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  THE SHINING STAR Hilary Wilde Of the two Landseer brothers, Sue infinitely preferred and sympathized with Danny, the younger, weaker one. But it was his "Big Brother" Rolf who was her boss at the Nwale game reserve, Rolf the one that everyone looked up to, Rolf who could - and did - impose his will on them all, including Sue. For it was only the power of Rolf's personality that made Sue agree to a mock "engagement" to him in order to please his invalid mother. But it was when Cara Fraser appeared on the scene - Cara, whom they all disliked and feared but Rolf - that Sue acknowledged her true feelings for Danny's overbearing brother.

  A Mills & Boon MILLS & BOON LIMITED 50, GRAFTON WAY FITZROY SQUARE LONDON, W.I All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the Author, and have no relation whatsoever to any one bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the Author, and all the incidents are pure invention. First published 1968 This edition 1968 Hilary Wilde For copyright reasons, this book may not be issued on loan or otherwise except in its original soft cover. SBN 263 70149 2 Made and Printed in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, London, Reading and Fakenham

  CHAPTER ONE

  'Miss BUSFORD!' The sound of her name in his deep, slightly sarcastic yet authoritative voice was like the crack of a whip, jerking Sue back to awareness of where she v/as. 'I want to talk to you - if you can manage to stay awake,' Rolf Landseer went on. Sue was clutching the door of the Land Rover as it jolted its way over the red earth road under the hot African sun.'I'm not asleep, Mr. Landseer,' she said, blinking her eyes which were smarting from the clouds of dust in which they were enveloped every time another car or truck passed them. She turned and thought how very different he looked from the elegantly dressed executive who had engaged her to fly to Africa with him as his 'Girl Friday'. Now he'd taken off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, removed his tie and undone the collar of his white shirt - and his short fair hair was just as dusty as hers must look, she thought. His voice had broken the silence that had lasted ever since they left the airport. She had accepted the long silence as evidence of his displeasure. After all, it must have been as embarrassing for him as for her when she was so sick on the plane, nor had it helped matters when she had fallen flat on her face, turning her ankle in the uneven ground as they walked to the Land Rover, where the African chauffeur was waiting for them. Sue knew she was clumsy, and her head in the clouds, as Aunt Edith called it, but it had been humiliating, to say the very least, for her. Doubtless Mr. Landseer was regretting his decision to employ her, she'd thought. 'Yes, Mr. Landseer?' she asked, her voice rising on the question. He leaned forward over the wheel, not glancing at her, but watching the red earth road that twisted ahead down the side of the mountain, through a drift and along the road that weaved up the other side. 'You must have wondered why I came out here on such short notice,' he said. 'I imagine everyone in the firm discussed it.' He had an amused note in his voice. It had been short notice, too! He'd allowed only a matter of days. One of the requirements for the job had been the possession of a passport and having had the necessary inoculations. 'We ... they thought someone in your family must be ill,' Sue said. She had to shout, for the Land Rover was not a silent vehicle, to put it mildly. A weird-looking thing, too, painted in strange zebra-like stripes of grey and green, with the headlamps blacked out and everything that shone covered with cloth. Even as she spoke, the Land Rover swerved round a sharp corner and she was flung sideways before it straightened and began another winding climb. On either side of the road, the brown grass stretched away, there were glimpses of water through clumps of trees, groups of small huts, but mostly there was just space. He didn't answer, so she went on: 'We guessed it was pretty urgent.' 'The understatement of the year,' he said wryly. And once again there was silence. For a moment she hated him. Surely he must see how tired she was, still feeling sick, a condition that the Land Rover's jolting did not help, yet he must try this form of 6 dialogue that she found so infuriating. It had been the same when he interviewed her. There had been long silences, making her wonder if she'd said the wrong thing, and so she'd rush into explaining, letting loose a 'spate of words' as he had called it critically, adding that she 'talked too much', and that the job required someone willing to work hard and not spend time in 'senseless chatter'. How her Irish temper had risen! She'd felt her cheeks burning as the quick angry words bubbled inside her. Somehow she'd controlled them, for she'd wanted the job so much. Now she began to wonder if the job was going to be as exciting as it had sounded, if it really meant the freedom she wanted. Her crumpled green linen suit was dusty, she'd taken off the matching cap and tied a green scarf round her red hair in a vain attempt to protect it from the dry, hot wind. 