KKate and David 1906-1914

On a hot summer night in 1914, Kate McGregor was working alone in her office at the new Kruger-Brent, Ltd., headquarters building in Johannesburg when she heard the sound of approaching automobiles. She put down the papers she had been studying, walked over to the window and looked out. Two cars of police and a paddy wagon had come to a stop in front of the building. Kate watched, frowning, as half a dozen uniformed policemen leaped from the cars and hurried to cover the two entrances and exits to the building. It was late, and the streets were deserted. Kate caught a wavy reflection of herself in the window. She was a beautiful woman, with her father's light-gray eyes and her mother's full figure.

There was a knock at the office door and Kate called, "Come in."

The door opened and two uniformed men entered. One wore the bars of a superintendent of police.

"What on earth is going on?" Kate demanded.

"I apologize for disturbing you at this late hour, Miss McGregor. I'm Superintendent Cominsky."

"What's the problem, Superintendent?"

"We've had a report that an escaped killer was seen entering this building a short time ago."

There was a shocked look on Kate's face. "Entering this building?"

"Yes, ma'am. He's armed and dangerous."

Kate said nervously, 'Then I would very much appreciate it, Superintendent, if you would find him and get him out of here."

"That's exactly what we intend to do, Miss McGregor. You haven't seen or heard anything suspicious, have you?"

"No. But I'm alone here, and there are a lot of places a person could hide. I'd like you to have your men search this place thoroughly."

"We'll get started immediately, ma'am."

The superintendent turned and called to the men in the hallway, "Spread out. Start at the basement and work your way up to the roof." He turned to Kate. "Are any of the offices locked?"

"I don't believe so," Kate said, "but if they are, I'll open them for you."

Superintendent Cominsky could see how nervous she was, and he did not blame her.

She would be even more nervous if she knew how desperate the man was for whom they were looking. "We'll find him," the superintendent assured Kate.

Kate picked up the report she had been working on, but she was unable to concentrate.

She could hear the police moving through the building, going from office to office. Would they find him? She shivered.

The policemen moved slowly, methodically searching every possible hiding place from the basement to the roof. Forty-five minutes later, Superintendent Cominsky returned to Kate's office.

She looked at his face. "You didn't find him."

"Not yet, ma'am, but don't worry—"

"I am worried, Superintendent. If there is an escaped killer in this building, I want you to find him."

"We will, Miss McGregor. We have tracking dogs."

From the corridor came the sound of barking and a moment later a handler came into the office with two large German shepherds on leashes.

"The dogs have been all over the building, sir. They've searched everyplace but this office."

The superintendent turned to Kate. "Have you been out of this office anytime in the past hour or so?"

"Yes. I went to look up some records in the file room. Do you think he could have—?" She shuddered. "I'd like you to check this office, please."

The superintendent gave a signal and the handler slipped the leashes off the dogs and gave the command, "Track."

The dogs went crazy. They raced to a closed door and began barking wildly.

"Oh, my God!" Kate cried. "He's in there!"

The superintendent pulled out his gun. "Open it," he ordered.

The two policemen moved to the closet door with drawn guns and pulled the door open.

The closet was empty. One of the dogs raced to another door and pawed excitedly at it.

"Where does that door lead?" Superintendent Cominsky asked.

'To a washroom."

The two policemen took up places on either side of the door and yanked it open. There was no one inside.

The handler was baffled. "They've never behaved this way before." The dogs were racing around the room frantically. "They've got the scent," the handler said. "But where is he?"

Both dogs ran to the drawer of Kate's desk and continued their barking.

"There's your answer," Kate tried to laugh. "He's in the drawer."

Superintendent Cominsky was embarrassed. "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Miss McGregor." He turned to the handler and snapped, "Take these dogs out of here."

"You're not leaving?" There was concern in Kate's voice.

"Miss McGregor, I can assure you you're perfectly safe. My men have covered every inch of this building. You have my personal guarantee that he's not here. I'm afraid it was a false alarm. My apologies."

Kate swallowed. "You certainly know how to bring excitement to a woman's evening."

Kate stood looking out the window, watching the last of the police vehicles drive away.

When they were out of sight, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a blood-stained pair of canvas shoes. She carried them down the corridor to a door marked Private, Authorized Personnel Only, and entered. The room was bare except for a large, locked, walk-in safe built into the wall, the vault where Kruger-Brent, Ltd., stored its diamonds before shipping. Quickly, Kate dialed the combination on the safe and pulled open the giant door. Dozens of metal safe-deposit boxes were built into the sides of the vault, all crammed with diamonds. In the center of the room, lying on the floor half-conscious, was Banda.

Kate knelt beside him. "They've gone."

Banda slowly opened his eyes and managed a weak grin. "If I had a way out of this vault, do you know how rich I'd be, Kate?"

Kate carefully helped him to his feet. He winced with pain as she touched his arm. She had wrapped a bandage around it, but blood was seeping through.

"Can you put your shoes on?" She had taken them from him earlier, and, to confuse the tracking dogs she knew would be brought in, she had walked around her office in them and then hidden them in her drawer.

Now Kate said, "Come on. We have to get you out of here."

Banda shook his head. 'I'll make it on my own. If they catch you helping me, you'll be in more trouble than you can handle."

"Let me worry about that."

Banda took a last look around the vault.

"Do you want any samples?" Kate asked. "You can help yourself."

Banda looked at her and saw that she was serious. "Your daddy made me that offer once, a long time ago."

Kate smiled wryly. "I know."

"I don't need money. I just have to leave town for a while."

"How do you think you're going to get out of Johannesburg?"

"I'll find a way."

"Listen to me. The police have roadblocks out by now. Every exit from the city will be watched. You won't have a chance by yourself."

He said stubbornly, "You've done enough." He had managed to put his shoes on. He was a forlorn-looking figure, standing there in a torn, bloodied shirt and jacket. His face was seamed and his hair was gray, but when Kate looked at him she saw the tall, handsome figure she had first met as a child.

"Banda, if they catch you, they'll kill you," Kate said quietly. "You're coming with me."

She knew she was right about the roadblocks. Every exit from Johannesburg would be guarded by police patrols. Banda's capture was a top priority and the authorities had orders to bring him in dead or alive. The railroad stations and roads would be watched.

"I hope you have a better plan than your daddy had," Banda said. His voice was weak.

Kate wondered how much blood he had lost.

"Don't talk. Save your strength. Just leave everything to me." Kate sounded more confident than she felt. Banda's life was in her hands, and she could not bear it if anything happened to him. She wished again, for the hundredth time, that David was not away.

Well, she would simply have to manage without him.

"I'm going to bring my automobile around to the alley," Kate said. "Give me ten minutes, then come outside. I'll have the back door of the car open. Get in and he on the floor.

There will be a blanket to cover yourself with."

"Kate, they're going to search every automobile leaving the city. If—"

"We're not going by automobile. There's a train leaving for Cape Town at eight a.m. I ordered my private car connected to it."

"You're getting me out of here in your private railroad car?" "That's right."

Banda managed a grin. "You McGregors really like excitement."

Thirty minutes later, Kate drove into the railroad yards. Banda was on the floor of the backseat, concealed by a blanket. They had had no trouble passing the roadblocks in the city, but now as Kate's car turned into the train yards, a light suddenly flashed on, and Kate saw that her way was blocked by several policemen. A familiar figure walked toward Kate's car.

"Superintendent Cominsky!"

He registered surprise. "Miss McGregor, what are you doing here?"

Kate gave him a quick, apprehensive smile. "You'll think I'm just a silly, weak female, Superintendent, but to tell you the truth, what happened back at the office scared the wits out of me. I decided to leave town until you catch this killer you're looking for. Or have you found him?"

"Not yet, ma'am, but we will. I have a feeling he'll make for these railroad yards.

Wherever he runs, we'll catch him."

"I certainly hope so!"

"Where are you headed?"

"My railway car is on a siding up ahead. Fm taking it to Cape Town."

"Would you like one of my men to escort you?"

