by Clare Flynn
Jasmine walked though the open doorway and pulled up short. Mary was sitting on the sofa with her back to the door. Opposite her was Nayla, the housekeeper from Batu Lembah. Jasmine gasped and took a half step back.
Mary patted the sofa beside her and Jasmine reluctantly sat down. The woman said something rapidly in Malay and Mary replied, before turning to Jasmine. ‘I understand you met Nayla at Batu Lembah this weekend?’
‘I know who she is. I remember that day. When we were with Mummy and Penny and I had to use the bathroom. And I’ve realised now why Mummy was so upset.’ Jasmine avoided looking at the woman, who was sitting on the edge of the seat, her hands clasped in front of her. ‘This woman was my father’s mistress, wasn’t she?’
‘Did you know that then?’ Mary looked startled.
‘No. But as soon as I saw her this weekend I worked it out and I realise now why Mummy was so upset that day.’ She glared at Mary, feeling angry and uncomfortable. ‘Why has she come here? What does she want with me?’ Jasmine glanced at the woman, still sitting patiently, although perched as if poised ready to move. She was wearing the same purple cheongsam. It was looking grubby. ‘She must know my father is dead.’
‘Nayla walked here. It took her more than two days. She brought her little boy with her.’
Jasmine remembered the small child holding Nayla’s hand on the padang. ‘Where is he?’ She looked around her.
‘In the kitchen. Jinjiang is giving him something to eat, poor child. You’ll meet him shortly.’ Mary reached for Jasmine’s hands and wrapped her own around them. ‘After what happened all those years ago, your father dismissed Nayla. He gave her money and sent her away. She says it was a generous sum. She went to live in a kampong in Selangor where she had some relatives and subsequently married a man there. But he died during the war and his family stole what was left of the money Doug had given her. So, she returned to her own village. There were Japanese soldiers billeted at Batu Lembah and she got a job as a cook. She’s been there ever since and now is housekeeper for the Assistant Manager and the assistants, including Howard.’
‘What has all this to do with me?’
Before Mary could answer, the woman, evidently impatient at the time Mary was taking to explain her story, sprung up from her chair and fell to her knees in front of Jasmine, grasping the fabric of Jasmine’s dress and gazing up at her with enormous almond-shaped eyes.
‘My son. You help my son. Your brother. You help him.’
Until then, Jasmine hadn’t realised the woman could speak English. ‘What are you talking about?’ She recoiled and Nayla sunk back onto her bottom on the floor.
‘My brother is in Africa. Stop this now.’ She looked at Mary. ‘How can he be my brother? You’ve already told me she was in Selangor. Married. It must be that man’s son.’
Nayla started weeping, and Jasmine felt ashamed.
Mary said, ‘She discovered she was pregnant with your father’s child so her family arranged for her to marry the man in Selangor. He was quite an old man. He treated Nayla like a slave and often beat her. She only stayed because of Amir, her son.’
‘He bad man. Very bad.’
‘Just because he was a bad man doesn’t mean he wasn’t the father of her child. She must be lying. Can’t you see, Mary?’
Nayla spoke again rapidly in Malay to Mary who translated Jasmine’s words. Then the woman knelt again, like a supplicant in front of Jasmine. ‘They want kill my son. Your brother. They know I have child from white man. They know Tuan Besar Doug was father. They say kill me for go with white man, for work for Japanese. Then say kill Amir because he white boy.’
‘I don’t understand. Who wants to kill you and your son?’
Mary spoke again. ‘The communists. Nayla received threats. They wanted her to steal rice supplies for them. Money too. From Batu Lembah. Look, Jasmine, you’ve read the papers. You know what happens to villagers who won’t do as they ask. Last week, a man who refused to help them was made to watch as they beat his small child to death. When he said he’d changed his mind, it made no difference. They wouldn’t stop. After the child was dead, they murdered him anyway as an example to the rest of his village.’ She gazed intently at Jasmine. ‘The day of the fire they stole her identity card. Without that the police will assume she’s one of the communists.’
