A Painter in Penang: A Gripping Story of the Malayan Emergency

by Clare Flynn

  ‘Maybe I’ll end up there! I’m going to be working for Guthrie’s. They’re posting me to a place called Batu Lembah as an assistant.’

  Evie smiled. ‘Batu Lembah was my husband’s estate.’

  ‘Goodness! Is that where you lived?’ His face lit up.

  ‘No. We had a house in George Town. My husband lived at Batu Lembah during the week.’ But Evie didn’t want to talk about Douglas and their brief marriage. She hated to be reminded of the sadness and grief. ‘My best friend married a rubber planter, and Jasmine will be living with them at Bella Vista. She adores Penang.’

  ‘So, she and I will both be living on rubber estates.’ Again his eyes drifted towards the main hotel building.

  ‘What made you choose rubber over tea, Mr Baxter?’ Evie wanted to steer the conversation away from Jasmine.

  ‘Please call me Howard.’ He proffered another wide smile, which lit up his eyes, showing he was an exceptionally handsome man. ‘It’s less about the crop and all about being my own man. I didn’t want an office job. I went to university in England but I’d hate to live there. Lousy climate. I wanted to join the Colonial Office but I wasn’t clever enough to pass the exams. They’re frightfully picky. And I didn’t get into Oxbridge. I was a Durham man.’

  ‘A good university, I hear. Not that I’d know.’ She smiled at him apologetically. ‘Although I have to tell you, my husband works for the Colonial Office. And you’re right. No offence, but he has a brain the size of the planet.’

  Howard returned her smile. ‘None taken. I’m reconciled to my fate and know my limitations. Of course, I’ll have to learn the ropes. Work my way up the ladder. The pay’s awful but it does improve once you get to be estate manager. And I’m a quick learner and a hard grafter.’ He placed his hands on his knees. ‘What will Jasmine be doing while she’s in Penang?’

  ‘My friend runs a school for the estate workers, so Jasmine will probably help out with that. And Mary, my friend, has a small baby and needs all the support she can get. But most of all, Jasmine will be studying for her exams through a correspondence course.’

  ‘She wants to be a teacher?’

  ‘No. At least not as far as I know, although I’m rather hoping she might eventually. Her passion is for painting.’

  Howard’s eyes widened. ‘Painting? Really?’ He shook his head and smiled again. ‘Is she any good?’

  ‘I realise I’m biased, but yes, she’s frightfully good.’

  ‘Marvellous. Talented as well as spirited.’ He sighed. ‘I must say, Mrs Leighton, I’m rather taken by Jasmine but I appear to have got off on the wrong foot with her.’ He took a gulp of air then expelled it rapidly as though trying to build up his courage. ‘Can you offer me any tips on putting things right with her? I was rather hoping to get to know her better…’

  Evie gasped. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting he was considering Jasmine as a possible girlfriend. He’d been in her presence for no more than five minutes.

  ‘How old are you, Howard?’

  ‘Almost twenty-six.’

  ‘That’s ten years older than my daughter. Jasmine is still a schoolgirl and the last thing she needs right now is a boyfriend.’

  Howard Baxter looked abashed. ‘There I go again. Jumping straight in. What’s that old saying – “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”? Me and my big mouth. He gave an ironic laugh. ‘Please don’t tell her. Let me have a chance to make a better impression first.’

  He appeared oblivious to Evie’s concerns, so she voiced them again. ‘I’m going to make an assumption that it’s the drink talking.’ Evie nodded at his almost empty glass. ‘I’m certainly not going to encourage you in any attempt to form an attachment to my sixteen-year-old daughter. I happen to think ten years is a significant age difference but, more importantly, Jasmine needs to concentrate on her studies and preparations for her School Certificate.’

  He was still smiling, refusing to be discouraged. She reminded herself that Douglas had been fifteen years her senior and now Arthur was twelve years older than her. She sighed. But she’d been twenty-seven when she’d married Douglas. Yes, she’d had a crush on him ever since meeting him at fifteen – but the reality had proved quite different from the girlhood memory. Jasmine was still a child, for heaven’s sake! There was no chance Evie was going to countenance this young upstart trying to sweep her daughter off her feet.

