Free Band of Gold by Deborah Challinor Page A

when Hone Heke was campaigning against the British in the Bay of Islands?’
    Rian nodded cautiously. He certainly did remember it—he’d almost had to physically force her to board the ship that would take her to safety.
    ‘And you know how I stayed with Mrs Fleming? And Hattie and Flora, and Flora turned out to be a prostitute?’
    Rian nodded again. When Kitty had told him about it, he’d laughed his head off imagining the quiet, bespectacled girl who worked for a watchmaker during the day transformed into a seductive demimonde by night. He’d enjoyed the story immensely.
    ‘Flora was the one who procured the horses for you, wasn’t she? So you could come back up north against my express orders , and be abducted by Hone Heke’s warriors and then almost drown, along with our daughter?’
    ‘Er, yes. Well, I ran into her today.’
    ‘Really? Here on the diggings?’
    ‘Yes, here in Ballarat. She was out shopping, and we had morning tea together.’
    Rian grinned broadly. ‘And what’s she doing in Ballarat? Repairing watches?’
    ‘No, making lots of money running a bordello.’
    ‘That’s a surprise.’
    ‘She had a business proposition for me.’
    ‘She wants you to go and work for her?’ Rian looked shocked. ‘But you’re my wench! No, I refuse to share.’
    Kitty gave him a withering look. ‘She has money she would like to invest. She suggested she buy a business here in Ballarat and that I run it for her. A bakery, actually.’
    Rian looked crestfallen. ‘But, sweetheart, you can’t cook.’
    She had known he was going to say that. ‘No, I know—but Pierre can.’
    Rian looked at her for a long moment, his face gentle with concern. ‘Come here, love. Come and sit on my knee.’
    Kitty sat in his lap, flinching as the rocking chair gave an ominous creak. Rian put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. ‘Are you bored?’
    Kitty nodded, her face brushing against the fabric of his shirt.
    ‘Already?’
    Another nod. ‘Yes, and I miss the Katipo and the sea terribly. I need to do something, Rian. It’s all right for you, armpit-deep in mud, but what do I have to occupy my time?’
    Rian rocked for a moment, enjoying the warm weight of Kitty’s bottom on his thighs. ‘Are you asking me for permission to accept Flora’s offer, or telling me you’ve made up your mind?’
    ‘I’ve already made up my mind. I want to do it.’
    Kitty felt, rather than saw, Rian smile. ‘That’s my girl. I would have been quite shocked if you were asking me. So out of character. I have one proviso, though.’
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘That you don’t sample everything that gets baked.’
    Indignant, Kitty sat up. ‘Are you saying I have a big appetite?’ She did, actually, but it never seemed to have a negative impact on her waistline.
    ‘No, I just mean you shouldn’t eat all the profits.’
    And he began kissing her. Slowly at first, then with increasing passion.
    ‘Where’s Amber?’ he murmured.
    ‘Out somewhere with Daniel and Simon.’
    ‘Good.’

Chapter Five
    O ne evening in the first week of October, as Kitty and the crew ate supper around Pierre’s cooking fire, a horse and cart emerged from the shadows and came to a halt near the rear of the cottage. For a second no one moved, then Ropata, his piled plate forgotten, shot to his feet, grinning wildly.
    ‘Who is it?’ Rian asked, his fork halfway to his mouth.
    Kitty, smiling broadly herself now, exclaimed: ‘Leena! It’s Leena and the children!’
    Ropata hurried to the cart and helped his wife down, then swung her jubilantly around so that her mass of black hair fanned out around her head. His children jumped off the cart and leapt around him, swinging on his trouser legs and demanding to be picked up.
    Kitty crossed to Leena and embraced her. ‘You came! I’m so glad you did. Ropata has been missing you terribly.’
    ‘And I have missed him,’ Leena replied in her low, melodious voice. She met Kitty’s