The White Amah

by Ann Massey

  She glanced down at the notes she’d made about bidding. Lady Entwistle had been teaching her how to play bridge and she liked it nearly as much as mah-jongg. They’d signed up in a tournament at the Women’s Institute and she wasn’t going to let her moody daughter spoil it for her.

  She massaged her face with anti-ageing cream. ‘And don’t bother Mrs Smith. It’s her half-day and she’ll want to get off on time.’ It was strange how the English didn’t have any idea how to manage servants. She would never let a housekeeper dictate to her.

  Adele wandered into the kitchen, where Mrs Smith was down on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. ‘Don’t walk on my clean floor,’ she warned gruffly. She’d spent the whole morning preparing dinner and the kitchen was filled with the smell of grilled pork, chicken soup and steamed castle puddings. Adele looked at the puddings longingly. ‘Don’t even think about it, dear. There’s only just enough for your dinners.’

  ‘Our cook always makes me special treats like pineapple tart with mango ice cream, not plain boring puddings like you make,’ complained Adele.

  Mrs Smith had spent all morning cooking and now she had to go home to make her old man’s dinner. Spoilt little madam, she thought indignantly. Thank goodness they were leaving. She’d be glad to see the back of the whole pack of them.

  ‘Tell me some other time, dear. I washed those seat covers for Pau. Nasty-smelling things they were too. Take them up to his room, there’s a good girl.’ She picked up her bucket and went into the scullery, banging the door behind her.

  Adele didn’t see why she should help Pau out after what he’d said to her. She struggled to carry the heavy lambswool seat covers, still warm from the dryer, up the staircase. Pau had really hurt her feelings. She’d been too ashamed to tell her mother what he said when she’d asked if she could go to the races with him and Clarence. The tears started to prick as she remembered his hurtful words.

  ‘There isn’t room for you, Fatty,’ he’d said when she’d asked why she couldn’t go with them.

  ‘I’m not fat, am I, Clarrie?’ she’d asked Clarence, her dimpled chin quivering.

  ‘Fat? You’re so fat Dad had to buy two airline tickets for you,’ Clarence joked. He winked at his brother and they both laughed when she glared at them.

  She dropped the seat covers on the bedroom floor and looked at the clutter in distaste. Clarence and Pau were used to having an army of servants pandering to their every whim, but this wasn’t Miri, and the overstretched housekeeper had neither the time nor inclination to pick up after them. The room the brothers shared looked like a bomb had exploded: clothes were strewn all over the carpet and hanging half out of drawers; and the dressing table, sticky from the gel Pau used on his spiky, multi-coloured hair, was littered with balled tissues, overflowing ashtrays, chewed gum and expensive toiletries. How can they stand to live in such a muddle? Didn’t they notice the smell?

  She crossed to the window to let in some fresh air and caught a glimpse of herself in the spotted cheval mirror. She looked at her reflection in dismay. No wonder David liked Mei Li better than her. Tears of self-pity rolled down her cheek. David was Adele’s first love and she spent many long hours daydreaming about him. In her fantasies she imagined him falling in love with her when she was a grown-up lady, so she had been taken by surprise at dinner when David had proudly announced that he was going to marry her amah.

  ‘I won’t be going into chambers tomorrow, Pa. Mei Li and I have some things to see to in town,’ he had said without explaining the reason for the trip, guessing Mei Li wouldn’t want everyone speculating about the meeting with her mother.

  ‘Take as long as you like, dear boy,’ said his father.

  ‘You’ll have to take me too or you can’t go. Mei Li’s just an amah and she has to do what I say,’ Adele had told him, trying not to cry.

  David turned on her angrily. ‘She’s quitting. And don’t let me hear you talk to my fiancée like that again, ever. Is that understood?’

  The way he looked at Adele made her feel small and ugly. It wasn’t fair. He’d been her friend until Mei Li came along and spoiled everything. She hated the way the two of them had stood there holding hands with silly grins on their faces. She stood at the mirror, willing the tears into her eyes. I hate her … I hate David … I hate Pau and Clarence … I hate them all. Smarting from the sting of unreturned love, she threw herself on the closest bed and burst into tears of rage. Then, exhausted by her fit of temper, she fell asleep.

