Butterfly Hunter 01 by Julie Bozza Read Free Book Online Page A

once
we’re talking, then you need to take your cue from me, all right?
When you start asking about Dreamtime stuff, then you go easy, and
you have a care about whose toes you might be stepping on. If
something’s secret, then it’s secret, and we’re not pushing to know
who or what or why.”
    “ I understand,
David.”
    “ Do you? And
can you stick to it? Cos all you can do is explain yourself and
ask, right? You can’t have any expectations about getting any
answers. And even if you sense he’s holding back, you’ve got to let
it be his decision.”
    “ Well, you
know,” Nicholas responded with at last a spark of ire, “I’m not a
complete boor.”
    “ I do know that,” Dave said. “I’m just trying to say –
that even more tact is called for than usual.”
    Nicholas huffed out a
breath. “One day I’m going to look back at this and laugh. An
Australian teaching an Englishman about tact!”
    They’d reached the pub, so
Dave led the way through the door, too caught up in the argument to
pay any real attention beyond registering that the place was as
crowded as usual. He turned back to Nicholas, and let the noisy
buzz of the pub’s patrons give him an excuse to raise his voice.
“Oh yeah, cos you Poms have learned so much from hundreds of years
of good relations with the Aboriginals, haven’t you?”
    Nicholas had been about to
take his Akubra off, in an instinctive politeness, but Dave shook
his head in annoyance and, after a glance around, Nicholas must
have realised that no man took his hat off in such a place. He
pushed it back on, and stood tall. “Don’t try to pretend, mate ,”
Nicholas crisply replied, “that you’re not on the white side of the
equation. All this pussyfooting around makes you look like part of
the problem, not the solution.”
    “ Respect isn’t
pussyfooting!”
    “ I’ll respect
him enough to just tell him straight out what I need, and then I’ll
leave it to him to decide what he tells me.”
    “ That’s what I
was asking you to do!” Dave cried in frustration.
    “ You were not;
you were telling me. And I didn’t need to be told.”
    Dave found himself
completely undermined by an unexpected fondness as he contemplated
the folded arms, affronted shoulders, and loftily lifted nose of
his client. He let out a laugh under his breath. “Nicholas,” he
started in mollifying tones –
    “ Nicholas … ?
Nicholas Goring!”
    It was Charlie, of course.
Nicholas had already turned towards the enquiring voice, and now he
burst into a happy grin. “Charles!” The two men shook hands
enthusiastically, while Dave looked on in bewilderment. “How
marvellous!” Nicholas was saying. “I didn’t dare hope it was you
David was bringing me to meet.”
    “ Who else
would it be?” Once Charlie was finally done with Nicholas, he
turned to greet Dave, and they shook hands, too.
    “ Hello,
Charlie,” Dave said, not too grudgingly. He wasn’t going to ask,
though. The world was a small place, after all. He already knew
that.
    “ We follow
each other on Twitter,” Nicholas explained, and he was actually
sounding friendly, and rather apologetic.
    “ Come on,”
Charlie said, leading the way. “Let’s get a table, and some
beer.”
    “ I’m sorry,
David. I should have said.”
    “ No, I
shouldn’t have assumed.”
    “ Nicholas here is all
right ,” Charlie assured Dave as they all
sat. In fact, Charlie dragged Nicholas down to sit very close
beside him, Dave noted to his own annoyance and chagrin. “Nicholas
has Butterfly Dreaming, you know?”
    Nicholas laughed happily.
“Oh, now you’re just flattering me. David’s not going to believe
that any more than I do.”
    “ Anyway,
you’re Australian now, Nicholas. You’ve got the hat.”
    The man’s cheekbones went
a happy pink. “David gave it to me.”
    “ Did he now …
?” Charlie turned a pondering gaze on Dave.
    “ I’m sure he
does the same for all his clients.”
    “ Not that I
ever heard of,”