The Smouldering Flame
Anne Mather
Mills & Boon are excited to present The Anne Mather Collection – the complete works by this classic author made available to download for the very first time! These books span six decades of a phenomenal writing career, and every story is available to read unedited and untouched from their original release.Passion that burns as fiercely as ever…Joanna never expected to see Shannon Carne again. But when family reasons lead her to seek him out in Africa – she is overwhelmed by the force of her emotions. And it is clear he still feels the same as her… But her renewed passion for Shannon couldn’t have come at a worst time – she is engaged to be married to another man. Dare she give up everything, and trust her heart to Shannon once more?
Mills & Boon is proud to present a fabulous collection of fantastic novels by bestselling, much loved author
ANNE MATHER
Anne has a stellar record of achievement within the
publishing industry, having written over one hundred
and sixty books, with worldwide sales of more than
forty-eight MILLION copies in multiple languages.
This amazing collection of classic stories offers a chance
for readers to recapture the pleasure Anne’s powerful,
passionate writing has given.
We are sure you will love them all!
I’ve always wanted to write—which is not to say I’ve always wanted to be a professional writer. On the contrary, for years I only wrote for my own pleasure and it wasn’t until my husband suggested sending one of my stories to a publisher that we put several publishers’ names into a hat and pulled one out. The rest, as they say, is history. And now, one hundred and sixty-two books later, I’m literally—excuse the pun—staggered by what’s happened.
I had written all through my infant and junior years and on into my teens, the stories changing from children’s adventures to torrid gypsy passions. My mother used to gather these manuscripts up from time to time, when my bedroom became too untidy, and dispose of them! In those days, I used not to finish any of the stories and Caroline, my first published novel, was the first I’d ever completed. I was newly married then and my daughter was just a baby, and it was quite a job juggling my household chores and scribbling away in exercise books every chance I got. Not very professional, as you can imagine, but that’s the way it was.
These days, I have a bit more time to devote to my work, but that first love of writing has never changed. I can’t imagine not having a current book on the typewriter—yes, it’s my husband who transcribes everything on to the computer. He’s my partner in both life and work and I depend on his good sense more than I care to admit.
We have two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, and two almost grown-up grandchildren, Abi and Ben. My e-mail address is mystic-am@msn.com (mailto:mystic-am@msn.com) and I’d be happy to hear from any of my wonderful readers.
The Smouldering Flame
Anne Mather
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover (#u86f4e610-f3d6-5538-9b2f-d82b5c390350)
About the Author (#u4e86aae0-a988-5ac8-8347-69e039cefb24)
Title Page (#u68974a17-bc69-5383-8ccb-7f8a87f124c3)
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u81e7cfe7-6cb9-56e2-8782-5478caf910da)
JUST standing still on the concrete platform, Joanna could feel rivulets of sweat running freely down her spine. The thin denim shirt and pants, worn to protect her from the blistering heat of the sun, clung revealingly to her slender figure, and she was not unaware of the many speculative stares from dark eyes cast in her direction. She had been in hot places before, but none so hot as this, and the insanity of trying to find a man she had not seen since she was fourteen years old was rapidly beginning to mean more to her than actually succeeding in her quest. Her father could have had no idea of the conditions here in Lushasa, or he would never have permitted her to come, she told herself. Or would he? Lately, his powers of reasoning had suffered quite a setback.
It had not seemed so insane in the peace and seclusion of the Lakeland fells where she had her home. The idea of a trip to Africa had sounded exciting, a chance of adventure which had unexpectedly come her way, possibly her last chance to do something on her own before settling down to marriage with Philip.
And finding Shannon had not seemed such an impossible pursuit. They had his address—or so they had thought, and the journey to Johannesburg had proved every bit as exciting as she had imagined. But someone else was living in Shannon’s apartment in the high-rise block, and her visit to the government mining company there had proved fruitless. She had merely learned that five years before he had moved on to work for the Lushasan Mining Authority, and they had no forwarding address.
She had gone back to her hotel’ and cabled this news home, half hoping that Philip, who had not been happy about her making the trip in the first place, would be able to persuade her father that she had done all she could. But she ought to have known that Maxwell Carne would not give up so easily. The answering cable had given instructions for her to travel to Menawi, the capital of Lushasa, and contact the mining authorities there.
Menawi, she had found to her surprise, was a fast-developing community, with well laid out shops and offices, modern hotels set in tropical gardens, and air-conditioning. Joanna’s spirits had risen even more when, after checking into an hotel, she had telephoned the Lushasan Mining Authority and discovered that Shannon Carne was indeed employed by them. That he was working some two hundred miles distant at a place called Kwyana had not daunted her either, even though an elderly British couple staying at the hotel had warned her that conditions outside the capital were not half so civilised. She had been informed that there was an adequate train service running between Kwyana and the capital, built she assumed to accommodate the output from the mines, and she had looked forward to seeing something of the countryside.
It was not until she had emerged from the heat-laden atmosphere of the grimy carriage, hauled by a smoke-belching monster of an engine, and found herself on this desolate platform of concrete that she began to doubt the justification of her actions. Two hundred miles in distance meant a hundred years back in time so far as she could see. There was little evidence of the twentieth century here, with scrubland stretching towards purple shadowed mountains on one side of her, and close-set trees and creepers, noisy with the raucous cries of birds she could not begin to identify, encroaching almost to the iron tracks of the railroad on the other. The arrival of the train, and judging by the barriers this was as far as it went, was obviously quite an event. Dozens of Africans dressed in various garb thronged the platform, hauling out crates of supplies and loading other crates aboard. Joanna was amazed that anyone knew which crates had to go where. The confusion was so immense, the noise so deafening, and always the heat to burn through to her prickling skin.
Beyond the peeling station buildings, a collection of shacks could be seen, and Joanna realised that she could not stand here indefinitely. She wondered uneasily how long the train would remain at the station, and whether, if by some terrible coincidence she missed Shannon, she could get back to Menawi that night. She had brought only an overnight case with her, leaving most of her belongings at the hotel.
Near the station barrier, the lorry which was supplying the crates being loaded on to the train bore the lettering: LUSHASAN GOLD MINING AUTHORITY, and her drooping spirits lifted a little. Picking up her case, she endeavoured to thrust her way between the Africans who were causing such an uproar, brushing against gleaming black bodies, aromatic with sweat, striped tent-like garments, denims and ordinary European gear.
The man in charge of the off-loading was not African, but neither was he wholly European. Joanna guessed he was a mixture of both, with handsome olive-skinned features and curly dark hair. His dark eyes widened to an incredible degree when he saw a white girl pushing her way towards him, and he spat commands at the Africans still blocking her path so that she could reach him without further effort. In a mud-coloured bush shirt and shorts, his sleeves circled with sweat, he nevertheless represented sanity in a world gone mad.
‘Mademoiselle!’ he exclaimed, giving her a perfunctory bow. ‘Qu’est-ce que vous voulez? Ce n’est pas——’
‘Oh, please,’ Joanna broke in, ‘do you speak any English?’ Her French, remembered from schooldays, was not very good, and she prayed that this man had some knowledge of her own language.
‘Yes, mademoiselle, I speak English.’ The man gestured to the gaping Africans to get on with the unloading. ‘But what is an English young lady doing here?’ He spread his hands expressively. ‘You cannot be travelling alone?’
His accent was attractive, but Joanna was in no mood to appreciate it. ‘I am travelling alone, yes——’ she was beginning, only to be interrupted by a flow of invective from his lips as one of the Africans dropped a crate right behind them. After a moment, her companion turned back to her and apologised, indicating that she should go on.
Joanna tried to gather her thoughts, but this was all so strange to her, not least the way this man could switch from smiling urbanity to obviously crude abuse in seconds.
Forcing herself to ignore their faintly hostile audience, she said: ‘Could you direct me to the mine, please?’
‘The mine, mademoiselle?’
‘You are from the gold mine, aren’t you?’ Joanna made an involuntary movement towards the lettering on the cab of the lorry.
He looked in that direction himself, and then swung his head curiously back to her. ‘You want to go to the mine, mademoiselle?’
Joanna tried not to feel impatient. ‘Obviously.’
He shrugged, tipping his head to one side. ‘The mine is over there, mademoiselle.’ He indicated the distant mountains.
Joanna stared in dismay towards the purple-shrouded range. ‘But that must be—five or ten miles away!’
