I had been working at my new job at The Commercial for two weeks. My ankle had healed but I hadn’t forgotten about Joe Byrne, half expecting him to walk in whenever the door opened. He had said he would see me again… I had heard quite a few stories about him in the meantime from Anna, the girl I had been working with to learn the ropes. It seemed Joe had quite a reputation and by the sound of it Anna wouldn’t have minded at all finding out first hand whether it was deserved or not.  

“Just the way he looks at you, it makes you go all funny like…”  

I hadn’t mentioned that I had met him, not because I was worried about my reputation but because for some inexplicable reason I wanted to keep the memory private. I had never met anyone quite like him before and he had made a strong impression on me. I had had men interested in me but no one I particularly cared about, at least not enough to be sorry about leaving them behind when I decided to come and live in Beechworth. I just wanted more from life than the little town I had lived in all my life could offer, and somehow Joe Byrne seemed to be the embodiment of all the adventure and excitement that I craved. 

It was my first night working by myself and I was a bit nervous. Not because the work was in any way difficult or demanding – the most important thing was to keep glasses filled and people drinking – but because tonight I would be the one responsible for getting everyone to leave when it came to closing time. I had already seen how hard it could be to persuade some men to leave when they were full of drink and you were a female. To them a barmaid was fair game.  

“Come on lass, just one kiss…” The first thing a barmaid had to learn was how to deal with wandering hands. The Commercial was one of the ‘better’ hotels in Beechworth and we didn’t get the roughest types but there were still problems sometimes. 

“Good evening, lass.” I hadn’t seen him come in but there he was in front of me all of a sudden. “Might I have some whiskey, ‘twas a mighty dusty ride into town.”  

I smiled and poured him a drink. “Here you are then, Mr. Byrne.” His fingers brushed my arm lightly.  

“No need to be so formal lass. It’s Joe. And you have me at a disadvantage as I do not know your name.” He looked at me expectantly.  

“It’s Kate.”  

He made a little bow. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kate.“ So we were to pretend we had just met? He must have seen the question in my eyes because he winked and suddenly I understood exactly what Anna meant. I turned away to fill more glasses, glad of the chance to compose myself. 

It didn’t get too busy that evening, so I had time to talk to Joe in between serving drinks. He really was quite interesting and told me the strangest stories that he had read someplace.  

“Aye lass, ‘tis true,” he would assure me at the end of each anecdote as I laughed incredulously.  

“Now you watch out for Joe here Kate lass, he’s a likeable lad an’ all but you don’t want to be losin’ your head.” Old O’Brien patted me on the arm. He was one of the regulars who seemed to have appointed himself as some kind of father figure to us barmaids.  

“Sure there’s no need to worry at all, Mr. O’Brien,” Joe said, “I have no doubt Kate here is a lass who knows how to look after herself.” He looked right into my eyes then and I thought Old O’Brien may have been drunk but he wasn’t silly. It would be so easy to lose your head with Joe Byrne… 

It was getting towards closing time and I was busy serving one last round of drinks. Every time I turned my back on Joe, I could feel his eyes on me and I felt a tingle all the way down to my toes. I wondered what would happen at closing time, if he would stay around and what I would do in that case. 

And all of a sudden he was gone. When I returned from a tour around the bar laden with glasses, he was no longer there. He had left without saying goodbye? Well, maybe he was in a rush to go and meet one of his women of whom there apparently was a legion. I couldn’t help feeling a stab of disappointment though I couldn’t have said for sure why I felt like he had let me down. 

Finally I managed to get everyone out. With a sigh of relief I closed the door and slid the bolt home. I picked up the lantern and made my way through to the back and the stairs leading up to the second storey where my room was. 

“You didn’t think I left without saying goodbye, did you lass?” He was sitting there on the steps, bold as brass and I just stood there, staring. He got up and gently took the lantern from my hand, putting it down on the stair. “We wouldn’t want to start a fire, would we now?” His face was close to mine, his fingers were brushing my cheek and I closed my eyes when his lips touched mine, tentatively at first but more demanding when I sighed and lifted my arms to put my hands around his neck.  

“Not a fire like that anyway,” I whispered into his ear and he chuckled as he pulled me closer. I had never been kissed like that, it felt like he had set my whole body on fire and I found my hands sliding down his chest and around to his back, under his jacket, wanting to get as close to him as I could.  

“Kate,” he whispered, and my whole body was screaming yes before I even heard what he asked. “Are you sure lass?” I could feel how much he wanted me and I wanted him just as badly and I was past caring about anything else.  

“Yes!”  

He picked me up and I slid my hand in his hair, letting my fingers tangle in the curls while our lips remained locked together and he carried me up the stairs.