by Anne Hampson
TO TAME A VIXEN
Anne Hampson
Beth couldn't forget or forgive the humiliation.
Ten years before, Chad Barret had put Beth across his knee and spanked her with her own leather sandal! The fact that she deserved it didn't alter her feelings.
Beth had been a child then—now she was a young woman—but on the few occasions she had seen him through the years, the memory had rankled.
Now, however, her uncle expected Beth to live at Jacana Lodge for a year to help run his South African farm—and to be a hospitable next-door neighbor to Chad!
CHAPTER ONE
Beth Craig and her cousin Jo Brady arrived together, entering the small detached house through the front door which was wide open to let in the clear April air, and the sunshine.
‘Ah, my girls!’ Their uncle, seventy-two and balding, but straight of back and square of shoulder, smiled at them through pale dry lips. His grey eyes had the same twinkle that the girls remembered as children; his voice was just as warm and gentle. ‘I’m glad you’re on time. Is Carole not coming?’ He seemed anxious, Beth thought, and immediately put his mind at rest by telling him that Carole had telephoned that afternoon saying that she might be a few minutes late, because the times of the buses had changed recently and she could not get one before ten to one.
‘She should be here by about twenty past,’ added Beth. She was smiling, aware of her uncle’s admiring stare. He shook his head and, unsparing of her blushes, proceeded to comment on her looks.
‘You grow prettier every time I see you, Beth. What do you do with that golden hair to make it shine like that? And those eyes, periwinkle blue I called them when you were born! That little nose was rather more turned up than it is now, I think—but not much,’ he muttered almost to himself, ‘no, not much.’
‘Uncle Jack,’ said Jo, feigning jealousy, ‘where do
I come in? Is Beth always to be your favourite niece?’
He twinkled at her, sweeping a hand to indicate they go from the hall into the living-room. The house was one he usually managed to rent when he was over on one of his twice-yearly visits to England. He owned a prosperous farm in South Africa, was a bachelor who adored his three nieces even though he had no time for Jo’s parents or Carole’s father. Carole had no mother and Beth no parents at all, her mother having died two years previously after being widowed from the time Beth was ten years old, which was eleven years ago. Jo was the same age and Carole two years older.
‘I have no favourites,’ he declared as soon as they were in the cosy living-room, seated comfortably in armchairs. ‘But that doesn’t mean that I can’t express my appreciation of any one of you—or all of you for that matter.’ He was eyeing Jo as he spoke and he was soon adding, ‘You, now, have a tougher appearance—’
‘Thanks!’ broke in Jo, piqued.
Her uncle laughed.
‘You have both feet firmly on the ground, my child, and I’m glad of it—seeing that my plan needs your kind.’
A glance was swiftly exchanged between Jo and her cousin. The mystery, Jo’s eyes were saying, and Beth gave a slight nod. They always visited their uncle a lot when he was in England, but this time there was ‘summat up!’ Jo had stated, lapsing into one of her rare moments of adopting a Lancashire accent.
Yes, there certainly was something of a mystery about this particular summons, and all three girls had naturally discussed it, but of course to no avail.
‘Are we going to be kept waiting much longer, Uncle?’ Jo could not resist asking. ‘Have you no pity for a woman’s curiosity?’
Again he laughed.
‘Just a little longer, child. As soon as Carole gets here we’ll all go off to the Bells and have a marvellous lunch, and I’ll tell you what I have in mind for you all.’
Another glance between the cousins. They had always known that their uncle’s farm and his wealth would be divided between them one day, but had naturally expected that to happen only when he died—and as they all wanted him to live to be a hundred none of them had really thought about the inheritance. Now, however, they had all agreed that he might just be thinking of giving them some money now, because on his last visit five months ago he had several times mentioned that his money was not being put to much use, there in the bank, lying idle, he had said.
‘I’d welcome a nice fat cheque,’ Carole had said frankly. ‘Dick and I could get married then, because I’d have the deposit to put down on a house.’
