Someone Wishes to Speak to You

by Jeremy Mallinson

  Mathew hoped that at least by giving a positive account of his experience, he had expressed his view that peace was not an impossibility.

  On his journey down to Umtali on Monday morning to meet Jim Prior for coffee at the sports club, Mathew had to pass through a series of road blocks, heavily manned with BSAP and RLI personnel. After they had inspected the contents of his Land Rover and made a note of his passport and visitor visa numbers, they had all asked him why he wasn’t carrying any type of weapon, such as the usual self-repeating pistol, for self-protection. Much to the amusement of those who asked the question, he always responded (untruthfully) that as he had always been such a bad shot, if he were to be confronted by a terrorist he would in all probability shoot himself by mistake.

  He found Jim Prior was no longer the relaxed District Officer of former times. He had become very pessimistic about the outcome of the Bush War.

  ‘You know Mathew, I’m not at all happy about you going back to the Castle Beacon camp. I want your absolute assurance that in accordance with the permits, you promise to return to the safety of Umtali at least one hour before sunset.’

  ‘Don’t worry about me, Jim. Look how long I was there before, day in day out – nothing ever happened to me.’

  ‘You don’t understand, it’s a whole different ballgame now. You’d be very welcome to stay with me at the flat tonight. It’s not safe anymore for Europeans to drive alone out of Umtali during the hours of darkness. There’s been quite a number of terrorist attacks on unescorted vehicles in the region.’

  After leaving the sports club, Mathew headed off for Castle Beacon and as Jim had said, the two African askaris were waiting for him at the first police road block on his way out of Umtali. They were surprised when he greeted them in the Manyika tongue and how he went on to tell them that during his time in the Vumba, he had made a number of friends amongst their fellow tribesmen, who had taught him the dialect. By the time they arrived at the turn-off to Castle Beacon, it was obvious to Mathew that they had become relaxed in his company and that in all probability they had not had such a friendly conversation with a European before.

  On arrival at his campsite, Mathew was disappointed to find little left of the hut that Edgar and Joshua had constructed for him, or much evidence of the two canopy platforms they had made. However, as he had less than six hours to look for his monkeys, he was fortunate to locate the Stairs’ group within half an hour of walking up a forest trail to one of their favourite mid-morning resting places, by a small mountain stream. He was delighted by the way they accepted him, as if he’d seen them yesterday, for none of the adult male sentinels uttered any of their usual alarm calls. They appeared to be completely nonchalant about his reappearance.

  After Mathew had carefully positioned one of his tape-recorders, he did some mugshots of two of the sub-adults, playing hide-and-seek in the foliage above him. What had been their infant pelage had changed quite dramatically since he had last seen them and he hoped that by doing some sketches, he would have the chance to identify their parentage. In the meantime, he requested his two companions to remain on the path some distance away from the stream, as he was worried that the presence of strangers would cause an unnecessary disturbance within his study group.

  Although Mathew was disappointed that none of his vervet monkey group had put in an appearance, he found that his few hours of observations on the Stairs’ family had been most worthwhile. In particular when they started to crash through the branches of the forest canopy away from the stream to commence their early afternoon foraging, one of the adult males had spotted the two askari on the path lower down the hill. Immediately, it uttered a series of warning calls alerting the rest of the group to their presence, which turned out to be vocalisations Mathew had not previously recorded. He was also pleased to have updated a number of the mugshots, as some of the sub-adults of the family group had now reached adulthood.

  After returning to the remains of his old camp, Mathew enjoyed sharing some sandwiches and a Thermos of locally grown coffee with his two companions. On the drive back to Umtali, he had the opportunity to speak once more in their native tongue. When the two askaris stepped down from the Land Rover at the police roadblock where he had collected them, their African sergeant was surprised to see the warmth in the way that Mathew shook their hands and said goodbye. Without doubt this was the first time that the two soldiers had experienced such an informal meeting with a European, or had conversed with an Englishman who could speak their language. Mathew could well imagine the degree of amusement that would arise when the two of them returned to their barracks and told their comrades-in-arms that they had just spent the day looking after the safety of a British gentleman on a trip to the Vumba. Particularly when they said it was to provide the Britisher who could speak their Manyika dialect with the opportunity to do some drawings of the faces of a family of monkeys, and to take tape-recordings of some of their noises.

  Over dinner at Jim Prior’s flat that evening, he was pleased to learn how successful the mission had proved to be. He seemed genuinely interested when Mathew showed him some of the sketches he had drawn and played back the adult Stairs’ monkey alarm vocalisations. Over a balloon glass of Cape brandy, the conversation reverted to the progress of the Bush War.

  ‘On the international front,’ said Jim, ‘since the beginning of 1976 the US, in cooperation with the British, have begun to take a more active role in the search for a settlement. The main reason for the general election was the internal political crisis in Ian Smith’s party, due to the defection of twelve RF MPs. They were complaining that the government had become too liberal, and was no longer adhering to party principles or election promises. Despite that, Ian Smith’s RF has managed to sweep all the seats for his party again. As Rhodesia is currently involved in such difficult negotiations as to its future, it gives the country a more secure footing.’

