The House of Seven Fountains (4 page)

“Oh
...
just business,” Vivien said evasively. She had taken an immediate liking to Julian Barclay, but after what the solicitor had told her about her godfather having enemies in certain quarters, she felt it would be unwise to confide in him until she knew him better.

“
Well, if you’re putting up at the Rest House, I warn you that you’ll need a gas mask. This is the durian season.”

“The
what
season?”

“Durian. It’s a tropical fruit that tastes delicious but smells like rotten eggs. During the season the whole town reeks of the stuff and the Rest House is opposite the fruit market.”

“Then it’s just as well I’m not staying there.”

She laughed at the frank curiosity on his face.

“Is Mauping a large town?”

Julian leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. She noticed that he wore handmade shoes. Both his cigarette case and lighter were obviously gold, and so was his wrist watch. Evidently he was a young man of means as well as charm.

“Fairish size,” he said. “There’s a swim club, a couple of movie houses and one European-type store. Socially, it’s pretty dead. Everybody knows everybody else, and there’s nothing much to do but eat, drink, sleep and gossip. Now that our local mystery man is dead, even the scandal market is pretty slack.

“The mystery man? Who was he?”

He grinned reminiscently.

“
A queer old boy who lived by himself in an enormous mansion just outside town and refused to have anything to do with the rest of us. Quite a character, I can tell you. He used to drive about in an ancient Rolls-Royce with a huge Union Jack flying on the hood. Mad as a hatter, of course. Still his antics gave us something to talk about.”

Recalling what Mr. Adams had told her earlier, Vivien asked, “His name wasn’t Cunningham by any chance, was
it?”

“Mm, that’s right. You’ve heard about him then?”

She now had no choice but to reveal her relationship.

“He was my godfather,” she said calmly.

“Ye gods!” Julian’s eyebrows shot up and he looked comically embarrassed. “I say, I’m most frightfully sorry. Naturally,
I hadn’t a clue. Good heavens, this will start the grapevines buzzing. Do you mean you’re going to live in that mausoleum? Oh, lord, I didn’t mean that. I mean, they say it’s practically a palace once you get inside. Rather like the castle in the tale about Sleeping Beauty, you know. It’s surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of jungle.”

Vivien accepted his profuse apologies for having dropped a brick and admitted that she would be living at her godfather’s house for a time.

“You’d better prepare yourself to be the chief topic of Mauping chitchat for weeks. Everyone in the place will want to see you,” he told her. “By jove, I wonder what old Doc Stransom’s reaction will be?”

“Dr. Stransom? I’ve already met him on the flight from London.”

“Have you, indeed? Oh, yes, now I come to think of it he went to England for some conference or other just after old Cunn—your godfather died. What did you make of our Spartan physician?”

“I hardly know him. Why should he have any special reaction to my arrival?” Vivien asked.

“Because he is the only European with whom your godfather was on speaking terms. And because he has no time for women,” Julian informed her with a certain relish as if he envisaged a provocative situation. “I take it he didn’t know who you were on the plane?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“
Aha! Miss Connell, I foresee that life in Mauping is going to be the livelier for your coming. We need waking up and if I’m not mistaken, your arrival will start quite a furor.”

“Oh, dear, I hope not,” Vivien said uneasily. “I’ve no desire to be a focus of interest.”

“You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who hadn’t. Most of them lap it up. The more fuss the better. It’s being overlooked that gets their goat,” Julian said knowledgeably.

“I must be different then. I much prefer peace and quiet. Mr. Barclay, I wonder if you would mind not mentioning that you’ve met me? If I’m going to be talked about I would like a day or two to settle down first.”

Julian threw back his head and roared with laughter.

“I’m sorry,” he said when his mirth was over. “But, you see, you obviously haven’t the least idea what a small Malayan town is like. For one thing the natives will be just as interested in you as the English crowd, and for another you haven’t a hope of getting through town without someone spotting you.”

Seeing her concern, he added, “Don’t worry about it, my dear girl. A bit of talk never hurt anyone, and it will soon die down when they see you’re a human being. Gossip must have something to feed on, and you look very normal and charming to me.”

He said this with a special kind of smile and there was no mistaking the admiration in his teasing brown eyes. Vivien felt a faint blush stealing up from her throat.

“I tell you what, will you have dinner with me? You can’t possibly spend your first evening in Singapore alone. Besides, I want to discuss this interesting situation. Please say yes.” Vivien tried to visualize how the Sinclairs would react if they could see her sitting in a cocktail bar with a strange man who had just asked her to dine with him. She could almost see the shocked disapproval on their faces. For that matter, Dr. Stransom would probably disapprove, too. She knew instinctively that he would regard Julian as a bit of a bounder.

“You look very doubtful,” Julian said teasingly. “Would you like me to call the manager? He’ll reassure you that I’m a respectable, law-abiding citizen.”

She laughed, liking his devil-may-care approach to life, his easy friendliness.

“
Thank you, Mr. Barclay, I should be delighted to have dinner with you,” she replied demurely.

CHAPTER TWO

“
There it is! M
auping—mystic heart of the Orient!”

Julian Barclay grinned derisively as he indicated a cluster of rooftops glinting in the afternoon sun. Eager to see her journey’s end, Vivien leaned forward in her seat and studied the aerial view. From this height and distance, Mauping looked little more than a sprawling village.

“What are those white domes?” she asked, catching sight of what looked rather like three huge glistening meringues.

Julian peered over her shoulder.

“Aha, that’s the sultan’s palace. The largest dome marks the harem where he keeps his fifty beautiful wives safely under lock and key!”

“Really? But I thought
..
.”