‘I too would be glad of some money,’ said Jo. ‘David is getting really low in spirit, thinking we’ll both be middle-aged by the time we’ve saved enough to get married.’
Beth had said nothing, keeping to herself the fact that her boy-friend, Kevin, was something of a spendthrift and she was trying her best to guide him out of this extravagant way of life. Both her cousins were engaged, but she had been wary of taking the step owing to Kevin’s ways. That she liked him a lot she would never deny, and had he been a steady kind of man she knew for sure that she would want to marry him, one day, when they had sufficient money. But she had always been a person to look ahead; there was no impulsiveness about her as there was with Carole. If Carole got money from Uncle Jack tomorrow she would be married within the month. Jo was practical but not quite as realistic as Beth. Yet of all three Beth was by far the most romantic; marriage for her was the ultimate, the supreme goal which, having been reached, would never ever be improved upon. She had visions of being as much in love when she was eighty as when she was first married. Jo and Carole, she suspected, put a fairly high value on the status part of marriage, feeling that, even in these days, a woman lost prestige if she was not married. Well, Beth knew for sure that she wanted to get married one day, but she must be in love, madly, deliriously! And the man must love her above all things in his life. Certainly he must love her way above such an unimportant thing as money.
‘Here’s Carole now.’ Jo’s voice broke into Beth’s thoughts and she looked through the window. Carole was waving as she came towards the front door; the next moment she was kissing her uncle’s cheek and apologising for being late. Uncle Jack said not to worry, then stood back to look her over.
‘Hmm ... a little plumper. Watch it, my dear, or you’ll be matronly far too soon! You’ve tinted your hair,’ he accused, frowning. ‘It was far nicer when it was auburn. I don’t like the dark brown—mind you,’ he added hurriedly as he caught Jo’s eye, ‘it suits your cousin—yes, very much. But then Jo has brown eyes to go with it, whereas your eyes are green.’
‘Grey-green, Uncle,’ corrected Carole. ‘And my hair was chestnut. However, it’s only a rinse, so the next time you see me it’ll be back to its natural colour.’
‘I hope so—and let’s have that slim figure back as well. Look at Beth—slender as a nymph. Don’t become bony like Jo—’
‘Thanks again!’ snapped Jo. ‘I’m thin, I’ll admit, but bony—Well, you’re not usually as uncomplimentary as this!’ she flashed, ignoring the familiar twinkle in his eyes.
‘Sorry, love. But it suits you to be thin, Jo. There’s
something attractive in all of you—’ He allowed his eyes to wander from one to the other. ‘Why didn’t I have three girls like you?’
‘Because, darling,’ said Carole affectionately, ‘you never married. Silly man! Marriage is for everyone! You needed a mate, but instead of looking for one you decided to spend all your time and energies on that farm.’
‘Well, you may be right. However, I do have you all as my nieces and the pleasure you’ve given me through the years has been a compensation for anything else I might have missed.’ He stood with his back to the empty fireplace, a tall angular man of distinctive manner and feature. Sometimes he seemed very old, while at others he
seemed at least ten years younger than he was. ‘The taxi’ll come when I phone, so I’ll go and do it now.’
Immediately he had left the room Carole spoke. ‘Did he mention anything, while I wasn’t here?’
‘Not a thing,’ from Jo before Beth could speak. ‘Over lunch, he said, and over lunch it will be!’
An hour and a half later they were sitting staring at him, Jo and Carole frowning heavily, while Beth was thoughtful, feeling a sort of excited anticipation as she tried to form a picture of the three of them running Jacana Lodge, a farm of vast acreage. Uncle Jack had lots of African men working in the fields, and over them he had Joshua, a most efficient and conscientious foreman. In the house were Sara the maid, and Rikuya the houseboy. There were two gardeners, as the grounds of Jacana Lodge were beautifully kept.
