No Greater Love (19 page)

Picking up the bracelet absent-mindedly, Pieter asked, “Why are you leaving so early?”

“There is nothing to keep me here now.” Dirk gave a bitter laugh. “You may as well know. I asked Janan to go to Turkey with me. I told her that I wanted to marry her and take her home but she refused.”

“She refused?”

“She said that home was where her children would be safe and that was not Erzincan.”

“Did she say where it would be?” Pieter felt a sense of black despair creep over him. Was he to lose them again?
Was she planning to take them back to the States? Was there someone there waiting for her?

“
She said, ‘Here, in The Netherlands.’” Dirk shrugged. “I don’t know why she would want to stay here.”

Maarten, who had been following their conversation without making any comment, broke the silence that followed Dirk’s words. “Pieter, you don’t look well. You need to rest.”

“He’s right,” Dirk said, giving his brother a sharp look. “You look like hell. What’s wrong?”

Pieter leaned against the edge of the massive library table to steady himself. “I went to see Janan this afternoon and asked her to marry me.”

“You did what?” Dirk shouted. “You told me that you had seen her.” His voice shook with rage. “You never told me that you knew her!”

Pieter observed his brother’s fury as though from a distance.
He had seized one evening of paradise and hurt so many people—Janan, Carl, and now Dirk
. “From the first moment I met Janan in the States, I fell in love with her. I wanted her more than life but I had just been diagnosed with leukemia.” He grimaced. “I made a fool’s decision—I would beat the illness and return for her a well man.” He laughed bitterly. “Life is what happens while you wait to act.” His voice broke. “I lost everything and now, when I thought I might have a chance at happiness, she refused me.”

“What did you say to her?” Maarten asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

Pieter pulled himself erect and started to limp toward the door. “I knew it was too soon after Carl’s death to ask her but I told her we should marry soon for the sake of the children. She threw me out.” He paused by the table in the center of the library and took the manila envelope with the two bracelets that Dirk had given him earlier from his pocket and placed it beside the other bracelet on the table. “Please tell Saskia that I won’t be down for dinner,” he said as he dragged himself out of the room.

Dirk stared at Maarten in disbelief. “What a staggering mess. How could he have been so clueless?” He shook his head. “Who would be stupid enough to tell the woman they love that they should marry because of her children?” He paced the room in silence and then said, “He really loves her, doesn’t he? I did not realize it until now.”

“Not just her,” Maarten stated emphatically. “He loves the children, too.”

“The children? Why would he love another man’s children?”

Maarten’s gaze took the measure of Dirk before he said, “Because they are
his
children. Your mother caused him to lose them once and now he has lost them again.”

Dirk straightened as Maarten’s message registered. “Damage control,” he said briskly. “That’s what’s called for.”

“Spoken like the true engineer you are.” Maarten smiled at Dirk. “What are you planning to do?”

Picking up the bracelets from the table and sliding them into his pocket, Dirk said, “I am going back, now. I am going to Leiden to plead Pieter’s case.”

“You are going to try to convince Janan—the woman you told everyone you wanted desperately—to marry your brother?”

“He more than wants her. He loves her.” Dirk gave Maarten a sheepish grin. “Besides, he is the better man by far.”

“He’s back,” Sophia said in a worried voice to Janan as she heard Betje open the door.

Janan felt her heart pounding as she moved toward the drawing room.
Who was back?
she wondered. It was unlikely that Pieter would come back after her harsh rejection but she could not quash the hope throbbing through her.

When she stepped through the door and saw Dirk pacing the room, she felt a sense of loss sweep through her leaving her shaken and with a bitter taste in her mouth.

“I am sure that you are not pleased to see me, but please hear me out.” Dirk cleared his throat and started again. “I have come to tell you how much Pieter loves you.” Dirk held up a hand as she started to speak. “Pieter loves you so much that when he came back from the States, he agreed to every treatment they suggested, even acupuncture. He loves you so much that he stuck it out even when his immune system was at such a low level that any infection could have killed him. He spent weeks alone in protective isolation to reduce the chance of an infection. When his hair fell out, he put on a weird orange cap and never complained.”

“You were there with him?” she asked softly as she thought of Pieter wearing her cap.

