CHAPTER 3: YOUNG GROOM

During the next two years, Edward became seriously concerned about Dina. The child was definitely accident-prone. During the twins summer vacation at the Blackwell estate in the Barbados Dina almost drowned while playing with mina in the pool, and it was only the prompt intervention of a gardener that saved her. The following year when the two girls were on a picnic in the Egypt Dina somehow slipped off the edge of a cliff and saved herself by clinging to a shrub growing out of a steep in a mountainside.

"I wish you would keep a closer eye on your sister,"Edward told mina "She can't seem to take care of herself the way you can."

"I know," mina responded solemnly."I'll watch her, Grandfather."

Edward loved both his granddaughters, but in different ways. They were ten years old now, and identically beautiful, with long, soft blond hair, exquisite features and their familiar grey eyes. They looked alike, but their personalities were quite different. Dina gentleness reminded Edward of Alex, while Mina was more like his late wife.

A chauffeur drove them to school in the family Rolls-Royce. Dina was embarrassed to have her classmates see her with the car and chauffeur; mina reveled in it. Edward gave each girl a weekly allowance, and ordered them to keep a record of how they spent it. Mina invariably had run short of money before the week was out and borrowed from her sister. Learned to adjust the books so that Grandpa would not know. But Edward knew, and he could hardly hold back his smile. Ten years old and already a creative accountant!

In the beginning, Edward had nurtured a secret dream that one day Alex would be well again, that he would leave the asylum and return to the Blackwell. But as time passed, the dream slowly faded. It was tacitly understood that while Alex might leave the asylum for short visits, accompanied by a male nurse, he would never again be able to participate in the outside world.

It was and as the Blackwell Ltd., prospered and expanded, the demands for new leadership grew more urgent. Edward celebrated his 75th birthday. His hair was growing grey which made him remarkable now, and he was a remarkable figure of a man, with his strong erect and vital. He was aware that the attrition of time would overtake him at any time he had to be prepared for the future. The company had been safeguarded for the family. I have to last until the twins can take over. She thought of jR last words: "So little done - so much to do."

The twins were twelve years old, on the verge of becoming young ladies. Edward had spent as much time with them as he possibly could, but now he turned even more of her attention to them. It was time to make an important decision.

During Easter week, Edward and the twins flew to beach at island of isle in a company plane. The girls had visited all the family estates except the one in Johannesburg, and of them all, isle of man was their favorite. They enjoyed the wild freedom and the seclusion of the island. They loved to sail and swim and water-ski, and the beach held all these things for them. Mina asked if she could bring some schoolmates along, as she had in the past, but this time her grandfather refused. Grand father powerful, imposing figure who swept in and out, dropping off a present here, a kiss on the cheek there, with occasional admonitions about how young ladies behaved, wanted to be alone with them. This time the girls sensed that something different was happening. Their grandfather was with them at every meal. He took them boating and swimming and even riding. Edward handled her horse with the sureness of an expert.

The girls still looked amazingly alike, two golden beauties, but Edward was interested less in their similarities than in their differences. Sitting on the veranda watching them as they finished a ping pong game, Edward summed them up in his mind. Mina was the leader, and Dina was the follower.Mina had a stubborn streak. Dina was flexible. Mina was a natural athlete.Dina was still having accidents. Only a few days before, when the two girls were out alone in a small sailboat with mina at the rudder, the wind had come behind the sail and the sail had luffed, swinging it crashing toward Dina's head. She had not gotten out of the way in time and had been swept overboard and nearly drowned. Another boat nearby had assisted mina in rescuing her sister. Mina wondered whether all these things could have anything to do with Dina having been born ten minute later than mina, but the reasons was that he did not matter. Edward had made his decision. There was no longer any question in his mind. He was putting his money on mina, and it was a ten-billion-dollar bet. She would find a perfect consort for Dina and when Edward retired, mina would take over the Blackwell clan. As for Dina, she would have a life of wealth and comfort. She might be very good working on the charitable grants Edward had set up. Yes, that would be perfect for Dina. She was such a sweet and compassionate child.