'I don't understand, Mr. Landseer,' she said as politely as she could. He turned his head and glanced down at her so that she saw his face. Even that had changed, she thought. Gone was that aloof, impersonal look she'd seen in London. Now he looked more relaxed, that stern mouth in a half smile. Or maybe it was his dark glasses that made him look so different. He had a beak of a nose and the sort of square chin she'd always hated. People said it meant strength of character, but she thought it really meant a stubborn nature. And stubborn and difficult he could be, too. The other girls who'd applied for the job had admitted frankly that it would be no party. Even Aunt Edith, with whom Sue rarely agreed, had said it, and for once, Sue's views were the same, 'He'd be a hard task-master, Sue. He's got no time for weaklings,' Aunt Edith had said. Sue'd replied indignantly that she was no weakling, and -^-@^^asas;^^^^^^^^^^??^'3it had made her more determined than ever to get the job. Well, she'd got the job, and here she was, Sue told herself. Not at all sure she was glad. 'I don't expect you to,' Rolf Landseer said. 'My brother has disappeared. That's why I've come out.' Sue was really startled. 'You mean ... you mean he's been kidnapped?' Rolf Landseer laughed. That startled her, for she realized it was the first time she had heard him laugh. 'What an imagination you have,' he said. 'No, he's just disappeared. Don't look so alarmed. It's happened before and it will again, I've no doubt.' Sue stared at him, wondering what the odd note in his voice meant. Was it contempt? Intolerance? Or bitterness? 'I'm telling you now as I don't want you asking awkward questions. My mother has enough to worry her without having you make things worse. Danny has disappeared. We accept that and you must accept it, too. I don't wish the matter discussed. You understand?' 'Yes, but...' Sue hesitated. It seemed a very odd way to talk of a brother who was missing, she thought. And how could a worried mother, as Mrs. Landseer must be, avoid talking about it? Sue wondered what she was supposed to do, if Mrs. Landseer did want to talk about her missing son. Rolf Landseer was frowning. 'I'm explaining the situation to you now, so that you can understand. My brother was there for breakfast, he walked out to check the arrival of some animals and vanished. He never came back.' 'Could he have been hurt ... fallen down a ... a hole?' Sue suggested, shocked by his cold voice. 'That was attended to. A search was made, and the police were informed. No, he just vanished. It's a habit he's got when things get tough.' The sarcasm in his voice was there again and Sue looked 8 at him, shocked. How could you speak like that of your own brother? she wondered. An only child herself, she had always longed for brothers and sisters. The Land Rover went through a drift, splashing up the shallow stream. Rolf Landseer was leaning over the steering wheel, his big shoulders hunched forward as he talked. Sue stifled a sigh. It wasn't that she actually disliked her employer, but there was very little about him that she liked, and she was afraid that that little was becoming even smaller, now. The girls at the office described him as 'smooth', 'a dish', and 'gorgeous', but she thought he was just arrogant and impossible. He was a big man, well over six foot in height; a lean, healthy-look
ing man who moved with leopard-like grace which showed his disciplined strength. But handsome? No. Likeable? Definitely not. Sue decided, and stifled another sigh. She was being paid well and this job had spelled freedom to her, an escape from the well-meaning but stifling clutches of Aunt Edith, a new life. But was the price she was going to have to pay worth it? He was not - quite definitely not - going to be an easy man to work for. Sue stretched her long slender legs and wriggled her toes in the shoes that felt too tight, for her feet had swollen during the flight. She longed for a hot bath and the chance to sleep, for she had felt too ill and upset on the plane to relax properly, and now to have Rolf Landseer ... She coughed as a truck roared by and the red dust enveloped them. If only he'd keep quiet! she thought. But Rolf Landseer, now he'd started talking, seemed determined to go on, so Sue blinked her eyes fast behind her dark glasses, and tried to look intelligent as she turned her face towards him. She was nineteen years old, had long red hair, the green eyes that usually go with it, and lots of freckles. No one, not even her kindest friend, had ever called her 'beautiful', or even 'pretty', but someone had once told her she had an 'interesting face', and another had said she always 'looked so alive, so eager to be happy', so though it was small comfort, Sue had been grateful. She was eager to be happy, she knew that, she thought ruefully now, as she listened to Rolf Landseer's voice. And she had been happy until just over a year ago and then as her life collapsed, all hope of happiness seemed to have gone. She and her parents had decided on a holiday in Spain. What fun