The Portuguese House

by Pamela D Holloway

  He visited Bernadette and Shantaram. He visited Father Julian and the school. The more he saw the more he understood Liz’s feelings for the place. He talked with Ashok and met the enchanting Nina and the children. He admired the stables with their cooling fans. He started talking about an extension for his own horse. He acquired a dog who he had found on the beach in a pitiful condition. Lady had been a bony, flea-ridden bitch, whose body was heavily weighed down by numerous pregnancies and was dragging herself around with a prolapsed vagina.

  His first thought was that he would take her to a vet and have her put out of her misery, but her soft brown beseeching eyes made him want to give her a chance of a happier life. Now, like a shadow, she followed him everywhere. An operation had dealt with the prolapse and neutering meant she would no longer have to contend with regular pregnancies. The flea problem no longer existed and, with regular food, for the first time in her life, her coat of dry, short brown hair took on a softer feel and gleamed with health.

  She was shy except with Philip – with him she became a puppy again. It was as if the puppy in her had never had the opportunity to exist when she was one, and now she was recapturing what she should have enjoyed a few years earlier. She would roll over and pretend to bite his hand when he stroked her. She would lie by his feet if he was reading – or run with him on the beach when he was riding one of Liz’s horses. Liz watched the pair with delight, wondering what Jack and Jamie would think of their relaxed father when they came home for Christmas.

  She lay in the hammock one morning, feeling particularly happy and relaxed. She had walked to the hammock this morning, and perhaps even more exciting, had walked down the stairs. She could almost feel her body filling out again; her appetite which had been so poor had now returned and she found herself looking forward to mealtimes again instead of dreading them.

  Philip was on one of his mysterious outings. He had bought a Mercedes as he said they needed two cars now, as there would be times when they might both need a car. Before he had purchased the car though, he had gone with Ashok to Anjuna, they had taken Sparrow too.

  It was a welcome day off that Liz insisted she should have, and the market was somewhere she should visit. Philip had heard that on Wednesdays on the four-acre site everything could be found.

  “Everything?” he questioned, when Ashok explained the market to him.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Even horses?” Ashok looked thoughtful for a moment or two.

  “I have seen horses,” he said slowly. Intrigued, Philip decided it would be an interesting experience for him and Sparrow and off they had gone, leaving Liz to enjoy a rest under the waving palms.

  Liz lay looking upwards, watching the palm fronds move like great ostrich feathers. She had a feeling of deja vu. A rook cawed overhead and she looked expectantly towards the foot of the hammock, almost expecting to see her horses standing there, nodding their heads in unison.

  As if on cue, Anjali came towards her, carrying a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade and over her arm she carried a blue pashmina. Liz almost pinched herself – this had happened before. She lay mesmerised as Anjali drew closer putting the tray on the small round table that stood near the hammock.

  “Has someone come to visit?” Liz heard herself ask. She knew she had said this before.

  “No Madame, if you don’t mind, I thought we might share a glass of lemonade together.”

  “Oh, Anjali, as if I’d mind.” There was silence, a restful silence, between the two women.

  “Anjali—”

  “Madame—” they both spoke, and laughed lightly at their speaking together. Anjali waited respectfully. Finally, Liz spoke in a slightly puzzled voice. “Have we done this before, Anjali, and did you put your pashmina over me when I was cold?” Anjali gave a deep sigh. “Only in my dreams, Madame O’Malley,” she paused. “What do you mean?” Liz asked. As she asked the question Liz felt somewhere within her a stirring memory of grasping a hand – of Anjali being by her side.

  “When you were ill, in a coma, and we all feared for your life, I sat here often by the old hammock, thinking of you and letting my mind travel to where you were. In my mind I saw the bed and the white sheet over you – I knew you were cold – so in my mind, I covered you with the pashmina you gave me. You held out your hand.”

  “Like this?” Liz said, stretching out her hand.

  “Like that,” repeated Anjali, taking it.

