Chapter FiveLord Saire looked round the room and saw no sign of Bertilla.
It was, however, crowded with a large number of the Henderson’s friends who had been invited especially to meet them.
Some of their near neighbours had also arrived with the passengers from the Coromandel, who had become their unexpected guests.
There were, therefore, quite a number of familiar faces and, although Lord and Lady Sandford were not amongst them, Lady Ellenton was.
The planters in Malaya were a cheerful lot and the laughter was hearty and unrestrained.
By this time in the evening everyone was becoming somewhat merry on the popular local drink known as ‘Planters Punch’. It had a basis of rum, but it also contained local brandy and the mixed juices of the fruits that grew in such profusion, especially
