Black Mischief (24 page)

‘I'm sorry, sir?

‘You said the words at the party at Muthaiga. We didn't meet. I'm the next brother down, soon to be known as Reuben Rubai, MP for this whole place.'

Stephen Kamau put his mind on red alert. He had been rushing with some late orders when the call came to return to the office. For the moment, he must shut out business worries and focus totally on this young man and whatever problem he was about to present.

‘Get your people together. Some place where I can … talk to them, make a speech, yeah, make a speech.'

‘But Bwana Alex and Bwana Tom are away on business.'

‘What's that got to do with it?'

‘I don't have the authority.'

‘No problem. I can give you the authority. Right now.'

‘Sir, if we stop the workers now, we will lose tonight's consignments. It will cost many thousands of shillings.'

Frank saw danger here. This big flower man was having difficulty in holding in check an anger that Reuben had not noticed. He drew his arrogant pupil to one side.

‘Go through with this and you'll be answering to the boss when we get back. It won't be me that will giving your father the news.'

Self-centred Reuben was quick to assess situations in terms of profit and loss. On Frank's advice, he saw that he was not going to win this contest. But there was the matter of losing face. With great speed he switched tacks and, in the process, caught the senior foreman of Londiani off guard.

‘Do you have a new woman working here, by the name of Lydia?'

‘We are taking on new people all the time.'

‘You'd remember this one. City girl, a cutie, not one of your local heavies.'

‘I'll have somebody check it out.'

‘Forget it. No good upsetting the works. Maybe, one day, I'll have one of these money making places myself. I've got other business to deal with today. Kwaheri, Mister Flower Man.'

So it was back down the driveway to South Lake Road and a left turn towards town. They had gone only a hundred metres when Reuben had new orders for his support men.

‘Stop! I'm getting out. I need some air. I know this area. Charlie, I won't be needing protection. You three go back into town. Get yourselves some lunch and be back here by two. If I'm late …' He smiled imperiously, ‘ just wait!'

The Mercedes sped off with its three occupants relieved to have been given a freedom break. As they moved away, Frank noticed another sign for Londiani, this time pointing down a murram track. Reuben had taken the turn and as he strode along, he kept glancing to his right, through the gaps in the hedge. This was no casual stroll of a city boy seeking fresh country air. His target was specific and close at hand.

The newly built house was set on a low rise with views in all directions, across the plains to the distant hills and, much closer, to the lake where he could see the grey-blue waters riffled into tiny waves by the breeze of the late morning.

If his information was correct, she would be somewhere inside checking on the wooden floors that had been laid the day before. He pushed open the heavy oak door and stepped inside. He tried to pay no attention to the tingling sensation in his scalp and his laboured breathing. This would be the first time he had been alone with her.

‘Oh, my God!' The involuntary cry was quickly followed by Rebecca clasping her hands to her face. The recall was instant and all but brought her tears. It was less than a year ago that Julius Rubai had been an unexpected and unwelcome visitor to her bedroom in the rondavel in Londiani village. She had survived his savage attack but at a great cost to her mental and spiritual wellbeing. The scars would never fade completely.

‘I'm so sorry. Have I come at a bad time?' Reuben made no effort to hide his sarcasm.

‘How did you know about this place?' The venom in her voice was unmistakable.

‘An old friend. I just happened to be in the area. Social call. Well, that's only partly true. You see, I'm in the market for a house around and about. When I'm elected, I'll need a place for overnight stops. Pied a terre. With your education, you must know the expression. Do you know the owners? I'd like to make an offer.'

‘Shut up and go away.'

He was surprised by her aggression but pleased, too. ‘Oh, I do like the fire in those beautiful eyes. Anyway, do you have their number?'

‘Whose number?' She spat the words impatiently. She was angry with herself that she did not have the forcefulness that would send him on his way. She tried again. ‘This house belongs to Thomas McCall and myself and when we are married, we will …'

‘Do you think that would be a wise thing to do? It's only months ago that your beloved Julius was snatched away from you. You and I were practically brother and sister.'

‘Have you been drinking or are you just plain crazy?'

‘Now that was uncalled for.'

On the surface he was toying with her, but beneath a thin veneer of calm, he was throbbing with a mixture of emotions. One of these was anger, but it was not the strongest. ‘Crazy'. She had found the right word. He wanted to take her there and then. Julius had failed but only because her maniac giant of a father had been around to prevent him. He had heard the full story, eventually. Now Papa was a long way off, counting his roses and carnations. Here, far away from any possible interruption, the sweet sensation in his loins was pushing him towards the edge.

‘Maria, is that you?' Rebecca was desperate to try anything, just to gain a little time, and for a few seconds she succeeded. No answering call came, but her ploy had been enough to knock Reuben off balance. A pang of doubt sparked hesitation and he saw that the moment had passed. The resultant cold fury pushed him to be more daring while struggling to present a composed front.

‘I'm disappointed. It's lunchtime and you haven't offered me so much as a cup of coffee.'

‘No coffee, sorry.'

‘But you're not, are you, sorry I mean. Why do you hate our family like this?'

‘There is no hate. I just do not want you in my life.'

‘Okay, my turn to be open. Rubai, that's a big name in this country. A person should think carefully before causing problems for us. You won't sell me this house?'

Rebecca smiled. ‘Never. It is to be our home.'

‘McCall.' He sighed wearily. ‘You still want to go through with it. Don't answer! But I want to remind you that this is not a lucky family. And Bwana Thomas has already used up any luck he ever had. You know what I'm talking about?'

