The Sapphire Child (The Raj Hotel #2) - Janet MacLeod Trotter Page 0,148

that made Stella thankful that she hadn’t gone away as it would have lain unread until her return.

‘It’s from Andrew Lomax!’ She couldn’t hide her euphoria at hearing from him at long last.

‘The young officer from the Borderers you’ve talked about?’ Maclagan asked.

‘Yes, my childhood friend.’ Stella tore the single sheet of thin paper from its envelope and read it eagerly.

‘Is he well?’ the major asked.

Stella swallowed, her pulse thumping in relief. ‘Yes – thank you. He’s in Chota Nagpur on jungle training. Where is that exactly?’

‘West Bengal way,’ said Maclagan. ‘Covers a large area between there and Bihar. That’ll be General Slim getting them in shape for Burma.’ Quickly, he added, ‘Not that young Lomax will necessarily be sent there.’

Stella was touched at his attempt to reassure her.

She reread the short note – written on a scrap of paper that looked torn from the back of a book. It was breezy and affectionate yet told her little.

. . . I got your nice letter from Delhi and it means a lot that you think of me. But there’s no need to worry, I’m still in one piece and fit as a fiddle. It’s horribly hot and sticky here in Chota Nagpur. My poor friend John Grant (one of the best officers I’ve ever served with) got a dose of malaria and has been shipped off to the hills to recuperate. I would give my eye-teeth to be in Gulmarg right now or swimming in Dal Lake. Is Delhi like a furnace too? Or maybe you’ve been allowed to escape to the mountains by your taskmaster of a boss?

I often think of our morning together in Pindi – I’m deeply grateful I had the chance to see you before going on active service. I know I’ve always been a hopeless pen-pal but please keep writing to me all the same. You have no idea how much it brightens up my day to get a letter from you.

Love from Andrew xx

Stella gazed at the final line. Was it just a casual signing off or was it indicating something stronger? What did the two kisses mean? She quickly folded the letter; she was reading more into things than she should. It was just Andrew being typically friendly. He was engaged to another woman and had probably never thought of her romantically at all.

Ridiculous as it seemed, she realised that that brief time seeing him in Rawalpindi as a grown man had stirred deep feelings in her that she didn’t think she’d ever feel again after Hugh.

‘Are you all right, Miss Dubois?’ Maclagan asked her quizzically.

Stella shoved the letter in her pocket. ‘Yes,’ she said a little breathlessly. ‘I’m fine, thanks.’

She went swiftly to her typewriter and forced her mind back on her work.

Chapter 51

Two weeks later, the major came into the office brisker than Stella had seen him for a while.

‘I’m being sent up to the Forest Institute at Dehradun to run some tests and I’ll take the opportunity to check on some of the plantations while I’m up there.’

Stella felt a pang of envy; Dehradun was on the fringe of the Himalayan foothills. ‘Very good, sir. What would you like me to do while you’re away? I could prepare some material for the next inspection at Jubbulpore.’

His gaunt face lit in a tired smile. ‘You’re coming with me. And there’s to be no argument. I can’t possibly manage all that typing and letter-writing without you.’

Stella let out a squeal of delight. ‘Wonderful! Thank you, sir.’

‘Good,’ he replied. ‘We leave in two days’ time. See if you can book us onto the night express – it’ll be slightly less unbearable than travelling during the day.’

Three nights later, Stella and the major were boarding a crowded train heading north to Dehradun. Because of the lack of billets, they had to share a carriage together, which was also occupied by two middle-aged men dressed in a uniform that Stella didn’t recognise. They stood up and bowed politely. To her amazement, they turned out to be Italians. Maclagan, finding a common language with them in French, discovered they were veterans of the Italia Redenta.

‘They’ve lived in China and the Far East since the end of the Great War,’ Maclagan relayed the conversation to Stella. ‘Quite remarkable. If I understand correctly, they came from Trieste, which used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and were taken prisoner by Tsarist Russians. I don’t think they’ve ever been back to Italy – but they certainly don’t approve