The Blue Mountains of Kabuta Read online

  humour. You see everything from a personal angle, but not from the other person's. For instance, you say you want your mother to marry. Right ? But why ? Not because you want her to be happy but so that you can be free.'

  Jon's eyes widened with dismay as she stared at him. Was he right ? She had often wanted to be free to work her way round the world. Was that the sole reason she wanted her mother to marry again—in order to be free ?

  I don't blame you in the least,' Alex went on, his voice casual as if they were discussing the weather. ' Girls of your age need to break away and see the world. The last thing they want to do is to sit at home and look after Mummy—especially when Mummy is so young and attractive.'

  Jon's mouth was dry, but she let him go on. He was right, in a way, though she had never realized it before. In England she had often resented her mother's dependence on her and her fussing if Jon came home late. After all, as Jon knew she had often thought, surely at twenty-three years of age, you were capable of looking after yourself ?

  Another thing, why do you get so upset when you're teased ? ' Alex went on, putting his empty plate on the table and leaning forward.

  All round them there was laughter and voices, but to Jon, it was as if she and Alex were in a small world of their own from which she wanted to escape but knew he would not let her.

  Jon,' he was saying, ' surely you must be used to being teased about your name by now, but you still get angry. Why ? Your job, too. How upset you were about that. Why ? We all know how important a job a pharmacist has. After all, people's lives are in your hands. We know this, so why did you get so angry ? Have you an inferiority complex ? '

  Jon stared at him. Suddenly she knew the truth. She had an inferiority complex. But only since she

  met him ! Yet how could she tell him that ? I don't think so, but everything's happened so fast and .. . and I'm not used to being teased. Most of my friends know me well and . . . well . . . '

  You don't mind when they tease you.' He stood up. ' I'll get us ices. Like chocolate ? Good. I won't be long.'

  Alex, what about Mum ? '

  He smiled. She's being looked after. I've seen to that, so don't worry,' he said, and walked away.

  She sat very still, looking at her hands. Was he right ? Was she quick to judge others? Perhaps despise them ? Was she growing or had she grown smug ? She wriggled uncomfortably in the chair. The way he had spoken to her was like a benevolent but exasperated father.

  Catching her breath, she examined the thoughts that flooded her mind. Was that why he had spoken like that ? Did he see himself as her father ?

  After all, he had gone out of his way to be nice to them, particularly to her mother, Jon thought as she sat alone. Could he be planning to marry her ? She had already wondered, and now the way he had spoken to her .. .

  Suppose one day Alex was her stepfather ? she asked herself. Would she mind ?

  It was a strange question to answer. Did she like him ? Sometimes she did. At others she hated him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he stopped calling her little Jon, but that was obviously how he saw her: as Uncle Ned's little Jon '. Perhaps she was being oversensitive about it ? Maybe she should try to see him differently, ignore his teasing and be more friendly. After all, if he was going to marry her mother .. .

  When he returned, she smiled at him. Alex, why do people keep asking me if I'm going to sell the farm ? That's another thing. What is the name of the farm ? Mr Williams did tell me, but I've forgotten.'

  He sat down, stretching out his long legs as he handed her the ice cream. The name is Jabula. It means

  happy.'

  Jabula. Jabula,' Jon repeated. ' It's rather nice. Was Uncle Ned so happy ? '

  Yes, very happy, but only after he had battled with years of drought and hail and then people let him down, and then, quite suddenly, his luck changed and he managed to buy this farm on a mortgage, and he was so delighted with it that he called it Jabula.'

  And yours ? '

  Mine was called Mukwene. That means a big mountain. Now it's known as the Wild Life Sanctuary.' He smiled. Are you interested in titles ? Madeleine's father's farm is named Pumula. That means peace, but anything farther removed from a peaceful atmosphere would be hard to find ! '

  Why ? '

  He shook his head. You'll be invited there to dinner and can see what I mean. Incidentally, our dorp is called Somahaha. That causes some laughter.'

