The Goldminer's Sister

by Alison Stuart

  ‘Aren’t you hungry?’ Eliza said and he turned to her.

  Set against the muted colours of the bush rising behind her, Eliza could have been posing for a portrait, her chestnut hair curling around her face, and he realised with a jolt she stirred something in him he had thought he would never feel again. And now he was going to tell her that he had been contemplating stealing the only thing of value she had to her name.

  He cleared his throat as she took a bite from an apple. ‘Eliza—’

  She looked up expectantly.

  ‘I believe I have something that might belong to you.’ The words came out in a rush.

  Her brow creased. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Just before his death, your brother was working on a design for a new boiler.’

  ‘He was always working on something, Alec. It wouldn’t be Will if he wasn’t scribbling in his notebooks.’

  ‘This was more than just scribbling in a notebook. It was a meticulous plan which he intended to lodge with the Patents Office when he next went to Melbourne.’

  ‘And how do you know this?’

  ‘We talked about it and I helped him with some of the calculations. With his death, legally they belong to you.’

  She frowned. ‘Why haven’t you mentioned this before?’

  He had no answer for that question. ‘The night he died he gave it to me for safekeeping. He slipped it under my door and I only found it the next day. By then it was too late to ask him why he had left it with me.’

  ‘Is it any good?’ she asked.

  ‘It has the potential to revolutionise the industry.’ Her eyes brightened and he ploughed on before she could speak. ‘The thing is, Eliza, the plans are not complete. There are problems with some of the calculations that we hadn’t been able to solve.’

  Her shoulders slumped. ‘A worthless plan and a worthless mine,’ she said. ‘I don’t seem to have much to thank my brother for.’

  Alec shook his head. ‘I don’t believe it’s worthless, I just need some time to work through the calculations again. I’m not speaking lightly when I say it could be worth a fortune.’ He swallowed. ‘And as for the mine, I have good reason to believe that it is producing a good return, but the gold is being taken from the Shenandoah Mine and used to boost the finds from Maiden’s Creek.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  He took a deep breath before plunging on, ‘I believe your uncle is diverting the gold finds from Shenandoah to increase the value of his stake in Maiden’s Creek.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It has the effect of devaluing Shenandoah to the point where he can buy it for a fraction of its real worth from the Hunts when they return to Australia.’

  Eliza stared at him. ‘You mean he is stealing the gold? He wouldn’t—’

  Alec crouched in front of her and took her hand. It seemed so small and fragile, like a trapped bird. To his surprise, she made no move to withdraw or chastise him for his impropriety. ‘I’m afraid he would. When it comes to business, he’s ruthless, Eliza.’

  ‘Do you have proof?’

  ‘I have the figures for the two mines. As for the boiler design, I just need time to work through the calculations again. It could be worth a fortune, providing the capital can be found to make a prototype.’

  She shook her head, pulled her hand free of his and rose to her feet. She walked down to the river and stood looking out over the dark, cold water with her arms wrapped around herself. ‘And where would I get the capital I need to do that? I barely have enough to pay for a night’s lodging.’

  ‘Investors can be found.’

  She turned to face him, eyes wide, her mouth a thin line. ‘Alec, what you’ve just told me—the gold, the plans—would it be worth killing for?’

  He hesitated. ‘It could be,’ he said slowly.

  She continued to stare at him for a long moment. ‘Does anyone else know about the design?’

  Alec nodded. ‘Jack Tehan. There was a break-in at my house the night of the dance—I’m sure it was his men.’

  Eliza gasped. ‘Looking for the plans?’

  He nodded. ‘They didn’t find them … or the evidence Ian found that the gold from Shenandoah is being counted in with that of Maiden’s Creek.’

  ‘How does he move the gold?’

  ‘I think Tehan brings it in with him on his weekly visits to your uncle and the gold is salted into the battery.’

  Eliza paced the clearing then stopped and returned to the log, head in her hands. ‘I am struggling to believe my uncle guilty of such offences. He’s shown me nothing but kindness.’ She paused and looked up. ‘But from the moment I arrived, he has seemed very anxious for me to leave.’

