The Queen of Diamonds

by Moore, Juliet

  Catherine was taken aback, going from confusion at seeing a face she recognized to interest.

  Elsa gripped Catherine's hands tightly, ignoring Harrison. "Mrs. Watson! I've been looking all over for you. I couldn't find anyone who knew where you'd gone off to."

  "I didn't realize you were looking for me. I haven't been at home because my husband has gone missing."

  Elsa was eying Harrison with interest, probably making all sorts of assumptions.

  Catherine, for proprieties sake, decided to go with the truth. "Mr. Foster is helping me look for Mr. Watson."

  "Oh, how terrible. I do hope you find him." Elsa had a large grin on her face. "I wanted to speak to you because I found an old Dutch woman who owns a canteen in the market square. I spoke to her about your parents. She knew them when they passed through here."

  "How wonderful! Elsa, thank you!"

  "It was nothing."

  "So what did this woman say?"

  "She said she'd like to speak to you. She lives in the back room of the canteen and she'd welcome your company whenever you'd like to stop by."

  "I will absolutely do that." Catherine listened carefully to the directions Elsa gave her to find the right canteen. "How can I ever thank you?"

  "Don't trouble yourself."

  As soon as Elsa was gone, Catherine turned to Harrison. "Could we go to this canteen now? I've wanted to find them so long."

  "So there are actually three people you wish to find."

  "Don't be glib. This is important to me."

  He lowered his voice. "I don't like how things are looking with Marcus. Considering he was in the illegal diamond trade, you could be in danger."

  "Surely they would know I had nothing to do with it."

  "No, they wouldn't. And if they decided you were an accomplice, they might mete out their justice on you."

  She shivered. "What exactly would that look like?"

  "Burning down your home. Exiling you from town."

  She stared down at the marks her shoe made in the dirt. "I've been walking around with you all this time, even going into the gambling halls with you, and nothing has happened."

  "We've gotten lucky."

  She pouted.

  "Or maybe you aren't on their radar at all. But is that really a chance you want to take?"

  "No, I suppose not."

  Harrison shook his head. "So you aren't going anywhere, agreed? It's too dangerous."

  Catherine saw a rough-looking man gazing at her and realized that this wasn't the best place to have a conversation. So she started to walk, knowing Harrison would follow. "This is ridiculous. Marcus is the one who stole from those people. Allegedly. Not me."

  "You are his wife!" His face suddenly seemed redder. From the sun or something else? "You are partners in the mind of everyone but yourself."

  She tripped over her feet. "Pardon me? Are you suggesting that I'm not loyal to my husband? I've been on his side at every point until now. I helped him in every way I could."

  "That's not what I meant. I was only trying to say that it is assumed you did things together. And because of that, you need to watch where you go and whom you speak to."

  "Shouldn't my search for Marcus these past few days signify that I had nothing to do with his activities?"

  "Do you think everyone keeps track of your movements and knows exactly what you are up to at all times? They don't know or care what you've been doing the past few days. And we already discussed what people will assume if they know you are living with me. Which might make them think you have low morals and ties in nicely with being a thief."

  "Well that's just wonderful." She started walking the long road again, keeping her eyes on a few tents she saw in the distance. Maybe she should have done that. Bought a tent, picked a site, and hoped for the best.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "You and I know there was no other choice."

  She didn't know what to say. He was right, but it was still hard to accept that she'd needed to make that choice for her safety. She could only imagine what Susan would think or, heaven help her, Angelica.

  "What do you want to do now that you've heard the worst about Mr. Watson? And that he may be on the way to Cape Town at this very moment?"

  "I guess there is only one thing left to do. I need to leave as well. Return to Cape Town and get on the next ship."

  He nodded. "I was hoping you'd say that."

  "So eager to be rid of me?"

  "Not at all." Again, his face reddened. "I just feel it is the proper course of action, and I didn't know how I would convince you if you thought otherwise."

  "How soon can we leave?" She looked around her at the stark landscape, bustling Du Toit's Pan ahead and diamond dealers hawking their finds at every corner. It had been an adventure, but she wouldn't miss it.

  "I will make some inquiries tonight on where to get the best price for those diamonds of yours. In the morning, we will sell them and head for the Cape."

  "Together?"

  "I've helped you this far, haven't I?"

  She desperately didn't want him to change his mind, but she had to say it, for her own peace of mind. "You don't have to do this. I'm sure you have responsibilities and the journey is long for someone who's only to serve as an escort. Perhaps we could find a reliable person to accompany me, like an older, respectable woman?"

  He wiped his hands on his pants, not meeting her gaze. "There's no time for that."

  She'd said her part. She wasn't going to argue anymore. She thought of Elsa again. "It seems as though tonight would be the only chance to speak to that woman who might have known my parents. I know what you said, but if we're leaving tomorrow, I'll never learn what she has to say."

  "So?"

  "So? So?" It made her want to scream. She pursed her lips to prevent the hollering from escaping. "This is my family and I want to see them again. I hardly even know what they look like. It's one of the reasons I came out here."