  “I knew I was fortunate to have you as my friend,” Liz said very slowly. Anjali held the warm hand in hers, so different from the cold one she had held in her head. The two women’s eyes met in wonder. “How is this, how?” Liz began, then paused. Perhaps one should not question how it was – just accept that it was, that it had been, that they, through deep affection, had connected many thousands of miles apart. They released hands, but knew as they did so, that neither would ever speak of this again; they knew that they had been together in some mysterious communication of their minds.

  *

  Philip, Sparrow and Ashok returned home in high spirits. Ashok driving Sparrow in the car and Philip driving an open-topped truck that barely looked roadworthy. Standing in the back, wearing an expression of bewilderment was a sight that Liz would never forget, was the tallest, gangliest-looking horse she had ever seen.

  As Philip led him off the truck, down a hastily found plank, the horse seemed to be all uncontrollable limbs. At the sound of the vehicle, Liz had eased herself out of the hammock and leaning heavily on walking sticks, which she hated, made her way very slowly to the site of all the noise. Sparrow hastily fetched a small garden chair and, from this spot, Liz sat rocking with laughter – the tears pouring down her face.

  The scene was like some carefully planned farce. First, the horse wouldn’t move, then when he did, the plank moved and he slipped and wobbled with it, almost falling on Philip, who, despite Liz’s laughter, seemed immensely serious and so completely engrossed that it set Liz off again.

  Finally, the horse was known henceforth, Philip informed his semi-hysterical fiancée, as Black Beauty. The iconic name for such an emaciated creature set Liz off again. Philip attempted to be dignified about the whole affair, and appear aloof and untouched by her laughter.

  At last Black Beauty was on terra firma – a tattered rope his only accompaniment. Ashok fetched a spare head collar from the stables, where two curious horses watched their new stablemate with apparently bored indifference.

  “What—” Liz began, before laughter overcame her. “What are you proposing to do with ‘that’?” She pointed her finger in the direction of the new acquisition. “That,” Philip replied sternly. “That is my horse, Black Beauty, and I’ll thank you to show him some respect!” This time Philip joined in the laughter too, and Sparrow who had disappeared into the house reappeared with Aarav.

  The horse was still trembling and Liz started looking at him more carefully. Despite his very poor condition, he had a good shape. His legs were good and his back straight and firm looking. “How old?” she asked. “His teeth suggest seven to eight,” Philip replied. “He will be a good ride one day, really, Elizabeth,” he added, seeing her sceptical expression.

  Liz and Black Beauty seemed to grow stronger together. The nervous animal was responding to kindness, food and, Liz discovered, conversation! Whenever Philip was out she would make her way slowly to the stables. A chair conveniently left there meant she could rest and talk quietly to the horse. She always talked to Coco and Guinness first who could wander freely out of their stable with a slight push on the hinged doors. They seemed not at all “put out” by their mistress’s interest in their new stable companion and the more time she spent with all three horses the more she longed to ride again.

  It was only a matter of weeks before Philip rode Black Beauty for the first time. It was, he explained, merely a gentle amble – but he sensed that Black Beauty also enjo
yed walking in the sea, which to Sparrow’s astonishment would, he told her, strengthen the horse’s legs. “Of course Sir Philip,” said Sparrow. “Why didn’t I think of it earlier? We must get Liz in the water too!”

  Sparrow was falling in love. It was all too much, and although she sensed feelings from him too, he neither indicated or encouraged. She wrote an outpouring letter to Sarah, her ex-flatmate in Phoenix, explaining that she didn’t want to compromise her position with Liz, who, incidentally, was doing so well she would soon be fit enough to sit astride a horse for a quiet amble along the beach and go into the sea for a regular swim. Sparrow went into details about how she had watched Philip ride, or “Sir” as she referred to him in her letters, and was trying to pluck up the courage to ask him if he could teach her.

  Before she had even received a reply from Sarah, she woke early one morning and, on a sudden impulse, pulled on a pair of cotton capris and a tee shirt, and arrived at the stables as Philip was putting a head collar on the ever sleeker, good-looking Black Beauty. “My goodness, Sparrow, it’s even early for a sparrow!” They both laughed at his feeble joke.