  Alec sat beside her, the log creaking under his weight. ‘How well do you know him?’

  ‘I thought I knew him, but now it seems it was a different man.’ Her mouth downcast and her eyes troubled, she asked, ‘What am I going to do, Alec?’

  He hesitantly slid an arm around her shoulders, expecting her to rear back, but when she leaned her head against him, he held her close and breathed in the fresh, clean scent of rosemary and soap. He longed desperately to kiss her. The thought startled him.

  As if reading his thoughts, Eliza straightened and he dropped his arm, pulling his thoughts back to the problem before them.

  ‘Alec. Let me see the plans. Perhaps between us we can work through the problems and then I can go to Melbourne and lodge it.’

  He nodded. ‘It will take a few nights of hard work, but with your help we should be able to get it done.’

  She touched his arm. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You have no reason to trust me,’ he said and meant it.

  ‘I have to trust somebody, and Will trusted you.’ Her eyes narrowed as realisation dawned. ‘Tell me something, Alec, were you tempted to take the plans as your own?’

  His hesitation must have given her the answer.

  To his surprise, she smiled. ‘So you’re only human, after all. You weren’t expecting me to appear so the temptation must have been there, but I think that the conscience of the young man schooled by the Scottish Episcopal Church would have troubled you for the rest of your days.’

  Alec allowed himself to smile. ‘Ian would agree with you.’

  ‘Ian is wise beyond his years.’

  Alec nodded. ‘Aye, he is.’ He sighed. ‘When I lost my wife and bairn, I swore I would make a better life for Ian and myself. Will’s plans seemed like a godsend.’

  She stared at him. ‘Your wife and child?’

  He could do no more than nod and her fingers tightened on his arm. ‘What was her name?’

  ‘Cat—’ He cleared his throat. ‘Catriona. We’d been sweethearts since childhood. I lost her in childbirth, and the child with her.’

  ‘Oh, Alec …’ Eliza leaned her head against him.

  ‘I couldn’t find the midwife and the doctor refused to come. He was in the middle of his dinner and would not be disturbed … By the time he came, it was too late.’ He hefted a sigh. ‘It was a long time ago and another world.’ He stood abruptly, forcing Eliza to straighten. ‘It’s getting cold. We should get back before dark or your uncle will have some choice words for me.’

  Eliza rose from the log and stooped to pick up the rug. ‘My uncle—’ she gave the rug a vigorous shake, ‘—has no claim on me.’ She paused. ‘Is it possible that the will could have been forged?’

  Alec hadn’t even considered that possibility.

  He lifted her onto her horse and she looked down at him. ‘I am beginning to believe Will’s death was no accident, Alec.’

  Alec hesitated for a heartbeat. ‘And I have to agree with you.’

  Eliza bit her lip. ‘I’ve read the coroner’s report and it seems to me that the one person who may be able to tell me a little more about what happened that night was never called as a witness.’

  ‘Who do you mean?”

  ‘Will’s girl, Sissy.’

  Alec laid a h
and on her arm. ‘I’m worried for you, Eliza. If your uncle knows you suspect him …’

  ‘Oh, I’ll give him no cause to be concerned,’ she said, ‘but it seems to me that I have more than one reason to go to Melbourne now, and the sooner the better.’

  Fifteen

  14 July 1873

  Despite her best intentions, Eliza found her natural honesty made it difficult to conceal her knowledge in her dealings with her uncle. However, if he noticed she was unusually quiet, he made no comment. She attended church with him on Sunday and spent the rest of the day working on some embroidery she had promised to do for Netty.

  On Monday, with Cowper at work, she told Mrs Harris that she would return the work to Netty. The day being unusually fine and almost mild, she walked down to the cemetery. There were no flowers to be found in Maiden’s Creek in the midwinter so she visited her brother empty-handed. In the weeks since she had first come, the grave had lost the look of being freshly dug and newer graves now dotted the cemetery, the earth piled high on them, bright and fresh. She had ordered a simple headstone and an iron railing to place around the grave from the undertaker but the headstone would take some weeks to arrive from the monument maker in Sale.

