Free India Dark by Kirsty Murray Page B

grumbled but Miss Thrupp wouldn’t say why we had to leave in such a hurry. She wouldn’t even let us wait for the carriages to return.
    The few bags we’d brought with us from the steamer were loaded onto another cart and we were all forced to walk back along the dusty roadways to the waterside again, as if there wasn’t even time to wait for carriages. As we tramped past the fish markets towards the dock, Tilly sidled up to me and grabbed my arm.
    â€˜Did you hear?’ she asked. ‘Cholera – it’s been through the hotel and they’re not letting anyone stay ashore.’
    The stink of the fish market suddenly seemed horribly rank. ‘Cholera?’ My stomach lurched and my limbs felt weak. ‘Why didn’t Mr Shrouts warn us?’
    â€˜He sailed straight to Singapore – that’s what advance agents do. They travel ahead of us for most of the tour.’
    She spoke in such a snappy tone that I lowered my head and decided to keep my thoughts to myself.
    â€˜I don’t want to go ashore in Batavia ever, ever again,’ she said. ‘I can’t wait until Singapore. At least it’s a British colony. Really, the Dutch aren’t like us. They simply aren’t like us at all.’
    I couldn’t see that the Dutch were very different or what that had to do with cholera, but it wasn’t worth saying that out loud with Tilly in such a huffy-puffy mood.
    We scurried towards the sampan as quickly as we could, jostling to get on board. Mr Arthur stood by the ramp and handed the girls onto the old boat one by one. When Ruby Kelly nearly lost her balance, he caught her in his arms and lifted her gently on board. She blushed a little but she didn’t thank him.
    â€˜Did you see that?’ whispered Tilly, more to Valentine than to me. ‘Did you see how Mr Arthur was with Ruby? Perhaps Ruby’s given him ideas.’
    â€˜Tilly!’ I said. ‘How dare you talk like that about Mr Arthur!’
    Then she laughed, long and loud. She took my hand and kissed the back of it, as if to placate me. ‘Mercy, Poesy Swift. That wasn’t meant for you. You have such jug-ears! But why shouldn’t he like Ruby? He was jealous when she was flirting with those sailors. That’s why he boxed her ears.’
    â€˜No, that’s not right. It was because she hurt Miss Thrupp.’
    â€˜Mr Arthur isn’t what he seems, Poesy. He’s a married man. They say he has two children. Somewhere. But he gives all the girls ideas. Even I used to fancy him once, when I first joined up.’
    â€˜He doesn’t give me any ideas,’ I said hotly. ‘Besides, he’s a grown-up and we’re children. He’s old! How can anyone fancy him?’
    â€˜That doesn’t mean a thing,’ piped up Valentine. ‘Lots of girls have older men fall in love with them. Men can’t help themselves.’
    She put her face close to mine, talking in a hurried, breathless way. ‘When we danced for Mr Carnegie in New York City, I think he fancied me. Mr Carnegie, that is, not Mr Arthur. But with Mr Carnegie, it was more fatherly. Perhaps he would have liked to adopt me. You know, that’s probably why he sent money for the Northcote Library. He sent flowers backstage too. They were addressed to all of us but I was the lead that night in The Girl from Paris . Of course, Mrs Essie wouldn’t let me meet him. There’s always a sign on the stage door when we’re touring, saying that no one’s to meet the children, in case they’re not proper, but sometimes when you look down into the audience, you know the gentlemen fancy you. It happens all the time.’
    â€˜But Mr Arthur isn’t in the audience. Mr Arthur – he’s like an uncle to us, isn’t he?’
    Tilly narrowed her eyes and shook her head at both of us.
    â€˜You are adorable, Valentine, but sometimes you say the most fanciful things. While