The Luminaries

swept by the barristers’ bench, Moody caught the scent of camphor, lemons, and aniseed—an emphatic scent, and one that recalled him, in a moment, to the party at the Wayfarer’s Fortune, prior to the
séance
.
    Mrs. Carver mounted the steps to the witness box almost briskly; but when she saw Emery Staines, seated on the stand behind the rail, she appeared momentarily to falter. Her hesitation was very brief: in the next moment she collected herself. She turned her back on Staines, smiled at the bailiff, and raised her milky hand to be sworn in.
    ‘Mrs. Carver,’ said Broham, after the bailiff had stepped back from the stand. ‘Are you acquainted with the defendant, Mr. Emery Staines?’
    ‘I’m afraid I’ve never had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a Mr. Emery Staines,’ said Mrs. Carver.
    Moody, glancing at the boy, was surprised to see that he was blushing.
    ‘I understand that on the night of the eighteenth of February you staged a
séance
in order to make contact with him, however,’ Broham said.
    ‘That is correct.’
    ‘Why did you choose Mr. Staines, of all people, as the object of your
séance
?’
    ‘The truth is rather mercenary, I’m afraid,’ said Mrs. Carver, smiling slightly. ‘At that time his disappearance was the talk of the town, and I thought that his name might help to draw a crowd. That was all.’
    ‘Did you know, when you advertised this
séance
, that the fortune discovered in your late husband’s cottage had originated upon the goldmine Aurora?’
    ‘No, I did not,’ said Mrs. Carver.
    ‘Did you have any reason to connect Mr. Staines with your late husband?’
    ‘No reason at all. He was just a name to me: all I knew about him was that he had vanished from the gorge, and that he had left a great many assets behind him.’
    ‘Did you not know that your husband Mr. Carver owned shares in Mr. Staines’s goldmine?’
    ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I don’t talk investment with Francis.’
    ‘When did you first learn of the bonanza’s true origin?’
    ‘When the Reserve Bank published the notice in the paper in late March, asserting that the gold had in fact been found smelted, and was therefore traceable.’
    Broham turned to the justice. ‘The Court will note that this announcement appeared in the
West Coast Times
on the twenty-third day of March this year.’
    ‘Duly noted, Mr. Broham.’
    Broham turned back to Mrs. Carver. ‘You first arrived in Hokitika on Thursday the twenty-fifth of January, 1866, upon the steamer
Waikato
,’ he said. ‘Immediately upon landing, you made an appointment at the Courthouse to contest the sale of your late husband’s cottage and land. Is that correct?’
    ‘That is correct.’
    ‘How had you learned of Mr. Wells’s death?’
    ‘Mr. Carver had conveyed the news to me in person,’ said Mrs. Carver. ‘Naturally I made for Hokitika as swiftly as I was able. I would have liked to have attended the funeral; unfortunately I was too late.’
    ‘At the time you left Dunedin, did you know that the bulk of Mr. Wells’s estate comprised a fortune of unknown origin?’
    ‘No: it was not until I arrived in Hokitika that I read the account given in the
West Coast Times
.’
    ‘I understand that you sold your house and business in Dunedin prior to your departure, however.’
    ‘Yes, I did,’ said Mrs. Carver, ‘but it was not as radical a move as you might suppose. I am in the entertainment business, and the crowds at Dunedin are not what they once were. I had been considering a move to the West Coast for many months, and reading the
West Coast Times
with keen attention, with that future purposein mind. When I read of Crosbie’s death, it seemed the perfect opportunity. I could start anew in a place where business was sure to be good—and I could also be close to his grave, which I very much desired. As I have said, we did not have a chance to resolve our differences before his death, and our separation had cut me very keenly.’
    ‘You and Mr. Wells were living apart at the time of his death, were you not?’
    ‘We were.’
    ‘How long had you been living apart?’
    ‘Some nine months, I believe.’
    ‘What was the reason for your estrangement?’
    ‘Mr. Wells had violated my trust,’ said Mrs. Carver.
    She did not go on, so Broham, with a nervous glance at the justice, said, ‘Can you elaborate on that, please?’
    Mrs. Carver tossed her head. ‘There was a young woman in my charge,’ she said, ‘whom Mr.