“Just in time. Help me with this,” she said thrusting into Li Ling’s hands a tray heavily laden with a pot of tea, a tea bowl and a bowl of rice congee with an assortment of small dishes. “Take this to the young Master. He is having breakfast on his own in his study. Mistress had hers early and Miss Shao Peng is having a lie-in. Ah Kew has taken the other maids to help clean up the mess left by the floods in the outhouse. I have had no help at all,” she grumbled. Without waiting for a reply she went back to the stove.
Li Ling took the tray and carefully negotiated the kitchen’s narrow doorway and back into the main house. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would drop the tray in her nervousness. Today was her birthday. She was fourteen, a grown woman. Her heart sang with happiness. Suddenly everything seemed fine. By the time she skirted the courtyard, the sun was fully up and its bright light lit up the whole courtyard. Everything looked so pretty she thought. She smiled; two dimples appeared and her eyes lit up with expectation. She did not know why or what she was expecting. She was just happy.
Her arms strained under the weight of the heavy tray. She stopped in front of the study. With no hands free to knock on the door, she edged her body around and pushed open the door with her shoulder, almost stumbling in the process. She became flustered, not quite what she wanted to be.
Siew Loong was seated behind a dark wooden desk with piles of paper in front of him. Disturbed by the noise he looked up and saw her. “Ah my breakfast. Good. Set it there please,” he indicated to one side of the desk’s surface. “I’ll help,” he said at once getting up to clear a space. “Let me take this from you.”
“No Master, it is my job,” Li Ling protested, clutching the tray firmly. She felt his fingers a hair’s breath away from hers. It was like a current of heat had passed through her. She glanced quickly towards the door, half expecting to be reprimanded by someone for her clumsy entrance and inability to even carry out instructions to serve a meal properly.
“Where is Ah Tai or Ah Kew? They normally bring me breakfast on days I choose to have it here.”
“Everyone is busy with cleaning after the floods.” She set the tray down and began laying out the bowls and dishes. She could feel his eyes on her. When she finished, she made to turn away. She changed her mind and turned to face him. “Is there anything you wish me to bring you?” she asked, her cheeks a bright pink.
Siew Loong glanced at the tray and then at Li Ling, a bemused look on his face. “Perhaps you could come back and take the tray away. I need the desk to work. Say in half-an-hour’s time.”
Li Ling turned to go. He reached out and stopped her. “Do you like it here?” he asked, his hand still lingering on her arm.
“Yes! Very much,” she replied with a smile. Her heart sang with joy.
***
“That’s the situation mother,” Siew Loong said. “I am sorry that father hurt you; I know that nothing I say will make it better.” He glanced at his sister. Shao Peng saw the look he gave her and threw in her support.
“From what we hear, it could only be a moment of weakness that led him to form a relationship with the girl, Swee Yoke. Initially his intention was just to save them from their fate.” Shao Peng took hold of her stepmother’s hands and held them fast. “Please, please don’t be upset,” she said.
“The thing is, mother, do you want to have the little boy?” Siew Loong asked.
“What! To be reminded of your father’s folly! No! No! I will not have him in this house. Just send those women packing. Pay them and tell them to go.”
“Not quite that easy, mother. The house has been made over to them.”
“Well then, send Li Ling to that household. Tell them that they have to have her if they wish to receive any money from us. I don’t want her in this house. I expect her to report the going-on in that household to me.”
Shao Peng released Rohani’s hands. She looked in horror at her stepmother. “Why do you dislike Li Ling so much? She has not done any harm.”
“She reminds me too much of those women. They were her age when your father first brought them here. I too thought that they were young and innocent. I thought that your father’s intentions could not be anything but that of a kind man. When later I heard no more about them, I thought nothing more. And look! I am a fool and he was an old fool! I want her sent away immediately!”
***
With a heavy heart, Shao Peng went in search of her charge. She found Li Ling in the backyard. She wondered how to break the news. She straightened her shoulders. It had to be done; there was no way out of it. Li Ling spotted her and came running with a basket of newly laid eggs in hand.
