the thorn birds colleen mccullough

white cutters, and besides, you know as well as I do that Australian
law forbids the importation of black or yellow men to do slave labor
or work for wages lower than a white man's, take the bread out of a
white Australian's mouth. There's a shortage of cutters and the
money's terrific. Not too many blokes are big enough or strong
enough to cut cane. But 1 am. It won't beat me!" "Does this mean
you're thinking of making our home in North Queensland, Luke?"
"Yes."
She stared past his shoulder through the great bank of windows at
Drogheda: the ghost gums, the Home Paddock, the stretch of trees
beyond. Not to live on Drogheda! To be somewhere Bishop Ralph
could never find her, to live without ever seeing him again, to
cleave to this stranger sitting facing her so irrevocably there could
be no going back .... The grey eyes rested on Luke's vivid, impatient
face and grew more beautiful, but unmistakably sadder. He sensed it
only; she had no tears there, her lids didn't droop, or the corners of
her mouth. But he wasn't concerned with whatever sorrows Meggie
owned, for he had no intention of letting her become so important to
him she caused him worry on her behalf. Admittedly she was
something of a bonus to a man who had tried to marry Dot
MacPherson of Bingelly, but her physical desirability and tractable
nature only increased Luke's guard over his own heart. No woman,
even one as sweet and beautiful as Meggie Cleary, was ever going
to gain sufficient power over him to tell him what to do.
So, remaining true to himself, he plunged straight into the main
thing on his mind. There were times when guile was necessary, but
in this matter it wouldn't serve him as well as bluntness.