His mouth quivered, and she saw that he was teasing her.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, grinning. “Actually, the domes are a misguided attempt to glamorize Mauping station.”

The aircraft began to turn in a wide circle, and the town was hidden from view. Unlike the B.O.A.C. Stratocruiser, this Malayan Airways Dakota was not air-conditioned, and the atmosphere in the cabin was as close and moist as a hothouse. Vivien’s hands were unpleasantly clammy, and she could feel a trickle of sweat coursing down her spine. Even Julian, who was acclimatized, kept mopping his face with a large silk handkerchief.

Having turned almost full circle, the Dakota began to lose height, and now she could see a wide grass-bordered road with driveways and spacious gardens on either side. A car stood outside a garage; two children ran across a lawn; a dark-skinned man pedaled an ice-cream cart along the road. But for the whitewashed walls of the houses and the vivid flowers entwined in the neat hedges, the scene was remarkably similar to an English suburb on a fine midsummer day.

“That’s Gopeng Road where the rich Chinese and most of the Europeans live,” Julian told her. “The swim club is farther along—but, of course, you have your own pool, so you won’t have to join unless you choose to do so.”

“My own pool?” she asked in surprise.

“Didn’t you know? Mr. Cunningham had one built when he bought the house. None of us has seen it, but according to rumor it’s quite a Hollywood affair.”

“I’d no idea. The lawyers sent me some details about the house and just added that there was a large garden and several acres of small holdings.”

“Small holdings, eh?” Julian arched a quizzical eyebrow. “That’s quite an understatement. There is practically a village on the estate. Your godfather made a hobby of rehabilitating local prisoners by giving them a plot of land to till. Don’t worry, as far as I know none of them are dangerous criminals.”

“Oh, dear, I hadn’t realized there would be tenants,” Vivien said in a dismayed voice. “Where is the estate? Can I see it from here?”

He shook his head.

“It’s on the other side of town. Look, let me come up to the house and see you settled in safely. I don’t like the idea of your being whisked off to the unknown by yourself.”

The aircraft was coming in to land, and as they fastened their safety belts Vivien said, “That’s very kind of you, Julian, but I think I would rather go alone. The houseboy speaks English, so I shall be quite all right.”

“Whatever you say,” he said doubtfully. “But I think you should have an escort.”

There was a lurch and a scrunch of wheels as the Dakota landed on the sunbaked airstrip. Vivien thanked the pretty Chinese stewardess for her attention, and they climbed out.

I’m here. I’m really here on the other side of the world,
Vivien thought wonderingly as her feet touched the dusty earth.

With Julian carrying her suitcase, his hand under her elbow, they walked across to the customs sheds. There were a number of taxis waiting in the car parking lot, and she wondered which one was hers. She was watching the tall Sikh customs officer glancing perfunctorily inside her case when Julian touched her hand and, turning, she found a small thin Chinese standing beside them. He was wearing an immaculate white drill suit and holding a panama hat. There was a black band on his sleeve. He might have been any age between forty and sixty, and his face was completely expressionless.

“Welcome to Mauping, Miss Connell,” he said in a soft, rather high-pitched voice. “I am Chen, the number one boy of the late
Tuan
Cunningham. I await your instructions.” He gave a low bow, revealing a head as smooth and shining as patent leather.

“How do you do, Chen,” Vivien said, wondering if it was the correct reply to his ceremonious greeting. Instinctively she held out her hand, but Chen merely made another obeisance.

“The car is waiting when you are ready,” he said and stood aside, signaling to a small Chinese boy to remove the suitcase from the inspection desk.

Somewhat taken aback by this encounter, Vivien turned to say goodbye to Julian and caught the suspicion of a wink.

“How about coming to the club for a drink tonight?” he suggested. “You can’t spend your first evening alone. If I call round about eight it will give you time to get your bearings, and I can introduce you to some of the other English residents.”

“Are you sure you aren’t too busy?” she asked uncertainly.

He gave her an odd look.

“I could never be too busy to look after you,” he said softly.

Vivien smiled. He was an incorrigible flirt, but she was glad she had met him.

“I’ll be ready at eight then,” she said, holding out her hand.

He held it for a moment longer than was strictly necessary, and the glint in his eyes brought a faint color to her cheeks. It might be difficult to remember that he was only flirting with her.

They said goodbye, and Vivien followed Chen out of the customs shed and past the taxis. At the far end of the parking lot was an old-fashioned Rolls-Royce with a Union Jack on the hood. It was to this that Chen led her.

Heavens, what opulence, Vivien thought as he ushered her into the solitary splendor of the backseat. Having satisfied himself that the luggage was stowed safely in the trunk, Chen took the wheel and they swung out of the airport gates onto the highway.

At first Vivien sat upright, eager to see everything. But as they reached the town she found that the car was attracting considerable attention, and embarrassed by the battery of cu
ri
ous dark eyes peering in at her, she shrank back in one
corner
. Chen was obliged to drive slowly, for pedestrians wandered across the street with complete disregard for oncoming traffic. At one point they pulled up to allow a line of Chinese schoolchildren to cross, and Vivien noticed two English women coming along the pavement. As they drew level with the Rolls they caught sight of its occupant and stopped dead, staring at her as if she were an
apparition
. They were still standing there, their mouths open with astonishment, when she glanced back as the car turned a
corner
.

Once through the town Chen increased his speed. Presently they turned off the main road and took a narrower one that was bordered on one side by tree-covered slopes and on the other by a sluggish-looking river.

The drive was lasting much longer than she had anticipated, and she began to feel slightly uneasy. Then the car slowed down and passed under an arched gateway.