“It wasn’t that I didn’t like you teaching.” Olive’s expression had a guilty edge. She lowered her voice. “I got to have the place to myself when you were at work. It was more that I worried for you.”

“Worried for me?”

“After everything that happened back when the girls were babies.”

Natalie blanched and looked around but there was no-one nearby to hear them. Most people were headed to the other side of the oval where the final event for the day was taking place, the monster auction.

“I mean your difficulties coping,” Olive said quickly and jerked her head in the direction of Vee’s plant stall. “Not the other.” She pursed her lips.

“I don’t understand.”

“Do you remember that book I gave you? The Model Wife.”

Another pang of guilt surged through Natalie. She nodded.

“It was rather old-fashioned, of course, and there’s no way you’d follow all that it said, but there were elements of truth, especially for a farmer’s wife. A farm is a huge business and a farmer doesn’t just need a wife, he needs a person who can help him with that business, and before you say you do that, of course you do, but when you first wanted to go back to teaching I was concerned it would be too much. You’d had some tough years and I knew how hard it would be for you to juggle everything. I never worked beyond the property but there were days when I’d be out in the paddock or up in the shed as long as Clem and then I’d have to cook a meal, keep that huge house clean, see to children. I knew your…mental health wasn’t strong after the children and I worried that you would push yourself too hard.”

Natalie let out the breath she’d been holding. “It was the teaching that kept me sane.”

“I think I understand that now. I’ve had a few chats with Laura and Paul. They really are so well suited and Paul is very impressed with you.”

“Really?” She still found it hard to believe.

“Anyway, it seems you’re well respected and I won’t say another word about you going out to teach.”

Natalie wasn’t sure whether to feel pleased or annoyed about that. Olive’s sentiments were a little late considering Natalie was thinking of retiring.

Nancy’s voice blared from the loudspeaker again, asking everyone to gather outside the clubrooms where the auction was about to begin.

“Nancy’s been a champion keeping this together today,” Olive said. “We’re done here now, we should head over.”

Natalie followed after Olive, pondering all that she’d said. She’d never imagined Olive’s reason for not wanting her to work was because she was trying to look out for Natalie. They passed the second-hand book stall, all the unsold books packed in boxes.