The Hills of Singapore (23 page)

For trade in Sarawak, the ship would carry opium, cloth, iron wares, ship's chandlery, furniture, guns and gunpowder to the Rajah's new town. And for Charles and the other Europeans, medicines, bibles, books, newspapers and magazines, wine, beer, cheeses—things from home which she intended as gifts. Charles had written of their isolation, the need for familiar objects. A request for sheet music had come from Harriette McDougall, the wife of the newly arrived Anglican pastor, and Charlotte had scoured the town and had a vast amount copied. She had added a new upright piano, and tobacco and brandy as gifts for the Rajah.

Charlotte had also purchased a magic lantern. Alexander and Adam loved the magic lantern show, in particular the Rat Swallower which featured a sleeping man whose mouth opened and closed as the projectionist made snoring sounds. The image of a rat would then move across the man's sleeping body, and jump into his mouth as he snored. She had also purchased the life of Jesus, the stories of Mother Goose and other children's stories, pictures of Christmas, ships, archers and animals, pictures of horseback riding and cowboys from the Wild West of America, all beautifully painted. Everybody loved the magic lantern.

She saw Alex as he left the classroom, as usual next to Ah Soon. Their friendship was very close, somewhat to the detriment of Ah Soon's English as they usually prattled in Hokkien. The difference in their sizes was almost comical. Ah Soon was such a skinny stick next to Alex. It didn't matter, though. Both boys played together, and Charlotte knew Ah Soon was wiry and strong. She waved as they looked up, and they both came racing towards her down the corridor.

Ah Soon arrived first. He was very fast, and Alex punched him lightly on the arm. Charlotte shook the hand that Ah Soon proffered as he had been taught, and curtsied to him. Alex laughed and kissed his mother. She took both boys by the hand, and together they went out into the park of the institution and walked towards North Bridge Road. Today Ah Soon was coming to her house to spend time with Alex in the garden and to read together the new books which had arrived with the mail:
Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels
and a new book of stories she had heard about by the Grimm brothers.
Robinson Crusoe
was their favourite at the moment.

The sight of these two heads together always moved her heart. One was dark-haired, tousled, his locks tumbling over his face; the other was half-shaved, the queue neatly plaited down his back reaching only as far as his neck. She could not quite ever quit herself of the idea that Alex was a half-Chinese boy. In any other house, in any other life, his head would be as Ah Soon's, and his father would be by her side.

Then she shook this idea from her mind. It was ridiculous. The idea that Alex could be a Chinese boy. They sat poring over the words, Alex sometimes trying to translate into Hokkien for Ah Soon, both laughing together. This sight, as she sat in the shade of the trees, was a moment of pure pleasure. When Amber came with Shilah, the boys made room and began to tell her the story, for Amber could not yet read well. She was learning her letters. When the boys tired of the book, they got up and ran about playing hide and go seek. Alex always hid with Amber when Ah Soon was the seeker, and Charlotte and Shilah knew they had great affection for one another. Adam was sleeping, but when he woke, he too would join the children.

Then the games changed to
porok
, the object of which was to kick a coconut shell towards another to strike it off its mark; or to
main china buta
, “blind chinaman”, which Charlotte knew as blindman's bluff.

When she called the children for tea, they came, tumbling over each other to the table set aside for them, and began to talk quietly amongst themselves, eating the biscuits and cakes that the cook had made. Charlotte was always amused to see how much Ah Soon liked these English dishes. His favourite was, unaccountably, cabinet pudding with treacle, and she always ensured Cook made one when Ah Soon was coming. Adam and Alex both liked sweet sago with nutmeg and cinnamon, and Amber liked anything Alex ate.

Charlotte poured tea for Shilah. She gave her another book which had arrived in the shipment. It was the
Tales of Mother Goose
, the book by Perrault, which she herself had read in French in her grandfather's library. As Shilah looked through the stories, smiling, for they were as new to her as they were to her daughter, Charlotte wondered whether she should mention what Robert had said.

When Shilah put the book down, she looked over at Charlotte. “Robert's boy is doing well? And Teresa?”