  Howard remained undeterred. ‘I don’t get deflected when I set my mind on a course. Ask Dad. He’s tried hard enough to bend me to his will without success. I know it’s mad. I accept that I haven’t exchanged more than a hello with Jasmine, but I do believe I’m smitten.’

  Leaning forward, he pushed a heavy lock of hair away from his forehead. ‘You think I’m crazy, don’t you? Perhaps I am. And I’ve no idea why I’m telling you all this.’ His eyes were an intense blue and they held hers.

  ‘I know exactly why you’re telling me! You’ve probably had one too many stengahs tonight.’ She indicated his tumbler of whisky and soda. ‘Go to bed, Howard Baxter. A good night’s sleep is what you need.’ She got up. ‘And don’t worry. I won’t say anything to Jasmine. And if our paths should cross on the Rosebery, I hope we won’t need to mention this again. As far as I’m concerned, this part of an otherwise delightful conversation never happened. Goodnight.’

  5

  When Evie got back to the room, she found Jasmine sitting up in bed reading.

  ‘I thought you said you were tired, Jasmine.’

  ‘And I thought you were never going to stop talking to that obnoxious man.’

  Evie raised her eyebrows, surprised at the strength of the reaction Howard Baxter had provoked in her daughter. ‘You were rude to him. I’m surprised at you making such a snap judgement.’

  Jasmine said nothing, so Evie decided to let the mood pass and started to get ready for bed, folding her clothes and slipping on her nightdress. ‘Are all your things packed?’

  ‘Yes.’ Abrupt.

  Evie moved to the basin and began cleaning her teeth, keen to avoid risking a row with her daughter.

  She climbed into bed and switched off the lamp on the bedside table. ‘I think you should turn your light off too now, darling, and get some sleep.’

  Jasmine did as she was told.

  Evie was drifting off to sleep when her daughter’s voice penetrated the dark of the bedroom. ‘Is he really going to be on the same ship as us? I hope we won’t have to speak to him again.’

  Evie turned over on her side to face Jasmine’s bed, even though she couldn’t see her in the dark. ‘It’s a big ship. But really, Jasmine, all the poor chap did was offer to buy us a drink and join us for a chat.’

  ‘Exactly. He ruined our last night here.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I was enjoying it being just you and me. Then he came along and butted in.’

  Evie sighed. ‘Go to sleep, Jasmine.’

  ‘What were you talking about for so long?’

  Evie felt a rush of alarm. While Jasmine was affecting to despise Howard Baxter, she was evidently as obsessed with him as he was with her – even if in her case the reaction was negative. But was it?

  Belatedly, she answered her daughter’s question. ‘This and that. He’s going to be a rubber planter. He’s starting out at Batu Lembah as an assistant manager. His parents live here in Ceylon, where his father’s a tea planter. That’s all.’

  ‘Well, you took an awfully long time. I thought you were never coming back.’

  Evie jerked upright and flicked on the bedside lamp. ‘What’s the matter, Jasmine? Is there something particular you wanted to talk to me about? Is that why you were annoyed at Howard joining us?’

  ‘No. Nothing. It’s just him. I don’t like him. I know his type. You see them at the sports club in Nairobi. Full of themselves. Cocky. Wanting to be the centre of attention.’

  ‘He wasn’t like that at all. He was very polite. In fact, he was rather self-deprecating.’

  An arm
shot out from the adjacent bed and Jasmine switched off the light, plunging them back into darkness. ‘I’m going to sleep now. See you in the morning.’

  Evie turned over and tried to tip into sleep, but it was proving elusive. Was she doing the wrong thing in leaving her daughter in Penang? Would she do that were she Jasmine’s real mother? Was she wrong to leave a vulnerable sixteen-year-old in another country an ocean away?

  At least being up at Bella Vista, Jasmine would be distant from the social activities of George Town and the Penang Club. It was highly unlikely that, with a small baby, Mary and Reggie would be spending time there – and Mary hated the Club anyway. And Howard Baxter would be more than occupied with his duties at Batu Lembah. Knowing how little the juniors were paid on a rubber estate, there would be little risk of Howard being able to afford to run a motorcar yet, so he would be unlikely to run into Jasmine on Penang. But first, there were almost six days to cross the Indian Ocean. Evie hoped Jasmine’s expressed wish to avoid Howard was genuine.

