The Luminaries

laugh at my expense, so I slapped her. It was the first and only time I ever laid a hand on her.’
    ‘Can you describe the encounter as you remember it, please?’
    ‘I was in Hokitika on business,’ Carver said, ‘and I thought I’d ride to Kaniere to have a look at the Aurora: the quarterly report had just come in, and I could see that the claim wasn’t pulling good dust, so I went to find out why. I met Miss Wetherell on the side of the road. She was up to the eyes in opium, and talking nonsense. I couldn’t get anything out of her, so I remounted and rode on.’
    ‘Mr. Staines has testified that Miss Wetherell lost her child that very same day.’
    ‘I don’t know anything about that,’ said Carver. ‘Last I saw her, she was still laughing, and stumbling about. Maybe she came to trouble after I left.’
    ‘Can you remember what you asked her, that afternoon?’
    ‘Yes. I wanted to find Wells,’ said Carver.
    ‘Why were you seeking news of Mr. Wells?’
    ‘I had a private matter to discuss with him,’ said Carver. ‘I hadn’t seen him since May, and I didn’t know where to find him, or who to ask. As Lydia said, he up and quit Dunedin in the night. Didn’t tell anyone where he was going.’
    ‘Did Miss Wetherell divulge Mr. Wells’s whereabouts to you at that time?’
    ‘No,’ said Carver. ‘She only laughed. That was why I slapped her.’
    ‘Do you believe that Miss Wetherell knew where Mr. Wells was living, and that she was concealing this information from you for a specific purpose?’
    Carver thought about this, but then he shook his head. ‘Don’t know. Wouldn’t want to say.’
    ‘What was the nature of the business you wished to discuss with Mr. Wells?’
    ‘Insurance,’ said Carver.
    ‘In what respect?’
    He shrugged, to indicate the answer was of no consequence. ‘The barque
Godspeed
was his ship,’ he said, ‘and I was her operating master. It wasn’t pressing business; I just wanted to talk some things over.’
    ‘Were you and Mr. Wells on good terms?’
    ‘Fair,’ said Carver. ‘I’d call them fair. It’s no secret that I was sweet on his wife, and quick to put my hand up when he passed, but I never came between them. I was decent to Wells, and Wells was decent to me.’
    ‘Thank you, sir,’ said Broham to the justice. ‘Thank you, Mr. Carver.’
    ‘Your witness, Mr. Moody.’
    Moody stood up promptly. ‘Mr. Carver,’ he said. ‘When did you and Mrs. Carver first become acquainted?’
    ‘We have known each other almost twenty years,’ said Carver.
    ‘In other words, over the entire course of her marriage to the late Mr. Wells.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘I wonder if you might describe the circumstances of your engagement to Mrs. Carver.’
    ‘I’ve known Lydia since I was a young man,’ said Carver, ‘and we’d always thought we’d marry. But then I got ten years on Cockatoo, and during that time she fell in with Wells. By the time I got my leave ticket, they were married. I couldn’t fault her. Ten years is a long time to wait. I couldn’t fault him either. I know what calibre of woman she is. But I said to myself, if that marriage ever comes to an end, I’ll be next in line.’
    ‘You married shortly after Mr. Wells’s death, is that right?’
    Carver stared at him. ‘There was nothing disrespectful about it,’ he said.
    Moody inclined his head. ‘No, I’m sure,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry if I implied otherwise. Allow me to backtrack a little. When was it that you were released from prison?’
    ‘June of ’sixty-four,’ said Carver. ‘Nearly two years ago now.’
    ‘What did you do, upon your release from Cockatoo Island?’
    ‘I made for Dunedin,’ said Carver. ‘Found myself some work on a ship making the trans-Tasman run. That was
Godspeed
.’
    ‘Were you captaining this craft?’
    ‘Crew,’ said Carver. ‘But I made captain the following year.’
    ‘Mr. Wells was digging the field at Dunstan at this time, is that correct?’
    Carver hesitated. ‘Yes,’ he said.
    ‘And Mrs. Carver—then wife of Mr. Wells—was residing in Dunedin.’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Did you see Mrs. Wells often, over this period?’
    ‘I had a drink at her place every now and again,’ said Carver. ‘She kept a tavern on Cumberland-street. But I was mostly at sea.’
    ‘In May of 1865, Crosbie Wells returned to Dunedin,’ said Moody. ‘I understand that he made a purchase at that time.’
    Carver knew very well that he was being led into a trap,