The Queen of Diamonds

by Moore, Juliet

  She shook her head. "I don't understand that behavior at all. Why didn't you come to me? If you were having a hard time with your progress, we could have talked it through. I loved you."

  "I really don't know why, Catherine. I just know that your sympathy wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted to make some money. I wanted this trip to be a success or this whole thing would be for nothing. I might as well have remained a bachelor in England."

  She looked at where the rope was burning his skin. It left red angry welts like bracelets around his wrists. She didn't want to be sympathetic to him, though. He'd brought this all on himself. She backed away again. "So I'm hearing that you only wanted to marry me so you could come here."

  "It's complicated," he said, his voice weak. "Please let me finish my story. So in one of the canteens I met someone who was willing to give me a chance selling diamonds."

  "Illegal diamonds."

  "I didn't know that. I thought everything was above board at first. It wasn't until my second successful sale that I discovered what was really going on."

  "I don't believe you are really that naive."

  He was silent.

  She realized it didn't matter. None of his excuses or reasons mattered. His actions were what painted the true picture of his soul. And it was ugly. "So you found out the truth about what you were doing, but you did not stop?"

  "No. I'm good at it. Much better than I am at digging. I don't have the patience for that."

  "There are similar jobs that are not illegal. There are many diamond dealers in Kimberly. Legal ones."

  "I didn't have the money to get started on my own like that."

  "Many of them also started from nothing." Once again, she was getting carried away. She wasn't sure what she expected from him. It was clear that there wasn't going to be any miraculous turn around where she was happy with him again. Those days were gone. "Then what happened?"

  "I heard about a big deal. One of the biggest ever attempted. A bunch of the kaffirs had banded together, taking whatever gems they could manage. You don't know where some of these diamonds have been. You don't want to know. I had become trusted by them, enough that they chose me."

  The wind outside blew against the sides of the tent. Little flurries of dust broke through the seams and blurred her vision.

  He coughed a few times, pathetically. "I had saved up enough that I could give them the money they required up front. These men need that money. You don't know how important it is to their families. To entire tribes. They buy goats and seeds and plants and food. And they need money to buy weapons, to protect their lands from those thieving Boers."

  "But what of the men who own the claims? The diamonds belong to them."

  "What do they own? The earth? They own an area of land and that makes sense when you think of the right to live on that land, build a house, plant a farm. But do they also own everything that comes out of that land, as deep as you can go? Where does it end? Do they also own the sky?"

  "Oh, Marcus. You will say anything to justify your misdeeds."

  "I believe this, Catherine."

  "So you bought the diamonds and then what? You left immediately for Cape Town?"

  "Yes. I couldn't be found in Kimberly with those diamonds on me. They would kill me outright if they caught me. I had to leave as soon as I could and that's what I did."

  "Without speaking to the woman you married."

  "There wasn't time for that. They were probably watching the house."

  "Which means I was in danger all along. But that wasn't your concern." A fat tear rolled down her cheek, surprising her. She thought she was more angry than sad, that she had no more tears to cry. "You might have at least come to me that night. You could have asked me to come with you."

  He shook his head. "I know you have more honor than that."

  "You don't know me at all. But you are right. I do have more honor than that."

  "Then you understand."

  As soon as she felt drawn to him again, he said something to yank her away again. She couldn't believe this was the man she married. Even more so, she couldn't believe he was the same man she'd come to Africa with. "The only thing I understand is that you are a thief and a coward."

  He didn't argue with her.

  She shuffled across the tent's canvas floor, glancing at the door. Had she heard something? "So where do we go from here, Marcus?"

  "Where do you want to go?"

  "I want to go home. We tried this diamond thing, it was a grand adventure, but it didn't work out. It's time to quit."

  "I think we could still make something of it."

  She laughed bitterly. She really looked at him then, forced herself to. There would be no moving on without doing that.

  He sat there looking far worse for the wear than when she last saw him. He had lost weight, probably ten or fifteen pounds, and had dark circles under his eyes. His clothing was dirty and torn in places and, because of the weight loss, hung loosely on his frame. He was a pathetic sight and here he was, not ready to give up.

  "I don't know, Marcus. Maybe I should admire that you are not a quitter, but really, I just think you are being ridiculous. You've been caught by Mr. Abraham for stealing diamonds. He now has the diamonds in his possession, I'm assuming?"

  Marcus shook his head. "No. I have them at my camp. He doesn't know where that is."

  "They are probably out looking for it right this moment. It can't be that hard to find."

  "You underestimate my cunning."

  "I suppose I have."

  "I might still get out of this," he said, straining against his bonds.

  "The best we can hope for is you getting out alive. Mr. Abraham owes me money for coming on this hunt to find you and make sure Mr. Trenton has his diamonds returned to him. We can use that money to buy-"

  "You are getting a reward for capturing me? That doesn't sound very loyal."

  "You don't understand. I had no choice."

  "And did you help David find me? Were you instrumental in this adventure?"

  "Not at all. They just want me to convince you to cooperate. You need to return the diamonds to their rightful owner."

