Page 49 of The Sapphire Child
She watched and waved until the car disappeared beyond the trees, even though he probably wasn’t looking.
Tibby sensed her unhappiness. ‘I’ll keep an eye on Andrew,’ she promised. ‘I’ll be his link to his father and Esmie. I won’t let Lydia deny me that.’
Stella nodded, too full of emotion to answer.
After that, Stella couldn’t wait to be gone. The next day, Tibby took her shopping for small presents to take back to India, then early on the final morning, Tibby and Dawan drove her down to the railway station to catch the train to London. From there she would join a boat at Tilbury Docks. There was no chaperone organised this time; she would be turning twenty-one in a few days’ time and travelling on her own for the three-week voyage.
At the station, Stella turned to Tibby and raised her voice above the noise of the steam engine.
‘I can’t thank you enough, Miss Lomax, for taking me in when...well you know...and for making me feel so at home. I’ll never forget your kindness or my time at The Anchorage.’
Instead of shaking hands, Tibby enveloped her in a huge hug. ‘It’s been an absolute pleasure, dear girl. Hasn’t it, Dawan? We’ll miss your pretty smile about the place – not to mention your baking.’
Stella’s eyes smarted with tears. ‘I’ll miss you all too.’
Dawan nodded. He put his palms together in a farewell gesture. ‘Give my love to Lahore when you pass through,’ he said, with a wistful smile.
Stella turned and hurried up the platform to where the porter was putting her case into a carriage. Her heart was heavy; the final goodbyes had been harder than she’d imagined.
How she wished she had parted on better terms with Andrew. It might be many years before she saw him again; she was notconvinced that Lydia would allow him to go on holiday to India as he hoped.
Climbing on board, Stella pulled down the window in the carriage door and leaned out to wave. Doors slammed shut, a whistle blew and the train shunted forward. It picked up speed. As she came alongside the barrier, she saw Tibby and Dawan waving through the engine smoke. Then she was past. She gazed out for her final view of Ebbsmouth, its pretty curving bay glinting in the early sun.
For an instant, she thought she saw someone waving from beyond the fence – a dark-haired youth? – and then the train pulled away from the town. Stella’s chest tightened. The figure made her think of Andrew, though it was very unlikely to have been him. With a heavy sigh, she leaned in and closed the window against the smoke.
Stella sat down and closed her eyes, conjuring up India and home in her mind.
Andrew leaned on the fence, staring at the retreating train, breathless from his cycle. He’d left it too late. All night he’d tossed and turned, wondering whether he should go and see Stella off at the station. It would be a chance to say sorry for arguing with her and for petulantly rejecting her gift. He felt terrible about that now. Was he right to have chosen to stay? How would he cope here without her? Stella was his last link to India and home. Andrew felt overwhelmingly alone.
Was that Stella leaning out of the carriage window? He was sure it had been. Had she seen him waving at her? He hoped so. Sadness pressed on his chest. When would he see her again? If only he’d been able to say goodbye properly – tell her how much shemeant to him...She was the one person in the world he could tell anything to and not feel foolish.
Andrew climbed back on his bicycle and turned towards Templeton Hall. Then, on a whim, he changed direction and began cycling towards The Anchorage. He would go and see his Auntie Tibby – she would be sad at Stella’s going too – and he’d retrieve the book ends that Stella had made for him. The thought gave him a small amount of comfort.
Chapter 18
Bombay, India, early September 1933
Stella fought her way through the chaos of the customs hall, already drenched in sweat from the sticky heat. But she was fortified by the note that had been delivered on board when they’d docked the night before. Esmie would be coming to meet her!
She searched the crowds of topee-wearing British as she queued to have her luggage processed and sent on to the mail train that they would be catching that evening. They found each other at the entrance. The sight of Esmie looking slim and composed in a yellow summer frock made Stella dissolve into tears of relief.
They hugged tightly. Stella tried to speak. ‘I’m s-so s-sorry...for not b-bringing Andrew h-home...’
Esmie rubbed her back. ‘None of this is your fault, Stella. Come on, let’s go and have coffee somewhere quieter.’
Esmie steered her into a taxi and instructed the driver to take them to a mission house in the city.
‘I stayed there last night. It’s a bit staid but they do passable coffee and cake – and they’ll let us freshen up before we get the train.’
Stella sat back and took in the sight of the magnificent stone archway, the Gateway of India, as they left the teeming dockside and threaded their way through the busy tree-lined streets of thecity. Joy surged inside her at the familiar sights of India: women in colourful saris, cows holding up traffic, coolies pushing cartloads piled high with goods and dazzling white buildings offering glimpses of cool interiors. How she had missed it all!
Soon they were turning into a narrower street and drawing up outside a modest three-storey building next to a church. Esmie led her into a tiny deserted courtyard and ordered refreshments. They sat in the shade of a jacaranda that made Stella think tearfully of home and her parents.
Esmie kept the conversation light. ‘Your family are well and looking forward to seeing you,’ she said. ‘The baroness will be returning soon from Srinagar – I saw her on my way down from Gulmarg – and she’s in good health too. Ada has been a great help over the summer and I think Felix is rather taken with her. Your cousin Lucy has managed fairly well with MrsShankley, though she’s not as patient with her as you are.’ Esmie smiled. ‘But Lucy is now devoted to Frisky so you might have a hard job winning your dog back.’
When the coffee and Madeira cake had been served and the waiters had withdrawn, Esmie said quietly, ‘Tell me what happened in Ebbsmouth, Stella. We don’t blame you for anything – we just want reassuring that it’s really Andrew’s choice to live there.’
Stella poured out her story about the rift with Lydia and the drunken revelations that Lydia had made in front of Andrew that had caused him to take refuge in Durham with his friend Noel and opt to go to school there. She told her about Lydia banishing her to The Anchorage and her failure to get Andrew to see things from his father’s point of view.
