Mystic Mountains

Having two babies by Tiger amongst the most idiotic."
    She gazed down at Annie, asleep in her crib. She wouldn 't change one hair on her head, or on Tim's, but that didn't alter the fact that lying with Tiger was probably the stupidest mistake she'd ever made.
    "And to wait until he 's gone off to town. He'll be after you as soon as he finds out. He'll fetch you back. If you're still alive after this foolishness."
    "Tell him not to bother chasing after me, Gillie. It'll do no good. My mind is made up."
     
    * * *
     
    Isabella shivered with fear, but no one would know how scared she felt. Was she a fool for setting off into the unknown like this? Was she mad to take a wee babe? No, it would be sillier to stay and be Tiger's kept woman.
    " 'Tis awful far from the master's camp, missus," Agnes whined, as she came to stand beside Isabella on the knoll overlooking the river. "We could still make it back afore nightfall if we left now."
    "Left now? Good heavens, Agnes, we 're not going anywhere. This is our home and this is where we'll stay. And stop your whining. 'Tis bad enough listening to Tim carrying on all the time without having to put up with you. Right, let's get the tent up and then a fire started. Johnny, you go and fill the water jugs and we'll unpack."
    Isabella turned to the wagon. She 'd done what Tiger warned her not to do; taken a horse. But she'd only borrowed it for pulling the wagon, which she'd also borrowed. She would get Johnny to return both once everything was unpacked. She would not be beholden to Tiger for anything. It worried her slightly just how they would get to the commissariat when the need arose, but she would cross that particular bridge when she came to it.
     
    * * *
     
    Tiger pulled himself out of the river, striding to where he'd left his clothes. Shivering, he quickly dried himself on a strip of linen. The river was flowing fast and the water had been freezing, but invigorating. He pushed his hair back and rubbed it a few times, then bent to pull on his boots.
    Damn the woman to hell and back.
    She'd done it again. Left him without so much as a word. He'd kill her one day.
    He hadn 't been able to believe it when he'd come back from Sydney. Gillie came racing across to him, waving his hat on high. "What is it? What's the problem, Gillie? Don't tell me we have more to worry about than that little hell cat going off with my children."
    " 'Tis Jones, Tiger, he's missing."
    Since Thelma 's passing Gillie hadn’t been the same man; this was the liveliest he'd been in weeks.
    "Missing? " Jones had followed Isabella, he just knew it. Tiger went cold at the thought. "Get someone to saddle Satan," he ordered as he pulled his clothes on hurriedly.
    Jones was a maniac when he had a belly full of rum. He 'd managed to get into the store one day and thrown a fit, threatening to kill anyone who came near. And Tiger warned Gillie to keep a close watch on him while he was away; he didn't like the way Jones followed Bella's every move with eyes that spoke clearly of lust. A man who couldn't control his lustful urges in a community of few women was bad enough, but a drunken man with those urges was a menace.
    Tiger groaned. The man had been causing more trouble than he was worth. "I 'll send him back to Sydney. Let's see if a few days on the treadmill will sort him out. Some men don't know when they're well off, and that's a fact."
    Tiger thrust his pistol down his belt and followed Gillie to the group of huts where the men lived, the freemen alongside the convicts.
    "How long has he been gone?" Tiger asked one of the laborers loitering nearby like a clutch of scared hens.
    "Not long. Seems he has some grudge he wants to settle with you, Tiger. He was ranting on about it last evening. With some men their feelings only come forth when they 're well into their cups."
    "Where the hell did he get hold of the rum? Hunt," Tiger yelled, and the man in charge of distributing rations to the men came forward.
    "He stole it, boss. I 'm sorry." Hunt shrugged and looked at his dusty boots, then over Tiger's head. "Must have broken in while we were all at the river."
    Tiger swore. It was an easy enough task to break the doors down , but none of the other men showed any inclination to go against the rules set by Tiger. They had given him a certain grudging respect since settling here, although one or two of the men grumbled at the minimal chance of getting a woman of their own here where the few women were out of