The Orchid Tree (19 page)

Dressed in a halterneck top and shorts, Sofia stepped out of the sampan and paid the boatwoman. She’d accepted James’ invitation to spend the day on his yacht. A whole day!
My
first time seen in public with him.
She pushed away her worries about the Englishwoman.

Laden down with her picnic basket and swimming things, she clambered aboard
Jade
to be enfolded in James’ warm embrace. The yacht putt-putted out of the harbour, its inboard engine just about coping with the swell. In Junk Bay, James unfurled the sails and the yacht bucked at a list. Sofia tossed back her hair, tasting the salt of the sea on her lips, and feeling the exhilaration of running with the wind.

They rounded the headland and tied up to a jetty in Joss House Bay. Here, it was calm and the air redolent with the odour of brine. She changed into her swimsuit in the miniscule cabin, then looked over the side of the boat. ‘It’s so clear you can see right down to the sand on the seabed,’ she said.

She swam with James in the deserted cove, then climbed back onto the yacht, put on her shorts, and unpacked sandwiches while James opened two bottles of Tiger beer. ‘Shall we go for a walk after lunch?’ She would ask him about the Englishwoman later.

They ate in comfortable silence, rinsed their plates with seawater, and then stepped ashore. Cicadas screeched in the undergrowth as they strolled towards the temple at the base of the hill. The air was pungent with the stench of fish drying on rattan mats under the portals of the grey-walled, green-roof-tiled buildings. Mongrels sat in the shade scratching their fleas. Children gawked at them and called out, ‘Hallo, bye-bye.’

In the cool of the darkened temple an old hag, with a few strands of grey hair scraped back in a bun, kow-towed before the altar with a statue of the goddess of the sea.

‘That’s Tin Hau. She protects fishermen and sailors.’ Sofia pointed at the blackened face of the effigy and pulled at James’ sleeve. ‘We should pay our respects to her. Light joss-sticks, bow three times and she’ll bring us good luck.’

James turned his head towards the Buddha-like image. ‘I’d rather get out of here,’ he whispered, his cheeks pale. ‘This place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.’

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the sunshine. His fingers were ice-cold, even in this heat. ‘I’ve got the distinct impression someone just walked over my grave.’

Back on the yacht she stretched out next to him. ‘I’m curious,’ he said after kissing her. ‘What do you see in me?’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘You’re incredibly beautiful, Sofia, and I’m just an ordinary bloke.’

‘I just seem exotic to you, that’s all. I feel as though I’ve known you all my life. Maybe even in another life.’

‘Do you believe in reincarnation?’

‘I’m not sure . . . I definitely believe in the supernatural. You can’t help but feel it in Hong Kong. The Chinese belief in ghosts is so strong.’

‘Then you aren’t a Buddhist?’

‘No. My uncle is one, you could say, but he’s a typical Chinese in that he is also a Taoist and follows Confucius. And he venerates his ancestors and believes in all the different deities, just to be on the safe side and in spite of being a communist. I was brought up a Roman Catholic, because of my father.’

‘That temple gave me the creeps.’ James shuddered. ‘The smell of the incense made me think of nothing but death.’

‘Let me rub your back. You know how it soothes you.’ Not a good moment to ask him about the Englishwoman.

**
*

It was two days later, and Sofia was working on the solo martial art forms she practised most afternoons in order to build up her flexibility. Her teacher had told her to train her form as if she were sparring and to spar as if it were a form. Sofia placed her hands on the carpet in her office and pushed herself to her feet. She blocked and punched the air, flowing with the movements and, as she did so, she imagined she was fighting Leo.

Uncle had finally let her in on his plan; it was a daring scheme, but it was also ingenious. Chun Ming and one of Uncle’s associates would commit air piracy. Sofia couldn’t wait to see Leo’s face when he found out he’d been robbed. He wouldn’t be able to find any proof to connect the deed with Uncle, even if he suspected it. Chun Ming would fade into obscurity, knowing he’d helped derail a nationalist, and Uncle’s associate would leave for America to rally support for Mao.

It was time the Americans were told they’d backed the wrong horse. Chang Kai Shek was a war lord and his Kuomintang
party so corrupt they would bleed sleaze if you pricked them. She remembered Uncle’s attempt to bribe James last December. Uncle was an old rogue and many of his business practices suspect, but he loved China and knew the only way for it to prosper was through radical change.