Charlotte looked Shilah directly in the eyes. “Robert hasn't told you, Shilah? It has been over a week.”

Shilah looked away, towards the children. “Ah, I see. Robert has mentioned that …” She stopped and looked back at Charlotte. “Do you mind so very much, Charlotte? I hope it cannot cause harm. I do not wish that to be so.”

Charlotte put her hand out to Shilah's. “No, no, of course I do not mind. It is not, truly, my affair. Robert's little boy is doing very well, and Teresa is now somewhat restored. She is staying with her mother in River Valley Road for a while, but I think you know that.”

Shilah's cheeks became slightly rose, and Charlotte was sorry for her words.

“They plan to call him Andrew, after our father. Such an abundance of A's in the family, really. Amber, Andrew, Adam and Alexander. I shall insist that if there is another we move on to the B's.”

She smiled, and Shilah looked up and laughed lightly. “Thank you, Charlotte,” she said.

“Oh, Shilah. My only concern is if Teresa should learn of it. That you should love Robert so much—this is not my concern. I love him very well myself.”

Shilah nodded. Charlotte suddenly felt sorry for Shilah. She had been loyal and faithful to Robert. None of this was her fault.

“Robert is a fool, really. Why on earth didn't he just marry you when he had the opportunity? It is entirely ridiculous.”

“Please. Please don't be hard on Robert. He was young, his position new and I was a child of criminals, half Indian, not at all suitable to be the wife of an English servant of Her Majesty. I understood all that quite early.”

Charlotte sighed. “
Nasi sudah menjadi bubur
,” she said. Shilah nodded. There was no going back. The rice had become porridge; it could not become rice again.

In the evening Charlotte went up the stairs to the children's bedroom. Adam was asleep already, and she kissed him on the forehead. His
babu
was in the garden, Charlotte knew. She had recently become promised to a young Bugis man, and they were permitted to meet, with a chaperone, from time to time. The marriage would take place in some three months' time, well after her return from Sarawak.

This was the subject that Charlotte now wanted to raise with Alex. He was sitting in his bed, reading the
Robinson Crusoe
book by the light of the lamp. He looked up as she sat by him, and he closed the book, yawning. His mother's arrival usually meant it was time to turn out the light. His
babu
would come soon and sleep by the side of his bed. This was a subject Alex wished to raise with his mother.

“Alex, darling,” Charlotte said, putting his book on the side table.

“Mother, may I ask you something?”

“Why, yes. What is it?” Charlotte said surprised.

“Mother, must I have the
babu
here every night? I am nine years old.”

Charlotte smiled. “Mmm, well, let me see. You are nine. It is true that you probably do not need a
babu
at night. But what of Adam? He is just seven. He still needs his
babu
, doesn't he?”

Alex reflected a moment. “Yes,” he said hesitantly, evidently searching for a way around this problem.

“Zan, you know that Adam's
babu
will be married in a few months. Then she will not be living here all the time. She will be living with her husband in Kampong Bugis.”

Zan nodded. He knew the man who was going to marry the
babu
. He was the son of one of the village chiefs. “Will she still look after Adam?” he asked.

“Well, Adam is still young, so yes, she will come in the daytime to care for him, but perhaps we can talk to Adam and see if you can both do without a
babu
at night. Will that be all right?”

Alex smiled broadly and put his arms around his mother. “Yes, that would be fine, Mother. I shall see to Adam at night. I can read to him. I will make sure he is all right, not frightened. I know the lullabies. I can sing to him.”

Charlotte held him tight and kissed his neck, overwhelmed with love for him. “Then we shall speak to Adam tomorrow,” she said. “I'm sure he will be agreeable if you are planning to be such a lovely brother.”

Alex nodded against her shoulder. “And we can make a room next door for your
babu
in case Adam needs anything. Would that be a good idea?” she asked. Alex nodded again.

She released him and put her hand on his face. “Darling, you are such a treasure to me. Since your father left us, you have been such a brave young man. Thank you.”

Alex was pleased and leant forward and kissed his mother on the cheek. “My father was a great man, wasn't he Mother?”

“Yes, a great and good man who loved you and Adam a great deal.”

