Master of the Game. Sidney Sheldon
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the mining camps along the Vaal River. The seasonal rains had turned the countryside into an enormous, colourful garden, filled with the luxuriant bush Karroo, and the spreading Rhenoster bush and heaths and diosmas plants that could be found nowhere else in the world. As they drove past a group of prospectors, Jamie asked, ‘Have there been any big diamond finds lately?’
‘Oh, yes, a few. Every time the news gets out, hundreds of new diggers come pouring in. Most of them leave poor and heartbroken. Margaret felt she had to warn him of the danger here. ‘Father would not like to hear me say this, but I think it’s a terrible business, Mr Travis.’
‘For some, probably,’ Jamie agreed. ‘For some.’
‘Do you plan to stay on a while?’
‘Yes.’
Margaret felt her heart singing. ‘Good.’ Then added quickly, ‘Father will be pleased.’
They drove around all morning, and from time to time they stopped and Jamie chatted with prospectors. Many of them recognized Margaret and spoke respectfully. There was a warmth to her and an easy friendliness that she did not reveal when she was around her father.
As they drove on, Jamie said, ‘Everyone seems to know you.’
She blushed. ‘That’s because they do business with Father. He supplies most of the diggers.’
Jamie made no comment. He was keenly interested in what he was seeing. The railroad had made an enormous difference. A new combine called De Beers, named after the farmer in whose field the first diamond discovery was made, had bought out its chief rival, a colourful entrepreneur named Barney Barnato, and De Beers was busily consolidating the hundreds of small claims into one organization. Gold had been discovered recently, not far from Kimberley, along with manganese and zinc. Jamie was convinced this was only the beginning, that South Africa was a treasure-house of minerals. There were incredible opportunities here for a man with foresight.
When Jamie and Margaret returned, it was late afternoon. Jamie stopped the carriage in front of Van der Merwe’s store and said, ‘I would be honoured if you and your father would be my guests at dinner tonight.’
Margaret glowed. ‘I’ll ask Father. I do so hope he’ll say yes. Thank you for a lovely day, Mr Travis.’
And she fled.
The three of them had dinner in the large, square dining room of the new Grand Hotel.
The room was crowded, and Van der Merwe grumbled, ‘I don’t see how these people can afford to eat here.’
Jamie picked up a menu and glanced at it. A steak cost one pound four shillings, a potato was four shillings and a piece of apple pie ten shillings.
‘They’re robbers!’ Van der Merwe complained. ‘A few meals here and a man could eat himself into the poorhouse.’
Jamie wondered what it would take to put Salomon van der Merwe in the poorhouse. He intended to find out. They ordered, and Jamie noticed that Van der Merwe ordered the most expensive items on the menu. Margaret ordered a clear soup. She was too excited to eat. She looked at her hands, remembered what they had done the night before and felt guilty.
‘I can afford dinner,’ Jamie teased her. ‘Order anything you like.’
She blushed. ‘Thank you, but I’m – I’m not really very hungry.’
Van der Merwe noticed the blush and looked sharply from Margaret to Jamie. ‘My daughter is a rare girl, a rare girl, Mr Travis.’
Jamie nodded. ‘I couldn’t agree with you more, Mr van der Merwe.’
His words made Margaret so happy that when their dinner was served, she could not even eat the soup. The affect Ian Travis had on her was incredible. She read hidden meanings into his every word and gesture. If he smiled at her, it meant he liked her a lot; if he frowned, it meant he hated her. Margaret’s feelings were an emotional thermometer that kept going up and down.
‘Did you see anything of interest today?’ Van der Merwe asked Jamie.
‘No, nothing special,’ Jamie said casually.
Van der Merwe leaned forwards. ‘Mark my words, sir, this is going to be the fastest-growing area in the world. A man would be smart to invest here now. The new railway’s going to turn this place into a second Cape Town.’
‘I don’t know,’ Jamie said dubiously. ‘I’ve heard of too many boomtowns like this going bust. I’m not interested in putting my money into a ghost town.
‘Not Klipdrift,’ Van der Merwe assured him. ‘They’re finding more diamonds all the time. And gold.’
Jamie shrugged. ‘How long will that last?’
‘Well, nobody can be sure of that, of course, but –’
‘Exactly.’
‘Don’t make any hasty decisions,’ Van der Merwe urged. ‘I wouldn’t like to see you lose out on a great opportunity.’
Jamie thought that over, ‘Perhaps I am being hasty. Margaret, could you show me around again tomorrow?’
Van der Merwe opened his mouth to object, then closed it. He remembered the words of Mr Thorenson, the banker: He walked in here and deposited a hundred thousand pounds, cool as you please, Salomon, and he said there’d be a lot more comin’.
Greed got the better of Van der Merwe. ‘Of course she could.’
The following morning, Margaret put on her Sunday dress, ready to meet Jamie. When her father walked in and saw her, his face turned red. ‘Do you want the man to think you’re some kind of fallen woman – dressin’ up to attract him? This is business, girl. Take that off and put on your workin’ clothes.’
‘But, Papa –’
‘Do as I say!’
She did not argue with him. ‘Yes, Papa.’
Van der Merwe watched Margaret and Jamie drive away twenty minutes later. He wondered if he could be making a mistake.
This time Jamie headed the carriage in the opposite direction. There were exciting signs of new developments and building everywhere. If the mineral discoveries keep up, Jamie thought – and there was every reason to believe they would – there is more money to be made here in real estate than in diamonds or gold. Klipdrift will need more banks, hotels, saloons, shops, brothels … The list was endless. So were the opportunities.
Jamie was conscious of Margaret staring at him. ‘Is something wrong?’ he asked.
‘Oh, no,’ she said, and quickly looked away.
Jamie studied her now, and noticed the radiance about her. Margaret was aware of his closeness, his maleness. He sensed her feelings. She was a woman without a man.
At noon Jamie drove off the main road down to a wooded area near a stream and stopped under a large baobab tree. He had had the hotel pack a picnic lunch. Margaret put down a tablecloth, unpacked the basket and spread out the food. There was cold roast lamb, fried chicken, yellow saffron rice, quince jam and tangerines and peaches and soetekoekjes, almond-topped spice cookies.
‘This is a banquet!’ Margaret exclaimed. ‘I’m afraid I don’t deserve all this, Mr Travis.’
‘You deserve much more,’ Jamie assured her.
Margaret turned away, busying herself with the food.
Jamie took her face between his hands. ‘Margaret … look at me.’
‘Oh! Please. I –’ She was trembling.
‘Look at me.’
Slowly she lifted her head and looked into his