13
Once Jasmine had left for school, Evie, determined not to dwell on what had happened between herself and Douglas, decided she needed to get away from the house. Remembering what Dorothy Rogers had said the previous evening about the pleasures of the Penang Swimming Club, she asked Benny to drive her there. An act of bravery, when inside all she wanted to do was climb back into bed and hide away from the world.
When they arrived at Tanjung Bungah, to the north of George Town on the coast, Evie was glad she’d come. Telling Benny to return for her in a few hours, she went into the rambling late-Victorian clubhouse to change into her swimsuit, delighted that the place was relatively quiet. Steering clear of a group of women occupying deckchairs on the lawn near the long blue pool, she wen