Sofia went down to the shop floor. The heads of her workers bowed over the looms, the clamour of the machinery deafening. She walked alongside the rows of young women. They were here to earn a wage that might have been considered subsistence-level by some, but for these people it was a means of subsistence they wouldn’t otherwise have. They deserved her respect and she should become more involved in their interests. She would put a stop to using the girls to work the looms at night. It might halve profits, but the practice had to end. If she set up sleeping facilities and ensured her workers were adequately fed, productivity would almost certainly improve.

Back in her office she dialled James’ number. She needed to check he’d been given the go-ahead by Special Branch. And it was time she asked him about the Englishwoman.

They arranged to meet at their usual place - a quiet hotel on the road from Kowloon to the New Territories. She phoned for a taxi to pick her up, then took a shower.

James was waiting for her on the veranda skirting the back of the hotel. A clear view stretched towards Hong Kong Island - rivers and rivers of lights. A plane was coming in from the west, banking low before lining up for the runway at Kai Tak Airport. The warm evening air, rich with the perfume of frangipani, caressed her bare arms.

‘I’d love to have dinner with you at the Parisian Grill one evening,’ she said to James. ‘I’ve heard the food is excellent.’

‘I went there the other week, as a matter of fact.’ He paused. ‘Of course I’ll take you.’

‘Did you go alone?’

James glanced away, appearing to consider the question. He lifted his shoulders in a brief shrug. ‘I met this girl, Kate Wolseley, who has all the right connections for me to make my way in Hong Kong.’ His eyes searched hers and he gave a sheepish smile. ‘I’d been hoping one of her father’s friends would back me in an import-export business and I suppose I was using her. I’m ashamed of that now.’

‘There is another way, you know. Import-export is too old-fashioned. The future is in manufacturing.’ She thought for a moment.
Is it too soon to ask him? No.
‘I’d like to offer you a partnership in the factory.’

‘Sofia, you don’t have to do that.’ He put his arms around her and nuzzled her ear, sending a wave of pleasure through her. ‘I’m totally smitten with you and should have told you before now.’

‘Totally smitten?’

‘I mean I’m in love with you. Dare I believe you feel the same way about me?’

Her mouth too dry to speak, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.
James loves me, not the Englishwoman.

He led her to their room. They undressed and she stretched out next to him on the cool sheets, the ceiling fans stirring the air around them. She touched him, bending over him so that her hair caressed his face. She kissed his eyelids and moved her mouth down his body, burying her fingers in his chest hair. Then she pressed her lips to his flat stomach.

She took him in her hand, feeling him grow until the size of him made her smile. She wanted the whole of him, every inch. She straddled him, and, once he was fully inside her, she moved slowly up and down.

‘Ah, Sofia, what are you doing to me?’

‘Shush, relax,’ she said, her voice throaty. She kept her movements unhurried, and concentrated hard to contain her rising desire.

‘Oh, yes,’ he said, moving in time with her. ‘Oh, yes!’

‘My love,’ she said, pushing down on him, rotating her pelvis, finally allowing her pleasure to build as James thrust back at her. Hot throbbing ripples of sensation, again and again and again. She collapsed next to him, spent.

‘Darling, shall we call for room service? I’m hungry.’

‘You little minx,’ James said, laughing. ‘You’ve had your wicked way with me and now all you can think about is food.’

‘Didn’t I please you?’ she asked with a kiss to his chest.

‘You more than pleased me,’ he said, his hand cupping her chin. He traced his fingers over her mouth then down to her breasts.

With a giggle, she slapped his hand away. ‘If I don’t have supper soon I’ll faint.’ Much as she longed to repeat the love-making, she had to talk to him first.

They washed, dressed, and ate at a table in the corner of the room: steaming hot wonton soup, chicken with cashew nuts, and crispy noodles followed by pomelo and star fruit. Sofia sat back in her chair and watched James wipe his mouth with a linen napkin. ‘Have you held your meeting with Special Branch yet?’

‘They won’t commit themselves to approving an actual robbery. I didn’t think they would,’ he said. ‘However, provided everything goes according to plan and we get the gold off the plane before the police arrive, they won’t pursue the matter.’

‘And in return?’

‘The names of the banks receiving the smuggled gold, as well as the details of your half-brother’s contacts.’

