Someone Wishes to Speak to You (21 page)

During the course of the evening, Mathew spent as much time in Jan’s company as possible. He had plenty of time to observe her gentle eyes and beautiful soft hair, which blended so aptly with her rather shy disposition. Mathew recognised in her the kind of delectable innocence that he first saw in Antonia. The more he talked to Jan and studied her different expressions, the more he considered what a perfect model she would be to any artist who wished to portray such a classic example of femininity.

While they talked, Mathew was reminded of Victor Hugo’s advocacy that ‘When a woman is speaking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes’. Combining this advice with the findings of the communicative facial images of his primate studies, he paid particular attention to her eyes as she spoke. It was clear to Mathew from the close attention she gave to everything he said that a considerable degree of empathy had developed between them. He was very aware that Jan would be able to see the effect her female magnetism was having on him.

‘So what about you?’ asked Mathew, after having given Jan what he hoped was a fascinating account of his research studies. ‘Have you always lived in Rhodesia?’

‘No, I was born in South Africa. My parents came here in the mid-sixties from Potgietersrus, a farming community in the northern Transvaal. Rhodesia is a beautiful place to live, but I haven’t had the opportunity to travel abroad and there’s so much I would like to see.’

‘So you’ve never been to Europe?’

‘No – it’s top of my list, but I’ve never been there or to the USA. I’ve only ever read about them. Perhaps if . . . if we could meet up again, you could tell me more about what life is like there?’

‘That would be a pleasure.’

As Mathew was beginning to feel quite close to Jan during the time they spent talking in the smoky shadows at the
braai
, and as he had consumed more cold Castle lager than he had recently been accustomed to, he willingly accepted the invitation to have tea with her at her home on the following afternoon.

However, on the way back to the Vaughan-Jones’, Anna dropped a bombshell. ‘You seemed to get on very well with Jan tonight,’ she remarked.

‘Absolutely, I found her quite delightful – in fact, extremely delightful.’

‘Did she mention that she’s married to Major Paddy Bushney, second in command of the Selous Scouts?’ The Selous Scouts were the crack counter-insurgency specialist arm of the Rhodesian security forces. From the silence in the car that followed, it was obvious to both Simon and Anna that this was news to Mathew. ‘Major Bushney is substantially older than her. He’s away at the moment on counter-terrorist operations in the Tete Province . . .’ It took well over a minute before Mathew was able to tell them he had already arranged to see her again.

‘I had no idea she was married. I said I would go to her house tomorrow as she said she would like to hear more about the USA and England . . . Oh God, what should I do now?’

The following morning, just after the first light of dawn had crept through the thin curtains of Mathew’s room, he could not help feeling a degree of foolishness in having been so beguiled by Jan’s femininity. Now that he knew she was married, how could he possibly go round to her house in the absence of her husband? After recalling that during the course of the night he had dreamt about her, he knew that it was important for him to see her at least once again in order to bid her a friendly farewell. He had already deduced that the sudden infatuation he was feeling for Jan was no
doubt the result of living such a solitary and celibate existence since leaving Atlanta. It would be foolishly counter-productive for him to become involved with a married woman, no matter how attractive or appealing she was. Although on reflection, he could not help believing that the feelings were reciprocated.

Fortunately, when Mathew went down to have breakfast with Simon and Anna, there was some welcome news.

‘I’ve just telephoned Jan and given her a little talking-to. You see, I am ten years older than her and I have to keep her in line, you know. I told her I don’t think it’s at all sensible for her to have you round while the Major’s away.’ Mathew looked rather despondent, although he knew Anna was right. ‘But I have invited her round for a sundowner this evening, if it makes you feel any better.’

‘Anna, you are an angel! I had no idea what to do for the best.’

‘Well, Major Bushney has recently been away from his home for long spells on military operations and I’ve almost adopted Jan as a younger sister. She gets very lonely, so she often asks my advice on things. As we’re close, or so I like to think, I jokingly pointed out to her just how awkward it would be if her husband’s RAR batman started to spread rumours about the Major’s young wife entertaining a handsome young Englishman at his house, on her own, whilst he was away on military duties. Of course she laughed, but admitted she hadn’t thought about the ramifications of her invitation. Anyway, the arrangements are made and Jan says she’s really looking forward it.’

