A Painter in Penang: A Gripping Story of the Malayan Emergency by Clare Flynn
Author:Clare Flynn [Flynn, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cranbrook Press
* * *
Jasmine and Mary had just sat down to tiffin when they heard the sound of Reggieâs motorcar. As soon as he entered the dining room he went straight to the cabinet and poured himself a scotch.
âHow did you get on? Was it beastly?â Maryâs eyes were filled with concern.
She got up from the table and went to Reggie, putting her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
âI hope I donât ever have to go through something like that again.â Reggie shook his head, his eyes sad. âBloody awful. Poor Verna was distraught. The estate workers are in fear of their lives. There was a miserable little ceremony to bury the three chaps. All far too young. Allison was the oldest and he was only fifty-five. And that poor Christian fellow still in his twenties with his whole life ahead of him.â Reggie looked away, shaking his head.
Jasmine bit her lip. She felt conflicted. Bintangâs words were fresh in her mind, but he surely couldnât condone the cold-blooded butchering of planters? Tying them up and blasting them with tommy-guns was a cowardly act.
âAnd that useless excuse for a High Commissioner still thinks this is all exaggerated and wonât do a damn thing about it.â
âSurely heâs going to do something?â Mary, as ever, was conciliatory.
âHeâs sent the Gurkhas in, but not enough troops to protect everyone. We planters are going to have to protect ourselves. That means we need to be armed and Gent is doing nothing on that score. I think he thinks if he keeps his head down it will go away.â He finished off his stengah and pulled out a chair at the table. âWell it wonât.â
Jasmine carried on eating her lunch while she listened intently.
Reggie helped himself to cold meat and salad, then called out to the amah, âBring me a beer will you, JJ?â
When Jinjiang returned with the bottle and a glass, he took a swig, then began to eat. âIâm going to get the telephone put in here in the bungalow. Itâs not enough just to have it out in my office.â
âNothingâs going to happen. And thereâs no point as I never use the telephone.â Mary smiled fondly at her husband. âIf anyone wants to reach us they can get you at the office. And if youâre not there, the clerk always knows where you are. Honestly, Reggie, please donât bother. Save the expense.â
He looked up at her. âNo arguing, darling. Decision already made. Theyâre coming to fix it next week. I want you to be able to get hold of me if anything happens or youâre worried for any reason. And the other way round â if I think somethingâs afoot I can call you so you can either get away or hide.â
Mary opened her mouth to respond but must have thought better of it. Jasmine wondered if her presence at the table was, as she had learned in her
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella(980)
Albion by Peter Ackroyd(825)
The Hell of it All by Charlie Brooker(788)
Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination by Peter Ackroyd(695)
How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran(679)
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Michael Ferber(655)
English Literature: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan Bate(612)
The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley by Israel Regardie(602)
Protector by Conn Iggulden(576)
Dot Con by James Veitch(551)
All in a Don's Day by Mary Beard(507)
English Literature: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Bate Jonathan(488)
I, Partridge by Alan Partridge(454)
Less: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2018 by Andrew Sean Greer(441)
The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen (Cambridge Introductions to Literature) by Janet Todd(430)
Work! Consume! Die! by Boyle Frankie(424)
Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall by Spike Milligan(418)
I can make you hate by Charlie Brooker(394)
Becoming a Poet in Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature) by Thornbury Emily V(387)