‘Are you threatening us?'

‘Of course not.' His offended manner was not convincing.

‘Good. Now I want you to leave. If you hurry they will still be serving lunch in La Belle Inn.'

Reuben was astonished. What had happened to the gentle, respectful young woman, the polite churchgoing lady, the product of the best girls' school in the country? This was the second time she had gone for him. She was beginning to remind him of some Nairobi street bitch. Perhaps she had been learning from Lydia. But this time there was no back-up and he wanted her more than ever.

Minutes before he had been ready to make a grab for her body. Now he wanted her for a wife. He stared blankly down at the polished floor. He was discovering his true feelings for the first time, sure that, at last, he had something real and wholesome to offer her. This was where Julius had made his mistake. He was just as sure that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to win her over. But it had been ingrained into the Rubais to expect to get what they had set their minds on.

It was Rebecca's turn to feel astonishment. As if by magic Reuben's cynical manner, his threatening innuendos were replaced by a humble, pleading tone of voice.

‘Um, look, I know what I must have sounded like just now. Making unreasonable demands, expecting things to go our way. Things come too easily to us. But give me a minute. This is the real me. I'll lay it on the line. I think we could make it …'

Her look of bewildered revulsion did not put him off.

‘Yes, I understand. But think it through. We have a lot in common.'

‘You mean we're both black.'

‘Yes, but …'

That was enough. His brother had been scary. Was this one simply crazy? The volatile temperament on show in front of her unbalanced her equilibrium. His eyes, the gestures with his hands, suggested a sincerity she had not seen in either of the Rubai brothers. But was she simply witnessing a display of the skills of Reuben, the actor?

The long silence between them caused no embarrassment. Both sides had retreated to consider their position. Rebecca was first to arrive at a firm conclusion. She tried hard to put on a show of pleasantness.

‘I'm sure …'

‘You want a hospital? I'm your man.'

She narrowed her gaze. How in the world? And what else did he know about what she had believed was a secret shared by a very few, trusted friends?

‘I must go. I have a meeting in ten minutes. Please, I must lock up.'

Reuben's attempt at complete sincerity had refined his sensitivity to a point where he did not need her words to show him her truest, deepest feelings. He understood. He had failed in his desperate bid. He wanted to scream out. This calm, stupid woman was rejecting him for the porky faced, arrogant nobody. Well, he would warn her for the last time. With an immense effort, he managed to deliver his words with the easy charm of one who was turning down the offer of a third cup of coffee.

‘Well, that's my best offer. It's your choice in the end, of course. It's such a shame. Decisions have consequences, but a clever girl like you would know that. Yeah, I've got a meeting, too. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Have you seen Lydia lately?'

She shook her head with slow deliberation. He enjoyed the solemn expression. It told him that this was a worried young woman.

‘Mmn, pity. Papa wants to see her. He owes her something.'

His footsteps across the oak floorboards were unhurried. He hesitated at the threshold as if about to turn to say a final word. In a second he was out of sight and into the warm afternoon sunlight. The tension which gripped his whole body caused him to tremble. He thought it might be good to vomit, but the nausea in the pit of his stomach was dry and uncomfortable.

When he reached South Lake Road, there was no car waiting. He was too early. As he began the long walk towards Naivasha town, he looked up at the distant hills. Inexplicably, he recalled words of his mother. She had read them often to him and Julius as she settled them down for the night. There was something about getting new strength out of staring up at hillsides. As he strode along, the sense of failure, even the anger, fell away from him like an old, dead skin. The unpleasantness of the last hour and more was transformed into a new certainty, a fresh confidence. It had been a necessary rite of passage. Papa's advice was proving to be right again. ‘First find out for sure what you really want. That's the hard part. Then, go and get it, whatever it costs!'

Boy, oh boy, did he feel good. And free!

* * *

As the rich, young heir of Mister Abel Rubai pondered hopefully on the future, Rebecca Kamau sat on the bench outside her future home. She let her fingers play aimlessly with her bunch of keys. Maria, Sonya and Lydia would be waiting for her in the new office room at Rusinga Farm. When she looked to her right, she could see the ring of trees that Bertie had planted to give shade to his beautiful garden. And there was the wholesome sound of young boys playing on the unseen lawns coming to her on the light breeze. She had forgotten. Sonya had brought her three sons up from the city. Ewan Briggs would be so thrilled to have boys to romp around with for a whole afternoon and perhaps longer. Their young noise helped to clear the sickly feeling of the memory of a person who meant her no good. Julius had frightened her with his veiled threats. Poor, pathetic Reuben energised her.

ebecca and Tom met under their acacia. He had flown in with his father after a successful day's business on the fertile farms up north. The rains had been on time and plentiful. They had been looking forward to splitting a bottle in celebration before dinner, but Rafaella had a message for him. The brief twilight was over, but even without the afterglow, he would have found the quickest way around the cei-apple hedge, through the shadows of the laundry garden and up the steep path to the top of the ridge.

He needed to hear no words to tell him that she was agitated. The fierce pressure of her body during their long embrace sent a clear message. She grasped him as if she was afraid that he might otherwise vanish.

The story of her day poured from her in a fluent, uninterrupted stream. As he listened, still holding her close, he looked over her shoulder out across the dark waters of the lake and focused on a single speck of brightness. He knew it was the cluster of security lights around Karura Tu. There must be guests. He took in everything she said and when the talking came to an abrupt end, moved his head and shoulders far enough backwards to be able to look straight into her face. His expression was blank and empty of emotion.