"Oh, thank you, Superintendent, but that won't be necessary. Now that I know where you and your men are, I'll breathe a lot easier, believe me."

Five minutes later, Kate and Banda were safely inside the private railway car. It was pitch black.

"Sorry about the dark," Kate said. "I don't want to light any lamps."

She helped Banda onto a bed. "You'll be fine here until morning. When we start to pull out, you'll hide out in the washroom."

Banda nodded. "Thank you."

Kate drew the shades. "Have you a doctor who will take care of you when we get to Cape Town?"

He looked up into her eyes. "We?"

"You didn't think I was going to let you travel alone while I missed all the fun?"

Banda threw back his head and laughed. She's her father's daughter, all right.

As dawn was breaking, an engine pulled up to the private railroad car and shunted it onto the main track in back of the train that was leaving for Cape Town. The car rocked back and forth as the connection was made.

At exactly eight o'clock, the train pulled out of the station. Kate had left word that she did not wish to be disturbed. Banda's wound was bleeding again, and Kate attended to it. She had not had a chance to talk to Banda since earlier that evening, when he had stumbled half-dead into her office. Now she said, 'Tell me what happened, Banda."

Banda looked at her and thought, Where can I begin? How could he explain to her the trekboers who pushed the Bantus from their ancestral land? Had it started with them? Or had it started with the giant Oom Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal, who said in a speech to the South African Parliament, "We must be the lords over the blacks and let them be a subject race ..." Or had it begun with the great empire-builder Cecil Rhodes, whose motto was, "Africa for the whites?" How could he sum up the history of his people in a sentence? He thought of a way. 'The police murdered my son." Banda said.

The story came pouring out. Banda's older son, Ntombenthle, was attending a political rally when the police charged in to break it up. Some shots were fired, and a riot began.

Ntom-benthle was arrested, and the next morning he was found hanged in his cell. "They said it was suicide," Banda told Kate. "But I know my son. It was murder."

"My God, he was so young," Kate breathed. She thought of all the times they had played together, laughed together. Ntombenthle had been such a handsome boy. "I'm sorry, Banda. I'm so sorry. But why are they after you?"

"After they killed him I began to rally the blacks. I had to fight back, Kate. I couldn't just sit and do nothing. The police called me an enemy of the state. They arrested me for a robbery I did not commit and sentenced me to prison for twenty years. Four of us made a break. A guard was shot and killed, and they're blaming me. I've never carried a gun in my life."

"I believe you," Kate said. "The first thing we have to do is get you somewhere where you'll be safe."

"I'm sorry to involve you in all this."

"You didn't involve me in anything. You're my friend."

He smiled. "You know the first white man I ever heard call me friend? Your daddy." He sighed. "How do you think you're going to sneak me off the train at Cape Town?"

"We're not going to Cape Town."

"But you said—"

'I'm a woman. I have a right to change my mind."

In the middle of the night when the train stopped at the station at Worcester, Kate arranged to have her private railroad car disconnected and shunted to a siding. When Kate woke up in the morning, she went over to Banda's cot. It was empty. Banda was gone. He had refused to compromise her any further. Kate was sorry, but she was sure he would be safe. He had many friends to take care of him. David will be proud of me, Kate thought.

"I can't believe you could be so stupid!" David roared, when Kate returned to Johannesburg and told him the news. "You not only jeopardized your own safety, but you put the company in danger. If the police had found Banda here, do you know what they would have done?"

Kate said defiantly, "Yes. They would have killed him."

David rubbed bis forehead in frustration. "Don't you understand anything?"

"You're bloody right, I do! I understand that you're cold and unfeeling." Her eyes were ablaze with fury.

"You're still a child."

She raised her hand to strike him, and David grabbed her arms. "Kate, you've got to control your temper."

The words reverberated in Kate's head. Kate, you've got to learn to control your temper

...

It was so long ago. She was four years old, in the middle of a fistfight with a boy who had dared tease her. When David appeared, the boy ran away. Kate started to chase him, and David grabbed her. "Hold it, Kate. You've got to learn to control your temper. Young ladies don't get into fistfights."

"I'm not a young lady," Kate snapped. "Let go of me." David released her.

The pink frock she was wearing was muddied and torn, and her cheek was bruised.

"We'd better get you cleaned up before your mother sees you," David told her.

Kate looked after the retreating boy with regret. "I could have licked him if you had left me alone."

David looked down into the passionate little face and laughed. "You probably could have."

Mollified, Kate allowed him to pick her up and carry her into her house. She liked being in David's arms. She liked everything about David. He was the only grown-up who understood her. Whenever he was in town, he spent time with her. In relaxed moments, Jamie had told young David about his adventures with Banda, and now David told the stories to Kate. She could not get enough of them.

'Tell me again about the raft they built."

And David would tell her.

'Tell me about the sharks ... Tell me about the sea mis ... Tell me about the day ..."

Kate did not see very much of her mother. Margaret was too involved in running the affairs of Kruger-Brent, Ltd. She did it for Jamie.

Margaret talked to Jamie every night, just as she had during the year before he died.

"David is such a great help, Jamie, and he'll be around when Kate's running the company.

I don't

want to worry you, but I don't know what to do with that child..."

Kate was stubborn and willful and impossible. She refused to obey her mother or Mrs.

Talley. If they chose a dress for her to wear, Kate would discard it for another. She would not eat properly. She ate what she wanted to, when she wanted to, and no threat or bribe could sway her. When Kate was forced to go to a birthday party, she found ways to disrupt it. She had no girl friends. She refused to go to dancing class and instead spent her time playing rugby with teen-age boys. When Kate finally started school, she set a record for mischief. Margaret found herself going to see the headmistress at least once a month to persuade her to forgive Kate and let her remain in school.

"I don't understand her, Mrs. McGregor," the headmistress sighed. "She's extremely bright, but she rebels against simply everything. I don't know what to do with her."

Neither did Margaret.

The only one who could handle Kate was David. "I understand you're invited to a birthday party this afternoon," David said.

"I hate birthday parties."

David stooped down until he was at her eye level. "I know you do, Kate. But the father of the little girl who's having the birthday party is a friend of mine. It will make me look bad if you don't attend and behave like a lady."

Kate stared at him."Is he a good friend of yours?"

"Yes."

'I'll go."

Her manners that afternoon were impeccable.

"I don't know how you do it," Margaret told David. "It's magic."

"She's just high-spirited," David laughed. "She'll grow out of it. The important thing is to be careful not to break that spirit."

"I'll tell you a secret," Margaret said grimly, "half the time I'd like to break her neck."

When Kate was ten, she said to David, "I want to meet Banda."

David looked at her in surprise. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Kate. Banda's farm is a long way from here."

"Are you going to take me there, David, or do you want me to go by myself?"

The following week David took Kate to Banda's farm. It was a good-sized piece of land, two morgens, and on it Banda raised wheat, sheep and ostriches. The living accommodations were circular huts with walls made of dried mud. Poles supported a cone-shaped roof covered with thatches. Banda stood in front, watching as Kate and David drove up and got out of the carriage. Banda looked at the gangling, serious-faced girl at David's side and said, "I'd have known you were Jamie McGregor's daughter."

"And I'd have known you were Banda," Kate said gravely. "I came to thank you for saving my father's life."

Banda laughed. "Someone's been telling you stories. Come in and meet my family."

Banda's wife was a beautiful Bantu woman named Ntame. Banda had two sons, Ntombenthle, seven years older than Kate, and Magena, six years older. Ntombenthle was a miniature of his father. He had the same handsome features and proud bearing and an inner dignity.

Kate spent the entire afternoon playing with the two boys. They had dinner in the kitchen of the small, neat farmhouse. David felt uncomfortable eating with a black family. He re-spected Banda, but it was traditional that there was no socializing between the two races. In addition to that, David was concerned about Banda's political activities. There were reports that he was a disciple of John Tengo Javabu, who was fighting for drastic social changes. Because mine owners could not get enough natives to work for them, the government had imposed a tax of ten shillings on all natives who did not work as mine la-borers, and there were riots all over South Africa. In the late afternoon, David said,

"We'd better get started home, Kate. We have a long ride."

