A Painter in Penang by Clare Flynn Read an Excerpt

Publication Date: 6th October 2020
Publisher: Cranbrook Press
Page Length: 362 Pages
Series: Penang Series, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Jasmine Barrington hates everything about living in Kenya and longs to return to the island of Penang in British colonial Malaya where she was born. Expulsion from her Nairobi convent school offers a welcome escape – the chance to stay with her parents’ friends, Mary and Reggie Hyde-Underwood on their Penang rubber estate. But this is 1948 and communist insurgents are embarking on a reign of terror in what becomes the Malayan Emergency. Jasmine goes through testing experiences – confronting heartache, a shocking past secret and danger. Throughout it all, the one constant in her life is her passion for painting.

From the international best-selling and award-winning author of The Pearl of Penang, this is a dramatic coming of age story, set against the backdrop of a tropical paradise torn apart by civil war.

Read an Excerpt

The next few days passed rapidly. They took rickshaw rides around the city, did a little shopping – and sat on the terrace of the hotel drinking tea as the waves lapped the shore in front of them. Evie read while Jasmine sketched or painted, and they took long early morning walks along the beach, fascinated by the fishermen in their wooden oruwa catamarans. Jasmine relished painting these long narrow boats with their outriggers attached with coir ropes to the main hull.

They sat for hours watching the toddy tappers: barefoot, loin-clothed men who shinned up the trunks of tall palm trees, a bag of tools strapped to their waists, to collect the sap of the coconut palm for fermenting into a spirit known as arrack. At the invitation of a smiling toothless tapper, they both tasted the freshly collected sap. Sweet and slightly fizzy, it was refreshing and tasty.

All too soon for Evie it was their last evening in Colombo. Seeing the impatient excitement in Jasmine’s eyes that they would soon be in Malaya, Evie vowed to be happy for her daughter. Most of the British in Penang before the war had sent their children away to boarding schools, as did the majority of Arthur’s administrative colleagues in Nairobi. She needed to think of this separation in the same way. As a small child, Jasmine herself had been a boarder until Evie married Doug and convinced him she should be at home with them. Perhaps that early separation and the death of her mother had caused the girl to develop an independent streak?

During dinner, Kuttan, their young Indian waiter, regaled them with stories of Colombo during the war, when the city was awash with allied service personnel, intelligence officers and wartime administrators. He recounted with relish how he had witnessed a Japanese aircraft crashing in front of the hotel. As they were about to leave the table, he said, ‘Very sorry you are leaving us tomorrow, ladies. I hope you will return to The Galle Face so I might have the privilege of serving you again.’

The smiling waiter indicated a table across the room where a middle-aged couple and a younger man, were dining. ‘One of those gentlemen is also going to Penang tomorrow. You must be on the same ship.’

Evie looked across the dining room, curious, but turned away again when the woman glanced up and saw her watching them.

Rather than go straight up to bed, Evie suggested they sit out on the terrace for a while. She ordered a brandy and Jasmine a mango juice. It was a beautiful evening, the sky cloudless, inky-black and star-studded. A soft cooling breeze wafted in from the ocean. A perfect end to a magical few days.

‘Do you mind awfully if I butt in for a moment? Only, Kuttan, our charming waiter, mentioned you’re heading to Penang. Are you joining the Rosebery tomorrow?’

Evie looked up in surprise. ‘Oh, yes we are,’ she answered. But the young man wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was fixed on Jasmine.

‘I say, would you mind awfully if I joined you both for a nightcap?’ he asked. ‘Only it’s such a beautiful evening and the Parentals have already turned in.’ The question was intended for Evie but his eyes hadn’t left Jasmine, who appeared to be studiously ignoring him by staring out to sea.

Glancing quickly at her daughter, Evie told him that by all means he was welcome to join them although they would soon be going to bed.

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘We have an early start tomorrow, don’t we?’ He asked for a whisky and soda from the barman and insisted on ordering another brandy for Evie. Jasmine refused a second fruit juice.

As the drinks were being served, Evie studied the young man. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a shock of thick light brown hair and an engaging smile. He was tanned by the sun and had a healthy outdoor look about him, despite his formal dinner suit. To Evie’s surprise, Jasmine looked bored or possibly irritated by his intrusion.

Once the drinks were served, he said, ‘Do forgive me. You must think me awfully rude. I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Howard Baxter.’ He stretched out a hand to shake Evie’s as she introduced herself and Jasmine.

‘What a beautiful name. It’s perfect for you,’ he said to Jasmine, who blushed and mumbled something before turning away to gaze at the sea again.

Embarrassed by Jasmine’s behaviour, Evie asked the young man, ‘Do you and your parents intend to stay long in Malaya?’