‘Uncle knows the banks and he already has the details of Leo’s associates. He bribed Derek Higgins. As you know, Derek needs money.’

‘Strange fellow. Bit of an enigma, don’t you think?’

‘Most definitely.’ She stroked his hand. ‘What shall we do now?’

‘What would you like to do?’ James leaned forward and kissed her lips.

‘I’m serious about you becoming a partner in the factory,’ she said, ignoring the heat rising between her thighs. Business first, pleasure later. ‘We would make a great team.’

‘But I don’t know anything about cotton-spinning.’

‘I’ll teach you. We import raw cotton from Pakistan at the moment. You could help us secure suppliers in America and Mexico. It would mean travelling to those countries and making contacts. You’d be the right person for the job.’

‘I might enjoy that. Who do you ship the yarn to?’

‘Mainly Indonesia and Malaya. Uncle has family there. But markets in Asia are wide open, as much of Japan’s textile industry has been bombed to smithereens. In fact, Uncle bought his looms from the Japanese. He told me it gave him a sense of satisfaction buying them from the defeated enemy.’

‘How do you see the future of the factory?’

‘Currently, we can only produce coarse yarn, because of Hong Kong’s summer heat and humidity. I want to install air conditioning as soon as we can afford it and then conditions will be suitable to spin finer yarn. I’d like to move into weaving, dyeing and eventually garment manufacturing.’

‘Sounds like you’ve got it all mapped out, sweetheart.’

Could she hope that she and James would have a future together? She sighed to herself. Only if everything went according to Uncle’s plan and she could get away from Leo.
Leo,
she shuddered.
I won’t think about him now.

James carried her back to the bed. ‘This time, let me do the work,’ he said, sitting her down. ‘Open your legs.’

Her first thought was, thank God she’d had a wash. Then, she couldn’t think anymore, just feel, as his tongue explored her folds. And it was wonderful, so, so, wonderful. She couldn’t stop coming, wave after wave, her pleasure as great as the ocean. He lifted his head and rolled her back. She parted her thighs for him, swallowing him into her until they were one. James and Sofia. The perfect partnership. She looked deep into his eyes while they rocked together. ‘I love you, James.’

I had stepped onto the veranda to enjoy the evening view. Glancing at my watch; I realised it was time to get on with some marking and preparing tomorrow’s lessons. I’d been distracting myself from my frustration at not seeing Charles by concentrating on my job. I’d even taken my pupils on a day-trip to the Children’s Home, where they’d each given the orphans new toys donated by their parents. Every day, for the past week, I’d spoken at length with Charles on the phone, but only when Papa was out. Was Charles being too cautious? He was like his uncle in that respect. Maybe I should come right out and tell Papa myself . . .

I lowered my gaze towards Kowloon, then stepped back in surprise. Billows of black smoke were rising from a hillside and an orange glow lit up the sky. I ran indoors. ‘It looks like one of the squatter camps is on fire,’ I said to Papa, my hands flailing. ‘We’ve got to help. Come on! Those poor, poor people.’

In the kitchen, I asked Ah Woo to find some food and fill as many vacuum flasks as he could with hot tea. Murmuring under his breath and clearly thinking his young missy had gone mad, he opened a cupboard and removed a large Dundee cake which he sliced into small pieces. Then he put some old teacups into a cardboard box.

I went back to the veranda. Papa was holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes. ‘You aren’t seriously thinking of going over there?’

‘I’ve got to do something.’

‘What can you do? Leave it to the authorities, dear girl!’

‘It’s George’s day off. Can you give me a lift?’

‘All right. All right. Hold on!’

Papa fetched his keys. I raided the linen cupboard for blankets, bundling them up and taking them to the car. Ah Woo carried baskets of flasks and food. Papa loaded everything into the boot. All three of us got into the Daimler and set off down the Peak. ‘Can’t you go a bit faster?’

‘These hairpin bends are too dangerous for speed. Be patient!’

We took the car ferry across the harbour, then drove until we arrived at a road block. ‘I’m a doctor,’ I lied to the Chinese policeman at the barricade. ‘Please let me through!’

There was nowhere to park, so Ah Woo and I left Papa with the car. Thousands of people, evacuated from the inferno, were sitting on the streets. The air was bitter with the acrid stench of burning rubber and textiles. Flakes of ash floated down; some of them still glowed red from the flames. A fire engine, its hose attached to a street hydrant, sprayed water in a high arc that hardly seemed to make any difference.

