‘So young. Both of you were so very young.’ Ellie felt calm, as if the unseen hand of God rested on her shoulder. ‘Soon you’ll be together, if you aren’t already. Stay close, Katie. Be ready to help your brother. Wherever you are, whatever wonderful place, he needs you now.’
She patted the cairn. ‘We’ll bring you back, dear friend. One day you too will rest here, in the shade of this tree. Remember the first one we planted? You were only five and decided to climb it.’ Ellie gave a soft laugh. ‘Broke it off, right at the base, you did. Mother was furious. The roots of that tree had been specially soaked in a mixture made from pulped kaempferia, mealie meal and corn seed. You were too young to know that but Mother and Father wanted it to grow quickly. Mister David said that his muthi would help by warding off the effects of drought and heat. Because of you, we had to go through the process all over again. It worked, though. Look how big this tree is now.’ Ellie pointed upwards into the leafy branches of the flowering cassia, covered with spikes of brilliant yellow buttercup-shaped flowers. ‘In winter it will lose most of its leaves so that the sun can reach you. It’s such an obliging tree.’ She smiled, wondering if Mister David would use some simile to give it more meaning.
Ellie tilted back her head, testing a sudden breeze for the scent of summer blossoms. ‘I have to leave tomorrow. Others need my help. Lindsay especially. He’s a good man. I think I’m going to marry him.’ The silence which greeted her statement was a friendly one and she smiled. ‘Yes, I knew you’d approve. He’s a very special person. Did either of you know I was sleeping with him? Do you think the good Lord would approve? It feels natural enough though sometimes I think I’m committing a sin. It says in the Bible to wait for the sanctity of marriage. Why? What difference can a ceremony and a piece of paper make? Other animals don’t need them, why us?’ She laughed, a happy sound, yet one that confirmed her confusion. ‘Bet you never thought your big sister, the calm and collected doctor, would be at a loss over anything so simple.’
The feathery leaves moved overhead. ‘That you, Frazer?’ She looked up. ‘Bet it is. Can’t wait for the family to bring you home, eh?’ Ellie had been speaking directly to Frazer, but also for the benefit of Katie. Her clinical mind wondered if she was being just a little too calm. Her emotional one responded – what the hell! Ellie knew that they could both hear her and, quite simply, it felt right.
Time slipped into the afternoon until her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody arriving. Reluctantly returning to the house Ellie was delighted to see Cameron’s fiancée standing on the verandah.
‘Ginnie. You made it. What a wonderful surprise. Is Cam with you?’
‘No. No he’s not.’ The girl burst into tears.
‘What is it? Tell me. Whatever is wrong? Not Cameron. Please God, tell me it’s not Cameron.’
‘It’s Kevin. I wanted to be here for Frazer but my brother ...’ She sobbed, tears streaking a dust-encrusted face.
‘Oh no, Ginnie. Not him too.’
Virginia shook her head. ‘Wounded, though he may as well be dead – shrapnel – both kneecaps. His legs are useless.’ She took a shuddering breath. ‘I brought him back to Empangeni because it’s close to home. He’s at the hospital. I haven’t been to the house yet. I just wanted to ...’
‘To talk.’ Ellie understood Virginia’s emotional state and gently led her towards two well-worn leather chairs on the verandah.
‘Who’s his doctor?’
‘Parry. He’s already seen him.’
Ellie nodded. ‘That’s good. He knows Kevin.’
‘Yes, and the man he once was. Oh, Ellie, what can any doctor do?’
The professional in Ellie said she mustn’t allow this girl to wallow in pity. Virginia had to remain positive, if for no other reason than to help her brother. What Kevin would do was certainly a problem. Active and aggressive, he would not take kindly to the enforced lack of mobility. Kevin loved his family’s farm. He was its future. He had walked every square inch of it, working, checking, observing it all – a young prince proud of everything within his father’s realm, planning for the day he would be king. ‘Others will return just as badly injured, if not worse.’ She paused. ‘Some not at all. You are fortunate.’
