The Sapphire Widow

by Dinah Jefferies

  “Just go now. And get the houseboy. I don’t want to be on my own here. What’s his name again?”

  “Kamu. He’s Tamil. Came with me from my time on a tea plantation in India.”

  “Very well, I’ll make a start in here.”

  Once Kamu had arrived with the necessary items, Louisa and he began. First, they bundled the clothing into a sack and, while he sorted out the kitchen, she wiped away the dust in the sitting area. Then she checked Conor’s room. When that was done, they washed the windows and the floor, leaving the front door open so that everything might dry. Afterward she sat outside on a log feeling rigid, gulping at air, her heart racing, while Kamu squatted on the ground smoking a cigarette. When her chest felt too tight to breathe, she forced herself to take long slow breaths.

  While they waited, she thought about Zinnia with Elliot again. Had she been so much more beautiful than Louisa herself? Or had her talent seduced him? She tried to imagine how Zinnia might have once been, but then a memory of Elliot unfurled, and she gasped at the way his smile used to brighten up a room. And her life. That must have been what attracted Zinnia, that and the way he could gaze into your eyes and make you feel you were the only one who mattered in the whole world.

  But what had it been about this woman that meant Elliot had lied to his wife for all those years? That Elliot had been spoiled as a child was clear to her; Irene had brought him up to have such a sense of entitlement. Had it carried on into his adult life? Had he believed that if something caught his eye it was his for the taking? She was aware he had used charm to get what he wanted and she had indulged it, not recognizing there could be such a dark side to it. But that he could deceive her for so long, seemingly with no conscience, was what shocked her most. She felt what? Bitterness, she thought, that’s what.

  Whatever it had been about Zinnia, the woman clearly needed to see a doctor now. Louisa wondered about asking her own Dr. Russell to come out as soon as possible. She couldn’t begin to imagine what might happen if Zinnia didn’t get the right medical care.

  Just as they were getting ready to go back inside, Leo returned.

  “Finished?”

  “We haven’t started on her room or the bathroom. Conor’s room is tidy.”

  “I’ll encourage her to lie on the sofa in the living room. Then we’ll be better able to sort out her bedroom.”

  “Where is Conor?”

  “He’s up at my place now, hoping for a sandwich. Look, maybe this is enough for Zinnia for one day. She tires so easily. While Kamu goes back to see to Conor, let’s you and I go down to the beach. I’m not sure Kamu thinks any of this is part of his job but, as I said, I can come back and finish off this evening.”

  “I can bring one of my lads with me to help get to grips with Zinnia’s room tomorrow. But I don’t have a swimming costume with me.”

  “Never mind that. Wait here and I’ll get some towels. Won’t be long.”

  As he and Kamu made their way back up the hill, Louisa watched the darkening purple clouds move over the sky. They were in for another downpour this afternoon for sure. She got up and went inside. Thankfully the room smelled better now and she left a window open to keep it fresh. While she was checking everything, she heard Zinnia call out, “Is that you, Leo?”

  Louisa opened the bedroom door and saw Zinnia teetering back from what must be the bathroom. The smell was awful.

  “How long have you had diarrhea and vomiting?” she asked.

  Zinnia didn’t look at her as she struggled back into bed. “Are you a nurse now?”

  “You need to see a doctor.”

  “I’ve had it off and on. Sometimes I’m okay.”

  “It doesn’t sound like pleurisy to me. I can ask my family doctor to take a look at you, but someone must air this room.” As she said the words she was shocked at herself and felt choked. Why care when all she really wanted was to forget Zinnia had ever existed?

  Zinnia snorted. “What’s it to you?”

  Louisa paused to think. “Elliot loved you. I loved him. I can’t leave you in need.”

  “Very well.” Zinnia nodded and sank back against the pillow.

  Louisa left the room to go back outside where she saw Leo arriving with a bundle under his right arm.

  “Ready?” he said, his eyes resting on her.

  She felt a sudden sadness grab at her. It was all so awful.

  “Ready?” he said again.

  She tried to shrug off the shock of finally seeing Zinnia and the dreadful reality of her illness and descent into melancholy—her inability to take care of herself proved the latter.

  “Come on,” he said, “you’ll feel better after a swim.” They began to walk toward the beach. “Don’t dwell on Zinnia. We’re doing what we can.”

  “I really hope she’ll see my doctor.”

  * * *

  —

  When they arrived at the wooded shore they had the place to themselves. Louisa wanted to think of happier things and her mood lifted as she thought again about the summer ball.

  “Do you have any formal evening wear?” she asked, aiming for a light tone of voice.

  “What an odd question.”

  “Well, do you?”

  “It would need dusting off, but yes. Why do you ask?”

  “I wondered if you’d consider accompanying me to the Galle summer ball? It’d mean tidying you up a bit.”

  He laughed. “Women have tried, and women have failed.”

  “Would you mind?”

  He pulled a face. “Another difficult question. Now let me consider…”

  She laughed and dug him in the ribs. “A simple yes will do.”

