'I want to go with you. ' 'Forget it. Get back on your horse and go
home.
'I'll pay you-I'll pay you well. ' Was it the voice or the posture of
the lad, Sean pondered, there was something very odd about him. He
stood with a flat leather pouch held in both hands across the front of
his hip sing an attitude of defence, as though he were protecting,
protecting what? And suddenly Sean knew what it was.
'Take off your cap,' he ordered.
'No. ' 'Take it off.
A second longer the lad hesitated, then in a gesture that was almost
defiance he jerked off the cap and two thick black braids of hair,
shiny in the firelight, dropped and hung down almost to his waist and
transformed him instantly from gawky masculinity into stunning
womanhood.
Although he had guessed it, Sean was unprepared for the shock of this
revelation. It was not so much her beauty, but her attire that caused
the shock. Never in his life had Sean seen a woman in breeches, and
now he gasped. Breeches, by God, she might as well be naked from the
waist down-even that would be less indecent.
'Two hundred pounds-' She was coming towards him now, offering the
pouch. At each step the cloth of the breeches tightened across her
thighs and Sean dragged his eyes guiltily back to her face.
'Keep your money, lady. ' Her eyes were grey, smoky grey.
'Two hundred on account, and as much again when we reach Natal. ' 'I'm
not interested.' But he was, those soft lips starting to quiver.
'How much then? Name your price.
'Look, lady. I'm not heading a procession. There are three of us
already-one a child. There is hard riding ahead, plenty of it, and an
army of Boers in between. Our chances are slim enough as it is.
Another member to the party, and a woman at that, will make them
prohibitive. I don't want your money, all I want is to get my son to
safety. Go home and sit this war out it won't last long. ' 'I'm going
to Natal.'
'Good. You go then-but not with us. Sean could not trust himself
longer to resist the appeal of those grey eyes and he turned to
Mbejane. 'Horses,' he snapped and walked away from her. She stood
watching him quietly as they mounted up, making no protest. She seemed
very small and alone as Sean looked down at her from the saddle.
'I am sorry,' he growled. 'Go home now like a good girl,' and quickly
he wheeled away and trotted out into the night.
All night they rode, east through the open moonlit land. Once they
passed a darkened homestead and a dog barked, but they sheered away and
then turned east again and held the great crucifix of the Southern
Cross at their right-hand. When Dirk fell asleep in the saddle and
slipped sideways, Sean caught him before he hit the ground, pulled him
across into his lap and held him there for the rest of the night.
Before dawn they found a clump of bush on the bank of a stream, hobbled
the horses and made camp. Mbejane had the billy can boiling over a
small well-screened fire and Sean had rolled Dirk unconscious into his