  Somahaha ? Why ? '

  He smiled. So-ma-ha-ha,' he said slowly.

  She laughed. Some of the tension she had felt before was leaving her.

  Our nearest town, which isn't very large, is called Qwaleni. Odd names to you, I suppose, but . . . ' He paused and gave her a wry smile. Dare I say you'll get used to it, or shall I have my head bitten off for saying those words ? '

  I'm sorry,' she said, embarrassed, I didn't mean to. I'm a bit edgy.' She leaned forward, suddenly able to confide in him. You see, I have so much to learn and sometimes I wonder if I ever will live up to Uncle Ned's trust in me. He must have believed I could run the farm or else he would have sold it and left me the money.'

  ` Smoke ? ' Alex asked, and added, No, of course you don't. Know something, Jon ? Your uncle was a crafty old devil. When he made a plan and set his heart on it, he had an amazing knack of getting what

  he wanted done and in his own way. He obviously wanted you to have the chance to be completely independent and to learn to stand on your own feet. So he left you the farm.'

  He didn't want to sell it ? '

  No.' Alex hesitated and Jon had the feeling that he was not sure whether to tell her more. However, he seemed to have made up his mind, for he leaned forward. When I needed more land for my Sanctuary I offered to buy this farm. He refused to sell it. I happen to know that a number of others wanted to buy the farm, too, but he always said No.'

  Why ? '

  ' Because he wanted to give it to you.' He looked round and Jon saw that the cricketers were slowly walking out to the pitch; the children, shouting and laughing, were making for the pool, followed by their mothers.

  Alex stood up. Jon looked up at him. What should she do when he left her ? Pretend to watch cricket ? It had always bored her unless she knew the players personally, and then everything was different.

  But Alex spoke to her. I want to talk to you alone, Jon, so let's go to the car where we can't be disturbed.'

  But . . . ' Jon hesitated, ' I can't just leave Mum.'

  He smiled. She's in good hands and we won't be long. Come.' He caught hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet, still holding her hand tightly as he led the way to the parked cars. She went with him, for everyone would have seen had she struggled to free herself. But she felt worried, for what could he have to say to her that was so private ?

  He drove back to the main road and then fast along the empty roads, finally making his way through an avenue of trees that looked so beautiful, the sun shimmering through the green leaves and throwing shadows on the red earth road.

  Alex stopped by the side of a narrow stream that was tumbling down over some rocks.

  This is the Hluti river. I'm lucky, because it runs

  through my land,' he said as he opened the car door for Jon.

  They sat on the rocks, a little above the river. He took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  ' Your uncle gave me this some months before his illness got so much worse. He made me promise to give it to you alone.' He paused, looking at her gravely. ' On no account, he said, must your mother see it.'

  Jon looked worried. ` But that isn't very nice.'

  She wasn't very nice to him.'

  Staring at the man by her side, Jon was furious. How dared he speak like that about her mother ? And yet he was right. That was the worst part of it.

  Open it.'

  Her hands were shaking as she obeyed. Then, before she took out the letter, she stood up and moved away.

  Alex laughed, ` I wasn't going to look o
ver your shoulder.'

  ' Uncle Ned wanted this to be a secret.'

  Shaking his head, Alex smiled. You're wrong, as usual, little Jon. He said nothing about me. Only that your mother must not see it.'

  All the same . . .' she said, hating him, for it was true. As usual he was right.

  ` All right.' He laughed and swung round so that his back was turned to her.

  She opened the letter and read it slowly. Then she read it again. And again.

  ` My dear little Jon, I hope you will be as happy at Jabula as I have been. I know that your dream was to have mountains and water near you. This is the perfect life. Alex will help you run the farm if you find it too difficult at first. He is a good man, little Jon, and my best friend. You can trust him. Only one thing, please. Alex wants to buy the farm, but don't ever sell it to him.'

  The word sell was heavily underlined. What did he mean ? That she could sell the farm to anyone but Alex ? It didn't make sense, for Uncle Ned also said

  Alex was to be trusted.