  "And if I don't?"

  "We will both suffer for it."

  His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Okay, I will do it. For you. Only for you."

  She kneeled in front of him, touching her forehead to his knees. "Thank you, Marcus."

  He looked at the door to the tent. "So assuming you're right and David lets me go, can we return to England together? Start over?"

  It was the big, important question. She should have thought of the answer long before he'd asked it. An image of Harrison flashed into her mind and she pushed it away. It had been fun to entertain thoughts of running away with him. He was her savior, after all. But it wasn't true to who she was as a person. She was loyal and wouldn't go back on her vows. "I think we can try to do that. I can't promise you that I don't have some anger to work through, but we are still married. If you are willing to change, I'm willing to give you the opportunity."

  "Thank you, Catherine."

  "I do think I should tell you something."

  "What is it?"

  The door to the tent was ripped open then by David and he strode inside. "Are we done in here? Are you going to lead me to the diamonds?"

  Marcus nodded solemnly. "My wife has shown me the error of my ways."

  Catherine stood up and gazed down at her husband. She blinked away the tears that sprung into her eyes. She had lost so much respect for him. She wished they could go back to a time when she admired him. Even his compliance at that moment seemed maudlin.

  David removed a knife from his back pocket and grabbed the rope binding Marcus. "There is no time like the present. I've fixed the yoke. So let's get those diamonds and then we can all be on our way. Why don't you get ready for the rest of the journey, Catherine?"

  "I don't have anything to prepare."

  "Nevertheless, you can wait h
ere. Samuel and I will escort Marcus to his camp and back again."

  She furrowed her brow. "Why can't I come along?"

  "Why would you want to? We will be going on foot. You would just slow us down."

  "It's all right, dear," Marcus said, now with his hands free. "David is a reasonable man. We will return before you know it."

  She watched David cut the last ropes around Marcus's ankles. She hurried forward and hugged him before David could stop her.

  Marcus's grip around her was weak, a gentle hug like one would give an invalid.

  Catherine pulled away, embarrassed. "I will see you soon, then."

  "Good-bye."

  Tears in her eyes, she watched them leave the tent before her. She followed after a moment, knees weak. All she wanted to do was find somewhere to sit and be alone. She was so confused about everything. None of that felt right to her. It was as though her brain was telling her the correct things to do, but her heart was rebelling at every instance. Marcus and David met up with Samuel on the other side of the camp. She watched them exchange a few words. She hated that Samuel of all people was the one going along with them. She didn't trust him at all. Whereas she had respect for David and felt he was an honest man, Samuel rubbed her the wrong way.

  They went off on foot, as David had said, and she stopped staring after them when they were three small blurs. Her eyes were burning when she scanned the camp to see who was left. Harrison was sitting on a log nearby. Had he been watching her the whole time?

  Looking at him made her face burn along with her eyes. And even worse, it also made her tingle in regions she didn't want to think about at that moment. Parts of her body that she was taught to ignore.

  He smiled wanly up at her, with resignation. "So you've finally been reunited with your husband."

  She sat beside him. "I owe it all to you. Thank you."

  He shrugged and looked into the distance.

  "He is taking them to the diamonds right now. David will let him go after that and he and I can return to Cape Town then back to England."

  "Does that mean you've forgiven him for all that he has done?"

  "I don't see how I have a choice. I took vows. He wants to change, make the attempt to be a better man. I don't see how I can deny him the chance."

  "You could make a choice to do what is best for Catherine. He was only thinking of himself when he left you. Perhaps it is time you did the same."

  Harrison wasn't making it easy for her. Marcus was asking for her forgiveness. How could she outright reject that? Especially now that he was defeated. A broken man. She leaned forward, trying to explain. "Marcus has had a rough time-"

  "Because he got caught." He pushed himself off the log and a cloud of dust rose from where his boots landed. She coughed and stood up.

  "He's very remorseful."

  "Of course he is." Harrison looked towards the activity of the men as they prepared the fire for the evening's meal. A group had ventured out earlier and caught a springbok. They'd have meat tonight. "I just want you to think about one thing," he said.

  "What is it?"

  "You've given me a lot of reasons why you'll accept Marcus's pathetic apology and stay his ever-faithful wife, returning to a life of boredom in England. But there is one reason I expected to hear, but never came out of your mouth. Not once have you said you are forgiving him because you love him. Think about that."

  She watched him storm off, a sinking feeling in her gut.

  David had promised them one of the wagons. She supposed now that Marcus had been found and was cooperating, she and he would take that wagon to Cape Town and Harrison would return to Kimberly with David. This thought made her feel even sicker. This wasn't the kind of friendships she'd formed throughout her life at home. Where one person might go away to school, the military, or a home in the city, but always to return at least for holidays. When Harrison walked away from her tomorrow, she would never see him again. The chance of him ever returning to England was, to his own admission, highly unlikely. He didn't have a reason to go there. Would she grow old wondering what became of him? Would she have regrets?