‘Seven, to be exact,’ her companion informed her, thrusting his hands into the hip pockets of his shorts.
‘Seven miles!’ Joanna’s echo of his words was anguished.
‘Why do you wish to go to the mine, mademoiselle?’ the man asked softly.
Discarding prevarication, Joanna sighed. ‘I’ve come to find my brother. I believe he works for the mining company. Shannon Carne?’
The man beside her looked surprised. ‘Mr Carne is your brother?’
‘My half-brother, yes.’
‘Half-brother?’ He frowned. ‘What is this?’
Joanna felt like telling him it was none of his business, but so far as she knew he might present her only chance of reaching the mine.
‘It means we had the same father—different mothers,’ she explained shortly. ‘He is there, then? You do know him?’
‘Yes, mademoiselle.’ The man bowed his head. ‘I know Mr Carne. But——’ His eyes flickered over her for a moment. ‘I did not know he had a—sister.’
There was something offensive in his appraisal, and Joanna felt her flesh crawl. But short of alienating the only person who might offer her a lift to the mine, there was nothing she could do. Perhaps he thought she was only masquerading as Shannon’s sister. Perhaps wives or girl-friends were not allowed at the mine, and he thought she was only pretending a relationship. It was her own fault. She should not have come here so precipitately. She should have cabled ahead that she was in Lushasa, waited at the hotel in Menawi, trusted that after having come so far, Shannon would at least have the decency to come and see her.
If only he had replied to her father’s letters, but of course, they had gone to Johannesburg, and he had left no forwarding address. He could have advised them that he had left South Africa. That awful row between him and his father had been all of ten years ago now. Had he never wondered about them in all that time? Never cared to know how they were? Little wonder if this man had doubts about their relationship. Since coming to Africa, Shannon had had no contact with his family whatsoever.
That was why Joanna had impulsively boarded the train and come to Kwyana. She could not have borne for Shannon to ignore her, and by coming here she had eliminated any excuses he might make. Besides, she was eager to see him again. He had always been her hero, someone she had looked up to and admired. He had appeared to accept the fact of his parents’ divorce when he was six years old without question, and when his father had married again and subsequently produced Joanna, he had shown no jealousy. Eight years her senior, he had taught her to swim and play games as well as any boy of her age, and she had idolised him. He had never talked about his mother or her rejection of him, even though they had known she was alive and well and living in America at that time, and that was why Joanna had found his rejection of the family so hard to take when it happened. She only knew that the row he had had with his father had something to do with his mother, and he had walked out of the house and never come back. For a while her father had been terribly bitter about the whole thing, but later on he had employed a private detective to find him. The man had traced Shannon to Witwatersrand, but although they had written, he had never replied to any of their letters. And now her father was sick, slowly dying in fact, and in spite of everything insistent that Shannon should inherit the estate.
Now Joanna squared her shoulders, and said: ‘Well, I can assure you, I am Joanna Carne. And I do need to see my brother.’
The man considered her for a few moments longer, and then he said: ‘Does—Mr Carne expect you?’
Joanna sighed. ‘No.’ She paused. ‘He doesn’t even know I’m in Africa. Does it matter?’ She controlled a momentary irritation. ‘Is there any vehicle I can hire to get to the mine?’
‘There are no taxis here, mademoiselle.’ The man’s lips twisted derisively. ‘But …’ His appraisal abruptly ceased as he slapped at an insect crawling across his cheek. ‘Perhaps I could take you there myself.’
Joanna expelled her breath with some relief. ‘Oh, would you? I’d be very grateful, Mr—er—Mr——’
‘Just call me Lorenz,’ replied the man, turning away to shout more abuse at the flagging porters. Then: ‘Is this all your luggage?’
‘Yes.’ Joanna felt obliged to explain: ‘I left the rest at the hotel in Menawi.’
‘You did?’ The man called Lorenz raised dark eyebrows. ‘Then let us hope it is still there when you get back, eh?’
This was one worry Joanna refused to consider. ‘I’m sure it will be,’ she said equably, and allowed him to take her overnight case from her sticky fingers.
Her handbag swinging from her shoulder, Joanna stood waiting nervously for the unloading and loading to be through. The sun was burning the top of her head, and although she had piled up the honey blonde hair for coolness, damp strands were tumbling about her ears. She hoped her hair would be thick enough to withstand the heat of the sun, but she somehow doubted it. She felt as though every inch of clothing was sticking to her, and she thought longingly of pools of cool water, or the stinging spray of the shower back in the hotel. The water there had not been really cold, but it had been refreshing, and she longed to feel her skin tingling with cleanliness again after that interminable train journey. She was hot and grubby, and only the knowledge that Shannon was only seven miles away stopped her from climbing back aboard the train to Menawi.
‘Perhaps you would prefer to wait in the cabin, Miss Carne?’
Lorenz was back, indicating the driving cabin of the lorry, and after a moment’s hesitation Joanna nodded her thanks. She was glad she was wearing trousers as he helped her up. There was nothing ladylike about scrambling up iron footholds on to a seat that scorched like a hot tin roof. But she managed to smile down at her rescuer, and after a few moments of discomfort she could relax.
Flies buzzed in and out of the open doors, the noise outside had not abated, and her mouth felt dry and sandy. She had had nothing to eat or drink since breakfast in the hotel that morning, and as it was now afternoon, she was beginning to feel decidedly empty. An opened can of beer rested on the floor of the cabin, but the flies invading the twist-off lid made her feel sick.
After what seemed like hours, but which was in reality only about twenty minutes, Lorenz appeared below her. ‘Almost finished now, Miss Carne. Soon we will be on our way.’
Joanna forced a smile. ‘Oh, good.’ She shifted a little under that irritating scrutiny. ‘Will it take long? To get to the mine, I mean?’
Lorenz shrugged. ‘Twenty-five—thirty minutes, no more.’
‘So long?’ Joanna couldn’t prevent the exclamation.
Lorenz’s expression hardened. ‘Is not a good road, Miss Carne. You want I should break an axle?’
‘Oh, no, of course not.’ Joanna was quick to apologise. ‘You must forgive me. I—I’ve never been in Africa before.’
Lorenz shrugged and turned away, and Joanna looked frustratedly down at her hands. She didn’t want to antagonise the man, but thirty minutes to do seven miles seemed an exaggeratedly long time. She half wished there was some other way she could get there. She didn’t like Lorenz’s attitude towards her. She was convinced he did not believe that she was related to Shannon, and in his eyes, if she was not, what did that make her?
At last, a creaking and a heavy thud heralded the end of the delay. The lorry was loaded up, and Lorenz came to swing himself behind the wheel of the vehicle. The rank smell of sweat from his body as he levered himself into the cabin beside her made Joanna hold her breath for a moment, and his language when he accidentally kicked over the can of beer and sent a stream of brown liquid across his canvas-clad feet shocked and revolted her.
The engine of the vehicle started without trouble, and soon they were bumping over the siding, passing the shacks where groups of women watched them curiously, sounding the horn as almost naked children ran carelessly in their path. Then even those few signs of habitation were left behind, and they rolled heavily along a road split by the constant rays of the sun.
Joanna soon appreciated the wisdom of not travelling at speed. The lorry was built for carrying anything but passengers, and the end of her spine was soon numb from the buffeting it was receiving. From the somewhat sardonic glances Lorenz kept making in her direction, she guessed he knew exactly how she was feeling, and she determinedly put a brave face on it.
The sight of a herd of zebra some distance away across the plain brought a gasp of delight to her lips, and for a while she was diverted from her thoughts. Coming up from Menawi, she had seen little of the game for which West Africa was famous, and now she turned to Lorenz and asked him whether there were elephants and lions in this part of the country.
‘There is a national safari park, Miss Carne. You can see plenty of game there. Here—well, occasionally I have seen a family of lions, and once we had a rogue elephant causing trouble at the mine, but man brings death to the animals, so they stay away.’
Joanna shook her head. ‘That’s awful, isn’t it?’
‘Wealth, too, has its price, Miss Carne. Once the game was the gold of Africa, but no more.’
‘Are you—were you born in Lushasa, Mr—er—Lorenz?’
He looked her way. ‘No. I was born in the Cape, Miss Carne. That is, South Africa. But I found the—climate here more to my liking.’
