The Plantation Read Free

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    ‘What on earth are you doing?’
    ‘Hello, Jules. Come and join me. This is all quite interesting.’ Caroline raised her voice over the rumble of her husband’s lawnmower outside. ‘As you know, I’ve never been one for raking over the past, but the letter I got from David Cooper gave me pause for thought. I don’t remember much about the family plantation in Malaysia. I remember some chairs under an enormous rain tree and Mother serving tea on a white wicker table, but not much else, so I thought I’d look through Mother’s old photos to see if anything else jogged my memory.’
    ‘Looks like a rain tree here,’ said Julie as she picked up several photographs and flipped through them. ‘Is this Gran? Done up to the nines. Who are these people? Looks like they’re at the races.’
    ‘That’s my father Roland, I recognise the moustache,’ said Caroline.
    ‘There are several local people in the group. An Indian and a Chinese man. And here … Is that … ?’ Julie peered closer.
    ‘Yes, that’s Bette. Defying convention – no hat or gloves, just an umbrella to keep off the sun.’
    ‘She’s very pretty. Gran is smartly dressed, but Bette looks more natural.’
    ‘Her hair looks like yours,’ commented Caroline. ‘Mother had fine hair and always wore it tightly waved or pinned up. Bette looks more casual, doesn’t she?’
    ‘I wish I’d known them when they were young. The only thing I really know about Great Aunt Bette is that she disgraced the family in some terrible way. I’ve never asked what she did that so upset Gran. Do you know what it was, Mum?’
    ‘Oh yes. Bette, according to my mother, ran off and married a Chinaman,’ said Caroline. ‘Actually, the way Mother talked, it sounded as if the devil himself had cast a spell on her sister.’
    ‘That must have stirred things up at the time. When was it?’ asked Julie.
    ‘Oh, after the war, but I don’t know the details because Mother was so angry about her sister’s behaviour and the disgrace she said it brought to the family – I learned not to raise the subject.’
    Julie continued to shuffle through the pictures. ‘These photos are amazing. Must have been an incredible time before the war. All the gentlemen in white suits and Panama hats, all quite like the raj, isn’t it?’
    ‘Planters and memsahibs, I suppose. I just love the way everybody dressed up,’ said Caroline. ‘It was a different life and Mother fitted right in. All those airs and graces.’ She studied a photo and then handed it to Julie.
    ‘Look, just Mother and Bette, the two sisters. Do you see what I see?’
    Julie glanced at the formally posed portrait of the two women, then looked at Caroline – her hair pulled back into a youthful ponytail, her peaked eyebrows, firm upper lip and pointed chin – looking for a resemblance. She studied the face of the younger Bette with her loose hair, sparkling thick-lashed eyes, wide smiling mouth and square face. ‘Oh my gosh! I look like her! And you look like Gran. I remember how alike you were. I’ve never seen photos of Great Aunt Bette before.’
    ‘You’ve taken after the pretty one,’ said her mother.
    ‘Mum, you’re stunning. I always thought I had the prettiest mother at school,’ said Julie quickly. She meant it.
    ‘Thank you, darling. But I think that Bette looks like one of those women who would always look terrific no matter what – without make-up, first thing in the morning, when they’re sick or tired. Mother and I scrubbed up okay after we’d done what Dad calls “the face painting”.’ She smiled at Julie. ‘You look gorgeous all the time whether you’re trying or not.’
    ‘I hope when I make an effort I look a bit better than when I’ve just fallen out of bed,’ said Julie. Then she added, ‘Y’know what, Mum? I think you do know a lot more than you realise. Gran must have told you a lot of stories about the old days.’
    ‘Oh, she did indeed. I have every chapter and