Page 76 of The Girl from the Tea Garden
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I am.’ She forced a smile. ‘I’m really looking forward to it.’
Wesley brightened and kissed the top of her head. ‘So am I, my darling.’
Three days later Wesley and Adela were waved away by Clarrie and Harry– the latter tearful at being left behind– and drove to Gulgat. The temperature soared as they descended from the misty pine-covered Khassia Hills to the undulating jungle and river valleys of Gulgat. They stuck to the leather seats in the humid air; the sky pulsed with heat and reduced the vivid green of bamboo and banana trees to shimmering grey.
Adela revelled in having her father to herself– it seemed an age since they had done anything together without her mother or Harry– and he was in high spirits too, singing ‘Tea for Two’ at the top of his voice.
On the journey they talked of many things: childhood anecdotes of Wesley teaching her to shoot partridge; raising orphaned tiger cub Molly; going to see a troupe of gypsies perform in Shillong on her third birthday.
‘It’s one of my very first memories,’ said Adela. ‘I wanted to be a tightrope walker and dance in the sky– it seemed like magic to me.’
‘You were terrified of the fire-eaters.’ Wesley chuckled. ‘Hid inside my jacket till they stopped.’
‘I thought they were hurting themselves– I still don’t understand how they do that.’ She smiled in bemusement.
‘There wasn’t much that made you afraid.’
‘I never felt any real fear because you were always there to protect me. And you’ve always stuck up for me, even when I made things difficult– like running away from school. I know I wasn’t a very obedient child. You must have despaired at times.’
‘Never! You have my single-mindedness and your mother’s big heart– it’s a powerful combination. Your mother and I wouldn’t want you to be any other way. It doesn’t matter what you do: you’re the joy of our lives.’
Adela felt a wave of gratitude and leant across to kiss his craggy cheek. ‘Thanks, Dad. I wouldn’t want any other parents but you two.’
He gave her a tender smile. After a few moments he asked, ‘Did we do the right thing in sending you to Simla? You have been happy there, haven’t you?’
‘Most of the time very happy,’ she assured. ‘Aunt Fluffy was the most amazing guardian– firm with me, but always interested in what I was doing and introducing me to some of the best people in Simla. I don’t mean the heaven-born, who think they are the best because they hold the top jobs in government; I mean people like DrFatima, Sundar Singh and Boz, who became real friends. And I loved StMary’s and acting at the theatre and going into the hills with Fatima’s clinic.’
Wesley glanced over. ‘And seeing young Sam Jackman? For a while your letters were full of him.’
Adela felt her heart squeeze at his name. ‘Yes, and Sam.’ She found herself telling him all about her time at the mission and riding out with Sam to see the Gaddi nomads and the awful confrontation at the Sipi Fair.
Wesley put a hand on her knee and gave a comforting squeeze. ‘I’m sorry if he’s messed things up for himself again. I like Jackman, but he seems a troubled soul. And I’m sorry if you were holding out hope for him and you. I wouldn’t have objected.’
Adela’s eyes prickled with sudden tears.
‘So he was the man who broke your heart?’ asked Wesley. ‘The reason why you came home sooner than planned? Sophie said that someone let you down.’
Her heart jolted. She shook her head. ‘No, that was someone else.’
‘Are you going to tell me who?’
‘I’d rather not.’
‘Well, damn him,’ Wesley said fiercely. ‘We’ll not talk about it. You and I are going to have the best few days’ shikar ever, and to blazes with wretched young men who break my daughter’s heart! What do you say, darling girl?’
Adela flicked a tear from her cheek. ‘I say that’s the best tonic a girl could have,’ she said, laughing, ‘to go on shikar with her dad.’
At that moment she made up her mind to put the affair with Jay behind her. She had been just as foolish and selfish in her desires as he had. But she was determined to get over him. And for the next few days she was going to enjoy life with her father and Uncle Rafi.
To Adela’s relief they were not going to the palace but meeting the Raja and his party at the camping ground on a clearing by the river. They drove past work gangs of men and women lifting rocks from the riverbed– the Raja’s wealth was partly based on stone sold for building and milling– then afterwards the road deteriorated into a rutted track. Wesley parked up, thankful they had avoided a puncture. Rafi greeted them, linking his arm through Adela’s and giving it a squeeze.
‘Bearing up okay?’ he murmured with an anxious smile.
‘Fine, thanks,’ said Adela, embarrassed but grateful for his concern.
She gasped at the magnificent tents furnished with carpets, tables and chairs for dining and proper beds for her and Wesley, with a dressing table and mirror and a tin bath behind a curtain for private bathing. To her amusement the Raja and Rafi preferred canvas camp beds and washing in the river.
