Tomorrow's Treasure (5 page)

Katie nodded, then threw an arm around the older woman's shoulders. “Thank you, Inga, for everything. What would I have done without you these lonely years?”

Inga showed no particular emotion, but her mouth grew tight. “You be careful now. You watch that Master Henry. You might need him now, but he's a cagey one.”

“Yes, yes, good-bye, Inga. You had best go to your room now and lock your door. Do not come out again, no matter what you hear.”

Inga handed her the candleholder and slipped away. In another moment, the shadows had swallowed her from Katie's view. Katie glanced back up the stairs. All was well. She stood for a last moment listening. She heard nothing except the drumbeat of her own heart. She made her way along the hall, hesitated by the library, then went toward the kitchen. She would first explain about the Black Diamond to Cousin Henry. When it was taken, they must both be involved.

The kitchen was a huge room, usually warm and bright with a cheerful atmosphere, but in the sporadic moonlight it seemed more like a black cave. She edged her way along the counter and past the immense stove, past the sideboards, the tables, the pantry—

Her breath caught in her throat. What was that over there—that shadow that seemed to emerge from the darkness? Her trembling hand gripped the candleholder. A draft came from somewhere and drew the little flame aside, where it hovered, quavering.

Whoever was in the darkness must have already seen her candle. Too late to hide.

“Who is there?”

A shrill, feline hiss cut through the silence. Katie jumped, and the candle separated from the holder and thudded to the floor, bringing total darkness as the fleeing cat shot past Katie. Her heart fluttered, and she lunged for the back door. As she felt for the doorknob, pulled the door open, and bolted outside, she expected to feel someone's hands grabbing hold of her from behind. She darted to the porch, where damp mops, brooms, and trash barrels seemed determined to hinder her. She rushed down the porch steps and across the yard, toward the distant stables.

She looked back once, afraid she would see lights coming on in some of the lower rooms—but the windows remained dark. The tree branches around her sighed in the night wind. Above, the moon was like a silver disk darting between the clouds coming in from the bay. The beauty calmed her. She must have imagined that shadow, and her own prowling about had spooked poor Tabby, who slept on a padded footstool in the corner of the kitchen.

Katie released a tense breath, turned away from the house, and ran on to the stables to find Cousin Henry.

The stables appeared as low, rambling silhouettes against the backdrop of distant trees. The corral was visible in the moonlight, and a tall, shadowy figure moved away from a shade tree and came toward her. She paused and waited as a horrid thought struck her: What if it was Sir Julien, after all?

She gripped the handle of her bag until the leather strap began to press into her palm.

Cousin Henry came into view, a sardonic smile on his swarthy face, the wind ruffling his dark jacket. He could have passed for a riverboat gambler—not exactly the most trustworthy of folks. Yet she had little choice now except to turn to him.

“You called for me, my dear?”

Katie grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside to the shadow of the stables. “We must not be seen in the moonlight.”

His brows shot up when he saw her clothing bag. “Well, well.”
Katie's cheeks heated at his smooth mockery. “So you've finally come to your senses and decided I am worth two of that insipid nephew of mine.”

“Henry, you've got to help me. We must act quickly, and I haven't all night to explain. But I will ask that you keep your ill-bred remarks to yourself.” She met his gaze. “It is not you I am interested in, but your assistance.”

“Sounds typical of you, Katie love. If you were wise you would sound a trifle more … sweet and submissive? Well, go on, we are risking our necks out here if Julien finds us.”

“He has gone to the harbor, but we must still be very careful.”

“What did you mean by
assistance?
”

She read the hint of suspicion in his tone. Born and raised in England, Henry sounded more British than the rest of the family, who spoke with the Afrikaner accent. Henry's father, Squire George Chantry, owned the grand estate of Rookswood in the village of Grimston Way. Henry's older brother, Lyle, had married one of Lady Brewster's two daughters, Honoria—sister to Caroline, Henry's poor wife.

