Assegai

As Leon made the initial approach to the Nairobi polo ground he looked out anxiously for the Butterfly. He was worried that Graf Otto might have taken off on another of his mysterious, unpredictable jaunts into the blue and would not reappear for many days, by which time Loikot might have lost contact with the quarry.

‘Thank the Lord for that!’ he exclaimed, as he made out the gaudy scarlet and black shape of the Butterfly parked in front of the hangar at the far end of the field. Gustav and his assistants were working on her engines. However, there was no sign of the hunting car, so instead of landing he circled out over Tandala Camp and found it parked outside Graf Otto’s private quarters. Leon made another pass over the camp and the Graf emerged from his tent, shrugging on a shirt over his naked torso.

Leon felt a sharp pang of jealousy and resentment. Of course he has Eva in there with him, he thought. She has to earn her keep. The idea made him feel sick. Graf Otto gave him a perfunctory wave, then went to the hunting car. Leon turned the Bumble Bee back towards the polo ground, but the taste of anger and jealousy were strong and rank on the back of his tongue.

Pull yourself together, Courtney! You know that Eva von Well-berg isn’t a vestal virgin. She’s been under the same mosquito net as him every night since they arrived, he told himself, as he lined up for the landing. As he side-slipped the Bumble Bee in over the boundary fence, his heart bounded as he saw her sitting at her easel in the shade of the Butterfly’s chequered wing. Until that moment she had been hidden from him by the fuselage. It seemed ridiculous, but he was relieved to know that Graf Otto had been alone in the private quarters.

As he set the aircraft down and taxied towards the hangar, Eva jumped up from her easel and started impulsively towards him. Even at this distance he could see the eagerness in her smile. Then she seemed to realize that Gustav was watching, checked herself and came on at a more demure pace. She hung back as he placed the boarding ladder against the fuselage, and Leon swarmed down it. He glanced at her over the heads of the other men, and saw that she was flustered and nervous. He was accustomed to her always being poised and cool, but now she was like a gazelle with the scent of a hunting leopard in its nostrils. Her agitation affected him, but he was able to hide his feelings sufficiently to nod casually at her. ‘Good day, Fräulein,’ he said politely, then turned to Gustav. ‘The starboard number-two engine’s running rough and blowing blue exhaust smoke.’

‘I’ll check it at once,’ Gustav said, and shouted to his assistants.

When his head disappeared into the engine cowling, Leon and Eva were alone. ‘Something has happened to you – something’s changed,’ he told her softly. ‘You’re different, Eva.’

‘And you’re perceptive. Everything’s changed.’

‘What is it? Has there been trouble with Graf Otto?’

‘Not with him. This is between you and me.’

‘Trouble?’ he stared at her.

‘Not trouble. The very opposite. I have made a decision.’ Her voice was low and husky, but then she smiled.

Her smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said.

‘Nor do I, Badger.’

Her use of that name was too much for him. He took a step towards her, and reached out a hand. She recoiled sharply. ‘No, don’t touch me. I can’t trust myself not to do something stupid.’ She indicated the dust thrown up by the hunting car as it drove towards them. ‘Otto is coming. We must be careful.’

‘I cannot go on like this much longer,’ he warned her.

‘Neither can I,’ she replied. ‘But for now we must keep away from each other. Otto is no fool. He will see that something has happened between us.’ She turned away and went to where Gustav was balanced on a wing, peering into the engine housing.

As he drove the hunting car in through the gate of the boundary fence, Graf Otto called, ‘So you are back, Courtney. You have been gone long enough. Where were you? Cape Town? Cairo?’

The brief exchange with Eva had left Leon in an ebullient and reckless mood. ‘No, sir. I was looking for your bloody lion.’

Graf Otto saw Leon’s elation and his own face lit up, his duelling scar turning pink with anticipation. He jumped out and slammed the door behind him. ‘Did you find it?’

‘I wouldn’t have come back if I hadn’t.’

‘Is he a big one?’

‘He’s the biggest lion I’ve ever seen, and the other is even bigger.’

‘I don’t understand. How many lions are there?’

‘Two,’ said Leon. ‘Two enormous brutes.’

‘When can we leave to go after them?’

‘As soon as Gustav has checked the engine of the Bumble Bee.’

‘I can’t wait that long. The Butterfly’s tanks are full, all our gear is loaded and she is ready to go. We will leave now! At once!’