Page 81 of The Sapphire Child
He paused again and Stella had the impression he was finding it difficult to talk about.
‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’
‘No, I do want to.’ He cleared his throat. ‘My father died after a long illness and the farm was sold. I wanted my mother and sister to have a secure income so the money went on an annuity and a smaller place to live in.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ said Stella. ‘Were you close to your father?’
Hugh nodded.
‘I know how that feels.’ Stella squeezed his hand. They fell silent, then she asked, ‘I thought your sister was married and lived in Dublin? MrsHenry French.’
He looked momentarily startled. ‘Fancy you remembering that. Yes, that’s my other sister – the older one.’
‘I wrote to you care of her,’ Stella said, ‘but I couldn’t remember the address. Andrew’s mother pretended she’d mislaid your letter but I’m sure she destroyed it.’
‘What an unpleasant woman,’ Hugh said. ‘You haven’t really told me about the Scotland trip in any detail. Is now the time?’
Stella sighed. ‘No, let’s leave it. It’s a long sorry saga and I don’t want to dwell on it when I’ve got you here to myself.’
‘Fine,’ said Hugh, moving closer. ‘Then maybe we can do what I’ve been longing to do all evening?’
Stella’s pulse quickened. ‘Which is?’
He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
Heart thudding, Stella said, ‘Again, please.’
She parted her lips and this time Hugh kissed her for longer. Stella thrilled at his embrace and the way he touched her face. She could have sat there all night kissing, but the chowkidar called out at something or someone beyond the gate. They broke apart.
‘I must let you get to bed,’ she said huskily. ‘And Ma will be waiting up to make sure I do too.’
Hugh smiled and kissed her on the nose. ‘I’ll have to be content with dreaming about you then, Miss Dubois.’
They went inside together. As she climbed the stairs, she heard Hugh walking off down the lower corridor to his room. She couldn’t stop grinning. It was like being on the ship again with them going off to separate cabins. Except she was no longer a naive twenty-year-old and she wanted more from Hugh than stolen kisses and games of backgammon. She wished him to be a part of her life.
The four precious days that Hugh spent at the Raj flew by far too quickly for Stella. In the early mornings, she met him at dawn for a stroll along the Mall. Dew sparkled like jewels on the grass and wreaths of mist hung in the trees as the sun broke through. The air was filled with the pungent scent of dung fires and out of the mist trotted horses being exercised by their officers. Hugh, despite his limp, was an energetic walker. With Stella on his good side, he linked her arm in his and encouraged her to chat about the day ahead.
In the evenings, after dinner, she would join him in the sitting room by the fire and they’d play whist with Ansom and Hester, and then backgammon together. Stella would wait with impatience for the others to retire to bed so she could be alone with Hugh and sit out on the porch kissing in the dark.
‘They all adore you,’ Stella said on his final evening. ‘The baroness said if she was half her age, she’d be vying with me for your attention.’
Hugh chuckled. ‘Don’t tell Hester, but you’d win the contest by a mile. You’re the girl for me.’
‘And you’re the man for me, Hugh.’
He stroked her cheek, looking reflective. ‘I’m not sure your mother thinks I am.’
Stella felt uncomfortable. Her mother had not taken to Hugh with the enthusiasm she had hoped for – despite Jimmy and Yvonne’s approval. In fact, Stella had argued with her about Hugh the previous night.
‘You hardly know the man and yet you’re throwing yourself at him,’ Myrtle had fretted. ‘We know nothing about his family or what he gets up to in Calcutta. Can you even be sure he’s not married?’
‘Ma, don’t say such a thing! Hugh is a man of honour and I love him.’
Her mother had relented. ‘Stella, I know you do. I’m sorry, but I just don’t want you rushing into anything with someone you met on a ship when you were twenty.’
‘I won’t do anything rash, I promise.’
Now sitting beside Hugh, she realised that he had been well aware of her mother’s wariness towards him.