But into this vision there intruded the tall formidable form of Uncle Jack’s nearest neighbour, Chad Barret ... and a wave of colour swept into Beth’s cheeks. Too humiliating by far; she could not go to Jacana Lodge and live there permanently—And yet why not? That business had happened long ago, when she was only twelve, in fact. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen Chad since. She had seen him several times, but only fleetingly, and even then only if she hadn’t been able to avoid him.
To have done that to her—put her across his knee and beaten her with her own leather sandal. How she had hated him! She had racked her brain to find some way of killing him, she recalled. She had wanted to see him lying dead, eyes staring, body mangled.
Her uncle had been angry at first and had gone along to Mangwe Farm to remonstrate with his friend, but learning that Beth had given Chad a whole lot of cheek because he admonished her for taking his boat and sailing it down the river—which was highly dangerous anyway—Uncle Jack had returned to Jacana and given Beth a little more to be going on with, a box on the ears this time. Of course, she blamed Chad for everything, but never again ventured to give him any cheek. She recalled his stern voice and formidable features, and later as she grew up she had said many times that it was a good thing he had never married and had children, for in Beth’s opinion he would make the most abominably overbearing husband and the cruellest father imaginable.
‘Well, my children, have you made up your minds?’ Uncle Jack was speaking, his soft voice intruding gently into Beth’s reflections. She looked at him across the table and smiled. She wondered if her cheeks were still crimson, and if he too were remembering that Chad Barret had ruthlessly beaten her so that it was ages before she could sit down with any degree of comfort. His sudden smile, which twisted one corner of his mouth in a way characteristic of Chad, told her all she wanted to know, and her colour increased.
‘I’m not sure,’ she murmured, glancing at the others in turn.
‘I expect, my dear,’ said Uncle Jack wryly, ‘that he’s long since forgotten all about it.’
‘Oh ...!’ Beth glowered at him. ‘Need you remind me of it!’
His brows shot up and he said,
‘Did you need reminding, Beth? If so, then what are you blushing for?’
To her chagrin her two cousins caught on and burst out laughing.
‘That?’ said Jo, her eyes gleaming with amusement. ‘He walloped you good and hard, didn’t he? The big he-man was our Mr. Barret, wasn’t he?’ She turned to her uncle who was seated at her left side. ‘Has he mellowed in his old age, Uncle?’
‘It’s only two years since you saw him,’ he reminded her. ‘As for his age—well, I wouldn’t call him old at thirty-four.’
‘He’s not married, obviously, or you’d have said in your letters. But has he a girl-friend?’
‘He has indeed, a beautiful siren with the face of an angel and a heart of stone.’
Carole looked interested.
‘How do you know she has a heart of stone?’
‘Because, my dear,’ returned her uncle with an odd inflection, ‘I’m a physiognomist, as you all know.’ His keen grey eyes moved from one girl to another. ‘I can read a person’s character from his or her face, always have been able to, and I’m never wrong. That, my children, is the reason for my present attitude. As I have been explaining over lunch, I don’t trust any one of these boy-friends of yours, so if you marry them you’ll get nothing, either now or when I’ve gone. I don’t care for your English laws regarding marriage. What right has a spouse to claim half of the money owned by the person he or she marries and then divorces?’
The three girls said nothing. The laws as they had once stood were ludicrous, since the husband could claim everything his wife had ever earned or owned. If she left him because of his cruelty, or for any other reason, she was destitute, and anything she might have inherited from her own family went to her husband. Something had to be done, and it was. But now the laws were still as stupid, since everything had to be split two ways if a couple got divorced. This was all fair and square if they had both started off at par financially, but it was certainly all wrong if one of the parties was rich through inheritance and the law made that property be halved and shared. It meant in effect that one could make a career of marriage, becoming divorced over and over again and each time claiming half of the other’s property.
‘If I’d liked and admired these men you’ve become engaged to’—his glance left out Beth but embraced the other two—‘I wouldn’t have done this. And even as it is I’m not certain of its success, but it’s an experiment and I’m determined to carry it out. You three shall take over my farm—I think you’ve known for some time that I’m ready to retire?’ A question, and they all nodded.
