Moving away from the pool-side, she walked across to the retaining wall separating the pool from the sea. The swimming club was raised above a rocky outcrop and Evie clambered down to sit on a smooth rock, cooled by the spray from the sea as it hit the rocks. Behind her was a terrace, vibrant with flowers – scarlet salvias and orange and pink zinnias and below, beyond the rocks, a long sandy beach. The air here was fresher than in the city, cooled by the sea breezes. Gazing towards Kedah Peak, she felt as if she was inside an Impressionist painting.

Lost in her reverie, she didn’t notice Arthur Leighton until he was scrambling over the rocks towards her. He was wearing swimming trunks and had evidently been in the sea. His hair was wet and his body tanned. Without his usual baggy clothing, Arthur Leighton had a lean sun-tanned body and long muscular legs. Evie had expected him to be scrawny, unfit, but instead Arthur had an athletic build.

He bent down, crouching in front of her. A drip of water from his hair landed on her leg but the shiver that ran through her was less from this than from the unexpected pleasure of seeing him.

‘I didn’t expect to find you here, Evie. What a pleasant surprise.’

‘After what Dorothy said last night, I decided I’d have to come and see if this place was as delightful as she said it was.’

‘And?’

‘It’s magical. Truly beautiful. I had a delicious swim in the pool.’

‘It’s a good time to come. It’s always quiet in the middle of the week. Most people turn up at weekends and in the late afternoon or early evening to cool off and enjoy a sundowner while watching the sunset.’

‘Shouldn’t you be at work?’

‘Don’t give me away, Evie. I often come to the beach when I get a quiet spell. It can be insufferable cooped up inside all day when I’m here in George Town. And I get no chance to swim when I’m on the road.’

He looked at her. That same intense look that made Evie feel exposed, slightly uncomfortable, as if he wanted something from her but couldn’t bring himself to ask.

‘Come with me. You need to swim in the sea.’ He took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet. Self-conscious in only a swimsuit, she draped her towel around herself like a sarong, and followed him over the hot sand.

They walked for a couple of hundred yards, keeping to the shade as the sand was burning hot in the full sun, following the curve of the coast, away from the Swimming Club. The shore was beautiful: the pale sand interspersed by smooth dark rocks like whales emerging from the deep. Palm trees, bent by the wind, leaned over and offered protective shade, as did casuarinas with their distinctive pine smell. In the distance she could see the brilliant primary colours of a small Chinese temple.