Joanna acknowledged this, and for a while there was silence. Then, without preamble, he said: ‘How long is it since you have seen your—er—brother, Miss Carne?’
Joanna straightened her back. ‘Some time,’ she replied evasively. ‘Do you—do you know him well?’
‘A man in my position does not know the General Manager of the Kwyana Mine very well,’ replied Lorenz bitterly.
‘General Manager!’ Joanna’s involuntary ejaculation could not be denied. She had known her brother had taken a degree in engineering. Her father had been furious about it at the time, maintaining that an agricultural college would have served him better than a university. But obviously Shannon had put his knowledge to good use.
Lorenz was raising his eyebrows. ‘You did not know your brother was so important?’
‘No.’ Joanna made an impatient little gesture. ‘I’ve told you, it’s some time since—since I saw him.’
‘What a pleasant surprise, then. A man in Carne’s position should be worth some small investment, wouldn’t you say?’
Joanna caught her breath. ‘I don’t know what you’re implying, Mr Lorenz, but I can assure you that my sole purpose here is to deliver a message to him from our father!’
Lorenz studied her flushed face for a moment, and then shrugged, returning his attention to the road. ‘You may not find that so easy right now,’ he commented cryptically.
‘What do you mean?’ Joanna stared at him.
His fingers flexed against the wheel. ‘Our gallant Manager is ill, Miss Carne. I would doubt your ability to deliver any message to him during the next forty-eight hours.’
‘Ill?’ Joanna felt cold inside. ‘What is it? What’s wrong with him?’ She put a hand to her throat. ‘There—there hasn’t been an accident——’
‘Oh, no, no.’ Lorenz shook his head, his tone mocking. ‘Nothing so exciting, I assure you.’
‘Then what is wrong with him?’ Joanna couldn’t hide her anxiety, or her impatience.
‘Just a touch of fever, Miss Carne.’ Lorenz was irritatingly indifferent as he drawled the words. ‘Just a little fever.’
‘Fever!’ Joanna shifted restlessly. ‘What kind of fever?’
‘Relax, Miss Carne. Your concern does you credit, but it is nothing to get excited about. In a couple of days your—er—brother will be as good as new, no doubt.’
Joanna’s brows were drawn tight together above worried eyes. ‘You should have told me sooner,’ she exclaimed.
‘Why?’ Lorenz swung the lorry to avoid an enormous cavity yawning in the road, and she had to clutch the seat to prevent herself from being thrown against him. ‘We could have got here no sooner. Unless—unless in his—er—debilitated state you might have decided not to come.’
Joanna did not answer this. She was too tense to exchange abuse with this man who seemed to be enjoying imparting such information, and besides, she didn’t really know whether he was telling her the truth. But if he was, then perhaps it might have been better if she had not come …
The mountains were nearer now, and as they began to climb the steeper gradient, the air became blessedly cooler. She guessed it was the breeze coming through the open windows of the vehicle which created the coolness and that outside it was still enervatingly hot, but any respite was a relief.
‘Not much farther now, Miss Carne,’ remarked Lorenz, as their wheels churned up a cloud of fine grey dust, and it was questionable whether the dusty air coming through the windows was preferable to closing them and suffering the heat inside. ‘Just beyond this bluff—see!’
Opening out below them was a rugged valley, its base a startling mass of machinery and buildings. After so much that was primitive, the Kwyana mine was aggressively modern, and Joanna was astonished at its size and industry. As well as the buildings immediately adjacent to the mine workings, there was living accommodation for over three hundred men, Lorenz volunteered, pointing out laboratories, ventilation and processing plants, the pumping station and mine hospital, as well as the enormous plant which powered the whole complex.
‘Impressive, is it not?’ Lorenz commented dryly. ‘Over three hundred men, and not a woman—a white woman, at least, within a hundred miles. Except yourself, Miss Carne.’
Joanna did not answer this, but her nerves tightened at his words. If that were so, she ought not to have come here, and she had the feeling that Shannon would not appreciate her having done so. If only they had told her in Menawi how remote the mine was! But then she had not told them that she intended making the journey here herself.
At this hour of the afternoon there were few men about, but those there were stared with unconcealed amazement at Lorenz’s companion in the cab of the lorry. Joanna could feel the hot colour in her cheeks adding to the general discomfort of her body, and she did not like the amusement Lorenz made no effort to hide.
The layout of the site reminded her of an industrial estate back home, only here two-storied dwellings mingled with steel-ribbed girders and the intricate maze of a chemical processing plant. Had it not been for the heat which, even though the sun was slowly losing its power, was still intense here in the valley, they could have been in any industrial complex anywhere in the world.
Looking about her, Joanna finally had to ask: ‘Which of these blocks does my brother occupy?’
‘None of them,’ replied Lorenz laconically, startling her for a minute until he added: ‘Managers don’t live in blocks. They have houses. It’s not much further. Have patience, Miss Carne.’
The sarcasm was back and Joanna clenched her lips. They had turned off the main thoroughfare on to a narrow track leading between the living blocks which were interspersed here and there with stretches of scorched grass. Occasionally she caught glimpses of men playing football behind the buildings, but mostly her attention was fixed on the corrugated-roofed bungalows she could see ahead of them. There were several, set at intervals between scrub hedges, all alike with stuccoed walls painted in pastel shades, and overhanging eaves. Lorenz brought the heavy vehicle to a halt before one of them. The place looked deserted, the blinds were drawn and there was no apparent sign of life.
‘That’s it,’ he announced derisively. ‘I hope you don’t find it disappointing.’
Joanna was sure he hoped she did, but she thrust open her door and climbed down quickly before he could offer his assistance. He handed her out her suitcase, and she had perforce to thank him.
‘I don’t know how I’d have managed without you,’ she admitted.
‘Nor do I,’ he agreed, and let out his clutch; the lorry trundled noisily away.
After he had gone, it seemed incredibly quiet. The tiring journey on the train, the uproar at the station, and the trip in the lorry had all taken their toll of her nerves, and even the low throbbing sound which was all she could hear was welcome. Even so, she half thought her arrival would have disturbed someone, but no one appeared to have noticed.
Stifling the awful feeling of panic which was welling up inside her, Joanna picked up her suitcase and walked determinedly up the path to a meshed door. An outer door stood wide, but the meshed door had a self-closing hinge.
Feeling rather like an interloper, she knocked at the wood which surrounded the mesh and mentally composed how she was going to introduce herself. What if Shannon didn’t recognise her? She was sure she would recognise him. His image was printed indelibly on her mind.
No one answered her knock, and with a sigh she knocked harder. Still there was no response, and she shaded her eyes with one hand and looked hopefully up and down the road. What if Lorenz had brought her to the wrong bungalow? He might have done so deliberately. If only there was someone she could ask.
But the empty road mocked her, and the drawn blinds on the adjoining bungalows did not encourage intruders. When no one replied to her third attempt to attract attention, she tentatively opened the meshed door and went in.
She found herself in a narrow hall covered by some rubber flooring, but otherwise bare. The hall appeared to run from front to back of the building, with several doors opening from it. On impulse, Joanna opened one of these doors and peeped into the room beyond. She saw what appeared to be a study with a desk strewn with papers, a chair, a filing cabinet, and two telephones. A second door revealed a living room—armchairs, dining chairs and table, bookshelves, and a drinks cabinet.
Joanna closed this second door and stood, undecided. If this was not Shannon’s house she was taking dreadful liberties, and even if it was, she had no way of knowing what his reaction to her presence there might be. Perhaps she should go outside again and wait until someone did appear. Surely—she consulted the slim masculine watch on her wrist—surely the day’s work must almost be over. The men who lived in the other bungalows might be returning to them.
She was moving away towards the door when a low groan reached her ears. Immediately she stiffened, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. The sound was coming from a room further along the hall, and with comprehension came the realisation that Lorenz had not been lying when he had told her that Shannon was ill.
Putting down her case again, she went stealthily along the hall and pressed her ear to the panels of the door. There was no further sound from within, but her hand had found the handle and she could not resist turning it.
The room beyond was darkened, but blessedly cool. Whatever else these bungalows lacked, they had air-conditioning, and for a moment it was heaven for Joanna to feel the cool air against her over-heated skin. But then her eyes adjusted themselves to the dimness and she could make out the figure of a man tossing and turning on a narrow bed. Her nails digging into her palms, she moved forward, and then drew back again as she realised the man was naked. He had kicked the thin cotton sheet aside, and although his body was streamed with sweat, she could see he was shivering.
