The rideto Lion’s Ridge was as arduous as Jack had warned Lydia. Her escorts rode on either side of her when it was possible, but there were many times when the trails narrowed and single file was the only way to pass. The horses were sure-footed yet they grew restless and shied on some of the rocky sandstone ledges they were forced to negotiate. Jack led the way, carrying a lantern. The light was bright enough for him to see his breath misting in the cool evening air. He did not need another reminder of how cold it was going to get. Behind him he heard Lydia’s teeth chattering.
Where there was forest it was thick with the evergreen gum trees. Starshine and moonlight were often obliterated by the spreading crowns of the eucalypts. The forest floor was littered with stiffened strings of bark the trees had shed the previous spring and summer. Beneath the horses’ hooves, the ground crackled and sometimes the brush would snap loudly as a kangaroo was startled by their approach and leaped to safety.
They rode for several hours and Lydia stoically bore the silent censure of both her companions, not caring in the least whether or not they approved. Neither did she tell them anything that might have led them to a different conclusion about her journey. The business of Ballaburn that pitted Brig and Nathan against each other was a private matter, not meant for speculation by the stockmen. She didn’t want to think about them choosing sides behind the man they wanted to head Ballaburn in Irish’s place.
Jack reined in his horse and pointed a small flickering light in the distance. “That’s probably Nath, Mrs. Hunter.”
“Probably?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Who can tell? It’s Lion’s Ridge, that much I know. You can’t tell now, but in daylight it’s golden sandstone with a slope carved out like a lion’s mane. Your husband’s up there or it’s bushrangers. We’ll go quiet as we can from here. No need to make ourselves known until we’re certain.” Raising the lantern, he blew it out, and night surrounded them like a shroud.
It took them another hour to reach the campsite, for the light on the ridge had been visible for miles. When they arrived there was no one around. All that remained of the beacon fire was a few embers and ash.
“We’ll camp here,” Pooley said. “The site’s been cleared of scrub and we have the makings for a fire. There’s no sense going on tonight. We’ll have to wait until morning to track him.”
The ridge was dotted with boulders and Pooley disappeared behind a grouping of them to gather some kindling. When he reappeared a few moments later, he wasn’t alone.
Nathan was holding a gun. “I think an explanation is in order,” he said flatly. He was not looking at Pooley or Jack. His silver-gray predator eyes had centered on Lydia.
She steadied herself not to flinch and answered as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. “Of course I’ll explain, but I’d rather it be for your ears alone.”
Nathan looked from Jack to Pooley. “Go on,” he said. “You can camp at the foot of the gully; that way you’ll be too far away to stop me from beating her.” Both men laughed but Nathan wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t serious. Lydia’s nervous laughter told him that she didn’t know what to think either. “Lydia and I will meet you in the morning and we’ll all go back to Ballaburn together. Jack. Pooley. Thanks. I’m assuming she would have come with or without you. Better with you.”
“Right you are, Nath,” Jack said. He tipped his hat to Nathan and took the reins of his mount and began leading him away. He stopped suddenly and turned around. “How long ago did you hear us approaching?”
“Thirty minutes. As soon as you started climbing. The ridge is too full of loose stone to make a quiet ascent. That’s why I chose to camp here.”
Jack shook his head, his smile admiring. “Nothin’ gets past you.”
“There’s a fact,” Pooley added, grinning. He dropped the kindling in his hands on the cooling fire and followed his friend down the rocky incline.
Their noisy descent gave Nathan opportunity to talk without fear of being overheard. He holstered his gun. “Tell me now what you’re doing here, Lydia, because I’m really of a mind to turn you over my knee.”
Lydia bent close to the fire and began arranging the kindling so it would ignite. “You left me alone at Ballaburn,” she said simply. “I didn’t think you should have done that. I thought I was at Ballaburn so you could protect me, and suddenly you were here and I was there and I didn’t like being left alone.”
“I left you there because youweresafer there. You’re always safer at the house than you are in the bush. How dare you risk your life and the lives of two of the men by coming out here.”
She waited for silence to settle. “And what about your life?” she asked calmly. “It was only this afternoon that you told me Brig might have done the coach robbery. Then you disappear. Do you think I don’t know what this is about, Nathan? If you want to confront Brigham, then wait for him to come to you. Let him come to the house where there’s protection for everyone, not up here where…where...” She waved her arm to indicate her surroundings as words to describe their situation failed her.
“Where I have better position than I’d ever have at the house,” he said tightly. “Look around you, Lydia, and try to understand what it is you’re seeing. This ridge has its own natural protection. You couldn’t get close without me hearing you and neither can Brig. These boulders behind us offer cover. There is no higher ground in these parts. You probably saw my fire twelve miles off. So will Brig. It was built expressly for that purpose when I couldn’t find any sign of him in the area. Iwanthim to approach me here, Lydia. It’s time Brig and I talked about Ballaburn, don’t you think?”
“Talk?” she asked incredulously. “That’s why you’ve come out here?”
“It’s what I plan to do first.” He didn’t have to say anything else. Letting the sentence hang there, Nathan made Lydia understand what he would do if forced.
“Brig may not be out here at all,” she said.
“You’re right. He may not be. And with you out here now, I hope he’s not. I hope he had nothing to do with the coach robbery or the random attacks on Ballaburn. That’s what I hope, Lydia, but not what I believe.” He kicked at a loose stone and sent it sailing over the ridge. “Tomorrow morning we’re going back to the house and you’ll stay there.”
“But if you leave—”
“You’llstaythere.” He waited for her response and thought he saw a slight nod of her head. “All right. Let’s get some sleep. Get your bedroll and whatever else you had sense enough to bring. I’ll get my things.” He disappeared behind the boulders for a few minutes, came back with his bedroll, and laid it out.
Lydia took the straps off her bedroll and laid it a few feet from Nathan’s. He glanced at it and shook his head. “You’re going to be cold tonight,” he said. “You’d better move closer. Take advantage of my body heat.”
“You were going to be out here alone,” she pointed out. “I’ll manage.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. My coat is heavier than yours, my bedroll’s thicker, and I’ve slept in the bush before. Even so, I don’t relish the thought of it tonight. If you won’t share warmth for your sake, then do it for mine.”
