Free Tasmanian Tangle by Jane Corrie Page A

workers' pay.
    The majority of the pickers were seasonal workers who came year after year, and the general atmosphere was one of feverish but happy activity. As most of them
     
    came from the surrounding hamlets, they all knew each other, and it was like a yearly family outing. Food was provided from Orchard House, and wooden tables with trestle seats were placed at convenient points throughout the orchards to serve the army of helpers.
    It reminded Tanya of a national park area, where picnic sites were placed for the use of tourists passing through, only here they were workers and not tourists, and were surrounded by acres of rosy fruit waiting to be picked. When one considered all the angles, it was quite a big business and not just a case of waiting on the sidelines for the fruit to ripen, as Tanya had once mistakenly thought, but then she had had nothing to do with the business side of the farm.
    When Kade told her at midday that they would be having lunch at Orchard House, she was slightly taken aback and wondered with a certain amount of misgiving if this was to be the start of a new relationship between them. He had never before honoured her with his presence at the meal table, and she wondered if this was Connie's doing. She must have asked Kade to lunch the previous evening, when he had brought the bay gelding over for her use the next day.
    He could have refused, she thought crossly, and wondered why he had accepted. She looked longingly at the picnic tables and the helpers now gathering round to sort out the large hampers of food provided, and wished she could stay to lunch with them. It wouldn't be so embarrassing for her since she could not imagine what she and Kade would have to talk about, unless it was to be a working lunch.
    They had almost reached the driveway to the house when an expensive-looking car emerged from the drive and drew up in front of them. A tall thin man then unfolded himself from the driving seat and came towards them smiling. 'Hi! I was told you were out on the rounds. I'm Charlie Page,' he volunteered, looking at Kade. 'We usually do our business by phone, but as I was in these parts I thought I'd look you up.'
    Kade dismounted and held a welcoming hand out to the man. 'Pleased to meet you,' he drawled. 'I trust our last consignment was satisfactory?'
    Tanya, who had remained seated, had a sudden hope that Kade and his unexpected visitor would start on a long discussion that necessitated his absence from luncheon, but she was doomed to disappointment.
    'This is my partner,' said Kade abruptly, introducing Tanya to Charlie Page, and dismissing any chance of her making her departure.
    The man gave her a wide cheery grin and walked over towards her, forcing her to dismount, and then held a large horny hand towards her. 'Very pleased to meet you, Mrs Player,' he said happily.
    `I'm not Mrs Player!' exclaimed Tanya, after the short shocked silence that followed. 'Just a working partner,' she managed to get out, as casually as she was able to, but her voice echoed her outraged feelings as did her wide eyes as they flew from Mr Page to Kade, who appeared to be thoroughly enjoying her discomfort.
    'Thanks, anyway, for the compliment,' he said to the now embarrassed man. 'You haven't answered my query, is everything okay?' he asked, casually turning the conversation to other matters, and relieving him from the necessity of having to make profuse apologies all round.
    Tanya did not take in the rest of the conversation,
     
    she was too busy digesting Kate's sarcastic, 'Thanks for the compliment,' remark. She did remember that Mr Page was asked to lunch but tactfully refused, and she wished he had accepted, since that would have made it a business lunch, and would have considerably eased the situation, as far as she was concerned anyway. However, far from being unsatisfied with past consignments he wanted to double up on past orders, and having told Kade this, he went on his way, favouring Tanya with