Alex looked suddenly very sad. “I can hardly remember him.” Tears sprang to his eyes. Charlotte touched his cheek, then took her locket and opened it, showing him the small picture of Tigran. As she gazed at it, she too felt tears well. She talked to her son of Tigran for a while, reminding him of what they used to do together, of Tigran's gentle nature. Then she took the locket from her neck and put it into Alex's hand. “Keep it for now, to remind you a little.” Alex nodded and gripped the locket. Charlotte brushed away her tears and sighed.

“Alex,” Charlotte began again, pushing the hair from his forehead. “I am planning a little trip.”

Alex nodded and waited.

“I am going to Sarawak in the
Queen
to visit some friends there.”

“Visit friends. Are you visiting the Rajah, Mama? Oh, may I come?”

“Well, Alex, I think that this time I need you to stay here. I need you to take care of Adam, of course, for who else is there better to do that? And there will be tests at the school after I get back. You need to pay attention to your books, of course.”

Alex looked crestfallen, but his triumph with the
babu
had softened the blow, and she was now very grateful he had raised the issue. He nodded.

“Next time?” he began.

“Oh yes, next time, definitely. When you are both a little older and we can explore together. Adam is too young just yet, isn't he?”

Alex nodded more strongly now. Of course, it was Adam; he was much too young. “Very well, Mother. Will you write to me?”

Charlotte smiled. “Every day. I shall bring back a present for you both.”

Alex almost jumped out of bed. “A monkey, Mama? Could we have a pet monkey?”

Charlotte sighed. “I shall see. If all the reports from Malik, and Robert, and Aunt Teresa, and Aunt Shilah and …” Alex put a finger to her lips smiling. “… are good ones,” She mock-frowned.

He laughed. Then he threw himself back onto the bed, and she pulled up the cover.

“I shall be very good, Mama, don't worry.”

Charlotte kissed him and turned down the light. She went to the study and made a list of instructions for Malik and Tarun. Shilah had agreed to move into the house with Amber whilst she was away, and Charlotte had made sure Malik knew that in her absence Shilah was the mistress. Malik could be something of a snob, and, despite all his kind and quiet efficiency he was somewhat set in his ways. Still, Amber was Robert's child, and Shilah, he knew, was a respected visitor. There would be no problem.

As for Tarun, she had simply told him not to visit the Chinese town. Alex had studies to complete. His Malay needed improvement. They should spend time in Kampong Glam or even at the Bugis village. She had ordered a kite to be made for him. It was a Malay kite, a
wau bulan
, a moon kite, covered in a vine-and-leaf pattern, with a humming bow at its head. He would receive it after she left. Tarun would teach him to fly it down by the beach near the Sultan's compound. The Malay boys played there.

She put down her pen and poured a glass of Madeira from the crystal decanter. The children, she was certain, would do very well without her for a while. Adam had many friends who came to play, and he adored Amber. He would be thrilled to be living in the same house with her. They would all play with Tarun's boys and the other little children on her compound. Alex would be busy. She planned to be away for two months, no more. She had asked Isabel da Silva to come with her, for Isabel, too, she thought, needed a change of scene. Another prospective marriage had come to nothing when the poor fellow had died.

She looked at the wine in her glass, the ruby darkness of it captured in the flickering light of the lamp. Her thoughts went to Zhen. She drank down the wine and took up her pen and began to write to Charles Maitland.

26

“
Na Mo Kuan Shi Yin Pu Sa
,

Na Mo Kuan Shi Yin Pu Sa
,

Na Mo Kuan Shi Yin Pu Sa
.”

Noan's head was bowed before the many-armed statue of the goddess Kuan Yin as she joined the throng chanting the mantra.

“
Na Mo Kuan Shi Yin Pu Sa
.”

“Refuge in the bodhisattva who hears the cries of the world.”

This chant, with the priests and the women around her, gave Noan great peace and comfort. Kuan Yin was the compassionate one, filled with benevolence. This mantra brought Kuan Yin instantly to your side, and the thought filled Noan with light and calm. She raised her eyes to the goddess, her thousand arms embracing the world, encompassing her and her children in goodness and mercy. She loved this goddess above all.