to her upbringing.
I have addressed enquiries to Sebastian Hardy Esquire, my dear brother’s solicitor, as you suggested I might. It pains me to have to inform you that the value of my brother’s few remaining assets are far exceeded by his substantial debts. Sarah, his deceased wife, was a lady of profligate disposition. None of my brother’s daughters will be due any inheritance from his estate.
My wife and I have discussed the possibility of taking Saffron into our home. However, we have nine children of our own to support on my stipend as a country vicar. Alas, we would not be able to feed and clothe the poor orphan. Fortunately I have been able to make adequate arrangements for her to be taken into a suitable institution where she will receive strict Christian instruction and an education that will be adequate for her later entry into respectable employment as governess to a child of the nobility.
If, in your Christian charity, you would be kind enough to provide her with passage to England and the train fare from the port of her arrival to the Bishop’s Sutton railway station, I would meet the poor child there and convey her to the institution. Unfortunately I am not able to contribute to her subsequent upkeep and maintenance.
I wait to hear from you.
Your brother in Christ,
Thomas Benbrook
Slowly, and with relish, Saffron tore the letter into shreds, and dropped each scrap separately into the malodorous pit beneath her. Then she pulled up her skirts and urinated vigorously on the remains of the offending document.
“A fitting end for such a nasty piece of rubbish,” she said to herself. “So much for an institution, Christian instruction and employment as a governess. I would prefer to walk back to Khartoum on my own bare feet.” She stood up and smoothed down her skirts. “Now I must hurry to see that Ryder’s dinner is ready, and to prepare his whisky peg for him.”
For Saffron, dinner-time was the highlight of her busy day. After she had discussed the roasting of the chicken and yams with the cook, she made certain there was hot water, soap and a clean towel on the washstand in Ryder’s bedroom, and a freshly ironed shirt folded on the bed. Next she laid the table, and arranged the flowers and candles. She would not trust one of the servants, even Bacheet, with such an important task. Then she unlocked the strongroom with the key that Ryder had entrusted to her and brought out the bottle of whisky, the crystal glass and the cedar wood cigar box. She set them on the table at the end of the veranda from where there would be a fine view of the sunset over the mountains.
She hurried to her own room and changed the clothes she had worn all day for a dress of her own design and creation. With the help of two Amharic women from the town, who were expert seamstresses, she had assembled her own abundant and unusual wardrobe. Lady Alice Packer and even Empress Miriam had complimented her on her style.
While she was still combing her hair she heard the clatter of hoofs in the courtyard as Ryder returned from the palace, where he had been in day-long discussions with the Emperor and various royal functionaries. She was waiting for him on the veranda when he emerged from his private quarters in the fresh shirt, his face glowing from the hot water and his wet hair combed back neatly. He is the most handsome man in the world, but his hair needs cutting again. I shall see to it tomorrow, she thought, as she held the whisky bottle over the glass. “Say when,” she invited.
‘ “When” is a four-letter word that should be uttered only with great deliberation after long reflection,” he replied. It was their private joke, and she poured him a liberal quantity. He tasted it and sighed. “Too good for human consumption! Such nectar should be drunk only by angels in their flight!” That completed the ritual. He sank down comfortably on to the leather cushions of his favourite chair. She sat opposite him and they watched the sun set in crimson splendour over the mountains.
“Now tell me what you did today,” Ryder said.
“You first,” she replied.
“I spent the morning in council with the Emperor and two of the generals of his army. I told them what Penrod Ballantyne had reported about the intentions of the Dervish to attack his country. Emperor John was grateful for this warning, and I think he has taken it seriously. I did not tell him of our plans to rescue your sisters. I thought it premature to do so. However, I believe that he will be helpful when we are in a position to act.”
Saffron sighed. “I do wish Captain Ballantyne would be in touch. It seems ages since he was.”
“He and your sisters have probably been travelling in the entourage of Osman Atalan. Penrod is so closely guarded that he might not have been able to find a reliable messenger. We must be patient.”
“So easy to say, so hard to do,” she said.
To distract her he went on with a recital of his day. “After I left the Emperor, I spent the rest of the day with his treasurer. He finally agreed to renew my licence to trade throughout the country for another year. The bribe he demanded was extortionate, but in all other respects quite reasonable.” He made her laugh he always made her laugh. “By the way, I forgot to mention that we are invited to the royal audience next Friday. Emperor John is to award me the Star of the Order of Solomon and Judea, in recognition of my services to the state. I think that the truth of the matter is that Empress Miriam wants to admire your latest high-fashion creation and persuaded her husband to invite us. Either that or she wants you to paint another portrait of her.”
“How exciting. Will the Star of Solomon be enormous and covered with lots of diamonds?”
“I am sure it will be gigantic, and perhaps not diamonds, but at least good-quality cut glass,” he said, and reached across the table to the small stack of mail that Saffron had brought down from the embassy. First he opened the bill from the Army and Navy Stores. “Good!” he exclaimed with pleasure. “They have my pair of number-ten rifles ready to ship out to me. I shall arrange payment tomorrow. They should arrive before our next journey to Equatoria where they will be most useful.” He set aside the bill and opened the letter from his nephew. “Sean is insistent that this new gold reef they have opened will persist to great depth. I do not have the same hopes for it. I believe that the reef will pinch out before long and leave him much poorer in pocket, if richer in experience. I am afraid I shall have to disabuse him of his hopes that I might provide any capital for his venture.” He picked up the letter with the Cape Colony postage stamp, and examined it. “I have been waiting for this!”
He opened the envelope, took out the assay report, scanned it anxiously, then smiled comfortably. “Excellent! Oh, so very good indeed.”
“Can you tell me?” Saffron asked.
“Certainly! Before we left for Gondar I sent a bag of rock samples to the assay office of the Cape Colony. The year before I was caught up in the siege of Khartoum I gathered them from the mountains a hundred miles east of Aksum while I was hunting mountain ny ala This is the report on those samples. Over thirty per cent copper, and just on twelve per cent silver. Even taking into account how remote the area is, and the difficulty of reaching it, it should be a highly profitable deposit. The only trouble is that I will have to go back to the royal treasurer to ask for a mining licence. He had my skin today, so tomorrow he will want my scalp and my teeth.”
“Sans teeth and sans hair, you might set a new fashion,” Saffron suggested, and he laughed.
As usual they sat late after dinner, talking endlessly. When Ryder climbed into his own bed he was still chuckling at her saucy Parthian shot. He blew out the lamp, and as he composed himself for sleep he realized he had not once thought of Rebecca that day.
When they entered the audience hall at the palace, Alice Packer summoned Saffron with a peremptory wave of her fan. “Will you forgive me, please, Ryder?”
“Off you go and do your duty.” Ryder watched her cross the room, as did almost everybody else. It was not only the yellow dress that was so striking. Youth has beauty inherent in its very nature. He realized he was staring and looked away quickly, hoping no one had noticed.
The rest of the company was made up of a number of Abyssinian princes and princesses, for the Emperor and the other members of the house of Memelik were prolific breeders. There were also generals and bishops, prosperous merchants and landowners, the entire corps of foreign diplomats, with a few foreign travellers and adventurers. The uniforms and costumes were so exotic and colourful that Saffron’s dress seemed restrained and understated by comparison.
Suddenly Ryder became aware that somebody in the throng was watching him. He looked about quickly, then started with surprise. The person who had purchased the Intrepid this from him was standing at the far corner of the room, but even at that range her Egyptian eyes above the veil had a hypnotic quality that could not be ignored. As soon as she had his attention she resumed her conversation with the elderly general beside her who was
