Louis de Bernières - The Dust That Falls From Dreams

Hugh stopped the car in the road outside the bungalow, and announced that he would have to come in and introduce them to the servants, and fetch water for his radiator, which was beginning to boil.

As they opened the garden gate, there was a sudden rush and patter of feet, and four servants appeared to empty the vehicles of their luggage, disappearing back into the house with it just as suddenly.

‘They’re all Tamils,’ said Hugh, ‘just as you’d expect. Hindus. I think you’ll find them very conscientious and eager to please.’

‘We haven’t really had many servants since before the war,’ said Rosie. ‘This is going to be a bit strange. We all got used to doing things for ourselves. My father says he wished he’d known before what fun it was cleaning your own clubs and decanting wine, and working out whether it needed cinnamon or not. I don’t really need anyone any more.’

‘Well, I think you’ll like them. They’re charming people, and of course one has a duty to find work for people and spread a little prosperity. That’s how I see it, anyway.’

‘You’re quite right,’ said Daniel. ‘Without work, life is completely meaningless.’

‘I’ll line them up and introduce you. You’ll soon learn their names, and very shortly afterwards you’ll find out all their foibles.’

‘Am I going to have any friends?’ asked Esther.

Having been introduced to the servants (three young men in immaculate tunics, and one extraordinarily pretty maid) they sat on the veranda in the declining sun, and were served tea and biscuits by one of the young men, who was both excited and nervous.

‘I think Kandy is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen,’ said Rosie. ‘Not the town itself, I mean the views, and the lake, and the fireflies at night, and the jungle. Luxuriant is hardly the word, is it?’

‘Wait ’til you’ve been found by a leech,’ said Hugh.

‘I like all the monkeys,’ said Esther. ‘Can we have a pet monkey?’

‘They have very horrible habits,’ said Hugh, ‘and very strong opinions.’

‘I have a feeling that this island is going to be inexhaustible,’ said Daniel. ‘It couldn’t be less like the North-West Frontier. I don’t know why, but I was half expecting it to be similar for some reason.’

‘That’s like expecting Norway to be like Spain,’ said Hugh. ‘Oh, and you’ll find that your cook thinks that we eat only mutton chops, by the way. Goat, in other words. If you want anything else you’ll have to educate him into it very gently. Servants here are easily shocked. They’re horrified if you want to try any of the local dishes. They strongly disapprove of us going native. And they won’t cook beef, obviously.’

‘Perhaps I’ll teach him our cookery if he teaches me his,’ said Rosie. ‘But I suppose I’d have to learn ours first.’

‘I’m not sure that spotted dick with custard and bubble and squeak would appeal very much to the natives,’ said Hugh.

After they had eaten their supper, which had indeed consisted of ‘mutton’ chops, Hugh proposed a long and gracious toast of welcome, and Daniel replied with a short speech thanking him for his time and hospitality. Hugh rose to leave, saying, ‘My bungalow’s the next one along, five hundred yards. Do call by if you need anything or have any questions.’ He turned to Daniel. ‘Work starts tomorrow. I’ll be calling for you at half past eight, but more often than not we’ll be out at dawn.’

‘I look forward to it,’ said Daniel, shaking his hand warmly, ‘and thank you so much again for your time, and all you’ve done for us.’

‘I needed the little holiday, to tell the truth,’ said Hugh. ‘And I was desperate to meet another flying man.’

‘Do you think there’s a future in aviation here?’ asked Daniel eagerly. ‘I noticed there weren’t any seaplanes in the harbour.’

‘I knew you were going to ask that! It’s something I’ve thought about a great deal. It’s actually a question of the enormous expense of setting up an infrastructure. But let’s talk about it tomorrow. It’s late, and you’ve got to get your little princess tucked up in bed. You must be tired too, if you’re as tired as I am. Come and eat with us tomorrow; I’ll introduce you to my wife.’

That night, as Daniel and Rosie lay in each other’s arms, wide awake as the owls called outside, Rosie said, ‘I’m so glad we came.’

‘It couldn’t be further from Eltham or Birmingham, could it?’ said Daniel. ‘But Argentina would have been nice.’

‘I am sorry about that. I know how disappointed you were.’

‘Well, now I understand the reason. You really should have told me, instead of bottling it all up.’

‘I know. I’m sorry about that too. Anyway, I hope the climate’s as nice as you promised. Esther and I did get terribly sticky and clammy down in Colombo. Any more, and we would have got grumpy.’

‘Well, Kandy was perfect, wasn’t it? This will be even more perfect.’

‘You can’t be more perfect than perfect,’ said Rosie.

‘Pedant.’

The next day, Rosie had a chance to take proper stock of her new domain. There was a wonderful bathroom with a large cast-iron bath on lion’s feet, and black-and-white tiles up the walls and on the floor. In her bedroom she admired all over again the enormous carved four-poster bed draped in white muslin to keep out the mosquitoes, where only last night she and Daniel had set about the creation of their next child. Everywhere there were gleaming teak floors and clean white walls. She thought of her mother in Eltham, mixing up beeswax and turpentine once a year, just in case Their Majesties should call in and expect to see a polished floor. How she would have loved to have seen the ones here in this bungalow.

Best of all was the roofed veranda, with its tiled floor and wicker chairs. Here she wrote letters home to tell everyone that her new address was a house called Taprobane Bungalow, near the Wanarajah Tea Factory, near Dickoya Village, Central Highlands. As an afterthought she wrote to Mrs Burke in Birmingham, and to Dr Scott, to remind him to keep a close eye on her father.

Daniel returned just before sunset, exhausted, aching and happy. He sat on the veranda with Esther on his lap, thumb in mouth as ever, and French Bear under her arm. He said, ‘You wouldn’t believe what hard work this is going to be. I have a staggering amount to learn in no time at all, and you need legs like a sherpa. It seems that manufacturing tea is 50 per cent science and 50 per cent intuition. It’s a bit worrying, really. I had been hoping it was all science, and then I could get a grip on it straight away. Still, you should see the machinery! It’s perfectly marvellous … quite massive, but beautifully made, a real joy.’ He reached into his pocket and produced a folded piece of paper. ‘Here are my first twenty Tamil words to learn. Would you test me? We should do it before we go to dinner with Hugh.’

‘Ooh, I can learn them too then,’ said Rosie. ‘The cook does know plenty of English, and so do the others, but you can tell they’re never quite sure what you really mean. They’re devastated if they think they’ve disappointed you. I’ve already learned to say “ arre ”.’

‘I see you’ve been reading Rupert Brooke again,’ said Daniel, nodding towards the collected verse that lay on the coffee table beside Rosie’s seat.

Rosie pulled a wry face. ‘I’m rather afraid I might be going off him. All that breathless flinging and so on. And that wisdom in women one is really beginning to pall. It’s so condescending, don’t you think? As if women don’t have any nouse of their own.’

‘I’ve always thought that. I mean that it’s condescending, not that women don’t have any nouse. I still love the one about the fish, though, and the one about the funeral of God. I expect you need a break from Rupert B. You’ll probably get your enjoyment back if you leave it for a while. I see you’ve taken the cover off, or did you lose it?’