"Not yet." Kate turned to Banda. "Tell me about the sharks..."

From that time on, whenever David was in town, Kate made him take her to visit Banda and his family.

David's assurance that Kate would grow out of her high-spiritedness showed no signs of coming to pass. If anything, she grew more willful every day. She flatly refused to take part in any of the activities that other girls her age participated in. She insisted on going into the mines with David, and he took her hunting and fishing and camping. Kate adored it. One day when Kate and David were fishing the Vaal, and Kate gleefully pulled in a trout larger than anything David had caught, he said, "You should have been born a boy."

She turned to him in annoyance. "Don't be silly, David. Then I couldn't marry you."

David laughed.

"We are going to be married, you know."

"I'm afraid not, Kate. I'm twenty-two years older than you. Old enough to be your father.

You'll meet a boy one day, a nice young man—"

"I don't want a nice young man," she said wickedly. "I want you."

"If you're really serious," David said, "then I'll tell you the secret to a man's heart."

"Tell me!" Kate said eagerly.

"Through his stomach. Clean that trout and let's have lunch."

There was not the slightest doubt in Kate's mind that she was going to marry David Blackwell. He was the only man in the world for her.

Once a week Margaret invited David to dinner at the big house. As a rule, Kate preferred to eat dinner in the kitchen with the servants, where she did not have to mind her manners.

But on Friday nights when David came, Kate sat in the big dining room. David usually came alone, but occasionally he would bring a female guest and Kate would hate her instantly.

Kate would get David alone for a moment and say, with sweet innocence, "I've never seen hair that shade of blond," or, "She certainly has peculiar taste in dresses, hasn't she?" or, "Did she use to be one of Madam Agnes's girls?"

When Kate was fourteen, her headmistress sent for Margaret. "I run a respectable school, Mrs. McGregor. I'm afraid your Kate is a bad influence."

Margaret sighed. "What's she done now?"

"She's teaching the other children words they've never heard before." Her face was grim.

"I might add, Mrs. McGregor, that I've never heard some of the words before. I can't imagine where the child picked them up."

Margaret could. Kate picked them up from her street friends. Well, Margaret decided, it is time to end all that.

The headmistress was saying, "I do wish you would speak to her. We'll give her another chance, but—"

"No. I have a better idea. I'm going to send Kate away to school."

When Margaret told David her idea, he grinned. "She's not going to like that."

"I can't help it. Now the headmistress is complaining about the language Kate uses. She gets it from those prospectors she's always following around. My daughter's starting to sound like them, look like them and smell like them. Frankly, David, I don't understand her at all. I don't know why she behaves as she does. She's pretty, she's bright, she's—"

"Maybe she's too bright."

"Well, too bright or not, she's going away to school."

When Kate arrived home that afternoon, Margaret broke the news to her.

Kate was furious. "You're trying to get rid of me!"

"Of course I'm not, darling. I just think you'd be better off—"

"I'm better off here. All my friends are here. You're trying to separate me from my friends."

"If you're talking about that riffraff you—"

They're not riffraff. They're as good as anybody."

"Kate, I'm not going to argue with you. You're going away to a boarding school for young ladies, and that's that."

"I'll kill myself," Kate promised.

"All right, darling. There's a razor upstairs, and if you look around, I'm sure you'll find various poisons in the house."

Kate burst into tears. "Please don't do this to me, Mother."

Margaret took her in her arms. "It's for your own good, Kate. You'll be a young woman soon. You'll be ready for marriage. No man is going to marry a girl who talks and dresses and behaves the way you do."

'That's not true," Kate sniffled. "David doesn't mind."

"What does David have to do with this?"

"We're going to be married."

Margaret sighed."I'll have Mrs. Talley pack your things."

There were half a dozen good English boarding schools for young girls. Margaret decided that Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, was best suited for Kate. It was a school noted for its rigid discipline. It was set on acres of land surrounded by high battlements and, according to its charter, was founded for the daughters of noblemen and gentlemen.

David did business with the husband of the headmistress, Mrs. Keaton, and he had no trouble arranging for Kate to be enrolled there.

When Kate heard where she was going, she exploded anew. "I've heard about that school! It's awful. I'll come back like one of those stuffed English dolls. Is that what you'd like?"

"What I would like is for you to learn some manners," Margaret told her.

"I don't need manners. I've got brains."

"That's not the first thing a man looks for in a woman," Margaret said dryly, "and you're becoming a woman."

"I don't want to become a woman," Kate screamed. "Why the bloody hell can't you just leave me alone?"

"I will not have you using that language."

And so it went until the morning arrived when Kate was to leave. Since David was going to London on a business trip, Margaret asked, "Would you mind seeing that Kate gets to school safely? The Lord only knows where she'll end up if she goes on her own."

"I'll be happy to," David said.

"You! You're as bad as my mother! You can't wait to get rid of me."

David grinned. "You're wrong. I can wait."

They traveled by private railway car from Klipdrift to Cape Town and from there by ship to Southampton. The journey took four weeks. Kate's pride would not let her admit it, but she was thrilled to be traveling with David. It's like a honeymoon, she thought, except that we're not married. Not yet.

Aboard ship, David spent a great deal of time working in his stateroom. Kate curled up on the couch, silently watching him, content to be near him.

Once she asked, "Don't you get bored working on all those figures, David?"

He put down his pen and looked at her. "They're not just figures, Kate. They're stories."

"What kind of stories?"

"If you know how to read them, they're stories about companies we're buying or selling, people who work for us. Thousands of people all over the world earn a living because of the company your father founded."

"Am I anything like my father?"

"In many ways, yes. He was a stubborn, independent man."

"Am I a stubborn, independent woman?"

"You're a spoiled brat. The man who marries you is going to have one hell of a life."

Kate smiled dreamily. Poor David.

In the dining room, on their last night at sea, David asked, "Why are you so difficult, Kate?"

"Am I?"

"You know you are. You drive your poor mother crazy."

Kate put her hand over his. "Do I drive you crazy?"

David's face reddened. "Stop that. I don't understand you."

"Yes, you do."

"Why can't you be like other girls your age?"

"I'd rather die first. I don't want to be like anybody else."

"God knows you're not!"

"You won't marry anyone else until I'm grown up enough for you, will you, David? I'll get older as fast as I can. I promise. Just don't meet anybody you love, please."

He was touched by her earnestness. He took her hand in his and said, "Kate, when I get married, I'd like my daughter to be exactly like you."

Kate rose to her feet and said in a voice that rang through the dining salon, "You can bloody well go to hell, David Black-well!" And she stormed out of the room, as everyone stared.

They had three days together in London, and Kate loved

every minute of it. "I have a treat for you," David told her. "I got two tickets for Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." "Thank you, David. I want to go to the Gaiety." "You can't. That's a—a music-hall revue. That's not for you.' "I won't know until I see it, will I?"

she said stubbornly. They went to the Gaiety.

Kate loved the look of London. The mixture of motorcars and carriages, the ladies beautifully dressed in lace and tulle and light satins and glittering jewelry, and the men in dinner clothes with pique waistcoats and white shirtfronts. They had dinner at the Ritz, and a late supper at the Savoy. And when it was time to leave, Kate thought, We'll come back here. David and I will come back here.

When they arrived at Cheltenham, they were ushered into the office of Mrs. Keaton.

"I want to thank you for enrolling Kate," David said.

"I'm sure we'll enjoy having her. And it's a pleasure to accommodate a friend of my husband."

At that moment, Kate knew she had been deceived. It was David who had wanted her sent away and had arranged for her to come here.

She was so furious and hurt she refused to say good-bye to him.

Cheltenham School was unbearable. There were rules and regulations for everything.

The girls had to wear identical uniforms, down to their knickers. The school day was ten hours long, and every minute was rigidly structured. Mrs. Keaton ruled the pupils and her staff with a rod of iron. The girls were there to learn manners and discipline, etiquette and decorum, so that they could one day attract desirable husbands.

