Page 70 of The Girl from the Tea Garden
‘Why on earth would I do that? I’m a proud Villiers through and through,’ he mocked himself.
‘Do you know where the orphanage was?’
Tommy laced his fingers through hers. ‘Your neck of the woods I think. My father was posted to Shillong with the Public Works Department for a couple of years.’
‘When was that?’
‘They think I was born in 1907. There was a bit of the jitters going on around then– fifty years since the Indian Mutiny– and all the British were worried about attacks. Plenty of Eurasian babies being abandoned; my parents had the pick of the crop.’
Adela gasped. ‘How strange.’
‘What is?’ Tommy asked.
‘It’s something I discovered a couple of years ago when I was home. My family told me of a tragedy that happened at our house– before we were living there. My Auntie Sophie and her parents were staying at Belgooree in 1907. Something terrible happened. Her father was ill – sick in the head – he must’ve been ’cause he shot his wife and then himself, leaving poor Sophie orphaned at six years old. But there was also Sophie’s baby brother. Their ayah – who later became my nanny too – said he was taken to an orphanage in Shillong.’ She looked at Tommy critically. He had brown eyes and light brown hair. Was there a passing resemblance to Sophie? He was staring at her aghast.
‘My God,’ said Tommy, ‘what an awful story.’
‘Isn’t it? Mother says Sophie still longs for the brother she never knew.’
Tommy gave her a look of disbelief. ‘Don’t tell me we could be related.’
Adela smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Sophie is no blood relation. But what if you were that baby—?’
‘Doesn’t do to dwell on what ifs,’ Tommy cautioned.
‘I suppose not,’ Adela sighed. ‘So can we carry on being friends?’
‘Of course.’
‘But won’t you get sent to Coventry for fraternising with the enemy?’
‘I like living dangerously.’ Tommy grinned and kissed her fingers.
She kissed his cheek. ‘Things would’ve been a lot simpler if we could just have fallen in love with each other, wouldn’t they?’
Tommy looked rueful. ‘A lot simpler.’
Despite Tommy’s promises to remain friends, Adela soon found that her presence at the theatre was unwelcome. Nina was outwardly friendly, but the other girls were cool towards her. She waylaid Deborah outside StMary’s.
‘You know half the things Nina says about me are untrue.’
‘So half are true,’ Deborah mocked.
‘What difference does it make?’ Adela was impatient. ‘We’ve been friends for years. I’m still the same person I was a month ago, so why are you treating me like a leper?’
‘Because you’re not the same, are you? You should have been honest with me– with all of us– letting me think you were, well, like the rest of us.’
Adela’s look was scathing. ‘I thought our friendship was stronger than that.’
Deborah appeared uncomfortable. ‘If it was just up to me—’
‘It is just up to you, Deb. No one is forcing you to break our friendship– not even Nina can do that. The choice is yours.’
‘Don’t make me choose,’ Deborah said in annoyance. ‘Nina has been really nice to me, and her mother has offered to let me stay there after school finishes. My parents are pleased with the idea. Why don’t you just make a bit more effort to be kind to Nina?’
‘Kind to Nina?’ Adela was incredulous. ‘The girl who made my life hell at school.’
‘So you say,’ Deborah retorted. ‘Nina tells it differently. She still has a scar on her finger where you bit her. Sounds like you were the one out of control.’
