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As her pregnancy progressed, Evie realised exactly what Susan Hyde-Underwood had meant about the discomforts of expecting a baby in the heat and humidity of Malaya. Growing in bulk she felt lopsided, the increasing heaviness of the baby cumbersome and awkward in front and causing backache. Perspiration gathered between and under her enlarged breasts and chafed at her skin. She longed for the child to be delivered so that she could reclaim her body.
The only relief was in swimming – a blessed opportunity to cool down, the weight of her belly supported by the buoyancy of the water. According to the doctor, swimming would also help strengthen her back. Going regularly to the Penang Swimming Club in the mornings, she was unlikely to run into Arthur Leighton at that time of day, when he wo
