Page 62 of The Sisters of Sea View
“Thank you. I would say you are always welcome here, but as you know, the major can be as changeable as the wind.”
“Yes, I do know.”
Armaan clasped his hands and rocked on his heels. “Shall I ask Chown for coffee? We have some grown in southern India. Very good.”
“Is that where you are from?”
He tipped his hand side to side to indicateclose. “The general region. Come. I will show you.”
Viola rose as Armaan retrieved a map of India and spread it on the table before them. “Here is where we were last stationed.” He slid his finger to another spot. “And here is where I was born.”
She leaned close to make out the tiny print.
“Chik-ma-ga-lur...” She tried repeating the foreign word, which tasted like an exotic, spicy morsel on her tongue. “And do you not miss it? Or long to go back?”
He shrugged. “Nothing for me there now. My family are all gone. So no. I was happy to accompany the major here. He has been a good friend to me. A true friend.”
Movement caught her eye. Viola looked up and saw Major Hutton in the doorway, fully dressed. He turned and quietly departed, evidently not wishing to interrupt their conversation. Yet she had not missed the quirk of his lips. A smile of amusement, perhaps? Or approval?
After a few more minutes Armaan stowed the map away, and Viola went down the corridor to the major’s study.
She found him sitting where she usually sat, and for some reason, possessiveness spurred her to say, “That is my chair.”
He glanced up in wry humor. “Is it indeed? I was under the impression this room was mine and all the furniture in it.”
“I only meant—”
Rising to his feet, he raised a palm. “I thought I had better begin on my own as you seemed to be helping Armaan read today.Chikmagalur, indeed.”
Her face heated. “I was only ... I asked where he was from and he was trying to explain. I am dreadfully ignorant of geography, I’m afraid, so he found it easier to show me.”
Again his lips quirked.
“I am teasing you, Miss Viola. Do you not recognize teasing when you meet with it?”
“Not from you.” She barely recognized him either, dressed in coat, waistcoat, and trousers rather than a loose-fitting banyan.
“Ah. And no wonder. I am woefully out of practice.” He looked away from her and then met her gaze once more. “Actually, it did my cynical heart good to see you showing respectful interest in my friend.” He patted the back of the recently vacated chair. “Now, come. Be seated and let us begin. I have tormented you enough for one day.”
After she had read to him for a time, Viola looked up and asked, “I was surprised to hear you went swimming earlier.”
He nodded. “To strengthen my lungs, and the rest of me. Dr. Clarke suggested it.”
“At the main beach?”
He shook his head. “I prefer the western beach. It’s more secluded. Perhaps you know it?”
“I have seen it from the headland.”
He nodded. “Men primarily bathe there, and men seem to take less notice of my scars.”
“I see. Well, very impressive.” She had not been jesting when she’d said he appeared stronger, and now all the more. She pulledher gaze from his tall, masculine figure and focused instead on the safer sight of newsprint.
Miss Stirling had suggested they offer a few games for their guests to play, especially on rainy days. They had an old draughts set, dominoes, and a deck of bent cards, but that was about it. Emily, always eager for a chance to visit Wallis’s Marine Library, volunteered to purchase one there.
John Wallis Jr. was a member of the renowned Wallis family, prolific publishers of board games, maps, prints, and books of local interest. While his brother carried on their father’s work and offices in London, John had moved to Sidmouth and managed the business there.
Now a prosperous man in his forties with two sons, Mr. Wallis was something of a minor celebrity in Sidmouth, known by all and patronized by the highest echelons of society. To Emily, he was more fascinating than any of the famous or titled visitors to Sidmouth.
