Page 148 of The Secrets of the Tea Garden
Libby gazed out at the view of rooftops and trees and the glimpse of busy riverside in the far distance.
‘Listen,’ said Ghulam, pausing in his eating. ‘What do you hear?’
Libby gave him a questioning look.
‘Close your eyes and listen,’ he ordered.
Libby did so. ‘I can hear rickshaw bells,’ she said, ‘and dogs barking.’
‘What else?’ he asked.
‘Umm, that sounds like a call to prayer in the distance? Traffic. Some sort of horn – a tug boat?’
She opened her eyes. Ghulam was watching her intently. Her heart thumped as she looked into his green eyes. His face glowed in the golden light, his skin bronzed against the white of his open shirt. He looked unbearably handsome.
‘What am I supposed to be hearing?’ she asked, trying to keep her voice even as her heart began to pound. ‘It all sounds normal to me.’
‘Exactly,’ he said, breaking into a smile. ‘No drumming – no sounds of thegoondasgathering – no ambulance bells.’
‘Which means?’ said Libby.
‘Which means,’ echoed Ghulam, ‘that Gandhiji is spinning his magic in thebustee. Long may it continue.’ He held out the bag to Libby, grinning. ‘Let’s celebrate with more fudge.’
She grinned back and took another sweet, even though her teeth were already aching with the sweetness in her mouth. Ghulam took another two and turned back to the view while he munched.
‘Are you more optimistic now Gandhi has come here?’ Libby asked him.
He nodded. ‘Yes. If he can calm Calcutta then that might help pacify other areas – Punjab in particular.’
‘I do hope you are right,’ she said. ‘Flowers doesn’t seem as worried as you are about how things will turn out. Neither does George.’
He shot her a look. She explained. ‘I’m staying with the Dunlops until tomorrow when I go to Belgooree. George took Flowers dancing last night and I went along. I think he’s sweet on her.’
Ghulam made a dismissive noise. ‘We won’t get rid of the Raj overnight. Enjoy your dinner-dances while you can.’
Libby felt hurt that he bracketed her with the likes of the pleasure-seeking George Brewis, though she wondered if he was jealous too. She bit back her suggestion that if peace was coming to Calcutta there was no reason for her to rush away to the hills. But what would be the point? She had promised to go to Belgooree and Ghulam was certainly not urging her to stay.
They stood side by side as the sunset spread across the sky and birds rose squawking and resettled in the trees. Libby thought back to her first evening in Calcutta, arriving by aeroplane and being overawed by the sight of the sun like a ball of fire rolling into the Hooghly River. How could she have foreseen that her return to India would be so short-lived, that her father would choose to go home to Britain – or that she would lose her heart to a man across the cultural and social divide that the British had created?
The pain in her heart grew stronger. She shouldn’t have come. Seeing Ghulam again was like tearing the dressing off a fresh wound.
‘I should go,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘The Dunlops will be expecting me for supper. Winnie’s having a cake made – not that I’ll have any appetite to eat it after all this fudge.’
‘You’ve hardly eaten any of it,’ said Ghulam. ‘Are you all right?’
Libby’s eyes swam with sudden tears. She couldn’t bear it if she broke down now.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said. She faced him and held his look. ‘I just want you to know that I don’t regret anything that’s happened between us, Ghulam.’
‘Neither do I,’ he said. ‘In other circumstances, perhaps ...’ His eyes were full of sadness.
Libby touched his face. ‘No other man,’ she said, her voice shaking, ‘has made me feel the way you do.’
He caught her hand and kissed the palm. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
‘Oh, darling Libby,’ he said, seeing her distress. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.
The sky was blood red as he cupped his hands about her face and kissed her on the lips. She opened her mouth and instantly they were kissing fiercely. Seeing the desire in each other’s eyes, they hurried under the awning. Ghulam pulled off his shirt. He laid it down for her to lie on. In moments, they were making frantic love, Libby crying out as they did so, overcome with longing and filled with sorrow that this was their parting.