Joanna hesitated only a moment longer, and then moved forward once more, gathering the sheet from the foot of the bed and drawing it up over his shuddering limbs. Mosquito netting hung suspended over the bed, but when she brushed it aside she could see his face, and a curious weakness assailed her. Shannon’s eyes were glazed and unseeing, but they were the same tawny eyes she remembered, the same heavy lids and long curling lashes. He had changed a little; after all, he was ten years older and therefore more mature. Nevertheless, the lean intelligent features were not so different, and from what she had seen of his muscled body, he still hadn’t an ounce of spare flesh on him. His dark brown hair was longer than it had been, but it was just as thick and virile, and her fingers trembled as she touched it now, smoothing a heavy swathe back from his damp forehead. Her fingers lingered against his burning skin, needing that physical contact, but as he fought her attempts to keep the sheet over him, she looked round desperately, wondering what she could do. She felt angry as she wondered how long he had been lying here like this without anyone to care for him. Why wasn’t he in the hospital Lorenz had shown her receiving proper attention?
‘Shannon,’ she ventured at last, sitting down on the side of the bed. ‘Shannon—it’s me, Joanna! Do you remember me?’
Her softly spoken words seemed to penetrate his delirium, and for a few seconds there was a look of faint recognition in the eyes he turned in her direction. But then it disappeared, and he began twisting restlessly again, licking his lips as if he was parched.
‘Who are you? What do you think you’re doing?’
The cold angry words brought Joanna almost guiltily to her feet and she turned to find a woman entering the room. In a white uniform, she was probably a nurse, Joanna decided, and she made an involuntary gesture of apology.
‘I—I’m Joanna Carne,’ she explained awkwardly. ‘Shannon’s—sister.’
The woman’s dark brows drew together uncomprehendingly, and as she drew nearer Joanna could see that like the man Lorenz, she was of mixed blood. But the combination was quite startlingly beautiful. Smooth olive features, lustrous dark eyes, and a wide sensuous mouth, her dark hair confined with madonna-like severity at the nape of her neck, she was unlike any nurse Joanna had ever seen, and her presence in this room emphasised the gulf which had opened between Shannon and his family more surely than the distance of miles could have done.
‘You—are Shannon’s sister?’ The woman shook her head now. Then: ‘What are you doing here—Miss Carne? Your brother is ill, as you can see. Please wait outside and I will speak with you after I have attended to my patient.’
The way she said those words made them an order, not a request, and the curtness of her tone caught Joanna on the raw. She had travelled thousands of miles to find her brother, and he was her brother, after all. How dared this woman, this stranger, nurse or otherwise, order her out of his bedroom?
‘There was no one about when I arrived,’ she stated, annoyed to hear the defensive note in her voice. ‘I let myself in, and when I heard—groaning, I came to see if there was anything I could do.’
‘Well, there is not.’ The nurse’s eyes were coolly appraising as she held up her hand to reveal the syringe she was holding. ‘As I have already suggested, if you will wait outside …’
‘What is that?’ Joanna looked anxious.
The nurse sighed, displaying the tolerance she might have shown to a child. ‘It is quinine, Miss Carne. Nothing more alarming than that. Now, if you don’t mind …’
Joanna almost protested, but one look at Shannon still tossing on the bed silenced her. Arguing with this woman was only delaying his treatment, and she had the feeling she would be wasting her time anyway. With a shrug of her shoulders, she walked towards the door, and as she reached it she looked back and saw the woman drawing down the sheet and taking Shannon’s right arm between her fingers. Joanna watched for a moment longer, and then, as the woman turned impatient eyes in her direction, she pressed her lips together and left the room.
CHAPTER TWO (#u81e7cfe7-6cb9-56e2-8782-5478caf910da)
JOANNA paced up and down the living room, her cork-soled sandals squeaking on the rubber-tiled floor. But she was too disturbed to sit and wait patiently for the nurse to come and speak to her, and with every minute that passed she grew more and more frustrated. How much longer was she to be kept waiting? What was going on in Shannon’s bedroom? Surely it didn’t take this long to give someone an injection.
There was the sound of footsteps behind her, and she swung round in relief, only to find a black youth in white shirt and shorts staring at her from the open doorway. He looked as surprised to see her as she was to see him, but like the nurse he obviously considered he had the prior authority here.
‘You waiting to see Mr Carne, missus?’ he asked frowning. ‘You can’t. He sick. He not seeing anyone.’
Joanna sighed. ‘I know he’s sick, but I have seen him.’ Then as his dark eyes mirrored his alarm, she hastened on: ‘I’m Mr Carne’s sister. From England.’ She waited until this was absorbed, and then added a question of her own. ‘Who are you?’
The youth looked taken aback. ‘Jacob, missus,’ he answered reluctantly, glancing over his shoulder. ‘You seen Miss Camilla?’
‘Miss Camilla?’ Joanna folded her arms, supporting her chin with the knuckles of one hand. ‘Would that be—the nurse?’
Jacob nodded. ‘Miss Camilla looking after Mr Carne.’
Joanna inclined her head. ‘Yes, I’ve seen her.’ She paused in front of him. ‘Do you work for Mr Carne?’
Jacob shifted under her scrutiny. ‘I Mr Carne’s houseboy,’ he admitted, his chin jutting proudly. ‘Jacob best houseboy in Kwyana.’
‘I’m sure you are,’ agreed Joanna dryly. ‘Tell me, how long has Mr Carne been ill?’
‘Two days, Miss Carne.’ The nurse’s cool tones overrode Jacob’s reply. ‘I told you I would answer your questions as soon as I had attended to my patient.’ She looked at the houseboy. ‘That’s all right, Jacob, I can handle this. You can go.’
‘Yes’m, Miss Camilla.’
Jacob left them, and Joanna tried not to let the other woman’s assumption of authority undermine her confidence. But her words had been in the nature of a reprimand, and it was apparent that Jacob regarded her instructions as law.
‘Now …’ The woman Jacob had called Camilla indicated a low armchair. ‘Won’t you sit down, Miss Carne? I’m sure we can speak much more amicably that way.’
Joanna took a deep breath. ‘I prefer to stand.’
She didn’t. But the small gesture of defiance did not go unnoticed as she had intended.
‘Very well.’ Camilla made an indifferent gesture. ‘What brings you to Kwyana, Miss Carne?’
‘I don’t think that’s anything to do with you,’ replied Joanna evenly. ‘And I’d like to ask some questions of my own, if you have no objections.’
‘None at all.’
Camilla lounged gracefully into an armchair, crossing her long slender legs, and immediately Joanna felt at a disadvantage. The white uniform did something for the other woman, she had to admit, and she could quite see that Camilla would enjoy wearing it. It would command admiration and respect among the Africans, and was the perfect foil for her dark beauty.
Suddenly aware of her own dishevelled appearance when compared to that dusky elegance, Joanna broke into speech: ‘What is wrong with my brother?’
Camilla’s look was vaguely condescending. ‘Malaria, Miss Carne. Your brother is recovering from an attack of malaria.’
‘Is that serious?’
‘It can be. But nowadays, with modern drugs and modern treatment, it is not the debilitating thing it once was. Nevertheless, it can be most unpleasant for the patient, as you saw.’
Joanna nodded. ‘But is he getting better?’
‘Well, he’s not getting any worse,’ Camilla amended dryly. ‘Knowing your brother, I’d say he’d be up and about in a couple of days.’
‘Oh, thank goodness!’ Joanna could not hide her relief, but the other woman was regarding her frowningly.
‘I—I understood Shannon broke with his family some years ago,’ she ventured unexpectedly, and Joanna felt the hot colour fill her cheeks.
‘Did you?’ she managed, turning away towards the windows which overlooked the bungalow adjacent to this, noticing how the shadows were lengthening as the afternoon drew to its close. It would be dark soon. ‘I—I’m very hungry,’ she said quietly. ‘Do you think Jacob would make me a sandwich? I haven’t eaten since this morning.’
She was conscious of Camilla getting to her feet, and glanced round half apprehensively to find the other woman surveying her contemptuously. Without her controlled mask of composure she looked older than Joanna had first thought her, but no less intimidating.
‘Shannon will not want you here,’ she stated with cold conviction. ‘I know how he feels about his—family!’
