I rested for a long time before I felt I could sit up and when I did, Li fed me broth while she told me about the calamity when Bernadine burst into the Hammonds’ room and said you were gone. Their rooms were on the opposite side of the boat, just down the hall from our own chambers, so when they emerged on the other side of the ship, they had all gone opposite directions.
“Leo spied the white of your gown and made his way over,” she said.
“What happened? Why was the door locked?” I asked.
“Marcato says that the wood warps in the humidity sometimes. It wasn’t locked, it was just stuck. When we tried it after the storm calmed, it opened with no trouble,” Julian said.
Within a few days, I was beginning to feel better. Marcato brought me a new drought to try and it helped with the headaches, and the nausea seemed to be gone. I was worried for my child, but there were no signs that I had lost it, and the fact that my health was getting so much better gave me reason to hope that all was well.
I gained my strength back slowly and the closer we got to Cochin, the more I felt like myself. I had only myself to blame for that night on deck, and though Fleur apologized to me for falling asleep, I reassured her that I would never blame her for my own stupidity.
“Just promise me that you’ll never do something like that again,” Julian said.
“You knew what you were getting yourself into when you married me,” I said, but he was not amused.
“
I
didn’t agree to anything,” Leo said, and that got a laugh from me, but Julian was still in poor humor.
The final week before we reached Cochin, I was able to walk with some assistance, but each day I gained back more and more of my strength. The night before we were to port I fell asleep without having Marcato’s draught. I rested most of the day while Julian kept me company, but I was asleep well before tea time and slept well.
* * *
When we disembarked the following day, I was not feeling so bad that I could not walk on my own and some of the color had returned to my cheeks. I was glad that I would at least be able to enjoy seeing India for the first time.
The port was a lot like the one in Portugal, but this was a much more vibrant place with large green hills swelling up behind Cochin. The people were both exotic and enchanting, with beautiful dark skin, just as Julian had described them.
When we first set foot on land, there was a woman nearby wearing an orange robe that was wrapped about her body and then the end thrown over her shoulder. Li and I thought that it was an effective way to avoid the seamstress. There were many children running through the streets, most of them shirtless, wearing only white leggings or a white piece of fabric around them. The few that were wearing shirts wore long, colorful tunics which came down to their knees.
I saw why Julian was so entranced with this place. The people smiled at us, and everyone in the streets seemed to be bustling about. In that way, it was very much like London, but there were countless ways that it was different though I did not feel that ‘
uncivilized
’ was the proper term. The women were particularly beautiful in their brightly colored robes and paints on their eyes and lips. They sometimes had a tiny red dot between their eyebrows and dark thin-lined drawings on their hands. I hoped that I would find out what they meant. It was a simple and beautiful existence.
Marcato stayed with us until we were leaving Cochin, and Fleur was near tears having to bid him farewell. He promised he would write to her, but who knew how long it would take for a letter to arrive. He said that he would be continuing on to the far East but he would stop in Cochin in four months’ time. When he left us, Bernadine made no effort to hide the fact that she was happy he was gone.
Punam was a long distance from the port, and we left right away. It was morning when we disembarked, parting ways with the Hammonds, who decided that they must move on if Julian would not sell to them. We arrived at the plantation in the early evening, just as the moon became visible in the cloudless sky. The estate was a modern, simple, white three-story building with four columns in the front. Julian assured me that I would be surprised by the inside of the house.
He was right. It was much more like home, but scattered with artifacts from all over the world, much like the Hammonds’ mansion in Lisbon. There were several tall, red and gold Chinese vases just as we entered. They were different sizes, but the tallest came up to my chin, and I wondered what one would put inside.
“A very long umbrella?” Julian joked.
A thin and seemingly ancient woman came to meet us at the door. She had the same dark skin as the other people we saw at the port and wore one of the brightly patterned robes which I guessed was what Celia called a Sari. She seemed tiny against all of us as Julian introduced her to Li and me. Her name was Avani, and she spoke as elegantly as a refined English lady, though very slowly, as though each word was extremely important and more serious than the last.
As she looked Li and I over, she first stepped up to me and took both of my hands in her own.
“I hope you will have tea with me tomorrow? You learn a great many things about a woman by sharing a pot of tea.” I smiled and nodded at her, and then she stepped over to Li and invited her as well. When she got to Fleur, she commented on her being the smallest English person she had ever seen, which made me smile. She seemed to overlook Bernadine, who stood in a corner as though she were frightened by the house or Avani, or perhaps both.
When we walked a little farther into the house, we came to a long room with a red design in the floor’s woodwork. Leo pointed upward, and we all looked up to see that part of the ceiling was glass and the crescent moon shone in through the clear, circular window. A large chandelier hung from the middle, but did not block the view of the sky.
“You see why it is called Punam, now,” said Avani holding up a wrinkly hand.
“The moon is always in perfect view. Just you wait for it to be full and you will see the true meaning of the name.” She pointed to me as if she forgot the rest of the people that followed her along down the corridor.
Everyone was very tired from the journey, and though I was starting to feel more like myself, Li was obviously exhausted, so Julian requested that we have dinner sent up to our rooms. He was also still concerned for me, regardless of the color returning to my cheeks.
Fleur and Bernadine followed Avani down a hall, and Fleur turned to look at me, so I nodded to offer reassurance to her. Julian led me up the stairs to a room at the end of the hall. When he opened the door, I was shocked at how lovely it was. There was a wonderfully decorated canopy bed with a sheer fabric draped all around it.
“To keep out the insects,” he said holding the door aside for me.
I walked the rest of the way into the room.
