Free Song of the Spirits by Sarah Lark

approachable.
    “Kura, I’ve already explained it to you a thousand times. You have a responsibility. Kiward Station is your inheritance. You have to take it over or pass it on to the next generation if it really doesn’t interest you. Perhaps you’ll have a son or daughter someday for whom it will be important.”
    “I don’t want children. I want to sing!” Kura exclaimed.
    Gwyneira brushed the hair out of her granddaughter’s face. “We don’t always get what we want, sweetheart. At least not right away and certainly not now. You must move on, Kura. A conservatory in England is out of the question. You’ll have to find something else that makes you happy.”

    Gwyneira was thrilled when Lake Wakatipu finally appeared before them and Queenstown came into view. The journey with a sullen Kura by her side had seemed to grow increasingly long over the last few days, and by the end, she had entirely run out of topics of conversation.But the sight of the prim little town, the mountain backdrop, and the massive lake immediately revived her optimism. Perhaps Kura only needed some company her own age. She would certainly find common ground with her cousin Elaine, who had always struck Gwyneira as quite sensible. Maybe she would be able to set Kura’s head on straight. Her spirits buoyed, Gwyneira pulled ahead of the freight wagons and steered the elegant Owen onto Main Street. She received quite a bit of attention, and many settlers who knew her from previous stays called out greetings.
    When she saw Helen’s former charge standing outside talking with a girl, Gwyneira finally brought the stallion to a halt in front of Daphne’s Hotel. She, too, had known Daphne for over forty years and had no reservations about interacting with her. Daphne’s appearance unsettled her a bit, however, as she seemed to have aged since Gwyneira’s last visit. Too many nights in a smoke-filled bar, too much whiskey, and too many men—in Daphne’s line of work, one aged quickly. The girl next to her, however, was a beauty, with long black hair and snow-white skin. It was a shame that she wore too much makeup and that her dress was so overloaded with flounces and frills that her natural beauty was not so much supported as submerged. Gwyneira asked herself how this girl had ended up in an establishment like Daphne’s.
    “Daphne!” she called. “One has to grant you: you have an eye for pretty girls. Where do you get all of them?”
    Gwyneira stepped out and gave Daphne her hand.
    “They find
me
, Mrs. McKenzie.” Daphne smiled, returning her greeting. “Word gets around when the working conditions are right and the rooms are clean. Believe me, it makes the job much easier when only the boys sting you and not the fleas too. But even my Mona here is nothing compared to the girl with you! Is that your granddaughter Kura? Well, man alive!”
    Daphne had only meant to cast a quick glance into Gwyneira’s chaise, but then her eyes had stuck on Kura, which was usually only the case with men. Kura didn’t respond, however; she stared straight ahead. Daphne was without a doubt one those women Miss Witherspoon had warned her about.
    After her initial excitement, though, a look of concern crept across Daphne’s feline face.
    “No wonder you have trouble with this girl,” she remarked quietly before Gwyneira climbed back into her carriage. “You should marry her off as quick as you can!”
    Gwyneira gave a somewhat forced laugh and signaled her horse to trot onward. She was a little vexed. Daphne was unquestionably discreet, but just who might Helen and Fleurette have told that Gwyneira and Marama felt hopelessly outmatched?
    Her anger dissipated, however, as she approached the facade of the O’Kay Warehouse and saw Ruben and Fleurette speaking with the freight wagon drivers. They both turned to her when they heard Owen’s powerful hoofbeats, and a moment later, Gwyneira was embracing her daughter.
    “Fleur! You haven’t changed at