*
“Major Ramsey, we’ve got a real build-up of VC to the south of us,” Sergeant Masters said, placing a “top secret” report on Gib’s desk.
Scowling, Gib studied the report as the sergeant remained nearby. Intelligence had issued a warning of VC gathering just south of Highway 14, near the Villard plantation. His gaze moved to the projection by Intelligence: attack eminent. His heart starting a slow pound, Gib glanced up at his sergeant.
“Thanks, Smitty.”
The sergeant nodded. “That little lady better read the handwriting on the wall. If she don’t vacate now, she’s liable to get blown out of there by VC rocket launchers, mortars and bullets—or get caught in the middle of a good old-fashioned shoot-out between us and the bad guys.”
Fear struck deeply through Gib as he rose to his feet. “I’m going over to the Villard plantation right now. I’ll be back in about two hours.”
“Yes, sir. Good luck on persuadin’ that lady to get the hell out while she’s got the chance!”
Pulling his utility cap onto his head with a jerk and tugging the bill down to shade his eyes from the blinding sunlight, Gib left Operations. Dany’s workers were safe. They’d been trucked to their new homes yesterday under Tess’s supervision. As he requisitioned a jeep from the motor pool and climbed in, Gib wondered if this new and dangerous information would change Dany’s mind. It had to.
*
Gib found Dany among the rubber trees, working hard, her dark blue work clothes damp with sweat. Ma Ling followed him at a wary distance, scowling heavily. She hadn’t liked him showing up in a military vehicle, much less in his marine utilities suit.
Dany was on her hands and knees, repairing a dike around one of the rubber trees to keep the irrigation water from leaking out. She looked up suddenly, and her heart skipped a beat. Gib. As she stood, she tried to dust off her hands. Gib looked every inch the warrior, the bill of his cap shading his face and darkening his tense features. There was a nervous energy around him that Dany had never seen before. He walked as if he were tightly wound, like a grenade ready to explode. His countenance frightened her, and the fact he’d showed up in uniform again worried her even more.
Taking several steps toward him, she said, “Gib, what’s wrong?”
Gib halted inches from Dany, taking advantage of the tree branches overhead to get out of the blistering rays of the sun. All around them the fragrance of orchids filled the air, birds sang and the sky was a clear, turquoise blue. Everything looked peaceful and stunningly beautiful, but Gib knew otherwise. He pushed the bill of his cap up and turned to include Ma Ling, who was coming up behind him as rapidly as her short legs would carry her.
“I’ve just received an Intelligence report.” He pointed toward the south. “There’s a VC build-up five miles away on the border of your land. Intelligence says there’s going to be an attack, Dany.” His gaze shifted down to her. “The VC will be crossing your border to attack Marble Mountain. Do you understand what that means?”
Shocked, Dany tried to assimilate the information. Her mind spun. Binh Duc. She glanced over at Ma Ling’s set, inscrutable features. In Vietnamese, she asked, “Do you think this is Binh Duc’s doing?”
“I do, my daughter,” Ma Ling replied. “He had spies even among our people. Word surely would have gotten back to him.”
“He may believe I’ve sold out to the Americans,” Dany said.
Ma Ling nodded. “There is no doubt.”
Gib saw the worry on Dany’s perspiring features. She took off the bamboo hat and set it against the trunk of a tree, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve.
“Dany—”
“I know, Gib. You’re telling me the VC will go through my land to attack you.”
“Yes, and they’re massing on your property line right now.” He gripped her arm. “Dany, they aren’t going to go around your farm this time. They’ll come straight through it.”
“I can’t believe it.” She pulled from his grip. Pushing strands of damp hair away from her temples, Dany added, “The marines have to do what they must to protect themselves at the base, Gib, but the VC will honor our neutrality. They’ll go around our property.”
Damn it, what was the matter with her? Gib almost said it aloud, but bit the sentence back, swallowing hard. “Look,” he rasped, “the games are over, Dany. Intelligence has been watching this VC build-up for the last week! Do you realize that the day we stood talking in your drawing room there was a man listening by the other entrance? He ran down the hall after he heard you had to sell your property.”
