Chapter Thirty-ThreeI laid back down beside Matilda, expecting to wait in the dark until she woke up. Instead, she woke me when it was already light. Patrick was heating the tea, so I dressed and told them both what I’d found out.
‘Dead!’ said Matilda. ‘And we saw who did it, too. Poor Mr Verne … and we’re rich.’
‘You went to get water alone?’ said Patrick. ‘In the middle of the night?’
‘Yes,’ I said to both of them. ‘As of now, the diggers are on the verge of rioting. The soldiers won’t hesitate to shoot them.’
Patrick sloshed his tea in its mug. ‘We’re diggers too.’
‘And wanted criminals,’ I pointed out. ‘But I want to stay. It’s the right thing to do—for Aline and Duncan and Mrs Scobie, as well as all the rest. However, I promised to help rescue Mrs O’Connell once I had gold, and I