I ran backwards and forwards to the car with Ah Woo, distributing blankets, slices of cake, and tea to the shocked refugees. A young woman sat on the kerb, clutching a small child to her breast. Silent tears squeezed from her eyes. Her husband cradled their other child, a baby, and made soothing sounds. I went up to them with a thermos flask and a china cup. They took the tea from me, and nodded their thanks.

I went back to Papa, Ah Woo at my heels. ‘It seems as if everyone got out, thank God.’

‘Good. Can we go home now? I’m missing a concert on the wireless.’

‘Is that all you can think about? Haven’t you got any conscience?’

‘Of course I have, but I’m realistic as well. This mess isn’t of our making. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Let the authorities handle it, dear girl!’

‘I can’t stand by and watch. I’ve got to help these people. Surely, there must be something I can do?’

‘You could start a charity, I suppose,’ Papa said, shaking his head. ‘Involve Jessica! She’s good at organising things. Remember the amateur dramatics in the camp?’

A vision of Mama tripping the boards flashed into my mind, and I swallowed my guilt. One day I’d visit Mama’s grave. But only when I was ready. The memories were still too painful. I stared at the thin white scars on the backs of my hands . . .

***

The Ladies’ Recreation Club sprawled down the side of the Peak at the mid-levels: a clubhouse, tennis courts and a couple of swimming pools. A waiter showed me to a table in the corner.

Jessica came through the door and took the chair opposite. She delved into her handbag for her cigarette case. ‘I’m not late, am I?’

‘No. I’m early. Shall we order straight away?’

‘Definitely. I could eat a horse.’

‘I hope not.’ I let out a laugh. ‘I’d never eat horse meat.’

‘Ever since Stanley my stomach always seems to be crying out for food.’ Jessica flicked open her lighter and lit a cigarette. ‘Thankfully, I’ve managed to keep my figure in spite of becoming a complete glutton.’

The waiter took our orders - steak for Jessica and fillet of sole for me. Jessica moved to sit on the edge of her chair. ‘So, you want to set up a charity to help the refugees?’

‘I thought we could begin by organising a ball at the Peninsula Hotel. We could sell the tickets above the odds and get people to donate prizes for a raffle. It’s not much, but it would be a start.’

‘And it’ll be fun.’

We chatted about setting up the charity until our food arrived, then went on to discuss my teaching job and work at the orphanage.

‘And here I am, living a life of leisure,’ Jessica said. ‘Tony and I have been trying to start a family, but no go I’m afraid. Seems semi-starvation has buggered up my baby works.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, shocked.

‘There’s a specialist in London I plan to visit next year. Now, tell me! I’m dying to know. Why aren’t you seeing James anymore?’

I stiffened. ‘What a question!’

‘Tony heard it from James himself. He was a bit concerned, as he bumped into him with the daughter of Paulo Rodrigues on the Ferry the other day. Then James told Tony he wanted to resign from Holden’s Wharf and help the girl expand her cotton spinning business.’

I gripped the table cloth. ‘I wondered why he hasn’t phoned recently. I thought it was because I was giving him the cold-shoulder.’

‘And why did you do that? As if I can’t guess …’

‘Charles Pearce, of course.’

‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Kate. Crossing over the cultural gap is a huge step.’

‘That’s why we’re keeping it secret from Papa until the time is right. Promise me you won’t tell him!’

‘Of course not. I’m on your side, as a matter of fact. Charles is a charming young man. I sat next to him at dinner the other week, remember? And he can certainly dance. Actually, he doesn’t even look terribly Chinese. If I didn’t know, I’d say he was Mexican . . .’

Just the sort of thing Jessica would say but kindly meant, I suppose.

In the taxi on the way back to the Peak, I wound down the window and let the night air blow through my hair. I slumped back in my seat. It wasn’t that I wanted to be with James, but I envied him and Sofia managing to be together in spite of their different backgrounds. I straightened my back and set my jaw. How to resolve the problem of Papa? Jessica had said during lunch that he would be a tough nut to crack. It was true; he was set in his old-fashioned ways. What I needed was a catalyst. Something to jolt him into the twentieth century
. Perhaps I should pack my bags and leave. But where would I go?
The Helena May had a waiting list as long as a train and I’d searched for a flat, but hadn’t been able to find anything. I slumped back in my seat again.