“Look, I’ve found sixteen eggs! Ah Tai will be pleased. She was going to make her special sponge cake and...” She stopped. “What’s wrong?” she asked seeing Shao Peng’s face.
“Shall we sit over there on the bench by the mangosteen tree? I have something to say to you.”
Li Ling knew something was wrong. “Is it news from my mother?”
“No, nothing like that.” Shao Peng did not know how to broach the subject.
“Tell me then,” said Li Ling, her body tense, her eyes wide and searching.
“I am sorry Li Ling, you can’t stay here, at least for the moment, until I can get my stepmother to change her mind.” She could hardly bear to see the hurt in Li Ling’s eyes. She pulled the girl to her. She could feel Li Ling’s tears soaking into her blouse, hot tears that seared her skin. She stroked Li Ling’s head and whispered comforting words. Nothing, however, could console her. She sobbed and her body heaved as she gave vent to her distress. Shao Peng’s eyes misted; she felt helpless. Surely there must be a way out of this, she thought. Her mind raced, darting from one possibility to the other.
“I don’t want to go there. The servants told me of those women. They said nasty things about them. Big Mistress hates them and she hates me. That is why I am sent there. Please, please don’t let them do this to me!”
Shao Peng gently eased the girl away from her and, looking straight into her eyes asked, “Would it be better if I make arrangements for you to stay elsewhere? Would it be better if I promise that I will still see you every day, that you will receive learning, that I shall teach you myself?”
Slowly, Li Ling raised her head. “Will I see young Master?” she whispered.
Taken back, Shao Peng looked deep into the eyes of her charge. She saw what she did not wish to see. She took a deep breath. “Li Ling,” her voice was gentle, “why is seeing young Master so important?”
Li Ling made no answer. A blush as deep as a red rose coloured her face. There was no need for words to explain Li Ling’s anguish. Shao Peng recognised them because she had been through it herself.
“His mother,” Shao Peng said, “is making arrangements to marry him to a girl of her choice. It is better this way that you are not around him. It would be better for him and for you.”
A pang of guilt twisted within her. She was behaving like her father. Was she interfering with other people’s emotions and love? No, she told herself. She just wanted to protect her charge from falling in love like she did when there was no possibility that it would be requited.
Li Ling’s eyes welled up once more. Shao Peng took her in her arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. There was little more she could say.
***
Li Ling’s meagre belongings were scattered on the bed. She was alone in the bedroom. She dragged the little bag that Shao Peng had given her on to the mattress. She began to pack, wiping her nose and her eyes as she did so. Her hands moved mechanically folding the garments and placing them in the bag. Why was it better for her that she did not see the young Master any more? A slow resentment simmered in her. She was disappointed, disappointed at being so curtly brushed aside when she had been promised so much by Shao Peng.
Chapter 14
JING-JING SAT ON the bed. Kum’s taunts and laughter rang in her ears. There was no way out of the bedroom. The door
was securely locked from the outside. Days passed. Jing-jing grew listless. The restlessness turned to despair. Each time they brought food, she would try to push her way out of the room only to be pushed back into it. Kum visited every day. She cajoled, she threatened and she offered to console Jing-jing with a pipe that would guarantee to make her forget her woes. Jing-jing lost track of time as each day passed. She sat most days biting her fingernails until they were raw, wondering all the while whether her husband would be able to find and rescue her. How many days before he comes back from the tin mine, she asked herself. How many days before he would realise that she had been taken? No one else knew her. She lost hope that Shao Peng would come.
How would she know of her plight? Kum had said that she had just lost her father and she lived on the other side of the river well away from these shanty settlements. She must conclude that all was well if Jing-jing did not contact her. Jing-jing regretted once again her boastfulness at their parting. She had blithely claimed that she needed no help because her husband would see to it all. She recalled Lai Ma asking her to keep in touch and how she had gaily replied that it would not be necessary. She remembered the hurt in the older woman’s eyes.
