Read The House of Seven Fountains for Free Online

me? If I’m going to be talked about I would like a day or two to settle down first.”
    Julian threw back his head and roared with laughter.
    “I’m sorry,” he said when his mirth was over. “But, you see, you obviously haven’t the least idea what a small Malayan town is like. For one thing the natives will be just as interested in you as the English crowd, and for another you haven’t a hope of getting through town without someone spotting you.”
    Seeing her concern, he added, “Don’t worry about it, my dear girl. A bit of talk never hurt anyone, and it will soon die down when they see you’re a human being. Gossip must have something to feed on, and you look very normal and charming to me.”
    He said this with a special kind of smile and there was no mistaking the admiration in his teasing brown eyes. Vivien felt a faint blush stealing up from her throat.
    “I tell you what, will you have dinner with me? You can’t possibly spend your first evening in Singapore alone. Besides, I want to discuss this interesting situation. Please say yes.” Vivien tried to visualize how the Sinclairs would react if they could see her sitting in a cocktail bar with a strange man who had just asked her to dine with him. She could almost see the shocked disapproval on their faces. For that matter, Dr. Stransom would probably disapprove, too. She knew instinctively that he would regard Julian as a bit of a bounder.
    “You look very doubtful,” Julian said teasingly. “Would you like me to call the manager? He’ll reassure you that I’m a respectable, law-abiding citizen.”
    She laughed, liking his devil-may-care approach to life, his easy friendliness.
    “ Thank you, Mr. Barclay, I should be delighted to have dinner with you,” she replied demurely.

 
    CHAPTER TWO
    “ There it is! M auping—mystic heart of the Orient!”
    Julian Barclay grinned derisively as he indicated a cluster of rooftops glinting in the afternoon sun. Eager to see her journey’s end, Vivien leaned forward in her seat and studied the aerial view. From this height and distance, Mauping looked little more than a sprawling village.
    “What are those white domes?” she asked, catching sight of what looked rather like three huge glistening meringues.
    Julian peered over her shoulder.
    “Aha, that’s the sultan’s palace. The largest dome marks the harem where he keeps his fifty beautiful wives safely under lock and key!”
    “Really? But I thought .. .”
    His mouth quivered, and she saw that he was teasing her.
    “Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, grinning. “Actually, the domes are a misguided attempt to glamorize Mauping station.”
    The aircraft began to turn in a wide circle, and the town was hidden from view. Unlike the B.O.A.C. Stratocruiser, this Malayan Airways Dakota was not air-conditioned, and the atmosphere in the cabin was as close and moist as a hothouse. Vivien’s hands were unpleasantly clammy, and she could feel a trickle of sweat coursing down her spine. Even Julian, who was acclimatized, kept mopping his face with a large silk handkerchief.
    Having turned almost full circle, the Dakota began to lose height, and now she could see a wide grass-bordered road with driveways and spacious gardens on either side. A car stood outside a garage; two children ran across a lawn; a dark-skinned man pedaled an ice-cream cart along the road. But for the whitewashed walls of the houses and the vivid flowers entwined in the neat hedges, the scene was remarkably similar to an English suburb on a fine midsummer day.
    “That’s Gopeng Road where the rich Chinese and most of the Europeans live,” Julian told her. “The swim club is farther along—but, of course, you have your own pool, so you won’t have to join unless you choose to do so.”
    “My own pool?” she asked in surprise.
    “Didn’t you know? Mr. Cunningham had one built when he bought the house. None of us has seen it, but according to rumor it’s quite a Hollywood