He nodded but didn’t speak.
‘Goodness, Louisa, you’ve tired him out. You really know nothing about caring for children, do you?’ And with that she scooped Conor up and with an arm around his waist shepherded him into the sitting room.
Louisa watched them from the hallway and saw Irene crouch down beside Conor where he now sat on the floor. She opened a large picture book and pointed to one of the pages.
‘You like animals?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, these are dinosaurs.’
‘I like dinosaurs. My mother bought me a book. Not as big as this one.’
‘Shall we look at the pictures together and you can tell me what they all are?’
As Conor nodded, Louisa, still watching, felt the child was bringing out a softer side to Irene.
‘I just have to nip out,’ she called to her mother-in-law, who waved a hand as if to say, Feel free.
She glanced at her watch. She’d have to be quick if she was to make it by twelve so she left the house and briskly made her way to the court square again. The air was now strongly scented with spices and salty wind, just the kind of day she savoured, but she couldn’t linger. She soon saw De Vos leaning against one of the banyan trees and walked across to him.
‘Mr De Vos.’
‘You know why we’re having this little meeting,’ he said, softly spoken as ever, and smiling.
‘I’m not altogether sure. You know very well the contract you gave me has no validity.’
‘I’m sorry about that. I wanted to spare you.’
She frowned. ‘From what?’
‘The truth. Your husband owed me a great deal of money, Mrs Reeve.’
‘For what, exactly?’
‘Huge gambling debts.’ He shook his head. ‘Believe me, I would like to forget them, but I have colleagues who are less amenable.’
‘You mean Cooper, the Australian man?’
He shrugged. ‘Now, I would really advise you to pay up quickly. This situation has gone on far too long.’
‘Or?’
He didn’t speak.
She glanced around the square. There were plenty of people about. She swallowed rapidly. ‘I don’t give in to threats, Mr De Vos, even veiled ones. And, in any case, how can you guarantee these are genuine debts? Without any formal proof, you could be telling me anything. Elliot’s not here to confirm or deny them.’
He inclined his head. ‘There is something you should know. On the day of his death, your husband was on his way to meet me to agree arrangements for the payment. As you know, his first cheque bounced.’
She stared at him.
‘I will give you one week. But I must insist on the whole sum, Mrs Reeve. The whole sum.’
He turned his back on her and, whistling, walked away. She wished she knew what to think and, if De Vos was at last telling the truth, couldn’t help feeling furious with Elliot. What had possessed him to gamble away so much?
On her way back home she went to see her father at the cutting and polishing house.
She found him with his head bent over some ledgers, but when he spotted her he smiled and pushed the hair back from his forehead. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure.’
‘I saw De Vos,’ she said, but then she noticed how tired her father looked and how much greyer his hair seemed to have become.
Brows knitted together, he frowned and stared into her eyes.
‘I’m worried he’s getting desperate,’ she explained.
‘All the more reason not to pay. If we call his bluff he’ll eventually give up.’
‘Unless he in turn owes money, to Cooper perhaps, or someone else.’
‘The police advised us not to pay.’
She took a breath and exhaled slowly. ‘De Vos maintains it was for gambling debts.’
‘Which may or may not be genuine.’
‘That’s what I said.’
Jonathan shook his head. ‘To be honest with you, Louisa, I sometimes feel I shall never forgive Elliot. To deceive us all in the way he did.’
‘He didn’t take you in at first though, did he?’
Her father shook his head again. ‘I wish I’d stuck to my guns.’
‘It wouldn’t have made any difference. I’d only have gone off to live with him in Colombo.’
‘You always did know your own mind, just like your mother.’
She smiled at him. ‘Thank you for being kind to Conor. That bicycle has made all the difference.’
‘The child is innocent. He deserves none of this, though I can’t imagine what will happen in the long run. He will need to go to school.’
‘I think Leo’s trying to raise funds to send him to boarding school.’
44.