Joanna squared her shoulders. ‘Do you? Well, I intend to stay and find that out for myself.’
‘Then you’re a fool!’ Camilla controlled her sudden outburst, and with calmer emphasis, asked: ‘Where do you intend to stay? There are no hotels here.’
Joanna gasped. ‘I—shall stay here, naturally.’
‘Where? There is only one bedroom. These bungalows are built for individuals, not for entertaining.’
Joanna looked about her. ‘I can use two of these chairs, pushed together. You don’t have to bother about me, Miss—Miss——?’
‘Langley. Nurse Langley,’ retorted Camilla abruptly. ‘And you can’t sleep here. There’s no mosquito netting, and these chairs are probably infested with bugs. Or don’t you care?’
Joanna hid her instinctive shiver of fear. Insects of any kind terrified her, but she refused to let Camilla see that. ‘I’ll manage somehow,’ she insisted, clinging to the knowledge that this woman could not force her to leave.
‘Why have you come here?’
Clearly her presence at Kwyana represented a problem to Camilla, but Joanna had no intention of satisfying her curiosity.
‘I want to speak to Shannon,’ she said steadily. ‘Now, will you call Jacob, or shall I?’
That small piece of defiance brought an angry darkening of colour to Camilla’s cheeks, but before either of them could speak again, someone knocked at the outer door and a man’s voice, with a definite American accent, called: ‘Is anybody home?’
Camilla’s face cleared, and ignoring Joanna, she walked to the hall door, her smile warm and welcoming. ‘I’m here, Brad,’ she answered. ‘Come on in.’
Footsteps sounded in the hall, and then a man appeared in the doorway, casually dressed in a bush shirt and shorts. He was a huge man, with broad shoulders and rusty hair that extended from his head, over his chest and down his arms and legs. Joanna guessed he wasn’t much more than Shannon’s age, and his bushy eyebrows ascended rapidly at sight of her.
‘Hell’s teeth, who’s this?’ he exclaimed, grinning. ‘A white female, no less. Shannon has all the luck!’
Camilla cast a denigrating glance in Joanna’s direction. ‘That is Shannon’s sister,’ she remarked briefly. ‘Or so she says. I must say, she doesn’t look much like him!’
‘I am Shannon’s sister!’ declared Joanna hotly, and then coloured herself at the look in the American’s eyes.
‘I believe you,’ he said, coming towards her holding out his hand. ‘I’m Brad Steiner, ventilation superintendent at the mine. And you’re …?’
‘Joanna. Joanna Carne. How do you do?’ Joanna allowed him to envelop her small hand in his much larger one, and then withdrew her fingers quickly. ‘Are you a friend of my brother’s, Mr Steiner?’
‘The name’s Brad, and yes, I guess you could call me that. We’re old buddies. Used to work together in the Transvaal. Came up to Lushasa at the same time.’
‘I see.’
As Joanna absorbed this, Brad turned back to Camilla. ‘Anyway, how is he?’ he asked, with evident concern. ‘That’s why I came. Meeting Joanna …’ he used her name quite unselfconsciously, ‘was just a bonus.’
‘He’s a little better,’ replied Camilla shortly. She had not liked Brad’s response to Joanna’s fair attraction, and her smile was no longer in evidence. ‘I’ve just been explaining to Miss Carne that she can’t possibly stay here.’
Brad frowned. ‘Stay here? Oh, you mean actually here, in Shannon’s house?’ He looked Joanna’s way again. ‘Shannon didn’t mention you were coming, or we’d have fixed something up, wouldn’t we, Camilla? As it is——’
‘Shannon didn’t know I was coming, Mr Steiner,’ said Joanna reluctantly, aware of the other woman’s contempt. ‘It’s a—surprise visit. And you really don’t have to worry about me. I’ll manage.’
‘I think Miss Carne should be accommodated at the hospital,’ put in Camilla, as Brad Steiner stood considering the situation, his brows drawn together. ‘There are plenty of spare beds there, and it would avoid the inevitable speculation her arrival is bound to cause among the men.’
‘You could be right——’ Brad was beginning, when Joanna broke in angrily.
‘I have no intention of sleeping at the hospital,’ she exclaimed. ‘I’ve already told Miss—Nurse Langley. I’m staying here.’
‘Sleeping on two chairs!’ Camilla was scornful.
‘Have you a better suggestion?’ countered Joanna, but Brad raised his hand in protest.
‘I have,’ he said with finality. ‘I have that folding camper my nephew Rod used when he visited last year. Providing the bugs haven’t eaten it away, you could use that, Joanna.’
Joanna wasn’t quite sure what a camper was, but she guessed it was some sort of folding bed. ‘That would be marvellous!’ she thanked him, but Camilla still had an objection.
‘What about the mosquitoes?’ she demanded.
‘I guess I have some netting somewhere,’ Brad assured her, his eyes twinkling at Joanna. ‘Like the lady says, we’ll manage.’
‘I shall have to report this to Doctor Reisbaum,’ stated Camilla shortly, and marched out of the room.
After she had gone there was an uneasy silence, and then Brad grinned at Joanna, and some of the tension left her. ‘Don’t mind Camilla,’ he said. ‘Like all medical people, she thinks we ordinary mortals don’t know how to look after ourselves. But she’s a damn good nurse, and she’d do anything for Shannon, you know.’
‘I know.’ Joanna had gathered that, but she had her own interpretation of Camilla’s motives. Camilla didn’t want her here, but it was a much more personal thing than caring for Shannon’s health. She had made that very plain.
‘I live next door,’ Brad was saying now, and Joanna dragged her thoughts back to the present. ‘What say I go round, get my houseboy to fetch you the camper and set it up in here while you wash up, then maybe later you’d come round and have supper with me?’
Joanna plucked the damp denim away from her midriff, looking doubtful. She longed to submerge her sticky limbs in cool water, but the idea of taking supper with this friendly American did not appeal. What she really had in mind was to wash and change her clothes, cajole Jacob into making her something to eat, and then sit with Shannon for a while. Even if he wasn’t aware of her presence, it would give her time to collect her thoughts.
‘I really think I’d rather stay here this evening,’ she refused him politely. ‘I’m grateful for your offer of the bed, but I am rather—tired.’
Brad nodded understandingly. ‘Okay. Point taken. I’ll have Andy fetch the camper round in a few minutes.’ He walked towards the door and then paused. ‘If you have any trouble with Jacob, just let me know.’
Which wasn’t very reassuring, Joanna thought, but she saw Brad to the door, and then walked down the hall looking for the kitchen. It wasn’t difficult to find. Someone had switched on the strip lighting, and when she paused in the doorway she saw that Jacob was sitting on a tall stool beside a steel-covered working surface, studying the newspaper which was spread out in front of him. There was no sign of Camilla, and Joanna looked round the small, functional room with interest. Because of the incidence of electricity, everything was extremely modern and up to date, even to the presence of a deep freeze in one corner.
Clearing her throat to attract the African’s attention, she said: ‘Could you tell me where the bathroom is, Jacob?’
Jacob looked round, and because her eyes were steady and inquiring, he got reluctantly to his feet. ‘You staying here, miss?’ he asked, a certain amount of aggression in his tone.
Joanna sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘That’s what Miss Camilla said.’
‘Good.’ Joanna glanced round. ‘Where is—Miss Camilla?’
‘She’s gone. Back to hospital.’ Jacob’s chin jutted. ‘Who say you stay here? This Mr Carne’s house.’
Joanna gasped. ‘And I’m Mr Carne’s sister!’ she retorted, angrily. ‘Are you questioning my right to be here, Jacob?’
Jacob’s belligerence suffered a slight puncturing. ‘Miss Camilla, she say better you stay at hospital.’
‘I don’t give a damn what Miss Camilla says!’ Joanna answered furiously. ‘I’m staying here, and if you have any objections, I suggest you save them until your employer is capable of answering them himself!’
‘Yes’m,’ mumbled Jacob sullenly, and then: ‘Mr Carne, sir!’
Joanna had been too taken up with her argument with Jacob to be aware of any sound behind her, but the horrified look on Jacob’s face made her swing round in dismay, her lips parting involuntarily. Somehow Shannon had dragged himself out of bed, pulled on a navy bathrobe which he had wrapped loosely about him, and was standing swaying behind her. He was no less pale than when she had seen him tossing on his bed, but at least his eyes had lost their glazed stare.
