CHAPTER 15 #2
Dorothy had hoped that Maria’s marriage would have changed things between them.
But she and Bernard Pemberton had been married for just three months and the Singapore rumour-mill was already reporting that the marriage was not a happy one.
Her new husband was regularly away on business, leaving Maria twiddling her thumbs in the opulent elegance of her new marital home.
Dorothy swallowed down the annoyance and put her smile back in place, determined not to let it spoil her wedding day. Douglas was hers now.
The wedding breakfast was held across town in the Goodwood Park Hotel.
In the lobby, Dorothy’s parents stood alongside the new Mr and Mrs Llewellyn and greeted the guests as they arrived.
With Europe at war, Douglas explained that his parents had, unfortunately, decided against risking the journey.
They were older than the Templetons, in their late seventies, and were safely tucked up in their country house, Highcliffe Manor, in Wiltshire.
Douglas had painted a beautiful picture of it as he described it to Dorothy and promised her that, as soon as the war was over, he would take her to meet her new in-laws.
A steady line of guests made their way in and Dorothy’s face was starting to ache from all the pleasantries. She relaxed as she saw her friend approach.
‘You look gorgeous, darling! Congratulations!’ Clara smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
She took her friend’s hand and led her a couple of steps away from Douglas.
‘Matthew sends his best wishes, he was sorry he couldn’t be here but, well .
. . ’ Her voice tailed off and she shrugged with a sad smile.
Dorothy screwed up her face. ‘Matthew has absolutely nothing to be sorry about,’ she whispered, pulling her friend to the side. ‘It’s me, I’m the one who’s sorry. It was all so sudden, I had no idea . . . I mean, if I’d known, maybe I could have . . . ’
Clara shook her head and put a hand on her arm to stop her. ‘He’ll be alright. He’s up in Kuala Lumpur for a few days. He just needs some time away to lick his wounds; you know what men are like with their silly pride! Don’t worry.’
But Dorothy did worry. Matthew was one of the kindest, most decent people she knew and it hurt to think that she had caused him pain.
Their friendship had started off as just that: friendship.
But over time, they had grown close and had shared an occasional kiss after an evening at the cinema or night out at the theatre.
Dorothy had felt so safe with him, he had been the perfect antidote to Douglas.
And after the emotional turmoil of finding Douglas in the arms of another woman – and not just any woman, but that woman – Matthew’s steady, gentle manner had been exactly what she needed.
But despite all that, when Douglas had appeared out of the blue one rainy Sunday afternoon in May, with a bouquet of orchids and a diamond ring, Dorothy had been powerless to resist. Eighteen months had passed since she had ended things, during which time she had barely seen him.
But with his movie-star good looks and devastating charm, he still had such a powerful magnetism that she felt hopelessly drawn to him, like the proverbial moth to his flame.
She would lose herself in the depths of his chocolate-brown eyes when he looked at her, overcome by the delicious scent of him.
He made her insides feel strange in a way that she had never experienced before; a hot, melting feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She had never known such stirrings of desire; they overwhelmed and confused her, and threw all common sense and reason out of the window.
Douglas was a changed man; he had vowed that his ‘friendship’ with Maria was over.
She was married and it was time for him to marry, too.
And he could think of no one he wanted to spend his life with more than ‘the adorable Dorothy Templeton’.
She had been flattered by his words and, floating on a heady mix of romance and optimism, she had accepted.
Her parents had been a little surprised but pleased and had given the match their blessing.
Her mother was easily won over by Douglas’s easy charm and her father, impressed by his work at McKinley’s, was sure that he had a promising future ahead of him and would take care of his daughter.
It was a couple of weeks later, after the engagement had been announced in the Straits Times, when Clara confided to Dorothy that her cousin – dear, kind, dependable Matthew – had also been planning to propose to her.
But Douglas had beaten him to it. Would she have accepted Matthew if Douglas hadn’t got there first?
She had spent a long time pondering and was confused when she realised that yes, she probably would have.
She couldn’t have picked two more different men: Douglas was dark and Matthew was fair, Douglas ambitious and Matthew easy-going, Douglas was all charisma and passion, while Matthew offered safety and stability.
She hoped with all her heart she had made the right decision.
After the meal and the wedding toasts, the band struck up and the newlyweds took to the dance floor.
Dorothy beamed as she glided around in Douglas’s arms. She was a little merry after the champagne and had never felt happier.
She beamed up at her handsome new husband, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.
‘Well, Mrs Llewellyn, I must say you look very lovely,’ Douglas said, his lips brushing so close to her ear that it gave her goosebumps. ‘Happy?’
She thought her heart would burst. ‘Yes, Douglas, so happy!’ She grinned up at him. ‘It’s been the most wonderful day.’ She paused here and her smile slipped. He looked down, noticing the change in her expression.
‘I know that look, my little darling; what’s on your mind?’