  The heavy rains had caused the wooden cross at the head of Will’s grave to slip slightly to the right. Weeds had begun to creep through the dirt and stones and the ink bottle that had held Sissy’s flowers had been smashed, the pieces glistening brightly in the winter sun.

  Eliza straightened the cross and collected the broken pieces of glass. She looked at the shards in her gloved hand and wondered if Sissy had stopped her visits to the grave. Eliza dug a hole with the heel of her boot and buried the fragments. She would have to find a more robust receptacle to replace the bottle.

  She looked down at the grave. Knowing her brother, she had no doubt Will had loved Sissy and had, at one point, wanted to marry her. Eliza would have called her ‘sister’. Her own feelings about that were mixed. It was one thing for Will to marry ‘below his station’ but to marry someone who had worked in a brothel? Her parents would turn in their graves. But they were dead and so was Will. Perhaps she owed it to him to find this woman and see what, if anything, she could do to ease her grief. The time had come to pay a visit to the notorious establishment known as Lil’s Place.

  With a purposeful step she took the path down to the main street, busy with the usual press of people, horses and bullock drays. Despite the lack of a sign, Eliza had guessed some time ago that the well-maintained two-storey building on the Aberfeldy Road, just north of the school, must be Lil’s Place.

  She stood in the shadows across the road from the hostelry and waited, half hoping she might get a glimpse of the elusive Sissy. A door on the upstairs verandah opened and a red-headed woman stepped out, a thin peignoir her only protection against the cold.

  The woman came forward, leaning her forearms on the balcony rail. Her gaze locked on Eliza, drawing her out of concealment.

  ‘What’s Will Penrose’s sister doing skulking in the shadows?’ the woman said. ‘What can I do for you, Miss Penrose? Or are you just out surveying the sights of Maiden’s Creek?’

  Eliza glanced to her right and left. ‘I have something to ask, but I don’t want to stand here shouting up at you.’

  The woman raised an eyebrow. ‘Then you better come in, hadn’t you?’

  The road may have been empty but nevertheless, Eliza felt the eyes of the town on her back as she stepped across the threshold into her first disorderly house.

  At first glance, it seemed quite orderly. The floor was clean and swept, tables wiped and stools neatly positioned around them. The redhead leaned against an open doorway, behind which a staircase ran up to the next storey.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Nell said. ‘You’re not going to burst into flames or turn into a pillar of salt. We’re just ordinary girls, earning an honest living. I’m Nell.’

  Eliza collected her wits. ‘Please don’t mistake me,’ she said. ‘I’m not like Mrs Russell or the others. My business is with Sissy.’

  ‘Is it, now? And what would that be concerning?’

  ‘I think that is between me and Sissy,’ Eliza said.

  Nell gave her an appraising glance. ‘You’re not much like your brother. And one puff of wind’d blow you away.’

  Eliza straightened, trying to add the missing inches to her height. ‘Can I please speak to Sissy?’

  Nell heaved herself away from the door jamb and sauntered across to another door. She threw it open and jerked her head. ‘Through here,’ she said. ‘Don’t want you to be seen hanging around the front bar. You’ll be givin’ us a bad name.’

  Eliza bit back the retort that rose to her lips and marched through the doorway. She found herself in a warm, well-lit living area with a fire burning in the grate. Several upholstered chairs decorated with embroidered cushions stood in front of the fire. A clock on the mantelpiece ticked ponderously, the sound loud in the oppressive silence. It could have been her aunt’s parlour.

  Their entry startled a young woman who had been taking her ease in one of the chairs, her nose in a book borrowed from the Mechanics’ Institute Library. She jumped to her feet, pulling a colourful dressing robe around herself.

  ‘Jess, go and find, Lil. Miss Penrose here would like a word.’

  Jess, who was probably a lot younger than she looked, cast Eliza a quick, almost frightened, glance as she scampered from the room.

  Nell gestured at the round table in the centre of the room. ‘Take a seat, Miss Penrose.’

