house for a while.”
The child summoned up her courage to add, “May we, Papa?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Without any prompting from Bethan, Simon sank into a crouch, though he gave a passing wince of pain. “There are a great many boats on the river today. If there were any more, I doubt they’d have room to move.”
“Perhaps you could join us for a little while,” Bethan suggested, “if you’re not too busy.”
For a moment Simon looked as if he might refuse, but then he rose and held out his hand to his daughter. “I could do with a little break from work. Ralph and the others seem to have grasped the importance of being careful when they load sugar.”
Bethan caught Rosalia’s eye, smiled and nodded. With that encouragement, the child took her father’s hand. The three of them strolled next door to the simple timber house with its palm-thatched roof. A large open veranda at the front commanded a fine view of the busy Singapore River. Forgetting her bashfulness for a moment, Rosalia ran to the railing.
Leaning towards Simon, Bethan whispered, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He shook his head ruefully. “Not as hard as accepting what a poor excuse for a father I’ve been.”
It could not be easy for such a proud, successful man to admit his mistakes. The fact that Simon had owned up and was willing to try to change raised him even higher in her eyes. “You did the best you could at the time, more than most fathers might have done. But with your wife gone, Rosalia needs you to be both father and mother to her.”
Simon’s jaw clenched at her mention of his late wife. It reminded Bethan of what he’d said about her not being able to replace Rosalia’s mother. Had he been trying to warn her that she could never hope to take the place of his late wife in his heart, either? If so, it was another good reason to resist the feelings beginning to grow in her heart before they put down deep roots.
Leaving Simon’s side, she joined Rosalia and tried to concentrate on what the child was saying. “All these boats that fetch and carry cargo from the big ships are called tongkangs. The lightermen are Chuliahs. Mahmud told me they pray to Allah like the Malays and Arabs do. When I was a little girl, I used to wave to them from the veranda. They would wave back and call out to me.”
“Really?” Bethan tried not to smile at the child’s mention of being a little girl , as if that was long in the past. “What did they say?”
“I didn’t understand their language.” Rosalia waved at one of the boats that passed directly in front of the house. “But I could tell from their voices it was something nice—a blessing, maybe.”
As she watched the boats navigate the crowded river, Bethan wondered if any of those lightermen might have had contact with her brother when his ship was in Singapore. If they had, she wouldn’t know how to ask them. And she didn’t want to risk another incident like the one on her first day in Singapore.
Simon stepped up to stand beside his daughter. “Bethan tells me you miss this noisy old place—is that true?”
“Sometimes,” Rosalia admitted reluctantly. “There were lots of things to see and do here. The market is close. I remember the lantern parade on the south quay.”
“This place has come in handy to house my new workers from England,” said Simon, “but you may visit here to watch the boats whenever you like.”
“I can?”
He nodded. “I know we haven’t seen each other as much since we moved to the new house. I think it’s time we corrected that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Papa.” Rosalia sounded bewildered by this sudden change in her father.
Bethan hoped his daughter’s hesitation would not discourage Simon. This problem had been a long time in the making. It would not be solved in a single stroke.
But Simon had not made his fortune by giving up easily. “We could go on some outings if you’d like. Is there anything special
The child summoned up her courage to add, “May we, Papa?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Without any prompting from Bethan, Simon sank into a crouch, though he gave a passing wince of pain. “There are a great many boats on the river today. If there were any more, I doubt they’d have room to move.”
“Perhaps you could join us for a little while,” Bethan suggested, “if you’re not too busy.”
For a moment Simon looked as if he might refuse, but then he rose and held out his hand to his daughter. “I could do with a little break from work. Ralph and the others seem to have grasped the importance of being careful when they load sugar.”
Bethan caught Rosalia’s eye, smiled and nodded. With that encouragement, the child took her father’s hand. The three of them strolled next door to the simple timber house with its palm-thatched roof. A large open veranda at the front commanded a fine view of the busy Singapore River. Forgetting her bashfulness for a moment, Rosalia ran to the railing.
Leaning towards Simon, Bethan whispered, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He shook his head ruefully. “Not as hard as accepting what a poor excuse for a father I’ve been.”
It could not be easy for such a proud, successful man to admit his mistakes. The fact that Simon had owned up and was willing to try to change raised him even higher in her eyes. “You did the best you could at the time, more than most fathers might have done. But with your wife gone, Rosalia needs you to be both father and mother to her.”
Simon’s jaw clenched at her mention of his late wife. It reminded Bethan of what he’d said about her not being able to replace Rosalia’s mother. Had he been trying to warn her that she could never hope to take the place of his late wife in his heart, either? If so, it was another good reason to resist the feelings beginning to grow in her heart before they put down deep roots.
Leaving Simon’s side, she joined Rosalia and tried to concentrate on what the child was saying. “All these boats that fetch and carry cargo from the big ships are called tongkangs. The lightermen are Chuliahs. Mahmud told me they pray to Allah like the Malays and Arabs do. When I was a little girl, I used to wave to them from the veranda. They would wave back and call out to me.”
“Really?” Bethan tried not to smile at the child’s mention of being a little girl , as if that was long in the past. “What did they say?”
“I didn’t understand their language.” Rosalia waved at one of the boats that passed directly in front of the house. “But I could tell from their voices it was something nice—a blessing, maybe.”
As she watched the boats navigate the crowded river, Bethan wondered if any of those lightermen might have had contact with her brother when his ship was in Singapore. If they had, she wouldn’t know how to ask them. And she didn’t want to risk another incident like the one on her first day in Singapore.
Simon stepped up to stand beside his daughter. “Bethan tells me you miss this noisy old place—is that true?”
“Sometimes,” Rosalia admitted reluctantly. “There were lots of things to see and do here. The market is close. I remember the lantern parade on the south quay.”
“This place has come in handy to house my new workers from England,” said Simon, “but you may visit here to watch the boats whenever you like.”
“I can?”
He nodded. “I know we haven’t seen each other as much since we moved to the new house. I think it’s time we corrected that, don’t you?”
“Yes, Papa.” Rosalia sounded bewildered by this sudden change in her father.
Bethan hoped his daughter’s hesitation would not discourage Simon. This problem had been a long time in the making. It would not be solved in a single stroke.
But Simon had not made his fortune by giving up easily. “We could go on some outings if you’d like. Is there anything special
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