‘I know.’ Virginia rubbed two fingers over her eyes. ‘I know it’s selfish, Ellie, but all I can think of is Kevin. Do you think ...you know ... will he walk again?’
‘It’s perfectly possible.’
‘You don’t believe that for a moment.’
‘I do, actually. I’ve seen it happen. We’ll just have to wait and see what Roger has to say. Your brother musn’t give up. That’s the worst thing he could do.’
Virginia rose tiredly. ‘I must go. Thank you, Ellie. Give my condolences to your parents. I’ll see them ... phew! What is that smell?’
Suza winked but didn’t move. Both women burst out laughing.
After Virginia had gone, Ellie sat thinking. Kevin might – just might – come right. Then again, if the man had serious damage to both kneecaps, it wasn’t very likely. Life in a chair would be all he could expect. Kevin was older than his sister, though still only thirty-one. He had a young wife and baby. He’d want more from life than that. And where was Cameron? Did he know what had happened to Frazer and now Kevin?
Torben could easily have stayed but had been anxious to finalise his first foray into the arms business – to replace a naval 7-pounder which the Boers had made off with after ambushing an armoured reconnaissance train near Chieveley, south of Colenso. It was the third artillery piece the British had lost. They were desperate and their money was good. Concluding the deal was a far more attractive proposition than holding his stepmother’s hand.
Having allowed Ellie to sleep in that morning, Lorna was eager to catch up on her daughter’s news. Despite this, their conversation seemed almost strained and focused on the last couple of days rather than recent weeks. Lorna took the news of Kevin with no outward display of emotion and changed the subject to something quite unexpected: Virginia and Cameron’s wedding plans. ‘This war has shown both of them how unpredictable life can be.’
‘So they’re going to tie the knot sooner rather than later.’ Ellie looked surprised. ‘Ginnie didn’t say anything about it when she was here, but I suppose there were more immediate things on her mind.’
Lorna went on without commenting. ‘They’re talking about a small private ceremony in Maritzburg. Later, if they want to, we’ll do something here. A full family occasion. That’s what your father and I did.’ She hadn’t once queried the fact there had been no word from Cameron or that he had not come home for the funeral.
Lorna’s look and distant voice made it obvious her mind was meandering somewhere in the past rather than facing up to the present. Ellie decided now was not a good time to say anything about her own plans.
Outside on the lawn, Dallas and Meggie were having an almost whispered conversation. ‘Your mother worries me. She’s holding her emotions in check as if nothing has happened. There’s no knowing how long she might stay like this. I hate having to leave again but there really is no choice. Are you sure you can cope? Will you be all right, Meggie?’
‘I’ll be fine, Father, and so will Mother. I spoke to Roger this morning. He’s aware of the situation and has promised to keep an eye on her. We’ll both be working at the hospital so it won’t be difficult. Being busy and having people to take care of will be the best thing for her.’
Dallas agreed and together they walked arm in arm towards the house. Deep in his heart he knew that one more tragedy could tip his wife over the edge.
The following morning Dallas and Ellie left together, riding south towards the Thukela crossing and Durban. Lorna stood on the verandah to see them off, a beautiful though suddenly frail woman, hair wound up yet loose enough for strands to stray and soften her overall appearance. Head held proud and high, she could not control the quivering of her lips. Meggie stood with an arm around her mother’s waist –
a comforting, almost unnoticed presence.
Mister David had offered Dallas his own words of assurance. ‘She is as my sister. Know that I will watch over her.’
‘Thank you, David.’
‘When the mourning period is over, we will sing for nkosaan Frazer.’
‘That would be good.’
‘It is possible that a wizard was responsible for Master Frazer’s death. If you wish, I can summon a sangoma. Such a man will find the evil one.’