  The woman who accompanied Jess on her return took Eliza’s breath away. She must have been nearly six feet tall, with a breadth that matched her height, her bulk barely contained by a straining corset that creaked as she moved. She wore her flaming red hair, which probably came from the same bottle as Nell’s, piled on top of her head in a bird’s nest of a bun.

  If this was Lil White, little wonder she kept the most orderly disorderly house in Maiden’s Creek.

  Lil looked Eliza up and down as if evaluating her for employment. Eliza met the woman’s fierce gaze without blinking.

  ‘Not much to you, is there?’ Lil concluded, lowering herself into the chair across from Eliza. ‘Jess, love, fetch us some tea.’ As the girl disappeared into a room beyond the parlour, Lil said, ‘What can I do for you, Miss Penrose?’

  ‘I came to speak with Sissy,’ Eliza said.

  ‘Did you indeed? Well, you’re too late.’

  A knot of disappointment gathered in Eliza’s stomach. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘She’s gone back to Melbourne.’

  ‘But I saw her only a few weeks ago … at the cemetery.’

  ‘She was saying ’er goodbyes.’ Lil paused. ‘Why are you so keen to speak to ’er?’

  Eliza scanned the hard faces of the women. ‘I believe she and my brother had some sort of understanding?’

  Jess returned carrying a tray with a teapot and four cups and saucers. Eliza had to bite back her impatience as Lil poured the tea with what seemed like deliberate slowness. She accepted the cup she was offered and took a sip. The tea smelled of flowers and had a sweet, unidentifiable taste. Conscious that Lil watched her, she set the cup back on the saucer.

  ‘Like it?’ Lil enquired. ‘It’s jasmine tea. I get it from the Chinese gardeners.’

  ‘You haven’t answered my question,’ Eliza said.

  ‘Oh yes, they had an understanding, although your precious brother probably never intended to make good on his promises. I’ve met his like before. Kept the poor girl living in hope for nearly two years,’ Nell said.

  ‘Everyone tells me that Will broke it off when he took over the management of the Shenandoah.’

  Lil laughed, her corset creaking ominously. ‘’e could no more ’ave broken it off than fly to the moon. It was all a show for the benefit of ’is uncle and the other do-gooders in the town that ’e needed to impress.’

  ‘You mean—’

  ‘I m
ean, ’e told Sissy that as soon as ’e ’ad made good with the mine, they could forget the old bastard and ’e’d make it right with ’er.’

  ‘She loved him something fierce,’ Jess said, pressing her hands together. ‘And for all Lil says, he loved her too. They was good with each other.’

  Eliza picked up her cup and took another sip of the jasmine tea. Had Will and Sissy truly been star-crossed lovers? Men were not above using gullible women for their own purposes when it suited them. She hated to think ill of her beloved brother but was he so very different?

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I wish I’d been able to speak to her. Do you know where I can find her in Melbourne?’

  ‘What? So you can go following ’er, bringing up un’appy memories? No, you leave our Sissy be,’ Lil said.

  Eliza opened her mouth to protest but Lil raised her hand. ‘What’s past is past. One thing you learn in this profession is never look back. If Sissy ’ad wanted to speak with you she ’ad ’er chance. She’s gone now and that’s an end to it. Now, these girls ’ave to get back to work …’

  Eliza took the hint and stood up. ‘Before I go, can I ask another question?’

  Nell leaned back in her chair. ‘Another question? I don’t know, what do you think, Lil?’

  Before Lil could reply, Eliza said, ‘Do you remember the night Will died? I read the coroner’s report. You said Will had been here.’

  The atmosphere in the room shifted. Even the cheerful fire seemed to dim in the grate.

  ‘’e was ’ere,’ Lil said. ‘That’s what I told the coroner.’

  ‘But you didn’t say what he was doing. Was he drinking?’

  ‘He came to see Sissy,’ Nell said, ‘but he was in a right state.’

  ‘They argued,’ Jess added.

  ‘That’s enough.’ Lil quelled her girls with a sharp glance. ‘Why do you want to know? Penrose visited ’ere often, no reason why that night should ’ave been any different.’