1942: A small island in the South Pacific.
Victoria Adams leaned on the ornate railing that circled the balcony of the Governors Mansion and let out a slight, satisfied sigh. Life was good for her here. She was married to a man she loved and respected, lived in this luxurious mansion, in the lap of opulent luxury, was the most admired woman on the island and had not worked a full days work in her life. She listened to the Ocean break against the nearby shore and watched as a couple of native women dragged heavy looking fishing nets along the yellow beach, smiled at their honest toil and took a sip from her long wine glass. Yes, life was good for her.
"Darling, come here a second would you?" called her husband from his study along the second floor corridor.
Victoria took another sip to finish the glass and turned to go but stopped a moment to admire her reflection of the folded back, polished, glass doors that had led onto the balcony. She pushed back a strand of her long, blonde hair up her forehead and tidied it neatly at the side of her head. No grey hairs showing yet, thank god. Her complexion was so perfect even in the imperfect reflection of the glass. She straightened her back and pushed out her breasts, putting her hands deftly under them (the layers of her frilly bra and light summer dress all that separated hand from breast) and slightly boosted her cleavage on her pert, slim, well kept frame. Her fluttering eyelashes were long and alluring to match her hazel coloured eyes, full of mystery. Yes, there was little doubt in her mind, despite having turned 32 earlier that year she was still the most attractive woman on this island. And the most important!
It was almost a full minute before she was able to move herself from her attractive reflection and proceed, unhurriedly and serenely toward the room where her husbands voice had emanated, like the English lady she knew she was. Colonel David Adams was more than used to his young wife's tardiness when it came to him but had grown to accept it as part of what made her so perfect for him. He sat behind his large antique writing desk and waited for his wife to eventually respond to his call. Life was like that out here in paradise, he imagined that were they still in dreary old, bomb blitzed London she would had scurried in at the hint of his call. When at last she entered their eyes locked for the briefest of seconds and certainly not for the first time they were struck of how strange love can be that these two, with so little in common to begin with could have fallen so completely in love.
In fact to begin with Victoria had been appalled by the idea, she was twelve years his younger and this army Captain (as he was at the time) held no attraction for her at one of her father's society 'do's' , but he had been persistent, her parents had recommended him to an annoying degree and when he finally managed to get her alone she had never been with anyone quite so charming or focussed his task (which was to win her heart and hand in marriage). Looking at him now, behind his desk it was difficult for her to imagine why she had not fallen for him. He was rich, well educated, well spoken and considerate to her to a fault and made no bones about placing her on a pedestal and worshipping her beauty. At heart, Victoria was a very vain woman and easily flattered or insulted, David had quickly realised this and played to her strengths. They were married within two years of meeting.
Colonel David Adams left the army with distinction a couple of years before the second World War broke out in Europe and swiftly found a position as Governor on this idyllic, Asian island that was part of the British Commonwealth. It was a veritable paradise that he had taken to life on easily, there had been little for him to do and where once he would have itched to return to Europe to join the war effort he knew that his time for fighting was gone and younger, braver men than him were in his place. His one worry about the post had been how his beautiful, young wife would handle it. In London she had attended society parties and events relentlessly, showing an ambition for social climbing that was at once ferocious and tenacious. Initially he was correct, she was adamant that she did not want to leave, that it would be a "godforsaken wilderness she could never exist in". But for the sake of his career and with the promise that it would just be for two years she went and now five years later she could never imagine herself in any other place.
"My dear, you look radiant as ever."
She blushed at his praise though drank it up. He was a handsome man himself, over six feet tall, smart light brown hair and a fulsome moustache, his body a testament to the efforts he made in the army.
"I called you because I have the feeling that one of the servants is stealing money again (it would never occur to him that his own wife was pilfering the money herself to buy some fineries for her house). I know you dealt so well with that unpleasantness with Lucy a few months ago, perhaps I can leave the matter to you again."
"Yes my dear, just leave it to me."
"I knew I could rely on you my dear, let me know if you need any assistance."
Victoria smiled and headed downstairs. As idyllic and perfect as this couples life seemed there was one blight to them about this island paradise. The natives! Victoria in particular thought them no better than savages, not to be trusted and a good few steps below the lower classes she had had in her household employee back in England. They were slow, did not show her the proper respect, were discourteous to her guests and untrustworthy in her eyes and she treated them accordingly. But she had to employ them, there was no-one else.
But what Victoria couldn't have guessed was that she was, in fact, the most hated person, woman or man, on the island. Even the other society people here did not care for her attitude. She was stuck up, thought that her husband's word was law and anyone that disagreed a criminal and had the unfortunate knack of making everyone she came in contact with feel inferior to her. Her friends on the island were friends merely for show and position and secretly they despised her for her arrogance and conceit (and a few for her beauty). Worse than all that was her treatment of the native servants she employed, she spoke harshly and dismissively to them all, without exception and thought nothing of firing one of them when things went wrong or missing, rarely even worrying if she got the right person. The "Lucy" affair some months earlier that David had referred to was fresh in her mind as she descended toward the front door and sounded the gong to summon all the house staff.
Lucy had been a pretty, young native maid who Victoria worried that David may take a shine to due to her good looks and she had been at pains to keep them apart. At the first opportunity, Victoria saw to that Lucy was framed for stealing a trinket and had her dismissed immediately from the house. She went kicking and screaming and really calling her former Mistress all manner of vulgar names. It had been quite the scene.
She had all the staff gathered in a semi-circle and stood some two steps up the stairway to address them when the big front doors caved in and in rushed five Japanese soldiers, all armed and shouting and pointing and general panic and chaos ensued.
In the hour that followed Victoria Adams experienced many of the worst times of her young life up to that part. She did not understand a word the soldiers barked at her and one even came forward to grab her roughly by the hem of her dress and haul her onto her knees and pulled her hands onto her head in a similar position to that which the native staff had immediately dropped to from the first orders from the invaders. She knelt there shaking and quivering and aware of being watched extra closely by the soldiers. Soon more came into her house and surged upstairs and easily took David prisoner, with her especially distressed as he was hauled unceremoniously from the house. That was bad and she had barely recovered before an officer entered, searched through the kneeling prisoners and spied her, marched over and led her out of the house at gunpoint. She was marched to the town's prison building which usually only held drunks and trouble makers and was pushed in along with the other foreign women of the island. They were as disorientated and scared as Victoria was and they spent a terrible first night, shivering in captivity.
They were kept like that, in cramped, crude conditions for three whole days and during that time had to get by with little knowledge of what had happened to their men folk or the island in general. They were hungry and had to make do with a few loaves of bread and a jug of water each day and the mood was one of depression and foreboding, the war had come to the island and they were not prepared for all that it would bring. Really, as Governor's wife Victoria needed to stand up and draw the women together, to keep their spirits high but she didn't, all she thought about was her husband, herself and their house and what would happen to them.
