In the Land of the Long White Cloud

of the leftovers from dinner, and had instead sent some thin soup and old bread out to the stables. The girls certainly would not miss the reverend’s cheerful house.

9
    “H ow long does it take to ride from Kiward Station to Christchurch?” Gwyneira inquired. She sat with Gerald Warden and the Brewsters at a heavily laden breakfast table in the White Hart hotel. Though not especially elegant, it was clean, and after the stress of the day before, she had slept like the dead in her comfortable bed.
    “Well now, that depends on the man and the horse,” Gerald remarked moodily. “It’s about fifty miles. With the sheep, we’ll need about two days. But a mail rider who’s in a hurry and changes horses a few times could make it in a few hours. The way isn’t paved, but it’s mostly flat. A good rider can gallop the whole way.”
    Gwyneira wondered if Lucas Warden was such a rider—and why the devil he hadn’t leaped on his horse yesterday to come and see his bride. Naturally, he might not have heard anything about the
Dublin
’s arrival yet. But his father had already informed him of the ship’s departure date, and it was well known that ships needed between 75 and 130 days to make the crossing. The
Dublin
had been underway for 104 days. So why wasn’t Lucas waiting here for her? Was he indispensable at Kiward Station? Or was he just not that eager to meet his future wife? Gwyneira would have liked to set out that day to see her new home and finally stand across from the man to whom she had blindly engaged herself. Lucas had to feel the same way.
    Gerald laughed when she made a comment to this effect.
    “My Lucas has patience,” he replied. “And a sense of style. He likes grand entrances. He probably couldn’t in his wildest dreams imagine meeting you for the first time in sweaty riding clothes. In that respect he’s all gentleman.”
    “But I wouldn’t think anything of it!” Gwyneira objected. “And wouldn’t he be staying in this hotel? He would have been able to change clothes beforehand if he thought I cared so much about formalities.”
    “I think this hotel isn’t up to his standards,” murmured Gerald. “Just be patient, Gwyneira, you’ll like him.”
    Mrs. Brewster smiled and primly laid her silverware aside. “It really is very nice when a young man affects a certain restraint,” she remarked. “After all, we’re not among savages. In England you wouldn’t have met your fiancé in a hotel either, but rather at tea or at his home.”
    Gwyneira had to concede that she was right, but she couldn’t bring herself to give up all her dreams of a ready-for-anything pioneer husband, a farmer and gentleman tied to the earth, driven by a need to explore. Lucas simply had to be different from all those bloodless viscounts and baronets back home.
    Suddenly she felt renewed hope. Maybe this shyness of his didn’t have anything to do with Lucas and was merely the result of his overly proper upbringing. No doubt he believed Gwyneira would be just as stiff and difficult as his governesses and tutors once were. In addition to which, she was of noble rank. Surely Lucas was simply afraid of making the smallest mistake in her presence. Maybe he was even afraid of her.
    Gwyneira tried to comfort herself with these thoughts, but she did not entirely succeed. For her, curiosity would have triumphed over fear. But maybe Lucas really was shy and just needed a little time to warm up. Gwyneira thought about her experiences with dogs and horses: the shiest and most reserved animals were often the best once you found the right way to approach them. Why should it be any different with men? When Gwyneira finally got to know Lucas, he would certainly come out of his shell.

    In the meantime, Gwyneira’s patience was further put to the test. Gerald Warden had no intention of setting off for Kiward Station thatday. He still had a few things to accomplish in Christchurch and had to organize the transport of the many pieces of furniture and other household items he had brought in from Europe. All of that, he disclosed to a disappointed Gwyneira, would take a day or two. She should rest up in the meantime; surely the long journey had worn her out.
    The journey had bored her more than worn her out. The last thing she wanted was more inactivity. So, she decided she’d go for a ride that morning—and instantly found herself in a disagreement with Gerald over that. At first Gerald didn’t say a word when she