‘You’re getting old, Pa,’ he sneered. ‘I would watch where I put my fists if I were you.’
Willem snatched a mug from the table and threw it at David. ‘Shut up!’ David caught the mug and threw it back at Willem. It caught him on the shoulder, hard, and he sat down, stunned by what had just happened.
‘Well,’ Drieka said when David had left the house, ‘he’s raised his hand to his own father. What’s next?’
Willem didn’t answer. His thoughts had wandered far away, to another morning, a dead stallion, a wronged son. Perhaps he’d known even then that Roeloff hadn’t done it, but he had been too angry about what Roeloff had done with Soela in the barn. He’d gone along with the evidence, but he’d known, deep inside, that Roeloff wasn’t capable of such a deed. His anger had stood in the way of reconciliation; that, and Roeloff’s refusal to punish the bosjesman who’d stolen his sheep. He’d protected one son at the expense of the other. He shouldn’t have considered David’s feelings. Soela hadn’t loved David, and here was the result—everyone suffered, especially the child, who bore no resemblance to his eldest son.
Willem was filled with despair. David and Soela’s unhappiness had brought discord to Kloot’s Nek, and he missed Roeloff. Where was he? Was Twa looking after him? Willem was not a praying man, but he asked God to protect Roeloff and the old hunter, and to bring them back to Kloot’s Nek.
When Elsie heard what had happened, she sent word with one of the Hottentots that she wanted David and Soela to come to the Joubert farm right away. They arrived the next day, in time for the midday meal. After the initial shock of seeing what his daughter looked like, Joubert came straight to the point.
‘We heard that there’s been trouble between you.’
David rested his hands on his knees. His manner had changed from what it had been the previous week. If he had little respect for his father, he certainly didn’t trust Joubert. Soela’s eye was swollen and bruised, ample evidence of his ill-treatment.
‘It was my fault.’
Soela stopped eating. She’d never heard him admit to doing anything wrong before. Elsie and Jan looked at each other.
‘I lost my temper. I admit I took my hand to her. It won’t happen again.’
The surprising confession took the wind out of the Jouberts.
‘A man can make a mistake.’ If there was one thing Joubert did know about the Kloot brothers, it was that you could predict the actions of the younger one by the way he was bent; the other, no manner of indication was enough. David had never struck him as being one to confess. ‘What did Soela do?’
‘I don’t want to make it worse by telling tales.’
‘Tell us. If she did something wrong, we want to know what it is so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again. A man shouldn’t lift his hand to his wife for no reason.’
‘That’s why I’m sorry. I would never have done such a thing, but I was greatly grieved. I thought …’
‘Grieved?’
Soela stood up.
‘You’re going to tell? After all you have done?’
‘Sit down,’ Joubert ordered.
‘See? I can’t talk to her. Ever since that night.’
‘What night?’
‘I don’t want to say.’
‘Soela?’ Elsie spoke for the first time. ‘Is there something we should know?’
Soela lowered her eyes and said nothing. She understood now why he’d been so ready to confess his wrongdoing.
‘Will someone please tell us?’ Joubert asked, in exasperation.
‘It was the night of our engagement, when you all came to supper. Soela was with him in the barn.’
Elsie wasn’t sure she understood what he meant.
‘Yes? With who?’
‘She was in the barn with Roeloff,’ David repeated.
‘Well, what were they doing in the barn?’
‘Never mind,’ Joubert interrupted, his face red. ‘Soela, is this true? A daughter of mine, raised with the Word of the Lord? You were in the barn with his brother?’
Soela looked down at her veldskoene. She would have to make a new pair of laces, she thought. David’s boots shone for the visit. If one judged him by his feet, one might have a good opinion. They were a decent size, unlike the rest of him. Should she tell what she knew? Should she kill it between them for good?
‘But I care greatly for Soela,’ she heard David continue. ‘I married her all the same. I kept my promise.’
‘Is what David’s saying, true?’ Joubert asked again.
‘Yes.’
There was a long pause.
‘Well, this is a fine mess. If I hadn’t heard it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. I don’t know what to say except that we’re sorry for the shame brought upon you,’ Joubert said.
Elsie turned her attention to David. The colour had drained from her face.
‘You’ve been very kind then, haven’t you, David, to protect my daughter’s honour?’
