A Wedding in Africa (The Africa Series)

by Carnegie, Shirley

  Lacey stepped back, away from the powerful frame and the intoxicating smell of this man. But then, sadly, she shook her head. ‘Tate, that’s so kind of you. Really it is. But I couldn’t stay here. Not now. Not after all the terrible things I said about you. Now that Nandi has told me the truth about Themba, I feel ashamed. I couldn’t possibly forgive myself for all those terrible accusations I threw at you. And I certainly wouldn’t expect you to forgive me either.’

  Tate was shocked. ‘Hang on – did you say that Nandi had told you the truth? What truth? What did Nandi tell you?’ ‘She told me that Themba is your brother’s child; not yours. She said that you’d promised to wait until she was ready to tell Themba the truth about his father. She also told me about your wife, Miranda, and … and your brother…’

  Tate forked his fingers through his hair. It was hard to take it all in. Nandi knew how to read people. It was a gift she had. She could see deep into people’s souls; deep into the places where other people couldn’t see. And she’d decided to trust Lacey with the truth about Themba!

  If Nandi trusted Lacey, then surely he could trust Lacey, too? Maybe he didn’t have to hold back; he didn’t have to worry about getting hurt again. He didn’t have to worry about Lacey finding out about the past, did he? There was nothing left to find out. She seemed to know everything, and dear old Nandi had happily filled in any blanks that were left. Now, Lacey had the complete picture.

  But rather than using the truth against him to make money from it, Lacey just understood and accepted everything. In fact, weird though it was, this beautiful young writer from Cape Town seemed to know and understand him better than anyone he’d ever met in his entire life.

  So maybe that was why he was so head over heels in love with her! He gripped her shoulders so that he could search her eyes with his own. Lacey blinked like an innocent puppy, then frowned in confusion. ‘Tate?’ she queried, not sure what was going on behind the gunmetal gaze that bore into her, but enjoying the feeling of being sucked into those deep, molten pools.

  ‘Don’t go, Lacey. Stay here at Matshana. Will you do that? For me?’ Lacey’s emotions were strained to breaking point. She wanted to reach out to him, but she knew that there’d been too many misunderstandings between them. She’d accused him of some terrible things. How could she enjoy his hospitality knowing something like that? And, besides, she’d have to leave one day. As soon as the book was finished, he’d said. After that, she’d have to open her suitcase again and try to find somewhere to start anew. She could barely cope with leaving Tate today; how could she possibly be expected to leave Tate Maddox, and Matshana, twice in one lifetime?

  ‘Tate…’ she said decisively. ‘It’s a lovely offer, really it is, and I’d truly love to stay here to write the book, but I can’t. I really can’t. It wouldn’t be fair.’

  ‘Fair?’ Tate echoed. ‘What’s fair got to do with it? Why wouldn’t it be fair?’ Lacey took a deep breath and dropped her hands to her sides. She was grateful that Tate was still grasping her shoulders in case she buckled under the weight of her emotions. ‘I made a terrible mistake thinking that you were Themba’s father, and that you were only building the lodges to make loads of money for yourself. I seem to have been wrong about everything. Why… I even thought that you were in love with Tilly when I first met you!’

  ‘Tilly?’ Tate threw back his head and laughed. ‘You thought that Tilly and I…? Hey, Tilly and I are just good mates. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Oh, I know she’d probably like it to be more, but I’ve never led her on in that way. Never!’

  ‘I know. Tilly did tell me, but… well, she’s so beautiful that it’s easy to see why I thought you were in love with her.’ Suddenly, Tate went quiet and his hands grasped Lacey even tighter. ‘I could never love any woman who was only interested in parties and fancy clothes. I could only ever love a woman who understands me, who loves Africa, who loves Matshana as much as I do. I could only fall in love with a woman who was bright, funny and stunningly beautiful; a woman who understood my dream about Londolozi because she had a special dream of her own. In short, my darling Lacey… a woman like you.’

  Lacey’s eyes widened as Tate moved closer. ‘It’s you that I love, Lacey. You! Get it? No-one else, but you. And do you know what? I’ve just realised that I can’t live here anymore without you. Matshana needs you. I need you, for God’s sake. I love you.’

  Lacey flushed as a wave of heat coursed through her body. She splayed her fingers and pushed against his chest, so that she could tilt her head to look up at him. ‘Do you really mean that, Tate?’

  Tate nodded. ‘Because I love you, too,’ Lacey whispered, hardly believing that she was able to utter those few precious words. ‘I love you with all my heart, Tate. I’ve known it since the first day I met you, but I’ve been too scared to admit it – even to myself.’

  ‘So does that mean you’ll stay here at Matshana? With me?’ Lacey giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘Where else would I go? My home has always been here at Matshana; it’s just taken me a long time to find it. And my heart? Well, that’s yours, my darling - now and forever.’

  It took Tate no more than a second to sweep the empty suitcase off the bed and pull Lacey down on to the cool sheets beside him. Lacey arched her body towards him, needing to feel every inch of her handsome lover pressed against her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the manly smell of him and the sweet Matshana perfume that filled the room. And she knew, at long last, that her heart had finally found its way home.