“What are you talking about? Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Dany’s voice rose a notch and she trembled inwardly. One of Duc’s spies? Had this man, whoever he was, gone directly to Duc and told him what he’d heard? Frustration curdled within her as she glared up at Gib.
“Because I didn’t think it was important,” Gib said tightly. “I was more worried about you at the time. I thought he was one of your workers who had come to talk to you about something, that’s all.”
Rubbing her temples, which were beginning to pound with pain, Dany glanced over at Ma Ling. “Who could it have been?” she asked in Vietnamese.
“Any one of our people, daughter.” Ma Ling shrugged. “It matters not. What will you do?”
“I could go to Binh Duc and talk to him.”
Ma Ling’s eyes widened. “No! You dare not go! I believe the major. I believe Duc is going to attack not the base, but you.”
Dany stared at her nanny for long seconds, stunned. Ma Ling had always supported her, always been there whenever she needed her. Now she was siding with Gib.
“Dany, you’ve got to leave and that’s all there is to it,” Gib pleaded. “No more waiting. No more talk about defending your property. When the VC attack, they’ll kill you, whether you’re French, American or anything else.” His throat ached with tension. Would she listen to reason?
Dany whirled angrily on Gib. “I don’t believe the VC will attack me. They may be massing to attack Marble Mountain or the marines, but not me! We have a thirty-year truce. Word has gone out that I have to sell, even though I don’t want to. That’s the difference, don’t you see? The marines have to do what they must to stop them, but not on my property. I won’t allow the war to take place on this land, do you understand?”
Gib could barely control his own temper. There was such desperation in Dany’s eyes and in her voice. It was as if she truly couldn’t believe that either side in this damned war would involve her or her property.
Ma Ling came forward and looked up at him with her dark eyes. “Major, you will bring a truck tomorrow?”
“For you?” he asked, not quite understanding Ma Ling’s sudden leadership role. Dany was staring at the nanny with an open mouth.
“Yes, you bring truck tomorrow, Major. I will help my daughter pack. You take her to a safe place. I join my family at Cam Na.”
Relief shattered through Gib. At least Ma Ling saw the danger, even if Dany didn’t. “I’ll have a truck here at 0800 tomorrow morning. That’s a promise.”
“But—” Dany began.
Ma Ling drew her tiny five-foot frame together, looking not only taller, but actually threatening. She wagged her finger in Dany’s distraught face. “Listen to me, daughter of my heart, you have become blind due to love of house and land. Binh Duc will attack you. He no longer believe you to be neutral.”
“How can you know that?” Dany cried.
“My senses tell me the truth! And you will come with me. As soon as we pack, we leave.”
Gib saw the tragic look of betrayal written all over Dany’s face. His heart bled for her. Silently, he cheered the stern Ma Ling, who had suddenly assumed command and seemed to be the only one able to make Dany come to her senses.
“I can bring in a marine detachment tomorrow morning,” he told them, “to protect you while you pack.”
“No!” Dany cried.
Ma Ling agreed. “No m
ilitary men. If the VC see too many soldiers, they attack sooner. I want my daughter safe.”
Grudgingly, Gib agreed. “Okay, but let me get a hold of my sister, Tess. She’ll help Dany pack.” Tess would be a big help, speeding up the process to get them off the plantation.
Ma Ling nodded. “I will welcome your sister.”
Dany glared at both of them, her emotions at war within her. How could Ma Ling suddenly betray the plantation? And yet a small part of her was truly frightened that her foster mother felt it was time to leave. Ma Ling didn’t scare easily, but the look on the old woman’s lined features told her she was frightened. Dany rubbed her temples, silent for a good minute before she spoke.
“All right,” she whispered finally, looking over at Gib’s troubled features, “we’ll leave.”
Gib felt his remaining tension ease. “Good, I’ll arrange some quarters for you in Da Nang until you decide what you want to do,” he told Dany. He wanted to embrace Ma Ling, but the stern look on her face was forbidding.
“You think we safe until tomorrow, Major?” Ma Ling demanded testily.
