‘Not the foggiest, but I think Florence still maintains a correspondence. Tell you what, why not get Edward’s sister to take you up to Gossip Point. All the girls meet there. You can have a good chinwag with Florence – tell her you went to school at Cheltenham and she’ll be your friend for life.’

‘Oh?’

There was the slightest pause before he spoke again. ‘Our daughter, Gracie, was a boarder there for four years.’

‘Does she live in Cheltenham now?’

Ronnie looked down at the floor and then back up at her. ‘Sadly, no. Came down with malaria over here. Never made it past fifteen.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Thank you.’

There was a silence during which Belle wondered what to say. Luckily Edward stepped in, thanking Ronnie for his help and offering him a stengah, a drink made of equal measures of whisky and soda water, served over ice.

‘Gloria tells me you have contacts in the entertainment world,’ she said after Ronnie had finished his drink and then left them alone.

‘Yes, yes I do. I can put in a word for you if you like.’

She grinned at him. ‘I’d like that very much. You know, for after Burma.’

‘So, tell me your dream?’

‘To travel and keep on singing for my supper, of course.’

‘I like an independent girl,’ he said with a laugh, and leant forward to give her shoulder a squeeze.

As Belle turned into the corridor leading to her room, she paused. She’d asked Edward to drop her a short distance from the hotel, to carve out a little time to think. Too hot, it had been a mistake. So far, apart from Rebecca, nobody knew about the anonymous note, but it was still on her mind. The fortune teller had told her that the question she’d asked about who she should trust had been the wrong question and that she would go on a journey soon. So far, no sign of that. Probably a load of bunkum anyway.

She’d hoped for a breath of fresh air, but in the sweltering climate she ended up staggering back with a sweat-sodden dress. The afternoons were utterly impossible. It was little wonder most of the British slipped home for a nap, although the heat still seeped through even the thickest walls. Before Edward had left he’d reminded her of his invitation to accompany him to a dinner at the Governor’s residence. When she had thanked him and agreed to go he had looked genuinely delighted and said he’d let her know the date in due course. She decided she might tell him about the note then.

19.