“I don’t–”
Crystal would not let him continue. “When he asked her to marry him, Alana could not refuse after all the kindness he had shown her. And let me tell you something else, Rafael Montgomery! Edward Parkins was a kind and gentle man who not only gave everything unselfishly to Alana but also backed both of us in our fight against Allison.
“Alana never forgot you, Rafe, not once. She spent enormous sums of money trying to find out who Allison’s agents were in South Africa, for she wanted to expose them and have them sent to prison for killing you!”
“Stop!” Rafe roared, turning to face his sister.
“No!” Crystal shouted back. “You think about what I’ve told you, Rafael, and you think hard! For I will not have any brother of mine treat a person I love the way you are treating Alana.”
With that, Crystal left Rafe alone, to try to come to terms with himself.
~~~~
Alana wandered alone beneath the stars that covered the South African plateau. The scents carried upon the night breezes were vastly different from those with which she’d grown up. The night sounds were totally unfamiliar, too, yet she felt no fear of the night or of the land, because it was now a part of her.
What she felt, was alienation from Rafe. Although she’d tried to prepare herself for this, it was worse than she had imagined. She’d hoped he would understand, but she knew he had been through a great deal already and had never expected this.
Her love for him helped her to empathize with what he was undergoing. Even if he rejected her, the fact that he was alive and free was important to her, for she would always love him, come what may.
Clearing her mind, Alana turned and went back to the campsite. She saw that Rafe was gone, and Crystal was talking with Chaco. Silently she went to her blankets and lay down beneath the vast African sky. As tired as she was from the long day and all the excitement, she could not sleep.
Rafe stayed away from the camp for the entire night, trying to sort out the thoughts that warred within him. Every time he tried to push Alana’s marriage from his mind, the image of her with another man attacked him mercilessly.
When day chased night away, he gave up his fight and returned to camp. After eating a light meal in silence, they set out again. The two women went into the coach, while Rafe went up to the driver’s seat with the driver.
At noon, when the coach stopped, Chaco came over to them. He smiled sadly at Crystal and Alana, and then grasped Rafe’s hand in his.
“I must leave you now,” he told them. “My men reported the guards are a half day distant. We are at the border of my lands. The guards will not go into Basutoland; they will believe Rafe is hiding there. My warriors will cover your tracks until tonight to assure your escape.”
“Chaco,” Alana said, walking to him and taking his hand in hers, “thank you for everything. I shall never forget you.”
“Nor I,” Crystal stated as she joined Alana. Instead of speaking she used her hands to sign.
You are more than a friend to me. You are my brother also.
Chaco nodded his head. As you are my sister. Find peace now, make a life for yourself, Chaco pleaded.
You know me too well, Crystal signed. I have not yet taken my vengeance.
Strike swiftly, sister, before he learns too much.
I shall, Crystal promised. Now return home and show your people your greatness.
Chaco nodded and stepped back. As the two women watched, he gathered his people around him and walked proudly away.
After they were gone, Crystal spoke. “We have to move quickly. There is still more to be done.”
“What else?” Rafe asked, unaware of all their plans.
“The man who arranged for you to become a prisoner must be forced to sign a confession.”
“Why bother? I’m free, and we can leave South Africa.”
“But Alana can’t leave so easily. Not now. And, Rafe, Alana never made a secret about her attempts to find and free you. She even approached the governor on your behalf. They’ll know it was she who engineered your escape, and she will be arrested unless we get a confession from Devreeling.”
Rafe looked from Crystal to Alana. “Then we’d best get moving.” With those words, he turned and went back to the coach.
Alana watched him, longing to run after him, to grab him and make him face her. Not once since yesterday afternoon had he spoken directly to her, let alone touched her.
“Be patient,” Crystal advised.
Alana stared unhappily at Rafe’s back. Then she turned to Crystal. “You can’t go back to Allison now. It’s too dangerous.”
Crystal smiled. “Watch me.”
