Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon

“This is a banquet!” Margaret exclaimed. “I’m afraid I don’t deserve all this, Mr. Travis.”

“You deserve much more,” Jamie assured her.

Margaret turned away, busying herself with the food.

Jamie took her face between his hands. “Margaret…look at me.”

“Oh! Please. I—” She was trembling.

“Look at me.”

Slowly she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He pulled her into his arms, and his lips found hers and he held her close, pressing his body against hers.

After a few moments she struggled free, shook her head and said, “Oh, my God. We mustn’t. Oh, we mustn’t. We’ll go to hell.”

“Heaven.”

“I’m afraid.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Do you see my eyes? They can look right inside you. And you know what I see, don’t you? You want me to make love to you. And I’m going to. And there’s nothing to fear, because you belong to me. You know that, don’t you? You belong to me, Margaret. You say it. I belong to Ian. Go on. I—belong—to—Ian.”

“I belong—to Ian.”

His lips were on hers again, and he began to undo the hooks on the back of her bodice. In a moment she stood naked in the soft breeze, and he lowered her gently down to the ground. And the tremulous passage from girlhood to womanhood became an exciting, soaring experience that made Margaret feel more alive than she had ever felt in her life. I’ll remember this moment forever, she thought. The bed of leaves and the warm caressing breeze on her naked skin, the shadow of the baobab tree that dappled their bodies. They made love again, and it was even more wonderful. She thought, No woman could ever love anyone as much as I love this man.

When they were spent, Jamie held her in his strong arms, and she wished she could be there forever. She looked up at him and whispered, “What are you thinking?”

He grinned and whispered back, “That I’m bloody starving.”

She laughed, and they rose and had their lunch under the shelter of the trees. Afterward they swam and lay down to let the hot sun dry them. Jamie took Margaret again, and she thought, I want this day to go on forever.

 

 

That evening, Jamie and Van der Merwe were seated at a corner table at the Sundowner. “You were right,” Jamie announced. “The possibilities here may be greater than I thought.”

Van der Merwe beamed. “I knew you were too clever a man not to see that, Mr. Travis.”

“What exactly would you advise me to do?” Jamie asked.

Van der Merwe glanced around and lowered his voice. “Just today I got some information on a big new diamond strike north of Pniel. There are ten claims still available. We can divide them up between us. I’ll put up fifty thousand pounds for five claims, and you put up fifty thousand pounds for the other five. There are diamonds there by the bushel. We can make millions overnight. What do you think?”

Jamie knew exactly what he thought. Van der Merwe would keep the claims that were profitable and Jamie would end up with the others. In addition, Jamie would have been willing to bet his life that Van der Merwe was not putting up one shilling.

“It sounds interesting,” Jamie said. “How many prospectors are involved?”

“Only two.”

“Why does it take so much money?” he asked innocently.

“Ah, that’s an intelligent question.” He leaned forward in his chair. “You see, they know the value of their claim, but they don’t have the money to operate it. That’s where you and I come in. We give them one hundred thousand pounds and let them keep twenty percent of their fields.”

He slipped the twenty percent in so smoothly that it almost went by unnoticed. Jamie was certain the prospectors would be cheated of their diamonds and their money. It would all flow to Van der Merwe.

“We’ll have to move fast,” Van der Merwe warned. “As soon as word of this leaks out—”

“Let’s not lose it,” Jamie urged.

Van der Merwe smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll have the contracts drawn up right away.”