Clare Houston - An Unquiet Place

‘Yes, this surrender had two big implications. One was that, over the next few days, the British moved to take Harrismith to the east, which crucially opened up the supply line from Durban. The other implication was that it cemented the idea of guerrilla warfare in the Boer mind. They were always going to be disadvantaged by set-piece battles which favoured the structured British. Now began the stage of war where the Boers’ mobility, horsemanship, excellent marksmanship, and knowledge of the terrain would be their greatest allies. They kept the British on their toes for almost another two years.’

Douglas raised himself on one elbow. ‘I’ve heard it said that almost every Boer soldier was as good a shot as the best British snipers. Imagine facing that stuck in a column, exposed in the veld.’

Kathryn spoke for the first time. ‘I guess those Boers would have grown up on horses with rifles in their hands.’

‘And,’ added Alistair, ‘many British soldiers in the lower ranks would have come straight from mines or factories. Just being in the sun was a major challenge, let alone firing at invisible enemies scattered over the hillsides.’

Hannah’s mind was racing with scenarios, thinking of Rachel’s father and brothers. ‘Do you think all the men from this area would have been shipped off to the POW camps?’

‘That would have depended on which commando they belonged to, and which general they were following. I know that some Boers from the Leliehoek area went to Ceylon – families still have mementoes from their great-grandfathers’ internment. But then, some might very well have managed to stay uncaptured until the end of the war.’

Douglas lay back in the grass and was staring at the sky. He took a long grass stem from his mouth. ‘It’s strange to think we are all products of that time – it certainly shaped the future of South Africa, much of it for the bad, but not all. I’m a mix of Afrikaner and English blood, and yet my great-great-grandparents would have sat on different sides of the war.’

‘Mine too,’ said Hannah. ‘Even my ouma wasn’t too thrilled when my mother married an Englishman.’

Alistair smiled at her. ‘My great-great-grandfather Barlow came out with the Lancashire Fusilier’s 2nd Battalion as an eighteen-year-old. When he returned home to England and his struggling family, he decided his fortunes might be better back in South Africa. I think it was the same for many young British soldiers. They had seen space and opportunity out here which they would never see at home.’

Clouds were forming in the distance. Hannah wondered how the sky could seem so much bigger. She remembered London’s sky, a tiny sliver of grey wedged between buildings. This ridiculous blue expanse was simply breathtaking. She understood why British soldiers would leave that for this.

Out the corner of her eye, Hannah saw as Douglas leant over on one arm and tickled Kathryn’s ear with his grass stem. ‘What about you, Kathryn?’ he asked.

She batted the grass away and looked over her shoulder at him. ‘I don’t know much about my ancestors – my parents and grandparents never wanted to talk about the past. Too much apartheid pain, I suppose. But I think there are slave roots way back and Dutch blood, all mixed up. That’s the way of the Cape, hey?’

Alistair reached out a hand to pull Hannah up. ‘How about we open up that picnic basket, Kathryn?’

‘Good idea,’ said Kathryn, scrambling up and nudging Douglas with her foot. ‘Come on, the kids have probably found the picnic already, they’ve gone awfully quiet.’

They ambled down the slope and found the twins stretched out on the bonnet of Kathryn’s car, warming their backs now that the breeze had freshened and the sun had slipped behind a cloud. Alistair and Douglas pulled camp chairs and a folding table from the back of the pickup and set them up in the lee of the vehicle.

Kathryn pulled out a large flask and plastic cups. Two old-fashioned cake tins revealed large choc-chip cookies in one and a magnificent carrot cake in the other. Hannah sat in a camp chair and pulled her knees up to her chest. After seeing the contents of the picnic basket, she decided Kathryn should be invited on all outings. She finished a generous slice of cake and licked the cream cheese icing off her fingers. As she stared up the slope, Hannah wondered when she had last had such a good time with friends. She was accepted just as she was. There was no feeling of being less. Less glamorous, less successful, less clever. Had she lived so many years under that word? She leant her head back into the chair, closing her eyes, content.

What felt like the very next moment, she jumped in fright, nearly falling out of her chair, as a soccer ball hit the side of the Toyota next to her head.

‘Sorry!’ shouted Douglas, laughing at her wide eyes and gaping mouth. Hannah realised she must have dozed off and missed the beginnings of a game. They had marked out two sets of goals, and Alistair and Emma-Jane were taking on Douglas and Matthew. She relaxed back into her chair and watched the four of them race around. The two men eventually picked up their respective team mate, using the twins as croquet mallets to kick the ball at the opposite goal. Shouts of laughter echoed across the impromptu pitch, and Hannah couldn’t help smiling at the natural way these two men responded to Kathryn’s children. The game ended with Alistair tackling Douglas to the ground and the twins piling on top of them, shrieking in delight.

Kathryn was packing up the picnic when the twins, each hanging on one of Douglas’s arms and standing on a foot, begged him to ride back with them in Kathryn’s car. Hannah caught Kathryn’s eye and raised one eyebrow, smiling at the colour that crept into Kathryn’s face.

‘Stop pestering the man,’ said Kathryn, becoming more brisk in her packing.

Douglas picked up the twins, one under each arm like two rugby balls. He posted them on the back seat to much shrieking and giggling, then pressed his nose against the glass and pulled ridiculous faces.

‘You enjoyed yourself today, Hannah,’ said Alistair, hauling the folding table over the tailgate.

‘Every minute,’ she said, rewarding him with a happy smile which reached her eyes. He had watched her this afternoon, and had found himself wanting to touch her. Wanting to step behind her. Put his arms around her. Pull her against his chest as they stood on the hillside, looking out at that huge sky and grassy slope rolling away beneath them. He had wanted to pull her into his lap as they sat with their tea. Wanted that simple physical affection couples have in the company of friends – that relaxed intimacy which comes with being secure and easy together. Wanting her like that had brought his years of isolation sharply into focus. He had shut down completely after Marilie. He had shunned the few opportunities that had come his way over the years, not being able to think about any kind of encounter, even for the sake of sex without strings. He had managed without the sex, but now he missed the affection with a pang that was painful.

He looked across as Kathryn started her car. Douglas was about to get into her passenger seat and he gave Alistair a salute with a cheeky wink.

‘I guess that means I’m coming with you,’ said Hannah. ‘Is that okay?’

‘Of course, it would be silly to squeeze five people into Kathryn’s car,’ he said, kicking himself for not saying what he should have – that he wanted her with him.

Hannah climbed into the cab and shivered. The sky had darkened, threatening a storm, and the afternoon had cooled further. She pulled from her bag the blue fleece she had borrowed on the plateau. ‘Sorry it’s taken so long to return it.’

He turned the key in the ignition, leaning over the steering wheel. ‘Put it on again – it’s getting cold.’