'I must go and see Fred sometime,' I said. 'Maybe I can repay him.'
'He won't want anything. He'll be just chuffed to see you. Come to South Africa. He's in Johannesburg. We'll both go and visit him,' laughed Ivor.
'I guess I also got lucky.'
'I heard about your dealings, young man. Win today, lose tomorrow. The trick is to know how to keep it.'
Ivor then told me a bit about himself. Some years previously, when Stan Slimcop was a wealthy broker, he had backed one of Ivor's prospecting ventures. That venture failed, but Stan never complained and continued to finance Ivor. By the time Ivor struck gold, Stan was bankrupt and struggling to make a living in South Africa. Leila was selling her sculptures and paintings to keep them going. Stan's stake in Ivor's mine put him on the path to recovery and they became fast friends.
* * *
The next week was great. The cottage was close to a big Victorian hotel called the Crieff Hydro. The twins and I went horse riding. We played tennis, cycled and swam in the indoor pool of the hotel. Early one morning, Ivor and I went for a long walk up a mountain.
'You go on,' said Ivor puffing. 'I need a rest.'
I walked through a wood to the top. It was a warm day and midges bit me, but when I finally reached the peak, I had a wonderful feeling of freedom. I could see the town below and in the distance the Scottish Highlands. I wondered what it was like to be Rob Roy, the outlaw, who fought against English aristocrats hundreds of years ago. He managed to beat the system.
Ivor and the kids went to visit relatives the next day. So I decided to cycle out of Crieff and visit a castle nearby. I cycled on the main road keeping well to the left as it was quite busy. Back in London I would have fretted that the Russian mafia were chasing me. Here I felt safe and a long way from it all. The road was winding with steep hills. I raced downhill and then puffed my way to the top of the next one before relaxing as I sped downhill again. I passed a farm and in the distance saw a small loch next to a wood. After cycling for about eleven miles, I felt hot and sweaty. So I turned onto a dirt track and peddled to the lake to see if it was clean enough for a swim. A stream flowed into the loch and then continued on its way through the wood. The light blue sky reflected on the loch's clear water. I took off the bag hanging on my back, stood behind some trees and changed into my trunks. Then I waded in and began to swim in the icy water towards the continuation of the stream on the other side. As I swam closer, I heard someone shouting. The voice came from some thick reeds about twenty metres from the edge of the lake. I swam closer but found that the water had become thick with lilies and reeds.
'Hi there, my ankle's stuck. Can you help me?'
It was a woman's voice, but I still couldn't see her.
I pushed my way through a clump of reeds. She had long blonde hair that gleamed in the sun and she was hopping about trying to get loose. The woman turned to face me, her blue eyes dominating a lovely delicate face. She was halfway into the water and the top of her bikini was navy blue with small white spots. She had a light tan and as she moved about I could see that she had an amazing figure. I gaped at her.
'Come on help me!' she cried in an American accent. 'I think that I'm caught in a rope or cord. I've tried to loosen my ankle, but it's slippery. When I pull, it gets tighter.'
'Let me take a look,' I said. I swam towards her and tried to stand, but the water was too deep for me. She must have been standing on higher ground or on a rock.
I was reluctant to duck my head under the water as her frantic efforts had made it muddy and dirty.
'I'll have to lean on your shoulder to find where you're caught,' I said. I pulled on the rope and she almost fell over.
'What the hell do you think you're doing,' she yelled.
'Take it easy, I'm doing my best.'
To avoid ducking my head into the dirty water I had to get closer to her. We were now very close, almost in a clutch. I moved my feet and realised that we were standing on the sunken keel of a boat. She must have been caught in one of its ropes. I found a foothold while I balanced myself by holding her hand and leaning against her shoulder. She slipped a few times, but I managed to stop her falling in. She was getting flustered, but I had to turn her in various directions to see if there was any slack in the rope.
