Evie took another gulp of air. ‘We barely know each other, but I promise you, I will do my utmost not to disappoint you as a wife. Now that we’ve met again, if you want to back out of this arrangement, that’s your prerogative, but if not, I’m ready to throw in my lot with yours.’ She took a large gulp of her drink.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Quite a speech.’ He got up and walked over to the French windows and stood looking through the mosquito screen.

It had turned dark outside and Evie could smell the cloying scent of flowers. Douglas stood there for several minutes with his back towards her, gazing into the starlit garden.

Just as she was about to break the tension, he turned back to face her, and said, ‘Forgive me for putting it this way, but as far as I’m concerned, this is a business transaction. You appear to be a strong and healthy woman and you certainly have plenty of courage, so yes, my offer still stands. For my part, I will provide you with a home, a generous allowance, anything material you need. For your part, I will expect you to run this household and, assuming my daughter takes to you, there’s no reason why she shouldn’t live here under your care.’ He looked away. ’The offer is made in the expectation that eventually you will bear my children. I am the last of the Barringtons and I want to pass on the family name and the rubber business to my sons.

Evie blushed, but relief ran through her. ‘When will we be married?’

‘Whenever you want. In the next few days if you wish.’ He sounded as if he were discussing a trip to the bank, not the arrangements for a life-changing ceremony. ‘But I don’t want a fuss. Not a big affair. I haven’t the time. I did the big wedding thing when I married Felicity. I don’t want to go through all that again.’

Swallowing her disappointment at his dismissive and unsentimental approach to matrimony, Evie nodded. It wasn’t as if she wanted a big fancy wedding herself. After all, apart from the Leightons and the servants, she knew no one in Malaya. There were no friends and family to invite – she had none. Her mother’s absence wouldn’t be a cause to mourn.

Forcing a smile, she said, ‘It’s a deal!’ and held her hand out for him to shake.

That evening, after her conversation with Douglas Barrington, Evie dined alone. As soon as they had concluded their deal, he went off to meet someone at a place he referred to as The Club, making it clear the invitation didn’t extend to her. As he left, Badger going with him, he called back over his shoulder. ’Oh, and call me Doug. Everyone else does.’ The irritable tone indicated it was less an invitation than an order. ‘No one’s called me Douglas since my mother died.’

Was this what Evie could expect – lonely dinners alone? It wasn’t her idea of marital bliss. Even suppers with Mrs Shipley-Thomas seemed a more appealing alternative. And she didn’t like the idea of calling him by a name that everybody else used. She was jolly well going to stick with Douglas.