Rap, rap, rap! She whirled and went hurriedly to the window. It was boarded from the outside. Only a tiny sliver of light peeped through between the two wooden shutters. She saw a shadow move, blocking the light and then an eye stared back at her. It looked familiar. She saw a finger placed on pursed lips. “Shhh! It’s me,” it whispered.
“Lai Ma?”
“Shhh! Yes, it’s me. I’ve come to get you out. I’ll wait till it’s dark and after the evening meal. We have to be quick. They have barred the shutters. I will have to find a way to break through without too much commotion.”
“How did you find me? How did you know I was here?”
“I’ll tell you later. No time...”
“Heh there! Are you talking to yourself?”
Jing-jing jumped. She turned to stare at the bedroom door. She could hear the clunking sound of keys and Kum muttering from outside. She glanced quickly over her shoulder. Lai Ma was gone. She ran and sat down on the bed. She began whispering to herself, talking nonsense. She feigned madness.
Ah Kum pushed opened the door; her eyes darted, searching from one corner of the room to the other. Seeing nothing amiss she rushed to the window. She pressed her face close and peered through the slat. Finally, satisfied that there was no one outside, she walked back to the bed.
“Tonight, you will get ready. Madam is tired of waiting for your answer. Your first client will be here after dinner. Don’t make him wait. I will have a tray sent to you early and a change of clothes. Someone will be here to help you change. She will also bring you a drink. I advise you to drink it to make it easier for yourself. Hear me?”
Kum dropped her voice. Her tone became more conciliatory. “I only want what’s good for you. Trust me.”
After she left, Jing-jing slumped back on the bed. Tonight! Would Lai Ma be here in time? Would she be saved in time? She tiptoed to the window and peered out again. No one! No one passed here because this side of the building backed on to a dense thicket of bushes. She could feel her heart beat; it thumped so hard, she feared it could be heard. She chastised herself for being silly. Yet her anxiety would not go.
***
“I have made contact with her.” Lai Ma was breathless. She had run all the way back to her own house. “I told her that I would come for her this evening. We were interrupted. Thank God I hid behind the thicket to listen because they were planning to make her accept a client this very evening. I fear we have to move more quickly.”
“Then, we must not wait till evening to act even if we were to risk a gang war should they catch us,” replied Ah Sook. “I have to warn my young Master, and warn him of that possibility. He does not know I am here. He is away on business. Miss Shao Peng sent me.”
He sat down heavily on the chair and sighed. “Well at least we found Jing-jing. I only came to know of her plight when I went to her house to break the sad news about her husband and found instead a deserted hut half blown away by strong winds and rain. Poor girl. We owe her this. She came all the way from China and now ... her husband is dead. It is lucky that neighbours spotted her with that woman Kum. Kum’s notoriety made it easier for us to track her down. I told Miss Shao Peng and she sent me to you. She said that Jing-jing would be frightened if we were to send a strange man to make contact.”
“How do you know her husband? How ... what did he die of?”
“He worked in a mine owned by my boss as your husband does. He was trapped in the mine when the floods came. One of the other coolies said that Cheung was not feeling well that day. He had slipped and twisted his ankle. When the water poured in, he tried to struggle. The more he struggled the faster he was held by the mud. The others tried to help him. They couldn’t do much. The torrents of water were so strong. The mine was caving in. They were forced to abandon him. Poor man! Poor woman! We must try to help her. I am sure both my young Master and Miss Shao Peng would provide for her. But enough talk of this! We have to get to Jing-jing. I shall organise some people to go with you.”
Ah Sook hurried out of the house and came back almost immediately with three burly men. Lai Ma gulped, for the men wore loose tunics that were unbuttoned leaving gleaming bare torsos. Two of them had scars, which they seemed to wear with pride. They looked ruthless. She dropped her eyes in embarrassment and fear.
“They will help stand guard and take down the bars barricading the window shutters. Then Jing-jing will have to climb out of the window. Everything has to be done very quietly. We don’t want a gang war if we can avoid it. It is fortunate that there are no windowpanes. You should go now. Then bring her to Miss Shao Peng. The men know the way. That house is well known to them. I will go back to Miss Shao Peng now to report on this.”
