‘Poor bugger, ’Will muttered as their commander praised his men’s efforts in a desperate attempt to boost morale.
‘The key has turned, lads. I’ll give you Ladysmith within the week.’
There was a murmur of approval but they all knew it would probably take that long just to return to Chieveley.
Will went on, ‘Sir Reverse, they’re calling him, Ferryman of the Thukela. It’s hardly his fault that this war is unlike anything any of us have been in before. Nothing is decisive. The Boers seem to cut and run. Now you see ’em, now you don’t.’
Cameron nodded. ‘The country round here lends itself to that. Botha is using it well, though for the life of me I don’t see how we can do the same. Buller needs a major victory, something clearly seen as such. He has to relieve Ladysmith and do it quickly.’
They had been at Umdhloti for almost a week, the days disappearing faster than either of them could believe. Lorna was thriving under Dallas’s tender and loving attention. She admitted to blaming him for Frazer’s death, though time and acceptance of the circumstances had at last combined to dispel her initial reaction. The house even heard sounds of laughter. There were quiet moments too, reflective times when they grieved together for their youngest son. Gone, however, were the torturous elements of doubt and accusation.
‘I’d forgotten, ’Dallas confessed one afternoon as they made their way up the beach carrying what they’d kept from the day’s catch, ‘that life could be so good.’
‘Me too, ’ she said. ‘It’s another world.’
They dumped two still-snapping crayfish into the kitchen sink and Dallas set to work preparing a couple of dozen fresh oysters he had harvested from the rocks at low tide.
‘What would you like with them?’ Lorna asked. ‘Something hot, or cold with salad?’
‘Neither.’ He turned his face towards her and whispered into their kiss. ‘Just you.’
‘Hot or cold?’ Lorna giggled.
He grinned back. ‘Hotter the better.’
Their kiss deepened, shellfish forgotten. Aminta and Fanny were told to take the rest of the day off. Lorna and Dallas lost all track of time, surfacing only when shadows stretched long across the beach below, disappearing into a deepening blue sea. Dinner was going to be late.
‘Just like old times.’ Lorna sighed luxuriously. ‘I love you very much, you old rascal.’
He poked her in the ribs and she jumped. ‘Not so much of the old, ’he warned.
‘Prove it, ’ Lorna challenged, inviting a repeat performance. Dinner was delayed still further.
An all too quick shower of rain had cooled the early evening air, tempting thousands of flying ants into the darkening sky in a brief celebration of life. Attracted to the lamplight, they landed everywhere, shed their wings and set off in search of sexual satisfaction. The swarm didn’t last long, twenty minutes at most. Their wriggling sausage-like bodies – a Zulu delicacy with which Mister David had failed to tempt Dallas – soon disappeared, leaving only a gossamer carpet as evidence of their passing. Nostril was outside, eagerly gathering them up.
Lorna and Dallas carried plates loaded with seafood and salad out onto the verandah. Listening to the waves and smelling the salt air, they were at peace with the world and each other.
Sucking down an oyster sprinkled with lime juice and dipped in a concoction of her own making – onion, tomato and mushroom, fried with a little butter and chilli – Lorna voiced a reflective opinion on their family. ‘I nearly lost sight of how fortunate we are, Dallas. Cameron and Virginia were meant to be, as are Duncan and Tanith. I’d love it if Ellie and Lindsay would, well, formalise their relationship – before a surprise of a different nature comes along.’
‘Whatever do you mean?’
‘Don’t be silly. Even old you must have guessed.’
His brows drew together. ‘I thought I made my point about disparaging remarks.’
Lorna’s laugh tinkled out into the night air. ‘Be serious, darling, Ellie’s a grown woman.’
Dallas appeared not to believe what he was hearing. ‘You mean to say ...?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Under my roof?’ He sounded outraged.
‘Yes. Elsewhere as well, I’m sure.’
‘And you didn’t tell me?’
‘No.’
‘Why ever not?’
‘Because you’re a stuffy o– ’
Dallas burst out laughing. ‘Old hypocrite. I suppose I am, aren’t I?’
‘Most assuredly.’
