“Not by any means.”
“You must be very greedy, then. They tell me you have thousands of pounds in the bank, a big house which you are building, and a fine girl.”
“A girl?”
“Yes, Rahera Varnhagen. Isn’t she a fine girl?”
“Rachel Varnhagen!”
“Yes. I was in the old man’s store yesterday, buying things for the pa, and he told me he had given his girl to you.”
Jack opened his eyes in astonishment. He wondered who was the liar, the Jew or the Maori girl, but all he said was, “Well, I’m hanged!”
Amiria laughed. “You see, these things can’t be kept dark.”
“But it’s all a yarn. I’m not engaged to anybody. Can’t a man talk to a girl, without all Timber Town saying he is going to marry her?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you like her?”