Nayla slipped her hand beneath the collar of her cheongsam and pulled out a folded piece of paper. ‘British want kill me too.’ She handed the paper to Jasmine. It was a handbill with three rows of mugshots. Nayla was pictured at the end of the top row. Jasmine’s breath stopped when she saw Bintang’s face, dead centre on the page. Over the top were the words, Wanted Dead or Alive. At the foot of the page was an instruction to report sightings to local police or members of the British army and the imprimatur of one Lieutenant Bernard Ellis.
Jasmine passed the paper to Mary who gave a groan. ‘Him again. That cursed evil man.’
Nayla’s gaze moved between the two women before resting on Jasmine, who felt cornered.
‘I don’t know how to help. I’m only sixteen. I’m a guest here in Malaya. I won’t even be here for long.’
The dark brown eyes bored into her, full of fear and despair. ‘You no help brother? Please, Missee.’
The door opened and the boy, Amir, appeared on the threshold. Close behind him, tottering on her barely stable legs was little Frances, stretching out her hands toward him. Behind them a harassed-looking Jinjiang scooped up Frances who began to bawl. The amah reached for Amir’s hand to lead him back into the kitchen. ‘Sorry Mem,’ she said. ‘I turn away one second and they go.’
‘Leave them,’ said Mary. ‘They’ll be all right with us now.’ She stretched out her arms for Frances and the Chinese amah handed her over.
Amir stood, his face bewildered, gazing at each of the women in turn before moving to stand by his still-kneeling mother. He put one hand protectively on her shoulder.
Jasmine stared at the boy. At his shock of dark brown hair, his skin much paler than his mother’s, and then at his eyes. He blinked at her and a lump formed in her throat. Her little brother Hugh did that, the same rapid flickering of his eyelids, as if he were either pulling in or pushing away what he was seeing while his brain processed the information.
Jasmine turned to look at Mary. ‘He looks so like Hugh.’ Her voice was barely a whisper. ‘We have to help them.’
Mary nodded. ‘We do.’
‘But how?’ Jasmine looked from Mary to the little boy and his mother. ‘Can they stay here?’
‘I’ve already suggested that to Nayla, but she is afraid either the British or the CTs will find her here. She wants to go to Bangkok.’
The young boy, still with his arm around his mother, was staring at Jasmine. He looked so vulnerable, so innocent. How could anyone possibly threaten his life?
Impulsively, Jasmine moved towards him and took his hand. The smell of him. The skinny limbs. He was so like Hugh, apart from his dark hair, the same wavy brown as her father’s. ‘Hello, Amir,’ she said, ‘I’m Jasmine.’ She turned to look at the two women. ‘Does he know?’
Nayla nodded.
‘I’m your sister.’ She pointed at herself. ‘Jasmine.’
The little boy looked up at her with his mother’s almond-shaped eyes. ‘Jasmine,’ he repeated.
Tears welled up. She had not expected to feel this way a few minutes ago. Yet now, she impulsively drew the child against her, feeling his breath warm on her neck and was overwhelmed with a rush of instinctive love for him.
Mary put Frances down on the rug, got up from the sofa and walked to the door where she called for Jinjiang to come. She spoke to her quietly, evidently giving her instructions.
As she did, Frances shuffled across to Amir and tugged at the bottom of his shirt. The boy looked down and grinned at her.
‘Your son has a devoted fan.’ Mary smiled at Nayla, then spoke to her once more in Malay. The woman nodded and took her son’s hand and followe
d Jinjiang out of the room.
‘What did you say? Where have they gone?’ Jasmine was anxious.
‘This has all been a big shock for everyone, particularly you. We need time to digest it and work out how to help them. I’ve asked them to stay here with us tonight.’ Mary got up and began to pace around the room. ‘You and I need to talk about it with Reggie.’
‘But what can we do? Can we hide them here?’
‘Nayla believes it’s too risky. She wants to leave the boy here and go away and find work until she can safely send for him.’ Mary bit her lip. ‘But I have a horrible feeling about the kind of work she’d end up being sucked into in Bangkok.’
‘Couldn’t she get work as a housekeeper and keep him with her?’
‘That’s what I want to speak to Reggie about. There must be someone who could take them in where they’d be safely out of reach of the communists and the police.’