  She tore the letter up into tiny pieces and threw them in the water, watching them float away. And why mustn't her mother see the letter ?

  ' Well ? ' said Alex, sounding amused as he saw the paper drifting away. ' Was it so important ? '

  Jon looked at him thoughtfully. There must be a reason, though she could not see it. ' Yes,' she said quietly. ' Very important indeed.'

  CHAPTER IV

  As the days passed, Jon realized one thing—one simple but disagreeable fact that had to be accepted: that she could not manage the farm alone !

  What upset her most was the thought that she was letting down her Uncle Ned. He had given her the farm, trusting her, believing in her, and although she was doing her best, she knew she could not cope alone. She was forever asking questions of the farmers she knew, borrowing books from Alex, disciplining herself to ignore his amused looks, so she had tried very hard, she tried to comfort herself one beautiful early morning as she took her daily walk with the dogs, amused by their excited leaps and explorations of the rows and rows of pineapple plants.

  It was very hot even at this early hour and as she walked along the red earth, deeply indented by the wheel marks of the heavy tractors, she wished there had been trees planted occasionally to give some shade, but even so, she was so lost in admiration of the mountains that small irritations like the fruit flies, and the zooming whirl of mosquitoes who always sounded so triumphant, for she was constantly bitten, could not spoil her happiness. It was so wonderfully quiet that a serenity seemed to fill her. It was so quiet, she thought again, and suddenly the impatient chugging of a tractor destroyed the stillness and her happiness seemed to go.

  Her dreaminess vanished and she became practical, looking back down the days that had become weeks, and none of them had been easy. On some of the days her mother was full of woe; complaining of the mosquitoes, the noisy chatter of the servants, the television she missed, the fact that she had nothing to do.

  Jon had tried to tease her out of her despondency.

  ' You always wanted to be a lady of leisure, Mum.

  Now you are one. You remember how you hated

  working at that hotel ? '

  But her mother didn't laugh. ' At least there I met people.'

  But you are here. You're learning to play bowls and bridge,' Jon would say.

  And her mother would look at her. ' It's not the same.' And Jon would go off for a walk with the dogs despite the heat as she tried not to be depressed. She loved Jabula so much. This was her home, but if her mother . . . ?

  Then the next day everything would change. The phone would ring and her mother would answer and turn away, her face bright and eager. Jon darling, Mrs Hamilton is fetching me after lunch to go to the W.I.'

  I could have driven you there,' Jon would say, and her mother would smile: I prefer to go with someone, darling. You know how I hate walking in alone.'

  Now, remembering all this as she walked through the pineapple lands, Jon sighed, picking up a piece of wood and flinging it ahead for the dogs to race after. In many ways, her mother was still her biggest problem, but so was Alex too.

  Make no mistake, Jon told herself sternly, you have no right whatsoever to resent Alex, because you owe him so much.

  And that, she knew very well, was the trouble. If only.. .

  She turned suddenly, giving the distant hazy blue mountains a last loving look, and slowly retraced her steps, as it must be nearly breakfast time. Her thoughts were still in the past as she remembered the first Monday morning they had been there. After a long day at the club, she had slept heavily. Alex's voice had awakened her. Drowsily she had glanced at her small alarm clock. It was only half past four What on earth was he doing here at that time ? she had wondered as she tumbled out of bed, pulled on her thin green dressing-

  gown and gone to the window, pulling back the curtain so that she could see. It was light, the sky a strange mixture of colours, and Alex was there, on a black horse, as he talked to her induna, obviously giving him his orders for the day. And then Alex had turned and ridden away and she had gone back to bed, not to sleep but lie awake thinking of him and how sarcastic he could be, and yet at other times so sympathetic. Did every farmer's day start at four-thirty ? she wondered. Would she have to learn to get up at that hour ? What sort of orders would she give ? Could she ever learn the local language ?

  That first Monday was one she would never forget, for later that morning she had gone outside with the dogs and found Leonard cleaning a car.

