‘Yes.’ Cate unlocked the car with the CAB plates. ‘My grandparents were appalled when they realised Arthur Lorrimer Senior had snapped up the snow lease.’ Cate lifted out a hessian bag and dumped it at his feet. ‘Arthur was the son of a wealthy brewer in Sydney. He’d been sent down to look for grazing land. I remember Grandma telling me she thought he had something to prove to his father.’

‘So, that was the snow lease up here, but how did the Lorrimers end up with White Winter Station?’ Flowers asked, picking up the bag while she locked the car. Cate had divided the wood into manageable bundles, and they weren’t as heavy as he’d feared.

‘They couldn’t bring the stock up here in summer, so the herd lost condition.’ Cate scooped up her poles and, to Flowers’ confusion, deftly secured them around her waist using the wrist straps.

‘Did that affect the cattle price?’ he asked, stomping after her as she slid sideways down the slope.

‘Yes, Einstein,’ she said, waiting for him to catch up. ‘Two years later, my grandfather died, and Grandma was forced to sell the property. Arthur Lorrimer bought it at auction, and Grandma, my dad and Aunt Wendy moved to Tumbarumba.’

‘That’s tough,’ said Flowers. ‘To lose the snow lease, then your grandfather, and finally the property.’

‘I’m sure it was.’ She shot him a sideways glance. ‘Aunt Wendy and I have talked about it from time to time. While things were pretty lawless back in those days, it’s not as though Arthur Lorrimer acted illegally. He knew prime land when he saw it. It was more an opportunistic business move on his part.’

‘And that’s how the feud started?’

‘Yes, Grandma and my father were very bitter. To add insult to injury, the Lorrimers refused to let Grandma visit the family cemetery at White Winter Station.’

‘That’s a bit ordinary.’

‘Yes. Aunt Wendy is different though, she’s not one to hold a grudge. She feels there’s nothing to be gained by hanging on to the past. She’s left it where it belongs.’ Cate slowed her speed to match his. ‘It’s strange, because she was the one who loved the horses and the land more so than my dad.’

‘Are your parents still in the area?’

There was a slight pause. ‘My parents died over ten years ago.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Flowers said.

‘Thank you. It was tragic. Dad had worked his whole life as an engineer with the Snowy Hydro and had recently retired. They were on the trip of a lifetime when they were killed in an accident overseas.’

‘Your family has had its share of tragedy.’ He had no more words for Cate Buchanan that wouldn’t have been said many times over, so he walked on in silence, appreciating the quietness of the trail.