In the end it was hopeless and I had to take a deep breath, close my eyes and go under. I felt her ankle and the rope and started to work on the slimy knot. It was too tight. So I came up for air and went down again with my eyes closed, clutching and following the length of the rope to find out where it was attached to the boat. It led to the end of the keel and was tied to the tip of what was once a rowing boat. I came up again, gasping for breath and went down again directly to the end of the boat. Luckily I managed to untie the rope from the boat and came up holding it in my hand.
'Free at last, free at last!' I shouted, mimicking Martin Luther King.
'Wise guy,' she muttered as we swam towards the middle of the loch with the rope still caught on her ankle. We dived into the clear water to get clean and then waded to a grassy bank. She sat down and struggled to get the rope off her ankle. I knelt down next to her long lanky legs, and tried to dig my nails into the knot. There was a sharp stick nearby and I carefully used it as a lever to loosen the rope. The sun was hot and my body dry, when at last I managed to pull the rope over her foot. I examined her ankle to see whether there were any cuts and while I was doing this, I had a funny feeling that she was looking at my body.
I stood up nervously and she got up as well. She was so lovely that I couldn't help myself and just gaped at her. I was about to say something when she kissed me on the mouth.
'That's to say thank you,' she said. She was about a half a head taller than me and I tilted my head upwards, stammering: 'You're welcome.'
Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me passionately again. It was like a dream and I responded kissing her back, our mouths intermingling in a French kiss. My hand gravitated to the bikini top and loosened the straps. The bikini top fell to the ground and I felt a hard nipple. Her hand was in my costume now. I felt it turn hard as she felt and played with it.
She giggled as she pulled her hands out of my costume and then hugged and wrestled with me.
'Got anything with you,' she whispered into my ear. A shiver went down my spine. I was excited but nervous.
'A condom? Sorry, no.'
I was furious with myself. What an opportunity lost. But how could I have known that this would happen?
Amazingly she didn't seem to mind: 'Have you been fooling around?'
'No, I don't have a girlfriend at the moment,' I replied, feeling that I was a total loser.
'Good, you should be clean.'
She held my hand and pulled me towards a willow tree close to the loch's bank. I followed her through the leaves towards the trunk. It was a small enclosure and the surrounding hanging leaves made it a natural private room. She led me into another deep kiss and we sank to the ground. She pulled off my costume and untied the bottom of her bikini. I stroked and kissed her breasts and then tried to find my way into her. She guided me in expertly and I felt her warm slippery inside. I was so excited that it spurted out of me and I went limp. I didn't know what to say, I was so embarrassed. Would she realise that I was a virgin?
'Don't worry,' she said. 'It happens sometimes. Let's just relax and have a cuddle. I forgot to ask you your name?'
'Jack . . . Jack Miner,' I said sheepishly.
'Just call me Maggie,' she said, stroking me gently and feeling my lower parts again. She kissed me again and I kissed and stroked her breasts and ventured down below with my left hand, feeling the rough hair and moisture. I felt myself go hard again, I then kissed her gently and stroked her firm breasts.
'You're beautiful,' I said. Maggie took control again and was now on top of me. I was inside her. I turned her around and I was on top. She was like an erupting volcano, moving up and down, then on top of me again, groaning and muffling her sh
outs. I was in charge this time and was on top of her, thrusting. She was moving so much that it felt as if I was on a trampoline. She yelped and subsided and I also came soon afterwards.
We lay beside each other in the shade of the tree. I looked up towards the branches and streams of light crept into our little hideaway between the leaves. She sat up and smiled, lifting my head towards her breasts and stroking my hair.
'You're gorgeous,' she said.
'You're lovely too,' I replied, kissing her arm. Now that I had cooled off I noticed that she was older than me. Quite a lot, in fact.
'Ah . . . what do you do?' I ventured.
'I teach at the American school in London.'
'I play the stock market,' I said, half telling her the truth. There was no way that I was going to tell her that I was still at school.
'If you're as good as being a lover then . . .'
She stopped talking, taking a long hard look at me. I wondered if she realised how young I was. I reckoned that she was in her late twenties, perhaps early thirties. She had tiny wrinkles in the corner of her eyes.
'Then what?' I murmured, kissing her gently. I was mad about her.