‘If you must know, I saw their sleeping quarters at Estcourt. Not that we didn’t do the same thing!’
‘Touché.’
‘Well, good for them, I say.’
In spite of the darkness, Dallas noticed Lorna’s eyes widen with surprise. ‘You don’t mind?’ she queried.
He inclined his head. ‘Not really. I’ve always liked Lindsay. Any other surprises?’
Lorna smiled wickedly. ‘Meggie’s quite fond of Sabani, ’she said, dropping in the name of Mister David’s younger son as she snapped a succulent crayfish leg and drew out the tender white flesh.
Dallas rose swiftly, gripped both sides of her chair and tipped it backwards. ‘Tell me you’re lying.’
She screamed in mock horror.
‘Quick, woman. Tell me.’
‘I am, I am. Please, Dallas. You’re spilling my food. I’m only joking.’
‘You’d better be. Promise?’
‘I promise.’ She laughed.
He righted the chair, laughing too.
‘Got you going, though, didn’t I?’
‘Not at all. Was there a point to all that?’
Food back on her plate, dignity restored, Lorna answered. ‘Meggie’s special to you, that’s all. Even if she is a bit young for us to be worrying about.’
‘Then that leaves only the problem pair.’
‘Precisely. Torben and Gerda. I can’t help it, darling. That girl drives me crazy. Still, ’ Lorna shrugged, ‘leaving aside Meggie, three out of four isn’t bad. And Gerda’s trying harder. Haven’t you noticed?’
‘When have I had the chance?’
‘Well, she is, believe me, and deserves credit for it.’
‘So you keep saying.’
‘How very boring of me.’ Her tone was so droll that Dallas laughed again.
As everything ends, so did the interlude at Umdhloti. Lorna and Dallas returned to Morningside, refreshed and relaxed. They had drawn on each other, used little things to rekindle a burning love from the embers of sorrow. So soon it had become time to face the real world again – one without Frazer, one of hardship and fear, one which both agreed could get worse before it got better.
Tanith was at Morningside when they arrived, standing arm in arm with Duncan on the verandah. Mister David fussed around. The dogs dozed. Of Meggie there was no sign.
It was the first time Dallas had seen Tanith since she and Duncan became engaged. ‘You two certainly make a fine picture. I’m very happy for you both.’ He gave Tanith an affectionate embrace and said to his son: ‘I see that arm doesn’t seem to be bothering you anymore.’
Duncan looked positively guilty.
‘Where’s Meggie?’ Dallas asked.
‘At the hospital. She’ll be home for dinner.’
Lorna took Tanith’s arm and together they went to check on Frazer’s cairn.
Inside, Duncan produced a three day old Natal Mercury and showed it to his father. ‘Spion Kop looks like another bloody disaster.’ The newspaper carried images of Buller’s orderly retreat across the Thukela, its editorial ignoring British or Boer losses while extolling the bravery of Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry and the decisive actions of Winston Churchill.
‘So the Light Horse were there, ’ Dallas observed. ‘No word from Cameron, I suppose?’
‘Not a dickybird. Some of the men who were wounded are here at the hospital. One of them told Meggie that they could have held the hill had it not been for nonexis
tent communication and a total lack of urgency by those sitting on their backsides down below.’
Dallas didn’t doubt the observation. ‘Have you seen Virginia?’
‘No. She’s got her hands full at home helping with Kevin.’
Meggie was greatly relieved to see the improvement in her mother. That evening she took Dallas to one side and whispered, ‘It’s quite amazing. She’s like a new woman.’
He merely grinned, prompting his daughter to roll her eyes and dig him in the ribs. There was a difference in Dallas too: a mischievous sparkle she had not noticed in months. Sometimes Meggie wondered about her parents’ sex life. It might have surprised her to learn just how satisfying it really was. Meggie inwardly doubted she would ever find a love that could even come close to that shared by her parents.
‘By the way, there’s a man in the hospital who says he knows you. Stanley King. Arrived today. Apparently Cameron helped him after Spion Kop.’
Dallas sounded relieved. ‘So Cam’s all right. What a small world this is. Stan King keeps very much to himself. Runs cattle at Nkwalini. “Ndlovu”, the Zulus call him.’