  “Madam, I would be delighted.”

  “Can you dance?”

  “I have a pretty nifty quickstep, as it happens.”

  She smiled. “In which case, I can’t wait.”

  The beach lay pale and soft with large waves tumbling and foaming on the sand. He peeled off his clothes to reveal swimming trunks beneath, then he ran into the shifting sea. She rolled up her trousers and paddled barefoot, feeling the wet sand between her toes, but after all that had happened, the longing to join him in the water was irresistible.

  The metallic-gray sea was heaving so he hadn’t gone far out. Now he came back. “Why don’t you just undress beneath a towel? I’ll close my eyes while you slip into the water.”

  She gazed at him as she considered his suggestion, then went farther up the sand and picked up one of the towels. She kicked at the sand, feeling a little embarrassed, but wanting to go in so much. While he turned his back, she wrapped the towel around her and struggled out of her trousers and shirt. She wondered about wearing just her underwear, but in the end wriggled out of her pants and removed her bra. To hell with it. She hadn’t been swimming naked since the early days of her marriage to Elliot. This was different. She was thirty-two, for a start, and scarred by life. She felt her heart pounding against her ribs as she ran down to the water’s edge, slipped off the towel and slid into the water. Though wild, the sea was not cold, and suddenly it turned incandescent the way it could before a storm. She didn’t care. It felt like shedding a skin as she swam a little farther out and gradually her spirits began to lift. Leo swam away from her and then looked back directly at her. She ignored him and rolled over to lie on her back, then gazed up at the bruised sky. After a few moments, she turned to glance at him and saw he was still watching her.

  She beckoned him over as she found her feet.

  “Better not go out any farther today,” he said as he swam across.

  She was silent for a moment but her body felt on fire. She glanced at the shoreline where the trees were now bending and twisting as the wind blew them about.

  When he reached her he put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes shining. She felt the pressure
spreading, so intense that she forgot to worry about what they were doing. The sensation flooded her entire body, wiping thought from her mind and replacing it with feeling. Standing there naked and so close to him, she experienced it as energy coursing through her. The moment went on, then she tilted her head back and gazed up at the darkening sky, her emotions too deep to fathom.

  “Sometimes I feel haunted,” she said.

  “By Elliot?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s in your mind. It will fade.”

  He touched her left cheek then bent his head toward her. “Do you want me to stop?” he said in a low voice.

  She shook her head and smelled the warm saltiness of his skin as he kissed her.

  A knot of desire tightened in her throat. She pressed her body against his and felt herself trying to hold back tears. Not tears of sadness. Tears of something like relief, or hope, or something inexpressible, but important, really important. Now in this bubble of peace she felt as if her shredded heart was healing. He hugged her and they stayed buffeted by the wind, standing in the water as if there were only the two of them in the world.

  The ocean turned wilder, the water swirling around them under the angry sky, and then the rain came down with such force they had no option but to make a run for it.

  As Louisa drove back, she acknowledged it had been just as well the rain had stopped them. Who knew how far it might have gone otherwise and, though she had wanted him, she knew it was probably too soon to be thinking of being with somebody new. And yet she couldn’t help feeling she deserved some happiness.

  The air, heavy now, felt oppressive and the trees overhanging the road, laden with moisture, were drooping so low they brushed the hood of the car. She almost wanted the rain to stop, but they needed it badly and she didn’t mind the pungent smell of salty sea water and fish in the air.

  She pulled up at home and went in by the back door. Upstairs she towel-dried her hair, changed into a dress and enjoyed the memory of Leo holding her. It had been such a sweet relief. She had missed the touch of a man, the closeness that made worries disappear, at least temporarily. And at least Elliot wasn’t in her every breath any more, though she had plenty of other worries. De Vos and his false contract for a start, and that awful Australian man. She wished Leo wasn’t up at Cinnamon Hills but instead here in Galle, because she guessed he might be the one who would help her to truly live again.

  She felt slightly shaken but happy too and went down to the sitting room where Margo and William Tyler were sitting side by side, hands intertwined, the lights low and the room full of shadows. She switched on a stronger light and the room sprang to life.

  “So,” she said, smiling at the way they looked. “It seems you’ve come to an agreement.”

  Margo smiled back. “I’ve agreed to be cited as co-respondent.”

  Louisa lifted an eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure?”

  Margo let go of his hand and rose from the sofa. She came over to Louisa.

  “I love him, so what choice do I have?”

  Louisa inclined her head and stared into Margo’s eyes. “It was you who said we always have a choice. But if this is what you want, you have my full support.”

  Margo placed a hand on Louisa’s arm. “Thank you. It means a lot. I was wondering if it would be acceptable for William to stay for a few days.”

  “Of course. But won’t you need to provide the court with some kind of proof for the divorce?”

  “Maybe not if we both admit what has happened. But perhaps you might take a photograph of us together, just in case.”

  “Oh goodness. I’d have to do that?”

  “If you don’t mind.”

  William stood and came over to the two women. “I’m so sorry for the imposition. And if it makes you uncomfortable, please don’t worry, we can find another way.”