The next day passed relatively happily. Louisa took Conor to the beach, once again before Irene was up, and then they played ball games in the garden with Margo. In the afternoon, they played Pirate and Traveller and I Spy. Meanwhile, Irene claimed her application was being processed, and soon she’d be ready to go to court to petition for custody of Conor. In the fading light of dusk Louisa was wondering about the wisdom of going to see Leo. She told herself she wanted him to know about the progress she’d made and how she was beginning to really care for the little boy, but it meant leaving straight after Conor had gone to bed and then Irene would be very much in charge. But as soon as she had finished reading Conor a bedtime story, he reached out his arms for a hug, and she felt so thrilled she knew she just had to share it with Leo. Now that she was less tense around the child, he was relaxing too and that filled her with pleasure.
Once she felt certain Conor had fallen asleep, she listened to the repetitive melancholic Islamic call to prayer, then made her way out of Galle, and before long arrived at Cinnamon Hills. It was already getting dark, and as she climbed out of her car she glanced up to where a scattering of stars peppered the indigo sky. She felt an unexpected rush of happiness as she spotted a group of noisy fruit bats swooping past.
Leo opened the door and came out to her. She noted all the things she liked about him. His deep brown eyes. The warmth of his touch. His rugged good looks. His dark wavy hair. The way he moved with ease, seemingly happy in his own skin. The way he cared about Conor. And the way his eyes lit up when he smiled at her. He was smiling now.
‘It’s lovely to see you. Before we go up I want to show you something.’
‘Oh?’
‘It’s a surprise.’
Holding her hand he led her through the woods by a narrow track lit only by his torch. The vegetation seemed to have grown thicker in the darkness, with creepers laced around the large trees, and tangled roots winding beneath her feet, but eventually she spotted lights dancing through the undergrowth. She heard the howl of a wild dog and froze for a moment, but he squeezed her hand and soon they reached a small clearing, where she saw half a dozen men sitting cross-legged on mats around a central fire. One of the men was gently drumming while another seemed to be chanting.
‘Come,’ Leo said and patted the ground. ‘Sit beside me.’
As they joined the circle one of the men looked across and smiled at Louisa.
The air was smoky and she began to cough but it quickly passed and then she was able to concentrate.
‘It’s a kind of rhythmic poetry,’ Leo whispered. ‘A way of storytelling.’
‘Do you often come?’
‘Whenever I can. I like to keep my relationship with the men close. They need to know I understand what hard work is and that I value their culture.’
The atmosphere was strangely seductive and, closing her eyes, Louisa listened to the hypnotic sounds.
‘They believe the poems protect them from marauding animals. It is not uncommon to hear that sometimes these events run on all night.’
They stayed for maybe half an hour and then Leo nodded at the man who had smiled and they got up to leave. Louisa glanced at the smoke drifting into the sky and was glad he’d brought her to see this.
Back at his house he pointed upstairs. ‘Shall we sit on the veranda? I have mosquito repellent.’
She nodded so they went in and then up the stairs to the veranda. She seated herself on one of the rattan chairs and smelt the heady sweet fragrance of night flowers.
‘The plantation runs on trust,’ he said, once they were settled. ‘I try to be loyal to them and protective of their interests. I mentioned to you before that they work on a profit-share basis. What I didn’t explain then is that they work for nothing until their share is distributed.’
‘Isn’t that hard on them?’
‘It works best this way. It means they have a real stake in the outcome. In the meantime, I provide them with food.’
‘I see.’
‘And talking of food,’ he said after handing her the mosquito-repellent oil. ‘If you’re hungry. Just rice and curry.’
‘Lovely,’ she said, though she wasn’t really hungry. She rubbed the oil into her arms and lower legs.
As they waited for the houseboy, Kamu, to bring out the food they talked about Irene.
‘I think she’s serious about wanting custody. Might she stand a chance? As Conor’s grandparent, I mean?’
