Cameron looked at her in the firelight as she rearranged the coals and threw on another log. Sparks flew up then settled.
‘Sorry about my outburst. You could have taken offence but you didn’t. Strangely, I feel much more relaxed. Thank you.’
‘For what? It’s Christmas. Oh, and by the way, the transfer has gone through. Wakefield is now yours.’
Cameron’s jaw dropped.
‘Don’t look so surprised. It doesn’t mean you have to live here.’
‘But Ginnie and I are no longer getting married.’
‘Who’s Ginnie? I thought the world was bigger than that. Anyway, you do what you want. Right now there’s a bottle of bubbly to open. Care to do the honours?’
‘Milestones, ’ he muttered. ‘You’re an amazing woman.’ Cameron dropped the note into the coals, watching it blacken then burst into flames.
‘See? You’ve got it. Milestones.’
They both smiled.
Sitting under the stars sharing a bottle of Bollinger seemed so natural.
‘Father explained that you are his half-sister. I can’t believe it. That makes you my aunt. Do I still call you Caroline?’
‘Certainly, though I prefer Caro. Did Dallas also tell you about my lion?’
‘Funnily enough, he did.’
They talked easily, as friends do, of everything and nothing.
‘Oh, and one other thing. I have to go and see Guy in the morning so please make yourself at home. Popeti is in Durban for Christmas and Moses won’t be back until Boxing Day.’
Cam looked at her staring into the fire. ‘Thank you, Caro, for everything.’
As the embers turned grey and died they walked arm in arm into the house. Candles burned in two rooms which opened off the simple living room. ‘Sleep well, ’ Caro said, giving Cameron a peck on the cheek before turning in to one of them.
Cam lay in the darkness, more at peace than he had felt in months. The silence was so deep it had a sound all of its own. He didn’t hear her come to him but suddenly she was there. ‘Nobody should be alone on Christmas Eve, ’ Caro said.
Meggie saw him first, riding slowly towards the house, his face shaded by a wide-brimmed if slightly battered hat. There was no disguising the size of their surprise visitor.
‘Stanley King, if I’m not mistaken.’ Dallas let the name hang in the air. ‘I wonder what brings him here on Christmas Day?’
Lorna was quickly on her feet and gave Meggie’s arm a reassuring squeeze. Tanith had finished feeding Frazer and stayed sitting, expecting the worst. Meggie didn’t move; her heart was in her mouth. Everybody knew what was going on between her and Stan but Dallas had been waiting for his daughter to tell him. She had come close that afternoon, trying to summon the courage. Ellie and her mother both said that she was the one who had to tell her father. There were two men in her life that she could never hurt. Dallas was one of them. Now the other had appeared before her as well. It was too late.
Although Meggie’s father had never mentioned her relationship with his old friend she knew, from little things said by her mother, that he was aware of it. Stan dismounted at the house, greeted Mister David – who was setting out afternoon tea on the verandah – then turned and walked purposefully towards the cassia tree. There was a quiet confidence in his stride as he approached, hat in hand, his face and bare arms burnt brown by the sun.
‘Good afternoon, Dallas, ’he said when close enough not to shout. ‘Ladies, ’ Stan acknowledged the others. ‘A merry Christmas to you, one and all.’
‘Turn around and ride home, Stan, ’ Dallas said firmly. ‘You are not welcome here.’
Meggie’s worst nightmares had been realised. She glanced desperately at her mother, seeking support. None was forthcoming. This was a matter between her father and the man Meggie wanted to share her life with.
‘Hello, Meggie, ’Stan said, ignoring Dallas and turning towards her. ‘I wanted to see your father.’
‘Well, here I am.’ Dallas stepped forwards to challenge him. The two men stood toe to toe while a hushed audience took in the David and Goliath confrontation.
‘Dallas, ’the larger man said in a tired voice. ‘We have been friends for too many years for me not to be honest with you. I have come here to ask permission for your daughter’s hand in marriage.’
‘Then you have a hide thicker than a Cape buffalo, ’Dallas replied, looking up at the composed Englishman. ‘You also have about ten seconds to get on your horse and leave.’