they'd had, planning it all, Sue remembered. Then she'd damaged her knee in a clumsy stupid fall, down some steps near St. Ives where they lived, and had been bedridden. Reluctantly they'd gone without her only to be killed in an air crash on their way to Spain. It was then that her Aunt Edith, eldest sister of Sue's father, @ had come down from London to help put the bits together and rebuild Sue's life. It was noble of Aunt Edith, for she lived alone and was set in her ways, and Sue tried hard to be grateful, but it was impossible to live v/ith Aunt Edith and be happy. Aunt Edith was not only a perfectionist but demanded perfection of those around her, and when you are clumsy and apt to forget to warm the tea-cup as well as the tea-pot, well ...! Sue knew she wasn't exactly the 'ideal niece'. So, though Aunt Edith had not been very keen on Sue getting this unusual job. Sue knew that in her heart, Aunt Edith must be feeling very relieved! Sue realized suddenly that she was not listening to what Rolf Landseer was saying. A major crime in his eyes, she thought, and forced herself to look interested. '... it was always the same,' he was saying. 'When anything unpleasant happened, anything beyond the usual norm, Danny would disappear.' He paused. She was so shocked, the words jumped up. 'You think he just runs away?' 10 Rolf Landseer turned to scowl at her. 'For Pete's sake, don't suggest anything of the sort to my mother. She'd be most upset. How you jump to conclusions. You must leam to watch that impulsive tongue of yours. Think before you speak!' he snapped. She was startled. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean ...' 'Well, let me continue. My brother suffers from amnesia. He has done in the past. Once he turned up, or rather was found, in a town two hundred miles away and he said he hadn't a clue as to how he'd got there. As you probably know, certain people suffer from hay fever or allergies when faced with difficult problems. Danny, my brother, has amnesia. As I've said, it's happened before and will, I'm afraid, go on happening until he learns to face up to his problems instead of running away from them. Once he's faced up to them, he'll realize that no problem is too difficult to solve.' How easy he made it sound, Sue thought. She began to feel sorry for his brother. 'Unfortunately for me, these difficult times usually occur at a time most inconvenient as far as I'm concerned. If it could have been postponed for six months, I would have completed the executives' course,' Rolf Landseer went on. Sue relaxed a little, for now she was on familiar ground. Rolf Landseer, when addressing the girls in the typing pool, had talked of this. Apparently he was quite well known as a management consultant and travelled all over the world lecturing. The firm of Corn, Hasle & Meek had employed him to work out an executives' course and he had already completed months of studying the firm's activities and had begun to compile his findings before composing the course. 'The directors,' Rolf Landseer had told the girls in the typing pool, standing on the small dais where, normally, il Miss Green, the pool's Superintendent sat, 'have allowed me leave on condition I continue working on the course. There is still considerable work to be done, so I am wanting a secretary, but...' How dramatically he had paused, Sue thought. Glaring at them all, as if accusing them of arrant laziness. 'I do not want a secretary who expects her day to start at nine a.m, and finish at five p.m.,' he said firmly. 'My "Girl Friday" must be prepared to tackle a twenty-hour day, if necessary. I shall be busy, for there is much work required to run a game reserve properly, but I require little sleep and shall use the evenings for the course. The girl I choose will be expected during the day to help my sister. This will cover many different aspects of work, none of them easy...' Again he had scowled at them all, as if doubtful that the kind of worker he was looking for could be amongst them. 'You'll have to feed sick animals. Not dogs and cats but wild animals. Duiker - vultures - cerval cats - there's no limit to the kind of animal we may have to care for. We have a tourist problem. Sometimes we are swamped with visitors. Then you'll be expected to lend a hand, in the kitchens, perhaps, as receptionist, or even in the gift shop. You'll meet some very queer characters - and a few nice people. I want a girl who won't moan, stage a sit-down strike, or make trouble. I warn you that the summers are extremely hot, they can also be very wet indeed, the work will be hard, nor am I easy to work for! I know that. In addition, there is little or no social life. So if any of you are looking for a rich husband, you're not the type of girl I want.' Everyone in the big room had laughed, but Sue had known he was not joking. He was asking for the impossible. Yet fifteen girls applied for the job, and Miss Green 12 sorted them out stringently and got the number down to five, whom Mr. Landseer himself interviewed. Sue gave a little shudder as she remembered it. He had stalked up and down the office like a furious tiger, hands behind back, head jutting out, as he talked; asking questions, and giving those long frightening silences that had loosened her tongue and helped her make a fool of herself. He did it deliberately, she had known, yet she had still fallen into the trap. 