***
Of the three men assigned to help Lai Ma, only one accompanied her to the back of the house where Jing-jing was. The other two pushed a cart laden with pots and pans in the opposite direction. The pots rattled and clanged with each movement of the cart. They parked the cart a short distance from the front entrance of the wooden building that housed Li Ling and immediately set forth to sell their wares. A gong was sounded at regular intervals while one of the men began to shout at the top of his voice extolling the wares.
“Pots, pans, woks, all going at reduced prices. Tai kam kah, tai kam kah! Big discounts!” His voice boomed across the street, followed by the loud resonations of a gong. People began to crowd round him and a steady stream of haggling began.
Other vendors began to join them. They were on their way home. When they saw the crowd the two men had drawn, they changed their minds. They too parked their carts and soon started calling out at the top of their voices.
The noise brought Madam Lily out on to the street with Ah Kum following behind her. They glared at the unruly scene before them.
“Tell them to move to another spot and to keep their voices down. They are creating such a havoc it is upsetting my business,” Madam Lily ordered.
Ah Kum rushed across the street. “Are you all mad? Stop this noise at once. Go! Set up your stalls elsewhere. You are disturbing the peace here.”
“Who are you to tell us what to do?” yelled back one of the men. “Chao hai!Diu nei ge lob mob!” Stinking c...! F... your mother!”
Kum marched up to him. She dealt him a sharp slap on the face and then she spat. A huge glob of sputum landed on his eye. Commotion broke out. He grabbed her hair just as she was turning away and pulled. Her head snapped back. She retaliated. She jabbed her elbow into his middle and then she clawed his face. Her sharp nails caught his eyes. Pans, pots, sticks flew. Everyone joined in the fight. Madam Lily and her women rushed out to help Kum.
At the back of the house, Lai Ma and the man called Chee were busy levering out the rough pieces of wood nailed on to the window shutters. The noise they made was drown
ed by the riot. Chee made short work of the boards and within minutes the window was opened. Jing-jing meantime had moved a chair against the window. She clambered up and then out of the window into the waiting arms of Chee and Lai Ma. They ran.
Chapter 15
“WELL DONE EVERYBODY!” said Shao Peng. Lai Ma, Jing-jing and Ah Sook were gathered in the parlour. Jing-jing was still in a state of shock and Lai Ma was out of breath from hurrying all the way to Shao Peng’s house. Unable to speak, she sat with one hand on her heaving chest. Perspiration rolled down her face and her hair clung damp to her neck. Shao Peng caught Ah Sook’s eyes. He shook his head imperceptibly; he had yet to tell Jing-jing about Cheung, her husband. “Later,” she mouthed silently to him before turning to Jing-jing. She reached out to take her hands. They were cold.
“It is wonderful to see you safe.”
Jing-jing sat with her body slumped forward from her chair and her face in both her hands. She looked up when she heard Shao Peng speak to her. She was pale and her eyes stared vacantly at Shao Peng. Gone was the high-spirited boastful girl of the past. Shao Peng dropped to her knees and took her in her arms. A tremor ran through the girl’s body. Jing-jing’s teeth started to chatter. She pushed Shao Peng away.
“If ... if Lai Ma hadn’t come for me, I would have been forced to go with a man. I do not know how I could ever face my husband again. It is all my fault; I shouldn’t have gone to Kum. Cheung warned me against people like her when he left. Please don’t tell him. I don’t know what he would do. Even though nothing happened, I am tainted.” She crossed her arms and held herself tight to stop her shivering. “I doubt Cheung would want me back. What if he tells his mother?”
“We won’t tell,” Shao Peng exchanged a look with Lai Ma. “What we must plan now is how to keep you all safe. I think that staying in this part of Chinatown would be dangerous. Word would get around that you are here. Ah Sook says that Madam Lily has the support and protection of gangsters. All brothels are affiliated in some way to the triads. We don’t want them to come after us.”
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