Katie clamped her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering and lifted her chin, hoping she looked brave when she felt otherwise.

“I have a bargain to present to you.”

His dark brows arched at that. “What kind of bargain?”

She looked at him squarely; she needed to at least appear confident. “I overheard your discussion with your stepbrother. You need financial backing for your expedition. A gold discovery, isn't it?”

“You were eavesdropping?”

“Oh, Henry, there is no time for that. Do you want to hear my plan or not?”

“First things first. Why is it you are not turning to your beloved Anthony for help? When I left here two years ago you insisted you were madly in love with the innocuous fellow.”

“And you, Cousin Henry, were about to be married.”

“After you turned me down.”

“That doesn't matter now. Are you interested in listening or not?”

“About my nephew Anthony—”

She tried to hide her consternation. “Never mind him. I don't know where he is, nor do I care! He lied to me. I loathe him.” She clenched her hands to still the trembling that threatened to overcome her.

Henry's eyes narrowed as he studied her. Clearly, he was alert and not easily deterred. She should have known he would demand complicated explanations as to why her relationship with his wife's nephew had turned sour.

She stiffened when she felt his fingers on her face. He cupped her chin and turned her toward the moonlight, his gaze searching hers until he must have guessed what she was hiding, for the corner of his mouth tipped.

“So that's how it is, is it?”

She jerked her chin away and stepped back. “Please, don't. Sir Julien has humiliated me enough.”

“So, you discovered too late that the cherished Anthony is a louse. I doubt he has given you a second thought since going to London. You should have listened to me. What has he done, abandoned you while he makes arrangements to marry Lord Montieth's charming heiress?”

“Oh, keep quiet!” She felt his words like a blow, and tears rushed to her eyes. She wished to throw his words back into his face, but common sense restrained her. She could not afford to anger him, not when she needed him so desperately.

“Your emotions tell me this is no ordinary jilt. What is it?”

She avoided his eyes and bit her lip, then turned her back. The words lodged in her throat like thorns. How humiliating to have to confess to a man like Henry Chantry that she had been a fool.

“I have a baby.” How painful so few words could be!

He remained silent, and she thought he must be stunned.

She whirled to face him. “I
must
escape. I want to leave Capetown forever, to go to America with my baby—to get away from Sir Julien's power over me. He took my baby away.” Her voice cracked as pain chipped at her heart. “I've found out she's at the mission station near Isandlwana—Jendaya told me.”

“The Zulu woman?”

“Yes. I must go to Isandlwana, find my daughter, and board a ship at Port Elizabeth bound for England. From there, if my plan works, I'll sail for New York.”

He looked at her. She began to fear he would utterly refuse her, but then he spoke at last, as brutally honest as she.

“And you want me to rescue Anthony's illegitimate child?”

“She is
my
daughter. I—I've no one else to turn to for help.”

“You were a fool to trust him, Katie.”

“Yes, I know that now. Will you help me?”

“It will take money to accomplish all this,” he said flatly, “and I don't have it. Julien turned me down this afternoon, though I'm an heir to the diamond enterprise the same as he. He controls everything, thanks to old Ebenezer.”

Ebenezer Bley. Katie knew he was the first in the extended family to come to Capetown. He'd been at Kimberly when the first diamond was found there, as well as on the river when the first gold was discovered. His wily ability to manipulate was well known. Hadn't he wheedled his way into the circle of just a few men who controlled these finds, thereby becoming wealthy and politically powerful both in Capetown and in London? Ebenezer died a very old man and left his son Julien the controlling interest over the family fortune. He must have felt that Julien would make the best financial patriarch.

Circumstances had proven Ebenezer right, Katie thought bitterly. Sir Julien even administered her portion of her father's fortune to control her future for the benefit of the diamond business as though she, a van Buren, were a relation.

“You understand what you're up against.” Henry's question pulled her back to matters at hand. “How do you expect to pay for the ocean passage?”