Kate wrote her mother, "It's a bloody prison. The girls here are awful. All they ever talk about are bloody clothes and bloody boys. The bloody teachers are monsters. They'll never keep me here. I'm going to escape."

Kate managed to run away from the school three times, and each time she was caught and brought back, unrepentant.

At a weekly staff meeting, when Kate's name was brought up, one of the teachers said,

"The child is uncontrollable. I think we should send her back to South Africa."

Mrs. Keaton replied, "I'm inclined to agree with you, but let's look upon it as a challenge.

If we can succeed in disciplining Kate McGregor, we can succeed in disciplining anyone."

Kate remained in school.

To the amazement of her teachers, Kate became interested in the farm that the school maintained. The farm had vegetable gardens, chickens, cows, pigs and horses. Kate spent as much time as possible there, and when Mrs. Keaton learned of this, she was immensely pleased.

"You see," the headmistress told her staff, "it was simply a question of patience. Kate has finally found her interest in life. One day she will marry a landowner and be of enormous assistance to him."

The following morning, Oscar Denker, the man in charge of running the farm, came to see the headmistress. "One of your students," he said, "that Kate McGregor—I wish you'd keep her away from my farm."

"Whatever are you talking about?" Mrs. Keaton asked. "I happen to know she's very interested."

"Sure she is, but do you know what she's interested in? The animals fornicating, if you'll excuse my language."

"What?"

"That's right. She stands around all day, just watching the animals do it to each other.'

"Bloody hell!" Mrs. Keaton said.

Kate still had not forgiven David for sending her into exile, but she missed him terribly.

It's my fate, she thought gloomily, to be in love with a man I hate. She counted the days she was away from him, like a prisoner marking time until the day of release. Kate was afraid he would do something dreadful, like marry another woman while she was trapped in the bloody school. If he does, Kate thought, I'll kill them both. No. I'll just kill her. They'll arrest me and hang me, and when I'm on the gallows, he'll realize that he loves me. But it will be too late. He'll beg me to forgive him. "Yes, David, my darling, I forgive you. You were too foolish to know when you held a great love in the palm of your hand. You let it fly away like a little bird. Now that little bird is about to be hanged. Good-bye, David." But at the last minute she would be reprieved and David would take her in his arms and carry her off to some exotic country where the food was better than the bloody slop they served at bloody Cheltenham.

Kate received a note from David saying he was going to be in London and would come to visit her. Kate's imagination was inflamed. She found a dozen hidden meanings in his note. Why was he going to be in England? To be near her, of course. Why was he coming to visit her? Because he finally knew he loved her and could not bear to be away from her any longer. He was going to sweep her off her feet and take her out of this terrible place.

She could scarcely contain her happiness. Kate's fantasy was so real that the day David arrived, Kate went around saying good-bye to her classmates. "My lover is coming to take me out of here," she told them.

The girls looked at her in silent disbelief. All except Georgina Christy, who scoffed,

"You're lying again, Kate McGregor."

"Just wait and see. He's tall and handsome, and he's mad about me."

When David arrived, he was puzzled by the fact that all the girls in the school seemed to be staring at him. They looked at him and whispered and giggled, and the minute they caught his eye, they blushed and turned away.

"They act as though they've never seen a man before," David told Kate. He looked at her suspiciously. "Have you been saying anything about me?"

"Of course not," Kate said haughtily. "Why would I do that?"

They ate in the school's large dining room, and David brought Kate up to date on everything that was happening at home. "Your mother sends her love. She's expecting you home for the summer holiday."

"How is mother?"

"She's fine. She's working hard."

"Is the company doing well, David?"

He was surprised by her sudden interest. "It's doing very well. Why?"

Because, Kate thought, someday it will belong to me, and you and I will share it. "I was just curious."

He looked at her untouched plate. "You're not eating."

Kate was not interested in food. She was waiting for the magic moment, the moment when David would say, "Come away with me, Kate. You're a woman now, and I want you.

We're going to be married."

The dessert came and went. Coffee came and went, and still no magic words from David.

It was not until he looked at his watch and said, "Well, I'd better be going or I'll miss my train," that Kate realized with a feeling of horror that he had not come to take her away at all. The bastard was going to leave her there to rot!

David had enjoyed his visit with Kate. She was a bright and amusing child, and the waywardness she had once shown was now under control. David patted Kate's hand fondly and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you before I leave, Kate?"

She looked him in the eye and said sweetly, "Yes, David, there is. You can do me an enormous favor. Get out of my bloody life." And she walked out of the room with great dignity, her head held high, leaving him sitting there, mouth agape.

Margaret found that she missed Kate. The girl was unruly and contrary, but Margaret realized that she was the only living person she loved. She's going to be a great woman, Margaret thought with pride. But I want her to have the manners of a lady.

Kate came home for summer vacation. "How are you getting along in school?" Margaret asked.

"I hate it! It's like being surrounded by a hundred nannies."

Margaret studied her daughter. "Do the other girls feel the same way, Kate?"

"What do they know?" she said contemptuously. "You should see the girls at that school!

They've been sheltered all their lives. They don't know a damn thing about life."

"Oh, dear," Margaret said. "That must be awful for you."

"Don't laugh at me, please. The've never even been to South Africa. The only animals they've seen have been in zoos. None of them has ever seen a diamond mine or a gold mine."

"Underprivileged."

Kate said, "All right. But when I turn out like them, you're going to be bloody sorry." "Do you think you'll turn out like them?" Kate grinned wickedly. "Of course not! Are you mad?"

An hour after Kate arrived home, she was outside playing rugby with the children of the servants. Margaret watched her through the window and thought, I'm wasting my money.

She's never going to change.

That evening, at dinner, Kate asked casually, "Is David in town?"

"He's been in Australia. He'll be back tomorrow, I think."

"Is he coming to dinner Friday night?"

"Probably." She studied Kate and said, "You like David, don't you?"

She shrugged. "He's all right, I suppose."

"I see," Margaret said. She smiled to herself as she remembered Kate's vow to marry David.

"I don't dislike him, Mother. I mean, I like him as a human being. I just can't stand him as a man."

When David arrived for dinner Friday night, Kate flew to the door to greet him. She hugged him and whispered in his ear, "I forgive you. Oh, I've missed you so much, David!

Have you missed me?"

Automatically he said, "Yes." And then he thought with astonishment, By God, I have missed her. He had never known anyone like this child. He had watched her grow up, and each time he encountered her she was a revelation to him. She was almost sixteen years old and she had started to fill out. She had let her black hair grow long, and it fell softly over her shoulders. Her features had matured, and there was a sensuality about her that he had not noticed before. She was a beauty, with a quick intelligence and a strong will.

She's going to be a handful for some man, David thought.

At dinner David asked, "How are you getting along in school, Kate?"

"Oh, I just love it," she gushed. "I'm really learning a lot. The teachers are wonderful, and I've made a lot of great friends."

Margaret sat in stunned silence.

"David, will you take me to the mines with you?"

"Is that how you want to waste your vacation?"

"Yes, please."

A trip down into the mines took a full day, and that meant she would be with David all that time.

"If your mother says it's all right—"

"Please, mother!"

"All right, darling. As long as you're with David, I know you'll be safe." Margaret hoped David would be safe.

The Kruger-Brent Diamond Mine near Bloemfontein was a gigantic operation, with hundreds of workers engaged in digging, engineering, washing or sorting.

"This is one of the company's most profitable mines," David told Kate. They were above ground in the manager's office, waiting for an escort to take them down into the mine.

Against one wall was a showcase filled with diamonds of all colors and sizes.

"Each diamond has a distinct characteristic," David explained. "The original diamonds from the banks of the Vaal are alluvial, and their sides are worn down from the abrasion of centuries."

He's more handsome than ever, Kate thought. I love his eyebrows.

