My Pleasure reading. The Thorn Birds. pp.382 - 509

The second year of Meggie and Luke’s marriage came to the end, however there were no changes – he spent all his time working in a plantation and gave promises to Meggie to buy their own house the next few years.  Meggie missed Drogheda much but didn’t dare to leave his husband and return there.  Sometime later, Luke finally agreed to go on holiday to Sidney with Maggie, being afraid she would divorce and his bank account would stop to be up. Maggie found out she was pregnant after the belayed honeymoon, thus hoping it would improve her condition and relations with the husband as well as settle him down. She was wrong – Luke was furious considering the child would stand in a way to increase his income. While Maggie was bearing a baby girl, Justin, Ralph visited her, however only for few hours thus enraging Maggie who asked him to go away. After giving a birth to Justin, Maggie felt sick and weak, feeling no motherly love to her baby.  The Mueller sent her to the Matlock Island to summon up fresh energy and think over her future life. Ralph came to North Queensland again to say good bye as he would leave Australia for Rome and become the archbishop. Finding out Maggie’s absence, he set out to Matlock Island where they enjoyed each other - the desire for Maggie was rather bigger than his ambition is to be the perfect bishop. Then Ralph left her for Rome while Maggie, who had already been pregnant with Ralph’s child, decided to separate from Luke and return to Drogheda.

The Second World War began – the Cleary family did their best for helping their country: they gave sheep hair and the two youngest brothers set of to fight in a war. Meanwhile Maggie gave the birth to the second child – the baby boy Dan.