“What a fine woman Karla is!”

He nodded, looking pleased.

The dinner was a success, though Luke was a little dejected, I noticed. The happy optimism he had shown on the ship was slightly less bright. John and Muriel Havers talked earnestly of the mission, but I could not help feeling that they had very little understanding of the people among whom they were living.

I remarked to my father afterwards that they seemed to regard the people as savages rather than ordinary simple folk who might not care to have other people’s ideas thrust upon them. I fancied too that Muriel did not approve of my father’s relationship with Karla.

Tamarisk was very amused and when they had gone and we had retired, she came to my room to discuss the evening.

“What did you think of it?” she asked.

“That it went very well. I think Luke was glad to get a good meal.”

“Poor dear,” said Tamarisk lightly.

“He’s a disappointed young man, I fear. I am not surprised living in close contact with that dreary pair.”

“They are not exactly dreary. Just out of their depth, I think.”

“Out of their depth! They’re missionaries, aren’t they? They ought to be in their depth. An island right away from everywhere and the population in need of conversion! Poor Luke! We’ll have to see him more often and cheer him up.”

“I think we should.”

“I wonder what your father thought of it all?”

“I shall hear in due course. And how do you feel now, Tamarisk? About everything?”

“I don’t think about it all the time now.”

“That’s good.”

“Do you?”

“I think a lot.”

“There was no need for you to go away like that.”

“My father wanted to see me.”

“You were just engaged to Crispin. Oh, I know you don’t want to talk about it. had to get away. Gaston was my husband and he had been murdered.”p>

“I understand. Of course I understand. I felt I had to get away, too.”

“Because of this thing that happened? You don’t know anything about Gaston, do you?”

“No. No. It wasn’t about that.”

“You’re cagey,” she said.

I did not answer but left it at that.

At the same time I did feel that, whatever this adventure was doing for Tamarisk, it was not much help to me.

The next morning Tamarisk and I went out together. We had not gone far when we were seen by three or four children who were squatting on the ground playing some game. As soon as we approached they rose and ran towards us, their eyes on Tamarisk. They went into fits of uncontrollable giggling.

“I am glad,” said Tamarisk, smiling, ‘that I amuse you so much. “

That made them giggle the more. They watched her expectantly, as though waiting for her to say something more.

We walked on and they followed. We went down to the shore past the men squatting on the ground with the mats on which their goods were displayed.

We paused before the potter. There were two tall vases on his mat.

They were simple but in a way beautiful. Tamarisk admired them while the owner surveyed us through amused eyes. What was it about us that they found so funny? I wondered. The way we looked, the way we spoke, our general behaviour, which was different from theirs?

Tamarisk picked up the tall vases and the children closed in round her, watching excitedly.

She held the vases out to the man inquiringly and he named a price.

“I’ll have that one,” said Tamarisk.

“What are you going to do with it?” I asked.

“You’ll see. I want the other one, too.”

There was great excitement. Several of the women and more children came up to watch. The man on a nearby rug with his carved images looked hopeful and envious.

“You carry this one, Fred,” she said.

“I’ll take the other. I want the pair.”

“I don’t see what you are going to do with them.”

“I do,” said Tamarisk.

One of the children jumped into the air with glee. The others pressed round while money was exchanged.

“Come on,” said Tamarisk.

“This way.” The children followed us in procession. Several more had now joined us, as she led the way to the mission house.

She pushed open the door and stepped into the hall.

There! ” she said triumphantly.

“This is where they are going to be. We shall fill them with water from the stream, then stand one by the door, and the other …” She looked round the room.

“Yes, over there between the two windows. Now I want some beautiful flowers. The red ones. Red’s a lovely colour. It’s warm and friendly. Come on, we will fill them with water.”

The children came with us to the stream. They were jumping up and down with an excitement they could not restrain.

“And now the flowers.” She turned to the children.

