Page 55 of The Sapphire Child
‘But why—?’
‘I’ll tell you why! It’s where I was abducted by savages and taken into the mountains and held in a stinking fortress where I thought I was going to die and your father and the police had to come and rescue me.’
‘Abducted?’ Andrew had been dumbfounded. ‘Where? How...?’
‘I was snatched in Taha – that horrible primitive little place where the Guthries lived. It was all Esmie’s fault – she’d insulted some Pathans and they seized me thinking I was her. It was dreadful. I still have nightmares about it.’
‘How terrible, Mamma! Why have you never told me this before?’
‘I didn’t want to upset you. It was the most traumatic thing – I just wanted to bury the memory. And I can’t bear the thought of you going out there and being with Esmie when she’s caused me such pain. I know you won’t come back!’
His mother had grown so distraught that Andrew, shocked by her tale, had quickly acquiesced and abandoned his plans for a holiday in Kashmir.
Andrew was reluctant to raise this in a letter to Stella – his mother could be prone to exaggeration – but perhaps he should tell Stella that he did care a lot about his father. When his parents’ divorce came through, he’d got maudlin drunk on brandy and been sick among his grandmamma’s rose bushes. Deep down, he was hurt that he hadn’t been told about or invited to his father’s wedding – even though he wouldn’t have been able to go as it was in term-time.
Why on earth did Stella’s opinion of him still matter? He hadn’t seen her for over three years and he sometimes found it difficult to conjure up her face in his mind. The tiny photo he had of her was so creased and faded that it was no longer possible to make out her dimpled cheeks or the laughter in her eyes.
It was probably for the best that she stopped writing to him.
Besides, he’d had a good time in Italy this summer with his Swiss cousins, and Noel had come too. They’d teamed up with an Italianfamily in the next villa and Andrew had half-fallen in love with one of the daughters, Mirella. He’d had his first proper kiss – several – and they had agreed to write to each other. Perhaps he’d write to her now. Andrew finished his cigarette and then took the letter to Stella from his pocket.
Striking up a match, Andrew set the letter alight and dropped it on the cold earth. With a heavy heart, he watched it burn and then ground down the ashes.
June 1937
Dear Andrew,
I know I wasn’t going to write again but I thought you’d want to know that Frisky passed away two weeks ago.
He hasn’t been that energetic for a long time but he remained the most wonderful companion right up until his final days. I’m crying as I write this. He’d gone into your old bedroom (your parents have never let it be used by anyone else) and managed to climb onto the bed. Frisky went to sleep there. It was Esmie who found him.
We’ve buried him up on the marg above the hotel – on the way to the shepherds’ huts. I wish you were here – you are the one person who would understand how I’m really feeling.
Kind regards
Stella
P.S. A belated happy seventeenth birthday.
July 1937
Dear Stella,
I’m very, very sorry to hear about Frisky passing away. I loved that dog – maybe almost as much as you did – and I can’t imagine The Raj Hotel without him. Gulmarg won’t be the same either but I’m glad his resting place is there. I know nothing I say will make you feel better, so instead I’ve done this drawing of Frisky and hope it makes you smile rather than cry. It’s instead of a hug.
Warm regards,
Andy
Chapter 20
The Raj Hotel, November 1938
‘Congratulations, Yvonne!’ Stella kissed her new sister-in-law on her flushed cheeks. ‘Welcome to the family.’
‘Thank you, Stella.’ Yvonne smiled, her thin lips made to look plumper with ruby-red lipstick. ‘Though I hope you already think of me as one of the family after all this time.’
‘Of course,’ Stella agreed. ‘I’ve always wanted a sister.’
