Dark Moonless Night. Anne Mather
was going to make these six weeks purgatory for all of them.
‘I’m only trying to make you see his side of things, Elizabeth,’ she added quietly.
Elizabeth looked at her bent head, and then her expression softened. ‘Oh, yes, I suppose you are,’ she conceded at last. ‘But I’m not like you, Caroline. I can’t stand too much heat—or too much physical discomfort of any kind. I just go to pieces. My nerves simply won’t support me.’
Caroline looked at her. ‘We could all be a little like that,’ she observed dryly. ‘You don’t suppose any of us are going to find it easy, do you? No. It’s just that—well, at least keep an open mind. Don’t prejudge everything. I think you might find there are compensations.’ She hesitated. ‘Surely it’s good to be with Charles again?’
Elizabeth allowed a small smile to curve her lips. ‘Oh, yes, I suppose that’s true. All right, Caroline, I’ll try and not show my feelings too blatantly, but don’t expect miracles.’
Caroline smiled, ‘I won’t.’
By the time she had carried the tray back to the kitchen, washed in more of the tepid brown water in her bedroom, and dressed in a scarlet shirt and navy shorts, Thomas had arrived to make breakfast. He greeted her with his usual good humour, obviously finding the sight of her long slender legs much to his liking.
Caroline left him to go and attend to the children. While they washed and cleaned their teeth she sorted through their clothes, putting most of their things away in a cedar-lined chest, similar to the one in her room. Then they dressed in tee-shirts and shorts, too, omitting their vests which had been a necessary item in April in London, but were superfluous here.
Breakfast comprised of rolls and fruit, very like what they had had the morning before in Ashenghi, and the coffee was every bit as good. Elizabeth had joined them, albeit in her dressing gown, and seemed to appreciate the simple meal. She drank several cups of strong black coffee with the cigarette she always enjoyed at this hour and looked more inclined to be affable afterwards. But when Caroline suggested that they might all take a walk later on, she shook her head vigorously.
‘Not me, darling. I’m not dressed yet. But you three go, by all means. I’ll be fine here. I’m going to ask Thomas whether I might take a shower, and then I’ll accustom myself to my surroundings before Charles gets back. I might even supervise the cooking of our lunch.’
Caroline looked at the children’s expectant faces and nodded. ‘All right, we’ll go. Perhaps it would be best anyway, just in case Charles returns while we’re out.’
Some time later, walking along the sun-hard track that meandered its way between the bungalows of the European population towards the African village, Caroline was glad she had agreed to the outing. Although it was hot, the sun had not yet assumed the fiery sharpness that burned at midday. There was a haze of heat ahead of them that shimmered like a living thing, blurring the edges of their vision, and casting a sympathetic cloak over the harsher aspects of the settlement. It endeavoured to conceal the pitiful poverty of the mud dwellings that spread beyond the orderly rows of bungalows, the skeletal thinness of the few cattle which turned to regard them with mournful eyes, and the unpleasant lack of sanitation.
And yet, in spite of everything, the people themselves looked healthy, and happy, enough. The babies, who ran naked to their mothers at the appearance of this strange white woman and her children, had plump, rounded little bodies and bright, inquisitive eyes. There was a distinct absence of men to be seen, except for a few ancients seated cross-legged beside an open fire, smoking pipes and talking incessantly. Caroline assumed that all the able-bodied males were working, either at the mine or perhaps at some form of agriculture, although there seemed little scope for cultivation of crops about here. The women looked at them without interest, but Caroline was not disposed to linger. She felt that they were intruding somehow, and in spite of the children’s disappointed protests, turned back the way they had come.
They were perhaps half way back to the bungalow, when a low-slung American limousine came cruising alongside and stopped just ahead of them. A man leaned out, a dark-haired, thick-set, handsome man, who smiled a greeting. Caroline stiffened. Surely they were not about to be accosted in this remote outpost?
However, to her surprise, the man knew their names. ‘Hello,’ he called. ‘You look too young to be the children’s mother, so you must be Miss Ashford, is that right? And that’s David and Miranda.’
Caroline took a few tentative steps forward, holding both the children’s hands firmly. ‘Yes, I’m Caroline Ashford. But I’m afraid——’
‘I know.’ The man thrust open his door and climbed out. revealing that he was only a little taller than Caroline herself. ‘You’re naturally wondering who I am. Well, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Nicolas Freeleng. Gareth may have mentioned my name to you.’
At the mention of Gareth Morgan’s name, a wave of hot colour swept into Caroline’s cheeks. But of course the name was familiar. Wasn’t it for Freeleng Copper Incorporated that Charles worked?
Allowing her fingers to be engulfed in the man’s broad palm, Caroline managed to nod and say: ‘Yes, I do recall your name, Mr. Freeleng. How do you do?’
‘I’m very well, thank you.’ He let her withdraw her hand from his rather reluctantly. ‘I don’t feel I have to ask you that question. You look quite—delightful, if I may say so.’
Caroline’s colour did not subside as she introduced the children. Inevitably, David had a question and for once she was glad. While Nicolas Freeleng explained the dials on the car’s dashboard to his enthralled listener, she had an opportunity to study the man.
He was quite young, much younger than she would have expected him to be, perhaps thirty-nine or forty, with square shoulders and a rather heavily-built body. He was dressed in khaki shirt and trousers, and there were already signs of perspiration on the shirt’s crisp surface.
When he could extricate himself from David’s curiosity, he turned back to Caroline, and said: ‘Perhaps I can give you a lift back to Lacey’s bungalow, Miss Ashford. Actually, I was on my way there to see Mrs. Lacey when I saw you. I was about to suggest that you all dine with me at my house this evening.’
Caroline glanced down at the children. ‘I’m sure Mrs. Lacey will love that, Mr. Freeleng,’ she replied. ‘However, I hope you will understand that I couldn’t accept your invitation myself.’
‘Why not?’ Nicolas’s brows ascended.
‘Well—because I’m here to look after the children——’
‘If necessary the children can come, too,’ declared Nicolas, with a certain amount of arrogance. ‘I insist that you join us. You can’t remain aloof in a community like ours, Miss Ashford. We all depend upon one another too much for that.’
Caroline sighed. ‘It’s not a question of remaining aloof, Mr. Freeleng——’
‘Is it not? Then you will come.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘But we are wasting time. Come, get in the car. We’ll go and see Mrs. Lacey. I’m sure she’ll see it my way.’
Elizabeth was not about when they entered the bungalow, and excusing herself, Caroline left Nicolas with the children and went in search of her employer. She could hear Thomas singing in the kitchen as she went along the passage and a frown drew her dark brows together. Where was Elizabeth? Why hadn’t she appeared when she heard them come in?
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