  "Perhaps, but I still think you should reconsider the importance of finding them."

  "I don't have a true family without them. I thought I had it with Marcus-that I was building something anew, but that was a complete failure."

  "Maybe you should put more importance in the family that finds you. If your parents haven't returned for you after all these years, do you really want them in your life? Do you want them to be grudging participants?"

  "It won't be like that."

  "Mrs. Watson, I've found you to be an exceedingly rational woman. Please apply that quality to your personal quests. I think you will find yourself much happier."

  "I think you are rather presumptuous."

  An hour later, they were back at the shack after a long, awkwardly silent walk.

  Catherine sat on her pallet and didn't know what to do with all the energy brewing inside her.

  Harrison opened the door. "I will get some information on selling those diamonds. We can be on our way by tomorrow. Only one more night."

  "Yes, just the one."

  Catherine sighed loudly after he left. That one night was going to feel like an eternity.

  She would be leaving Kimberley empty-handed. She'd go back home without any fortune to speak of and without any more information on her parents than she'd had before she left. She'd even be out the diamond they had sent her and it would all be for nothing. The thought of her time in Africa being completely meaningless spurred her into action.

  She didn't want to disobey, but…

  Catherine leapt off the bed and prepared herself for the walk. Harrison would understand after she returned safely with the information she desired.

  * * *

  It wasn't until she was halfway to the canteen that she felt the first tinge of fear. Heard the first muffled footstep. Catherine didn't turn around in time to startle her stalker. She felt burly hands on her waist as big shadows covered the rapidly descending sun.

  Three men surrounded her, as mean and as large as the lump forming in her throat.r />
  "Hello, Mrs. Watson," said a man wearing stained suspenders.

  "Take your hands off me this instant!" she screamed, having terrifying memories of the similar man that had grabbed her in Cape Town.

  Another man with a heavy beard replied, "Where are the diamonds?"

  Catherine tried to squirm out of the stinking man's arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "I find that increasingly hard to believe. Your husband has a large quantity of diamonds that he's obtained through illegal means. The proper owners of those diamonds want them returned."

  "I can't help you. I don't even know where my husband is."

  "Why would a man run away and not tell his wife where he was going?"

  "It's the truth," she cried. "I wish I knew where he was."

  The man in suspenders shook his head. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that to convince us."

  "Or we may have to resort to violence," the other said, eyes twinkling maliciously above his dark beard.

  "You'd be wasting your time," she spit out. "There's nothing I can tell you!"

  "Nothing you want to tell us," he said, scratching his hairy chin.

  The three men effectively blocked her view of the surroundings. She tried to jump, hoping to peek over the shortest shoulder, but the man behind her stopped her short. "Help!" she screamed at last, knowing that the body masses would probably muffle her cries as well.

  The man across from her snapped his suspenders and laughed. "There's no helping you. Better just give us the goods."

  Catherine didn't know in how many different ways she could say she didn't know anything. Her hope they'd give up on pressuring her when she insisted her ignorance had finally started to dissipate. Her heart caught in her throat, making her next words difficult to voice. "I have some money I could pay you if you let me go."

  "It would have to be a lot of money to make it worth our while."

  "Oh, it is," she lied.

  Three pairs of eyes lit up at the falsehood. "This is an interesting development, isn't it?" the bearded man said.

  She shuffled her feet nervously. "I'll go get it while you wait here and-"

  "Is it one hundred thousand pounds?" He scratched his beard again. "Because that's the worth of the diamonds Mr. Watson stole from us."

  "It is."

  They laughed. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is Marcus Watson?"

  "Fine," she sighed, her rapidly beating heart belying her sad submission. "He's hiding in West Kimberly, in that saloon everyone goes to." She was gratified to see the man in suspenders nod.

  Then he said, "We already looked there."

  Her face fell.

  "Anywhere else? Maybe the truth this time?"

  Catherine searched her memory for a suitable hiding place. "He is definitely in West Kimberly, at Greybittel's saloon."

  The man holding her spoke over her head. In a deep tone, he said, "We've searched this entire town in the short time Watson has been missing. He's not in Kimberly. Surely, you know that?"

  "I don't know anything!" She tried to slam the heel of her boot down on his toe. "Somebody help!"

  The bearded man barreled into her. Catherine fell back, scrambling to escape the circle.

  "Maybe she's holding some of them on her person. That's what they do. Have the women carry the diamonds so no one suspects."

  "Marcus never even told me about his activities. He wouldn't ever trust me to hold his diamonds."

  "Let's just make sure, shan't we?" He pulled her off the path, farther into the dark bushes that lined the road. They were near the mine now and farther away from town by the second.

  "Please," she said, "believe me when I tell you I had nothing to do with what Mr. Watson has done. I think what he's accused of doing is reprehensible and I would never have allowed it had I known."

  "Just an innocent victim, eh?"

  "Yes!"

  Her pleas were ignored as the short one pulled out a knife.

  Catherine tried to run again, but her feet dragged uselessly in the sand beneath her. The burly man held her tight, allowing no leeway. She stomped on his foot and it affected him as much as one of the desert mosquitos. Then she screamed as loud as she could.