‘Elephant. I can see why.’ Meggie suddenly blushed and turned away.
Her embarrassment wasn’t noticed. ‘The man’s size may well have something to do with it. More likely the fact that he used to spend most of his time chasing elephants in Bechuanaland. It was ivory that paid for his farm, Kingsway. Stan’s still got the biggest pair of tusks I’ve ever seen. Well over a hundred pounds each.’
Meggie’s whole face seemed to be on fire.
‘Got badly mauled by a lion back in the mid eighties. Some mad Irishman saved his life. Get him to tell you the story. Is he badly hurt?’
‘Nothing that won’t mend.’
‘That’s good. Give him my regards.’ Meggie’s mention of Stan King started Dallas thinking.
Back in seventy-two he’d bought his Rawbone double rifle from one of the Kings – John, that was it. He had just taken over old man Bailes’s business in Field Street. Came from Birmingham and wouldn’t let you forget it. Best gunsmith in Durban, though. Funny the things you remember. They’re in West Street now. His sons work with him. Stan’s related to them in some way ...
When Stanley King had arrived at the hospital in Empangeni, Meggie found herself with the task of changing his three-day-old dressings and giving him a bed bath. Everyday jobs, nothing complicated. The new arrival wore a woven bracelet on his right wrist, made from the thick tail-hair of an elephant. She wondered why.
‘Dallas’s youngest, if I’m not mistaken?’ His unexpected words cut into her thoughts. ‘Know your father.’
Meggie was staring. Not at this giant of a man’s missing nipple or the recent stitches which crisscrossed his shaved chest. What she saw were the scars, deep and raking. Jagged puncture marks, badly healed tissue and distorted muscle on his right arm and shoulder. Old wounds.
‘Sorry. Yes, I’m Margaret. No, Meggie.’
‘King. Stanley King. Your family seem to be making a habit of looking after me.’
‘What do you mean?’
He told her about Cameron finding him after Spion Kop and they talked easily as Meggie checked his wounds for any sign of infection. Nothing. Somebody had done a good job.
‘Can you sit up?’
‘I think so, ’ he said, wincing as damaged muscle took the strain.
‘I’ll be as quick as I can. Just lift your arms a little.’
Obediently he raised his arms, allowing Meggie to wrap a new dressing round his upper body. As she helped him into a clean pyjama top with buttons down the front, Meggie noticed that he couldn’t straighten his right elbow. She didn’t ask why.
‘Right, you can lie back.’ Meggie put an arm behind him, trying not to think of what had to be done next. ‘Now we’ll just wash the rest of you, ’ she said, peeling back the sheet which had been covering him from the waist down.
Her patient said nothing as Meggie quickly rinsed and dried his legs and genitals. No sign of any shaving there. She pretended not to notice as his penis became aroused. It had happened with others and she’d thought nothing of it. This time it was different. Stanley King was enormous. Meggie couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. Pulling the sheet back over him she fussed around, straightening his pillow. ‘Better get some rest now.’ He was already asleep.
With a distinct feeling of relief, she was about to wheel away the privacy screen when a soft voice behind her said, ‘Thank you, Meggie.’
She turned. His eyes were still closed. Perhaps she had imagined it.
Dallas and Duncan left Morningside three days later. A telegram to Torben had him join them for drinks at the Durban Club. As it was a men-only establishment, Gerda was not with him.
‘We would have come to Umdhloti if anyone had taken the trouble to inform us that you and Mother were going to be there. Anyway, it’s too late now. Gerda sends love and says if you see Ellie to tell her that all is going well. She’ll understand.’
‘Of course, ’Dallas agreed, wondering why Torben wouldn’t talk more openly about his wife’s pregnancy.
‘And as for my little brother, you don’t look wounded to me. In fact, quite the opposite. Is there something I should know?’
‘Tanith and I are engaged. Is it that obvious?’
‘Not just good friends, eh? Gerda will be pleased.’
Duncan couldn’t help but wonder if she would.
Although Torben seemed evasive when talking about his own activities, he became quite animated on the subject of Lord Kitchener’s drastic proposal to burn out Boer farms, destroying the food supplies on which their komandos relied.
