Oriental Hotel

by Janet Tanner

  ‘Then I am pleased to be able to help you in return.’ Hugh smiled his foxy smile. ‘ To say it is a small world would be to quote a cliché, I suppose – but it’s true, all the same, don’t you agree?’

  ‘Indeed I do,’ Brit said smoothly. Elise glanced at him, expecting to see that amused gleam, that brief shared look that would tell her … what? But it was not there. Brit’s expression was as meaningless as his words and he did not even glance in her direction.

  ‘Well, my dear fellow, if you would like to come with me I can show you to your cabin.’ Hugh turned. ‘ Gordon, you can take Elise to yours – the same one as you had on the outward trip, of course. I hope it will suit you, Elise, my dear.’

  ‘I am sure it will, Hugh.’ Her voice was quite steady; she now avoided Brit with the same determination with which he was avoiding her. But as she took her place in the small procession that wound its way down to the cabins, she was far from cool, far from detached.

  Oh Brit! she felt like crying. As if it wasn’t bad enough before, how the hell am I going to cope with this? You and Gordon on the same boat, in the same party, for five days. Why did you do it? Why?

  But his straight unbending back told her nothing and she thought: I don’t even know that it was intentional. I didn’t know Hugh was bringing Gordon to Singapore – I haven’t spoken to Brit alone since I found out. Perhaps it’s the sheerest chance – we do all come from Hong Kong, after all.

  ‘This is our cabin, Elise,’ Gordon said. She followed him in, seeing all the luxury, the grandeur as if through a veil, and knowing that she would exchange it all without hesitation for the tiny cabin on the Maid of Darjeeling, where at least she could be alone with her thoughts. But somehow she kept her chin high and a smile fixed on her lips, making a last desperate effort at normality.

  ‘So we’re on our way at last, Gordon.’

  And his fingers touched hers.

  ‘Yes, we’re on our way.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘I must say, that after working all the hours God sends for the goodness knows how long, this is extremely pleasant,’ Gordon said.

  They were all on deck, relaxing on sun-loungers with drinks at their elbows and it seemed to Elise that since they had sailed from Singapore two days ago they had done little else. What else, after all, was there to do? But it was sweet torture, seeing Brit and not being able to touch him, having instead to accept Gordon’s embraces within his view, unable to avoid the conclusion that it did not matter half as much to him – if indeed it mattered at all.

  He’s so cool about it, so really disinterested, she thought, turning her head fractionally so that she could look at him out of the corner of her eye; he was lying stretched out on his stomach so that the sun played directly onto his bare brown back. To see him now no one would think we had ever shared more than a pot of tea!

  And wasn’t that the way it was supposed to be? a small voice nagged inside her. You surely don’t want him parading it in front of Gordon?

  But that was no comfort. After all they had been to one another, it hurt to have him treat her like a stranger in whom he had not the slightest interest.

  Could it be that he thought I knew on that last day that Gordon was coming? she wondered, once more wishing fervently that she could talk to him and explain what had happened.

  But there had been no chance; they had not been alone together for a single moment. And in any case, perhaps he wouldn’t want me to explain, thought Elise. It would be making an issue out of something he wanted to treat lightly.

  Yet still she had to hang on to the thought that perhaps it wasn’t quite like that. It was her only lifeline in a grey and choppy sea.

  Hugh stirred on his lounger, sitting up and reaching out a lazy hand for his drink; Elise hastily averted her gaze from Brit, certain that Hugh would know where her attention was focused however discreet she might try to be.

  But it was to Gordon that he spoke, with the air of a man who has been giving a great deal of thought to what he was about to say.

  ‘There is nothing more relaxing than a few days at sea, I know, and it’s difficult here to believe that half the world is at war. But I really think you should see about getting Elise and Alex to Australia as soon as is humanly possible, my friend.’

  ‘What are you talking about, man? I have only just got her back!’ Gordon’s voice was jovial, but Elise heard the underlying tension and winced inwardly.

  ‘I know that, Sanderson. If Elise were my wife, I wouldn’t want to be parted from her either. But facts are facts: there is a tremendous Japanese military build-up just across the border from Hong Kong. And when they invade, I wouldn’t like to think of her being there.’