  When she woke up she was surprised that only half an hour had passed. Nobody would be home for hours and there was nothing she wanted to do. She looked at the unmade beds with distaste. Tidying up her own room was one of Mei Li’s jobs, and sometimes Adele would help. Once the household jobs were finished her amah was free to do fun things like stringing beads to make the colourful, intricate necklaces the Dayaks sold in the local market. Maybe if she tidied up the boys’ room they would play with her when they got home.

  Competently, Adele smoothed the sheet and plumped up the pillows on Pau’s bed. She picked up, hung or folded their clothes, and put the tops back on their toiletries and lined them up neatly in a row on top of the tall boy. That looked better. Now all she had to do was find a place for the seat covers. She opened the crammed closet; the only possible place they’d fit was on the top shelf. Standing on a chair, she surveyed the luggage distributed haphazardly on the shelf. The bulky seat covers needed more space. If they were to fit she’d have to move a few things around. She pushed one of the suitcases to the side and put an overnight bag on top of it.

  She saw something interesting right at the back of the shelf in a corner. She hadn’t noticed the box at first because it had been hidden by the bag. It was made of steel about the size of a shoebox and it felt heavy. She shook it curiously, disappointed because the box was securely locked. She wondered what Pau had in here that he didn’t want anyone to know about. She was excited at the prospect of discovering her brother’s secret. She knew the security box must belong to Pau because she knew all Clarence’s secrets. Back home she snooped in his room all the time and she’d never seen this box among his things.

  The numbers on the combination lock ran from nought to nine and there were thousands of possible combinations. But Adele didn’t know that and she began to twirl the numbers randomly. After a while she became confused and looked round for a pen and pad. It was just a matter of being organised. It had to be four numbers, so that ruled out birthdates, car regos and phone numbers. There’s no rush, she told herself as she wrote down 1-2-3-4. It was just a matter of being patient and she had plenty of time.

  Two hours later she’d had enough. Just one more try and then she was giving up. She’d thought of everything. Suddenly a number came into her head and she knew, she just knew it had to be the one. Trembling with excitement, she spun the dial to 6-8-8-9, the number of their house in Miri. You’re not as clever as you thought, Pau, she thought smugly as she opened the lid.

  She lifted out the divided change drawer. In the compartment below was a black velvet drawstring pouch. She emptied it onto the bed. A multicoloured cascade of precious jewels spilled across the bedspread. Most dazzling was a diamond choker. She had difficulty fastening the clasp around her neck, but she managed and then she ran over to the mirror. If only David could see her wearing this. It was fun trying on all the necklaces, rings and bracelets and Adele forget about the time as she played with the priceless trinkets. She lined up the ornaments in order of preference, with the brilliant diamond necklace being her favourite, but she still wasn’t completely happy with the ranking and she moved the delicate heartshaped locket with the little ruby ahead of the heavy wooden beads. It was pretty, but not in the same league as the rest of the collection. She was sure Pau had bought the locket for her. And those wooden beads must be for Mei Li. They looked like something her amah would wear. He must have a lot of girlfriends, she thought enviously, hoping a special boy would buy her expensive presents one
day.

  ‘Adele!’ called Madam Ling. ‘We’re home. Where are you?’

  Adele knew she was going to be in trouble if she was caught going through Pau’s stuff. Hastily she began stuffing the jewellery back into the pouch. Her hand was shaking as she reset the lock. She put the box in its hiding place at the back of the wardrobe and was hurrying to escape detection when she saw the wooden beads had fallen on the floor. She just had time to snatch up the necklace and hide it behind her back before the door opened and her mother came in.

  ‘What are you doing in your brothers’ room? You’ve been snooping, haven’t you?’ Madam Ling said in a cross voice, looking at her daughter for any sign of guilt.

  Adele wanted to tell her about the box and all the treasures, but she knew she couldn’t admit she’d gone through her brothers’ things.

  ‘No, I haven’t. Mrs Smith washed Pau’s car seat covers and she asked me to bring them up to their room. Her legs aren’t what they were and she finds the stairs a trial,’ she replied, repeating the housekeeper’s frequently heard complaint.