“According to the report, I think so. But look,” he pleaded, “why don’t both of you come with me this evening? Spend the night at the base and come back here to pack tomorrow. That would be a hell of a lot safer.”
“No,” Dany whispered rawly. “If we do that, the VC will know we’re on your side.” And to Ma Ling, she added, “Nothing will change. I’ll work out here and you pack inside. If Binh Duc sees me suddenly disappear inside when he knows I work outside from dawn to dusk, he may get suspicious and attack much sooner.”
Ma Ling agreed. “You plan wisely, daughter. I’m proud of you. Yes, I will pack. Things must go as if we know nothing.”
Gib ached to kiss Dany, to hold her and protect her, but he could do none of those things. He looked at both women and said, “The truck will be here at 0800. Dany, if you get into any trouble or suspect a problem, call me immediately. Promise?” He drilled her with a hard look.
Licking her suddenly dry lower lip, Dany nodded. “I promise.”
“I’ll send Tess over to help you as soon as possible.”
“Yes…thanks….”
As soon as Gib had left, Dany ran into the house and got violently ill. She came out of the bathroom to see Ma Ling standing in the hall waiting for her.
Ma Ling came forward and put her arm around Dany’s waist. “Daughter, your illness is more than just flu,” she said in Vietnamese as she guided Dany to her bedroom. “I’m calling Dr. Perot. He will examine you.”
Dany wearily sat down on the double bed. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
Ma Ling’s stern features melted. “Have you noticed any changes in your body, my daughter?”
Dany’s eyes widened. “Changes?”
“Yes. I see your breasts have become fuller. You are sick every day. There are changes….”
Dany pressed her hand to her breasts. Her heart started to pound. “What are you saying?”
Ma Ling stroked her hair gently. “I believe you are pregnant, daughter.”
Thunderstruck, Dany opened her mouth, then shut it. Moving a hand to her belly, she stared up at Ma Ling. She had told no one, not even Ma Ling, that she’d made love with Gib almost three months ago. “But—”
“The signs are there,” Ma Ling said in a quiet tone. “Dr. Perot will confirm it, but I already know. You are with child. Major Ramsey’s child?”
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Dany bowed her head. “My God, Ma Ling….” No longer did she deny what her nanny saw. She didn’t have the flu, she had morning sickness. Flu didn’t cycle every morning with such regularity, she realized in a daze. And every morning, like clockwork, she had thrown up. Her hand still pressed hard against her belly, she realized there was life in there, a symbol of the love she’d shared with Gib. Dany whispered, “Yes, get Dr. Perot over here right away.”
*
Dr. Perot, a rotund man in his early sixties sporting a thin mustache and goatee, smiled at Dany as she entered the drawing room. Ma Ling was waiting beside the doctor.
“No doubt about it, Dany. You’re pregnant. I would say two months, perhaps a bit longer.”
Miserably, Dany looked over at Ma Ling. She tried to smile, but failed terribly. “I…thank you, Doctor.”
“Now, I’m going to leave you a homeopathic remedy for that morning sickness.” He took a dark, amber-colored vial from his black leather bag and placed it on the coffee table. “Four pellets under the tongue once a day, and you’ll scoot through this trimester without any discomfort.”
In shock, Dany asked Ma Ling to see the doctor out. She went up to her room, and, standing at the open window overlooking the rows of rubber trees, felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks.
She had behaved exactly like every other Vietnamese woman who had ever fallen for a GI—she was pregnant. A part of her, the woman who loved Gib fiercely, was overjoyed. But her head shrilled at her that she was going to be abandoned once more. Rubbing her aching brow with her trembling hand, Dany had no idea how Gib would take the news, or indeed, if she should tell him at all. Would it make a difference? It didn’t seem to with other GIs.
A soft sob broke from Dany, her entire body shaking in the wake of it. Deep within her, she knew Gib would make a wonderful father. He had been a wonderful lover to her. Dashing the tears from her eyes, Dany fought to control her unraveling feelings. She was in the process of losing her home, the land that had never betrayed her.
