Torben stood on the steps, hands on hips, looking every bit the successful businessman. ‘Well, Father. This is indeed an unexpected honour. What brings you to our humble abode?’
His question was phrased in a way that invited comment on the recently acquired symbol of success. Dallas didn’t rise to the bait. ‘The opportunity to see my son and his family. Alice must be all of three months old by now and I haven’t yet set eyes on her.’
As he dismounted, Gerda appeared in the doorway holding his granddaughter. ‘Hello, Poppie. You look dreadful. So thin. We’ll have to feed you up a bit.’
‘Good day, Gerda. I won’t say no to that. You’re looking well.’ If anything, Torben’s Afrikaner wife was even larger than he remembered.
She turned one cheek for a kiss and thrust the blanket-wrapped baby into his arms. ‘Don’t you think she looks like Torben?’
Dallas looked down to see two inquisitive eyes staring up at him. ‘I can see you both in her, ’ he said tactfully as a tiny hand stretched out and found the finger he was using to hold the blanket off her face.
‘How long are you here for?’ Torben asked, as if the visit was already an imposition.
‘Only the one night. If that’s convenient, of course.’
‘Don’t be silly, Poppie, ’Gerda cut in. ‘This is such a lovely surprise. Stay as long as you wish.’
‘Thank you, but Lorna is expecting me tomorrow. Duncan should already be at Morningside. Tell me, are you two – sorry, three – coming to the wedding?’
‘Wish we could, Father, ’ Torben replied, trying to look serious. ‘Unfortunately, things are a bit busy right now. I’ve got a shipment arriving this week and, well ...you know ...business is business. I’m sure Duncan and Tanith will understand.’
Dallas nodded but said nothing.
Gerda looked sheepish and clutched at her husband’s arm. ‘You said three. Actually, it’s four, Poppie. I’m pregnant again.’
‘And you’re the first to know, ’ Torben said proudly.
Dallas handed Alice back, kissed Gerda again and extended a hand to his son. ‘Congratulations. Both of you. This calls for a drink.’ More than one, he thought to himself.
‘Oh, it’s so nice to have you here, ’ Gerda bubbled. ‘I’ll take you to your room – it’s the blue one – then Torben can do the grand tour while I attend to Alice and arrange dinner.’
Dallas could see that drinks would have to wait.
The meal, served by the same man he had assumed was their driver, had a formality that was quite out of place, not to mention unnecessary. Dallas did not dress for dinner, using the excuse that he had nothing to wear. Torben and Gerda did, making the point that they always took the trouble even when it was just the two of them.
Though quick to show off his knowledge of commodities and investment opportunities, Torben would not be drawn on what exactly it was he did. ‘Coal. Now that’s one to watch, you mark my words.’
Gerda only talked about babies. ‘Does Duncan know we’d like him to be Alice’s godfather? He never replied to my letter. Ellie did. She’s one of the godmothers. Ellie really wanted to deliver Alice but in the end it just wasn’t possible. She and Lindsay have been so busy, you know. Will they be at the wedding?’
Dallas had no idea.
‘When’s Tanith due? We worked it out to be the end of October, didn’t we, dearest?’ Without waiting for an answer she went on. ‘That’s good. It won’t be too hot then.’
Torben took up the rather one-sided conversation as if fearing a lull. ‘Mother’s fine. She wanted to do something special for the wedding but old man Taylor is making things difficult for everybody. What with that and keeping an eye on Meggie, she hasn’t been to Durban in over a month.’
Dallas didn’t pick up on the deliberate reference to his youngest daughter.
Torben let it pass. ‘Do you see much of Cam? How is he?’
‘Unfortunately not and to answer your second question, Ginnie probably knows more than I do. I’m only his father.’ Dallas said nothing about his visit to Caroline Hammond.
‘According to Mother, she never sees anything of Ginnie these days. Too busy running her parents’ farm apparently.’
‘Well, we’ll soon find out.’
Conversation exhausted, Torben resumed his role as host. ‘Port and cigars, then we’d best call it a night.’
Gerda took the hint and rose from the table. The two men stood and wished her goodnight. ‘Don’t be long, precious, you’ve got a busy day tomorrow.’