‘For heaven’s sake, Jacob,’ he was saying, grasping the door post for support, ‘what in hell is going on?’ Then his eyes shifted to Joanna, and she saw the wave of disbelief that crossed his lean features. ‘My God! It was you!’ he muttered incredulously. ‘I—thought I was dreaming!’
Joanna could feel a lump in her throat just looking at him, and her voice was unsteady as she said softly: ‘Yes, it’s me, Shannon. I’m—I’m sorry you’re not well.’
‘Not well!’ Shannon raised his eyes heavenward for a moment. ‘For God’s sake, what are you doing here?’ His eyes darted round the room. ‘Who brought you? You can’t have come alone.’
‘I did. But it doesn’t matter about that right now.’ Joanna came towards him, touching the hand that held his robe in place. ‘You’re shivering, Shannon. You shouldn’t be out of bed.’
Shannon flinched away from her touch, and she felt a shaft of pain go through her. ‘I’m all right,’ he muttered abruptly. ‘But you shouldn’t be here. Why have you come? Does—does your father know you’re travelling alone?’
‘Yes. Oh, yes.’ Joanna spread her hands. ‘Shannon, please—go back to bed. We can’t talk like this.’
She glanced meaningly towards Jacob, and Shannon looked at the African. ‘What’s going on, Jacob?’ he demanded sharply. ‘Why were you arguing with—Miss Carne when I came on the scene?’
Jacob looked uneasy. ‘Miss Carne, she want to stay here. Miss Camilla say she stay at hospital,’ he related defensively.
Shannon’s jaw muscles tightened. ‘I see.’ He looked again at Joanna. ‘That’s quite a point.’
Joanna felt near to tears. ‘Oh, don’t you start, please,’ she begged. ‘Mr Steiner—Brad—he’s offered me the use of a camp bed, and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don’t even need Jacob to make me something to eat. I can cook. I’m not helpless.’
Shannon’s brow furrowed. ‘You’re hungry?’
‘A little.’
‘When did you last eat?’
‘Oh—this morning——’
‘This morning!’ Shannon sounded impatient, but his stamina was waning. His knuckles were white where they held on to the door, and Joanna risked another rebuff by saying:
‘Leave it to me, Shannon. Go back to bed. You’re ill. Let me handle this.’
Lines of strain were etched beside his mouth, but still he remained. ‘Miss Carne needs a bath and a change of clothes, Jacob,’ he ordered grimly. ‘While she’s attending to herself, you can prepare her a meal, is that understood?’
Jacob nodded, with ill grace. ‘Yes’m, Mr Carne.’
‘And if I hear of you behaving disrespectfully again, you’re fired, is that clear?’
‘Yes’m, Mr Carne.’
Shannon expelled his breath wearily. ‘Good.’ He released the door post and stood swaying unsteadily. ‘God—this damned disease! Why did it have to happen now?’
He staggered, and to Joanna’s astonishment, before she could do anything, Jacob had rushed past her and supported her brother back to his room. After the dressing down he had just received, Joanna would have expected Jacob to ignore his master’s weakness, maybe even enjoy it, but it was obvious from the way he behaved that he cared what happened to him. Her own shoulders sagged. What a day it had been, and it wasn’t over yet.
The bathroom Jacob showed her to had a bath and a shower, but Joanna decided to use the former. It was heaven to soak her limbs in the tepid, slightly brackish water which emitted from the taps, and afterwards she washed her hair and wound it up in a towel. She had clean clothes in her overnight case, but only one set, and she realised she would have to wash out the clothes she had just taken off so that they would be fit to wear the following day. However, Jacob came tapping at the bathroom door as she was rubbing her hair dry to tell her that her supper was waiting, and she decided to leave washing her clothes until later.
The meal that awaited her smelt very appetising. Jacob had served it on the formica-topped table in the kitchen, and he disappeared while she was eating so that she felt no self-consciousness. Tinned soup was followed by fried chicken and rice, and there was a bowl of fruit to finish. There was cheese, too, but it smelt rather strong, and Joanna had no desire to risk an upset stomach.
While she ate, a steady stream of insects flung themselves suicidally at the window panes, endeavouring to reach the light, and Joanna instinctively turned her back on them. The soft velvety wings and hairy legs sent a crawling sensation up her spine, and she prayed none of them would gain entrance without her knowledge.
A percolator was bubbling on the stove, and she was helping herself to a cup of coffee when Jacob came back. Summoning a smile, she said: ‘That was delicious, thank you.’
Jacob regarded her doubtfully for a few moments, and then he said: ‘You really Mr Carne’s sister, hmm?’
‘That’s right.’
He nodded, as though satisfied by her answer. ‘Mr Steiner’s boy came with the bed,’ he added. ‘We put it in living room, yes?’
‘That sounds fine.’ Joanna finished her coffee and put the cup down. ‘Er—is Mr Carne sleeping?’
Jacob raised his eyebrows. ‘Maybe, maybe not. Missus go see.’
‘But—the dishes——’
‘Jacob see to dishes,’ he told her, in as amiable a tone as she had heard from him. ‘You want anything, you ask Jacob.’
Joanna shook her head. Obviously Shannon’s reproof had been taken to heart, but she guessed that when Camilla returned Jacob’s loyalties might well divide again.
Leaving the kitchen, she crossed the hall to the bathroom to collect her dirty clothes. But the bathroom was empty of her belongings and she looked round in dismay. Where had they gone? Surely Jacob hadn’t shifted them.
Crossing back to the kitchen, she hovered in the doorway, watching the houseboy as he loaded her dirty dishes into the sink. ‘Er—Jacob?’ she murmured tentatively. ‘Do you happen to know where the things are that I left in the bathroom?’
Jacob turned, his black hands incongruously covered with white soap suds. ‘Sure thing, missus. They washed. Jacob put them by your bed.’
Joanna shook her head. ‘I don’t understand …’
‘Jacob use washing machine and drier. While you have supper.’ He looked anxious. ‘Jacob do wrong?’
‘Oh, no.’ Joanna couldn’t prevent a smile from lifting the corner of her mouth. ‘I—well, thank you, Jacob. Thank you.’
She turned away and went along the hall to the living room. The room was in darkness, but she switched on the light and started at the tentlike erection of mosquito netting which had been rigged over the canvas bed. But sure enough, her clothes were there, somewhat creased perhaps, but freshly laundered. With a rueful smile, she left the room again, switching out the light as she went.
Shannon’s door was ajar, and through the crack she could see a lamp had been lighted beside his bed. She pushed the door a little wider, wincing as it squeaked a little, and looked in. At first she thought he was asleep, but he had heard her because he turned his head against the pillows, and said harshly: ‘You’d better come in.’
CHAPTER THREE (#u81e7cfe7-6cb9-56e2-8782-5478caf910da)
JOANNA closed the door behind her and leaned back against it for a moment. ‘How—how do you feel?’ she asked automatically.
‘Lousy!’ Shannon ran a hand across his forehead, brushing back the thick hair carelessly. ‘Joanna, what the hell are you doing here?’
Joanna straightened away from the door and approached the bed. ‘I came to see you,’ she answered simply.
‘For God’s sake, why?’ His eyes were dark amber in the shadowy light, his skin brown and oiled with sweat. ‘Joanna, I broke with—with the family ten years ago. There was no reason for you to come here—’
‘Yes, there was.’ She was standing beside the bed now, and she twisted her hands tightly together as she looked down at him. She had been an adolescent when he went away, and the things she had noticed about him then, were not the things she was noticing now. Since his departure, she had grown up, had known the touch of a man’s lips, the urgency of his caresses, and she could understand only too well why Camilla Langley regarded any woman as a threat where Shannon was concerned. He was disturbingly attractive, even in this weakened state, and Joanna went cold when she realised what she was thinking.
Stepping back from the bed, she hastened into speech: ‘Daddy—Daddy’s had a stroke,’ she got out jerkily. ‘A massive stroke, the doctors say, and he’s partially paralysed because of it.’
Shannon’s face registered no visible emotion, but it was several moments before he said: ‘What has that to do with me?’
Joanna took a deep breath, and as she warmed to her cause it was easier to forget her feelings of a few moments ago. ‘He wants to see you, Shannon. He wants to talk to you. He wants you to come back to England—’
‘No!’