'Why d'you want the job?' he'd barked at her. 'Because I want to get away. I'm living with my aunt and we're neither of us happy.' 'Running away? That won't help. You'll have to come back in the end.' 'I know, but@' How hard she'd had to battle to keep her voice calm. Was he, she had wondered, deliberately baiting her? Knowing she was renowned for her quick Irish temper, her impulsive habit of speaking out of turn, for defending people and things she believed in. He had stood, towering above her. 'Tell me the truth. Why d'you want the job ?' 'I hate city life and, as I said, I hate living with my aunt.' How he had scowled! Sue thought, her body jerking with the violent movements of the Rover, as she listened with one ear to what Rolf Landseer was saying, and thought back to that frightening interview during which everything had seemed to go wrong. 'So you're unhappy?' he'd asked. 'What guarantee have I that you won't be unhappy anywhere?' 'I was happy before - before my parents died. It's just that Aunt Edith and I are not... not...' 'Compatible.' He had provided the word, tossing it , almost contemptuously down at her. 'I can imagine! Your i3 impulsive eagerness which lands you in awkward situations can't be easy to live with.' How her cheeks had burned. Sue remembered. He must have heard the office grapevine's views of her, rushing in where angels fear to tread, as Aunt Edith said once, when scolding Sue for trying to help someone. 'You're quite sure you're not looking for a wealthy husband?' Rolf Landseer had then asked. @Most certainly not,' she had snapped back, unable to control her quick anger. 'I don't intend to marry for at least six years. I want to see the world first.' 'Quite admirable,' he had sneered, and she had clenched her hands. 'You have no boy-friends?' he asked, stalking to the window, gazing out.'None.' She'd hated admitting it, Sue r
emembered. For surely, in a way, it was an admission of defeat? Could she really blame it on her sadness about her parents, or on Aunt Edith's strict rules, or, she wondered, was it simply that she was so unattractive no boy wanted her? 'Fond of animals?' Rolf Landseer had next shot the words at her. Now she had hesitated, Sue remembered. She loved cats and dogs and even horses, and perhaps not so much, cows and pigs but ... wild animals like lions and elephants ... and... and snakes. She'd shivered. 'I think so,' she'd said. He'd swung round then. 'At least you're honest. Got a passport, up to date? Been vaccinated and everything?' It was then she'd been terrified, for the tears had been horribly near. She'd got the passport to go to Spain with her parents - for the holiday they'd never had and from which they'd never returned. She had turned away, blinking fast, praying he had not seen the tears, knowing he would despise her for such 14 weakness. 'Yes. Everything's in order.' 'Good.' He'd opened the door. 'We go in two days. See my secretary for particulars,' he'd told her. 'You can't take much luggage. A few thin frocks. You'll live in jeans.' Then he'd walked off and left her. Just like that. She had not seen him until she met him at the airport. Flying out, he had spoken to her when necessary, but that was all. On the last short flight from the city, he'd said even less, and on this journey that was something of a nightmare, with Israel, the African, in the back of the Rover with the luggage, Rolf Landseer had not spoken but now, started, he seemed determined to go on. And she was so tired. So very tired. '... just the three of us,' Rolf Landseer was saying. 'Myself, Danny and Ailsa, our sister. Unfortunately Danny was a delicate child and enjoyed the extra attention this gained him. He got into real trouble, though, when we went to boarding school. He can't seem to understand that we can't go on running away all our lives. Facts must be faced up to - don't you agree? No, I forgot. You'll have to eventually face up to the problem of your aunt.' How intolerant this big, powerful, confident man was, Sue thought, and how very glad she was that he wasn't her brother! 'Is he running away from something now?' she asked, feeling herself very much on the unknown Danny's side. 'And how!' Rolf Landseer gave a laugh, a short unamused sound, more like a scornful grunt. 'We've got a pair of rhinos being delivered and they're due at any moment.' 'Rhinos?' Instantly into her mind shot the pictures she'd seen of the frightening beasts, hideous-looking, with huge horns and small eyes. 15 'Yes. A game reserve up north offered us a pair and we jumped at the chance. I'm certain that's what's wrong with Danny.' 'Is it dangerous?' 'When they arrive, it can be quite dicey. If you're a fool, of course.' Sue closed her eyes for a moment and her mouth. She longed to leap to poor Danny's defence. The way Rolf Landseer spoke implied that only a fool like Danny could make it dangerous. How awful it must be to have a brother who despises you, she thought. 