‘On your ear,’ Sophie asserted. ‘It’s just common sense and hard graft. You’ll have to write reports, and maybe swot up some facts because you’ll be helping with the slide nights and the nature walks, so you’ll need to be accurate in what you say. And put in the hours of course. Still, you’re pretty fit, so the physical side shouldn’t worry you.’

Tilly drew a breath and said cautiously, ‘Will the boys be okay with it? Luke, yes, but what about Matt? I’ve already had a disagreement with—’

‘It’s nothing to do with him,’ Sophie said briskly. ‘Matt’s support staff, he’s not a ranger. That’s why you’ll be teamed with Luke.’

‘Oh.’ Tilly was surprised. ‘I thought he was. He’s never said . . . I mean, he never says much anyway, but he hasn’t once corrected me on it. And he’s heard me tell people he’s one plenty of times.’

‘Yeah, well, he’s on the books as a mechanic and handyman. So, what are you thinking, Tilly? Are you really serious about leaving?’

‘No, not if you believe I can do this.’ Tilly was suddenly filled with a sense of anticipation for the days ahead. ‘Thank you, Sophie – for the chance and the support. Somehow, whenever I get to a crisis point in my life you always seem to be there with an alternative.’

‘Said I would be,’ the other woman replied gruffly. ‘Hurry it up then. I’ll try to catch Luke before he leaves.’

Connor returned to Binboona two days later. Tilly, dusty and dog-tired, for she and Luke had been working on the walking paths up the cliffs that formed the Nutt River gorge, recognised his vehicle as they drove in at sunset.

‘Looks like our wandering botanist is back.’ Luke pulled on the handbrake and let the diesel engine idle down before switching off. Tilly, glad enough to sit for a moment, nodded. Luke grinned. ‘How’s the shoulders? We must’ve shifted half a tonne of rock today – you still want to be a ranger, Tilly?’

‘Ah, but think how beautiful the paths are now,’ she retorted tiredly. ‘A blind man could find his way along them. It’s hard work,’ she agreed, ‘but more interesting than cooking and cleaning. Speaking of which, I wonder what Matt’s made us for dinner? I’m so hungry I could eat a horse – and raw at that.’

‘Well, it won’t be horse but I wouldn’t guarantee it’s not half raw or burnt black,’ Luke said darkly. ‘He’s worse than me in the kitchen and that’s saying something.’

Connor must have been of the same opinion, Tilly thought, for the next morning he announced his intention of moving down to the camp. ‘I’ve imposed on you all long enough,’ he told her as she cleared the table, it being her turn today for house duties.