'These stones all come from different mines, but they can be easily identified by their appearance. See this one? You can tell by the size and yellow cast that it comes from Paardspan. De Beers's diamonds have an oily-looking surface and are dodeca-hedral in shape."

He's brilliant. He knows everything.

"You can tell this one is from the mine at Kimberley because it's an octahedron. Their diamonds range from smoky-glassy to pure white."

I wonder if the manager thinks David is my lover. I hope so.

'The color of a diamond helps determine its value. The colors are named on a scale of one to ten. At the top is the tone blue-white, and at the bottom is the draw, which is a brown color."

He smells so wonderful. It's such a—such a male smell. I love his arms and shoulders. I wish—

"Kate!"

She said guiltily, "Yes, David?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Of course I am." There was indignation in her voice. 'Tve heard every word."

They spent the next two hours in the bowels of the mine, and then had lunch. It was Kate's idea of a heavenly day.

When Kate returned home late in the afternoon, Margaret said, "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"It was wonderful. Mining is really fascinating."

Half an hour later, Margaret happened to glance out the window. Kate was on the ground wrestling with the son of one of the gardeners.

The following year, Kate's letters from school were cautiously optimistic. She had been made captain of the hockey and lacrosse teams, and was at the head of her class scholasticaily. The school was not really all that bad, she wrote, and there were even a few girls in her classes who were reasonably nice. She asked permission to bring two of her friends home for the summer vacation, and Margaret was delighted. The house would be alive again with the sound of youthful laughter. She could not wait for her daughter to come home. Her dreams were all for Kate now. Jamie and I are the past, Maggie thought.

Kate is the future. And what a wonderful, bright future it will bet When Kate was home during her vacation, all the eligible young men of Klipdrift flocked around besieging her for dates, but Kate was not interested in any of them. David was in America, and she impatiently awaited his return. When he came to the house, Kate greeted him at the door. She wore a white dress circled in by a black velvet belt that accentuated her lovely

bosom. When David embraced her, he was astonished by the warmth of her response.

He drew back and looked at her. There was something different about her, something knowing. There was an expression in her eyes he could not define, and it made him vaguely uneasy.

The few times David saw Kate during that vacation she was surrounded by boys, and he found himself wondering which would be the lucky one. David was called back to Australia on business, and when he returned to Klipdrift, Kate was on her way to England.

In Kate's last year of school, David appeared unexpectedly one evening. Usually his visits were preceded by a letter or a telephone call. This time there had been no warning.

"David! What a wonderful surprise!" Kate hugged him. "You should have told me you were coming. I would have—"

"Kate, I've come to take you home."

She pulled back and looked up at him. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid your mother is very ill."

Kate stood stark still for a moment. "I'll get ready."

Kate was shocked by her mother's appearance. She had seen her only a few months earlier, and Margaret had seemed to be in robust health. Now she was pale and emaciated, and the bright spirit had gone out of her eyes. It was as though the cancer that was eating at her flesh had also eaten at her soul.

Kate sat at the side of the bed and held her mother's hand in hers. "Oh, Mother," she said. "I'm so bloody sorry."

Margaret squeezed her daughter's hand. "I'm ready, darling. I suppose I've been ready ever since your father died." She looked up at Kate. "Do you want to hear something silly?

I've never told this to a living soul before." She hesitated, then went on. "I've always been worried that there was no one to take proper care of your father. Now I can do it."

Margaret was buried three days later. Her mother's death shook Kate deeply. She had lost her father and a brother, but

she had never known them; they were only storied figments of the past. Her mother's death was real and painful. Kate was eighteen years old and suddenly alone in the world, and the thought of that was frightening.

David watched her standing at her mother's graveside, bravely fighting not to cry. But when they returned to the house, Kate broke down, unable to stop sobbing. "She was always so w-wonderful to me, David, and I was such a r-rotten daughter."

David tried to console her. "You've been a wonderful daughter, Kate."

"I was n-nothing b-but trouble. I'd give anything if I could m-make it up to her. I didn't want her to die, David! Why did God do this to her?"

He waited, letting Kate cry herself out. When she was calmer, David said, "I know it's hard to believe now, but one day this pain will go away. And you know what you'll be left with, Kate? Happy memories. You'll remember all the good things you and your mother had."

"I suppose so. Only right now it hurts so b-bloody much."

The following morning they discussed Kate's future.

"You have family in Scotland," David reminded her.

"No!" Kate replied sharply. "They're not family. They're relatives." Her voice was bitter.

"When Father wanted to come to this country, they laughed at him. No one would help him except his mother, and she's dead. No. I won't have anything to do with them."

David sat there thinking. "Do you plan to finish out the school term?" Before Kate could answer, David went on. "I think your mother would have wanted you to."

"Then I'll do it." She looked down at the floor, her eyes unseeing. "Bloody hell," Kate said.

"I know," David said gently. "I know."

Kate finished the school term as class valedictorian, and David was there for the graduation.

Riding from Johannesburg to Klipdrift in the private railway car, David said, "You know, all this will belong to you in a few years. This car, the mines, the company—it's yours.

You're a very rich young woman. You can sell the company for many millions of pounds."

He looked at her and added, "Or you can keep it. You'll have to think about it."

"I have thought about it," Kate told him. She looked at him and smiled. "My father was a pirate, David. A wonderful old pirate. I wish I could have known him. I'm not going to sell this company. Do you know why? Because the pirate named it after two guards who were trying to kill him. Wasn't that a lovely thing to do? Sometimes at night when I can't sleep, I think about my father and Banda crawling through the sea mis, and I can hear the voices of the guards: Kruger... Brent..." She looked up at David. "No, I'll never sell my father's company. Not as long as you'll stay on and run it."

David said quietly, 'I'll stay as long as you need me."

'I've decided to enroll in a business school."

"A business school?" There was surprise in his voice.

"This is 1910," Kate reminded him. "They have business schools in Johannesburg where women are allowed to attend."

"But—"

"You asked me what I wanted to do with my money." She looked him in the eye and said, "I want to earn it."

Business school was an exciting new adventure. When Kate had gone to Cheltenham, it had been a chore, a necessary evil. This was different. Every class taught her something useful, something that would help her when she ran the company. The courses included accounting, management, international trade and business administration. Once a week David telephoned to see how she was getting along.

"I love it," Kate told him. "It's really exciting, David."

One day she and David would be working together, side by side, late at night, all by themselves. And one of those nights, David would turn to her and say, "Kate, darling, I've been such a blind fool. Will you marry me?" And an instant later, she would be in his arms...

But that would have to wait. In the meantime, she had a lot to learn. Resolutely, Kate turned to her homework.

The business course lasted two years, and Kate returned to Klipdrift in time to celebrate her twentieth birthday. David met her at the station. Impulsively, Kate flung her arms around him and hugged him. "Oh, David, I'm so happy to see you."

He pulled away and said awkwardly, "It's nice to see you, Kate." There was an uncomfortable stiffness in his manner.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It's—it's just that young ladies don't go around hugging men in public."

She looked at him a moment. "I see. I promise not to embarrass you again."

As they drove to the house, David covertly studied Kate. She was a hauntingly beautiful girl, innocent and vulnerable, and David was determined that he would never take advantage of that.

On Monday morning Kate moved into her new office at Kruger-Brent, Ltd. It was like suddenly being plunged into some exotic and bizarre universe that had its own customs and its own language. There was a bewildering array of divisions, subsidiaries, regional departments, franchises and foreign branches. The products that the company manufactured or owned seemed endless. There were steel mills, cattle ranches, a railroad, a shipping line and, of course, the foundation of the family fortune: diamonds and gold, zinc and platinum and magnesium, mined each hour around the clock, pouring into the coffers of the company.

Power.

It was almost too much to take in. Kate sat in David's office listening to him make decisions that affected thousands of people around the world. The general managers of the various divisions made recommendations, but as often as not, David overruled them.

"Why do you do that? Don't they know their jobs?" Kate asked.

