A Time for Courage by Margaret Graham

Author:Margaret Graham
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: World War I, Family Saga, Chick-Lit, Loyalty, Fiction, Romance, Sagas, Historical, War, Love Stories
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital
Published: 2014-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

13

Harry sat on the stoep or verandah of his hotel. The voyage had left him feeling fit, he thought to himself, and he looked again at the telegram that he had received from the Ren Gold Mine, his employers.

Frank Canon would be meeting him here, or should already have met him according to the brief clipped words, and it was in this man’s company that he would begin the journey into the interior. Harry looked out across the street with its trams and trees, way over to the mountains which stood at the back of this beautiful Cape Town. It was these mountains he would be passing through soon and he felt a stirring of tension, of anticipation.

He walked now to the edge of the stoep, hearing the cicadas, watching the butterflies, brilliant in their blues and reds, first settling then moving from the bushes of herbs which grew around the hotel, their aroma thick in the air. He moved down the steps and along the streets until he could see the blue of the South Atlantic which was visible to the south from almost any street or window. Across the miles Esther would be wondering if he had arrived, if he was safe, and he longed to feel her body pressed to his, her white skin soft beneath his hands. She had not allowed him to make love to her and that was as it should be but how he had longed for it.

He turned, impatient now to be at work, to be starting the life which would make such thoughts reality, and walked back to the hotel to sit again beneath the fan, waiting with diminishing patience for Canon.

It was not until six in the evening that he arrived and Harry was still on the stoep breathing in the scent of herbs which seemed to grow everywhere in this climate; a climate which was nothing short of idyllic.

Frank was keen to eat before having the first and last good sleep either of them would have for longer than he cared to think, he said, shaking hands with a firm grip, his smile broad against his tanned skin. Lines of tiredness were etched in the same red dust which coated his shoes and he cursed as he sat down on the rocking bench and motioned for Harry to join him. But Harry shook his head and chose instead the heavy wooden chair he had been sitting in when Frank had finally arrived.

‘I dare say you think you have come to a slice of heaven, Harry?’ Frank said, rubbing his sleeve over his forehead before removing his wide-brimmed hat and leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

Harry smiled. ‘It’s not what I expected, that I have to confess – and yes, it is grand.’

Frank did not open his eyes or move but murmured. ‘Make the most of it, old son, for tomorrow we travel and then you forget there was ever air to breathe.’

Harry looked at him. ‘It’s that hot, is it?’

‘It is, I’m afraid, at this time of year.

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