Stan didn’t move. ‘Go ahead, Dallas, ’ he said. ‘If it makes you feel better, put one on my jaw. I am not leaving without Meggie’s answer to my proposal.’
Despite Dallas’s weakened condition, the blow came from nowhere – fast and hard– causing Stan’s head to snap sideways. Meggie screamed, hands flying to her mouth, but nobody intervened. Lorna grabbed her daughter’s arm before she could rush forwards to Stan, now slumped on the grass holding his jaw. Slowly he rose to his feet and again stood in front of Dallas, who had obviously hurt his arm and knuckles.
‘You can keep on doing that if it makes you feel better, ’Stan said. ‘I love your daughter. I may be older than she is but I can’t help how I feel about Meggie – any more than you can control your determination to look after her. I swear to you, Dallas, on this most holy of days, that I will love and protect this woman as no other ever could. I would die before letting anything bad happen to Meggie.’
Dallas stared back at his unrepentant friend, knowing he had meant every word.
Stan braced himself for another stinging blow. It never came. Anger faded from Dallas’s eyes and he shook his head. ‘You know I had to do that, ’he said quietly. ‘I may not be pleased with what is going on between you and my daughter, but I do believe you are a brave and honest man who is true to his word. I cannot ask more than that – though I will certainly find it difficult to think of you as my son-in-law.’ Dallas held out his right hand and Stan took it, gratitude and relief written in his expression. ‘I suppose you should first ask Meggie if she wants to marry you.’
Stan grinned and winced, at the same time massaging his jaw. ‘I hope she hasn’t inherited her father’s left jab, ’ he said.
‘No, ’Dallas replied with a wry grin. ‘Meggie is more like her mother. She prefers a right hook.’
Both men smiled. It was probably true.
Stan turned to Meggie and dropped to one knee. ‘Margaret Maud Granger-Acheson, will you do me the honour of consenting to become my wife?’
‘Yes, you dear sweet fool. Yes, yes, yes.’ Although her answer did not actually require words as Meggie flew into his waiting arms and smothered him with kisses.
When they stood up, Lorna added her congratulations then introduced Tanith and Frazer. By this time even Mister David had joined them, a grin splitting his face from ear to ear.
Meggie disentangled herself and stood in front of Dallas. She threw her arms around his neck and tears of joy flowed freely. ‘Thank you, Father. I will always love you.’
Dallas hugged his little girl close to his chest. Entrusting his youngest daughter to another was in many ways as hard as losing a son to the war.
Stan King had been accepted. Tea was forgotten when Lorna produced one of Ellie’s bottles of Moët. ‘I’m sure your big sister wouldn’t mind, ’she said, passing the Champagne to Dallas for him to open.
Tanith, Frazer and Aminta left the house around six, heading north to Empangeni. Before the sun set on Christmas Day 1900, another unexpected visitor would arrive at Morningside. Tired and dusty, Torben Petersen appeared just after seven o’clock.
Grim-faced and disbelieving, Lorna and Dallas sat in the study listening to Torben recount the events surrounding the abduction of his daughter over seven weeks earlier and what he had since learned from his Uncle Olaf in Denmark. He did not produce the letter itself – or tell the full truth. Torben dared not confess his part in helping to fund the military and political aims of his Afrikaner employers. Instea
d, he implied that the reason was to do with his role in supplying artillery pieces to the British. An act of revenge by the Broederbond.
Christmas Day or not, Torben had left Gerda at home in Durban. Her sister Lanice, who knew about Alice’s disappearance, welcomed any excuse to visit the big house on the Berea and as this was the first time she had actually been asked to stay, accepted the invitation without hesitation.
‘So it all comes down to finding this fellow Klaas, ’Torben ended his revelation, head bowed.
‘The man who posed as a policeman in your house, ’Dallas said reflectively.
‘Why on earth did you not tell us all this before?’ Lorna gently reprimanded her stepson.
A red-eyed Torben looked up. ‘I was too frightened. The Brotherhood said I should speak to nobody. They’ve got eyes and ears everywhere, even in Durban. I wouldn’t be surprised if the local police really were involved in Alice’s disappearance.’