  * * *

  The SS Rosebery was a passenger liner that had seen better days, having spent the war years as a troop ship. While it had undergone some refurbishment, it was unlikely to return to its past luxurious status and now mostly plodded back and forth between various outposts of the British empire, carrying planters, traders, administrators, engineers, and their families.

  It was with a mixture of pleasure and concern that Evie discovered Howard Baxter had been assigned to their table in the dining room. He jumped to his feet as mother and daughter approached on the first night, pulling out a chair on one side of his own for Evie. He was in the process of doing the same for Jasmine when she went to sit down in a space on the other side of the table, giving him a look Evie could only describe as contemptuous.

  Their other dining companions were a young married couple, heading to Singapore, an army officer, a land surveyor working in road construction, and an elderly widow visiting her son in Kuala Lumpur. The widow, Mrs Clark, was the last to arrive and took the seat on the other side of Howard.

  Jasmine talked animatedly with the army officer and the married couple, avoiding casting so much as a glance at Howard Baxter throughout the entire meal.

  Evie was puzzled. Why had Jasmine developed such a strong aversion to the young planter?

  On Evie’s other side was the land surveyor, who responded to her attempts to converse with a bored expression and a series of one-word answers, making no attempt to initiate conversation himself, so she gave up trying and talked to Howard and Mrs Clark.

  Her initial assessment that Howard was a likeable young man was reinforced, but so too was her concern that the more Jasmine gave him the cold shoulder the keener on her he appeared to become. His eyes constantly moved beyond Evie and the elderly widow, to try to catch Jasmine’s, who resolutely avoided all attempts to engage her and was absorbed in conversation with the army lieutenant.

  After dinner, there was to be dancing. Jasmine got up from the table and was attempting an escape, heading towards the door, but the military man reached for her hand and swept her onto the dance floor. Evie watched as her daughter started to jerk her hand back as if about to refuse, but as she turned and saw her mother standing beside Howard Baxter, she began to dance with the lieutenant.

  Howard and Evie sat down at a table on the side of the small dance floor. Mrs Clark and the land surveyor had presumably gone to bed and the married couple were also dancing. Howard sipped his scotch and fixed his eyes on the officer and Jasmine, his face set in grim concentration.

  ‘I was too slow off the mark, wasn’t I?’ He turned to Evie, his eyes full of concern. ‘Do you think he’s after her? Do you think she likes him?’

  Evie rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve told you. Jasmine is sixteen. She’s not old enough to like anyone, let alone grown men.’ She motioned with a bend of her head towards the army officer. ‘He looks like he’s seen the back of thirty. Honestly I didn’t expect to have to be fending off so many young men on my daughter’s part.’ She sighed. ‘Thank heavens I came on the trip with her. What would have become of her if you’d all had a free rein?’ Bending her head slightly in the direction of a party of more young men on the other side of the floor, she added, ‘That lot too, by the look of things.’

  Howard turned to look and gave a little groan. ‘They’re Guthrie’s men too. We were hired at the same time. I was meant to be seated on their table.’ He gave an apologetic grin. ‘But a generous tip to the maitre d’ secured me a place on yours.’

  Evie shook her head gently, half frowning, half smiling. ‘You have got it bad, young man, haven’t you? But you don’t even know my daughter.’

  ‘Perhaps not, but I find her intriguing. She’s one in a million. I knew it the instant I set eyes on her.’

  ‘Jasmine could be a thoroughly unpleasant girl for all you know. A veritable monster.’

  Howard grinned and gave a half laugh. ‘She could be, but she isn’t. Is she?’

  Evie was forced to acknowledge that no, her daughter was far from being a monster.

  ‘Indulge me, please. I want to know everything about her. Tell me.’

  Was the man serious? Evie frowned. ‘You’re being ridiculous. You need to stop this nonsense. There’s nothing to tell. Jasmine is a schoolgirl. An ordinary girl.’