“By taking some of what is being held back from me and from my daughter. What is partly yours as well. It—It would not be the same as stealing.”

“Has Julien ever suggested giving you some diamonds from the inheritance your father left you?”

“He will give me little unless I marry according to his wishes. He took my baby and gave her to the mission and has plans to send me to Europe for a year. As if that would heal my heart! He intends to arrange a marriage for me that suits
his
plans for the Kimberly mines. That is all he devotes himself to—the diamond mines.” Her voice quavered, and she cast another glance over her shoulder toward the house, where all was in shadow. The sound of the wind in the treetops and the creaking of the stables sent ripples of fear along her skin. What if Julien was watching, what if he knew? She remembered the pistol he kept. What if he was trying to trap her and Cousin Henry? He had used such a loud voice out on the front lawn—could it have been to draw her attention? To make her think he was leaving?

No, that couldn't be. Sir Julien would never expect her to take the Black Diamond.

“Then are you are thinking of taking some diamonds from Cape House?”

This time it was she who arched her brows. “As though you have not thought that very thing.”

“I admit it. But if I help you, what do I get out of this?”

So like Cousin Henry to ask that, yet how could she blame him? She lifted her chin and confronted his hard gaze. She pretended brashness, using a masquerade of boldness to shield her precariousness. “You will get the same as what I intend to have—something of great value, Cousin Henry—the Black Diamond.”

His breath stopped short. “The Black Diamond!” he repeated in a soft murmur. “Are you out of your mind? Julien keeps it well hidden—he worships that stone. It would be next to impossible to get your hands on it.”

“You think so? It is because he worships it that he keeps his little idol where he can admire it anytime he desires without having to be seen going back and forth, to and from the safe. I know where he hides it.”

“Ah!” He seemed taken aback, and she could well believe he wondered how she had managed to discover such a thing. “The Black Diamond. If I could just get my hands on it—”

“You say it belongs to the Chantrys?”

“It does,” he stated firmly. “My father was there when it was found. Though Julien denies this, there is even some evidence that my father is the one who dislodged it from the strata.”

“
My
father, Carl van Buren, helped to find that mine, yet Julien keeps the mine for himself.”

“I can hardly believe you know where it is, Katie. You must be dreaming.”

“Dreaming of escape and freedom, yes”—she took hold of his arm—“and desperate enough to take what is mine. I know where the diamond is. We can get it and be on our way to Isandlwana at once. I—I will share with you whatever price the diamond brings on the London market, fifty-fifty.”

“It will need to be sold on the smuggling market. London, maybe. Russia, France—the Vatican …”

“But we need money now to get us to England!”

He regarded her, the flicker of condescension clear in his eyes. “If we are going to steal the Black Diamond, my dear, then we might as well help ourselves to anything else we need. In moderation, of course.” He laughed and took hold of her arms, pulling her toward him. “We belong together, Katie love. What scoundrels we both are.”

She wrenched free. “Speak for yourself, Cousin. I am not a thief.”

“No? Dear Julien will come to quite a different conclusion, even though he's the real thief. Not that it matters to me. Evidently, it doesn't to you, either.”

It did matter. She could imagine her father frowning in sadness if he could see her now. She could remember him reading the Commandments to her when she was a little girl. “Thou shalt not steal … Thou shalt not—”

But all that was behind her now. She had grown up isolated from the religious instruction that had meant so much to her father and the
van Buren family of Afrikaners. She would do whatever she must to be free. And to have her daughter restored to her. Surely her father would understand that?

She fixed her gaze on Henry. “Well? Do we have a bargain?”

In the moonlight she saw his mouth turn into a slender smile beneath his mustache. “We have a bargain, Katie. Now suppose you tell me where the Black Diamond is hidden.”

For just a moment she could not escape the sensation that she was a fool to trust him—then, feeling his fingers enclose her arm and a tide of warm strength surge through her, she pushed the notion aside. She must take this chance.