The alcohol had loosened Torben’s tongue. ‘See all this, Father?’ He waved an arm at nothing in particular. ‘It’s only the start. There may be a war on but both sides need my help. I’m neutral, if you see what I mean.’ He tapped a forefinger on the side of his nose and nodded knowingly.
Dallas hadn’t the faintest idea what his son was talking about. All he wanted to do was get some sleep. ‘Torben, would you mind awfully if I sloped off to bed? It’s been a long day and tomorrow will be the same.’
‘Of course not, Father. I may miss you in the morning so go well and give my regards to everybody at home.’
As Dallas found sleep he wondered not about Torben but the unexplained comment concerning Meggie. It would have to wait.
Weary after the long ride from Durban, Dallas arrived at Morningside just on sunset. Mister David was waiting, watching the road which led south.
‘I see you, nkosi, ’ he said, taking the reins of Dallas’s horse.
‘I see you, umngane, ’ Dallas replied, acknowledging his friend. ‘How have things been since I was last home?’
‘All is well.’ Mister David nodded. ‘But you forgot Madam Lorna’s birthday.’
Dallas groaned. It was worse than he had expected. ‘Should I ride back to my unit and get myself killed?’ he joked.
Mister David’s face broke into a huge grin. ‘Better that than die here.’ He had never understood why white people placed so much importance on the year of their birth. Women seemed to worry even more than men. He did not envy Dallas after such a serious oversight. The tired old lion was no match for the angry lioness!
Dismounting, Dallas stretched his weary limbs and looked towards the house. Lorna was waiting on the verandah. Even the dogs hadn’t come out to welcome him. Bad omen, he thought, waving a greeting. ‘Lorna, my love.’ Dallas tried to hide his apprehension. ‘It’s been too long. I’ve missed you.’
Lorna was not fooled by her husband’s uncharacteristic greeting but smiled to herself at the obvious guilt in his expression. All of the family had, in one way or another, passed on their birthday greetings. The only exception was Dallas, the one who should have reminded the others. Now he stood forlorn, like a schoolboy in trouble, waiting on the bottom step and looking up at her. The remorse written on his face melted Lorna’s heart but she was woman enough to recognise her advantage.
‘You are looking well, all things considered, ’ she said in a tone which made Dallas flinch. It was obvious that she was referring to the forgotten birthday. Should he mention their wedding anniversary, he wondered.
‘You must have been doing so many important things in the last couple of months. The censors cut such a lot out of your letters!’
It was getting worse. Suza, lying at Lorna’s feet, winked at him.
‘My darling, I cannot tell you how bad I feel to have, well ...missed your birthday.’
The admission – rather than an apology – was met by a stony stare from Lorna.
‘I have no excuse. Can you forgive me?’
Her husband’s plea was more than Lorna could bear. She knew him well enough to realise he had dropped all semblance of pride and was truly remorseful. Without more ado she fell into his waiting arms and kissed him full on the mouth. ‘I forgive you, Dallas, ’ she said with tears in her eyes. ‘Welcome home, my darling.’ The only birthday gift she had wanted was to see him home, alive and well. All else was of no consequence – well, perhaps not quite, but forgett
ing her birthday was still just a niggle.
Dallas held Lorna as if he would die in the next few seconds, breathing in the scent of her. ‘I love you, Lorna.’
Mister David shook his head as he led Dallas’s army horse away to be brushed down and fed. All was as it should be.
Of Duncan and Meggie there was no sign.
That evening husband and wife sat on the verandah, sharing a bottle of well-rounded red wine from the western Cape, talking about family, the farm and Dallas’s visit to the Drakensberg foothills. Lorna was stunned by what he had discovered and listened in awe as he spoke of finding his half-sister and reading the letters written by Lady Pamela to Jack Walsh, his father. When he told her of the tragedy in Caroline’s life and her decision to sell Wakefield to Cameron for one guinea, she could hardly believe her ears.
‘That boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, ’ Lorna laughed. ‘If Cam and Ginnie go there it also solves the problem of who takes over Morningside.’