‘Well, there’s no two ways about it, ’Lorna said forcefully. ‘We get my granddaughter back – whatever it takes.’
For the first time in weeks, Torben felt a wave of relief. The fact that his stepmother had referred to Alice as her granddaughter was only part of it. There were times he had felt like a stranger in the family – an outsider even – despite the fact that he had grown up alongside those who had always seen him as their brother.
‘Would you mind if Stan King hears of this?’ Dallas asked unexpectedly. ‘After all, he is practically family.’
Torben nodded his agreement, having learned earlier in the evening about Meggie’s engagement. ‘Finding Klaas may not be as difficult as I first feared, ’he said. ‘It’s no secret that the war is practically over.’
‘Don’t believe all you hear, ’ Dallas corrected his son. ‘That’s nothing more than politicians’ talk. The Boers are far from being beaten. Not even Kitchener understands what he’s dealing with. Botha, de Wet, Smuts and the others know they can’t win but their komandos can keep this thing going until the British public get fed up with it and start to question why the war is not over. It’s politics, pure and simple. The Boers are becoming damned good at playing the game.’
‘I tend to agree, ’ Lorna backed her husband. ‘This war could drag on for years.’
Dallas continued, ‘Look, your uncle has told you that Klaas is a Boer sympathiser – a spy, to put it bluntly – who spends a lot of his time in Pretoria. Did he say why?’
‘Because it gives him access to Portuguese East. It’s neutral territory. A way of keeping in contact with agents from outside Africa, ’ Torben answered. ‘He is actually a Dutch citizen.’
Lorna said what her husband had been thinking. ‘Duncan has applied for a posting to military intelligence in Pretoria. He wants nothing more to do with the farm burning. Perhaps he could help us find this man?’
‘Depends on what else he’s doing, ’Dallas pointed out. ‘If necessary I can go to Pretoria myself.’
‘Leave it to Duncan, ’ Lorna protested. ‘You are needed here.’
‘And you are the one who said we must get Alice back, whatever it takes. Besides, I’m not without contacts in that part of the world. First I will write to Duncan.’
Lorna did not pursue the subject. If the need arose her husband would go to the Transvaal capital. She could not stop him. His health was improving, though he was far from being at full strength.
‘I could come with, ’Torben added.
‘No, ’Dallas countered. ‘It would be better if you return to Durban. Gerda needs you there, especially in her current condition. Besides, we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. If you are seen to be threatening this Klaas fellow, the Brotherhood may decide to do something drastic with Alice. Go home and look after your business. It seems to be going extremely well.’
Torben saw the wisdom of his father’s advice – and also the irony.
There was nothing more they could do that night so Lorna retired. It had been a long day. Dallas offered Torben a cigar, which he accepted. Meggie wasn’t about so Dallas poured them both a brandy then selected a pipe from the rack on his desk. ‘We’ll find her, son, ’he said. ‘Have no fear of that.’
Stan stayed overnight at Morningside, sleeping in Cameron’s room. Torben slept in the guest suite.
Over the breakfast table, Dallas told Stan and Meggie all that had been discussed the night before. Stan realised the significance of being included and offered any help he could. Torben instinctively liked him– though he couldn’t work out why the man wore a bracelet.
After spending Boxing Day at Morningside, Torben took his father’s advice and returned to Gerda in Durban. Surprisingly, he was sorry to leave, expressing genuine disappointment at not seeing Tanith and Frazer. Lorna promised to pass on his good wishes.
Hogmanay didn’t hold its usual appeal. Dallas sat up to see the New Year in but his thoughts kept going back to Alice, wondering whether or not they would be able to find her. He had already written to Duncan, setting out everything that Torben had told them. Would it be enough?
Lorna found herself worrying more and more about Cameron, hoping time was easing the pain he carried in his heart. When he left she had seen in his face the look of a man who no longer cared if he lived or died. Where he was going, that could be fatal. There was nothing she could do but wait.