  ‘When!’ Gordon sipped his gin-sling. ‘Don’t you mean if?’

  ‘I mean when. It’s only a matter of time.’

  ‘You’re a pessimist, de Gama,’ Gordon stated bluntly. ‘Panics blow up from time to time like summer storms and are gone just as quickly. Only the other day you were talking about that scare ten or twelve years ago when everyone expected the Chinese to invade. Chiang was the bogeyman then, and they even drafted in all those British troops to be billeted in the Peninsula just before it was completed. And a fine mess they made of it, too – ruining the floors with their hobnail boots and doing a great deal of damage generally. See what a performance that caused – it even delayed the opening of the Peninsula. But nothing came of the invasion – it all blew over. And the same will happen this time.’

  ‘I wish I could be so certain. The troops might have done some damage, but drilling outside the Peninsula, over six foot tall every one of them, they certainly put the wind up the Chinese then. I’m not so sure the Nips will be so easily frightened off.’ He took out his cigarettes and offered one to Brit, who had rolled over and half sat up, listening to the conversation. ‘What’s your opinion, Brittain?’

  ‘I agree with you. I have said all along that Hong Kong will fall. The first scalp on the Jap belt, I wouldn’t be surprised.’

  ‘Rubbish! That’s the kind of scaremongering that’s making things impossible for those of us who are trying to scrape up a living.’ There was a sharp edge to Gordon’s tone which seemed almost out of proportion to the friendly argument and Elise stirred uncomfortably.

  ‘I’m sorry if you think I’m speaking out of court,’ Hugh said good-humouredly, ‘and nobody would be more pleased than I to be proved wrong in this case. But I don’t think I will be. Dammit, man, the Japs are already in Hong Kong. They’ve been infiltrating for years – you know how many of them are in business one way and another. Half of them are agents, as like as not.’

  Brit said nothing and to Elise, knowing his views, his silence was eloquent. But Gordon exploded.

  ‘There’s a name for what you’re suffering from, Hugh, old man.’

  ‘Doubtless.’ De Gama was more than used to arguing his views to deaf ears. ‘All the same, I’m offering my services to the Volunteer Defence Corps when I get back.’

  ‘You?’

  ‘Why not? If Hong Kong is attacked I should like to be able to fire a shot in her defence, at least. It’s a good place to live – I’ve never resided anywhere else except when I was in England at school, and I’ve no wish to do so. But I still think you would be wise to make sure that those closest to you are in a place of safety for the next year or so.’

  A smiling bearer in the white shorts-and-shirt uniform of the Lively crew appeared to refresh their drinks and the conversation changed to more amenable topics. But as she settled back on her sun-lounger, Elise found herself remembering her own misgivings about the safety of Hong Kong.

  Brit had warned her on numerous occasions that it was not a safe place for a woman and a child and now Hugh had reinforced that view. Dislike Hugh as she might, she had a healthy respect for his assessment of a situation and if he, too, thought Hong Kong was in danger, then she was inclined to feel it must be so. Yet Gordon still stubbornly refused to even consider it as
a serious possibility – burying his head in the sand, she supposed her mother would call it – and she could foresee long, hard battles ahead over what she and Alex should do.

  Yet in a way, she could almost understand Gordon’s attitude. His whole life was there – if the Japs did indeed capture the Colony and destroy five years of work, it would be like the end of the world for him. And it was so easy to lose sight of perspective when things close to your heart were concerned. Wasn’t she doing the self-same thing, able to think of nothing but Brit when she should be planning how to approach Gordon about allowing her to take Alex to safety?

  At the thought of Brit she glanced towards him automatically, then froze.

  Unknown to her he must have been watching her. Now, as their eyes met, something leaped within her, an echo of the old excitement. For just a moment their glances held, then the panic came rushing in. She turned away, reaching for her drink with a hand grown suddenly unsteady, and when she gathered the courage to look at him again there was only his back to see, brown and taut above the cream linen shorts. But even its rigidity seemed to have a message for her now.

