Rafferty's Legacy by Jane Corrie Read Free Book Online Page A

little while for her to notice that the proceedings had come to a temporary halt. Wondering what the hold-up was, she looked across the cattle ring, aware of an indefinable air of expectancy around the buyers standing the other side of the ring, and saw a tall fair man approaching the inner rails of the ring. As her eyes followed his approach, she noted the way the other buyers automatically made a space for him beside the ring.
    Seated a little behind Michael, Teresa was able to watch these proceedings without being seen herself, and had a good view of the buyers, for the idea was to get her accustomed to the various tactics adopted by the buyers during bidding—not that as yet she had much clue as to whether that large gentleman in the brown dungarees was bidding or actually blowing his nose!
    It was, she thought, a subject she would have to take up with Michael later ! Her eyes fell on the fair man again. What tactics would he adopt? she wondered, and decided to keep a close watch on him to see if she could spot his bargaining method.
    That he was someone of importance, she was in no doubt. There was no casual wear here. His tan silk shirt and fawn slacks alone put him well apart from the other buyers, and she particularly noticed the way he had looked at Mr Oates, as if to say, 'Well, get on with it, man, I haven't all day! '
    However, before Mr Oates started proceedings, he leaned down from his high perched stool and spoke to Teresa. 'Go and get some tea laid on, girl, we'll be finishing soon.'
     
    Teresa obeyed without question; she was a little sorry she wouldn't be able to watch the fair man bidding, but there was always another time. As she let herself out of the side door, she heard the bidding begin.
    The auction room offices were only across the road, and within a few minutes she had reached them and begun the tea preparations.
    It was as well she had decided not to actually make the tea until their arrival, for it was almost an hour before they put in an appearance. Something must have held them up, she thought. No doubt Michael would tell her later. She had an awful lot to learn about auctioneering, but at least she liked the work, and considered herself very lucky to have not only an interesting job, but nice employers.
    While she waited for them to come, Teresa typed a letter for Michael, confirming a hotel reservation for the following week's auction at a township further up north. As he had explained to Teresa, they sometimes obliged their clients by keeping a weather-eye out for certain breeds, and when they knew they were up for sale would make the necessary purchase for them.
    As her fingers slid expertly over the keys, she felt once again that sense of wonder she had felt on finding she could still type.
    Michael's explanation of this, to her, wondrous happening was, 'It's probably the same as learning to ride a bike, they say you never forget! '
    But to Teresa it meant much more than just a wonderful discovery—it meant that she would eventually get her memory back, as indeed the doc-
     
    for had assured her she would—in time, that was. Only Teresa was impatient to fill in that blank space of what went before. She wanted to remember her mother and brother, and still felt a sense of guilt that she couldn't.
    She had told her uncle her feelings on this, and he would always repeat the doctor's words, that she would have to be patient and not push things. He had also said that it was probably nature's way of protecting her. She had suffered a great shock on the loss of her family, and also ... Here he had broken off sharply, and Teresa had a feeling that he had deliberately changed his mind about what he had been about to tell her, but concluded later that he had decided not to let her dwell on that sad time in her life. He had gone on to say how neglectful he had been in not keeping in closer touch with her mother. As a fund of information on their way of life he was useless, he had told her