  “I wondered,” she began hesitantly. “If I could learn to ride?” Philip looked at her, not surprised in any way, almost as if he had been expecting it. “Anyone who wants to learn can learn,” he replied gently. “Is this morning too soon?” Sparrow felt her heart race. “No, I mean, yes, I mean I’d like that very much,” she could hardly form her words her excitement was so great. “Hold this,” Philip handed her the fine rope rein attached to Black Beauty’s head collar. “I’ll get Guinness, I think, yes,” he continued, almost thinking aloud.

  If Guinness was surprised, he also seemed pleased, in moments his head collar was in place as was a rope rein they used when taking the horses in the sea. “Are your clothes alright to get wet?” Sparrow nodded, barely able to speak with excitement. Philip gave her a leg up and there she was – sitting bareback on a beautiful horse in India about to walk on a beach and into the sea.

  The two walked side by side down the sandy path to the beach. The sun was just coming up, the beach their own apart from the crows cawing and an occasional buzzard wheeling overhead too. They walked the horses for a while then Philip suggested a gentle canter. “Just relax,” he said. “Feel the horse’s body movements and try and move with him. If you feel nervous hold on to his mane.”

  After the first few seconds when she thought she was terrified she realised she was not! She imagined herself to be a young Red Indian bravely riding his pony across the American plains. After a few moments, she stopped clutching the mane and sat more upright, feeling the beautiful motion beneath her. She heard a laugh and realised she was laughing and crying for sheer joy.

  Philip watched with some amazement. He had not expected this, she was a “natural”. Without a word, he turned Black Beauty towards the beckoning waves that lapped the beach. Guinness followed and Sparrow felt the water creeping up her legs as the horse went in deeper and deeper. She screamed in sheer delight. Philip found himself laughing too, her youth and exuberance quite enchanting. If it hadn’t been for Liz he could imagine himself falling for this little sparrow.

  Now the horses, along with Coco who had decided to join them, were swimming, and Sparrow slipped off Guinness’s back into the sea, holding onto his head collar from time to time. “Get back on now,” she heard Sir Philip say and she slid easily onto her horse’s back, and they turned towards the shore and were soon cantering in ankle-deep water as they made their way back along the beach.

  They pulled up the horses to walk along the sandy path to the stables. For once, Sparrow was unusually quiet. Her feelings were overwhelming her. She didn’t think, she knew, that she had just had the experience of a lifetime and, a bit like the first time she had had sex, she knew it was an experience that would stay with her. It was not the end of something but the beginning.

  She slid off Guinness, her clothes already drying on her. “Can I do that again please?” she asked like a small child asking for another piece of cake. “You can, little Sparrow, and once you are really confident, or more confident even than this morning, then we shall both bring Liz out for a swim. Say a week from now?” Philip asked. Sparrow held out her hand.

  “A week from now, Sir Philip.” They shook hands to seal the bargain.

  At breakfast with Anjali and Aarav, Sparrow could hardly contain herself. She described in some detail how she rode and swam and Philip’s name occurred in every sentence. “He is so great with the horses”; “He told me exactly what to do”; “You should see him in the sea”; ‘what a man”.

  Aarav was quiet and, finally, Sparrow seemed to realise. She looked into his eyes and saw a longing and an anguish and realised, for the first time, that her feelings for him were reciprocated, and he thought she fancied Sir Philip!

  “Aarav,” she said, gently reaching her hand across the table to him. “I wish you had been with me instead of Sir Philip – it would have been so much more special.” If Anjali was surprised she didn’t indicate it, just looked from one to the other. Aarav smiled, his white teeth gleaming against his dark skin. Sparrow thought he looked beautiful and longed to put her arms around him, but even holding hands across the table in front of Anjali was a statement of intent, almost like a public announcement.

