Free The House of Seven Fountains by Anne Weale Page A

doctor.
    “About five pounds ten.”
    “Then I’ll have it,” she said happily.
    Although Seng tried to persuade her to inspect the rest of his wares, she eventually convinced him that she had concluded her purchases and went into the house to fetch some money.
    As soon as the wily old salesman had gone, Dr. Stransom said he must be off to the surgery.
    “You will go on using the pool, won’t you?” Vivien asked.
    “If that is your wish.”
    Some impulse that she could not quite define made Vivien hold out her hand. For an instant his lean brown fingers clasped hers in a painfully strong grip. Then he was gone.
    After lunch Vivien told Chen that she wanted to go into town to do some shopping.
    He bowed. “I will fetch the car. Perhaps it would be wise for Ah Kim to accompany the mem in order that the dealers do not ask prices that are too high.”
    “Yes, that’s a good idea. She probably knows the best shops, too,” Vivien agreed.
    Half an hour later Chen parked the car in the center of the town and opened the door for her.
    “I will wait here until the mem returns,” he said.
    “I may be a long time,” she said doubtfully. “I know, you take the car home, Chen, and Ah Kim and I will come back in a trisha .”
    Chen shook his head. “It is not customary for English mems to ride in trishas ,” he said.
    “Why on earth not? Everyone else does.”
    “The trishas are not always clean. I will wait.”
    “But I want to ride in a trisha ,” she answered firmly. “They look clean enough and Ah Kim can give the driver instructions.”
    If Chen was annoyed at her persistence he did not show it. Indeed she was beginning to wonder if he ever displayed any emotion.
    “As the mem wishes,” he said in an expressionless voice.
    “Don’t worry. We shall be back by teatime,” she assured him. “Come on, Ah Kim.”
    For the next hour she explored the busy shopping center, Ah Kim trotting at her heels like a watchful bodyguard.
    Between the covered pavements and the roadway there were deep monsoon drains without which, in the rainy season, the town would soon be flooded. Now, during a dry spell, the channels were littered with rotting garbage. The smell was appalling, for as Julian had warned her in Singapore, it was the peak of the durian season and the malodorous husks were scattered everywhere.
    The shops had no windows but opened directly onto the pavement, their wares frequently encroaching on the path. Some of the premises were shared by two traders, and Vivien was startled to see a jewelry showcase on one side of a shop and a tinsmith hammering away at pots and pans on the other. Most of the silk shops seemed to belong to Indians who stood in the entrance extoling their goods for the benefit of passersby. As soon as they saw an English girl approaching they would seize a roll of cloth or a pair of nylons and thrust them at her with a flood of persuasive patter, shrugging philosophically when she shook her head and passed on.
    Suddenly she felt a light touch on her arm and found Ah Kim pointing at a shop across the road.
    “Good, mem . This good.”
    Remembering what Chen had said about the amah saving her from being fleeced, Vivien followed the Chinese girl into the selected store. With Ah Kim’s guidance she bought several dress lengths which they then took to a tailor to be made up. Before very long Ah Kim was laden with packages and Vivien was carrying a parcel containing a bathing suit and a box of cosmetics. With a slight pang of guilt, she realized that she had spent quite a large sum of money, but everything was so cheap and she had brought so little with her from England that she felt justified in having one glorious splurge. To indulge her own tastes without counting every penny was a new and invigorating experience.
    They had just emerged from the shoemaker’s when there was a loud hooting in the road, and Vivien saw Julian grinning at her from his car.
    “Hello there. I was just coming up to