Free Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica by Matthew Parker Page B

ruled in Jamaica.

1948 Lady Rothermere
    Bond knew that he was very close to being in love with her.
    Diamonds are Forever
    Fleming had written frequently to Ann Rothermere during his 1947 stay at Goldeneye, extolling the wonders of his Jamaica. Later that spring, back in England, their relationship became much more passionate and intense. Fleming stayed close to the Rothermere circle, taking advantage of any absence of Ann’s husband to steal some time with her. Often this was spent in furious argument. On one occasion they were surprised by Ann’s sister-in-law Virginia, who reported: ‘They’d just had the mother and father of all rows. Clearly they thrived on it. They liked hurting each other.’
    In late August, the pair met up for a secret rendezvous in Dublin. Afterwards Ann wrote to Ian, ‘I loved being whipped by you and I don’t think I have ever loved like this before … I love being hurt by you and kissed afterwards.’ If they could not be alone, Fleming tagged along with the Rothermere party. They all saw New Year in together at the Chelsea Arts Club, but in January came what Ian and Ann had been most looking forward to: Ann’s first visit to Jamaica.
    Considering that she was married to a newspaperman, Ann was incredibly indiscreet when she arrived at Kingston. On page 12 of the Gleaner from 13 January 1948 is a photograph of Ian and Ann standing next to one another, just off the aeroplane from Miami, saying how pleased they were to be there – Ian ‘happy to be home’ – and thatthey would be staying together at Goldeneye. (The same page carries a large notice of a public meeting with a photograph of Bustamante in full oratorical flow and the appeal: ‘Come in your Thousands!’) With them, as a sort of chaperone, was mutual friend (and a previous lover of Fleming) Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, whose marriage to the Duke had been dissolved the year before after many years of separation. The party was met by the Bryces and conveyed to Bellevue above Kingston, now much refurbished. After a couple of days there, which included lunch with the Governor and Lady Huggins at King’s House, the three headed for Oracabessa.
    Lady Rothermere with Lady Huggins in the dining room at King’s House. Ann’s aristocratic background added to Ian’s cachet in Jamaica.
    They arrived at Goldeneye ‘at typical tropical sunset hour’. Violet, Holmes the gardener and two other maids were lined up outside to ‘welcome “Commander” with much grinning’. Ian was ‘ecstatically excited’ to be back, Ann reported.
    It was very quickly dark, and the night full of the noise of frogs and crickets. Ann suddenly felt a bit depressed, although she hid it from Ian. The house seemed to her to be extremely rudimentary. In fact, Ian’s mother and half-sister Amaryllis had visited the previous month and been so put off that they had moved out to stay in a hotel. ‘The house is scarcely furnished …’ Ann complained. There was a dining alcove with hard wooden benches but nowhere to sit in comfort. At dinner Ian made it clear that his position was ‘facing the window and staring at the night’.
    The next morning, Ann woke early. Ian and Loelia were still asleep. She wandered round the outside of the property, noting sea grapes and orange, lemon and grapefruit trees, along with much miscellaneous bush. Then she ventured down the steep stone steps to the small white sand beach directly below the house and plunged in, finding the water ‘warm transparent shallow’. It was dreamy. ‘Depression totally gone,’ she noted. ‘Only Ian could devise this manner of life.’ Climbing back up the steps, she came across him awake, and furious that she had not waited for him to show her everything. ‘Too full of wellbeingto be troubled by this,’ Ann noted. ‘Breakfast of paw paw, black [st’c] mountain coffee, scrambled eggs and bacon.’
    Ann’s first visit, gamely posing for Loelia’s camera. Fleming’s girlfriends in