  ‘She has no right to get you to do her work,’ bristled her mother. ‘Servants in this country just don’t know their place. You tell her no if she asks you again. Remember your position. You’re my daughter. Stay out of the kitchen, and your brothers’ room,’ she said, moving to the door. ‘I’ll be in my bedroom having a rest before dinner and I don’t want to be disturbed.’

  ‘Yes, Mother,’ said Adele dutifully.

  She followed her mother out of the room and shut the door behind them. She didn’t relax until she was in her own room. In front of the mirror she smiled at her reflection. The heavy intricate necklace looked much better now that it wasn’t being outshone by the gem-encrusted jewellery. But I’d rather have diamonds any day, she thought, dismissing the rare and outstanding Sarawakian masterpiece as a crude ornament that could be bought in the native markets for a couple of ringgit.

  Chapter 31

  ‘I’M GLAD WE’RE FINALLY GOING HOME, but I wish you were coming too,’ grumbled Adele.

  ‘We’ll come and see you often,’ said Mei Li with a reassuring smile. She was smiling more these days. The charges against Tuff had been dropped and she was due to be released today. Telling her grandparents about Rubiah’s death was going to be hard, but at least Mei Li was spared the horror of admitting her own mother was Rubiah’s killer.

  ‘I got you a going-away present.’ Mei Li took a brightly wrapped package out of her pocket.

  Adele tore open the package and fastened the bracelet around her wrist. ‘Thank you! I love it. I’ll treasure it forever.’ She was delighted by the charms but embarrassed that she had nothing to give her amah in return. And then she remembered the wooden beads she’d found in her brothers’ wardrobe. She hadn’t had a chance to put them back and they hadn’t been missed, though it had been over a week since she’d discovered the jewellery box. ‘I’ve got something for you too.’ She ran upstairs and rummaged under a pile of folded tops where she’d hidden the necklace.

  Mei Li couldn’t believe her eyes. She gazed at the intricately carved beads in disbelief. What was Adele doing with the collar of the matriarch, her tribe’s most sacred relic, the precious ornament her grandmother had entrusted into her care and which had been commandeered by Rubiah?

  ‘Don’t you like it?’ asked Adele, puzzled by Mei Li’s silence.

  ‘Where you get this?’ Mei Li asked so fiercely she frightened the little girl.

  ‘I bought it for you … in London.’

  ‘Is that truth?’ Mei Li asked in a loud angry voice that scared Adele, who had never heard her amah yell before.

  ‘Why are you getting angry? They’re just cheap wooden beads. You can buy them in the market in Miri for a couple of ring-git.’

  ‘These are very special beads,’ Mei Li answered, appalled by the girl’s disrespect for her family’s treasured icon. The necklace was unique. Each bead was carved with an animal, plant, bird or fish, all revered totems of her tribe. Others might be similar to a casual onlooker but not to a member of her family. Mei Li knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this was her grandmother’s necklace.

  ‘You find shop again?’ she asked. Perhaps the jeweller would recognise the thief who had sold him the tribal artefact. She wondered if she should ring the police straightaway or wait until David came home.

  Adele went bright red. “I didn’t buy it in a shop. I … found it,’ she finished unconvincingly.

  ‘Go on, Adele,’ said Mei Li, watching her sharply.

  Adele dropped her gaze.‘ I’ll get in trouble,’ she wailed.

  Mei Li knew she could have promised Adele that everything would be fine but that would have been be a lie. She knew Adele’s revelation would destroy a member of her family and Adele would have to live with the blame for the rest of her life. Mei Li’s voice was firm. She spoke to Adele honestly, in the way her grandmother had spoken to her when she was a child.

  ‘Always tell truth and take punishment.’

  A few minutes later they were standing in the boys’ bedroom.

  ‘There,’ Adele said proudly as she unlocked the box, took out the pouch and emptied its contents onto the satin counterpane. ‘Aren’t they beautiful?’ She picked up the sparkling bracelets and necklaces in delight.

  ‘Did you get beads out of here too?’

  ‘Yes,’ admitted Adele, too ashamed to look Mei Li in the face. ‘Sorry. I’ll get you something much better than these.’

  ‘Don’t say anything to Pau.’