After Mathew returned from lunch with one of the museum’s council members at the Salisbury Club, Anna decided it would be prudent to put him in the picture with regards to Simon and her relationship with the Bushneys. Over several cups of tea, she told Mathew that Jan had come from a comparatively
poor family of Afrikaner farm managers, the Labuschagnes. ‘It’s such a shame,’ Anna explained, ‘she’s really very intelligent but she just didn’t have the financial backing to go to university. After leaving school she took a secretarial course and managed to get a job as a secretary with Rhodesia’s Tourism Board, after which she went to work for the director of a safari company, which gave her a chance to travel around to some of the popular tourist destinations. While she was spending a weekend on Spurwing Island on Lake Kariba, she met Major Bushney – “Paddy” to his friends.’

‘Is he very much older than her?’

‘Yes, indeed – twenty-two years in fact. His wife had died two years previously from cancer. When he met Jan, she was just the type of attractive young woman that he immediately set his sights on to be his new bride. Jan, on her part, had just been in the process of getting over the traumas of a failed romantic attachment to an old-Etonian “remittance-man” who suddenly returned to England without any explanation. So it was all rather on the rebound; she was flattered by the attention given to her by this well-respected and ruggedly handsome military officer, many years her senior. It was certainly to the delight of her parents that she accepted Major Paddy Bushney’s hand in marriage.’

‘I suppose I can see their point of view on some levels . . .’

‘Financially at least, they thought Jan would be well cared for and have a secure future. Anyway, the Major and Jan were married at a small service held in the chapel at King George VI Barracks in the spring of 1974, followed by a reception in the RLI’s Officers Mess and a short honeymoon at the Victoria Falls Hotel. But since then, with all these terrorist attacks on white farmers and their staff, the Major’s responsibilities have grown and he’s constantly away from home on counter-insurgency operations. Usually he can’t even tell Jan his whereabouts, or when he’ll be home. This is strictly between us, Mathew, but neither Simon nor I are
particularly close or friendly with Major Bushney. Of course, we respect him for his military acumen, but he’s terribly arrogant and inconsiderate in his dealings with civilians. Worst of all, he can be inexcusably rude to Jan in front of other people.’

‘No wonder she didn’t mention her marriage last night,’ said Mathew, growing more despondent on Jan’s behalf. ‘It sounds like a rather complex situation. You would think as a much older man, he would count himself rather lucky to have such a young, beautiful and intelligent wife.’

‘That’s not all of it. As the Major’s away so much of the time, Jan has started to feel extremely lonely and often relies on me for support and advice. She’s become increasingly unhappy, so much so that the doctor’s put her on anti-depressants. Once, when she was particularly low, she confided in me that she regrets agreeing to marry him and blamed the constant pressure from her parents for such a rash decision.’

‘I find it hard to reconcile that this is the same woman I was talking to yesterday evening, She seemed happy.’

‘Well, Major Bushney wasn’t there last night which is bound to have made a huge difference – and she obviously enjoyed talking to you,’ said Anna, arching her eyebrows at Mathew. ‘Although he’s well respected by the majority of his peers because of his various military accomplishments, Major Bushney is very much an alpha-male with a short fuse. He has the reputation of being quite ruthless with people he has taken a dislike to. He is certainly not a person to trifle with. Now, changing the subject, how about you come with me to visit the vervet monkeys in the museum grounds? We could collect Simon from his office at the same time.’

‘I would love to, Anna, that sounds like an excellent plan,’ replied Mathew, feeling he would very much like to clear his head after all that he had heard.

As they walked, Anna came straight to the point. ‘Mathew, I hope I’m not jumping the gun but would you mind if I
give you some advice about any future relationship that you may be wishing to have with Jan?’

‘You already know I’m utterly smitten by her. Please go ahead, I feel I could do with all the advice I can get.’