‘I still don’t understand why both the CTs and the British authorities should be after her.’
‘I imagine it’s as she said. The CTs got wind that her child is the son of a British planter. And working for the Japanese can’t help. The communists view anyone who worked for them as collaborators. As to the British, who knows? Look at poor Bintang. If that nasty Lieutenant Ellis hadn’t had him in his sights he would still be here at Bella Vista.’
A surge of anger rushed through Jasmine. ‘I’ve lost Bintang to this horrible war. I don’t want to lose my brother too.’
Mary hugged her. ‘I know you don’t. I was worried you’d be so angry about your father that you’d reject poor Amir.’
‘Daddy’s dead. There’s no point being angry with him. Mummy forgave him. And how can I possibly blame Amir?’ Jasmine had a sudden thought. ‘Do you think Daddy knew Nayla was having a baby?’
‘She says he didn’t. She only found out herself after she’d gone to Selangor. Hence her marriage. The poor woman seems to have gone through hell with her husband. She said he never accepted Amir. That was why she returned to Batu Lembah after he died. She had no idea then your father had died too.’
Jasmine sighed. ‘What an awful mess.’ She gave Mary a little smile. ‘But I can’t believe I have another brother.’
‘He’s a sweet boy.’
‘Oh, he is, isn’t he, Mary?’
32
Mary wanted to talk to Reggie alone rather than telling him about the unexpected arrival of Amir and his mother in front of Jasmine. He’d need time to take it all in and she didn’t want him to say something he might later regret. Reggie often took a rather extreme initial position but after he’d had time to mull things over he usually modified his opinions.
Closing the inner door to Reggie’s office, so that the Indian clerk in the adjoining room couldn’t overhear their conversation, Mary perched on the edge of his desk and told him everything that had happened.
He took it more in his stride than she’d expected.
‘So, old Doug was a naughty boy? I remember that housekeeper at BL. Rather a looker. Hair down to her bottom and great big eyes.’
‘You have a remarkable memory, Reggie.’ Mary’s voice was slightly acerbic. This was no time for levity.
‘Well, it was all that time him being out there on his own, before Evie came to Penang to marry him. Temptation in front of him every night I suppose. Hard to blame the old devil.’
‘Is that the kind of thing you got up to here before you married me?’ Mary raised her eyebrows as though she were affronted.
‘Hardly. For one thing I’m not that kind of fellow. For another, Jinjiang, treasure that she is, was never going to set my pulse racing. But most of all, after that evening I spent with you, my darling girl, there was no other woman on this planet who stood a chance. I fell for you, Mary, hook, line and sinker.’
She smiled. ‘Me for you too. It took me a bit longer to acknowledge it. But all this is beside the point, darling. We have a pressing problem. Nayla appears to have made enemies on both sides. She’s convinced that her life and the child’s are in danger. And based on what she’s told me, I’m inclined to agree.’
Reggie leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head and looked up at her. ‘You think Evie should take him in?’
Mary was horrified. ‘Certainly not. This isn’t anything to do with Evie. She’s the injured party here and shouldn’t be expected to clear up the long-term consequences of Doug’s infidelity. For heaven’s sake, Reggie – that child must have been conceived while Evie was expecting Hugh. Besides, how can she possibly take him in when she lives in Africa now?Amir is a Malay and needs to grow up here in Malaya. Sending him across the world to a completely different culture and country would be an indescribable cruelty. And he knows nothing of the Leightons.’
‘But Hugh and Jasmine are his blood relatives.’
Mary sighed. ‘What about his mother? You’re speaking as though she were dead. She clearly adores the boy and wants to do whatever will keep him safe.’
‘What does Jasmine think?’ he asked.
‘She needs time to take it all in. She was angry at first. Disbelieving. Until she met the boy, then she took to him.’ She pulled her lips into a tight smile. ‘And Frances is absolutely besotted.’
‘What are you trying to say, Mary?’ Reggie let out a groan. ‘You’ve made your mind up, haven’t you? You want to take the boy in.’