'Then I would follow you,' she said. 'Time to go. I must meet someone.'
She put on her bikini while I looked for my costume. When we were ready, we swam towards the middle of the loch. Treading water as we took off our costumes again, we cleaned ourselves. I swam up towards her and folded my arms around her.
'That's enough Jack, I'm not as good a swimmer as you,' she laughed.
'My clothes are on the other side with my bike. How did you get here?'
She didn't reply and swam back to the willow tree. I thought that she didn't hear, so I swam towards my bike, hurriedly dressed myself, climbed on and found a route round the loch towards our secret love nest. It must have taken about ten minutes. When I arrived she wasn't there. I found another cycle route and raced down it, but couldn't trace her. She had vanished and I didn't even know how to contact her. I was furious with myself for being so stupid.
I continued to follow the route and by chance came to the castle that I had intended visiting. Lots of people were wandering around an unusual garden. I found a maze and rushed through it, losing my way, fantasising that I would bump into Maggie. No such luck. The castle was closed, but the snack bar was open and I wolfed down two sandwiches. Sex sure makes you hungry.
I cycled, without stopping, all the way back to the cottage. All I could think about was Maggie, her blonde hair, blue eyes, luscious mouth and beautiful body. I was no longer a virgin and was in love again. Sandy was history. The only thing that bothered me was that I didn't know where to find Maggie. I would have to go back to the loch sometime. Hopefully she would be waiting.
* * *
Ivor and the twins arrived at our cottage late afternoon. I was relaxing in the small garden at the front of the house, reading a book about my Scottish hero, Rob Roy.
'Hello my boy. Had a good day?' shouted Ivor.
If only he had known!
'Pretty good. Was lost in a maze.'
Tess ran up to me and held my hand: 'We bought you some good luck presents.'
I had forgotten that my GCSE results were out in a few days. I grinned and followed them into the small dark living room with tiny windows. The smallest parcel had a mobile in it with a card from Tom. The second present, from Tess, was an iPod. Ivor gave me a red and black tartan kilt. 'Make sure you don't wear anything under it at the dance tonight,' said Ivor grinning.
It was like being part of a family. Ivor and the twins shook my hand warmly. He passed me a dram of whisky to get me going. I wasn't a whisky fan, but this was malt and felt and tasted smooth.
I changed into my kilt and wore a white shirt, Scottish style. We walked to the hotel, which was only a quarter of a mile away. Compared with the bed and breakfast places that my family went to, this was some establishment. The Hydro was a towering, huge Victorian hotel and the dining room overlooked a wide lawn where some guests were playing croquet and others, chess. Ivor ordered a red South African wine. I was ravenous and he and I had thick Scottish steaks while Tom and Tess chose hamburgers. Afterwards we had coffee in the lounge and soon the band began to play.
The guests drifted into a huge hall, which was empty but for chairs stacked in rows against the walls. Scots and others stood in groups of four, opposite their partners.
The Scottish music set the mood for the evening. Hotel entertainers dragged all of us onto the dance floor. Tess, who wore a light yellow dress, was my partner. A shy little girl, in pink, partnered Tom who was in a green and gold kilt. Ivor, in a smart cream suit, sat on the sidelines and looked on.
They taught us the steps and moves and then the music began. We were in squares. Tess and I danced towards each other, forwards and back again. We turned to the right, changing partners with the other three couples. They pushed me into the middle of our group and soon afterwards, Tess and the others followed. I did my best to keep up with the steps, but was in knots. Even so, it was great fun.
Just as the music stopped, she made her entrance. She was with a tall guy who looked about forty. Maggie looked stunning in a low cut black evening dress with a drop pearl necklace. I couldn't take my eyes off her.
'Oh no! They've gone to sit near Ivor,' I whispered to myself.
Tess overheard and noticed me gazing at them.
'Do you know her?' Tess asked. 'Are they film stars?'
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to rush up and say hello. On the other hand who was the guy with her? Ivor began to talk to him, but I grabbed Tess and Tom. There was no way that I was going to go up and speak to them.