"Of course they do, but that's not the point," David explained. "Each manager sees his own division as the center of the world, and that's as it should be. But someone has to have an overall view and decide what's best for the company. Come on. We're having lunch with someone I want you to meet."

David took Kate into the large, private dining room adjoining Kate's office. A young, raw-boned man with a lean face and inquisitive brown eyes was waiting for them.

"This is Brad Rogers," David said. "Brad, meet your new boss, Kate McGregor."

Brad Rogers held out his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Miss McGregor."

"Brad is our secret weapon," David said. "He knows as much about Kruger-Brent, Limited, as I do. If I ever leave, you don't have to worry. Brad will be here."

If I ever leave. The thought of it sent a wave of panic through Kate. Of course, David would never leave the company. Kate could think of nothing else through lunch, and when it was over she had no idea what she had eaten.

After lunch, they discussed South Africa.

"We're going to run into trouble soon," David warned. "The government has just imposed poll taxes."

"Exactly what does that mean?" Kate asked.

"It means that blacks, coloreds and Indians have to pay two pounds each for every member of their family. That's more than a month's wages for them."

Kate thought about Banda and was filled with a sense of apprehension. The discussion moved on to other topics.

Kate enjoyed her new life tremendously. Every decision involved a gamble of millions of pounds. Big business was a matching of wits, the courage to gamble and the instinct to know when to quit and when to press ahead.

"Business is a game," David told Kate, "played for fantastic stakes, and you're in competition with experts. If you want to win, you have to learn to be a master of the game."

And that was what Kate was determined to do. Learn.

Kate lived alone in the big house, except for the servants. She and David continued their ritual Friday-night dinners, but

when Kate invited him over on any other night, he invariably found an excuse not to come. During business hours they were together constantly, but even then David seemed to have erected a barrier between them, a wall that Kate was unable to penetrate.

On her twenty-first birthday, all the shares in Kruger-Brent, Ltd., were turned over to Kate. She now officially had control of the company. "Let's have dinner tonight to celebrate," she suggested to David.

"I'm sorry, Kate, I have a lot of work to catch up on."

Kate dined alone that night, wondering why. Was it she, or was it David? He would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know how she felt about him, how she had always felt about him. She would have to do something about it.

The company was negotiating for a shipping line in the United States.

"Why don't you and Brad go to New York and close the deal?" David suggested to Kate.

"It will be good experience for you."

Kate would have liked for David to have gone with her, but she was too proud to say so.

She would handle this without him. Besides, she had never been to America. She looked forward to the experience.

The closing of the shipping-line deal went smoothly. "While you're over there," David had told her, "you should see some-thing of the country."

Kate and Brad visited company subsidiaries in Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York, and Kate was amazed by the size and energy of the United States. The highlight of Kate's trip was a visit to Dark Harbor, Maine, on an enchanting little island called Islesboro, in Penobscot Bay. She had been invited to dinner at the home of Charles Dana Gibson, the artist. There were twelve people at dinner and, except for Kate, they all had homes on the island.

'This place has an interesting history," Gibson told Kate.

"Years ago, residents used to get here by small coasting vessels from Boston. When the boat landed, they'd be met by a buggy and taken to their houses."

"How many people live on this island?" Kate asked.

"About fifty families. Did you see the lighthouse when the ferry docked?"

"Yes."

"It's run by a lighthouse keeper and his dog. When a boat goes by the dog goes out and rings the bell."

Kate laughed. "You're joking."

"No, ma'am. The funny thing is the dog is deaf as a stone. He puts his ear against the bell to feel if there's any vibration."

Kate smiled. "It sounds as if you have a fascinating island here."

"It might be worth your while staying over and taking a look around in the morning."

On an impulse, Kate said, "Why not?"

She spent the night at the island's only hotel, the Islesboro Inn. In the morning she hired a horse and carriage, driven by one of the islanders. They left the center of Dark Harbor, which consisted of a general store, a hardware store and a small restaurant, and a few minutes later they were driving through a beautiful wooded area. Kate noticed that none of the little winding roads had names, nor were there any names on the mailboxes. She turned to her guide. "Don't people get lost here without any signs?"

"Nope. The islanders know where everythin' is."

Kate gave him a sidelong look. "I see."

At the lower end of the island, they passed a burial ground.

"Would you stop, please?" Kate asked.

She stepped out of the carriage and walked over to the old cemetery and wandered around looking at the tombstones.

job pendleton, died January 25, 1794, age 47. The epitaph read: Beneath this stone, I rest my head in slumber sweet; Christ blessed the bed.

JANE, WIFE OF THOMAS PENDLETON, DIED FEBRUARY 25, 1802, AGE 47.

There were spirits here from another century, from an era long gone, captain william hatch drowned in long island sound, October 1866, age 30 years. The epitaph on his stone read: Storms all weathered and life's seas crossed.

Kate stayed there a long time, enjoying the quiet and peace. Finally, she returned to the carriage and they drove on.

"What is it like here in the winter?" Kate asked.

"Cold. The bay used to freeze solid, and they'd come from the mainland by sleigh. Now a' course, we got the ferry."

They rounded a curve, and there, next to the water below, was a beautiful white-shingled, two-story house surrounded by delphinium, wild roses and poppies. The shutters on the eight front windows were painted green, and next to the double doors were white benches and six pots of red geraniums. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

"Who owns that house?"

"That's the old Dreben house. Mrs. Dreben died a few months back."

"Who lives there now?"

"Nobody, I reckon."

"Do you know if it's for sale?"

The guide looked at Kate and said, "If it is, it'll probably be bought by the son of one of the families already livin' here. The islanders don't take kindly to strangers."

It was the wrong thing to say to Kate.

One hour later, she was speaking to a lawyer for the estate. "It's about the Dreben house," Kate said. "Is it for sale?"

The lawyer pursed his lips. "Well, yes, and no."

"What does that mean?"

"It's for sale, but a few people are already interested in buying it."

The old families on the island, Kate thought. "Have they made an offer?"

"Not yet, but—"

"I'm making one," Kate said.

He said condescendingly, "That's an expensive house."

"Name your price."

"Fifty thousand dollars."

"Let's go look at it."

The inside of the house was even more enchanting than Kate had anticipated. The large, lovely hall faced the sea through a wall of glass. On one side of the hall was a large ballroom, and on the other side, a living room with fruitwood paneling stained by time and an enormous fireplace. There was a library, and a huge kitchen with an iron stove and a large pine worktable, and off of that was a butler's pantry and laundry room. Downstairs, the house had six bedrooms for the servants and one bathroom. Upstairs was a master bedroom suite and four smaller bedrooms. It was a much larger house than Kate had expected. But when David and I have our children, she thought, we'll need all these rooms.

The grounds ran all the way down to the bay, where there was a private dock.

Kate turned to the lawyer. "I'll take it."

She decided to name it Cedar Hill House.

She could not wait to get back to Klipdrift to break the news to David.

On the way back to South Africa, Kate was filled with a wild excitement. The house in Dark Harbor was a sign, a symbol that she and David would be married. She knew he would love the house as much as she did.

On the afternoon Kate and Brad arrived back in Klipdrift, Kate hurried to David's office.

He was seated at his desk, working, and the sight of him set Kate's heart pounding. She had not realized how much she had missed him.

David rose to his feet. "Kate! Welcome home!" And before she could speak, he said, "I wanted you to be the first to know. I'm getting married."

15

It had begun casually six weeks earlier. In the middle of a hectic day, David received a message that Tim O'Neil, the friend of an important American diamond buyer, was in Klip-drift and asking if David would be good enough to welcome him and perhaps take him to dinner. David had no time to waste on tourists, but he did not want to offend his customer. He would have asked Kate to entertain the visitor, but she was on a tour of the company's plants in North America with Brad Rogers. I'm stuck, David decided. He called the hotel where O'Neil was staying and invited him to dinner that evening.

"My daughter is with me," O'Neil told him. "I hope you don't mind if I bring her along?"

David was in no mood to spend the evening with a child. "Not at all," he said politely. He would make sure the evening was a short one.