~~~~
Two days later, they arrived at Port Elizabeth and rendezvoused with the Harmony. Alana smiled at the weathered face of Captain Miles Sanders.
“Are we ready?” Alana asked immediately.
“Within the hour,” the captain replied.
“Very well, Alana said. “We will pick up the ‘package’ now. Please make sure we can leave the instant we return.
An hour later, the ‘package’ put in a small cabin below deck, Alana, Crystal, and Rafe stood on the deck of the Harmony, watching Port Elizabeth grow smaller behind them. Two hours later, near the coast, the Harmonay dropped anchor.
By nightfall, Alana knew she was coming close to complete exhaustion, but she was afraid to go to her cabin. Last night, as she had slept in the moving coach, she’d had several horrible dreams–dreams of Rafe leaving her forever.
Rather than risk sleeping, Alana walked the port side of the deck, trying not to give in to the sadness that was only a thought away. She tried to think of what direction she should take with her life, but could think of none without Rafe.
Shivering, Alana turned from the railing, and as she did, she froze, for Rafe was standing not five feet away. His emerald eyes glistened from the light of the shipboard lanterns.
She realized that since they’d boarded he had shaved off his beard. His strong chin and sensually full mouth finally visible to her eager gaze.
Willing control over her wildly racing heart, she drew herself straighter. Smiling softly, she looked at his jet hair. “There is more silver than I remember,” she said.
Rafe nodded his head. “Alana–”
“No,” Alana said quickly. “Please, Rafe, leave it alone. I understand how you feel, and I accept it.”
“Do you?” he asked, riveting her with his gaze.
“Yes,” she whispered truthfully. “It hurts, Rafe, it hurts very badly, but I understand.” With her eyes misting, she started away.
Before she could get very far, he caught up with her and took her arm. “Why, Alana?”
Alana didn’t look at him, she just shook her head. “Because he was kind and good and helped me when no one else would. Because I realized that after your death, I could love another man–not the way I loved you, but with another kind of love. I will never deny, nor will I be ashamed of loving him, as I was never ashamed of loving you.”
“I’m not talking about Parkins,” Rafe said in a low voice. His hand tightened on her arm when he spoke again. “I’m talking about you. Why are you being so damned understanding?”
Alana couldn’t help smiling at Rafe’s complaint, but one look at his face indicated he was serious. “Don’t you know, Rafe?”
“No,” he replied.
“Because I love you,” she told him simply. Then she pulled her arm free and left the deck.
In her cabin, she continued to battle against her tears as she undressed and prepared for bed. When she damped the oil lamp and lay in the bunk, she tried to make believe she had not seen or spoken to him on the deck, or felt his fingers on her arm.
A half hour later, Alana finally fell into an exhausted and dreamless sleep
Rafe stayed on deck for hours after Alana had gone, his mind battling with his heart. He had almost come to terms with what had happened to Alana while he was imprisoned. T
he one thing that still bothered him was Alana’s behavior.
The fiery spark of life that had always been in her eyes was gone, and that bothered Rafe terribly. Yet he had glimpsed her passionate nature when she’d spoken just now of Edward Parkins.
Her voice had grown stronger, firmer, and after she’d left him, he had thought about what she said. Slowly the dawning comprehension that she had done only what she felt right had begun to grow in his mind as well as his heart.
The high-spirited woman he had fallen in love with five years before was on this ship with him now. And he was being a fool.
Rafe left the deck and went to Alana’s cabin. Inside, he lit the oil lamp and studied her features as she slept. Emotions rushed madly through him, and he slowly sat on the side of the bunk.
~~~~~
Even in her sleep, Alana felt someone sit on the bunk and, rising through the myriad layers of sleep and fatigue that tried to imprison her, she opened her eyes.
“Rafe,” she whispered. Sitting up, she blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Why are you here?”
“Because I love you, Alana.”
