The Sapphire Child (The Raj Hotel #2) - Janet MacLeod Trotter Page 0,53

to Rawalpindi encouraged that all would be well between the Lomaxes.

She returned to the letter.

Do you visit The Anchorage? I wonder which artists are there at the moment? I’m sure Dawan will be. Did he ever finish that one of your aunt as the goddess Manjusri? How is your Auntie Tibby? Please pass on my best wishes to her when you next see her.

The residents here are just the same as ever – Ansom and Fritters are twittering like a couple of parrots over the imminent arrival of a new guest because he’s an Indian. Pa is trying to reassure them that he’s a retired Gurkha soldier and so one of the British army’s elite – and also Nepalese, not Indian. But Fritters keeps muttering about being attacked in the night by a kukri-wielding native. Jimmy thinks Fritters is a bit jealous because the Gurkha was probably a much better soldier than he was.

Talking of Jimmy, my brother has been courting the same girl now for eight months, which is a record for him. She’s called Yvonne Harvey and works in Lovell’s haberdashery. She’s pretty with short wavy dark hair like Clara Bow and seems quite sweet – she’s definitely smitten on Jimmy and even goes to watch him play cricket on her rare Saturday afternoons off. Must be love.

Stella put down her pen and sighed. She wasn’t going to tell Andrew how disappointed she was never to have heard again from Hugh. Even if she couldn’t be sure that her letter to his sister in Dublin had been delivered, she had also written to him care of the Agricultural Department in Quetta in Baluchistan. Perhaps he had extended his leave? Or maybe he had been moved to another posting?

But even if he had, his mail would have been sent on and he could have replied. She had to face the likelihood that Hugh was no longer interested in pursuing a friendship with her; he had written on a whim and hadn’t really meant what he’d said about wanting her to be his girl.

Lydia had never sent on the precious letter from Hugh, and over the intervening months Stella had begun to forget exactly what he’d written. Perhaps she had read too much into it and had mistaken his friendly banter for something more serious. For Stella, it had been the most thrilling experience of her life. But perhaps for Hugh it hadn’t been anything more than a friendship over card games and a few pleasurable kisses that had helped him while away the long hours of inactivity.

Picking up her pen again, she began to write about her day-to-day life at the hotel.

Ma and Pa are fine – although Pa always finds the cold season difficult as his chesty cough comes back. The weather has been wet and windy, but that didn’t stop the British from enjoying the usual festive cheer of Christmas parties and New Year dances.

I hope you had a happy time in Ebbsmouth. Give my regards to your mother and grandmother. Write to me when you get the chance and tell me how you are getting on at Dunelm School. Give my best to Noel and his grandparents too.

Love from Stella x

May 1934

Dear Andrew,

This card is just to wish you a very happy fourteenth birthday! I hope you have a great day. Are you going to come out to India for the summer holidays? I’m looking forward to going up to Gulmarg next week.

Love from

Stella

June 1934

Dear Stella,

I’m writing this at the end of prep. It’s still light outside and I can’t wait for the bell to go so that I can go and play cricket with Noel. I’m on the Second Eleven already and I’m the youngest on the team.

How is everyone at The Raj?

The Langleys are well

Andrew hesitated, tapping his pen against his teeth. Should he tell Stella that he wouldn’t be coming out to India this summer? His mother had got upset when he’d raised the idea during the Easter holidays.

‘Oh, darling, this is our first full summer together! Do you really want to leave me and Mummy for the whole of your holiday?’

‘Well, no . . .’ Andrew had been alarmed at the sight of her eyes welling with tears.

‘It would break my heart!’

‘Perhaps just for half the holidays then?’ he’d suggested.

‘You couldn’t go all that way for a couple of weeks! No, it would have to be all or nothing. And I’ve been making plans – happy plans. I thought we could take