The Greystoke Legacy Read Online Free Page A

think of anything to say. He noticed Archie refused to meet Clark’s eyes, and occupied himself by organizing a team of men to dig a grave away from Karibu Mji. Robbie had volunteered, but Clark had firmly told him to stand aside. Robbie was thankful; he had no real desire to perform the unpleasant task.
    Archie said a few words as the man was lowered into the dirt. He didn’t know much about the deceased; he even had to ask around for his name. The pseudonym “Frank” was offered by the closest person the dead man had to a friend. Most of the workers kept away as they thought attending funerals was a bad omen, so Archie filled in the grave alone. He stabbed the shovel repeatedly into the mound of earth with such fury that blisters formed on his hands as if the pain was his penance for not doing more to help the man.
    By the time he’d finished the heavens had opened, turning the ground into mud and overflowing the camp’s rudimentary drainage system. Water flowed between the huts, washing away any junk that wasn’t tied down.
    Archie walked to the bar to find Jane standing outside, soaking wet despite sheltering under the porch.
    â€œWhat’re you doing out in this?” he asked.
    â€œI saw what you did, Archie,” was Jane’s simple answer. She always called him Archie when she was annoyed, which was often.
    Archie slicked back his wet hair and smiled at his daughter, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I did what I had to.”
    â€œReally? If you hadn’t started logging and dragged us all to the middle of this dump, he wouldn’t have died!”
    The comment stung Archie, and he had no easy reply.
    â€œWhy don’t we go home, Dad?” It was almost a plea.
    â€œSweetheart, we’ve been through this . . .”
    â€œNo. You’ve been through this in your own head. You never listen to me! What if I got ill out here? Would you just let me die too?”
    The sly blow hurt Archie, but he tried to hide it.
    Jane was still fuming. “I hate it out here. I want to go back to the States! Don’t you see how crazy this all is?”
    â€œGo back to what?”
    â€œWe could find Mom,” Jane said in a hoarse whisper.
    Archie watched the rain. There had been many iterations of this conversation. Sometimes shouting, sometimes whispered, none of them pleasant.
    â€œShe doesn’t want to be found.”
    â€œMaybe—”
    â€œShe left us both , Jane. All she left behind was pain and debt. You have no idea what I went through when we lost everything. Everything I had built for us. All gone because of her selfishness.”
    â€œShe left you !” spat Jane, tears in her eyes. “And then you forced me to leave everything! My friends, my life, for what? This?”
    â€œ Us . She left us. And ‘this’ was an opportunity we needed. A last chance to leave our problems behind and create a new nest egg. To start all over.”
    â€œBy breaking the law?”
    â€œBetter I do it here than at home,” Archie replied quietly. It wasn’t much of an argument, but it was the only one he had. “We desperately need the cash. You know that. Back home, I can’t be a doctor again and I couldn’t make a quarter of what I get here unless I started knocking over banks or dealing drugs—but I’ve got some morals, believe it or not. And I’ve got a duty to look after you.”
    He saw Jane’s fists bunch as she fought her emotions. Archie had always considered himself a good father, but that was before he was expected to raise a teenage daughter with a will stronger than his own. He was out of his depth. In the past he would have hugged her, but these days that usually triggered a tantrum. Instead he just stood and waited for Jane to respond.
    She bit her lip and shivered. Her face was pale, her eyes luminous with tears she couldn’t shed.
    â€œYou must be cold. Let’s go