The Plantation - Di Morrissey [83]
‘Ah Charles, Tuai James’s son, and Tuai Rumah Jimbun’s grandson.’
‘He did give me some exciting news on our way back. His father and grandfather remember my Great Aunt Bette.’
‘That is exciting for you,’ said Angie. She shuffled some books and papers on the counter. ‘Here, I found this.’ She handed Julie a small bound booklet with a faded photograph of an orangutan on the cover. Above it was the title, In Peril – the Lost World of the Orangutans, Bette Oldham.’ Angie smiled. ‘I’ve photocopied it for you. She sounds quite a woman, your aunt.’
Julie took the stapled, photocopied copy of her great aunt’s booklet. ‘This is amazing. I’ll read it as soon as I can, and thank you so much for finding it.’
‘I’m so glad I could help. Come along, I’ll take you to my favourite place on the river for a coffee. It’s called the Rajah Brooke’s Café. More history,’ laughed Angie as she closed the museum shop and hung a sign, ‘Back in 15 mins’ on the door.
7
CURLED IN A DEEP rattan chair after a swim in the pool, the chick blinds lowered against the late afternoon sunlight, a gin and tonic in her hand, Julie felt relaxed and very at home. Shane, Peter and Martine, Shane’s beautiful wife, were eager to hear about her trip upriver in Sarawak.
‘I haven’t been to a longhouse and when we went to see the orangutans, there weren’t any,’ said Martine in her musical French accent. ‘I must try again. What do you think, Shane?’
‘It was fascinating,’ said Julie. ‘I fell in love with the orangutans. They have the most wonderful personalities. And the Iban are lovely people. They might have been headhunters once, but they have a very polite and caring society. I can see why Great Aunt Bette was so intrigued with their culture.’
‘We didn’t expect you back so soon,’ said Peter. ‘We thought you’d be gone for at least a week with the research team.’
Julie shifted in her chair. ‘Oh, well, they had work to do and the living conditions were very primitive.’
Martine smiled at her. ‘And? I sense there is something else?’
Julie returned her smile. ‘Trust a woman! Actually I was a bit uncomfortable, no, annoyed, actually, with David Cooper. He overdid the tuak, the rice wine, and made a pass at me …’
‘That stuff’s lethal. But you can’t really hold that against him, can you?’ said Peter.
‘That’s such a male thing to say,’ said Martine. ‘You can’t use tuak as an excuse, especially if one doesn’t reciprocate the feelings.’
‘Exactly,’ said Julie. ‘He’s one of those men who’s always touching you and being overattentive. If you like the guy – fine. But he’s just not my type, not that it registered with him. I certainly didn’t want him looking after me. It became unpleasant, so I came back under my own steam, and here I am.’
‘Well, you timed your return well. We were planning a quick trip and thought you might like to come along and now with your early return from Sarawak, the timing is perfect,’ said Shane.
‘Where were you planning to go?’ asked Julie.
‘Langkawi Island. Friends of ours run a resort there, which is rather fun. There’ll be several of us going. Do you think you’d like to join us?’
‘I’d love to, if it’s not wildly expensive. What’s at Langkawi?’ asked Julie. She thought that an island resort would be a nice change from the jungle setting she’d just experienced.
‘There is a series of islands north of Penang, bordering Thailand. The main island is Langkawi and it has rainforest, resorts and some nice eateries.’
‘And very lovely spas,’ added Martine.
‘We’re planning to share a house for a few days at a resort which is made up of old traditional Malay houses … but they are done up with comfortable furnishings,’ said Shane.
‘So maybe there’ll be seven or eight of us. I wish my girlfriend was here,’ said Peter. ‘Do you like fishing, Julie? We can hire a boat. Chris is coming. You met him here. The RAAF chap. He’s mad for fishing. And we can always climb up to the lake, if you’re feeling energetic.’
‘I love the spa and relaxing by the pool,’ said Martine. ‘It’s a very stylish place.’
‘That sounds