Sarah grinned and went to see what all the fuss was about, and although it was still raining which meant the garden was for now out of bounds, had to agree that they’d been fortunate to have a room at the back of the hotel. The cacophony of the road in front would have been awful.

‘Let’s get bathed and changed into something cooler and then go in search of a large gin and tonic. I’m fairly certain a place like this will have it.’

She turned from the window and opened the suitcase she’d been living out of for the past few days. Most of her clothes were crumpled now – especially her linen dress. She shook it out and hung it up by the window in the hope that the warm, damp air would get rid of the creases.

‘Oh,’ giggled Jane from behind the decorative screen. ‘It looks as if we’ll have to ring down and ask for hot water if we want a bath. There are no taps.’

‘Just like Malaya, then,’ said Sarah, coming to inspect the baths. ‘It seems we’re going to have to rely on servants again, Jane. Wouldn’t Peggy have loved all this?’ she added, feeling the softness of the stack of towels and admiring the luxury of it all.

‘She certainly would,’ agreed Jane before giving a deep sigh. ‘Talking of servants, I wonder what happened to Amah after we left her behind.’

‘Well, we know from Pop’s note which she smuggled out that she got a job as a kitchen skivvy at Changi prison. Where she is now, is anyone’s guess.’

‘I hope she’s all right,’ said Jane. ‘She was already old when we left Singapore, and working in a kitchen would likely have proved too much for her.’

Their conversation was interrupted by a discreet knock on the door, and Sarah went to answer it.

The servant bowed low and held out a silver tray. ‘A telegram for you, Miss Fuller.’

‘Thank you. Will you wait to see if I need to answer it?’

At his nod, she felt Jane look over her shoulder as she tore open the envelope.

Arrived Singapore * Meet Raffles * Mother *

‘I will have to think how to reply,’ Sarah said to the man, ‘but in the meantime, could you arrange for us to have hot water for our baths, and a jug of gin and tonic with plenty of ice?’

She closed the door as he hurried off and then sank down onto the bed. ‘What do I tell her, Jane? With the weather the way it is, we could be stuck here for some time.’

‘I certainly doubt we’ll be there on Sunday at this rate,’ Jane agreed. She found a small writing pad and a pencil which had been placed by the telephone next to the bed. After a few minutes of indecision and crossings-out, they’d agreed on the wording.

In Calcutta * weather inclement * arrival date uncertain * Jane and Sarah *