“Do you, Rafe?” she asked, suddenly awake and alert. “Do you love me or the woman you fell in love with five years ago? I’m not that Alana any longer. I’ve changed. I’ve lived through too many things,” she told him honestly. “I’m not the naive woman you found at Riverbend. I never will be again.” She paused for a moment to look into his face.
“I’ve always loved you, Rafael, and I always will. There has never been another like you, and never will be. But I will not have my life questioned anymore. What I’ve done, when I have been away from you, is as much a part of my life as you have been and always will be.”
“I know that, Alana.”
“Do you?” she asked, sitting straighter. “Is that why you’ve barely spoken to me in the last three days? Is that how you show your love and understanding? Or does your hurt masculine pride, the knowledge that another man has known my love, prevent you from loving me again?”
She glared at him, anger flashing on her face. Her eyes turned a dark sapphire as she fixed him with an unyielding stare.
“I never stopped loving you, Rafe. I learned a great deal from Jason and Edward about love, and about life itself. Love is something given to another–given, not taken by force. I will not force you to love me any longer, Rafe.”
Rafe stood slowly and, towering high above her, looked down at her, his face a tense, angry mask. “Do you have anything else to say, or are you quite finished?” he asked in a stiff voice. “Because if you are, then perhaps I can get a word in edgewise.”
Alana raised her eyebrows but said nothing.
“I came to tell you I have come to terms with what you have done.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked sharply.
Rafe sighed. “You’re not making this easy for me.”
“Really? Forgive me, Rafe, but I don’t find this situation easy. Everything I’ve done in the past two years has been in an effort to free you. Now you are on this ship, rather than standing in some dark mine shaft, and I’m being told you’ve come to terms with what I’ve done! Well thank you so much for your understanding,” she finished bitterly.
Rafe bent and glared down at her. “Damn it all, Alana, listen to me and stop putting words in my mouth! I love you more than anything or anyone on the face of this earth.”
Alana said nothing this time, because she could not. All she could do was pray she did not faint.
Rafe mistook her silence for more anger and stepped back. “I’m sorry, Alana. I won’t bother you anymore.”
He turned and went to the door. When his hand reached the knob, Alana moved; the sound of material whispered in the air. “Don’t you dare walk out on me, Rafael Montgomery!”
Rafe whirled to stare at her in challenge. But his challenge fled as he took in Alana’s naked body glistening in the light of the lantern. All of the old feelings of desire, admiration, and love came suddenly freed within him.
He returned to her and drew her into his arms. His eyes caressed her face even as his mouth descended, but before their lips met, he held himself back and spoke in a low voice. “The last time I held you, you promised to marry me the next day,” he reminded her.
Alana said nothing; she simply smiled, raised her hand until it was at the back of his head, and pulled his mouth to hers.
As the well-remembered flames of their passion burst forth, Alana willed her mouth from his to look into the endless depths of his eyes. “Are you sure?” she whispered.
“Alana,” he said, making her name sound like a warm caress, “I am more certain of my love for you than of anything else in creation.”
“Can you wait until everything is settled before we marry?”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by ‘everything’?”
“Devreeling’s confession. I want to be able to marry you and not fear that when I awaken the next morning you will be gone again,” she said truthfully. “I could not bear it.”
“I will not be gone, my love,” he kissed her deeply and lifted her off her feet.
A moment later, entwined on the narrow bunk, Alana held Rafe to her, and when he swiftly entered her, she cried out in welcome, knowing that they were finally together and that nothing would ever again come between them.
29
At six thirty on the morning of May 7, 1869, an hour before the Harmony was to depart Port Elizaberth, Johann Devreeling sat in the small dayroom where he always ate breakfast. He was spreading jam on a thick slice of bread, and a steaming cup of coffee scented the room.
Devreeling was certain that everything was going according to plan. In another two days, Rankin would rid the world of Rafael Montgomery. Tremain would supposedly be released, and the Parkins woman would not be able to substantiate her claim.
