The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Crown Colony) by Ovidia Yu

Author:Ovidia Yu [Yu, Ovidia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781472125217
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2017-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

Dinner

‘We called them belly-button biscuits in school.’ I found Dee-Dee with Harry in the drawing room, when I finally got back, and passed her the paper bag of Biskut Ais Jems. ‘You can have just one now. It will be dinner soon.’ Dee-Dee was intrigued, of course. I watched her lick, then carefully bite off a pastel iced tip as I had done as a child. Some things didn’t change, I thought. As long as we didn’t ask any more of Dee-Dee than that she behave as a seven-year-old, she was fine.

‘The Labour Party’s out, you know. The great Ramsay MacDonald who said Singapore was no more than a wild and wanton escapade – but now, even with the Conservatives back, rooting for Singapore as their naval base in the East, what have we got in Seletar? One iron fence and that’s it.’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Ah, that’s better!’ Harry smirked as though he had just done something clever. ‘You were looking all in the clouds just now, like you were walking around in a dream, and with those bruises on your face, I had to get you back down on the ground. There’s trouble afoot.’

‘What’s been going on?’

‘God only knows. Pow-wows. Mary Contrary just swept by and told me I would have to start earning my own living soon.’

He didn’t seem very troubled by the prospect.

‘And you and Dee-Dee are to have dinner with the family in the dining room tonight – if there is any dinner. There was this huge fight while you were out and Cookie’s either walked out or been dismissed, depending on whose version you believe.’

‘What? Why?’

‘Poor Mary went down and gave him notice. Told him Sir Henry was leaving for England and he could pack up and start looking for a new position. The thing is, Father promised Cookie passage back to India as part of the deal for following him out here, so of course he thought he was being cheated and there was shouting, even some waving of the meat cleaver.’

‘Oh, gosh.’ I got back on my feet fast, intending to find Cookie. I winced – my back was sore from all the walking I had done in town.

Harry stopped me with a steadying hand. ‘Where do you think you’re going? It’s no use trying to talk to Cookie. Aunt Nessa went down and explained it’s all a mistake but now Cookie says he won’t work for us as long as Poor Mary is in the house. So the fire’s out – which also means there’s no hot water.’

‘Oh dear.’ I looked at Dee-Dee, who certainly needed a bath. ‘At least I can get the fire started . . . and see about something for Dee-Dee’s dinner. Is Lady Palin in her room?’ I held up the bag with two pairs of resoled shoes.

‘You’re a good girl,’ Harry said. He looked serious for once, and I realized that whatever had happened that afternoon had shaken him more than he wanted to reveal. ‘Charity was a good girl too – even if she did her darnedest to prove she wasn’t.

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