  She hurried to the wagon they'd been sharing, thankful he had gone in the other direction. Finally, with the lure of privacy, the tears came. Thinking of walking away from him made her feel she was losing something monumental.

  She cried until she fell asleep in the heat of the evening, waiting for her husband to return.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was too quiet when she woke up. It felt like a lot of time had passed, because she was well rested. She stretched and listened for the usual sounds of the camp. There was no boisterous laughter or raucous jokes. Rodney wasn't playing his guitar and Samuel wasn't singing along. Had everyone already gone to sleep? Where was Marcus?

  Icy cold fingers of fear gripped her heart.

  Marcus had said his camp was close by. It couldn't possibly take so long.

  She sat up and crawled to the opening of the wagon. Harrison was sitting outside, as though he'd been waiting and watching the exit. Her mouth fell open to say something, but she didn't know what to say. He looked at her for a moment as though he, too, were at a loss for words. Other men were also still awake, sitting around the fire. They were solemn.

  Catherine gritted her teeth. "What happened?"

  Harrison stood up and stepped forward to grasp her hands. "Catherine, I'm sorry."

  She ripped her hands away. "What happened?" she repeated, louder now.

  He frowned, genuinely upset. "On the way back from Marcus's camp, Samuel saw another springbok. He tried to get it with his rifle. There was a misfire. Marcus was shot."

  "No, please don't say it." She shook her head violently until her head hurt. "Where is he?"

  Harrison shook his head. "He didn't survive. He's dead, Catherine."

  "How is that even possible?" she demanded. "How badly was he wounded?"

  Harrison looked away. "Catherine, I don't think you want to hear the details."

  "I have to know the details. Surely you can understand that."

  "He was shot in the face."

  Her knees went weak. Harrison wasn't fast enough to catch her, so she fell to the ground, her skirt pooling around her. Her knees dug into the dirt and she leaned forward over her thighs, hanging her head towards the ground. "Did you see him?"

  "No. It would have been difficult and a little gruesome for them to carry him all this way back in that state. Catherine, he would have been gone in an instant. He wouldn't have had any time to think about it. They buried him out there… near his camp."

  Her tears dripped one by one into the dirt. She was overly attuned to every detail: the sound of each teardrop hitting the ground and the way they made small, round patches of moist dirt. She stared down at the pattern they made and thoughts rushed through her head randomly, with little organization.

  Marcus was too good to die that way. He'd made some mistakes, but he was still too good for that. Now she was a widow, returning to England as an utter and complete failure. No prize, no husband. Why didn't she go with them? She couldn't stop a bullet, no, but her presence might have done a small thing to change the outcome. She should have said something about Samuel going with him when she knew in her heart that the man couldn't be trusted. Her mouth set in a grim line, and she pushed herself up into a crouching position, then sprung to her feet.

  She searched the camp for David and there he stood by the wagon he'd spent all day fixing. Samuel was nowhere to be found and that was probably for the best. Ignoring Harrison, she took off across the campsite and reached David before Harrison had a chance to react.

  She glared at David, wanting to smack the false, mournful look off his traitorous face. He wasn't sad. He would forget Marcus by tomorrow. "Are you happy, David? Did you get what you wanted?"

  "You can't possibly think this was intentional. I had no reason to want him dead. I'm torn up over this-"

  "Save it, David. I knew he shouldn't have gone with
you and I don't think this was an accident. Thanks to you, I can't even say good-bye to my husband properly."

  "I can take you to where we buried him, if you would like."

  "And what good is that going to do, David?"

  "Look, I'm sorry, Catherine. You may not believe it, but I'm sorry." He pulled a sheaf of bank notes out of his pocket. "Here's the money you were promised. I know none of this is how you wanted it to be, but this will get you back to England so you can start over. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do."

  She grabbed the money from his hands in a way that even shocked herself. The whole thing made her feel like a common laborer. But after all the mistakes she'd already made, she wouldn't make another one by allowing her pride to get the best of her. It would be enjoyable to throw the money in his face, but it wouldn't be smart.

  Gripping the notes tightly, she turned her back to David and hoped she never saw him again.

  As the tears streamed down her face shamelessly, she went to the wagon David had entrusted to her and looked it over carefully.

  Harrison stopped at her side without a word.

  "I have a few questions about the correct way to drive the mules," she said, mentally considering all of the things she'd have to remember and watch out for.

  Harrison tilted his head to one side quizzically. "I don't understand. You want to drive the wagon? I can handle it just fine."

  Catherine felt pangs in her stomach at his kind words. "I need to continue on to Cape Town by myself."

  He shook his head. "Don't be foolish, Catherine."

  "Please, Harrison, you need to understand." She checked the wheels, though she hardly knew what to look for. "Earlier today we were all set to part ways. I was going to continue on to Cape Town with Marcus and you were going back to Kimberly."

  "And?"

  "The plan should remain the same, don't you think?"

  "Even though you are a man down?"

  Her throat felt tight and it was hard to get out the words. "I can't in good conscience allow you to continue escorting me under the circumstances. You've done so much for me already and I can no longer take you with me. It wouldn't be right."