‘Why not?’ There was desperate appeal in her voice. ‘Oh, Shannon, you don’t know what it’s been like. Mummy’s half out of her mind with worry, and the doctors say that if Daddy has a second stroke——’ She broke off, biting her lower lip. ‘You know what it would mean.’
‘It’s not my concern.’
Shannon was looking straight ahead, not at her, and his profile was hard and unyielding.
‘You don’t mean that!’ she exclaimed disbelievingly.
‘I do.’ His hands clenched on the sheet that covered him. ‘My life is here, in Africa, in gold mining. I have no interest in anything else.’
Joanna caught her breath. ‘I—I can’t—I won’t accept that.’
‘You’ll have to.’
Joanna forgot herself sufficiently to kneel on the floor beside the bed and take one of his hands between both of hers. But he wrenched his hand away, and ignominiously, she burst into tears. It had all been too much—the long complicated journey, the hostility which had awaited her here, at Kwyana, and now Shannon’s utter rejection. It was so disappointing, and she buried her face in her arms and allowed the sobs which welled up inside her to shake her whole body.
‘Oh, for the Lord’s sake, Joanna!’
His feet appeared on the floor beside her, and he wrenched his bathrobe from the foot of the bed, thrusting his arms into the sleeves and wrapping it around him before hauling her up into his arms. Her face was pressed between the lapels of the robe, against the curling dark hair which covered that area of his chest, and her mouth and nostrils were filled with the taste and the smell of him. He held her closely until her sobs subsided, and she felt a wonderful sense of security in his arms. But when she lifted her face to look at him, he pushed her almost roughly away and sank down weakly on to the side of the bed.
‘It’s no use, Joanna,’ he said harshly. ‘You’re wasting your time here. I will not be coming back to England.’
Joanna rubbed her wrists across her cheeks, and saw his eyes narrow as they alighted on the solitaire diamond which occupied the third finger of her left hand. Ignoring the query in his eyes, she exclaimed: ‘Why not? Don’t you care about us any more?’
Shannon lay back wearily against the pillows. ‘That’s a futile question. My feelings are not involved. When I left the estate, your father knew I would never come back.’
‘Unless he begged you to do so!’ protested Joanna desperately.
‘Is that what he’s doing?’ Shannon turned scornful eyes in her direction. ‘Sending you to plead his case?’
‘He couldn’t come himself!’ she cried. ‘Don’t you understand? He’ll never walk again! And if necessary, I’ll beg, Shannon. I’m not proud!’
‘Unfortunately, I am.’
‘Oh, Shannon, please! Don’t send me home alone!’
Joanna was extending an appealing hand towards him when after the briefest of warnings, Camilla Langley let herself into the room. Immediately, Joanna’s hand fell to her side and she turned away, self-consciously aware of the tear stains on her cheeks, and her still-damp hair tumbling untidily from the topknot in which she had secured it. Her purple jeans and matching denim shirt looked boyish beside Camilla’s voluptuous elegance, the other woman having shed her uniform in favour of a slim-fitting shift of yellow silk which moulded every inch of her curving body. Joanna wished she had brought a dress to wear, but her clothes still lay in the suitcase at the hotel in Menawi.
Ignoring the girl, Camilla approached the bed, frowning when she realised Shannon had been out of it. Taking his wrist between her fingers, she checked his pulse rate, and then cast an impatient look in Joanna’s direction.
‘I thought you would have more sense than to upset your brother, Miss Carne,’ she stated coldly. ‘I warned you that you should stay away from him until he was recovered.’
‘Oh, come on, Camilla!’ muttered Shannon irritably, before Joanna could reply. ‘I’m not an invalid. As a matter of fact, I intend going back to work in a couple of days.’
‘That would be very foolish!’ Camilla put her hands on her hips. ‘There’s nothing going on at the mine that requires your personal attention. I hear that Douglas Forbes is managing very well.’
‘Do you? Well, I’ll decide when I go back to work, thank you.’ Shannon levered himself up on his elbow. ‘If you’ve come to stick needles into me, let’s get it over with, shall we?’
Camilla compressed her lips. ‘When Miss Carne has left us,’ she said.
Shannon sighed and looked at Joanna. ‘Yes, Jo, you’d better leave us,’ he agreed heavily. ‘Go get some sleep. We’ll talk again in the morning.’ He paused. ‘Before you leave.’
His message was loud and clear, and a triumphant, pro-vocative smile curved Camilla’s lips. But Joanna chose not to listen. With a muffled exclamation, she crossed the room and let herself out of the door, not even trusting herself to tell him goodnight.
The living room was in darkness, and she switched on the light and went inside, closing the door behind her. Someone, she guessed it had been Jacob, had left her a glass of iced lime juice beside her bed, a cover protecting it from dust and insects. At the windows, the barrage of moths began again with the appearance of the light, and with a sigh she went and drew the blinds, too weary to pay them much attention.
As she undressed, she refused to think about tomorrow. Tiredness was taking its toll of her, and all she wanted was to crawl between the sheets and seek oblivion in sleep. Circumstances always seemed that much blacker at night, not least the knowledge of her awareness of Shannon. But when he had held her in his arms, she had wanted to stay there, and getting that reaction into perspective was not an easy thing to do.
The possibility of the failure of her mission was something she had not considered up till now. Until this evening she had felt convinced that once he knew the facts of the situation, Shannon could not fail to respond to them. He must remember what a proud and virile man their father had been, tall and upright, how he had loved walking and riding, physical pursuits of all kinds. To be deprived of everything in one cruel blow should arouse some compassion in his son. Shannon’s bitterness and rejection seemed out of all proportion after all these years, and she could hardly believe that the row they had had was wholly responsible for the way Shannon felt now.
She put on the cotton nightdress she had brought with her, its narrow straps showing white against her creamy shoulders. Releasing her hair from the pins, she allowed it to tumble about her shoulders in silky disorder, running combing fingers through its length, too tired to get out her brush and do it properly. She ached with weariness and even the narrow bed looked inviting. Before putting out the light, she folded back the netting and pulled down the sheet. The enormous cockroach which had been imprisoned by the cover ran wildly across the bed to escape her, and Joanna had to stifle the scream that rose in her throat.
Picking up a sandal, she knocked the revolting creature to the floor, and then quickly ground the sandal into it. The awful crunching sound it made caused a sickly bile to enter her mouth, but nothing would have induced her to call for assistance. Even so, the idea of getting between sheets where the beetle had lain filled her with distaste, and only the awareness of Camilla Langley’s presence prevented her from asking Jacob for fresh bedding. Nevertheless, she examined every inch of the bed before extinguishing the light, and even after she was lying between the sheets, her thoughts constantly summoned images of giant beetles and spiders invading this ground floor room, crawling over her as she slept. She thought with longing of her room back home, a large comfortable room, with a sloping roof and a window set beneath the eaves. It was similar to the room she and Philip would share at his home after they were married in June. His parents were due for retirement, and when she and Philip returned from their honeymoon, they intended to move into a comfortable bungalow they had bought near Keswick, leaving Philip to run the farm. Thinking of Philip was reassuring somehow. She had not thought a lot about him since coming to Africa, and not at all since her arrival in Kwyana. She wondered what Shannon would think of Philip, or indeed what Philip would think of her half-brother. They had never met. The Lawsons had bought their farm after Shannon had left home. And if he continued to refuse to come to England, they might never meet.
Eventually Joanna slept, exhaustion temporarily erasing her anxieties about her surroundings, and not even the rain which came drumming on the corrugated roof in the early morning aroused her.
When she did awaken it was broad daylight. Someone had unkindly opened the blinds, and the sunlight slatting across her eyes was distracting. She rolled over drowsily, and saw a man’s legs encased in close-fitting denims only inches away from her face.
Her eyes widened and travelled slowly upward over muscular thighs, a low buckled belt, to a denim shirt open almost to the waist, and finally reached Shannon’s darkly tanned features. His eyes were narrowed as he looked down at her, but he looked better this morning. His face was still pale beneath his tan, but some of the strain had disappeared from around his eyes. His scrutiny made Joanna aware that the sheet had worked its way down to her waist, and the upper part of her body was only thinly concealed beneath the cotton nightgown. She grasped the sheet and dragged it over her, and he moved away from the bed, walking indolently towards the windows.
‘Did you sleep well?’ he inquired, with controlled politeness, and Joanna rolled on to her back and nodded.
