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Chapter Six
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Chapter Six T he two elders had several fears, genuine ones! The first was that based on what they had heard so far, Ngwika has instantly earned the Chief’s hatred. The second fear was that the Chief had instantly developed a hatred for one of the boys. And everybody knew that he had a frightening way of dealing with people he hated. Even if he had not voiced it, the two old men knew how much he cared about how his kingdom would pass to his successor. They would not be surprised to hear that one of the twins had been killed, if that was to guarantee the peaceful transition of power from him to his successor. There was something else they knew: their Chief loved flattery and so could be very easily deceived. The bearer of the news was not a permanent resident of the palace, and so much could be made of this detail, something which could make the consequences less catastrophic. The two men conferred and then Eshuo-Fuo walked to the window and spoke from out side to the obvious hearing of the Chief. “Achiebio,” he began most persuasively. “My blood tells me that something is wrong. Let me go to Lemvoah and see for myself. You know these women how they see things and how they say them. It is not possible that God can decide to punish a man like you with two Chopchairs. I will want to see the truth and report it as it is.” 22 Linus T. Asong *** That same day, determined to twist the truth to please Fuo-Akendong and so spare the lives of many other persons, the two old men left for Mvoa, ready to get, borrow or steal a female baby if possible in order to use for their purpose. At Mvoa, all the omens were so much in their favour that they did not need to steal or beg for a baby. As God would have it, Rosa Mbeunzoa, Ngwika’s widowed elder sister, had just given birth to a baby girl in the same health centre. They communicated the emotions of the Chief to the two women and the hospital attendants and then NkemFuo made a proposal to Rosa who lost her husband three months into her pregnancy and convinced her to switch babies. They were sisters, it was argued, and were forced to do so just to please the Chief and save the life of one of the children. He assured the women that if the two boys entered the palace the Chief would not be pleased until one of them had died. The two mothers saw some sense in what the men suggested. Nkwika was especially gratified because she knew how easily her husband could act out his anger. Rosa who had lost four children all in infancy, was relieved that somebody else would have to take care of her baby, just in case the death of the others resulted from her way of bringing them up. The persons it took a longer time to persuade were the mid-wife and two nurses. The midwife understood their predicament and sympathised with them. But she asked: “And now that the Chief already knows that you delivered two boys, how will we be able to convince him about this new idea?” “Leave that to us,” Nkem-Fuo told her. “We are the Chief’s ears, we are his mouth. We will tell him what he wants to hear.” He then turned to the nurse and pleaded: [54.198.45.0] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 09:56 GMT) 23 Chopchair “My daughter, do us only one favour. Let the world of no other version of the story than that Nkwika delivered a boy and a girl, and that her sister delivered a boy. Let us five swear to die with this secret. If we keep out mouths shut, the discovery will not be made in our life time. Nor in the Chief’s.” *** Armed with this information Nkem-Fuo returned with his friend late that evening to the palace in Betaranda. It was one of those many moments when the Chief was in no mood to receive anybody because he was just about to have his supper, which looked like a meal for ten men! One of his wives had prepared two large bundles of egusi pudding and ten fingers of plantains to go with. In a small leaf she had also tied a...