Lorna also sensed her husband’s restlessness at seemingly doing nothing while Alice remained at risk. He had poured himself into the planning of new ground for cane planting, laying out blocks and supervising the digging of irrigation channels, but that was not enough. He might be a farmer but his family came first. Waiting for word from Duncan was not his idea of doing something positive.
Each day Dallas returned from the fields filthy. Before washing and changing into clean clothes he would go directly to the table hoping mail had arrived. It was their only contact with the world beyond Morningside.
The letters did come, mainly from Ellie. One written soon after her return to the hospital told them that she had found Cecily and Stephen’s house in Durban empty, with no sign that they were back from Bechuanaland. She made mention of the train breaking down at Dargle Road, where they waited six hours for a replacement locomotive. Dallas remembered the small station and thought of his half-sister, wondering what she had done for Christmas.
Being alone couldn’t have been much fun for Caro. They should have invited her to Morningside, he thought. Next year perhaps.
At last, word came from Duncan confirming his posting to staff headquarters in Pretoria. He had received Dallas’s letter telling him the terrible news about his goddaughter and promised to do everything he could to find Klaas. He also said that Cam had been promoted to major and was with a new unit hunting down Boer komandos. Apparently, they had an unenviable reputation for doing their job with ruthless efficiency, showing little or no compassion for those they drove from their homes.
There had been no word from Cameron himself.
Already it was late March. Dallas made his usual beeline for the table, to find a letter addressed to him in an unfamiliar sloping hand. Curious, he tore open the envelope.
‘Who is it from?’ Lorna asked, joining him and trying to peek. ‘It’s obviously a woman’s writing.’
‘Caro, ’ Dallas said, surprised as he read its contents. ‘She reminds me of something I said to her last year.’
‘Oh yes?’ Lorna’s tone invited more of an explanation.
‘I promised to help her shoot a lion, ’he replied, shrugging his shoulders in a gesture which said ‘so what?’. ‘This really isn’t the right time. It will have to wait. I’ll write and tell her.’
‘Good, ’Lorna said. ‘Does she say anything about giving Wakefield to Cam as a ...’ Her question tapered off. There would be no wedding, she thought sadly, knowing the pain and anger her son carried with him was for that very reason.
‘No. But I doubt Caro would have changed her mind. Cam is a favourite of hers.’
Dallas
didn’t say anything but a thought niggled at the back of his mind. How had his half-sister known he would be at Morningside?
The Fairfax Scouts seemed to be spending more and more time following orders to round up women and children – even African servants – then burning their homes. Duncan’s posting to staff headquarters in Pretoria brought with it promotion to the rank of captain and took him away from actions he saw as completely unjustified. His new duties related to field intelligence. Although the endless meetings and paperwork soon became tedious, Duncan was well placed to try to trace the elusive Meneer Klaas.
The officers’ mess was a solid sandstone building not far from parliament house. It was there that Duncan had met Major Scott, commander of the military intelligence division charged with determining who in the predominantly Boer population could be trusted and who could not.
Major John Scott was a lean, arrogant Englishman with few friends – a problem largely of his own making. His often offhand manner didn’t seem to bother the young colonial captain who had sought his assistance on one matter in particular.
‘Got word of that chap Klaas today, ’ Scott said one lunchtime when he found Duncan sitting in a worse-for-wear leather chair reading a month-old copy of The Times. ‘Seems your man is back on our patch.’
Duncan lowered the paper and looked up with interest at the senior officer standing over him, a large gin and tonic clutched in one hand. ‘You’ve just made my day, John. Is the information reliable?’ Duncan tried to hide his excitement. It was the first he had heard of the man since receiving his father’s letter in January. Until that moment Duncan had doubted the claims made by Torben’s uncle in Denmark.
‘Sixty percent, ’ the major said, slumping into an empty chair beside Duncan. ‘It appears Klaas is of interest to us as well, ’ he continued, watching his fellow officer’s reaction. ‘He’s on our list of most wanted foreign nationals working for the Boers. Quite a tricky individual, it would seem. Keeps slipping in and out of the country through Portuguese territory. Word has it he’s thick as thieves with the German Kaiser’s agents.’
Footprints of Lion Page 37