“Come on. You’re going to help me instead of laughing at me. We’re going to pick flowers. Red … like this one … and mauve like this for the other.

There are plenty of them here. “

She was right about that. The flowers grew in abundance. She picked some and made the children understand that they must do the same. She had one group picking red and the other mauve.

Then we all went back to the hall. Tamarisk knelt before the vase into which she put the red flowers. The children watched her in wonder and kept running up to her with flowers.

That’s lovely,” she cried.

“Here, that’s a good one.”

She took a flower from a little girl who hunched her shoulders and laughed with glee as it was put into the vase.

Finally Tamarisk stood up and exclaimed: “What a beautiful vase of flowers!” She clapped her hands and all the children began to clap too.

“Come on,” said Tamarisk.

“Now we will do the mauve flowers.”

The children were delighted. They fought together to be the ones who took the flowers to her. She arranged them with some skill in the vase and they looked beautiful, but no more so than those laughing happy children.

When she had finished the children clapped their hands, and at that moment Muriel Havers came in.

“What on earth!” she began, staring about her. I doubted she had ever seen so many children in the hall. They all turned to look at her and smiled, but they could not let their eyes stray long from Tamarisk.

“I thought the flowers would liven it up a bit,” said Tamarisk.

“They do, they do,” said Muriel Havers.

“But the children!”

“They just came in to help,” said Tamarisk.

There was a certain triumph in her voice. I thought: She has changed.

Something has happened to change her.

We had now spent three weeks on the island. The days seemed long and yet time flew by. Often I said to myself:

What am I doing here? I should go back. I kept thinking of what would have happened if Aunt Sophie had not seen Kate Carvel in Devizes that day. How different my life would have been then. I should be with Crispin, in blissful ignorance. No, it would not have done.

She would appear again. It would be a life of fear, of blackmail and pretence. Crispin’s words kept echoing in my ears.

“Something will be done.” He would have kept it secret. He was a man of secrets. Had I not always felt that? But I loved him; with all my heart I loved him, yet there were times when I would say to myself: But you do not know him. There is much that he keeps hidden.

Then I would say: I must go back. I cannot bear to stay away.

Tamarisk seemed to adapt more easily than I could. But she was escaping; leaving nothing that was essential to her happiness. Her father had never been close to her. Her mother had neglected her in her youth and there was no great love between them. She was proud of Crispin and liked him in a sisterly way. But that was all. There were no firm ties pulling her away. I could well imagine that in time she would tire of the island and its people . but now it was an amusing novelty and what she needed.

She had been mildly interested in Tom Holloway at first, but he was too serious to hold that attention. He was still grieving too much for a dead wife to be interested in Tamarisk. She was amused by Luke.

“That good man’, as she often called him with a note of mockery in her voice. I think she felt faintly protective towards him, which was unexpected in her. Usually she looked to men to protect her.

However, she did go often to the mission house. The children all gathered there as soon as she appeared and, of course, that endeared them to her. They fought to get near her and giggled at everything she did or said.

“They seem to expect me to entertain them,” she said.

“I must say they are very appreciative. Luke is amused … and as for Muriel and John, they say it is good to get the children into the mission house, no matter what the reason.

She bought some more pots from the potter.

She said: “He greets me like a queen every time he sees me. The children keep bringing flowers to me. I told them a story the other day. They didn’t understand a word of it but they all listened as though it were the most breath taking tale that ever was told. You should have seen them! It was Little Red Riding Hood, actually. Miming mostly. You should have seen the excitement when the big bad wolf arrived on the scene. They laughed and cheered and kept stroking me and pulling my hair. I can tell you, it was a riotous success. Muriel says it should have been Bible stories. Well, I might try that, but for the moment it is Little Red Riding Hood and they will have no other. They know when the wolf is coming and pretend to be frightened They go round on all fours shouting ” Wolf! Wolf! Big Bad Wolf” . and the native equivalent, too. I can tell you, it is all great fun.”