  “No,” she said, liking the straightforwardness of the man and the clarity in his blue eyes. “I’ll do it. But what will you say to Irene?”

  “I’m not planning to say anything to Mum for now. She’d only try and stop me. To her divorce is scandalous.”

  Louisa snorted. “How do you think she feels about having an illegitimate grandson?”

  “I think she feels confused. Part of her will want to see the child, the other part will be wishing it wasn’t true.”

  “Then I finally have something in common with Irene! But look, let’s explain what’s been going on to William. It must sound a bit odd.”

  “Do you mind me telling him everything?”

  “Not at all. But first, why not show him where to put his case.”

  While Margo took William up to the next floor Louisa considered the events of her day. She needed to process having finally met Zinnia, as well as having gotten so close to Leo. And remembering her promise to contact her doctor, she glanced outside. The rain had slowed down so, armed with a large umbrella, she headed for Dr. Russell’s house. Several other people were also out on the streets, darting around under umbrellas, taking advantage of the lull, and she nodded at acquaintances as she walked rapidly by. When she reached the door, Dr. Russell’s wife answered her knock, then invited her into the hall while she explained her husband was away in Colombo but would be back soon.

  “Will you ask him to call on me the moment he’s back,” Louisa said. “I think it is quite urgent.”

  “Of course.”

  She opened the door and Louisa saw the rain was worsening again. “I’d better make a dash for it,” she said. “Thank you.”

  * * *

  —

  That evening Jonathan came for supper and was introduced to William. Later Louisa took him to one side and explained about Margo and William.

  Her father looked a little troubled by it. “Well, I am surprised at Margo. Perhaps she’s a little more like her brother than we thought.”

  “That’s not very fair.”

  “Look, I’m as open-minded as the next man, but should they be staying under the same roof? What are the man’s intentions?”

  “Don’t be so old-fashioned. He’s hoping to get a divorce, and anyway I’ve put them in separate rooms for now.”

  He shrugged. “Does Irene know?”

  She shook her head.

  “I think all hell will break loose there.”

  Louisa grimaced. He was absolutely right about that.

  After dinner she asked him to come into Elliot’s old office with her.

  As they went across to the hall and down the corridor she sighed deeply. “I had a note to expect a visit from Inspector Roberts this evening. As you know, the contract De Vos gave me is a complete fake. I passed it to the police weeks ago.”

  Her father nodded. “It may be a case of extortion. I doubt they’ll know how to handle it.”

  “We are usually a sleepy little town, aren’t we,” Louisa said. “Just the odd row when sailors have too much to drink.”

  “Exactly. But I think I should deal with him.”

  “De Vos? Maybe, but I thought I’d wait until he turns up again and then confront him. I’m not paying out that amount of cash for something that didn’t even exist.”

  They seated themselves and he asked her to update him on the emporium. After she’d explained Himal was getting on well, she told him about joining forces with Leo to export his cinnamon.

  “You’re sure all this is not too much for you to handle? You have the emporium too. I won’t say I’m not worried.” He tilted his head to one side and scrutinized her face. “But it sounds as if you like this Leo.”

  She smiled. “I think I do.”

  He patted her hand. “Well, be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt. Remember you are still vulnerable.”

  “I know.”

  They heard a knock on the door and Ashan entered. “I am sorry to interrupt. Chie
f Inspector Roberts has arrived, Madam.”

  “Please show him through.”

  It was the same red-faced officer who had informed her of Elliot’s death. Louisa nodded at him. “Won’t you take a seat?”

  He perched on the edge of an office chair and gazed at them both.

  “So,” Jonathan said. “Do we have any progress?”

  He pulled a negative face.

  “What about the falsified contract I showed you?” Louisa said.

  “We may be able to charge Mr. De Vos with attempted extortion. And the fact that he tried that could indicate he may also be linked with the break-in. Maybe he thought he’d find valuable gemstones?”

  “I haven’t heard from Cooper or De Vos for at least two months.”

  “It’s possible they may have given up.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I hope so, Mrs. Reeve. I hope so…”

  Jonathan stood. “Well, if there is nothing else, I’ll show you out. Can you at least keep an eye on my daughter’s house? I don’t want any of these reprobates bothering Louisa again.”

  Louisa rose early, planning to take the dogs to the beach. As rain was never far off just now, she grabbed a mac. As long as she wasn’t driving she loved the rain and the full earthy scents rising from the land, though it certainly restricted some outdoor activities and she hated that. Being cooped up indoors didn’t agree with her.

  She called the dogs, but only Tommy and Bouncer came racing through, tails wagging energetically. Her dogs loved a walk, whatever the weather, but oddly little Zip, the runt of the litter, wasn’t with them. She felt a touch of anxiety and checked their baskets in the back hall but, as he wasn’t there either, she asked Ashan if he’d seen the little chap. A worried-looking Ashan told her he had assumed Zip had been with the other two—earlier he had opened the door for all three to use the garden but hadn’t noticed if they had all come back in.