Page 31 of The Sapphire Child
‘You do us proud, Tibby,’ said Dawan. ‘We eat simply but well – and you have an amazing talent for growing marrows.’
Tibby blew out smoke and roared with laughter. ‘Oh dear, I was supposed to be making soup, wasn’t I? I got distracted by the mice.’
Stella went with Dawan to pick some lettuce and tomatoes, and came back with cucumber, red onion, parsley and thyme too. She set about making the egg salad while Tibby, cigarette bobbing up and down at the corner of her mouth, hunted out an old wicker picnic basket and Dawan boiled up a pan of tea, milk and sugar to fill a thermos.
‘That’s how my brother Jimmy likes his tea,’ said Stella. ‘The Indian way.’ Breathing in the aroma, she had a sudden pang of longing for home; it was over a month since she’d left Rawalpindi and she was missing her family.
Tibby must have sensed her homesickness. ‘Come on; let’s find a sheltered spot in the grounds and you can tell me all the news from India.’
Tibby led them to a tumbledown cottage overlooking the cliff – a former lookout – and Dawan spread out a rug on springy grass in the lee of the gable end.
Eating and chatting with Tibby and Dawan, Stella relaxed. She realised how tense Lydia made her feel, never quite knowing what mood she would be in or whether some casual remark that Stella made would offend her. Most of all, she enjoyed being able to speak about her home and family – subjects that Lydia also objectedto – and talk of Tom and Esmie. Tibby wanted to hear all about her brother – whom she affectionately referred to as Tommy – and how things were going in Gulmarg. She made Stella feel she could say anything without it being taken the wrong way, and so found herself talking frankly about the upset over Andrew’s dismissal from school in Murree.
Tibby shook her head. ‘It seems very silly of the school to let a spat between the boys get out of hand like that.’
‘Gotley’s father – a major in the Peshawar Rifles – threatened to report Andrew to the police for hitting his son. Esmie thinks it was the major who filled George’s head with the lies.’
‘How unfair,’ Tibby exclaimed, stubbing out her cigarette. ‘Tom was a hero in the war and no coward. He did his bit for the Rifles. What a pity Andrew rose to the bait – he should just have ignored the wretched Gotley.’
Stella sighed.
‘Is there something else to this incident?’ Tibby asked, her hazel eyes full of concern. ‘There is, isn’t there?’
Stella hesitated, glancing at the Indian.
‘Anything you want to tell me you can say in front of Dawan,’ Tibby said. ‘He is very discreet – and I tell him everything anyway.’
Dawan smiled and stood up. ‘I have work to do,’ he said. ‘I’ll leave you ladies to talk in peace.’
As he went, Tibby said, ‘Tell me what is troubling you.’
‘Andrew confided in me about something else Gotley said, but made me promise that I wouldn’t tell his parents. He knew his father would be very hurt by it, but it preyed on his mind. It was about Esmie, you see.’
‘Esmie?’ Tibby queried.
Stella nodded.
Tibby touched her arm. ‘You wouldn’t be breaking your promise if you confided in me – but I shan’t force you if you’d rather not.’
Suddenly Stella longed to unburden herself to this kind woman.
‘It’s all been so upsetting for the Lomaxes,’ she said. ‘First Andrew being thrown out of school and then his mother blaming them for neglecting him and demanding that Andrew be sent to her for the summer.’ When Tibby gave her a nod to continue, Stella said, ‘I overheard them arguing about it – whether to allow Andrew to come to Ebbsmouth at all. I don’t think they trust Andrew’s mother not to turn him against them. For some reason they think she’ll say things that they don’t want Andrew to find out about.’
‘What sort of things?’ asked Tibby.
‘Something about their relationship.’ Stella shrugged.
After a pause, Tibby asked gently, ‘What was said about Esmie that made Andrew so upset?’
Stella sighed. ‘Awful things. Gotley called her a...a terrible name. The worst name you can give a woman.’ She dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘He called her a whore.’
‘How distressing,’ said Tibby. ‘Why would he say such a thing?’
Stella blushed as she repeated the words. ‘He said Esmie was MrLomax’s mistress – that they weren’t properly married and were living a sinful life. But I told Andy that was nonsense and that of course they were married.’
Tibby said nothing. She opened her cigarette case but then closed it again.
Stella went on. ‘I remember them coming back married after a trip to Delhi about the time he started school in Murree. Then they went back to Kashmir to start running The Raj-in-the-Hills.’
