Children of Toil ✔

Chapter Two - Part 2

Lucan brought the axe down onto the slab of timber. It split into two. He reached forward, knocked one half from the chopping block with the back of his hand and stood the other on its end. He lifted the axe once more. As he was about to bring it down he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.

"Mister Hayes?"

Lucan turned to see a young woman. Her dusty red hair was tied back in a tight bun. Some wisps had escaped.

She pulled them away from her face as she spoke again, "I'm looking for Mister Lucan Hayes."

Lucan nodded and returned to his task. "You've found him," he said as he split the timber in two. "If ya after money I ain't got any and I don't go ta church." He glanced at her as he bent down to retrieve the second half of the block of wood.

She stood silent and watched as he hit the block once more. "My name is Miss Rowles. Miss Lillian Rowles."

Glancing at her as he reached for another piece of wood, Lucan shrugged. "So...Miss Lillian Rowles is it? Like I said, I ain't got money and I ain't interested in church."

Stiffening, Lillian said, "Yes you've made that clear, Mister Hayes." She waited until he had split the timber and walked around the block so she could face him.

This time Lucan stood the axe on its head, leant on the handle and looked at her.

She said, "You don't know who I am, Mister Hayes?"

Lucan raised his eyebrows. "Am I supposed to?" He bent and reached for one of the timber halves. He positioned it on the chopping block while he waited for her to answer.

"I'm Covey's school teacher," she said as she brushed loose hair from her face.

Lucan frowned and studied her fully. "Covey's teacher?"

Blushing, Lillian said, "Perhaps if your wife is at home, I might speak to her." She took a breath and added, "It's about Covey's attendance at school."

Lucan lifted the axe above his head. Lillian stared as his chest expanded under the dirty white shirt he wore. She let her eyes wander to the muscles in his arms and watched as the hatchet came down hard onto the piece of timber. "I've written you both numerous letters about this." She tilted her head at Lucan's lack of response.

He continued to work. "Me wife's dead, Miss Rowles."

Lillian gasped, embarrassed by her foolishness in not finding out more about the family before she had come. "I am sorry. I wasn't informed of this." She waited but Lucan didn't answer. He continued to position and cut the timber so she stumbled on. "Covey's enrolment form has only your name and his. I had to ask around to find out where you lived."

Still Lucan worked.

"You haven't answered my letters. Covey did give them to you I trust."

Lucan frowned at her. He stood the axe on its head once more. "If you say he did."

"So may I ask, Mister Hayes, why you haven't sent a reply?"

Lucan drawled, "Well...I coulda done if I could read and write, Miss Rowles." He lifted the tool over his shoulder and headed towards the house.

Lillian deflated. Heat flushed her face. How could she be so foolish to just assume he could read and write? She was learning all too quickly how very different the people of Irvinebank were compared to the cultured societies who had surrounded her most of her life.

She straightened her back. Having come this far she wasn't going to give in now. Lillian trotted after him. When she rounded the corner of the house, he had hung his axe on the wall and stripped himself of his shirt. She jerked to a halt, taken aback by the fact he hadn't had the courtesy to undress in a more private place.