Couples got ready for the next dance in 'long sets'. Eight couples were placed in each row and there were several sets across the hall. Our set was one couple short. Before I could escape, one of the dance instructors rushed over to Maggie and her partner, grabbed their hands and pulled them towards us. Fortunately for me, Tess and I were second in the row. Tom and his partner were third, but my eyes avoided the eighth couple. Each couple faced each other and the music began:
Step it gaily, on we go
Heel for heel and toe for toe,
Arm in arm and row on row
All for Mairi's wedding.
After a few steps, the couples held their arms up and formed an arch. The first couple ran around with the boy turning to the left and the girl to the right. Then they came back together, joined hands and ducked under the archway formed by the other seven couples. Tess and I went next, we danced a few steps again and then Tom with his partner. Finally Maggie and her man followed. By far the tallest, they struggled to get under the arms of smaller couples such as us.
During the next dance we changed partners and eventually Maggie stood facing me.
'You look great,' I mumbled with a shy grin.
She smiled but gave no indication that she knew me, let alone had made love to me that very morning. I looked at her left hand and saw the diamond engagement and gold wedding rings. I flushed. The beat of the music was faster and faster and although I was devastated, I did my best to keep going. The music stopped and the band announced that they were taking a break. Ivor called Maggie and her partner and ordered a drink. I tried to get away, but the moment that I dreaded had arrived. Tess and Tom, excited and happy, dragged me towards Ivor.
'These are my grandchildren, Tom and Tess,' said Ivor proudly.
He put his arm around me and laughed: 'Mr Jack Miner, their minder and companion!'
'Good to meet you, I'm Hal,' said Maggie's husband with an American drawl. 'My wife Maggie.'
She shook the twin's hands warmly and smiled. Then held mine briefly but glanced at me with a cool vacant expression. I felt the size of an ant.
'Are you actors?' asked Tess shyly.
'Not as exciting as that,' grinned Hal. 'I'm a banker, but Maggie teaches drama.'
'Then you must be an actress,' said Tom.
'Yes I've a
cted in plays and done some radio work and TV, but nothing special,' said Maggie softly. 'I'm teaching now.'
'I want to be an actress!' said Tess. 'I was in "The Sound of Music" at school!'
'One of the Von Trapp kids. Not Tom, he was a nun,' joked Ivor, playfully punching the boy.
Ivor ordered whisky for Hal and himself, a beer for me, wine for Maggie and juice for the twins.
'Toast to you Jack,' beamed Ivor. 'Good luck for the GCSEs!'
I felt my face going deep red and glanced at Maggie to see how she was reacting. For the first time she let down her guard and was looking uncomfortable. The room with its chandeliers was bright. Now that Maggie was made up and looking very sophisticated, she looked twice my age.
'What do you want to do, Jack? Thought about it yet?' asked Hal.
'I'm interested in the markets. Stocks and shares, that sort of stuff,' I said, trying to cover the lie that I had told Maggie earlier in the day.
'First he must finish school. Another two years, right Jack?' said Tom.
'If I pass I can go to work,' I said, glaring at Tom.
'You need AS and A levels before you can go to university,' said Ivor. 'Can't understand the system in this country. Exam after exam. It's much simpler in South Africa.'
'Same in America,' said Maggie without looking at me.
'Are you staying here for long?' asked Ivor.
'Three days. It's our tenth anniversary,' said Hal. 'But we have to go home tomorrow.'
'Are your children with their grandparents?' asked Ivor.
That question hit a raw spot.
'We don't have children,' said Hal, playing around with his hands nervously and then blurting out: 'Maggie, can't . . . We can't have children.'
Ivor was put off guard by the indiscrete confession to new acquaintances. He did the best thing and tried to change the subject.
'Did you go touring or did you spend all your time here?'
'We've tried IVF several times, but nothing works,' continued Hal who wasn't listening to Ivor. He was downing another double whisky and was beginning to look drunk. He was obviously obsessed with their problem.
Trader Jack -The Story of Jack Miner (The Story of Jack Miner Series) Page 10