  He still wants me, she thought, joy welling up within her. He still wants me – it hasn’t died,

  The knowledge was like a firebrand driving out all other thoughts, all other concerns.

  If Brit wanted her, what could be wrong with the world? If Brit wanted her, what else was of the least importance?

  However, her elation lasted a few hours only. There was no word, no other sign to confirm that wild, leaping certainty, and she began to wonder if it had existed only in her imagination.

  If he wanted her, how could he be so distant, so controlled? If he wanted her, how could he turn his back and leave her to her husband? Tortured, she watched and waited, not even wondering any more whether Hugh noticed. But there was nothing.

  Five days after leaving Singapore, the Lively sailed into the marina at Causeway Bay, and as the steamy atmosphere carried the potent smell of Hong Kong to meet them, Elise momentarily forgot everything else in a rush of exhilaration.

  Home at last!

  She remembered briefly how little she had wanted to come here when Gotdon had first suggested it – the Orient had not appealed to her at all. ‘I could never be one of your Empire builders!’ she had joked. ‘I’m far too fond of England.’ But Hong Kong had exerted its charm on her the moment she set foot there. Now, she could think of nowhere she would rather be. She loved the potent mix of race and culture, the enthusiasm and industry that was complemented by the gracious style of living, the busy streets that gave way to breathtaking landscapes. She loved the roads that clung precariously to the very brink of the cliffs, high above the blue ocean, the riot of trees and flowering shrubs – hibiscus, frangipani, roses, azaleas. She loved the harbour where cargo vessels jostled with junks and sampans and the quay where berry-brown fishermen landed their catch from their small, fiercely-bucking craft. Not even the climate bothered her now and she had adapted easily to the hot, humid summers and the cool, dank days at the beginning of the year.

  Today, however, was a bright spring day – a fitting day to arrive home and see Hong Kong at its best. But after that first heady rush of pleasure, Elise had little heart to savour it. Beneath her desperately maintained calm, she was seething with conflicting emotions. They boiled up together like a witches’ brew – aching desire to see Alex vying with tearing anguish at the imminent separation from Brit, however indifferent he appeared to be towards her.

  Standing near him on deck she longed to reach out and cling to him, and though they were feet apart the whole of her body seemed to be drawn to him as if by an invisible magnet.

  Please look at me! she wanted to say. Please at least look at me and know how much I want to see you alone, just once more!

  But though she willed it with all her might, he continued to stare out across the narrowing stretch of blue water, broken up by sampans and junks, power-boats and yachts, towards the mass of land that was Hong Kong Island. He was chain-smoking, she noticed, lighting one cigarette after the other and tossing the ends over the rail, and the lines of his face were tight and unreadable.

  A hand fell across her shoulder and she almost jumped. It was Hugh, smiling that inscrutable smile of his.

  ‘Well, Elise, and how does it feel to see Victoria Peak again after all this time?’

  ‘Wonderful!’ she said, aware that Brit would be able to hear every word.

  Hugh nodded. ‘That’s the way I feel every time I see the place, even if I’ve been away for a few days only. But it doesn’t alter what I said before, Elise. You must persuade Gordon to let you and Alex leave, and leave soon. Do you hear me?’

  ‘Yes, I hear you.’ There was a lump in her throat. Perhaps I’ve misjudged him all this time, she thought. Perhaps he really is concerned for our welfare.

  ‘Now, I’ve told Gordon my car will be on hand to take you down to the ferry,’ Hugh continued. ‘I expect you will be most anxious to get home as soon as possible.’

  She nodded. Home was Kowloon, the part of Hong Kong that – along with the New Territories – was attached to mainland China and was reached from Hong Kong Island by means of the Star Ferries that chuntled back and forth across the blue water dividing them.

  ‘Brittain!’ Hugh swung around to include him in the conversation.

  ‘Can I put my car at your disposal, my dear fellow? You have to get to Shek-o, I dare say?’

  Shek-o, on the south side of the island. Shek-o, beautiful and wild, with its unbroken views out over the South China Sea.

