Always in My Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

headed for the small study at the back of the house where her homework awaited her on the rather scratched and scruffy desk that Sarah had once used.
    Sybil ran her fingers lightly over her hair, which her maid had styled into a smooth, neat chignon, and then brushed non-existent crumbs from the lightweight dress that covered her burgeoning stomach. ‘I don’t like to bully her, but she’s making excellent progress considering her difficulties, and it’s so important she’s properly educated. Her handwriting could still do with some improvement, as could her grammar.’
    Sarah finished her coffee. ‘Having said that, she certainly hasn’t lost her extraordinary ability with figures,’ she replied. ‘In fact, I was wondering if she’d like to come to the office for a couple of hours a week and help with the book-keeping.’
    Sybil frowned. ‘Do you think giving her that kind of responsibility is wise?’
    ‘I certainly think we should give her the chance to spread her wings a bit. She’s getting bored, Mother, and I’m sure Philip would agree to pay her a small wage. That way she’ll feel she’s doing something worthwhile, and will have a bit of her own money to spend.’
    Sybil sighed deeply. ‘Maybe,’ she murmured, ‘but I’d square it with your father first. You know how he hates surprises – especially when it concerns his precious office.’
    Sarah was about to reply when she thought she heard a roll of distant thunder. The monsoon storms had been a regular feature all week, and it sounded as if there was another on the way. But as the rumblecontinued and developed into something else, she felt a prickle of unease. ‘Do you hear that, Mother?’
    ‘It sounds as if we’re about to have yet another downpour,’ Sybil replied as she got to her feet. ‘I think I’ll go and have a lie-down before the sun comes up and the humidity gets any worse.’
    Sarah pushed away from the table and stood by the open doors. ‘That isn’t thunder,’ she murmured as the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle.
    ‘No, you’re right.’ Sybil turned towards the sound and frowned in concentration. ‘It’s more like the noise of lots of planes – big planes. And it’s getting nearer.’
    Sarah and Sybil stepped out onto the veranda and scoured the sky for the source of that deep rumble.
    It was almost half-past four in the morning and the full moon was casting bright light over the forest canopy. The sky was black, laced with tendrils of cloud – and high above them against that darkness winked the pinprick lights of many aircraft.
    ‘Are they ours?’ breathed Sybil.
    ‘I can’t tell. They’re too far away to see any insignia, and I’m not very well up on aircraft recognition. But I hope to God they are, because there’s no mistaking the fact that those are bombers.’
    Sarah became aware of the house servants creeping onto the veranda, and the coolies and their families emerging from their bamboo huts to stand in the clearing and stare up at the sky. Then she felt Jane’s hand slip into hers.
    ‘They look pretty,’ she said. ‘Are they going to the RAF base in Singapore?’
    ‘I really don’t know,’ Sarah replied carefully, her gaze still fixed on the many lights and the shark-like shadows that were now crossing the moon. There was something stealthy and sinister about them that made her skin crawl, and, as she watched, she saw the formation change, with some of the bombers taking up a much lower flight path. There was little doubt in her mind now that they were Japanese, and the Singapore airfields at Seletar and Tengah lay directly in their sights.
    The sense of dread was tangible as all eyes remained fixed on those dark harbingers of death. Sarah and her mother exchanged fearful glances as Jane leaned against the veranda railing and watched the bombers slowly move out of sight.
    Sarah saw how pale her mother was suddenly, and decided it was time to get Jane indoors and the servants