‘This is probably more for Jan’s benefit than your own – you’re quite capable of looking after yourself. She is not only extremely unhappy in her marriage, but currently in a very vulnerable state of mind. She’s very fragile, Mathew, and if any relationship develops, you must deal with her as carefully and as sensitively as possible.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else, Anna. I only want what’s best for Jan.’ Having said this, Mathew felt a sudden pang of guilt when he thought of how things had ended up with Lucienne, despite the depth of the feelings he once had.

‘You must be aware that in Jan’s present state of mind, what she wants more than anything else in the world is the constant companionship of a man whom she can really love, which sadly has not been the case with her husband since soon after the wedding. It really is such a shame she’s stuck in this marriage to Major Bushney, but I think it’s going to be extremely difficult, if not almost impossible, for her to get out of it.’

That evening, when Jan arrived at the Vaughan-Jones’ for sundowners, she appeared to Mathew to be a breath of fresh air – he wanted to be with her more than he had wanted to be with anyone since his relationship with Lucienne. Her sky-blue eyes seemed to sparkle whenever she was in conversation with him, and such was the effect she had on him that he saw her body language as a portrayal of enticement. The evening flew by. Just before it was time for Jan to return to her empty house, Mathew wished more than anything that he could take her in his arms, hold her in a tight embrace
and kiss her delicate cheeks and lips. But he was quick to remind himself of Anna’s warnings, and merely took her hand and responded to the brief kiss that she planted on both of his cheeks. Then, reluctantly releasing the tight grip of her hand, he rather embarrassingly stuttered, ‘Jan, I’m so pleased to have had the chance to meet you. I really enjoyed your company at the
braai
last night – perhaps when I next visit Salisbury, our paths may cross again?’

‘I would like that very much, Mathew. You must come back to Salisbury before too long.’ Jan looked directly at him as she spoke, her eyes almost misting over with tears of yearning.

The year 1975 turned out to be an exceptionally busy one for Mathew. He spent innumerable hours carrying out his field observations, each evening meticulously analysing and writing-up his findings. He also found time to compile a number of scientific manuscripts which dealt with various aspects of his field observations on the eastern lowland gorillas, and was delighted that three of the papers he submitted were accepted for publication by three internationally well-respected peer-reviewed scientific journals:
Conservation Biology
;
The American Journal of Primatology
; and
Oryx
, the journal of the Fauna Preservation Society.

During the course of the year, apart from the rigours connected with the field work, Mathew had taken on a number of extra commitments. These included his symposium presentation at the university (the proceedings of which had just been published by its Department of Zoology) and a number of talks that he had given about his comparative studies of the Stairs’ and vervet monkeys in the Vumba Mountains. During the illustrated presentations that he gave to the council, members and staff of the Victoria Museum, Umtali’s Rotary Club, Sports Club and the local Women’s
Institute, he had taken the opportunity to emphasise how some aspects of the monkeys’ communicative skills could well be attributed to the way humans interact with one another.

On leaving the Women’s Institute, Mathew was amused to spot two quite large jovial-looking ladies standing in front of a sizeable gilt-framed mirror in the hallway, making a series of rather furtive side-glances and winking at one another. Either they were trying out the friendly primate interactions he had just been talking about, or they were practising to see how attractive their respective eye flashes and grimaces could be in the future to impress some unsuspecting male conquest. Whichever it was, Mathew was pleased that some of his presentation had impressed at least two of the audience members.

On 11 November 1975, four and a half months after Mozambique had gained its independence from Portugal, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) elected Agostinho Neto as the country’s first Marxist president. Just prior to this, an estimated 300,000 people left Angola after experiencing the devastation of fourteen years of civil war, which raged from 1961-1975 between the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the MPLA. Mathew found that both of these pre- and post-independence events, coupled with the increased insurgency from across the Mozambique border, had started to cause Umtali’s European inhabitants to become increasingly apprehensive about what the future may have in store for them. Particularly, what would happen should Ian Smith’s government give way to one dominated by Africans who wanted to follow the example of the majority of neighbouring states that had gained independence from their colonial masters.