They met at the Grand Hotel, in the dining room. When David arrived, O'Neil and his daughter were already seated at the table. O'Neil was a handsome, gray-haired Irish-American in his early fifties. His daughter, Josephine, was the most beau tiful woman David had ever seen. She was in her early thirties,

with a stunning figure, soft blond hair and clear blue eyes. The breath went out of David at the sight of her.

"I—I'm sorry I'm late," he said. "Some last-minute business."

Josephine watched his reaction to her with amusement. "Sometimes that's the most exciting kind," she said innocently. "My father tells me you're a very important man, Mr.

Black-well."

"Not really—and it's David."

She nodded. "That's a good name. It suggests great strength."

Before the dinner was over, David decided that Josephine O'Neil was much more than just a beautiful woman. She was intelligent, had a sense of humor and was skillful at making him feel at ease. David felt she was genuinely interested in him. She asked him questions about himself that no one had ever asked before. By the time the evening ended, he was already half in love with her.

"Where's your home?" David asked Tim O'Neil.

"San Francisco."

"Will you be going back soon?" He made it sound as casual as he could.

"Next week."

Josephine smiled at David. "If Klipdrift is as interesting as it promises to be, I might persuade Father to stay a little longer."

"I intend to make it as interesting as possible," David assured her. "How would you like to go down into a diamond mine?"

"We'd love it," Josephine answered. "Thank you."

At one time David had personally escorted important visitors down into the mines, but he had long since delegated that task to subordinates. Now he heard himself saying, "Would tomorrow morning be convenient?" He had half a dozen meetings scheduled for the morning, but they suddenly seemed unimportant.

He took the O'Neils down a rockshaft, twelve hundred feet below ground. The shaft was six feet wide and twenty feet long, divided into four compartments, one for pumping, two for hoisting the blue diamondiferous earth and one with a double-decked cage to carry the miners to and from work.

"I've always been curious about something," Josephine said. "Why are diamonds measured in carats?"

"The carat was named for the carob seed," David explained, "because of its consistency in weight. One carat equals two hundred milligrams, or one one-hundred-forty-second of an ounce."

Josephine said, "I'm absolutely fascinated, David."

And he wondered if she was referring only to the diamonds. Her nearness was intoxicating. Every time he looked at Josephine, David felt a fresh sense of excitement.

"You really should see something of the countryside," David told the O'Neils. "If you're free tomorrow, I'd be happy to take you around."

Before her father could say anything, Josephine replied, "That would be lovely."

David was with Josephine and her father every day after that, and each day David fell more deeply in love. He had never known anyone as bewitching.

When David arrived to pick up the O'Neils for dinner one evening and Tim O'Neil said,

"I'm a bit tired tonight, David. Would you mind if I didn't go along?" David tried to hide his pleasure.

"No, sir. I understand."

Josephine gave David a mischievous smile. "I'll try to keep you entertained," she promised.

David took her to a restaurant in a hotel that had just opened. The room was crowded, but David was recognized and given a table immediately. A three-piece ensemble was playing American music.

David asked, "Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to."

A moment later, Josephine was in his arms on the dance floor, and it was magic. David held her lovely body close to his, and he could feel her respond.

"Josephine, I'm in love with you."

She put a finger to his lips. "Please, David ... don't..."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't marry you."

"Do you love me?"

She smiled up at him, her blue eyes sparkling. "I'm crazy about you, my darling. Can't you tell?"

"Then why?"

"Because I could never live in Klipdrift. I'd go mad."

"You could give it a try."

"David, I'm tempted, but I know what would happen. If I married you and had to live here, I'd turn into a screaming shrew and we'd end up hating each other. I'd rather we said good-bye this way."

"I don't want to say good-bye."

She looked up into his face, and David felt her body melt into his. "David, is there any chance that you could live in San Francisco?"

It was an impossible idea. "What would I do there?"

"Let's have breakfast in the morning. I want you to talk to Father."

Tim O'Neil said, "Josephine has told me about your conversation last night. Looks like you two have a problem. But I might have a solution, if you're interested."

"I'm very interested, sir."

O'Neil picked up a brown-leather briefcase and removed some blueprints. "Do you know anything about frozen foods?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

'They first started freezing food in the United States in 1865. The problem was transporting it long distances without the food thawing out. We've got refrigerated railway cars, but no one's been able to come up with a way to refrigerate trucks." O'Neil tapped the blueprints. "Until now. I just received a patent on it. This is going to revolutionize the entire food industry, David."

David glanced at the blueprints. "I'm afraid these don't mean much to me, Mr. O'Neil."

"That doesn't matter. I'm not looking for a technical expert. I have plenty of those. What I'm looking for is financing and someone to run the business.

This isn't some wild pipe dream. I've talked to the top food processors in the business.

This is going to be big—bigger than you can imagine. I need someone like you."

"The company headquarters will be in San Francisco," Josephine added.

David sat there silent, digesting what he had just heard. "You say you've been given a patent on this?"

'That's right. I'm all set to move."

"Would you mind if I borrowed these blueprints and showed them to someone?"

"I have no objection at all."

The first thing David did was to check on Tim O'Neil. He learned that O'Neil had a solid reputation in San Francisco. He had been head of the science department at a Berkeley College there and was highly regarded. David knew nothing about the freezing of food, but he intended to find out.

"I'll be back in five days, darling. I want you and your father to wait for me."

"As long as you like. I'll miss you," Josephine said.

"I'll miss you, too." And he meant it more than she knew.

David took the train to Johannesburg and made an appointment to see Edward Broderick, the owner of the largest meatpacking plant in South Africa.

"I want your opinion on something." David handed him the blueprints. "I need to know if this can work."

"I don't know a damned thing about frozen foods or trucks, but I know people who do. If you come back this afternoon, I'll lave a couple of experts here for you, David."

At four o'clock that afternoon David returned to the packing plant. He found that he was nervous, in a state of uncertainty, because he was not sure how he wanted the meeting to go. Two weeks earlier, he would have laughed if anyone had even suggested he would ever leave Kruger-Brent, Ltd. It was a part of him. He would have laughed even harder if they had told him he would have considered heading a little food company in San Francisco. It was insane, except for one thing: Josephine O'Neil.

There were two men in the room with Edward Broderick. "This is Dr. Crawford and Mr.

Kaufman. David Blackwell."

They exchanged greetings. David asked, "Have you gentlemen had a chance to look at the blueprints?"

Dr. Crawford replied, "We certainly have, Mr. Blackwell. We've been over them thoroughly."

David took a deep breath. "And?"

"I understand that the United States Patent Office has granted a patent on this?"

'That's right."

"Well, Mr. Blackwell, whoever got that patent is going to be one very rich man."

David nodded slowly, filled with conflicting emotions.

"It's like all great inventions—it's so simple you wonder why someone didn't think of it sooner. This one can't miss."

David did not know how to react. He had half-hoped that the decision would be taken out of his hands. If Tim O'Neil's invention was useless, there was a chance of persuading Josephine to stay in South Africa. But what O'Neil had told him was true. It did work. Now David had to make his decision.

He thought of nothing else on the journey back to Klipdrift. If he accepted, it would mean leaving the company, starting up a new, untried business. He was an American, but America was a foreign country to him. He held an important position in one of the most powerful companies in the world. He loved his job. Jamie and Margaret McGregor had been very good to him. And then there was Kate. He had cared for her since she was a baby. He had watched her grow up from a stubborn, dirty-faced tomboy to a lovely young woman. Her life was a photo album in his mind. He turned the pages and there was Kate at four, eight, ten, fourteen, twenty-one—vulnerable, unpredictable ...

By the time the train arrived at Klipdrift, David had made up his mind. He was not going to leave Kruger-Brent, Ltd.

He drove directly to the Grand Hotel and went up to the O'Neils' suite. Josephine opened the door for him.

"David!"

He took her in his arms and kissed her hungrily, feeling her warm body pressing against his.

"Oh, David, I've missed you so much. I don't ever want to be away from you again."