Dallas nodded. ‘Cam still knows nothing of this so best we don’t mention it to Ginnie.’
‘If we see her.’ Lorna sounded serious for a moment. ‘She’s been so busy looking after her parents and their farm. Kevin has turned to the bottle, which is helping nobody.’
‘But she’ll be here for Duncan’s wedding, surely?’
‘We’ll see, my darling, we’ll see.’
At the news of Gerda’s pregnancy Lorna just shook her head. She said nothing to Dallas about her suspicions concerning Meggie’s feelings for Stanley King. After all, it was only a mother’s intuition.
The evening was cool but, being so close to the coast, not cold. Eventually their conversation turned to the war, an unavoidable subject in such troubled times.
‘What’s this I hear about Kitchener taking Boer families from their farms and sending them to special camps?’ Lorna asked. ‘Is it true?’
Dallas rubbed his forehead. ‘Unfortunately yes, and his orders also say we must set fire to whatever will burn and confiscate their animals. Lord Roberts knows that the Boer komandos rely on farms for food and shelter. He really has no choice but to do something about it. There’s been a significant change in enemy strategy. The Boers know we’ve got the resources to wipe them out in conventional battles so they’re using hit-and-run tactics to disrupt our lines of supply. Guerrilla warfare, they call it. The Spanish coined that term when they harassed Napoleon’s armies on the Iberian Peninsula. Believe me, it’s frustrating the hell out of our men in the field. And that’s not all. There’s a psychological effect as well. The British public get quite concerned when there are no great victories to read about in their morning papers.’
‘So to keep them happy we wage war on innocent women and children?’ Lorna’s sudden sarcasm surprised Dallas.
‘They’re not innocent if they provide succour to the enemy, ’ he retaliated. ‘What if a Boer komando killed Cameron or Duncan? Would you feel that way about a woman who baked the bread which gave them the freedom to do it?’
Lorna fell silent, staring out at the starry backbone of the winter night sky. How could she respond to such a question? Dallas, being a soldier, saw it only as a means to an end. She, on the other hand, empathised with the weak and helpless, those swept up in a war of greed and glory created by insensitive, stiff-necked men who used words like loyalty, duty and honour to justify whatever was needed to win. There was no answer.
‘You may not agree with me, ’Dallas interrupted Lorna’s gloomy thoughts, ‘but British behaviour is quite civilised and I know that Boer women and children will be well cared for in the concentration camps.’
‘Concentration camps? Is that what they’re calling them?’ Lorna shook her head at how quickly the concept had been given a name.
‘It simply means bringing scattered groups into areas where they can be watched – nothing else.’
‘Well, I have a bad feeling that we are going to rue the day they came into being. If the tables were turned would we accept the “concentration” of our families into camps as a civilised means of waging war?’
Dallas shifted uncomfortably. He was no great supporter of the man charged with implementing Lord Roberts’s strategy. Stories he had heard of the cold-hearted Kitchener did not bide well with him. However, he had to admire the man as a soldier.
When Dallas and Lorna retired for the night they did not make love. It was enough just being together, clinging to each other under the warm blankets. In the dark Dallas lay listening to the soft snores of his wife. Try as he might, he couldn’t sleep.If the damned Boers would just admit defeat all this worry would be over, he thought. Cam could marry Ginnie and move to Wakefield, Duncan and Tanith could raise their imminent family and his baby daughter discover happiness with a good man. At least Ellie had found her soulmate in Lindsay Mayer. Family concerns filled his mind as he stared at the dark ceiling. War so often saw fathers burying sons rather than the other way around, as was expected in times of peace. Since being home he hadn’t seen Duncan or Meggie. It was no secret where his son would be, but Dallas was sorry to have missed Meggie. The hospital was not unduly busy but she had drawn the four to midnight shift and wouldn’t be home until the following morning.
August the fifteenth dawned clear with a grey-white smoke haze hanging low over the inland hills towards Eshowe and Nkwalini.The Zulus would be burning off dry grass to promote a new season’s growth, Dallas thought as he waited.