  Mathew was interested to hear Jim talk about the reasons behind the general election and encouraged him to expand on the subject. He explained that the general consensus within the party was that the twelve MPs who defected were reactionaries attempting to put the clock back. Due to the degree of public concern caused by such a sizeable defection, the government wished to clearly establish where it stood with the electorate. Ian Smith reluctantly decided to hold the general election on 31 August.

  ‘I heard something very interesting recently – it was strictly confidential but it’s recently become declassified,’ said Jim. ‘The British Government is considering appointing Field Marshall Lord Carver as Britain’s Pro-Consul in Salisbury, and if this is the case it will undoubtedly cause the termination of your friend Sir Roger’s posting and the Willocks’ return to the UK.’

  Mathew had not heard any word of this from Addie, although he did recognise that anything to do with her secretarial work for either Sir Roger or Michael Lamb had to be kept strictly confidential. He was very concerned at the thought of his friends’ enforced return to the UK.

  ‘Do you know what’s behind it? Is it part of wider scheme?’

  ‘On the day after the general election,’ said Jim, ‘David Owen and the US Ambassador to the UN, Andrew Young, who had previously enthusiastically increased UN sanctions against Rhodesia, arrived in Salisbury and demanded the immediate handover of the security forces to Robert Mugabe’s ZANU/PF, and to Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU. Owen is reported to have informed Ian Smith that the British Government wanted Field Marshall Lord Carver brought in to take command and control of all “security matters”, as well as stating that they wished to have the Field Marshall appointed as Britain’s Commissioner Designate. All the members of Ian Smith’s government were taken aback by this, which they considered to be Owen and Young’s total rejection of the strong mandate that the election results had provided the RF with. Particularly as the results represented a strong vote of support as a message to both the British and US Governments that the Rhodesian nation is united in its determination to negotiate for
a fair and just settlement for the long-term benefit of all Rhodesians.’

  ‘I’m glad to have this insight into the various national and international manoeuvres – I know that when I go back to the UK I’m going to face a barrage of questions about what the real situation is. So many people have friends or relatives in Rhodesia and I know many of them are concerned about the long-term future of the country, for both its black and white populations. All they have to go on are the politically biased and often fabricated reports in the British press . . . The media there still refer to the country as the “British colony of Southern Rhodesia”.’

  After Mathew returned to Inyangar, it took him a further ten days to complete writing up his chacma baboon observations and to move his belongings to the Vaughan-Joneses’ home. In appreciation for all the hospitality he had received from Miles and Addie over the last eight months, he hosted a farewell dinner at the Rhodes Inyanga Hotel to which he also invited Angus Whitton. During the course of the evening, Mathew could not help teasing Addie by mentioning a few bits of the recently declassified information that Jim Prior had provided him with.

  ‘I was interested to hear, Addie, that the British Government is wishing to appoint Lord Carver as Britain’s Commissioner Designate. What will happen to Sir Roger?’

  ‘Mathew, where on earth did you hear that?’ whispered Addie, visibly alarmed. ‘Please say I didn’t tell you.’

  Feeling slightly guilty, Mathew said, ‘No, don’t worry. Your professional confidentiality has remained unbreached. It was a District Officer friend of mine in Umtali. It’s no longer confidential, apparently.’

  ‘Just as well!’ Addie laughed. ‘I don’t know what the timescale is but I will miss Sir Roger, I’ve enjoyed working for him.’

  Mariette had contacted Mathew to say that Willie would be away from Carnock Farm at a maize market for the majority of Monday, so he agreed to call in to see her in an attempt to arrange another rendezvous with Jan before leaving for the UK. As they drank some local coffee together on the farmhouse’s ‘stoep’, Mariette asked Mathew a question that had been preying on her mind.

  ‘I want you to tell me the truth. Are you as serious about Jan as she is about you? I would hate to see her suffering from another broken heart. She was so upset when her last English boyfriend left her without any warning, and her feelings for you are so much stronger. . . I can’t bear to think what would happen. I’m putting my neck on the line for you two, imagine what Paddy will do if he finds out – I’m even deceiving my own husband.’

  ‘I promise you Mariette, my chief ambition in life is to secure Jan as my lawful wedded wife at the earliest opportunity.’

  ‘I hope you’re telling me the truth. I know how desperately unhappy Jan is married to such a domineering man, he treats her more like some type of war trophy than a sensitive young wife to be adored.’

  ‘As we won’t be able to marry until she has divorced Paddy Bushney, there will be difficult times ahead, particularly for Jan. But Mariette, please believe that I love her and whatever we have to go through, it will be worth it in the end. I will do everything in my power to make her happy.’

  By the time Mathew left Carnock Farm, Mariette and he had agreed that she would act as a conduit for all future personal communications between Jan and himself. Also, as Jan and Mathew lived in such close proximity to each other at Gunhill and the situation they were about to enter was of the utmost delicacy, it was crucial for them to both always act as formally as possible in order to convey, even to the most suspicious, that there was nothing more to their relationship than both being close friends of Simon and Anna Vaughan-Jones.