“Look up,” he said, and I saw that there was the same circular style of window as there was in the long room downstairs, only much smaller and without a chandelier. It was directly above the bed, and I could see through it that the stars were beginning to show above.
“What a lovely idea to make the ceiling glass so that you can watch the stars while falling asleep,” I said. He put his arms about me and kissed my forehead.
“You will be happy here. I saw it on your face when we first arrived. You see how alive this place is, all of its wonder.”
“I love all the bright prints on the women’s dresses. The people all seem to be smiling, though they don’t appear to be a rich people, they seem happy,” I said. He led me over to the other side of the room and pulled back a long drape to show me the mountains that stood behind the house before they disappeared into the dusk. They were solid green with rows and rows of plants.
“I believe I will enjoy waking up to see that every day,” I said.
“Just wait until you see it in the morning sun,” Julian said.
After dinner, we readied for bed, and I pulled out a thin, white night dress that I bought in Portugal because I knew it would be extraordinarily hot on our arrival. I climbed into the bed and Julian closed the nets all around us. The fabric of the canopy was sheer enough that I could see through it and look up at the curved moon and stars. This truly was a breathtaking place, and I wondered why Leo seemed to be so unhappy with it.
I was lying down for only a moment when I realized that I forgot to take a dose from the vial of draught that Marcato gave to me, but I was feeling so much better that I decided not to take it and fell asleep with my cheek pressed Julian’s chest. I dreamt of my mother that night for the first time in a long while. It was as she was in most of my pleasant dreams, sitting beneath the tree, brushing my hair and humming a melody. She was smiling.
I had missed these dreams.
* * *
The next day, I awoke feeling better than I had for several weeks. There was no nausea, and I hoped that it meant I was past the worst of it. Li was not feeling ill for a few days already. Bernadine may have been right, and perhaps that was why my mother had returned to my dreams. I finally began to look forward to having a child.
We spent the morning exploring the house. Leo and Julian showed us all the treasures that lined the walls. There was a painting of a Chinese man on a bejeweled throne and next to that a tapestry of an elephant. The library was well stocked with many books, mostly in English, but several in German and Portuguese. I went to see how Fleur and Bernadine were getting on, and they appeared to be doing well enough, so I asked that they begin to take on their regular duties, but not stepping on Avani’s toes, of course. Bernadine asked how I was feeling, and I told her that it was the best I’d felt in weeks, and that it was kind for her to be so concerned.
Touring the house and looking at all the beautiful objects took up almost the entire morning and afternoon. Julian promised to show us the rest of the estate the following afternoon. He would need to see how things were run in his absence, after all. Julian was going to meet with the man who managed the Estate over tea, so Li and I went off with Avani while Leo stayed for the meeting in a room which housed a large, intricately carved, oak desk.
Avani led us back down the hall to a sitting room that I assumed was being used for the drawing room. It was smaller than what we were used to at Hilbourne, but it was tastefully adorned, and there was even a spinnet in the corner, which I was desperately looking forward to playing the very moment I was given the opportunity. When we were comfortable, Avani poured out the tea and began to ask about our journey. After a bit of small talk she turned to Li.
“You are with child for how long?” We were both surprised that she knew this, and I wondered if Bernadine or Fleur mentioned our condition, because it was not discussed when we arrived and it certainly was not showing in her waistline yet.
“Only a short time... How did you know?” Li asked.
“I know many things, Madame. Avani is old and wise, young ladies. You will see. If there is any sickness, I will take care of you. I have many herbs,” she said with a wave of her hand and her eyes closed. Avani was very dramatic.
“Tamsin is also with child,” Li said, turning the old woman’s attention to me. I could not tell what the look on Avani’s face meant. She stared for a long time and then shook her head.
“No, Madame, I do not believe you are. Have you had a turn?” she asked.
“My health has been poor for several weeks, so we just assumed that...” I began, but stopped when she leaned over to look me in the eyes.
“Madame, your time will come. You are young. A free spirit too, I see,” she said breezily, but Li looked mystified at the woman’s ability to see that just by looking at me. I remembered sitting in Creeda’s little cottage and handing her the teacup, then the warning she gave. Li laughed at Creeda, but she seemed entranced by Avani.
We sat for a while longer, enjoying the tea, which she informed us was grown just out back. Julian was completely right about the flavor, it was much different and absolutely better here than it was at home. Perhaps it was just the fact that I could see the plants from the window, but it was unquestionable that it added to the experience.
When we finished, we got up to go for a short walk, and Avani handed us each a large, feathered fan saying that we would most certainly need them. Mine was green and blue and Li’s was blue and black, and they were both impeccable. We thanked her for the exquisite gifts, to which she said that the master of the house always kept fine fans on hand because the heat could be unbearable, at times.
Before we left, Avani asked if I would speak with her a moment, as I was Julian’s wife and would therefore be the ‘
lady of the house
.’ Li wanted to go and look at the books in the library, so I told her I would meet her there shortly. I turned to Avani, who was looking right into my eyes. I found her scrutiny a little bit alarming.
“Madame, I hope that you will let me know if you are ill again so that I might be of service. I have herbs for
everything
, and I am known for concocting many helpful things for all types of ailment,” she said leaning closely toward me and I nodded. She bowed her head and then continued.
“Madame Bourdeaux had an especially specific way of doing things in this house. I have not changed them, but should you want something done differently, you will let me know?”
“Of course, Avani,” I said.
“Very well. I know that the customs are different where you are from, but if you find I am too bold, please do not hesitate to tell me so. I am an old woman and it would seem that I am set in my ways.”
“I’m sure we will get on well, together,” I replied. I found her boldness refreshing.
“How recently is your mother deceased?” she asked me and I was shocked at the question and how strange it was.