'Of course the rhino get excited when released, but normally they're not aggressive, you know.' 'I didn't know,' Sue said, then thought how weak it sounded. She stifled a yawn and eased her aching body as the Land Rover bucked like a runaway horse as they went over the corrugations in the road. Was this journey never going to end ? she wondered miserably. He was frowning. 'You did say you can do shorthand?' 'Of course,' she said at once. 'I told you so.' 'I know, but quite a few girls who've told me they can do shorthand, when asked to read back what they've taken down have burst into tears.' Her cheeks stung. 'I can read back my shorthand, and I certainly won't cry!' He looked amused, so that meant she'd bitten again. Sue thought, annoyed with herself, angry with him. If only she wasn't so hot and tired! 'That's a relief,' he said. 'I've also got a tape recorder. By the way, I told you I wanted you to be a Jack of all trades, but primarily you're here to work on the course. That must come first. That's plainly understood?' 'Yes, Mr. Landseer,' Sue said meekly, inwardly rebelling at his bossy tone. 16 'Another thing ...' Rolf Landseer went on, slowing up as they neared a narrow cement causeway that crossed two small rivers that ran parallel to one another and were divided by rocks. 'We've not time for formalities, so you must call me Rolf, Sue. Understand?' Really startled, she looked at him. 'Yes ... yes ... er ... Rolf.' He smiled and, for a moment, looked almost human, she thought. 'You'll get used to it. Ailsa will be glad of your company. She's a strange girl. Much too fat. Eats too much. Always got something in her mouth. She's had a tough time, poor kid. Pity I was so far away when all this happened. You see, my father hasn't been able to walk properly for years - he got badly injured once - and then recently he broke his hip. Now he has to get around in a wheelchair. Ailsa knew the rhinos were due and had to send for me. A girl couldn't cope.' Sue was filled with the crazy desire to say that anything he could do she could do better! Why couldn't a girl cope? she wanted to ask indignantly. She was sick and tired of men who implied girls were useless, helpless ... but she controlled herself, for he was sure to win, she was really too tired to fight. 'I'll be glad to help,' she said stiffly, and glanced surreptitiously at her watch. How she longed for the cool cleanliness of the little flat in East Croydon where Aunt Edith lived. Why, Sue asked herself, why had she taken this job? Rolf Landseer went on talking! Would he never stop? Sue wondered miserably, finding it hard to hear him or to concentrate on what he said, and then something strange, a new note in his voice, perhaps a change in tone, caught her attention. He was speaking of his mother. i7 'She's a wonderful woman,' he said. 'She does her best to help, but nowadays she gets tired quickly. When we were very young we lived in the bundu @ that means miles from civilization. Dad was a game warden. There were no neighbours nearer than fifty miles. Mother taught us with the aid of correspondence courses. She was good and made us work hard. I was twelve when Dad got badly mauled by a lion...' He heard Sue's gasp of horror and turned to look at her. 'One of the hazards of the trade,' he said lightly. 'It rarely happens. Dad was unlucky. Anyhow, he was ill for a long time, finally lost his job, and we lived in the city where he was hospitalized. Mother was wonderful - got a job and supported us all for years. We boys went to boarding school. You'll find it hard to believe when you see her, for she's so small and frail, but inside her she's tough and full of courage.' How different his voice was. Sue thought. How proudly he spoke of his mother, and with what tenderness. So the great Mr. Landseer has an Achilles' heel, she thought. He loves his mother dearly - so he's not as inhuman as he seems. He slowed up the Rover. 'Ten minutes and we're there, Sue. Now you're in the picture. Sorry this has been a bumpy ride. Israel said the car was out of order. He's a fine mechanic, so it'll soon be fixed. Ailsa or I will show you the way to Malooki, the nearest town, so you can do the shopping for us. You did say you could drive?' That had been another of the requirements for the job and one that had eliminated quite a few of the applicants. 'I used to drive in Cornwall but haven't driven in big cities,' Sue told him, closing her eyes again as she remembered their big shabby but powerful Chev. 'I'd only passed 18 my test six months before ... before they died,' she added, her voice uneven. 'You won't have to drive in a city here,' Rolf said, his voice amused, 'but there are other hazards. Talk of the ...!' he muttered, as braking and skidding down the steep road in the thick dust, he drew the Rover up as a herd of goats leaped down the rocky side of the bank and jumped across the road, taking their time, some of the tiny goats turning to look at the car. 'Animals are the big problem,' Rolf went on as he began to drive again. 'Cows wandering about, sometimes sheep, but goats are the worst. They have no traffic sense at all.' Sue turned to look back at the goats scrambling down the steep mountainside and met the eyes of Israel. He looked amused as if surprised at her interest in something like goats. He was wearing a white shirt and khaki slacks and a cigarette dangled from his mouth. She turned away, straightened her crumpled skirt and began to feel better. She looked around her with fresh interest. It was really very lovely, she told herself. But it was the emptiness, the lack of houses or of life that struck her most. The brown fields stretching away - only they weren't fields, for there were no hedges or fences. Just grass falling down the steep mountain slopes, clumps of trees, a few huts here and there, glimpses of water in the distance. 'You're not seei
