386
Later, Patricia, Stephen, Amanda and Wayne are
chatting at the party. Jill joins them. Stephen tells Patricia
she should join the C.W.A. Jill says now that she's staying on, she should
get to know the locals. Stephen
takes Wayne and Amanda away, telling them he wants to speak to them. Patricia
tells Jill to be a little more
careful what she says in front of Stephen - she doesn't want to get too involved
with the locals, as most of
them are boring. Jill tells her she might be heading for trouble - Stephen
seems to like them. She goes to
get a drink, and Patricia looks worried.
The next morning, Jill is in the office when Wayne and Amanda come in. Wayne
asks if Stephen is around
and she tells him he's probably at the back paddock. Wayne tells her to look
after his precious wife for a
few minutes - she can tell her how to cope when she's her size. Wayne leaves
and Amanda looks uneasy.
Jill asks her if she wants a boy or girl. Amanda replies that it doesn't really
matter. Jill tells her she'd
love a little girl and has been making up a short list of names. Amanda starts
to leave, and Jill asks her when
it's due. Amanda tells her she's not in the mood to talk about babies, and
is thinking of going for a ride.
Jill tells her she has to be very careful in her condition. Amanda says she
wants to be alone for a while, so
Jill tells her to go for a walk. She replies that she's going for a ride,
and shuts the door.
Wayne is outside when Jill calls to him. He comes
running over and asks what the matter is. Jill tells him
that Amanda is going for a ride, and she couldn't talk her out of it. Wayne
rushes off.
Amanda leads a brown horse out of it's stable. Wayne comes rushing up and
tells her not to be so stupid -
she can't go riding horses. Amanda tells him there's nothing to worry about
as she's got the most docile
horse in the stables. Wayne tells her that something could still happen. Amanda
tells him to stop fussing.
He replies that she is not going and that's it. He starts to lead the horse
away and Amanda tries to mount it.
She falls off and lands heavily on the ground. Wayne picks her up and says
he's sorry, as Jill rushes over.
Amanda tells him she's fine and so is the baby. Amanda tells him to stop treating
her like a child. Wayne tells
her he will when she stops behaving like one. Wayne tells her he wants her
to see a doctor, and Jill tells him
she'll call one.
Inside the house, Wayne and Stephen are fussing over Amanda. Stephen tells
her she should have let Jill
call a doctor. Patricia comes in and Stephen tells her that Amanda has had
a fall. Patricia tells Amanda she
knows a very nice lady doctor in town, and suggests driving her over to see
her. Amanda asks her if it'd
just be them and Patricia says yes. Amanda says thanks, and the pair go outside.
Outside, Patricia tells Amanda it was a good job she came along, and she hopes
it proves she can trust her
as well. Amanda shakes her head and says sorry. Patricia says there's gratitude
for you. Amanda tells her
she got her out of a tough spot but she knows what she's like, and there's
no way she could trust her.
Patricia stares at her as she walks off.
Gordon arrives at the riding school. Jill greets
him and tells him Stephen is up at the house. Gordon asks
where Wayne is, and Jill tells him he's inside and not happy about being kept
in the dark. Gordon decides
they should go in and tell him what it's all about.
A while later, Gordon, Wayne and Jill are in the office. Wayne is looking
through a contract. Gordon tells
him if it's going to work, Stephen has to believe it's a joint decision by
all the owners. Wayne tells him he's
giving away a fair bit. Gordon replies it works for them too. Wayne tells
them he'll go along with it, and
signs the contract.
Stephen and Patricia are relaxing in the house when there's a knock at the
door. Patricia goes to get it, and
comes in with Gordon. Stephen gets him a drink, and Gordon tells them he has
a business proposition and
Patricia should be quite interested in what he has to say. Gordon explains
that Woombai is finally starting
to pay for itself, and it's because of the good work that Stephen has done.
He gives Stephen the contract
and tells him the owners have decided to make him an offer - he'll get seven
and a half percent of the
annual net profit on top of a negotiated salary if he signs a contract to
remain as the resident manager for
the next ten years. Patricia looks put out. A short time later, Gordon asks
Stephen if he thinks the term
is too long. Stephen tells him no - he can understand his need for commitment.
Patricia tells Stephen he
should think about it for a few days. He replies that there isn't a great
deal to think about - it strikes
him as the perfect offer. Gordon asks him if he'll accept. Stephen tells him
he certainly will. Gordon
looks at Patricia. She doesn't look happy.
That evening, Wayne and Amanda are in the living
room with Stephen and Patricia. Stephen has looked
through the contract and says it looks better than it did originally. Patricia
tells him he shouldn't sign it
straight away. Wayne tells her it's a very good offer, and that Woombai is
a company. He continues that,
if Stephen can keep it operating at a profit, they'll be able to invest in
other areas - in ten years time the
company could be huge. Patricia tells her husband that he won't have the choice
to leave if he wanted.
Stephen tells her he realises that. Patricia asks Amanda what she thinks.
Amanda says she'd sign it, and
Patricia stares at her. Amanda adds that her biggest problem was always rushing
into things before thinking
about them. Stephen tells them if they both want him to think it over, he'll
leave it until tomorrow.
In reception, Gordon tells Jill that Stephen was thrilled with the offer,
and he's sure he'll sign the contract.
He adds that Stephen would have signed that afternoon if Patricia hadn't been
there. Jill tells him that it's
Patricia she's worried about. Patricia comes in and asks her why that is.
She says she wants someone to tell
her what's going on. Gordon tells her she orchestrated all the nonsense with
Terry so she could drag
Stephen back to the city. He explains that they have a witness - one of the
property workers saw everything.
Patricia looks shocked. Gordon tells her that their offer to Stephen was genuine
and gives her a choice -
life in the country or life without Stephen. Patricia is furious, but Gordon
tells her if she tries to stop
Stephen signing, they'll tell him about the witness. The phone rings and Jill
answers it. It is Robin, who asks
for Patricia. Jill tells her, and Patricia says she'll take it in the office.
She storms out, and Gordon tells Jill
he has a funny feeling they're not too popular! The pair laugh.
On the phone, Robin tells Patricia that Dee's cheque for Wayne and Amanda
has arrived along with a load
of legal documents, which have to be signed before the cheque can be handed
over. He explains that Wayne
is coming over the next morning to put everything in order and, as soon as
he does, they've got him over a
barrel. Patricia smiles and tells him he's a godsend. She explains that she's
just been speaking to a couple
of people who think they've got HER over a barrel, and are they in for one
hell of a shock.....
KIM LEWIS
(as Jill O'Donnell), ROWENA WALLACE (Patricia Morrell), IAN RAWLINGS (Wayne
Morrell),
ALYCE PLATT (Amanda Morrell), MICHAEL LONG (Stephen Morrell),
BRIAN BLAIN (Gordon Hamilton), SCOTT McGREGOR (Robin Elliott)
Written
by GREG HADDRICK
Directed by GRAEME HODGSON
Channel
Five broadcast: Sunday 17th November 2002