‘Oh gosh! The Parentals aren’t coming.’ His voice telegraphed his feelings. ‘They live up in the hills here in Ceylon, at Nuwara-Eliya. Pa’s a tea planter. They’re only in Colombo to wave me off – or as it’s turned out – to stage a last-ditch attempt to get me to stay on here.’

There was an almost undetectable flicker of interest from Jasmine, before she turned her eyes back to watch the crashing waves. But Evie knew her daughter was listening.

‘The old boy wants me to work here in the tea business. Thinks I’m mad to be going into rubber. But I want to make my own way, not always be in his shadow. And Ma’s a sweetheart but she suffocates me. Just between us, I can’t wait to have the Indian Ocean separating us.’ He gave a little laugh. ‘Sorry, I’m blurting again. I always end up telling people too much too soon. How about you?’ He looked from one to the other. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you don’t look very alike.’ He smiled at Evie. The breadth and warmth of his smile cancelled out his tactlessness and disarmed her.

Jasmine spoke for the first time. ‘That’s because Mrs Leighton is my step-mother. Not that it’s any of your business.’

Evie gasped, mortified. Before she could respond, Jasmine got to her feet. ‘I’m going to bed, Mummy. Goodnight.’ She bent down and dropped a kiss on her mother’s cheek and moved rapidly back inside the hotel.

‘Me and my big mouth. I’m sorry, Mrs Leighton.’

Evie turned to the young man. ‘I think my daughter’s feeling rather tired, Mr Baxter. My apologies for her abruptness. It’s completely out of character.’

Howard Baxter looked relieved. ‘I haven’t offended you?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Mum’s always telling me I have no tact. I open my mouth and put my foot in it.’ He smiled at Evie. ‘As for Jasmine, I like a bit of spirit. I look forward to getting to know her on the way to Penang.’ He looked towards the doorway as though hoping Jasmine might return. ‘Have you been to Penang before?’

‘We used to live there. Jasmine was born on the island and is desperately keen to go back. We’re in Nairobi now and an opportunity arose for her to spend some time in Penang, staying with friends. I decided to make the trip with her but I’ll be returning to Kenya in a couple of a weeks. It’s going to be hard saying goodbye.’

‘I can well believe that.’ His expression was wistful. ‘Will she be staying on the island or travelling elsewhere in the Straits?’

There was something about Howard, maybe his smiling eyes, that made Evie feel relaxed in his company and comfortable telling him about their circumstances, despite the short acquaintance. ‘On the island. My late first husband, Jasmine’s father, was a rubber planter and had two estates, one on Penang and the other an hour from Butterworth. I sold them both after the war, Bella Vista on Penang to the manager and the other one to Guthrie’s.’

‘Maybe I’ll end up there! I’m going to be working for Guthrie’s. They’re posting me to a place called Batu Lembah as an assistant.’

Evie smiled. ‘Batu Lembah was my husband’s estate.’

‘Goodness! Is that where you lived?’ His face lit up.

‘No. We had a house in George Town. My husband lived at Batu Lembah during the week.’ But Evie didn’t want to talk about Douglas and their brief marriage. She hated to be reminded of the sadness and grief. ‘My best friend married a rubber planter, and Jasmine will be living with them at Bella Vista. She adores Penang.’

‘So, she and I will both be living on rubber estates.’ Again, his eyes drifted towards the main hotel building.

‘What made you choose rubber over tea, Mr Baxter?’ Evie wanted to steer the conversation away from Jasmine.

‘Please call me Howard.’ He proffered another wide smile, which lit up his eyes, showing he was an exceptionally handsome man. ‘It’s less about the crop and all about being my own man. I didn’t want an office job. I went to university in England but I’d hate to live there. Lousy climate. I wanted to join the Colonial Office but I wasn’t clever enough to pass the exams. They’re frightfully picky. And I didn’t get into Oxbridge. I was a Durham man.’

‘A good university, I hear. Not that I’d know.’ She smiled at him apologetically. ‘Although I have to tell you, my husband works for the Colonial Office. And you’re right. No offence, but he has a brain the size of the planet.’

Howard returned her smile. ‘None taken.’

Where to Purchase

Amazon

Meet the Author

Clare Flynn is the author of twelve historical novels and a collection of short stories. A former International Marketing Director and strategic management consultant, she is now a full-time writer. 

Having lived and worked in London, Paris, Brussels, Milan and Sydney, home is now on the coast, in Sussex, England, where she can watch the sea from her windows. An avid traveller, her books are often set in exotic locations.

Clare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of The Society of Authors, Novelists Inc (NINC), ALLi, the Historical Novel Society and the Romantic Novelists Association, where she serves on the committee as the Member Services Officer. When not writing, she loves to read, quilt, paint and play the piano. She continues to travel as widely and as far as possible all over the world.

Connect with Clare: Website • Blog • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter