Free Flawless by Carrie Lofty Page B

were to survive and, indeed, to prosper, she would need to establish a few guidelines and erect a few dozen walls. Letting him nettle her for the duration of her stay would only drive her mad. Letting him back into her heart would break her in two.
    The coaches rattled down the central thoroughfare as townspeople paused in their activities to watch. Some pointed at the mounted soldiers. Multistory buildings lined both sides. Although new and well maintained, the siding and wooden walkways had been bleached by the wind and sun. Only the signs above each business remained bright with fresh coats of paint, eagerly proclaiming invaluable services or goods.
    “Chloe,” she said. “Chloe, my dear, sit up. Look. We’re in town.”
    Her maid reluctantly roused. The side of her face was creased where she’d burrowed against Viv’s satin sleeve.
    “See?” Viv pointed to one of the garish signs. “A blacksmith, a mercantile, a tea parlor, a dressmaker. There’s the telegraph office and a dry good’s store. Even a jewelry appraiser . . . and another . . .”
    She frowned slightly, regarding the scene as she would a child’s scribble—something she was meant to understand but could not. Kimberley was no bigger or smaller than any American frontier town she’d read about in her father’s newspapers, full of cowboys and entrepreneurs and fallen girls. But along that street she counted four jewelry appraisers and eight gemstone brokers.
    Miles had perked up. His unexpectedly eager expression matched the one he’d worn on that distant afternoon in her father’s library. His instinct for the unnatural made him a magnet for trouble. Apparently his feigned disinterest could not compete with such prospects.
    “Amazing, isn’t it?” he asked, catching her eye. “I’d wager that no street in London boasts as many jewelers in such close proximity. You’ll find it’s quite a town, Viv.”
    “So it’s true then, about the diamonds? This isn’t some malicious fiction trumped up by ambitious colonials?”
    He smiled broadly. “All true. You’ll believe it when those jewels are out of the shop cases and draped around your neck.”
    “We’re here to work.”
    “But diamonds are our work.” Leaning back against the padded bench, he appeared far too relaxed in that confined coach. “Wait until you see the Big Hole.”
    “The Big Hole? That hardly sounds promising.”
    “Like I said, wait and see. It’s . . . staggering.”
    Upon arriving at the coach station, Viv stepped out and surreptitiously stretched her stiff legs. Chloe limply followed her into the open air, and Miles waited by her side as the coach’s other occupants bustled away to resume their lives in Kimberley. Adam and Mr. Kato appeared, the former taking charge of Chloe and directing the latter in the collection of Viv’s luggage. Mr. Kato smiled and greeted two other Africans, their language so entirely foreign, full of clicks and sharp consonants. Miles was right. They would pay the man well, not just for his strength but for what he could teach them about the Cape.
    “Take everything on to the house,” Miles called to Adam. “We’ll join you shortly.”
    Viv raised her brows when they were alone. “We have a house?”
    “‘House’ makes it sound insignificant. It’s not small.” He leaned nearer. “Just remember that without me, right now, you’d be asking that coward Haverstock for more than just directions to a suitable hotel.”
    “Don’t be facetious. It has no appeal for me, Miles. Never did. I appreciate that I’m beholden to you and that I require your help. Now please, stop beating me with it.”
    He tipped his head. “That frustrates you, doesn’t it? Being beholden to me.”
    “Yes.”
    He smiled, cool and distant, and donned a functional bowler. “Find a way around it, Vivie.”
    She licked her bottom lip and tasted salt and dust. He would push and prod, she would fend him off, and they would start all over again. Their