Dorothy pondered whether this was the right moment to share what was bothering her. But she’d rather air it now than when they got home later and had, well, other things to occupy their attention.
‘I was just wondering . . . I mean, I wasn’t sure why . . . ’ She paused and screwed up her face, unable to find the right words.
Douglas laughed. ‘Spit it out, my dear!’
She took a deep breath and did just that, the words suddenly tumbling out in a rush. ‘Why was Maria da Costa – I mean Pemberton – at the church?’
As soon as she saw the look in his eye, she realised she had made a mistake.
For the briefest of moments, he paused in his steps, pulling slightly away from her as his muscles tensed.
Dorothy felt the shift in him and she wished she could take her words back.
Then he fixed a smile in place and continued, in a voice that seemed too calm, ‘She’s an old friend, that’s all.
It would have been strange not to invite her. ’
‘And that’s all it is?’ she probed, thinking back to what her brother had told her the day before. It was him reporting seeing Douglas and Maria together ‘looking close’ that had caused the siblings to argue the day before the wedding. ‘It’s only that Thomas—’
‘That’s all it is, my dear,’ he said, cutting her off firmly. ‘And we don’t need to talk about this again.’
His grip felt firmer on her waist and she saw his jaw tense as they danced on. She hated the feeling that she had already managed to upset her new husband, that he thought she didn’t trust him, and vowed at that moment never to mention her concerns about Maria da Costa Pemberton ever again.
It was late when they finally left the hotel and drove to their new house in York Road.
With only a couple of months between the proposal and the wedding, there had not been much time to find a new home for the newlyweds.
Together, they had viewed a few options, but Dorothy had fallen in love with the beautiful veranda and garden of their new bungalow, as well as its sweeping mahogany staircase.
‘It’s so grand,’ she had said the first time she had walked down it, sliding her hand along the smooth banister.
‘I feel like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind! ’
Douglas had moved into the house the week before the wedding and, with Ah Ling’s help, had overseen its redecoration. The maid was now standing on the steps with the other members of staff, waiting to greet them. Dorothy was tired and felt glad to see a familiar face.
Douglas looked more than a little the worse for wear as they stepped into the harsh light of the entrance hall. His tie was undone and the six o’clock shadow on his face gave him a rather rakish air. Dorothy smelled the alcohol on him as he leaned down and kissed her full on the lips.
‘Darling, you go on up and get ready, I’ll follow you up shortly. I’m just going to have a smoke and one more for the road.’ He winked at her before going through to the study.
Dorothy followed Ah Ling upstairs and into her new bedroom.
It was a pretty room, overlooking the garden and decorated to Dorothy’s taste in a soft, lemon yellow.
Ah Ling had already unpacked her clothes and personal items and she was pleased to see her picture frames on the dressing table alongside a vase of fragrant yellow roses.
The room was softly lamplit and there was a comfortable armchair by the window, next to a bookcase containing Dorothy’s favourite novels.
A large potted palm stood in the opposite corner, beside a tall chest of drawers.
But the highlight was the air conditioning unit above the bed, which her parents had paid for as a wedding present.
It felt so wonderfully cool in here and she felt at home straight away.
Dorothy went over to Ah Ling and squeezed her hand.
‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘for all of this.’ She smiled as she waved a hand around the room.
‘You’ve done such a marvellous job, I love it!
’ Dorothy suddenly felt immensely grateful to her parents for letting Ah Ling leave their employment and come with her on this new adventure.
Exciting as it was, setting up and running her own home for the first time, and managing the staff also felt a little daunting to Dorothy.
Having Ah Ling by her side, in her new, elevated position as housekeeper, would be a great support.
Ah Ling helped Dorothy out of her wedding dress and into her satin nightgown and proceeded to brush her long hair, as she had done every night since the Templetons had arrived in Singapore.
Dorothy yawned, despite the butterflies that were dancing around her stomach; Douglas would be coming up any time now.
She felt a heady mix of excitement and nervousness and just hoped that she wouldn’t disappoint her new husband.
She said goodnight to Ah Ling, got into bed and waited.
The midnight chimes of the grandfather clock in the hall woke her a while later. The bedside lamp was still on but there was no sign of Douglas. What was he doing? Had he fallen asleep downstairs? After the amount he’d drunk, it would hardly be surprising.
The house was silent, but for the ticking of the clock, as Dorothy tiptoed down the staircase in her nightgown.
As she reached the bottom step, she heard voices coming from the study and crept closer to listen.
It was Douglas and he sounded angry. The other voice was much softer and Dorothy strained to hear.
Someone was crying, their voice muffled with a handkerchief.
It was a woman. Who had come here at this time of night?
Was one of the servants in trouble? She didn’t want to intrude, especially dressed in nothing but her pink wedding negligee, so she crept closer to peer through the gap in the door.
As she did so, her blood turned to ice. Inside the study, she saw the unmistakable blood-red dress of Maria da Costa Pemberton.