Mary turned her gaze on him. ‘No. The best thing for Amir is for him to stay with his mother. But she’s terrified he’ll be at risk if she doesn’t manage to hide him. She wants to establish herself and then send for him when she’s built a new life in a safe place. Can’t we help her do that? I was thinking you might know of someone who would take them both in. Obviously, it would need to be out of the country.’ She pleaded with her eyes. ‘She mentioned Bangkok but that’s not a good idea. Will you have a think. There must be something we can do to help them.’
‘Of course, I will. But right now, I’m stumped.’
‘You’ll think of something, darling.’
‘Your faith is touching, dear girl, but I fear it’s greater than is merited.’
* * *
Over dinner that night, Reggie and Mary told Jasmine that they had decided, if she was in agreement, that they would help Amir and his mother to get to Singapore and meanwhile they could stay here at Bella Vista.’
‘But will they be safe? How will they get to Singapore?’
Reggie and Mary exchanged a look. ‘We think the train is too dangerous,’ said Mary. ‘Reggie’s going to find out when we can get them a passage on a ship. They’ll be out of the reach of the communists that way.’
‘But the British?’
‘They won’t be looking for her on a passenger liner. Besides, we all know the hand of Ellis is behind this. Reggie’s talked to a wealthy friend of his in Singapore who’s in shipping. He thinks he can find some suitable work for Nayla.’ She looked at her husband. ‘Neither of us thinks Bangkok is a good idea.’
‘I want to pay for their passage. I have my allowance from Daddy’s will. It’s only right.’
Reggie started to protest but Jasmine interrupted. ‘Please. I want to. He’s my brother. Let me do this.’
Already, she felt a strong connection to Amir. The fact that Hugh was Evie’s birth-son had never made the slightest difference to the way Mummy had treated them both. Yet Jasmine had always felt slightly apart from the rest of the family, with only the haziest recollections of her own birth-mother, Felicity, and with her father dead. Now here was Amir, who had never even known their father and, now poor lamb, with his life in danger.
* * *
It rained heavily during the night, but now the sun shone brightly, reflecting off the pools of rainwater, making the dripping trees sparkle. Jasmine pulled up the chicks and let the light flood into the bedroom. Jinjiang always grumbled that it made the room heat up, so she’d have to remember to let the slatted blinds down again before going to breakfast. But first she wanted
to witness the beauty of the morning, drink it all in and breathe the rain-freshened air.
While there was no indication that the Emergency was going to be short-lived, she couldn’t imagine the communist insurgents holding out for ever. Once hostilities ended, Nayla could return to Batu Lembah with Amir. Jasmine would be able to see her brother from time to time. Already she hated the thought of him going to Singapore and out of her life. She was determined she would stay in touch.
She leaned on the window ledge, gazing out over the verdant garden to the padang, and beyond that to the endless avenues of rubber trees, stretching towards the horizon. Reggie was crossing the open sward, returning to the bungalow for breakfast – he rose every morning at five for the muster. Rubber tapping took place in the cool of the day, before the heat slowed the flow of the latex, making it coagulate.
The chugging sound of an approaching motor carried through the trees from the main driveway into the estate, invisible, behind the lines of rubber. Straining forward to catch sight of the vehicle as it reached the open spread of the padang – visitors to Bella Vista were a rare occurrence – she saw it was a jeep. It must be Howard.
She quickly washed and dressed, choosing to wear the frock with the daisy-patterns, and brushing her hair into glossy submission. Today she would be able to apologise properly and thank him again for saving her life. After one last look in the mirror to make sure everything was in place, she slipped out of the room, forgetting to lower the chicks, and tried to walk as slowly and in as dignified a manner as possible, downstairs for breakfast.
When she opened the door into the dining room, disappointment awaited. Lieutenant Ellis was sitting at the table with Reggie and Mary, drinking a cup of tea. Jasmine froze in the doorway. Impossible to retreat now. Why hadn’t she checked first?
Reggie signalled her to come in and join them so, exchanging glances with Mary, she pulled out a chair.
‘Is this a social call?’ Mary’s tone was clipped. ‘Only we’re awfully busy today, Lieutenant, as the new term is about to start and Jasmine and I have a lot of preparations to make.’