Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [65]
Niah had been standing quietly to one side and now Conrad gave her a curious glance.
Olivia waved towards the girl. ‘Oh, Conrad, this is Niah. She’s coming home with us.’ As Conrad’s jaw dropped, she took his arm. ‘I’ll explain it all later.’
‘I get sulky, mem.’ Ahmed handed her bag to Conrad and hurried away.
Conrad lowered his voice. ‘Olivia, what is going on? This is all very awkward. I’ve had a bit of explaining to do down at the club about you going on this trip. They understood about visiting James and so forth, but some of the old hands did say they thought it “a bit rum, old chap”. How am I going to explain this girl?’
‘You don’t have to whisper, Conrad, she doesn’t understand English. We’re going to look after her for a bit and we’ll just say she is going to be my maid and help in the house.’
‘A bit difficult when she doesn’t speak English and you don’t speak Malay,’ commented Conrad, throwing her bag into the sulky and helping her climb up.
‘Then I’ll have to learn Malay, won’t I? Oh Conrad, wait till you hear her story!’
Niah was shown to a small room in a separate part of the servant’s quarters, much to the dismay of the Chinese cook. He was immediately concerned he might have to train the girl—whom he considered no better than a savage—in domestic duties.
Olivia called the Malay houseboy away from his dusting to explain the details of the house and her situation. She then rejoined Conrad on the verandah.
‘Now Olivia, sit down and have a cool drink and tell me all about this … adventure, and how come we now have a new, er, resident,’ said Conrad.
Olivia dropped into the nearest chair and poured out the story.
‘Oh Conrad, it was just awful … the poor girl … ’
Once over the dismay of hearing of the women’s barracoon and the possible danger Olivia could have encountered, Conrad was rather bemused by the new addition to the household. He saw it as another example of the swashbuckling exploits of his colourful partner, but he was concerned at his wife’s involvement and her complicity in concealing details from the police. He was upset with having to go along with the whole business.
‘I have grave reservations about all of this,’ he said finally.
‘Well, we really haven’t got much choice,’ said Olivia decisively. ‘But we say nothing until we talk it over with Captain Tyndall tonight.’
Around sunset Tyndall arrived at the house and he and Conrad settled themselves on the verandah with a bottle of rum and freshly squeezed lime juice set on a silver tray.
Olivia, dressed in a cool, flowered muslin dress, her hair softly combed into a twist at the nape of her neck, joined them. The men rose to their feet as she sat on the small wicker chaise. ‘Would you like to join us for supper, Captain Tyndall?’ she asked. ‘Now that peace has settled on the household.’
‘There’s been a bit of fracas with the girl. She argues with the houseboy. God knows what’s going on,’ said Conrad, looking concerned. ‘I hope she isn’t going to cause difficulties. Is she actually going to stay on with us, or do you have other plans for her?’
‘I’ll work out something with Ahmed about her future. In the meantime, Mrs Hennessy has assured me she will look after her. It will be an ideal opportunity to learn Malay.’
‘I’m planning to do so,’ said Olivia, taking up his challenge. ‘You and Ahmed won’t have any secrets from me in the future,’ she added.
Tyndall raised his glass to her. ‘Then a toast to you. And thanks for your company on our voyage. May I add, you are looking very fetching this evening.’
Olivia smiled in acknowledgement. She could tell he’d already put several rums under his belt, and that the compliment was a reference to the very different attire she’d been wearing on the Bulan.
‘Oh, thanks for the invitation to dinner, by the way, but I’ve got to meet some