  ‘It’s all right, I can make my own way.’ Brit’s voice was smooth and easy and it tore at her all over again. In a very short time, just as long as it took them to moor in the marina, they would be going their separate ways and it would be all over, this time for good. ‘I must thank you again though, de Gama, for the passage on your yacht. It has made a difference of several days to me – not to mention the difference in comfort!’

  Hugh’s arm tightened around Elise’s shoulders in a small, harmless hug that nevertheless made her shrink inwardly.

  ‘The least I could do, Brittain, after what you did for Elise. Marvellous of him, wasn’t it, m’ dear?’

  ‘Yes. Thank you, Brit,’ she said levelly.

  Now, at last, he was forced to look at her again. His mouth quirked upwards, his eyes narrowed slightly, and as they met hers she felt the shock waves run through her in ever-widening circles.

  She had not been mistaken, then – unless he looked at everyone that way, making the world shrink to encompass just the two of them. She hadn’t been mistaken – and knowing it was wonderful!

  ‘Elise, my dear, there you are!’

  Gordon’s voice broke the spell and she turned abruptly, suddenly very aware not only of Brit’s eyes but Gordon’s and Hugh’s too, all focused on her.

  ‘Why, where did you think I was, Gordon?’

  ‘He thought you had begun to swim, Elise, in your eagerness to get ashore. But don’t worry, we’re docking now. You can save your energy for your family.’ Hugh’s tone was light.

  ‘Yes – dry land! Goodbye, Brittain, and thank you for arranging the passage for my wife.’ Gordon’s arm had replaced Hugh’s around her – it was as if between them they were keeping proprietorial tabs on her, she thought. She tried to turn to look at Brit again and realised that the tears were there, aching in her throat, burning behind her eyes. Holding them back demanded every ounce of her concentration and she dared not speak. The muscles of her mouth felt paralysed. She clamped on them fiercely, forcing a tiny half smile, and through her blurred vision she saw Brit shake hands with the two men. Then, unexpectedly, he extended his hand towards her.

  ‘Mrs Sanderson.’ All the old mockery was there and as his! fingers touched hers the contact seemed to burn her.

  She nodded abruptly, still afraid to speak but knowing that for all her efforts it must be obvious her eyes were swimming with tears.

&n
bsp; ‘Goodbye, Brittain, and thanks again.’

  ‘Goodbye, Sanderson.’

  Gordon’s hand on her waist turned her away, but she could no longer see any of them. Blindly she crossed the deck, walking down the gangway as if into a thick fog, unaware of anything but the pain inside her and the need to put one foot in front of the other.

  On to dry land – the soil of Hong Kong – she was assailed by the smells and the sounds, jostled by the always rushing, always pushing natives, and feeling, seeing, hearing nothing. Into the whispering luxury of Hugh’s Rolls Royce with Gordon beside her, dimly aware of the instructions to the liveried chauffeur who had presumably been warned of the arrival of the Lively and who had materialised from the blur outside her world. Driving between the three-storey-high buildings with their wide verandahs. Out of the car at the Star Ferry Terminal, jostled again, then walking up the clanking gangplank on to the upper deck of the ferry. Looking across the harbour to the mound of land that was Kowloon, hazy beneath the blue sky.

  As the ugly two-tiered boat moved away from the pier, Gordon said, ‘You seem upset, Elise.’

  His tone was light, conversational almost, but she felt a moment’s panic. What had he noticed? Gordon was good at concealing his thoughts and his feelings. Swallowing at the still threatening knot of tears, she opted for something close to honesty.

  ‘Coming home after all this time is a very emotional experience.’

  ‘Of course. I just hope you will have got over it before we get home. Otherwise it will be upsetting for Alex.’

  ‘Heavens, surely I’m allowed a few tears when I see my son for the first time in almost a year!’ she said indignantly, and heard his breath come out on a sigh.

  ‘I’m sorry, Elise. But I don’t want the boy to grow up a sissy.’

  ‘Don’t worry, he won’t,’ she said sharply.

  Then, unable to continue the conversation, she lapsed into a silence that lasted until they reached Kowloon.