ng Nwale at its best,' Rolf told her. 'When the rains come everything'll be different. You see, the summer is our rainy season and September out here is spring. That's why the grass is so yellow, it needs rain. Luckily we don't have many problems of water in the reserve, we've built dams, got springs.' 'What made you have a game reserve?' Sue asked. 'It's a long story. Tomorrow we'll go on a tour of inspeci9 tion and I'll tell you the whole thing,' Rolf said, sounding quite friendly. 'We won't do much tomorrow. We both could do with a day off.' He stared at her. 'You're looking tired,' he said accusingly. She was about to deny it, but changed her mind. 'Yes, I am. Very.' 'An early night and you'll feel a different person. I do, already. It's something in the air.' She saw that he meant it. He did look different, too. In London he had been stiff and dignified, speaking curtly, encouraging no questions. Now he seemed much more relaxed and even friendly, though there was still an air of assurance - even of arrogance that irritated and annoyed her. She had a feeling that he ... well, not exactly despised her, but his patronizing air infuriated her. 'Just on the other side,' he said, and Sue stared ahead. Her weariness temporarily forgotten now, she saw how beautiful it all was. The distant ranges of mountains were a strange blue, a line of mist drifted across the valley, she saw some silvery trickles of water, the grass was a golden brown, sun-scorched, rain-starved. Tall dark mountains threw shadows on the valley below. Rolf seemed to sense her interest, for he turned to look at her. 'Those are the Phalote Mountains,' he said. 'They are the burial grounds - sacred property. No one may go there without the Paramount Chief's permission.' They reached the top of the mountain and there was a big notice by a side track. 'GAME RESERyE' Sue read the words and saw Rolf was frowning. 'He's not kept up the road properly,' he said crossly, turned and spoke over his shoulder to Israel. The African leaned forward and answered. Sue could not understand a 20 word, since they spoke in a strange language, but she saw that Rolf was angry and that Israel was shrugging his shoulders as if it was none of his business. They stopped at a big wire gate and another African came to open it, his white teeth flashing as he smiled, listened to something Rolf said, vanished into what looked like a sentry box and came back with a big ledger. While Rolf studied what was written in it. Sue looked round. There was a very tall wire fence running either side of the gate. Straight ahead, the scene looked very much like the country they had been driving through. Clumps of trees, some weeping willows she recognized - then another kind of tree with tiny yellow balls of fluff. When Rolf started the engine, she asked him: 'Is that mimosa?' He was frowning. 'No. Wattle,' he said curtly. 'Quite different. Only lociks a bit like it. Has scent.' His relaxed good mood had vanished. This was the Rolf Landseer she'd known in London. She wondered what had happened to anger him. He drove slowly, his mouth a thin line. She glanced round her and suddenly caught her breath. 'Look!' she cried, pointing to a clump of trees. Two tall giraffes stood there, stretching their long necks to nibble at die leaves. 'So what?' Rolf said crossly. 'A couple of giraffes.' Sue was leaning forward. She'd caught a glimpse of a zebra through the trees, and she turned to Rolf eagerly. 'Have you got all the wild animals here?' 'No elephants or lions.' There was a sudden chattering sound as they drove through a group of trees whose long branches met and entwined above the road. Sue looked up and burst out laughing. There were half a dozen monkeys, some hanging from 21 the boughs with one hand, others sitting on branches, all chattering. 'Monkeys!' she said eagerly. 'I can see them ... nothing to get excited about,' Rolf said sourly. 'Oh, but it is!' Sue's cheeks were flushed, her eyes shining. 'It's terribly exciting. All these animals are free!' 'We do have a ten-strand, eight-foot fence up round the property,' he said dryly. 'If you can call that freedom.' He looked at her and his face changed again. 'Actually it is freedom, for the animals. Sue. You're right. Here there are no other animals or poachers to kill or trap them, so though they're in a sort of prison camp, they're free to move around and in no danger. I'll show you more tomorrow. Ah, here we are!'