He smiled ruefully. “Let’s say I was his contact with the outside world. When he couldn’t sleep at night, he decided to teach himself Turkish, and I hunted down the discs for him. When he wanted to read about Eastern Turkey, I found the books. When he was determined to learn about Disaster Preparedness, I located an online program for him.” He looked at her searchingly. “I didn’t know that he had fallen in love with you, but now, as I look back, I think he was trying to do everything he could that might please you.” He lowered his gaze to the floor to hide the tears in his eyes. “I think that, in his own way, shut off from the world, he was trying to court you.”

Janan’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “You must love your brother very much.”

Dirk cleared his throat. “He has always been good to me.” His cheeks colored. “You see, I was very much an unplanned event, ten years younger than Pieter, 12 years younger than Crispin. My parents were indulgent in an absent-minded sort of way. Crispin considered me to be a bloody nuisance, but Pieter was always there making sure I learned how to ride a bicycle, swim, sail, and pass my exams.” He grinned. “He wasn’t the most patient of tutors but he made me work hard on those exam preps.” He took both of her hands in his. “He loves you with all his being. Please forgive him and say you will marry him.”

“Pieter said we must marry for the sake of the children.” Her voice wobbled with the hurt she was trying to hide. “He never said he loved me.” Tears slid down her cheeks unchecked. “I love him,” she sobbed. “But he has never said that he loves me.”

Reaching in his pocket for the bracelets, Dirk said, “For the last year, Pieter has had me searching for three Ottoman
Tambac
bracelets. I must have contacted more than 50 dealers in Eastern Turkey. Yesterday afternoon after he came back from seeing you, I gave him the third one that had just arrived. He just glanced at it and then left all of them on the table in the library. He looked desolate, as though he had lost his will to live.” He spoke urgently. “The bracelets were for you, weren’t they?”

“I told him once that my mother had three old Ottoman
Tambac
bangles that were lost in the earthquake,” she said in a low voice.

Dirk held the bracelets out to her. “Will you accept a gift from Pieter’s heart?”

She raised the bracelets to her lips before slipping them onto her left arm and then asked the question that was burning in her mind, “What is he doing now?”

“Planting trees,” Dirk growled. “It’s the middle of winter and he is out there supervising two men digging up Maarten’s Chinese garden so that he can get those two trees planted.”

“Two trees?” Janan whispered.

“Yes. Not even two of the same kind. Oh no! I had to find two different trees with their roots balled so that he could plant them now.”

“What kind of trees?” Janan persisted.

“A poplar tree and a mulberry tree.” He snorted. “Have you any idea how hard it is to find a poplar tree and a mulberry tree in The Netherlands in the middle of winter?”

“I’ve lost him,” Janan sobbed. “I sent him away. He’ll never come back?”

“Well, the Dutch are a stubborn people and he is out there in the cold planting those trees.” He patted her shoulder awkwardly. “Doesn’t sound like he’s given up to me.” He turned to leave. “I’ll say goodbye now. I am returning to Turkey, to Urfa to help get things ready at the dig.” He turned as he heard Sophia’s soft murmur, “Urfa.” He raised his eyebrows at Janan.

“Sophia’s father had planned to send her to the nursing school at Urfa. It would have been the closest school to her home in Kirkuk.”

Dirk shook hands with Janan and then, with a slight bow to Sophia, offered the only Turkish phrase he knew, “May your troubled times pass quickly.”

Chapter 17

Dirk’s steps were slow as he climbed the steps to Maarten’s front door. The usual excitement of getting ready to return to the dig was missing. For the first time, he was reluctant to be leaving Amsterdam. He felt as though he belonged, as though he had become a vital part of the family. As he stepped into the hallway, Saskia said, “They are in the library waiting for you.”

Maarten’s greeting was soft but his eyes were burning with questions. “Join us in a Jenever before dinner?”

I wish I had a gift for words,
Dirk thought as he turned over different phrases in his mind. Finally he began, “I went back to see Janan this afternoon.” He ignored Pieter’s quick intake of breath and, facing him squarely, said, “I went back to tell her that you love her more than life itself.” He hurried on awkwardly, “I told her that you want to marry her because you love her and want her, not because of the children.” He drew a deep breath and was aware of the back of his neck burning. “I gave her the bracelets. I told her that they were a gift from your heart.”

“What did she do?” Pieter choked out.