  EPILOGUE

  ‘You keep hitting my head with your hat!’ Tate whispered in Lacey’s ear. Lacey giggled. ‘I know. Sorry! It is a bit big, isn’t it? But that’s what women do when they go to a wedding. They buy themselves a big hat!’ ‘Well you’ve certainly managed to achieve that, my darling. In fact, I don’t know why I bothered erecting this thatched awning for Nandi’s wedding. We could have easily sheltered from the sun under the brim of that hat!’

  ‘It doesn’t look silly, does it? It took me ages to decide whether it was the right one for me. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually been to a traditional African wedding before. I wanted to make sure I dressed appropriately.’

  Tate glanced sideways at Lacey’s beautiful cream dress-coat, shot with gold thread, and the tiny amber necklace she was wearing, and his heart missed a beat. His survey then followed the line of her long shapely legs, crossed elegantly at the ankle, and he wondered whether even Nandi, the bride, could match the loveliness of this woman.

  ‘You look absolutely stunning, sweetheart. I reckon it’ll be a toss up between you and the bride.’ ‘Thank you, kind sir,’ Lacey replied, flirtatiously. ‘But I reckon Nandi will win hands down. Actually, you look pretty dapper yourself in that suit and tie. You brush up quite well, all things considered!’

  Tate grinned and threaded his arm around the back of Lacey’s chair, pulling her closer as they sat, shaded from the late afternoon sun, by the spacious awning. He’d pushed the boat out for Nandi and Thomas’s wedding, decorating the grounds of Matshana with exotic flowers, and bringing in the finest caterers of African cuisine that he could find. They’d prepared huge platters of uncut cheeses, filled wooden bowls with pawpaw, mangoes, marula fruit, coconut and m’Chakata. There were bowls filled with clean honeycombs and there was a delicious aroma of hog roast and sweet potatoes.

  Now, as they sat waiting for the bride to arrive, he wondered whether it was possible to feel any happier than he did right now.

  ‘I had a letter from my father in Cape Town this morning,’ Lacey leaned across, tilting her head slightly to avoid the brim of her hat. ‘Yeah?’ Tate was momentarily anxious. ‘What did he have to say?’ ‘You’ll never guess. Apparently, Mortimer’s left the company and gone off to work in Europe, but Dad reckons he’s better off without him. It seems that he finally realised what Mortimer was really like, and he’s says he’s quite relieved that I broke off the engagement.’

  Tate
loosened his tie, uncomfortable with being trussed up in a suit and confined to a small space for any length of time. ‘That’s great, Lacey. I’m glad Jasper’s seen sense. He’s better off without him.’

  ‘And that’s not all,’ Lacey continued, rooting around in her clutch bag to find the letter. ‘Look – he says that he now understands the sacrifice I was willing to make for him; that I was prepared to give up my own happiness to try to make him happy. He says it makes him sad to think that I felt I needed to make up for the loss of Michael. But, guess what? He also says here that he hadn’t realised how lucky he was to have such a loving daughter. What do you think about that? He says he’s pleased that I’ve decided to stay here with you and he’d love to come and visit us real soon. And look, he even calls me his “beloved girl” at the end of the letter. I can’t believe it! I feel I’ve got my father back after all these years.’

  Tate grasped her hand and squeezed it. ‘That’s no more than you deserve, my darling. And I’m delighted that your father’s given us his blessing. We’ll definitely get him up here. I’m sure he’d love Matshana.’

  Lacey sighed happily and popped the letter back in the bag. As she did so, the African choir filled the room with their sweet harmony, and all the guests stood up to welcome the beautiful bride.

  Vibrant flame lilies lined the walk to the centre of the circle where Thomas was waiting proudly. Themba stood smartly beside him and tried desperately to swallow the toffee he’d smuggled into the ceremony.

  ‘Oh look, Tate,’ Lacey was almost rigid with excitement. ‘Nandi’s wearing a ceremonial jocolo – it’s that lovely five-panelled beaded apron on top of her gown. She looks magnificent and the beading is exquisite. She’s so beautiful. And look at Themba, I’ve never seen such a huge grin on that child’s face before.’

  ‘It’d be even bigger if he didn’t have that bloody great chunk of toffee poking out of his cheek,’ Tate laughed. ‘But you’re right. Nandi looks amazing and so happy. We’ve waited a long time for this day, you know. The whole of Matshana’s celebrating this African wedding.’

  ‘That’s exactly what it is, isn’t it, Tate?’ Lacey’s eyes were glistening with sentiment. ‘This is what a real wedding in Africa looks like.’ Tate turned to look at her and murmured gently against her hair: ‘I reckon it’s time we started preparing for another wedding in Africa, my darling. Our wedding. Do you agree?’

  Lacey took a long, deep breath as the voices of the African choir soared into the air. Hardly daring to believe that she could be so blessed, so happy, she turned and met Tate’s eyes, whispering the words that she knew he wanted to hear: ‘Yes, Tate. I do.’