The first step toward implementing Edward's plan was to see that mina got into the proper school. Edward chooses forcados, an excellent school in South America. "Both my granddaughters are delightful," Edward informed Mrs. Chandler, the headmistress. "But you'll find that Mina is the clever one. She's an extraordinary girl, and I'm sure you'll see to it that she has every advantage here.

"All our students have every advantage here, Mr. Blackwell. You spoke of mina What about her sister?"Dina? A lovely girl."It was a pejorative she is easily prone to accident. Edward stood up. "I shall be checking on their progress regularly."In some odd way, the headmistress felt the words were like a warning.

Mina and Dina adored the new school, particularly mina. She enjoyed the freedom of being away from home, of not having to account to her grandmother and Clara The rules at forcados were strict, but that did not bother mina for she was adept at getting around rules. The only thing that disturbed her was that Dina was there with her. When mina first heard the news about forcados she begged, "May I go alone? Please, Grandpa?"

And Edward said, "No, darling. I think it's better if Dina goes with you."

Mina concealed her resentment. "Whatever you say, Grandpa."

She was always very polite and affectionate around her grandfather mina knew where the power lay. Their father was a crazy man, locked up in an insane asylum. Their mother was dead. It was their grandfather who controlled the money. Mina knew they were rich. She had no idea how much money there was, but it was a lot - enough to buy all the beautiful things she wanted. Mina loved beautiful things. There was only one problem: Dina.

One of the twins' favorite activities at forcados School was the morning riding class. Most of the girls owned their own jumpers, and Edward had given each twin one for her twelfth birthday. Alvin parish, the riding instructor, watched as his pupils went through their paces in the ring, jumping over a one-foot stile, then a two-foot stile and finally a four-foot stile. Alvin was one of the best riding teachers in the country. Several of his former pupils had gone on to win gold medals, and he was adept at spotting a natural-born rider. The new girl, mina Blackwell, was a natural. She did not have to think about what she was doing, how to hold the reins or post in the saddle. She and her horse were one, and as they sailed over the hurdles, mina golden hair flying in the wind, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Nothing's going to stop that one, Mr Alvin thought.

Timmy, the young groom, favored Dina. Mr. Alvin watched Dina saddle up her horse, preparing for her turn. Dina and mina wore different-colored ribbons on their sleeves, so he could tell them apart. Mina was helping Dina saddle her horse while Timmy was busy with other student. Alvin was summoned to the main building for a telephone call, and what happened after that was a matter of great confusion.From what Alvin was able to piece together later, Dina mounted her horse, circled the ring and started toward the first low jump. Her horse inexplicably began rearing and bucking and threw Dina into a wall. She was knocked unconscious, and it was only by inches that the wild horse's hooves missed her face. Tim carried Dina to the infirmary, where the school doctor diagnosed a mild concussion.

"Nothing broken, nothing serious," he said. "By tomorrow morning, she'll be right as rain, ready to get up on her horse again."

"But she could have been killed!" Mina yelled

Mina refused to leave Dina side. Mrs. Chandler thought she had never seen such devotion in a sister. It was truly touching.

When Alvin was finally able to corral Dina's horse to unsaddle it, he found the saddle blanket stained with blood. He lifted it off and discovered a large piece of jagged metal from a beer can still protruding from the horse's back, where it had been pressed down by the saddle. When he reported this to Mrs. Chandler, she started an immediate investigation. All the girls who had been in the vicinity of the stable were questioned.

"I'm sure," Mrs. Chandler said, "that whoever put that piece of metal there thought she was playing a harmless prank, but it could have led to very serious consequences. I want the name of the girl who did it."

When no one volunteered, Mrs. Chandler talked to them in her office, one by one. Each girl denied any knowledge of what had happened. When it was mina's turn to be questioned, oddly, she seemed ill at ease."Do you have any idea who could have done this to your sister?" Mrs. Chandler asked mina looked down at the rug. "I'd rather not say," she mumbled."Then you did see something?"Please, Mrs. Chandler..."

Mina, your sister could have been seriously hurt. The girl who did this must be punished so that it does not happen again."It wasn't one of the girls."What do you mean?"Chandler asked

"It was Timmy, the young groom?"