‘No, ’Dallas said hastily. Looking for a so-called wizard would not help. In the first place, he seriously doubted that anyone on the farm would mean his son harm. In the second, the smelling-out of wizards was done covertly, so the authorities didn’t find out. Dallas knew it was still a part of Zulu tradition and was well aware of the severe penalties incurred by anyone caught performing such acts or even requesting them. The perpetrators were usually put to death. ‘Thank you, David. Frazer’s death was an act of our own God, nothing for which your people should feel responsible.’
Mister David looked so relieved it was obvious he held the same belief. ‘Then at least I shall refrain from lying with my wife for two months.’
Dallas nodded solemnly. During a Zulu period of mourning – the duration of which depended on who within a family had died – no activity could be performed unless considered absolutely necessary. Immediate relatives did no work in the fields. No singing or dancing was permitted and no finery worn – only grass ornaments. Married men’s hair was allowed to grow unshaven around the isiCoco, or headband. Women did not put ochre on their hair and no sexual intercourse took place. Mister David was according Frazer the status of family. It wouldn’t bring him back but the honour somehow helped.
As he sat on his horse, trying to delay their moment of departure, Dallas remembered the day he first met Mister David. It was outside Cato’s Store in Durban. Both his experienced partners – Will Green and Logan Burton – had warned against taking on a mission-educated ‘smart Kaffir’. The fact that he was out of work and seeking employment along with all the others down on their luck was, to them, suspicious in the extreme. What had he done? The answer – provided by way of a reference from the respected hunter David Leslie – was nothing. Mister David’s situation had arisen only because his previous employer had fallen ill. Dallas took him on as a wagon driver and endured months of doubtful comments before the others came to accept his true value.
However, the man had quickly proved his worth. He was totally honest, an invaluable mentor and, as demonstrated time and time again over the years, a true friend. He’d stood shoulder to shoulder beside Dallas during the elephant hunt that cost Logan his life. Instead of giving way to blind, blood-pumping panic, Mister David, with unhurried and precise movements, calmly reloaded Dallas’s two double rifles, his safety dependent on an inexperienced young man in whom he had placed his trust. They had been on opposing sides during the 1879 Zulu War yet no personal animosity existed and once it was over, they found each other again. It was Mister David who kindled Dallas’s fascination with Zululand and its people, taught him to speak the language like a Zulu and encouraged him to think like one. The end result – over and above Dallas’s profound respect for most things Zulu – was an enduring friendship which had lasted nigh on three decades.
The words ‘Hamba kahle’ cut through Dallas’s thoughts. ‘Sala kahle’– stay well – he replied, turning his horse’s head south towards Durban.
Dallas had never seen so many ships riding at anchor off the port. Ellie pointed out HMS Powerful and HMS Terrible. She laughed. ‘Their names are hardly appropriate anymore.’ Her father’s puzzled look prompted an explanation. ‘They’ve had their teeth pulled. Both have been stripped of guns and men to help with the defence of Ladysmith.’
Dallas nodded. He knew that Sir George White needed better artillery to counter the Boers’ Long Tom, a monstrous gun which could lob ninety-four pounds of shrapnel-filled shell six miles or more. He’d had no idea even a partial solution had been found.
‘Those other ships, ’Ellie went on, ‘they’re transport vessels bringing in troops and supplies. Some have been converted to floating hospitals and take the seriously wounded back to Britain. They wanted to use others for holding prisoners of war but that idea has been scrapped. Well, for now at least.’
That night they stayed at the Royal Hotel and through talking to others learned that the Boers’ leader in Natal, Piet Joubert, had been badly hurt when his horse was shot from under him. His second in command, Louis Botha, was now in charge and had pulled back to the Thukela River at Colenso. Ladysmith remained under siege. In the west, Lord Methuen had started his push north for Kimberley, winning costly confrontations against General ‘Koos’ de la Rey at Belmont, Graspan and Modder River. Although wounded himself, Methuen and his troops were less than twenty miles from Kimberley and able to communicate with the besieged garrison by shining a searchlight into the night sky.
Nobody had heard anything of the Fairfax Scouts.
