Page 97 of In the Heat of the Jungle

“Our.I can hardly believe we’ll be married soon. I never dreamed I would find a man as wonderful, handsome, and virile as you. I’m very lucky, Mr. Elliott.”

Jace captured her hand in his. His gaze locked with hers. “I’m the lucky one, Leigh. I have you. If Louisa hadn’t pulled that waterfront stunt so we could meet before we discovered each other’s identities, this romance could have been hard and long in coming.”

Leigh nodded. “Bad as she was, she did one good thing; she got us together at the best time. When I had lunch with her and Cynthia in London, she made a toast: ‘May the best woman bring home the best prize.’ Well, I won the best trophy of the entire safari.”

“Do you have any objections to making this our home? It is secluded, and it can be dangerous.”

“I love it. It’s so beautiful and comfortable. You’re a clever man. I’m impressed with your water system.”

He beamed with pride. “I saw it during my travels. It does make life easier and nicer. So do you, woman.”

She nuzzled her cheek against his hand. “It’s both tranquil and exciting here, Jace. It already feels like home. I hate to leave it to …”

He knew she had halted to prevent spoiling their tender morning. “I know, love, but they have to be exposed and punished. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this morning and I have a clever plan.”

“Let the law do it for us, Jace. Don’t get into more trouble. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

Jace rose, walked behind her, and kissed the top of her head. “I promise, no violence on my part. I’ll let the authorities handle almost everything. But I will do whatever necessary to protect us.”

Leigh looked up at him and smiled in relief. “I understand and agree. What do we do until November?”

Jace bent and kissed her lips. As he was taking his chair again, he said, “It’ll take them three weeks to reach London. They should dock about July first. Fiona should reach home about the same time. If we sail as soon as we’re married, we’ll be five weeks behind them. With luck, Reid and Fiona will be together, proving our charges. I’ll let Lord Salisbury know we’re coming. We have to defeat them now, love.”

“We can’t go; you’ll be arrested. If it means endangering you, I don’t care about the money and firm, and I don’t care about punishing them. Until you’re cleared and safe, I can’t let you go to London.”

“Don’t be frightened, love. This mess must be straightened out. The only way is go in for questioning. Even if I can’t exonerate my father or dispel all suspicions about me, I have to clear myself. I’m giving you a blackened name; I’d like to clean it up for both of us, and our children. You do want children, don’t you?”

“Yours, yes. But I don’t want you to take such a risk. What if our testimonies and evidence aren’t enough to clear you and convict them? It’s too great a gamble.”

He reasoned with a tender gaze and gentle voice, “I have to try. I need to get the past behind me. If I tell the truth, and they can’t prove I’m lying and don’t have any fake evidence I’m ignorant of, they’ll have to close the case and release me. What kind of future can we have with this black cloud hanging over us? We’d be exiled here permanently. We both have business interests in London. You have the firm and I have coffee to market. Too, Chad and Reid are still threats to us. Until they’re arrested and imprisoned, we’ll have to keep looking over our shoulders. We don’t want to live that way, love, and I doubt they’ll wait long to make sure we’re dead. Right now we have the advantage of surprise.”

“You’re right, but I’m frightened for you, for us.”

“Now that we have each other, everything will work out fine. There doesn’t seem any way to clear my father, so I might as well accept that fact. I have to think about us first. My father would understand.”

Leigh realized how much Jace Elliott had changed. She smiled.

“What is that sly grin for, woman?”

“I’m so happy, Jace. I know everything will work out for us.”

Jace put their dishes in the sink. “Would you like some fresh air and exercise? I need to check the fields. It’s been months since I was home. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes,” she replied in excitement.

“You’ll need to change clothes, put on boots, and get your topee. It’s hot beneath that sun. I don’t want you suffering heat stroke.”

Leigh hurried to don a shirt, long skirt, boots, and pith helmet. She joined Jace outside. The gate was unlocked and opened. She walked to him and teased, “No more prison, my tricky captor?”

Pulling her into his embrace, he replied, “Only these arms and my determination never to lose you.”

Holding hands, smiling, and chatting, they walked past the towering shed where the coffee beans were cured and bagged. The area around it was cleared. Jace explained how the cherries were spread out beneath the sun and turned several times a day for even drying. It required more time than the “wet process,” but sufficient water for that was unavailable. Afterward, the beans were graded, sorted, bagged, and stored until transported to Mombasa for shipment to England.

As they walked, Jace related all he knew about growing coffee, and Leigh listened with great interest. The bushes were tropical evergreens, and each flower contained two seeds, called cherries. Shrubs had to be planted at the right time, the beginning of the rainy season, and groomed frequently. They did not start producing until three to four years later. It required nine months between blooming of white flowers and maturing of the seeds. When reddish-purple, the fruit was gathered by hand, by his Kikuyu workers.

“Coffee from this protectorate is considered some of the best in the world. The man who owned this place before me only brought in one crop before giving up and selling to me. He didn’t like the seclusion or the time involved. His wife hated the heat and dangers.”

“I don’t,” Leigh said and squeezed his hand.

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