In the Land of the Long White Cloud

and breed ponies in his palace. Beyond that, she finds Robin Hood very appealing and is considering the life of an outlaw. I’m most afraid she will decide on the latter. She loves to eat with her fingers, and she’s already practicing archery.” Ruben had recently carved bows for himself and his little friend.
    George shrugged. “Well, you know, Maid Marian surely ate with fork and knife. And you won’t get far without shoes in Sherwood Forest.”
    “Now there’s an argument!” Gwyneira said, laughing. “Do come, Mr. Greenwood, my father-in-law will be waiting.”
    The threesome descended the stairs side by side in perfect harmony.

    James McKenzie had accompanied Gerald Warden into the salon. This occurred only rarely, but today there were a few bills to be signed that James had brought back from Haldon. Gerald wanted to get it out of the way quickly—the Candlers needed their money, and James would be setting out at the crack of dawn to pick up the next shipment. Kiward Station was, as always, under construction; at the moment, a cowshed was being built. Cattle farming had been flourishing since the gold rush in Otago—all the gold miners wanted to be fed, and there was nothing they valued more than a good steak. The Canterbury farmers drove whole herds of cattle to Queenstown every few months. At the moment, though, the old man was sitting next to the fireplace studying the bills. James glanced around the expensively fashioned room and wondered idly what it would be like to live there—with all the gleaming furniture and the soft carpets…and a fireplace that filled the room with comforting warmth, which you didn’t have to light as soon as you came home. After all, what were servants for? James found it all very enticing, but foreign too. He didn’t need it and certainly didn’t long for it. But perhaps Gwyneira did. Well, if he ever managed to win her for himself, he would have a house like this built and squeeze into suits just as Lucas and Gerald Warden did.
    Voices could be heard on the stairs. James looked up anxiously. Seeing Gwyneira in her evening dress enchanted him and caused his heart to beat faster—as did the sight of their daughter, whom he rarely saw in formal attire. At first he thought he recognized the man with them as Lucas—upright bearing, an elegant brown suit—but then hesaw that it was someone else. He realized that he should have known that at once, as he had never seen Gwyneira laughing and so at ease in Lucas’s presence. This man seemed to amuse her though. Gwyneira was teasing him or their daughter or both, and he was just as quick to riposte. Who the devil was that man? What gave him the right to joke around with his Gwyneira?
    The stranger was certainly handsome. He had a thin, well-shaped face and clever brown eyes with a hint of mockery in them. His body was lanky, but he was tall and strong and moved lithely. His whole demeanor conveyed self-assurance and confidence.
    And Gwyneira? James noticed the usual flash in her eyes when she spotted him in the salon. But was it the spark of their old love flaring up from the ashes at every encounter, or merely surprise in Gwyneira’s gaze? James’s sense of distrust blazed. Gwyneira gave no sign acknowledging his peevish demeanor.
    “Mr. Greenwood!” Gerald too had noticed the threesome on the steps. “Please pardon me for not being home on your arrival. But it looks like Gwyneira’s already shown you around the house.” Gerald held out his hand to the visitor.
    Oh, right, that had to be the merchant from England whose arrival had thrown off Gwyneira’s plans for the day. She no longer appeared upset about it, though, and gestured for George to take a seat.
    James, however, was left standing. His jealousy turned into anger.
    “The bills, Mr. Warden,” he remarked.
    “Yes, right, the bills. Everything is in order, McKenzie; I’ll sign off on them right away. A whiskey, Mr. Greenwood? You must give us an update on good old England!”
    Gerald scribbled a signature at the bottom of the papers, then turned his attention to his visitor—and the whiskey bottle. The small flask he always carried must have been empty by afternoon—and Gerald was in correspondingly bad spirits. Andy McAran had informed James of an ugly altercation between Gerald and Lucas in the cow barn. It was about a calving cow who had experienced complications during her delivery. Lucas had once again not proved up to the challenge; he simply