“She kissed them and then put them on her left wrist and cried.” He rubbed his neck and his face reddened as he said, “She thinks that she destroyed everything when she sent you away, that you will never come back.”

Pieter clasped his brother in his arms for a moment. “You are the best.” He straightened up quickly. “I must go to her.”

“Tomorrow,” Maarten said firmly. “Right now, you need to rest. You have been working on those trees for hours. Tomorrow will be soon enough.” He walked slowly to his desk, and opening the top drawer, took out a small black velvet pouch tied with a gold cord. “When you go, take this with you.” He handed the pouch to Pieter.

Automatically, Pieter pulled open the gold cord and tipped the contents of the pouch into his hand. For a moment he was silent, astounded by the size of the oval ruby ring in his palm and then he found his voice. “It is exquisite,” he said as he looked in bewilderment at Maarten.

“I want you to have it, for your lady,” Maarten said gruffly. He cleared his throat and continued. “It is a pigeon’s blood, classic, Burma ruby.” He spoke softly as though seeing something they could not see, “It is a Myanmar, mined in Mogok in the Valley of Rubies near Mandalay.”

Dirk broke the silence. “Burma rubies are nearly unattainable now.” His eyes gleamed as he said, “This one is more beautiful than any of the rubies I saw in the British Museum of Natural History. It must be very old.” 

“Yes, I bought it for my lady in Jakarta. It was her engagement ring and her wedding ring.” Maarten dropped into his chair. “I think she would have wanted your Janan to have it.”

Kneeling by Maarten’s chair with his head bowed, Pieter said, “If she will have me, I’ll put it on her finger and never let her go.”

As Pieter and Dirk moved toward the door, Maarten’s voice stopped them. “Dirk. I would have a word with you.” He pointed to the chair by the fireplace with his cane. When Dirk was seated, Maarten leaned forward and began to speak without any preamble. “You’re probably staying a child for some reason of your own but you can’t stay one forever. Such a waste!” He glared at Dirk. “You have a degree in engineering from Leiden University. Many men would give anything for that opportunity but you are throwing it away.” He did not wait for Dirk to answer but, leaning on his cane, he went to his desk and picked up a thick packet. “It’s time that you did some real work. It’s all arranged.” He thrust the packet at Dirk. “You leave in three weeks.”

“What’s all arranged?” Dirk asked, staring at his great uncle.

“You’re going to Indonesia.” Maarten nodded confidently. “You are going to take over the family’s involvement in a water management project.”

“There must be some misunderstanding,” Dirk said in a strangled voice as he read
Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia
on the packet. “I have been looking for another archaeological dig, in Istanbul.” He jumped out of his chair and backed a few steps away from his uncle. “I don’t know anything about water management.”

“Nonsense. You’re an engineer, aren’t you?” Marteen thumped his cane impatiently. “The Netherlands is involved in helping Indonesia with several projects related to water management: developing systems of irrigation, providing clean drinking water, and setting up sanitation systems, but”—his voice became laced with enthusiasm—“you are going to be with the Sea Defense Consultant program. You will be working on flood protection from rivers and the sea.”

“Floods, tidal waves, and tsunamis?” Dirk gasped, his eyes measuring the distance to the door. .

“I knew you’d be excited. What you don’t know, you can learn.” He shifted in his chair and his voice took on a steely edge. “It’s time you thought of the family, not just yourself.”

“Why Indonesia?” Dirk asked, knowing that he was already beaten.

“Where did you think the family’s income comes from or didn’t you ever wonder where your allowance came from?” Maarten asked caustically.

“I assumed that it came from my mother, from my father’s estate.” Dirk lowered himself into his chair, feeling as though his world had suddenly collapsed.

“Don’t be a fool. Do you think your father’s estate would be enough to support your mother’s house, pay for your education, and give you an allowance so that you could do whatever you wanted to do indefinitely?” He shifted wearily in his chair. “I fought hard through the Second World War to save what assets we had in the Dutch East Indies, and when Indonesia became independent, I invested in new businesses there and it has paid off.” He rubbed his eyes with a hand that trembled. “The Bentinck family has been involved in advising the Indonesian government on flooding since 2007.” He gave a dry chuckle. “Who better than the Dutch to teach them how to hold back water?” He assessed Dirk with a sharp glance and nodded. “It will be hard work but you are well prepared.”