‘And as for imprisoning innocent women and children, even African servants ...it’s a disgrace. Not only that, with all the country’s crops destroyed, how does he expect to feed them? It’s nothing short of genocide.’
Their quickest route back to rejoin Fairfax in the Orange Free State took Dallas and Duncan inland, following the railway through Pietermaritzburg and on to Estcourt. Ellie was delighted to see them and learn of Duncan’s engagement, though there was no disguising the strain she was under.
‘Lindsay’s not too good, ’she said. ‘He’s through the worst. Thank God it wasn’t enteric fever. The hospital at Intombi is losing a dozen or more patients every day. Typhoid and dysentery are killing more than the Boers. Dammit. If the siege goes on for much longer there’ll be nobody left to defend Ladysmith. At least White has decided to stop feeding his useless cavalry horses and eat them. That might make some difference.’
Over a meal of corned beef and boiled potatoes Dallas brought Ellie up to date with news from home and passed on Torben’s reference to Gerda’s pregnancy. Duncan fell asleep.
Knowing that they wanted an early start Ellie organised beds and suggested that in the morning they go on to Chieveley then follow Buller’s supply column west before cutting through the Drakensberg north of Basutoland.
That was what they did, reaching Buller’s camp on Spearman’s farm late the following afternoon. Clearly preparations were being made to move out – by the look of it, back to Chieveley. There was an overall air of despondency but what struck them most was the sheer size of the force. Dallas couldn’t see how the Boers could possibly have beaten back so many men or stood up to the assembled artillery.
It was not difficult to find the South African Light Horse. Will’s jaw dropped in amazement when he recognised Dallas and Duncan.
‘Don’t tell me the Fairfax Scouts are here too? Is there anybody who isn’t?’
They dismounted and shook hands. ‘No, Will. We’re on our way back to join them. Duncan was wounded – not badly, as you can see – and Lorna needed me at home for a while. We’ve been in Zululand for the last ten days or so. How are you, old friend? Where’s Cameron?’
‘He’s around. Can’t keep an eye on him all the bloomin’ time.’
‘I heard Cam was at Spion Kop.’
‘Yes.
What a mess that was. Then the old man gave it another go at Vaal Krantz. It’s too rough across the river for horses. Cam’s just been sitting around for the last few days.’
‘And now?’
‘Back to Chieveley, it would appear.’
‘Do you think there’s any chance of seeing Buller?’
‘Don’t see why not. He could probably do with some cheering up. Ah, here’s Cam now.’
‘Well, well. This is a surprise. Hello, Father, Duncan. You two have lost some weight. What brings you here?’
Dallas had last seen his eldest son at Frere. There was much to catch up on. Both Cam and Will were delighted by Duncan’s news, though his brother seemed sorry that neither he nor their father had found time to visit Virginia. It was almost three weeks since any mail had reached the men.
Dallas couldn’t believe the change in Sir Redvers Buller. True, it had been a good twenty years since they fought together during the Zulu War, but this was not the man who had saved his life at the bloody battle of Kambula Hill, the man of courage and charisma, loved and respected by those who served under him.
‘Good to see you again, sir.’
For a few moments the face that stared back showed no recognition then, quite suddenly, a smile of genuine warmth broke the burdens of time and command. ‘You’ve changed a bit, Granger. Any idea how we might actually win this little war? The Boers seem to have everything going their way.’
They talked in private for well over an hour as the camp around them made ready for departure. ‘My successor, Lord Roberts, is about to start his push for Bloemfontein. Only problem is, Methuen still can’t get past Cronje at Magersfontein. Fairfax is scouting for Johnny French, who will have to outflank the Boers if he’s to relieve Kimberley. Apparently Rhodes is kicking up quite a fuss about the delay in breaking them out. A chap called Kekewich runs the military garrison but, truth is, De Beers has more employees in the place than he has regular troops. There are ten thousand out-of-work blacks in the mine compounds alone and little or no food for any of them. Scurvy is rife. Newborn babies seldom survive. I only hope we can get them out before they’re forced to surrender.’
Footprints of Lion Page 20
