Page 132 of The Girl from the Tea Garden
‘She said they had terrible rows. She told him he should just as well have hired a housekeeper rather than married her. And why had he dragged her all the way out there just to ignore her and live on his blessed boat all the time? Marjory said she’d have gone back to England sooner if it hadn’t been for Sam.’
‘But she did desert Sam, didn’t she?’ Josey pointed out.
‘She claimed her husband threatened her with the police. She made arrangements to take Sam anyway, but Jackman took him on the boat and wouldn’t let her see him, so she knew her husband would never let Sam go.’
‘What a terrible dilemma,’ said Josey.
‘I’d still have stayed,’ said Tilly. ‘At least I think I would have– for Sam’s sake. He was only very young, wasn’t he?’
‘About seven I think,’ said Adela, feeling a stab of pain. Not a lot older than her lost son was now.
‘So why didn’t she fight harder for poor Sam?’ asked Josey.
Adela sighed. ‘Marjory was pretty hard on herself. Said that her husband, for all his faults towards her, was a good father to their boy. A better parent than she was.’ Adela swallowed, feeling tearful. ‘She gave up Sam because she thought he’d be better off with his father.’
‘What sort of mother does that?’ Tilly exclaimed.
Josey gave Adela a sympathetic glance. ‘A brave one.’
They lapsed into silence. Tilly broke it. ‘So did she give you a message for Sam?’
‘She wanted his address so she could write to him, but I’ve no idea where Sam is.’ Adela felt her heart squeeze. ‘So I gave her Mother’s address at Belgooree. Said we’d try and find out through DrBlack; send on any letters if and when we know Sam’s whereabouts.’
‘That was kind of you,’ said Tilly. ‘Though from what you’ve said of Sam, he might not thank you.’
‘No,’ Adela admitted, ‘he’ll probably be mad at me for interfering. But isn’t it better that he knows that his mother cared for him and didn’t want to leave him?’ Her throat tightened with emotion.
‘Yes, of course it is,’ agreed Josey.
‘I hope you manage to track Sam down.’ Tilly gave an encouraging smile. ‘Just think: in a few weeks’ time you’ll be back in India.’
Excitement fizzed inside Adela at the sudden thought. After the emotional turmoil of the last few days, she clung to the thought with hope. How she longed at that moment for her mother and home! For the first time in over five years, she knew she was ready to return to the land of her birth.
CHAPTER 28
India, 1944
It was February before Adela finally reached India again. They had spent a month in North Africa on the way, entertaining at military hospitals and desert camps, before taking the train to the end of the Suez Canal and embarking at Port Tewfik on SSPort Ellen. It was a small ship carrying parts for Spitfires and Hurricanes, with only a couple of hundred passengers, mainly American airmen and Royal Navy personnel. Their passage on a large troop carrier through the Mediterranean in December had been anxious– a ship carrying ENSA members had been torpedoed two months earlier– but Adela felt no such fear as they steamed across the Red Sea to meet a naval escort at Aden.
The sight of porpoises and flying fish leaping from the azure sea had quickened her excitement for the East and quelled any nerves at their daily emergency boat drill and submarine watch. How she wished Josey had been with her to share her excitement, but her friend had come down with pneumonia on the eve of departure and was still convalescing in Newcastle at Tilly’s. With huge disappointment, Adela had gone without her.
Prue, however, had been enjoying the attention of an American airman called Stuey, with whom she played regular deck tennis and cards. She and Adela had slept out on deck under the stars so that Prue could chat late into the night with Stuey. Adela had lain restless, wondering if she would be able to get to Belgooree during the tour. And now she had this new quest on behalf of Marjory Jackman to put her in touch with Sam, which gave Adela an excuse to discover what had become of him.
Her greatest fear was that Sam had settled down somewhere with Pema and begun a family. But she had to know; not knowing was ten times worse. Lying on the warm deck, she would be beset by old doubts; Sam’s feelings had never been as strong as hers, and once he knew her shameful secret, even those feelings might be blighted.
Adela clung to the thought of getting back home; Belgooree would be a balm on her sore heart. And there was the joyous possibility of seeing her beloved Auntie Sophie.
Rafi had been seconded to timber production for the forces and was based at the Gun Carriage Factory in Jubbulpore. Even though he travelled all over India sourcing timber and inspecting factory production, Sophie had set up temporary home in the garrison town. Prue’s parents were also still living there, and the two friends had talked excitedly about the likelihood of them getting to see their loved ones. But by the time the tugboats and small islands around Bombay hove into view, Prue’s talk was only of her romance with Stuey. She declared she was head over heels in love with the airman from North Carolina and that they were unofficially engaged until Stuey could seek her father’s approval.
‘I predict that will be the first of many plightings of troth for our dear Prue,’ Tommy said dryly, tapping out his pipe. He had taken to smoking one since leaving London; even though he didn’t like the taste, he thought it made him look distinguished.
‘God this place pongs!’ cried Mavis. ‘Worse that the fish quay in Grimsby.’
The city was teeming with servicemen in uniform, alongside the brilliant colours of sari-wearing women and the dazzling white suits of high-caste Hindus. Mavis was full of complaints about the state of the dingy and overcrowded hostel where they were billeted. Adela took her out sightseeing before Tommy choked on his pipe with exasperation. But the things that were endearingly familiar to Adela– the oily smells of cooking, and the red spit from paan chewing that spattered the ground – caused Mavis to squeal with horror and retreat indoors.
Mavis had the knack of irritating others without realising it. Tommy couldn’t forgive her for ruining their first show in Egypt; it was only then that they had discovered she sang out of tune. After that, Tommy had ordered her to mime the words to all The Toodle Pips’ songs, while Betsie, one of the ukulele players, sang off stage on her behalf.
They hardly saw Prue for three days while she spent snatched hours with Stuey, eating ice cream at the Taj Mahal Hotel and going to dances. Then the troupe was boarding a train for Lahore, and Prue was saying a tearful goodbye to her American fiancé. From Lahore they travelled by truck along dusty roads to Rawalpindi and stayed in Flashman’s Hotel while they gave two performances every day for a week to the many servicemen billeted in the army town. Every night they were entertained at mess parties and plied with whisky while the officers gossiped and asked for news of home.
