge country kitchen, but not so countrified that it was used to house animals. Kelly came to a dead halt when she saw who was occupying the floor space between the stove and the table.

There was no mistaking his identity. He stood there with the imperious air of an emperor of his breed, clothed in the finest fleece of the whole world, the distinctive curled horns adding their unique flair to the narrow, aristocratic face; the supreme sire-Octavian Augustus the Fourth!

Kelly no longer had to be told the reason for the furore up at Marian Park. Nor for whom the search was being made. Nor why it was in the national interest that Octavian Augustus the Fourth be found without there being the slightest whisper of publicity.

He was the greatest sheep sire in the world!

But what the prize ram was doing in her kitchen was a question that sent chills down Kelly's spine. She felt a rising surge of hysteria which had to be ruthlessly suppressed.

It took a concentrated effort to tear her eyes off the ram and look at her grandfather.

His expression was decidedly shifty.

She turned her gaze on Judge Moffat. His large, florid face was not as highly coloured as usual.

'Judge,' she whispered, 'you didn't do it.'

An air of guilt hung heavily over both men.

She dragged in a deep breath.

'Kelly…' her grandfather began softly. 'Things haven't worked out quite as we expected. We were only being patriotic! That's exactly how it was. Isn't it, Judge?'

'Exactly!' the judge said decisively. 'Honour and country. They come first. We didn't think…'

'We thought if we took Octavian Augustus the Fourth…'

'Grandpa, the whole place is crawling with federal police and army helicopters!' Kelly cried, appalled that they could be so foolish as to think there wouldn't be dire consequences.

Her grandfather tried to defend himself. 'You took Rasputin…'

A horse that virtually belonged to her was one thing; a ram that was coveted by all the sheep- raising nations of the world was entirely something else! Kelly shook her head in despair. 'You men have no sense of proportion at all.'

Her grandfather still argued. 'We thought we had it planned right. The judge was going to take him home in the horse-float…'

'They'll check!' Kelly shrilled at him. 'They'll check everything. They even checked me coming in!'

The judge sighed. 'We suspected that. We'll have to think of something else, Michael. Having started this, we're not going to lose now.'

'We have to keep him a couple of weeks, Kelly,' her grandfather said with blustering conviction. 'Until Justin St John capitulates. We never thought there would be this amount of trouble. But you must see we've got to win now.' His eyes brightened in challenge. 'There's been more excitement around here than I've seen in a long time.'

'Never had this kind of fun when I was sitting on the bench,' the judge said in support.

Despite their bravado, Kelly sensed the underlying unease, the fear of having stepped out of their depth and pulled down forces that could very well wreak vengeance on them before the night was out.

'It wasn't Justin St John who called in the army and the SAS. He was down at Dapto with me,' she said in instinctive defence of the man who had conceded so much to her.

Her grandfather looked confused for a moment, then asked, 'He was there? Did you win?'

'Yes. And yes. Not that it matters now,' Kelly said impatiently. 'What we've got to do is figure out what's to be done about Octavian Augustus the Fourth. The longer we leave it, Grandpa, the worse it'll get. It must be costing a fortune to have all those men out there searching for what we've got right here.'

'If the worst comes to the worst, we can keep him here for a couple of weeks. They'll never think of looking in this kitchen for him,' the judge said hopefully.

'We've got to beat him, Kelly,' her grandfather pleaded.

'We've got to win,' the judge said with a hint of desperation.

A heavy silence descended on the group.

Kelly understood all too well what her grandfather and Judge Moffat were feeling. It was a matter of pride and principle not to give up, yet their goal was now clearly impossible. It was no longer a simple matter between them and Justin St John. The whole thing had escalated far beyond that.

And what was Justin feeling? She had rejected him, hurt him, and he had come home to find the king-pin of his sheep-stud missing. Injury on top of injury. Inflicted by both herself and her grandfather… after all he had done for them! It wasn't fair!

'I'll have to go to him,' she said with urgent intensity. 'Even if he doesn't understand, I've got to go to him.'

The two old men stared up at her in bewilderment.

'Go to whom?' her grandfather asked.

'Justin St John, of course,' Kelly answered tersely.

'Why should you do that?' the judge asked. 'We'll beat him. However we do it,' he insisted stubbornly.

'All we've got to do is stick together,' her grandfather staunchly declared.

Kelly supposed it was remotely possible. The Crooked Creek community was close-knit, loyal to each other, ready to stand up for their own through thick and thin. But if they managed to secrete Octavian Augustus the Fourth away, they would never be able to give him back. Not openly. And not for any bargaining, either. And that wasn't fair.

For the first time in her life, Kelly felt at cross purposes with the spirit of Crooked Creek. She didn't want Grandpa and the judge to win. The change that was taking place inside her was too profound to comprehend very easily, but she knew Justin St John was responsible for it. She hadn't meant to hurt him this afternoon, and she couldn't bear for him to be hurt any more.

On the other hand, something had to be done about Grandpa and Judge Moffat, too. Somehow she had to safeguard them from any punishment for their folly. They hadn't really meant any harm.

If Justin still wanted her, she did have something to offer… something to bargain with. Would he still want to marry her?

Kelly drew in a deep breath to counteract the quantum leap of inner agitation and spoke as persuasively as she could. 'Mr St John was very generous to me this afternoon.' She flushed at the evasion of the full truth. 'He listened to me about the lambs, Grandpa. If I can get him to listen to me again…' She sighed at the enormity of that task alone. 'What else can be done?'

The two men shook their heads. They were not impressed by the idea of her interceding for them. But they were unable to come up with any alternative suggestions that might get them out of trouble. They stared down at Octavian Augustus the Fourth. The ram stared back in royal disdain of the whole affair. The beat of the helicopter overhead reminded them that each minute passing was an extra indictment against them.