Caleb laid the book on the table beside him. ‘I haven’t even seen the claim and Bowen says it will be another week before I can walk properly, let alone ride a horse.’

Penrose looked around the neat parlour. ‘Mrs Greaves looking after you?’ he asked.

Caleb lowered his voice. ‘I am being overwhelmed with feminine attention. You’ve no idea how good it is to see you. The Russell and Jervis women have been daily visitors and I swear Netty Redley is force-feeding me.’

The only female who seemed to treat him with indifference was his hostess, Adelaide Greaves. She remained polite and efficient but once satisfied he wanted for nothing, she seemed to have nothing further to say to him.

‘I had to go down to Port Albert,’ Penrose said, drawing up a chair. ‘Problem with unloading the new stamper. You told me that your man, Hannigan, was coming by ship. Which ship?’

‘The Ella,’ Caleb said. ‘Has it docked in Port Albert yet?’

‘Yes,’ Penrose said slowly. ‘Knowing you are still laid up, I thought I would make enquiries while I was at the Port. My foreman was aboard the Ella from Melbourne with the stamper. He says Hannigan left the ship in Geelong, with all his cargo. He’d been talking about trying his luck on the western goldfields, and when the ship had to pull in to Geelong for repairs, Hannigan left.’

‘What?’ Caleb half-rose in fury, before subsiding with a curse. ‘What?’ he repeated, furiously rubbing his injury.

‘How much did you have invested in the equipment?’

‘Pretty much everything,’ Caleb said, and added, through gritted teeth, ‘I should have shot the bastard when I had the chance.’

‘Who do you plan to shoot?’

Both men looked around at the sound of Mrs Greaves’s voice. Penrose jumped to his feet.

‘That bloody Irishman, Hannigan,’ Caleb said.

‘Don’t swear,’ Mrs Greaves admonished. ‘What’s he done?’

‘Double-crossed me, ma’am.’

‘Well, more fool you for trusting him,’ she said. ‘How are you, Mr Penrose?’

‘I just called in with the bad news for my friend, Hunt,’ Penrose said. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I have to get up to the mine. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.’ He paused at the door and glanced back. ‘I’m curious to see this claim of yours, Hunt. Would you mind if I came with you when you’re up to the ride to Pretty Sally?’

Caleb, sunk in murderous thoughts of Hannigan, took a moment to reply. ‘I’d be pleased if you did, Penrose. I’d value your advice, for what it’s worth, given I no longer have the equipment to do anything with it, or the money to replace it.’

Penrose shrugged. ‘Let’s see what it has to offer first.’

As the door closed behind him, Mrs Greaves sat down at the table and picked up a stocking from the basket of mending.