Devreeling smiled as he reached for the cup of coffee. Before he could pick it up, he heard the stifled scream of the cook, and half a dozen men broke into the room.
Devreeling stared wide-eyed at them, fear rising in the back of his throat. “What do you want?” he asked in a low voice, willing himself to appear strong in the face of this danger. “Do you know who I am?” he asked, louder.
“Most definitely,” said a woman who stepped to the front of the intruders. Her silver-blond hair framed a beautiful face.
“Who are you?” Devreeling asked.
Crystal smiled. “Elizabeth Montgomery,” she stated.
Devreeling’s face drained of blood. He stared at her. “Wh-who?” he whispered.
Instead of replying, Elizabeth motioned the men forward. Moving quickly, the men of the Harmony caught Devreeling neatly between them, tied his hands behind him, and gagged him.
Less than a minute later, Devreeling was inside a Maklin-Parkins coach heading toward the waterfront. A half hour after that, he was sitting in a small cabin on the Harmony wondering what was going to happen to him. For the first time, he realized that there was a very good chance that he would die in this spot.
He remained locked in the cabin throughout the long day, and only when the aftgernoon was fading into night, did two sailors come for him. They unbound him, took off his gag, and supporting him between them, took him to the master’s cabin and pushed him roughly into a chair.
One lantern burned, but its light allowed him to see only within a small circle. Shadows danced at its periphery. He counted three faces, but he could not see them clearly.
Pain in his arms, from the returning circulation, attacked him. Before he could recover, a woman stepped into the light, and he recognized Alana Parkins.
“Magistrate Devreeling,” Alana said in a level voice, “do you know who I am?”
“Of course! And you won’t get away with this!” he bluffed. Alana ignored his threat and continued to speak in a calm voice. “I would like a signed confession about your part in Rafael Montgomery’s imprisonment.”
“I don�
�t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of a man named Montgomery.”
“Then,” Crystal said as she too stepped forward, “you shall go to your grave an innocent man.”
“You can’t kill me! I’m a magistrate of the court!”
“You’re a minion of James Allison and a deceitful, ambitious man,” Alana stated, slowly raising her revolver until it pointed directly at Devreeling’s head.
“I swear I know nothing about Montgomery.”
Alana cocked the hammer.
“Please,” Devreeling whispered.
“Are you so afraid of Allison that you won’t speak?” Crystal asked. “Because if you are, then you also know if you fail him, he will do much worse than we could ever do.”
“I–you won’t kill me,” Devreeling said suddenly. His voice steadied, and he smiled at them. “You’re not murderers,” he said confidently.
“No, they aren’t,” Rafe said as he too stepped into the light. “But after living through two years in the shaft of the Bristol, I could kill you easily.”
Devreeling’s jaw dropped. “You–you’re dead.”
Rafe walked very close to Devreeling and bent down until his narrowed eyes were but inches from the man’s face. “Am I, now?” he hissed.
Devreeling’s shoulders slumped and his features sagged. Soon the knowledge that he was beaten appeared on his face. “Are you going to kill me?” he asked, his hands trembling visibly.
“Give us a confession naming everyone who took part in Rafe’s abduction and imprisonment,” Alana said authoritatively. “Everyone!”
“What’s to stop you from killing roe afterward?” Devreeling asked again. Both naked hope and open fear showed in his eyes.
“Only your own belief that we’re not like you and Allison,” Rafe said in a low voice. “But if you don’t sign the confession, you can rest assured you will die.”
Devreeling looked from Rafe’s set face to Alana’s furious gaze to Crystal’s flat stare. Slowly he nodded his head.
~~~~
On the morning of May 8, shrtly after the Harmony docked again in Port Elizabeth, and without an appointment, Alana, Rafe, and Crystal, pushing Johann Devreeling ahead of them, burst into the governor’s private office. Before the governor had a chance to speak, Rafe put Devreeling’s confession on the ornate brass and teak desk and spoke.
Alana Page 35