  ‘Do you think I’m crazy? Pau would kill us if he finds out we’ve been going through his stuff. It’s just an expression,’ Adele said, laughing at Mei Li’s shocked face.

  Mei Li smiled weakly. Her head was in turmoil with wild dark thoughts she couldn’t share with Pau’s innocent little sister. There was no way she was going to tell Adele about her suspicions. That would be Adele’s mother’s job and she felt sorry for Madam Ling. It was a dreadful thing for a mother to find out about her son, especially when she doted on him.

  ‘There’s no hurry,’ said Adele, and she slipped a heavy gold bangle on her wrist.

  Madam Ling had gone up to town to do some last-minute shopping before they all flew out at the end of the week and was staying in their London apartment overnight. Lady Entwistle was out for the day too. It was her turn to do the church flowers and she’d taken along her housekeeper to help with the masses of flowers she’d picked from the garden.

  ‘I won’t be home before teatime,’ she said before she left. ‘I’m dining at the parsonage and then I’ve got my book club in the afternoon. Do be careful, Mrs Smith,’ she scolded as water from the heavy pails her housekeeper was lugging splashed on the marble tiles.

  The boys’ bedroom was at the rear of the house and Adele and Mei Li didn’t hear the car pull up or the tread of footsteps ascending the spiral staircase. The thickly piled Aubusson rug muffled the footsteps down the corridor and both girls were shocked when the door suddenly opened.

  ‘Oh, it’s only Clarrie,’ said Adele in relief. He might yell at her but even when he was really angry he’d never twisted her arm up her back or given her a painful Chinese burn, unlike Pau, who would wrestle her to the ground and cover her mouth with his hand so she couldn’t breath and couldn’t scream.

  ‘What are you doing in here?’

  ‘I was just showing Mei Li some of Pau’s things. Don’t tell him,’ pleaded Adele.

  ‘Go to your room … now,’ ordered Clarence, his voice and face so severe that Adele slunk out of the room without protesting.

  ‘Where did all this come from?’ Clarence asked Mei Li, once he was sure his sister had really gone to her room and wasn’t listening at the door.

  ‘These belong to Rubiah. Adele found them up there, hidden in this box. How they get there?’ she yelled, dangling the wooden beads in front of Clarence’s face.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Clarence, staring at her blankly. ‘I’ve ne
ver seen them before.’

  ‘Only one person it could be then. Pau.’

  ‘I don’t believe it,’ said Clarence, but his voice lacked conviction.

  ‘You know I’m right.’

  He didn’t answer. There was a long silence. His face was bleak and wintry and his eyes were dull as tar.

  Mei Li knew he was wondering how he was going to tell his mother her beloved elder son was a murderer. It would be like a dagger in her heart. ‘I’m sorry, Clarence,’ she said.

  ‘Who else knows about this?’

  ‘Nobody, everyone out.’

  ‘We have to get out of here,’ said Clarence. ‘Pau’s right behind me and I don’t think we can trust Adele to hold her tongue.’

  ‘Oh no,’ she moaned, gripping his arm so tightly he winced.

  ‘Don’t look so scared, Mei Li. I won’t let anything happen to you and Little Sister. Put a few things in an overnight bag for you and Adele,’ he said, taking charge of the situation, ‘and I’ll leave a note for Lady Entwistle. And I’ll phone David to let him know you’re on your way up. And hurry.’

  He was sitting on a hard oak hall chair, hunched over the security box, when Adele, unaware of her brother’s distress, skipped down the stairs, followed more slowly and sombrely by Mei Li, who was clutching a hurriedly packed bag.

  Clarence took the note he’d written to Lady Entwistle out of his breast pocket and placed it on the marble side table. ‘I called David while you were getting ready,’ he told Mei Li. ‘He’s going to meet you at the mews flat. I told him we should get there by nine, depending on the traffic. C’mon, let’s get out of here.’

  Chapter 32

  EVERY THURSDAY EVENING DAVID JOINED HIS FATHER for drinks at an Italian restaurant just down the road from chambers. After the waiter had taken their order Sir Roland smiled at his son. ‘It’s good news that Tuff is finally free. I expect Mei Li will want to see her mother straightaway.’