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the afternoon on edge. She packed some of her clothing and personal items, then watched the clock on her table for the crucial hour to strike. After midnight the entire household would be asleep. Matters were turning out very well, what with Henry all but agreeing to help her and Sir Julien’s being away from the house.
    Perhaps almost too well.
    Just whom might Julien be meeting on a ship from London? What if he had only pretended to leave for the harbor? He could return to the estate after nightfall, conceal his horse in the thicket, and enter without being seen—perhaps to wait in the darkened library for her and Henry.
    â€œI’m being too suspicious,” she murmured to the walls, “but it does appear that the Black Diamond, and escape to Isandlwana, is being handed to me on a silver platter.”
    Even so, this Was the best opportunity to escape and to get Evy back. She narrowed her lashes, remembering the feel of Anthony’s armsaround her, but thinking of him now brought only a flood of bitterness.
I have borne all the shame, the suffering, the loss, while he tours about London in a fancy coach, sporting Lady Camilla at dinner balls and the theater. Oh, what a fool I was to give myself to him! To listen to his smooth sentimental talk, his declarations of love and protection.
    Well, danger from the Zulus or not, she was going through with her plans to journey toward the Varleys’ mission station. There was also risk in Sir Julien’s guardianship, considering his loathsome schemes to marry her off to a man of his own choosing. And if she stayed at Cape House, she would lose Evy forever.
    I will not lose her! Not if I can prevent it.
    As the clock struck eleven, she was dressed and waiting. She was not likely to hear Cousin Henry arrive. She doubted he knew that Julien was away, so he would avoid alerting him. Inga had told Katie earlier that evening that she had spoken to Jendaya, and the Zulu woman would have the carriage waiting behind the cluster of trees by the back road near the African huts. There was a narrow dirt road there that led from the farmland to the township. They could leave without going through the front grounds of Cape House.
    Perhaps Cousin Henry was arriving by that road even now!
    Once they reached the mission station near Isandlwana, Katie was sure Dr. Varley’s wife would relinquish Evy. How could they with any Christian conscience refuse her if she insisted? She was sure they would not. Then, by the time they notified Sir Julien, she and Evy, and perhaps Cousin Henry, would be at Cape Elizabeth, boarding a ship bound for London.
    She sat near the door in the darkness, her one bag waiting beside her.
    America, yes—it will be a safe place to begin a new life.
    She stood and began to pace the soft carpet. Her feet, encased in stylish flat-heeled morocco slippers, made no sound. She looked at the clock again. At last the hands reached eighteen minutes before midnight, and her heart began to leap. Though it was a warm night, she slipped into her dark, hooded cloak, caught up her bag, and slipped from her room. The upper hall was empty and silent.
    Inga had left a small lantern burning near the table by the top of the stairway, and Katie crept down the steps, clutching the banister, her gaze riveted toward Sir Julien’s office. No yellow glow came from beneath the oak door.
    Below the stairs, hovering like a ghost, Inga waited, a small candle in her hand. Her fair face was taut and looked even more wan than usual.
    â€œThe kitchen door is unlocked, just as you said.” Her whisper seemed to echo in the silence.
    Katie nodded, then threw an arm around the older woman’s shoulders. “Thank you, Inga, for everything. What would I have done without you these lonely years?”
    Inga showed no particular emotion, but her mouth grew tight. “You be careful now. You watch that Master Henry. You might need him now, but he’s a cagey