Lorna burst onto the verandah, her blonde hair a sleep-tousled mess. She didn’t care, though Suza got quite a fright at her sudden appearance and let them know in no uncertain manner.
‘You sneaky old bugger, ’she chided Dallas, not the dog, falling onto his lap and flinging her arms around his neck. In one hand Lorna held a small blue velvet box.
‘Happy anniversary, my darling.’
‘Oh, Dallas, and the same to you. What a lovely surprise. Thank you. You’re a sentimental old idiot and I love you so very much.’
‘Hope you like it. The choice in Durban was a bit limited.’
‘Like it? It’s superb.’ She opened the box and stared at a twinkling two-carat diamond, claw set in gleaming rose gold.
‘Here.’ Dallas took Lorna’s left hand, removed the ring from its box and gently placed his present beside the band that had been on his wife’s finger for nineteen years.
Lorna dissolved into tears. ‘You’re not going to believe this.’
‘What, my darling?’
‘I forgot our anniversary!’
They looked at each other and both burst out laughing.
‘What say you we take two horses, pack some lunch then spend the day away from everybody? We can ride down the beach towards Mtunzini – just you and me.’
‘Oh yes, Dallas, yes please – but first there’s something else I want to do. Come with me.’ Lorna rose and took his hand, leading her husband towards their bedroom.
Dallas didn’t complain.
When Torben had disappeared from Durban at the end of May, Gerda descended into a state of panic. The letter he left did little to alleviate her concern that her husband had run off with another woman. She decided to give him a week, then, if he hadn’t returned, go to the police. Torben came back four days later. His distraught wife screamed her accusations at him until he could bear it no more. Secretly pleased, Torben confessed where he had been and why.
Ashen-faced, Gerda listened, only believing his far-fetched story when he produced the bank cheque. Carefully she fingered the paper, holding it up, looking for a watermark, hardly believing that the figures written on it were true. ‘This is a fortune, ’Gerda gasped, slumping into a chair to recover from her shock.
‘You cannot say anything to anyone, ’ Torben warned. ‘And you must promise – on the life of our baby– that you will not tell even your family, so help you God.’
Gerda had agreed, her stricken expression convincing Torben. That aside, he had been wise enough not to disclose everything, especially that his n
ew master was the Broederbond.
Within a week the suitcase maker had clarified what Torben was to do. He had been instructed to invest a huge amount of money from an account in Germany through a broker in Durban who was dealing in low-ash, clinker-free steaming coal. The war had brought many ships to South Africa’s ports. They and the railways were greedy for coal to drive the steam engines needed to carry men and supplies to a seemingly insatiable Lord Roberts. Those backing Torben were practical businessmen, quick to seize an opportunity even if it aided an apparent adversary. The investment would net them a fortune. So what if he committed some of his own money alongside that entrusted to him by the enemy? Torben quickly dismissed any idea of the Boers as enemies, reminding himself that true entrepreneurs recognised no national loyalties – just the need to make money. War was no more than an opportunity. Those he was working for could not possibly object to his parallel investment.
Torben had put in place a group of small companies which would be used to channel funds to and from his faceless partners. Ostensibly all were controlled by him. His was the only individual name to appear in company documents, other shares being held by various corporate entities, the owners of which were almost untraceable.
The broker turned out to be a German Jew. His was not a fancy office, the man himself as austere as his premises. ‘It would be a good idea for you to invest also, Mister Petersen, ’he said amicably. ‘The companies you have registered on behalf of our silent partners seem to be in order. One more is neither here nor there and will be seen simply as a man of foresight showing confidence in the future of his country. Given time, I am confident that your personal investment will multiply many times over.’
Torben agreed, shook hands with the bespectacled broker and left his office. A month later he received his first commission, less the initial advance. Once again, it was paid by way of a bank cheque drawn on the Bank of England. Torben’s unnamed benefactors were more than satisfied with his efforts. The time had come to acquire the best house in town and announce to the world – in particular, his family – that Torben Petersen was far from a failure. He had arrived, so to speak, and others would look up to him in the years ahead. Now he could keep his promise to Alice that one day she would wear diamonds and gold. Her wait had not been long.
Footprints of Lion Page 29