"You won't have to," David said slowly. "I'm going to San Francisco ..."

David had waited with growing anxiety for Kate to return from the United States. Now that he had made his decision, he was eager to get started on his new life, impatient to marry Josephine.

And now Kate was back, and he was standing in front of her saying, "I'm getting married."

Kate heard the words through a roaring in her ears. She felt suddenly faint, and she gripped the edge of the desk for support. I want to die, she thought. Please let me die.

Somehow, from some deep wellspring of will, she managed a smile. "Tell me about her, David." She was proud of how calm her voice sounded. "Who is she?"

"Her name is Josephine O'Neil. She's been visiting here with her father. I know you two will be good friends, Kate. She's a fine woman."

"She must be, if you love her, David."

He hesitated. "There's one more thing, Kate. I'm going to be leaving the company."

The world was falling in on her. "Just because you're getting married, doesn't mean you have to—"

"It isn't that. Josephine's father is starting a new business in San Francisco. They need me."

"So—so you'll be living in San Francisco."

"Yes. Brad Rogers can handle my job easily, and we'll pick a lop management team to back him up. Kate, I—I can't tell you what a difficult decision this was for me."

"Of course, David. You—you must love her very much. When do I get to meet the bride?"

David smiled, pleased at how well Kate was taking the news. 'Tonight, if you're free for dinner."

"Yes, I'm free."

She would not let the tears come until she was alone.

The four of them had dinner at the McGregor mansion. The moment Kate saw Josephine, she blanched, Oh God! No wonder he's in love with her! She was dazzling.

Just being in her presence made Kate feel awkward and ugly. And to make matters worse, Josephine was gracious and charming. And obviously very much in love with David.

Bloody hell!

During dinner Tim O'Neil told Kate about the new company.

"It sounds very interesting," Kate said.

"I'm afraid it's no Kruger-Brent, Limited, Miss McGregor. We'll have to start small, but with David running it, we'll do all

right."

"With David running it, you can't miss," Kate assured him.

The evening was an agony. In the same cataclysmic moment, she had lost the man she loved and the one person who was indispensable to Kruger-Brent, Ltd. She carried on a conversation and managed to get through the evening, but afterward she had no recollection of what she said or did. She only knew that every time David and Josephine looked at each other or touched, she wanted to kill herself.

On the way back to the hotel, Josephine said, "She's in love with you, David."

He smiled. "Kate? No. We're friends. We have been since she was a baby. She liked you a lot."

Josephine smiled. Men are so naive.

In David's office the following morning, Tim O'Neil and David sat facing each other. "I'll need about two months to get my affairs in order here," David said. "I've been thinking about the financing we'll need to begin with. If we go to one of the big companies, they'll swallow us up and give us a small share. It

won't belong to us anymore. I think we should finance it ourselves. I figure it will cost eighty thousand dollars to get started. I've saved the equivalent of about forty thousand dollars. We'll need forty thousand more."

"I have ten thousand dollars," Tim O'Neil said. "And I have a brother who will loan me another five thousand."

"So, we're twenty-five thousand dollars short," David said. "We'll try to borrow that from a bank."

"We'll leave for San Francisco right away," O'Neil told David, "and get everything set up for you."

Josephine and her father left for the United States two days later. "Send them to Cape Town in the private railway car, David," Kate offered.

'That's very generous of you, Kate."

The morning Josephine left, David felt as though a piece of his life had been taken away.

He could not wait to join her in San Francisco.

The next few weeks were taken up with a search for a management team to back up Brad Rogers. A list of possible candidates was carefully drawn up, and Kate and David and Brad spent hours discussing each one.

"... Taylor is a good technician, but he's weak on management."

"What about Simmons?"

"He's good, but he's not ready yet," Brad decided. "Give him another five years."

"Babcock?"

"Not a bad choice. Let's discuss him." "What about Peterson?"

"Not enough of a company man," David said. "He's too concerned with himself." And even as he said it, he felt a pang of guilt because he was deserting Kate.

They continued on with the list of names. By the end of the Month, they had narrowed the choice to four men to work with Brad Rogers. All of them were working abroad, and they were

sent for so that they could be interviewed. The first two interviews went well. "I'd be satisfied with either one of them," Kate assured David and Brad.

On the morning the third interview was to take place, David walked into Kate's office, his face pale. "Is my job still open?"

Kate looked at bis expression and stood up in alarm. "What is it, David?"

"I—I—" He sank into a chair. "Something has happened."

Kate was out from behind the desk and by his side in an instant. "Tell me!"

"I just got a letter from Tim O'Neil. He's sold the business."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. He accepted an offer of two hundred thousand dollars and a royalty for his patent from the Three Star Meat Packing Company in Chicago." David's voice was filled with bitterness. 'The company would like to hire me to manage it for them. He regrets any inconvenience to me, but he couldn't turn down that kind of money."

Kate looked at him intently. "And Josephine? What does she say? She must be furious with her father."

'There was a letter from her, too. We'll marry as soon as I come to San Francisco."

"And you're not going?"

"Of course I'm not going!" David exploded. "Before, I had something to offer. I could have built it into a great company. But they were in too much of a damned hurry for the money."

"David, you're not being fair when you say they.' Just be—"

"O'Neil would never have made that deal without Josephine's approval."

"I—I don't know what to say, David."

'There is nothing to say. Except that I almost made the biggest mistake of my life."

Kate walked over to the desk and picked up the list of candidates. Slowly, she began to tear it up.

In the weeks that followed, David plunged himself deeply into his work, trying to forget his bitterness and hurt. He received several letters from Josephine O'Neil, and he threw them all away, unread. But he could not get her out of his mind. Kate, deeply aware of David's pain, let him know she was there if he needed her.

Six months had passed since David received the letter from Tim O'Neil. During that time, Kate and David continued to work closely together, travel together and be alone together much of the time. Kate tried to please him in every way she could. She dressed for him, planned things he would enjoy and went out of her way to make his life as happy as possible. As far as she could tell, it was having no effect at all. And finally she lost her patience.

She and David were in Rio de Janeiro, checking on a new mineral find. They had had dinner at their hotel and were in Kate's room going over some figures late at night. Kate had changed to a comfortable kimono and slippers. When they finished, David stretched and said, "Well, that's it for tonight. I guess I'll go on to bed."

Kate said quietly, "Isn't it time you came out of mourning, David?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Mourning?"

"For Josephine O'Neil."

"She's out of my life."

"Then act like it."

"Just what would you like me to do, Kate?" he asked curtly.

Kate was angry now. Angry at David's blindness, angry about all the wasted time. "I'll tell you what I'd like you to do— kiss me."

"What?"

"Bloody hell, David! I'm your boss, damn it!" She moved close to him. "Kiss me." And she pressed her Ups against his and put her arms around him. She felt him resist and start to draw back. And then slowly his arms circled her body, and he kissed her.

"Kate ..."

She whispered against bis lips. "I thought you'd never ask..."

They were married six weeks later. It was the biggest wedding Klipdrift had ever seen or would see again. It was held in the town's largest church and afterward there was a reception in the town hall and everyone was invited. There were mountains of food and uncounted cases of beer and whiskey and champagne, and musicians played and the festivities lasted until dawn. When the sun came up, Kate and David slipped away.

"I'll go home and finish packing," Kate said. "Pick me up in an hour."

In the pale dawn light, Kate entered the huge house alone and went upstairs to her bedroom. She walked over to a painting on the wall and pressed against the frame. The painting flew back, revealing a wall safe. She opened it and brought out a contract. It was for the purchase of the Three Star Meat Packing Company of Chicago by Kate McGregor.

Next to it was a contract from the Three Star Meat Packing Company purchasing the rights to Tim O'Neil's freezing process for two hundred thousand dollars. Kate hesitated a moment, then returned the papers to the safe and locked it. David belonged to her now.

He had always belonged to her. And to Kruger-Brent, Ltd. Together, they would build it into the biggest, most powerful company in the world.

Just as Jamie and Margaret McGregor would have wanted it.