‘Possibly, but it would be awful for him to lose all this.’ He waved at the plantation surrounding the house. ‘And I’d miss him terribly. But why does she want him anyway? She doesn’t seem the kind of person to welcome an illegitimate child.’
‘She’s not. Under normal circumstances she’d be horrified. But this is Elliot’s son. She has lost Elliot and I think she sees Conor as a way of bringing Elliot back. She wants to adopt him.’
He appeared to be thinking. ‘I’ve known Conor since he was born and I’m very fond of him. In the normal run of things there’s no chance I’d let him go to Irene … but at the back of my mind I wonder if I’m being selfish. What if she could provide a more traditional home and the money for a good boarding school? Things I can’t give him. At least not now.’
‘No. She spoilt Elliot terribly, brought him up to think everything was his God-given right.’
‘Then maybe I should get on and initiate a formal adoption process myself? Until now, I’ve just assumed he would stay with me.’
Once the food came a silence fell, but while thinking about Irene, she toyed with her curry.
‘Not hungry?’ he said.
‘Not very. De Vos has given me a final demand for the money he says Elliot owed him. I have to pay him in less than a week.’
‘Or what?’
‘He didn’t say.’
‘It’s probably a bluff.’
‘Could we go in when you’ve finished? I’m getting bitten.’
After they went indoors Louisa felt an awkward kind of expectancy and didn’t know how to behave, so she just sat on the edge of a chair.
‘You don’t look very comfortable there,’ he said and reached out a hand to her.
She had been holding her breath but when he smiled everything felt better. She took his hand and he pulled her up. They stood close together staring into each other’s eyes but not touching. After only a momentary pause, Louisa felt a burst of confidence and, taking a step towards him, she kissed him on the lips, then drew back to gauge his reaction. His eyes were dark and shiny.
She smiled. ‘I’m ready. How about you?’
He took her in his arms and held her so close she could feel his heartbeat against her chest.
Then he led her through to the bedroom where she sat on the bed and took off her shoes while he lit a candle. The light of it flickered on his face and, as he came over to her, he removed his shirt. She felt a strong sense of connection as he sat beside her and, unable to take her eyes from his face, she kept very still. It felt extraordinary to be so close to somebody who wasn’t Elliot, and who was so completely different to Elliot. Leo was not so full of easy charm but there was a depth to him she really liked. He was not the withdrawn man she had once thought, but instead was kind and sensitive.
‘I’m out of practice,’ she said.
‘Believe me, so am I.’
She laughed. ‘They say it’s like riding a bike. But it’s been seven months.’
He tipped up her chin and, as she gazed at the ceiling, he kissed her neck, then behind her ears. She felt her body tingle as she lowered her head to look at him. There was something so touching about his handsome serious face. She took it in her hands and kissed him on the cheeks and forehead. Then she leant back and allowed him to undo the buttons of her shirt. She unhooked her bra and then wriggled out of it. He cupped both breasts with his hands and then kissed the curve of them, before moving slowly to the nipples. She gasped with pleasure. It was wonderful, but also frightening, to let go like this. Out of the blue she felt a moment’s hesitancy. He picked up on it instantly and paused.
‘Louisa?’ he said.
She murmured that she was fine and then he helped her out of her trousers and pants. Now she was completely naked, she lay back on the bed. A sensation of being wonderfully at ease with herself took over and she felt herself sinking into stillness as she met his eyes. The moment went on, but then he pulled off his trousers and came to lie naked beside her. She looked around the room, watching the candlelight flickering shadows on to the walls and ceiling, with peace spreading through her: a warm generous feeling she had been so in need of. He put a hand behind her head and twisted her hair away from her neck, then he gently traced his fingertip from behind her ear and on down to her stomach. Her breath came thickly now and soon he was kissing her again, their tongues exploring each other. She began to tilt her hips towards him. He seemed to take this as a sign and after he had kissed her throat, the whole world seemed to have faded away. There was only this moment. Only him. Only her.