  They also agreed that providing nothing changed, as neither her husband nor Paddy Bushney were currently at home during weekends, Mathew would do everything possible to come up with some excuse to revisit Imire. The plan was that he would be able to stay at Carnock Farm for twenty-four hours on the Saturday prior to his evening flight to London, two weeks on Monday.

  The next ten days passed as agreeably as possible, for both Simon and Anna had gone out of their way to make Mathew feel very much at home. As he had now taken up residence in Salisbury and Sir Roger had heard that he was about to return to England to see his parents, he had invited him and the Vaughan-Joneses to a buffet dinner party. Mathew was later to learn that one of the main reasons for the occasion was to introduce a good cross-section of Rhodesian society to Jeremy Hughes, the British diplomat that Lord Carver had left in the country, and that it was Hughes’ task to assess how the RF Government was progressing with its attempts to establish an internal settlement with some of the African politicians.

  When Mathew checked his Causeway post office box, he was surprised to see a padded envelope from Antonia Clinton-Kemp, who he had not been in correspondence with for well over a year. It contained a two-page letter and a glossy colour photograph from Country Life, wrapped in tissue, of Antonia immaculately dressed in hunting attire standing beside her thoroughbred mare Gillespie, under which was printed:

  Lady Antonia Clinton-Kemp

  Antonia, aged 26, is the eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Drysdale of Bardon Towers, Yorkshire. Educated at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Girton College, Cambridge, Antonia is engaged to the Honourable Timothy Ludlow, eldest son of Viscount and Viscountess St Claire of Hexham, Northumberland. The wedding is due to take place at Bolton Abbey in the autumn.

  Mathew replaced the photo in the tissue paper and picked up Antonia’s letter.

  Dear Mathew,

  I thought I’d better let you know that after finally giving up waiting for you to return to the UK from your seemingly everlasting monkey studies in Africa, I concluded several months ago that our lives had drifted apart too much for me to consider that we could ever have a meaningful future together.

  At this year’s college party during the university’s May Ball, I met Timothy Ludlow – and fell in love with him. Timothy has completed his degree at Cambridge University’s Department of History of Art, and has recently started a post-graduate MA degree course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. My mother has just told me that you are about to return to Hartington Hall for several days before you take up a lectureship post at the University of Rhodesia, so I wanted to say how much I would love to introduce you to my fiancé, whom I’m sure you will just adore.

  I know you too will have moved on and news of my engagement won’t come as a disappointment to you, but I do hope that we can continue to be friends.

  With great affection,

  Antonia xx

  Mathew was initially rather stunned by Antonia’s letter, and had to look again at the Country Life announcement of her engagement to Timothy Ludlow. Before receiving the letter, he was totally unaware that Antonia, his first teenage infatuation, had become romantically involved with someone who was a stranger to him. He recognised the absurdity of retaining any emotional attachment when he was so much in love with Jan. But through his study of sub-human primates he philosophically put such intimate feelings down to the possessiveness of the male mind. He had often come to the conclusion that monogamy could be a difficult status to come to terms with.

  The evening buffet reception at the Willocks’ took place on their spacious, well-manicured lawns. On arrival, Sir Roger introduced each person to his guest of honour, Jeremy Hughes, who was immaculately dressed in a light tropical suit and looked the personification of an English gentleman. When he was introduced to Mathew, he told him how much he had heard about his primate studies on Rhodesia’s borders with Mozambique, as well as how he very much looked forward to talking to him more personally at a meeting that Sir Roger had told him was to take place later on in the evening.

  Mathew was pleased to renew his acquaintance with Michael Lamb and his vivacious wife Denise, and was delighted that Addie was with him for the majority of the evening. She made it her duty to introduce him to as many important Rhodesian citizens as possible, although all of these were representatives of the Euro
pean community. The only Africans present were either serving the drinks or officiating at the buffet table. During the course of the evening, Professor Tom Martin introduced him to some of his university colleagues, and said how very much he was looking forward to Mathew joining his department. David Montgomery was also there and was extremely interested to hear about Mathew’s recent return to the Vumba and the sad state that he had found his Castle Beacon camp to be in.

  During his conversation with Montgomery, Mathew noticed out of the corner of his eye how Major Piet Erasmus from the South African Embassy had been negotiating his way slowly through the guests towards them, and was particularly surprised by the way he greeted him, almost like a long-lost friend. Although the major had initially appeared to show considerable interest in how Mathew’s primate studies were progressing, it wasn’t long before he changed the conversation and began asking him about his involvements with the African communities of Inyanga and the Vumba region. He said that although of course he wanted to know whether they were supportive of ZANLA and its terrorist activities, he had always been keen to hear about the African viewpoint.

  What surprised Mathew more than anything else was that it appeared from their conversation that Piet Erasmus knew about his recent visit to Castle Beacon and his meetings with Major Baxter and Jim Prior. Because of this awareness, Mathew could not help wondering to what degree Rhodesia’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) was monitoring his movements in the sensitive Bush War regions of Umtali and the Vumba, and how much intelligence-sharing the CIO had with officials at the South African Embassy like Major Erasmus, and with BOSS.