  ‘That’s not true. She’s exceptional. Ordinary schoolgirls don’t leave their family and go and live in another country – particularly when you obviously adore each other.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘I can see it. It was one of the first things I noticed about you both last night when you were having dinner together in the hotel. Dad was hectoring me about tea planting being much more of a gentleman’s career than rubber. I tuned him out and watched you both instead. Dad didn’t notice – he’s too keen on the sound of his own voice. But Mum did. She could tell I’d got it bad. Mentioned it over breakfast this morning.’ He stretched his mouth into a rueful smile. ‘So take pity on me, Mrs Leighton and tell me more about Jasmine. Tell me anything. Her favourite colour. Her favourite tune. What makes her laugh? What makes her sad?’ He fixed his deep blue eyes on her, his expression sincere.

  Evie shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Howard, but you’re going to have to find that out for yourself – if my daughter is prepared to tell you.’ She rose to leave as the band finished. ‘It’s time Jasmine was in bed. Goodnight, Howard.’

  She strode across the dance floor as the band finished the number, and tapped Jasmine on the shoulder, telling her it was time to leave.

  The officer threw Evie a dirty look. ‘If you want to stay for another dance, then why don’t you?’ he said to Jasmine. ‘I’ll see you safely back to your cabin.’

  Evie decided she didn’t like the man at all. ‘That won’t be necessary. It’s already past my daughter’s bedtime.’

  Jasmine glared at her and walked rapidly from the room.

  Evie looked at the army man. ‘Do you make a habit of trying to pick up schoolgirls, Lieutenant? You need to forget any ideas on that score as far as my daughter is concerned. At sixteen, she must be half your age.’ Without waiting for a reply, she hurried after Jasmine.

  * * *

  ‘You humiliated me!’ Jasmine was standing, hands on hips, her back to the porthole, eyes flashing fury at Evie as she came into their cabin.

  ‘That wasn’t my intent at all. And you can only be humiliated if you choose to be. That snake of a man is old enough to be your father. And since when did the waltz-hold reach almost to your bottom rather than stopping at your waist?’

  ‘That’s ridiculous!’

  ‘I could see him. He was trying to paw you like a piece of meat.’

  Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. ‘You can’t talk. You and that awful Baxter chap. Yet again monopolising each other. What would Arthur think? How could you?’

  Evie was shocked. So shocked she started to laugh. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Jasmine. I’m sure Arthur would like Howard too.�
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  ‘You’re old enough to be his mother!’

  Annoyed now, Evie flung her evening bag onto the bed. ‘No I’m not, as it happens. But seriously, Jasmine, you’re being ridiculous. I have no interest in Howard Baxter at all, and I can promise you he has absolutely no interest in me either. That is certain.’

  ‘Then why are you flirting with him all the time?’

  So that was it.

  ‘I’m not flirting. Merely making conversation, which I’m sure he’d rather be doing with you, if you weren’t so blooming rude to him.’

  ‘I know his type. He’s the sort who likes older women. I heard all about that kind of thing from Katy. Her mother was always carrying on with young men at the sports club. She asked her dad about it and he laughed and said it’s a rite of passage for young men to spend time with experienced older women. I could tell at once that’s what Howard Baxter was after.’ Her face was solemn as she said, somewhat pompously, ‘He is looking to be educated in the art of love-making.’

  Evie’s hand went to her mouth to suppress her laughter – the last thing she needed was for Jasmine to think she was making fun of her. ‘I hate to disappoint you, darling,’ she said, trying to shape her face into a serious expression, ‘but that young man has no such intentions. He spent more time last night talking about why he wants to go into rubber planting, rather than tea, and telling me about his domineering father. And I’m not even going to comment on the sort of thing the Grenvilles apparently talked about, but while I’m sorry that poor Katy had to go away, I’m not at all sorry to see the back of her mother and father.’ She looked up and saw that Jasmine was genuinely upset. The desire to laugh left her. ‘The high jinks they got up to was not the sort of behaviour decent people should indulge in and I’m glad you’re now safely away from their bad influence.’ She sank down on the bed. ‘I’d no idea Katy was filling your head with such nonsense.’