When it was over she lay on her stomach and he stroked her back.
She felt a protectiveness in him so very different to Elliot. She didn’t like that she had compared him to Elliot again and gave herself a shake. Instead she focused on the wonder of the moment and how it was possible she could feel so happy.
‘Conor wants you to teach him cricket,’ she said.
‘When?’
‘What about Saturday when you come to pick him up? I’ll ask my dad to join in too.’
He nestled close to her. ‘You smell delicious,’ he said.
‘You smell of cinnamon and tobacco.’
‘Oh.’ He sounded disappointed.
‘It’s nice. I love it.’
‘Can you stay?’
‘Just until dawn. I need to be sure to get back before Conor or Irene is up.’
‘That gives us plenty of time.’
‘For sleep?’
‘Maybe.’
She laughed and rolled over on to her back. ‘By the way,’ she said. ‘Conor gave me a hug when I put him to bed. It made me feel so happy.’
At dawn she tiptoed into her house and then, carrying her shoes, went to the kitchen for a glass of water. She swallowed it rapidly then made her way into the hall intending to run up to her bedroom without being seen. She was shocked to find Irene standing with arms crossed at the bottom of the stairs. Her face said it all. A mixture of triumph and disbelief played across her features and her eyes were shining. Louisa couldn’t think of what to say and just stared at her mother-in-law.
‘So, this is the kind of example you set the child! Creeping in like an alley cat.’
‘I didn’t want to wake anyone.’
‘Clearly!’
‘I …’
‘That poor child has been having nightmares. You weren’t here and it was left to me to comfort him. The sooner he comes under my sole care, the better.’ And with that she turned her back on Louisa and made her way upstairs.
Louisa sat on the bottom step feeling a mixture of fury that Irene could make her feel so small, but also dismay at the thought that Conor had been scared in the night and she hadn’t been there. As it sank in how much Conor mattered to her, she gazed around her. She cared for Ellio
t’s son, really cared, and a new feeling of vulnerability took her breath away. Whatever the consequences she had to protect him from Irene.
45.
That night Louisa woke to the sound of sobbing coming from Conor’s room. She opened his door and tiptoed in without turning on the light. She could see him sitting upright in the moonlight, his face glistening with tears. She thought about Gwen’s advice; patience was key. She would take this very slowly.
‘Conor,’ she said.
He made a soft gulping sound and she saw his shoulders heave.
‘I know you’re very sad.’ He nodded.
She reached out a hand and was pleased when he took it.
‘I’m frightened,’ he said.
‘Do you know what you’re frightened of?’
‘I’m scared on my own.’
They remained in silence for a few moments while she sat on the bed close to him.
‘Would you like to sleep in my room?’
He nodded so she scooped him up and carried him to her bed. ‘You just curl up in there. I’m going to make some hot chocolate. Would you like that?’
‘Please,’ he said in a small voice.
She went down to the kitchen and came back with two mugs of chocolate, but when she turned on the bedside lamp she saw he was already fast asleep.
As the rest of the week progressed Leo phoned in the evenings to ask about Conor, though she knew it wasn’t just that, and every time he rang she felt her heart ease. The weather remained patchy and the seas rough. She sent out invitations to the grand opening of Sapphire, the new and exclusive Galle emporium, which was to be in three weeks’ time. By then the rains should be over, plus she wanted there to be enough time for the emporium to properly establish itself and be ready to capture some of the Christmas rush. The sooner it became profitable, the better.
At night Conor came into her bed. She held his hand when he felt sad and he cuddled up close to her, like a puppy seeking maternal comfort. She didn’t tell Irene and ensured they were both up early before her mother-in-law rose. When Irene eventually left on the Friday morning, this time insisting Margo go with her, and maintaining she would be talking with her solicitor the moment she reached Colombo, Louisa felt relieved the woman had gone. She thought of Leo. At least when he came to pick up Conor, Irene wouldn’t be breathing down their necks.
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