‘There was a time,’ said Beth reflectively, ‘when you were thinking of selling out to Mr. Barret.’
‘Yes, you’re quite right. We did talk about it, he and I, but then I began to think about you three. The money would have gone into the bank along with the other. Then I met these three men whom I didn’t like at all; in fact, it beats me what the devil you can see in any of them.’
‘I love my Richard,’ protested Carole on a faintly indignant note.
‘And I think the world of David.’ Jo looked at him in some puzzlement as she added, ‘What don’t you like about him, Uncle?’
‘He knows of your expectations?’
‘Well ... yes—’
‘I knew it, and he’s thinking that in a few years’ time he’ll be sitting pretty. If you and he don’t agree and you have a divorce he’ll get half of your share, which is a sixth of my fortune! Why the hell should I give a strange young man one-sixth of my fortune?’ he demanded, and now it did seem that he was furiously angry, which was not like him at all, thought Beth.
‘You wouldn’t be,’ began Jo. ‘For one thing, we’re not going to be divorced, and for another, you wouldn’t be here to see him get one-sixth of your fortune.’
‘Ha!’ His fist came down on the table, causing the wineglasses to jump. ‘You’re inconsistent, my girl! First you say there won’t be a divorce and then you say I won’t be here to see him grab a sixth of my fortune!’
Jo coloured at her slip. Beth said quietly, hoping to soothe her uncle’s ruffled feelings,
‘If we go to Jacana, Uncle, and work on the farm for a year, as you want us to, what exactly will be the gain?’
‘It’ll give you girls a chance to have second thoughts about these men you’re infatuated with—’
‘Beth isn’t infatuated,’ interrupted Jo in support of her cousin. ‘She’s cautious, always has been. It’s her nature.’
‘I’m well aware of it, but she doesn’t give this fellow up, does she? I expected when I came here this time to find that she’s been as stupid as you two and got herself an engagement ring.’
‘You believe,’ murmured Carole, bypassing this without comment, ‘that if we all go there for a year we’ll suddenly decide we don’t love our fiances after all?’
‘I believe it’ll give the lot of you a chance to think again!’
Beth said slowly,
‘You haven’t much faith in
marriage, have you, Uncle?’
He glared at her unexpectedly.
‘I haven’t any faith in the judgment of you three girls. As I said, I can read a person’s character from his face—and I do not like what I read in the faces of any of those three men!’
A deep sigh came from Carole.
‘If we refuse ...?’
‘No need for that question, is there, Carole?’ he rejoined sternly. ‘I’ve already said that I’m not leaving my money in the way I first intended—that is, before I met these three men. I’d planned to sell the farm; and then the whole lot, including my invested money, would be divided three ways and you’d each get a share. But not now—’ He shook his head determinedly. ‘I went back last time and thought well and long about the position. I’m seventy-two and could go any time. So there’s some urgency. That’s why I’m here, a month before my usual time. I’m negotiating already for a nice little house by the sea in Cornwall. I want you all to go to Africa and take over, immediately. Have the year and see how you feel then.’
Carole looked at him, but Beth spoke before she had time to do so.
‘Supposing we still feel the same?’
He seemed to give a deep sigh inwardly.
‘That’s what I meant when I said just now that I’m not certain of success, but that it’s an experiment I’m determined to carry out.’ He looked at them in turn.
‘I feel confident that you all think enough about me to do as I wish,’ he said finally.
Beth was willing, but she would not say so until she was sure of the feelings of the other two. Carole was sulky and Jo was thoughtful. It was Jo who eventually broke the silence.
‘I suppose, from your point of view, it’s a precaution you feel you are bound to take.’
He thanked her for her understanding and then added,
‘Didn’t I say you had both feet firmly on the ground, Jo? And that I was glad of it?’
She nodded, flushing slightly at what she now knew was praise.
‘I think David would be agreeable,’ she murmured.