  She stared at it and then felt annoyed with herself. She should have known that Uncle Ned had got a car. After all, you could not live here without one, as well as the two trucks and various tractors and other vehicles Alex had waved a hand vaguely at where they were parked under a tin roof.

  The car was dark grey and had long graceful lines. She walked round it, running her hand over the polished surface almost tenderly, for it was Uncle Ned's. She would take good care of it, she promised silently.

  Then Alex's voice had come. ' Never seen a car before ? '

  Startled, she swung round, almost falling over, having to grab at the car to save herself. How had Alex got there ? She had heard no car, no horse, not even his footsteps. How long had he been watching her ? she wondered.

  ' I had my own car in England,' she said stiffly.

  You did ? ' His amused, almost sceptical voice reminded her of Madeleine's reaction at that first dinner party. Why must they both always treat her as a child ? Jon had thought angrily.

  Drive me round for a while,' Alex said that first Monday morning, opening the car door, telling Leonard

  to finish cleaning the car later. ' Driving out here is different from driving in England.'

  ' I'm sure it's quite unnecessary to give you a demonstration,' Jon had begun stiffly, but of course, and as usual, Alex won and she had driven him.

  Walking towards the house as she remembered that morning, she smiled ruefully remembering the miserable hour she had spent driving Alex. A strange car, different gears, a more powerful car than she had been used to, learning to drive over the corrugations in the roads, crawling carefully to start with because she was concerned about the car, and then scolded by Alex and told the only way was to drive over the corrugations fast ! She could do nothing right, of course. He had asked her about the road signs; many of them were different from those at home. He lectured her on driving on muddy roads, explaining about skids, warning her that, in no circumstances, must she give anyone she didn't know a lift. Then, when they returned, he had smiled at her.

  Not bad at all,' he had said in that hateful patronizing voice. Why were you scared stiff ? Am I such an ogre ? '

  She had managed to laugh but avoided looking at him in case he had recognized the truth, for in a sense, he was an ogre ! He gave her an inferiority complex one moment, the next he infuriated her. It had been an ordeal, for driving a car with a critic by your side is rather like typing with someone watch
ing you. No matter how good you are, then you're bound to make stupid mistakes.

  But that morning before she had had time to answer him, Madeleine had come round the corner.

  I wondered where you were, Alex,' she had greeted him, totally ignoring Jon. Madeleine was wearing cream shorts and thin blue blouse, her hair hanging down her back. I thought I could help Jon as regards shopping and coping with the staff as she isn't used to servants.'

  Alex had given her a strange smile, Jon remembered, and she still could not understand it. ' How very thoughtful of you. Goodbye, Jon,' was all he said, and then he had left them.

  That had been the first of Madeleine's daily visits. Walking along the red earth track, the dogs racing eagerly ahead, Jon looked back on those visits. Maybe Madeleine had meant it kindly and, to be honest, she had been a great help, driving Jon to the local dorp, introducing her to the young couple who ran the store so efficiently, introducing Jon to local people so that Jon's daily visit to the store was something her mother, who always went with her, looked forward to. This was something her mother needed, Jon realized, she needed people to talk to ! Jon didn't.

  She was near the house when she heard her mother's voice and then Alex's. Half hidden by a huge Pride of India bush, Jon paused, aware that she must look hot and sticky, and not feeling inclined to see Alex.

  Her mother's voice came, clear and musical.

  ' Please be patient, Alex. It may take time, but she'll change her mind. I know Jon so well.'

  Jon caught her breath. She despised people who eavesdropped, but she had done it unintentionally. If she walked round the bush, they would see her and know she had heard ! Alex might even accuse her of snooping ! Her mother would be horribly embarrassed. There was only one solution, so Jon turned quickly, walking towards the back door and going into the house through the kitchen, then quietly into the bathroom for a shower. Perhaps when she came out, Alex would have gone.

  In any case, why had he come ? And what had her mother meant ? Jon asked herself as the tepid water bounced off her hot sticky skin.