ELEVEN
It was pleasant to be away from the coast. Traffic on the road inland from Durban was not nearly as congested as they had been led to believe. Troops and supplies arriving daily in Durban were being transported inland by rail, the carriages returning with those whose wounds were sufficiently serious to warrant a sea journey back to England. The ships were always full.
Estcourt was a muddy bustle of activity with men, horses and overloaded wagons on the move everywhere. Ellie threaded her way through the seemingly uncoordinated chaos, leading Dallas to the field hospital which had been home to her and Lindsay for over a month.
All seemed quiet in the tent that served as both operating theatre and, adjacent to it, their sleeping quarters. Lindsay was lying down, fully clothed, dozing. Dallas noticed that he and Ellie obviously shared the same accommodation, if on separate camp stretchers. He said nothing.
The medical facilities were spotless – gleaming surgical instruments laid out and ready beside two sheet-covered operating tables, the wooden duckboard floors recently scrubbed, a slight whiff of chloroform lingering in the air.
‘Don’t wake him, ’ Dallas said, but at the sound of voices Lindsay was quickly on his feet, perhaps too quickly, as he had to sit down again until his blood pressure knew what was going on. That aside there was no mistaking the look of love on his face as he reached out for Ellie’s hands and allowed her to help him up.
‘Good to have you back, little one.’ He folded Ellie into an embrace, resting a cheek on her close-cropped blonde hair and breathing in its familiar scent. They stood like that for a few seconds before Lindsay seemed to realise that Dallas was there too. ‘Sorry, sir.’ He held out a hand. ‘It’s good to see you though I wish the circumstances were different. Please accept my heartfelt condolences – to you and your family. I know how much Frazer meant to all of you.’
‘Thank you, Lindsay. These times are far from easy for any of us.’
‘Will you be staying the night? I’m sure we can arrange a bed.’
‘That’s kind of you but being so close to Frere I’ll press on. Cameron and Will should both be there, though there was no reply to Lorna’s telegram telling them about the funeral. It could be neither of them yet know about Frazer.’
‘The Light Horse have been scouting down as far as Lion’s River. Perhaps Cameron’s been away?’
‘As long as that’s all it is.’
‘I’m sure it will be, Father.’ Ellie sounded more confident than she felt.
Following the suspected sighting of a small Boer komando unit near Nottingham Road, Cameron had been part of an uneventful patrol through the Drakensberg foothills between Dargle and Lion’s River. He knew that Virginia was driving an ambulance wagon at the Mooi River field hospital and had intended to pay her a surprise visit on the way back to Frere. She was not there, having left some days before to take her wounded brother, Kevin, back to Empangeni.
The telegram from Lorna was pinned to a not
iceboard in the officers’ mess. Cameron held the small, distinctly coloured envelope, so often the harbinger of tragic news, fearing yet needing to know its contents. Hesitantly he ripped it open and read: ‘FRAZER KILLED. FUNERAL ATHOME DECEMBER 5TH . OTHERS NOTIFIED. TELL WILL. ’ The emotionless message was simply signed, ‘MOTHER’. Cameron stood stunned. He had no idea of the date and grabbed a copy of that day’s Natal Mercury to check. It was Friday 8 December. He’d missed the service at Morningside by three days.
The mess was buzzing with news received by heliograph from Ladysmith that a night raid by the Natal Carbineers and men of the Imperial Light Horse had successfully blown up not one but two Boer guns – including their Long Tom – on Lombard’s Kop. Cameron couldn’t have cared less. Clutching the telegram and uncertain what to do next, he blundered from the tent, almost colliding with his father and Will.
Dallas had already discovered that Cameron and Will knew nothing of Frazer’s death. Having told his old friend where he had been and why, Dallas established that the scouting patrol had just returned and together they set off in search of Cameron.
The man who stood before them had tears streaming down his cheeks and was finding it difficult to talk. He shook the offending piece of paper as if the telegram itself were to blame for the tape message pasted to it. Without speaking Dallas and Cameron gripped each other’s shoulders hard and stood, sharing a common bond of sorrow, until words finally came.
Footprints of Lion Page 15
