Chapters (53)
- Cover
- About Alison Stuart
- Also by Alison Stuart
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Preview of The Goldminer's Sister
Caleb ignored his friend. ‘Wouldn’t dream of not inviting you, ladies,’ he said. ‘In fact, if we could not invite Mrs Russell and Mrs Jervis that would make me quite happy. They’ve already taken Adelaide on as their new project. They are insisting on a full wedding breakfast in the Mechanics’ Institute, I believe. So much for a quiet bourbon in the back room of the Britannia.’
Lil punched Penrose on the shoulder. ‘And what about my girl, Sissy?’ she said. ‘Time’s running out. I can’t ’ave you ’anging around ’er with your puppy dog eyes. You’re bad for business. I’m warning you, Penrose, make an ’onest woman of ’er or she’s going back to Melbourne.’
The good humour drained from Penrose’s face as Lil flounced off to resume her position behind the bar. He glanced across the room to where Sissy leaned across a table, talking to a miner.
‘Lil’s right. It’s time,’ he said.
‘And what about your uncle?’
Penrose set his glass down. ‘I am beholden to him, Hunt, but this is my life, not his.’
‘Glad to hear it, Penrose. She’s a fine girl.’
‘It’s only a matter of time before another Barnwell crosses her path.’ Penrose screwed up his face. ‘Enough of me, tell me about Melbourne. What did the lawyer say?’
‘The telegram from the solicitor in London confirmed what the letter said but the lawyer in Melbourne has recommended we go to London to put Adelaide and Danny’s affairs in proper order. Not something either of us want to do but if we must, we must. Maybe we’ll do some travelling and see all those places I’ve only read about in books. Paris … Rome …’
‘And Danny?’
‘He’ll come with us but we’ll be back. We’ll lease a house in East Melbourne to use and Adelaide’s enrolled Danny at Melbourne Grammar. He seemed mighty pleased with that decision.’
‘And what do you think you’ll do? Come back to Maiden’s Creek? Open a fancy Collins Street medical practice?’
Caleb fumbled in his jacket pocket and pulled out a page torn from a newspaper, much crumpled from being folded and refolded. He spread it on the table.
‘I’ve fallen in love with this country, Penrose,’ he said, ‘but I’ve no taste for hard scrabble gold mining or doctoring. These last months have reminded me that I was put on this earth to do some good, but it’s a part of my life I want to put behind me now. I want to go back to the land, back to farming, feel the earth between my fingers. This here’s a property for sale up Mansfield way. Adelaide says she wants to be within sight of the mountains, so we’ll go look at it and if it suits, I’ll put in an offer.’