‘Eventually. Did you?’ She propped herself up on one elbow. ‘Ought you to be out of bed?’
Shannon leant against the window sill. ‘Are you aware of the time?’ he countered.
Joanna shook her head and reached for her watch. The hands indicated twenty minutes to ten and she gasped. ‘Is it really so late?’
‘Really,’ he acknowledged sardonically. ‘We rise early around here. I’m normally at the mine by seven.’
‘But you were ill,’ she protested, frowning. ‘Did—did Nurse Langley give you permission to get up?’
‘I don’t need permission,’ he retorted, straightening. ‘Now, do you want some breakfast? Jacob’s scrambled eggs are not unpalatable, and he makes a decent cup of coffee.’
‘I know. I had some last night.’ Joanna sat upright, holding the sheet firmly under her chin. ‘Shannon,’ she began, as the reasons for her being here began to assert themselves again. ‘Shannon, you didn’t mean——’
‘I’ll tell Jacob you’ll be ready to eat in twenty minutes,’ Shannon interrupted her, walking towards the door. ‘There’s a train leaving for Menawi at three o’clock this afternoon, and I expect you to be on it.’
The door slammed behind him, and Joanna hunched her shoulders dejectedly. He couldn’t mean it, she told herself vehemently, but she remained unconvinced.
Wrapping the sheet around her, she carried her clothes to the bathroom, and showered and cleaned her teeth before getting dressed. Then she went back to the living room, pushed her nightdress and the clothes Jacob had washed for her into her overnight case, and brushed her hair. It hung thick and straight about her shoulders, and she left it that way, even though it was really too heavy to wear loose in this climate.
Jacob was in the kitchen when she appeared, and he greeted her cheerfully as he set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her. It was not what she was used to, but she hadn’t the heart to disillusion him, and made a gallant effort to enjoy it. The coffee helped it down, and she drank several cups.
‘Jacob go and clear away bed,’ he announced, once he was sure she had everything she needed, but Joanna stopped him.
‘Not yet, Jacob,’ she said, putting down her fork. ‘By the way, there—there was a bug in my bed last night.’
Jacob’s horror was not pretended, she was sure of it. ‘There no bugs in those sheets when Mr Steiner’s boy and me make bed!’ he insisted indignantly. ‘Why you not call Jacob and have him change sheets?’
Joanna shook her head. ‘I didn’t want to—bother anyone last night. But if I happen to stay tonight, do you think I could have some fresh bedding?’
‘You won’t be staying tonight,’ retorted Shannon’s deep voice from the doorway, and she turned to stare resentfully at him.
‘You can’t force me to leave today!’ she exclaimed. ‘Why should I? I’ve only just got here. Why shouldn’t I stay and see something of the place?’
‘Kwyana is not a holiday resort!’ replied Shannon cuttingly. His eyes lifted to the houseboy. ‘You can strip down the camper, Jacob, and take it back to Mr Steiner’s boy. We won’t be needing it again.’
Joanna’s breath caught in the back of her throat, and she pushed back her chair and got unsteadily to her feet. ‘You—you pig!’ she burst out tremulously. ‘You won’t even consider what I told you, will you?’
Jacob was listening to their exchange with wide troubled eyes, but Shannon snapped his fingers angrily at him. ‘What are you hanging about for?’ he demanded, and mumbling an apology the boy left them alone.
Joanna pushed her plate aside, the eggs barely half eaten, staring down at the table through a mist of tears. So that was that. Shannon was forcing her to leave, and she felt more devastated now than she had when she had first learned of her father’s stroke. But why should she care? she asked herself angrily. Her father would be disappointed, but it was not the end of the world. So why did she feel so shattered by it all?
Shannon uttered an oath suddenly, and came to stand wearily at the other side of the table, supporting himself with his palms against its cool surface, staring at her half angrily. ‘God, Joanna, it’s no use you staying here, hoping I’ll change my mind!’
Joanna stole a look at him. His brow was beaded with sweat even though the room was comparatively cool, and she realised with an anxious pang that he was still suffering the after-effects of his illness.
‘It—it doesn’t occur to you that I might like being here, that I might like being with you, does it?’ she asked quietly.
Shannon straightened, thrusting his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. ‘No.’
‘Why not? Shannon, we haven’t seen one another for ten years! I—I’ve missed you. I missed you terribly when you first went away, and then never hearing from you—never really knowing what you were doing. Surely it’s not unreasonable that I should want to talk to you, should want to hear what’s been happening to you?’ She traced the pattern of the formica with a fingernail. ‘I can’t believe you don’t have any feelings about us!’
Shannon wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then raked a hand through his hair in a defeated gesture. ‘Why did he send you!’ he muttered, half to himself.
Joanna’s eyes widened. ‘Who else could have come? Mummy’s nerves are in a dreadful state. There was no one else. I—I had to try.’
Shannon turned away, his facial muscles tightening. ‘Well, I suppose I can’t blame you for that.’
Joanna sighed, and risking a rebuff she went round the table to him, sliding her arm through his. He stiffened and would have drawn away, the muscles of his arm taut against her skin. But she held on to him, aware as she did so that she was risking more than his anger. ‘What’s happened, Shannon?’ she asked, rushing into speech. ‘Why are you being like this? Can’t you forget the past as Daddy has done?’
Shannon looked down at her, and the torment in his eyes sent a forbidden shiver up her spine. When he looked at her like that it was very hard to hang on to her identity. ‘Do you think he has?’ he demanded huskily. ‘Forgotten the past, I mean? I don’t. I think he hates me just as much as he ever did, only now there’s very little he can do about it! Except send you here—with that ring on your finger!’
‘Shannon!’ Joanna was aghast. ‘Daddy doesn’t hate you!’
Shannon drew his hand out of his pocket so unexpectedly, that she almost lost her balance, and she wrapped her arms about herself defensively as she faced him. ‘Oh, yes, he does, Joanna,’ he told her violently, swaying a little as he spoke. ‘And you can tell him I feel exactly the same!’
‘Shannon! Shannon, why?’
Joanna’s lips parted in dismay as his hands descended on her shoulders, gripping her almost cruelly, and shaking her as he spoke. ‘Are you really as naïve as you appear?’ he asked harshly, staring penetratingly at her. ‘Don’t you know anything about the reasons why I left England?’
Joanna licked her dry lips. ‘I—you had a row with Daddy.’
‘Is that all?’
‘It—it was something to do with—with your mother, wasn’t it?’ she ventured tentatively.
‘My mother!’ He raised his eyes heavenward for a moment. ‘Oh, yes, it had to do with my mother.’ He paused, his eyes raking her ruthlessly. ‘But it had to do with you, too. Did no one ever tell you that?’
‘No.’ Joanna shook her head.
Shannon’s lips twisted. ‘No. No, of course they wouldn’t.’ He thrust her away from him, putting some distance between them. ‘And you never guessed?’
‘No.’ Joanna was confused. ‘What—what did I do?’
Shannon massaged the muscles at the back of his neck. ‘God, my head aches!’ he muttered, obviously impatient of his weakness. Then; ‘Oh, don’t look like that, Joanna. You didn’t do anything. But you were there. And so was I. And our relationship … Well, do you need me to draw a picture?’
‘No!’ Joanna put a horrified hand to her throat. ‘You don’t mean——’
‘Don’t pretend you’re not aware of it, Joanna,’ he said, savagely. ‘It’s been there between us ever since you came here yesterday, and if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit it. But there’s no future in it. There never was. Your father took damn good care of that. But don’t ask me to forget, because I know I won’t.’
‘You can’t mean …’ Her voice shook and then trailed away.
‘Oh, but I can. Everything. Everything, Joanna.’ He turned away as though he couldn’t stand the sight of her. ‘I wasn’t much more than a boy myself, but I——’ He shook his head. ‘Don’t worry. I learned my lesson well. You have nothing to fear from me.’
Joanna was trembling. She knew she ought to feel ashamed, that she should be disgusted by what she had just heard, but she wasn’t. And that was the frightening part. Whatever he did, she knew she would never despise Shannon. And this explained so much—and yet left so much unexplained. And their father had sent her here, fully aware of what had happened in the past! Who could blame Shannon for despising him?
Taking a deep breath, she said: ‘I—I’m sorry.’ It was inadequate, but she was too stunned to say more.
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