  “Come on, children,” Anjali spoke more sharply than she meant to. “Let’s clear away and get on with things.” Automatically the two young people started clearing things away and, after a few moments, Anjali left them. They stood looking at each other. “I love you, Aarav,” Sparrow said softly.

  “I love you, Sparrow – I have since the moment I saw you.” He put his hand on her face, his fingers moving over her lips, outlining them as if he wanted to memorise their shape. He cupped her face with his hands, the brown against her lightly tanned skin was warm and gentle. “We will talk this afternoon,” he said finally. “When we are both free.” Sparrow leaned forward to touch his mouth lightly with hers. “Until this afternoon,” she said slowly, then turned and left the room, leaving a stunned Aarav amid an array of breakfast debris.

  chapter 44

  Philip was entertaining Liz with the story of Sparrow’s first ride and swim. “She must be a natural,” was Liz’s reaction. “To ride bareback like that.”

  “We’ve made a pact,” Philip continued. “This time next week it is you as well.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Liz demurred.

  “No question my darling, it’s in the sea for you. It will help strengthen your leg muscles no end.” Liz looked dubious. “I’m not a horse Philip!”

  “No sweetheart, but you have muscles as they do and both being on horseback and swimming in the sea could be just what the doctor ordered. In this case, I am the doctor and Sparrow the nurse.”

  *

  Sparrow and Aarav spent the afternoon together. It was then she discovered that he had yearned for her as she had for him. “I want to marry you Sparrow, but I am nothing. My family is poor, I am only a cook and you are English and so beautiful.”

  Sparrow looked at him thoughtfully. “I have no family,” she said. “I am only a nurse, but I knew, like you, almost from the first that I loved you. I want to marry you too.” They clung together – a tenderness and sweetness filled her – she had never felt like this before. His smile, so gentle, made her smile – his touch, so caring, made her want to care for him the same. She didn’t see the colour of his skin, it was Aarav – the man she had come across the world to find. The man she wanted to spend her life with.

  They talked of past liaisons which seemed meaningless but important to air. They kissed tenderly at first but mounting passion made their kisses deeper and stronger. “I must marry you quickly,” he said. “It will be difficult to wait now I know you care.” She tried to tell him they didn’t have to wait and found she had shocked him. “I want you to be my wife. I will respect you.” He sounded
so solemn and earnest that Sparrow had to try very hard not to laugh. “Then we must marry soon,” she said smiling happily.

  That evening as Sparrow ate dinner with Philip and Liz, Sparrow told them her news. “But that is wonderful, darling Sparrow, you won’t leave us now,” Liz said.

  “Aarav is a lucky man,” Philip said, remembering his brief thoughts when they were riding. He looked at Liz – his adorable, brave and beautiful Elizabeth and felt a pang of guilt that he had ever, however momentarily, had thoughts of another woman.

  “Do ask Arrav and Anjali to come in and bring some champagne.” Liz looked at Sparrow as she spoke. The girl sprang to her feet with alacrity and soon the four of them were sipping champagne and toasting the young couple.

  Only Anjali had a frown that Liz was quick to notice. Drawing her aside she asked what the trouble was. “Where will they live Madame O’Malley? Arrav might leave us for a big hotel where they get accommodation.” A shadow crossed Liz’s face. “That would be awful. I know,” she said, after a brief pause and smiling again. “We will knock two of the smaller rooms on the top floor together making them a bedroom and two others to make a sitting room. Arrav and Sparrow have a bathroom there already and there is still one tiny room which could be a nursery if one is needed!”

  “Um,” Anjali looked unconvinced. Liz clapped her hands for attention and then announced that the top floor would be converted into a self-contained flat for the young couple as a wedding present from Sir Philip and herself. Sparrow was thrilled. “With my own little kitchen too?” Liz hadn’t thought of that, she looked at Philip who raised his eyebrows as if to say”‘this is your baby”. “I didn’t think of that.” Liz looked worried and Philip wisely chose that moment to whisk her into his arms and carry a suddenly tired Liz up to her bedroom.