A couple of hours later, Annabel grinned in wonder and pure joy as thousands of dazzling lights above her danced in time with the music.
Emma squeezed her arm. ‘Are you enjoying it? It’s quite something, isn’t it?’
Annabel had seen pictures of Singapore’s Supertrees in her guidebook but nothing had prepared her for the magic of the light show. As soon as the music had begun, the enormous metal trees, all covered in greenery and foliage, had come alive in a stunning display of light and sound. The theme for the evening was the waltz and Annabel found herself joiningEmma as they swayed in time to the orchestral music that was playing over the speakers.
‘It’s amazing!’ She grinned back, then set her phone to video mode as she recognised the opening bars of the ‘Blue Danube Waltz’. It was one of her dad’s favourites; she would send him the clip later.
According to Annabel’s guidebook, there were eighteen Supertrees in total. They’d been designed as vertical gardens and ranged in height from twenty-five to fifty metres. High above, an aerial walkway provided a bird’s-eye view of the show for those who’d paid the entry fee. Annabel’s stomach lurched at the thought of being up so high. She was perfectly happy with her free entry on terra firma, surrounded by hundreds of others. There were tourists, locals, expats and families, all craning their necks skyward, child-like grins on their faces, as they watched the mechanical trees sparkle in the night sky.
The show came to an end with a rousing orchestral finale and applause echoed around them. The pre-recorded voice through the speakers wished everyone a good evening and hoped that they’d enjoyed the show.
‘Well that was great!’ Emma beamed as they followed the crowds towards the exit.
‘Yes, I haven’t been down here for ages, I’m glad we came!’ Tom agreed. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it, too, Annabel! Nice to tick off a few of the touristy things while you’re here. What about you, James?’ he asked his friend.
James’s brow furrowed. ‘To be honest, it’s only the second time I’ve been. We brought Jessica here a couple of years ago for her birthday . . . ’ His voice tailed off. After a moment, he cleared his throat. ‘It’s a bit touristy for me, rather Disneyland-ish, but all very clever and techy. Very Singapore.’ He raised an ironic eyebrow.
It was a balmy evening and Annabel enjoyed the occasional wafts of cooling breeze as they made their way through the Gardens by the Bay. It was a huge area, 250 acres of garden all developed on reclaimed land. There were walking paths, ponds, lakes, cafés, children’s play areas and individual gardens. It all sat in the shadow of the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel, whose three towers were lit up like Christmas trees. High up on top of them, the ship structure proudly sat like the icing on the cake. Annabel could see what James meant, it did have an artificial feeling but it was all so clean, modern and shiny that she couldn’t help but be impressed.
They passed an enormous floral clock and two giant glass greenhouses and Annabel made a mental note to come back for another visit while she was here, there was just so much to see. They were heading for the food court where Tom had promised her some of the best satay in Singapore. The sound of a nice cold beer was pretty inviting, too.
Her phone buzzed in her skirt pocket and, as she pulled it out, she was surprised to see Julia’s name on the screen. She excused herself from the others and moved away from them to answer the call.
‘Hi Annabel,’ Julia began. ‘I’m so sorry about this afternoon. I hope you didn’t feel that you had a wasted journey?’
Annabel did her best to reassure Julia that everything was alright and said that she hoped Mei was feeling better.
‘Listen, we need to meet up. Mama didn’t want me to tell you – in fact she’ll be furious with me if she finds out. She made a promise to Ah Ling, you see. She promised that she’d never repeat what happened to anyone. But now that both Ah Ling has passed and your grandmother has passed, I honestlydon’t see what difference it makes. In fact, it might actually help explain things for you.’
‘Julia, what are you talking about? Explain what?’ Annabel asked, feeling that Julia was going round in circles.
There was a sigh at the other end of the phone. ‘You deserve to know the truth. So I need to tell you whatreallyhappened to your grandmother’s husband.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, there’s no easy way of saying this, I’m afraid.’ Julia paused and took a breath. ‘Douglas Llewellyn didn’t fall down the stairs. It wasn’t an accident.’
CHAPTER 21
Singapore
November 1941
‘Dorothy! Dorothy, wake up!’ Clara’s voice stirred her from the depths of her sleep. Dorothy blinked open her eyes, raised her head from the table where it had been resting and rubbed the crick in her neck.
‘You’d better not let Nurse Jamieson catch you napping in your break!’ Her friend grinned down at her. ‘I’m sure she’d have something to say about it “contravening the Nurse’s Code of Conduct” or something!’ This last part she delivered in a perfect impression of their boss’s lilting Edinburgh accent, making Dorothy smile. They were a month into their nursing training and, along with every other trainee, were rather in awe of the formidable matron.
She checked her watch and sighed in relief; ten more minutes before she was due back on shift. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. ‘I don’t know what happened, I only closed my eyes for a moment.’
‘Always the way! Everything alright? You look a bit peaky today.’ Clara’s eyes filled with concern as she looked at her friend. She poured them each a cup of tea from the large silver urn in the corner, then sat down opposite her.
‘I didn’t sleep very well last night; I’m worried about Mummy. She’s having her surgery this afternoon.’
Clara sighed and gave a sympathetic smile. ‘Ah, yes of course. But I’m sure everything will be fine. Your mother is made of stern stuff and she’ll make a full recovery, I’m sure of it!’ She added a spoonful of sugar to her friend’s cup and stirred it. ‘I know you don’t normally take sugar, but I think you could probably do with some today.’
Dorothy smiled back, glad of her friend’s support. The shifts at the hospital were rigorous and she was feeling exhausted from the long days. But despite the physical and emotional demands, she was thoroughly enjoying having an occupation. She loved putting her brain to use in the classroom and the hands-on learning, whether administering medications, caring for critically ill patients or assisting in surgery, made her feel useful. And although they were both tired most of the time and often covered in various bodily fluids, Dorothy had to admit that spending time with Clara was definitely a highlight.
‘How is it going with Cyril?’ Dorothy asked, keen to talk to lighten the mood.
