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Chapters (68)
  1. Dedication
  2. Clancy of The Overflow
  3. Chapter 1
  4. Chapter 2
  5. Chapter 3
  6. Chapter 4
  7. Chapter 5
  8. Chapter 6
  9. Chapter 7
  10. Chapter 8
  11. Chapter 9
  12. Chapter 10
  13. Chapter 11
  14. Chapter 12
  15. Chapter 13
  16. Chapter 14
  17. Chapter 15
  18. Chapter 16
  19. Chapter 17
  20. Chapter 18
  21. Chapter 19
  22. Chapter 20
  23. Chapter 21
  24. Chapter 22
  25. Chapter 23
  26. Chapter 24
  27. Chapter 25
  28. Chapter 26
  29. Chapter 27
  30. Chapter 28
  31. Chapter 29
  32. Chapter 30
  33. Chapter 31
  34. Chapter 32
  35. Chapter 33
  36. Chapter 34
  37. Chapter 35
  38. Chapter 36
  39. Chapter 37
  40. Chapter 38
  41. Chapter 39
  42. Chapter 40
  43. Chapter 41
  44. Chapter 42
  45. Chapter 43
  46. Chapter 44
  47. Chapter 45
  48. Chapter 46
  49. Chapter 47
  50. Chapter 48
  51. Chapter 49
  52. Chapter 50
  53. Chapter 51
  54. Chapter 52
  55. Chapter 53
  56. Chapter 54
  57. Chapter 55
  58. Chapter 56
  59. Chapter 57
  60. Chapter 58
  61. Chapter 59
  62. Chapter 60
  63. Chapter 61
  64. Chapter 62
  65. Chapter 63
  66. Chapter 64
  67. Author’s Note
  68. About the Author

She had not just missed that Matilda loved — with a kind of love — Clancy of the Overflow, but that Clancy of the Overflow had also loved — with a kind of love — Matilda O’Halloran as well.

She had almost finished writing a love story, or rather, a story about love, for people and for the land. But perhaps the most moving love story of all was the one that had never been.

Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Incredibly Simple, Quick Pumpkin Scones

Mix 225g cooked pumpkin, 105g caster sugar, 360g plain flour and enough cream to moisten. Mix will be sticky.

Line a tin with baking paper. Preheat oven to 200˚C. Splodge in round handfuls, side by side — they will be too moist to roll out. Brush tops with cream. Bake for about 12 minutes or till brown on top. Excellent fresh or even the next day.

EDINBURGH, FEBRUARY 1987

SCARLETT

She had laid the table with scones and jam and cream. Scones were Scottish, but these were pumpkin scones and therefore Australian too. There was cock-a-leekie soup, a rich chicken broth sweetened with prunes, the best Scottish dish she had found so far, and a big white loaf of the soft Scottish bread that should have tasted like the bread of home, but didn’t.

She looked at her watch. William would be here any minute — he’d landed at Heathrow two weeks back, and he and his mate had hired a car. She had a feeling the two weeks’ touring — including a small-scale hydro plant and eco-village in Wales — before coming here was William’s way of saying, ‘I am having a holiday in Europe, and place no expectations on you beyond lunch and, possibly, a place for me and Jimbo to bunk down for a couple of nights while we see the town.’

Though why anyone would want to come to Scotland in the gloom of winter she didn’t know, not when they could have come in the green glory of summer, when even the short dark of the night glowed with the sunlight just below the horizon.

And just to make it all the more difficult, even though they had officially broken up when she left Australia, William was not married, not even significantly-enough-othered to be holidaying with a girlfriend, instead of his mate Jimbo. She’d heard ‘casual’ gossip from Jed and Nancy and Blue that he’d been going out with Alice Sampson for a while and, more recently, with Tilly Lee.