  The short man smacked her across the face. "Shut up."

  But instead of putting the knife to her throat, he kneeled in front of her, picked up her skirt and started hacking away at the material. Catherine kicked out at him and landed a good blow to his chest, which set him off balance for a moment. Then with a scowl and a satisfied smirk, he put his large foot down upon her two small ones and pressed down. Tears sprang to her eyes at the pain, as she felt the small bones in her foot fracture.

  The man was stabbing her dress, tearing away at the hem until he produced what she didn't want them to find. The small diamond she had hidden there. The diamond that was her only method of getting home. The diamond without which she might be stuck in South Africa for months.

  She couldn't lose that diamond.

  "Look at what we have here!" The short man held the diamond up to the waning light, turning it from side to side as though appraising it. "I think this belongs to us."

  "That does not belong to you. We found that in our own claim."

  "Did you dig this up yourself, Mrs. Watson?"

  "No, but-"

  "Your dear husband brought it home to you as one of his finds. And you still think he came by it honestly."

  "I do. He had no reason to lie about such a thing. We were so happy-"

  He shook his head. "I think this is from the boss' claim and I'm going to have to take it back."

  "No!" Catherine screamed and leaned over to bite down on the strong man's arm. He tasted salty and she wanted to vomit, but it worked enough that he released her and she stumbled forward onto the ground. On her hands and knees, she tried to scramble to the smaller man and made it a few feet before the strong man kicked her from the side, his heavy boot going right into her stomach.

  She collapsed into the dirt, struggling to breathe. Her stomach hurt more than it ever had in her entire life and she started coughing, inhaling deeply between each expulsion, even though she was breathing in the red dust. She reached out to grab the ankle of the man who had her diamond, but he stepped on her hand in the same way he tried to crush her foot, and she didn't dare move because she had an idea of what his full weight on her hand would mean. "Please," she gasped. "That diamond is all I have. I just want to go home, get away from this horrible place. I just need enough money to get there."

  "You don't fight like an innocent woman."

  "I fight like a woman who has nothing else to lose."

  From the corner of her eye, she saw the large man pull back his foot as though to kick her again.

  The short man stepped forward. "We're not going to get anything more out of her. Let's dump her in a claim before you kill her and get us into more trouble. Barney wouldn't want us hurt her."

  "Fine. Tie her arms."

  Catherine's arms were pulled tautly behind her and tied with a thin rope. "Please let me go. Maybe I can help you recover your diamonds. I'm on your side."

  "How can you help? Do you know where your husband is?"

  "No."

  "Then you're no help." He picked her up off the ground and flung her over his shoulder.

  Catherine figured since they were on the move again, she might try screaming. A second later, the short man shoved a slightly damp cloth in her mouth and wrapped another piece of rope around her head to secure it. Her stomach went queasy at the thought of where the rag had been.

  Then she realized where they were taking her. The big hole.

  She squirmed, unable to keep still, even though her heart knew she had no chance of escaping them.

  The two men were humming as they walked. It was dark now and no one else could be seen. They seemed to be headed down a seldom-used path of the mine. From her vantage point, she couldn't see where they were going, only where th
ey had been.

  Then they stopped. "This one will do. One of the driest claims we have. No activity back here."

  "Don't drop her hard. Remember what happened to Louis?"

  "I know, I know. She'll keep her bones intact."

  Catherine didn't have a complete understanding of what was happening until they were lowering her into the claim. Whoever owned it had dug about six feet down and ten feet around, carefully sifting each batch of dirt for those elusive gems. But he must have failed miserably and abandoned it for greener pastures. Now it wasn't an opportunity or anything other than a prison for Catherine. An open grave.

  She screamed into the rag as she stared up at the stars. Her attackers just grinned as they walked away.

  Chapter Nine

  Harrison jumped into the hole beside her, partially collapsing one of the walls in his haste. "Thank God I found you before dawn."

  Catherine cried weakly in relief. By the time Harrison found her, she had calmed down. The first so many minutes were spent screaming for help, crying in self-pity, and struggling to free herself from her bonds. None of those methods worked, so she came to the realization she needed to calm down and hope Harrison or anyone else would find her soon. Thankfully, Harrison did.

  She stared up at the stars, marveling at how many she could make out. Somehow, looking up at the sky that was so much more vast than even the bustling town of Kimberly, she felt small. It made her troubles seem insignificant. After the fear left, she started to have faith she wasn't going to die that night. There weren't many claims in Kimberly that were completely ignored, so far away from the activity that no one would ever walk by and happen to glance in.

  Then Harrison arrived and saved the day. He pulled the rag from her mouth.

  She immediately started coughing, happy to be free, but the sudden removal also felt strange. She coughed and spit into the dirt, her face heating up as Harrison watched her. It was a difficult place to be when you'd been raised with certain social niceties. Kimberly tossed all of these polite things into the wind.

  Harrison patted her on the back. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

  "My foot might be injured from being stepped on. And one of them kicked me in the stomach."