Caleb stared at the glass while he pondered the sense of a refill. He remembered why he had wanted to see Penrose and pushed the glass aside. He pulled the quartz Adelaide had found from his pocket and handed it to him. ‘Have a look at this. Found it the other day up at Shenandoah. When I had a dig around, it looked like there might be a decent seam. Tell me I’m not going mad?’

Penrose glanced around, but Lil’s Place was quiet and Lil herself preoccupied in the kitchen. ‘Don’t know who’s watching,’ he said and held the rock below the table, turning it over in his hand and scraping at the sparkling line of gold with his thumbnail.

When his eyes met Caleb’s, they shone. ‘It’s the real thing,’ he said. ‘And a good sample too. I’ll get it crushed and properly analysed. But if you want investors you are going to need more than just a lump of rock. We’ll need to take some more samples.’

Caleb nodded, catching Penrose’s excitement. ‘This changes everything, doesn’t it? Correct me if I’m wrong, Penrose, but if this was found on the surface, why dig an adit? Can’t we just mine from the top down?’

Penrose nodded. ‘Certainly cheaper … the five-head stamper has made the old one redundant. I can tell my uncle that a mine up the valley has bought it. We’ll have to find the money for it. We need a couple of teams of experienced men—’ He broke off. ‘We’re getting ahead of ourselves. First I need to get some good samples. This is going to take a bit of thought and planning, Hunt.’

‘Is it worth asking your uncle for advice?’

Penrose’s mouth tightened. ‘No. It’s a hard thing to say about your own family, but I don’t entirely trust him,’ he said. ‘He’s ruthless when it comes to business. I’ve seen him destroy a couple of the mining companies adjoining the Maiden’s Creek Mine and then buy them out for a fraction of their worth.’

‘If you want to join with me, this find could make independent men of us both,’ Caleb said.

Penrose turned the rock in his hand. ‘It would be good to be my own man again.’

A gurgle of female laughter echoed in the room and both men turned. Sissy and Nell had entered and were settling themselves at a table near the door. Seeing Penrose, Sissy waved and made to rise, but Lil rolled in from the kitchen and Sissy sank back in her seat.

‘So why don’t you marry that girl of yours?’ Caleb asked.

Penrose’s smile faded. ‘That is complicated.’

‘She’s not tied to Lil, is she?’

‘No, she can leave any time she wants, but—’