Dany turned, her hand protectively moving to her belly, to her baby. Their baby. That was the only solace Dany felt in a world that was suddenly coming apart before her very eyes. In two days she’d be moving. She had to force herself to pack. Overwhelmed, Dany decided not to tell Gib about her pregnancy until she was situated in Da Nang. Then, she’d have the time to feel her way through what decisions had to be made.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Ma Ling and the marine truck just drove away,” Tess said as she walked into Dany’s spacious bedroom, dusting off her hands. “After the sergeant takes her to the village, he’ll take your furniture to Da Nang for storage. We have to finish packing the second truck out front. Where do you want me to start?”
Dany was sitting on the gleaming teak floor beside one of her bamboo dressers, several boxes open around her. Pointing toward the closet, she said, “I’ve got some large boxes in there. You can begin packing my clothes.”
Tess smiled and nodded. “I love looking at other women’s clothes. Not that I’ve got a job or place to wear nice things, but it’s always nice to look.”
Dany managed a strained smile. “You’re just like me, Tess—a farmer first. I don’t really have that many good clothes, as you’ll discover. Most of my life has been spent here, working.”
Tess grinned. “Yeah, but when we clean up, we look pretty good, don’t we?”
“I guess so,” Dany agreed with a small laugh. Just having Tess here was helping to lighten her heart.
Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the open doors that led to the balcony. Wiping her brow, Dany continued to pack with a sense of urgency. She’d slept poorly last night, tossing and turning, dreaming of her baby, of Gib’s reaction and of Binh Duc attacking her plantation.
Shaken, Dany had dressed this morning in a pair of jeans and a sleeveless blouse instead of her usual farming clothes. Still barefoot, she had begun to help Ma Ling pack her valuables. There was so much still left in the house. Was Gib right? Was attack so eminent that she couldn’t take the time to move all the furniture? What about the pictures of her parents—the memorabilia that sometimes made the house feel more like a museum than a home?
Gib. His name flowed through Dany, easing the anxiety that threatened to turn to panic. More than anything, she needed to see him, needed simply to be held and feel safe for just a moment. Tess had informed her that Gib was out on a mission and would return late this afternoon, and then he’d drop by and see her.
Dany sighed. She had no idea where she would go after the hotel in Da Nang. Saigon? Somewhere around Da Nang? Perhaps move to southern France and live near where her father’s relatives farmed?
Closing one box and taping it shut, Dany sighed again. She didn’t want to leave Gib. But his tour was up in three months, and he’d be heading back to America. Rubbing a trickle of sweat from her temple, Dany got to her feet and retrieved another box. At no time had Gib suggested that she come stateside with him.
Trying desperately to stop the burgeoning ache within her, Dany listlessly opened another drawer and began to pack her lingerie. Bitterness coated her mouth as she wrestled with the reality of her situation. She was worth bedding down here in Vietnam, but not worth marrying. Worse, she was carrying his child. Shame blotted out her hope for some kind of future with Gib. If her father were alive, he’d be outraged at her behavior—sleeping with a man without even a promise of marriage. That kind of behavior just wasn’t tolerated.
How badly Dany wanted to find a few quiet minutes alone with Gib to tell him that she loved him. That was the first and most important step. If he accepted her love, perhaps then she could tell him of her pregnancy. This evening, once she was in Da Nang and Gib was off flight duty, those minutes would become available during their agreed-upon dinner date. And after she told him her real feelings, what would he do? Drop her, as so many other GIs did when their Vietnamese women spoke their hearts’ truths?
By three o’clock, Dany and Tess sat in the small but bright kitchen having an iced tea break. Dany liked Gib’s tall, confident sister. Tess was a hard and uncomplaining worker. She’d accomplished just as much as Dany had during the day of packing.
Just as Dany opened her mouth to speak, a huge, jarring explosion sounded behind the house.
Tess leaped to her feet. “Mortars!” she cried.
“What?” Dany jumped up from the stool, looking toward the billowing black cloud roiling upward as one tall rubber tree cracked, groaned and fell toward the churned-up earth.
“Come on,” Tess muttered, gripping her arm. “We’ve got to get out of here—now!”
Ride the Tiger Page 18
