“Wait!” interrupted Li Ling. She did not like what she was hearing. She took Ah Chu aside. “I am not sure I want Su Hei to be competing with this Ann Ee on such a platform. Siew Loong loved me when I was an innocent young girl. He will be looking for such traits in Su Hei. It won’t be another courtesan that he will be seeking.”
“All men want the same thing. Believe me. A little art in love does no harm.”
From the corner of the room Su Hei observed the two women in close consultation, their heads together. From time to time they looked her way. She blushed. Her mother seemed a renewed woman in the past month. She was energetic, she was loving; at times she was tearful, holding Su Hei at arms’ length before clasping her to her bosom. Su Hei couldn’t quite make out what was happening. Whatever it was, it was better than the mother she knew of old, the one who was lifeless and bitter. There was such hope in her mother’s eyes now. She shone with excitement. Surely, Su Hei thought, I must do whatever it takes to make her happy.
Chapter 42
SHAO PENG HELD THE letter with trembling hands. She read its contents, not once, not twice, but three times. She could hardly believe it. Li Ling had sent her a letter after all these years. She had given up hope of ever hearing from Li Ling for all the letters she had sent her had been returned unread.
Jack put down the book he was reading. The rustle of paper and the silence following it intrigued him. His wife normally volunteered information and snippets from whatever she was reading. At times it was like being in a room with a running commentary. He looked at her covertly. She was breathing hard. He saw how she licked her lips. Her mouth was slightly opened and under the light of the lamp, the irises of her eyes deepened to dark chocolate.
“Bad news?” he asked.
She shook her head, eyes wide with uncertainty, for she still could not believe that it was true. “I’ve got a letter from Li Ling.” Jack put his book down and went over to his wife. “Really? She wrote?”
“Someone, probably a professional letter writer, wrote on her behalf. It is filled with rather flowery and stilted language. Nevertheless, it came from Li Ling.”
“How wonderful!” Jack took her hand. “Aren’t you glad, happy even? What does she say?”
“She is in good health and is in China. She has sent her daughter Su Hei over to Malaya. She might well be here in Kuala Lumpur or at least will be here soon. Li Ling said that Su Hei will be lodging with Ah Chu, the woman who gave her temporary shelter before she returned to China.”
Jack looked blankly at her. “Ah Chu? Do we know her?”
“I do. She was the mother of the women my father was involved with when he was alive. Although I did not know it at that time, I found out later that she was also the one that Ah Sook contacted to give shelter to Li Ling when we rescued her from her husband. I suppose it is logical that Li Ling would contact Ah Chu now since she must have formed some sort of relationship with the woman.”
“What was the purpose of sending her daughter here?”
“She said that she wanted Su Hei to have the education that she herself so foolishly rejected. She asked me to help her.”
Jack’s face fell. “You can’t. At least not for long.”
“Why not?”
Jack got up. He went to a cabinet and, from a drawer, took out a box. In it was a stack of photographs. He spread them out on the table. “I have been meaning to talk to you about this but we were overtaken by events. You have been so distraught these last weeks with your stepmother ill and the situation with your brother that I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you about it.”
Shao Peng leaned over the black and white photographs on the table. They were grainy and yellowed with age. She saw that many were pictures of houses and streets; tall brick houses, some four storeys high, with long windows overlooking narrow streets lined with trees. They had little wooden gates in front with narrow cobbled paths leading up to the front doors. In one picture, a church with tall sloping roofs and a steeple sat at a corner; adjoining it was a rambling house with the sign, The Vicarage. Another showed a playing field with nodding heads of daffodils at its perimeter. In yet another, a game of cricket was being played on a lawn that was as smooth as silk. Mixed in the midst of these pictures was one with a pony cart. Huge urns and crates of milk bottles sat in the middle of the cart; the milk bottles gleamed white against the black and grey in the background. At the bottom of the stack was a picture of a couple: the man had a moustache and long sideburns. On the bridge of his long nose sat a pair of round glasses. The woman had crimped dark hair drawn back from a serious pale round face.
“My mother and father, as you know, and this is me at twelve during the school holidays.” He fished out of the pile yet another photograph. “I went to Yorkshire Society School at Mead Place, a school for Yorkshire-born boys before going to London University. Then as you know, I came to Malaya to join the Straits Settlements Civil Service as a junior cadet.”
Shao Peng took the photographs reverently. They conveyed a picture of serenity and order, of milky grey light where the sun was dim, of cold and frost, and the incredible loveliness that had always caught her imagination when she was a young woman reading avidly the books from Uncle Grime’s library in Singapore. “Why are we looking at these?” she asked.
“This would be where we would be living if we agree to return to the UK. This might be a school that James could attend, unless we decide to send him to a boarding school. The house in the centre is one I have inherited from my parents. For that reason, we can’t get too involved with schooling for Li Ling’s daughter.”
Shao Peng’s hand fluttered to her neck. She swallowed.
“We have to decide James’s future and also ours. We could return to England and make a new life. The time is right. I feel that it might be better for James in terms of education. I have an opportunity to join the Civil Service in England as an old Malaya hand.”
Jack took his wife’s hand in his. “We have been postponing this discussion. We need to have it.”
Shao Peng nodded. She realised that a decision had to be made. It was essential that James attend a proper school. Their attempt to send him to the private school run by Mrs Hurth, the wife of a coffee planter, had been a total failure. Instead he had a tutor instead and they had supplemented this by taking turns to teach him. This had to change.
Jack had broached the subject many times. Yet she grappled with the hope that it could once again be put aside. How could she pack and leave when her stepmother was ill, especially when she was the cause of it? How could she leave when her brother seemed to have thrown caution to the wind in his personal life? How could she refuse poor Li Ling? Wasn’t it what she wanted for her? Yet how could she refuse Jack? How could she not leave for the sake of her son, James?
“You cannot always live the life of others,” Jack said reading her thoughts.
“Is that what you would like? To leave here?” asked Shao Peng.
Jack’s voice wavered. He knew his wife. She always put someone else first, before herself. He did not want to force her. He wanted her to make the right decision. He weighed his words, hoping to find the right balance. “If I am to eventually return to England,” he said, “then I would like us to go now when we are not too old. If you wish us to stay and make our life permanently here, then I will. Your brother has suggested that I look into coal mining in Rawang. We are taking the railway to the north and the south of Kuala Lumpur to service the rubber estates. Soon the railway would branch off to the east coast of the peninsula. The discovery of coal in Rawang offers a good investment opportunity.”
Jack saw how Shao Peng’s face brightened at the latter narrative. He realised that he had over-played the positive aspect of staying and worried that she would interpret it as something that he wished. He backtracked. “The most important consideration, of course, is James’s education. I think we have been leaving it rather late. He should go to a proper school.”
Shao Peng grasp
ed the lifeline he threw at her. “We have of course the Victoria Institution that we could consider,” she said. “Kapitan Yap Kwan Seng, with the help of Mr. Loke Yew and Mr. Pillay, has made this a very viable and good school modelled after the Raffles Institute in Singapore. Could that not be a possible alternative? “
Jack’s reservation showed in his face. He did not reply.
Shao Peng saw the flicker in his eyes. She understood. She must give way. She must not be selfish. “You are right. We should seriously consider leaving. It would be best for James. In which case, I will have to think of another way of accommodating Li Ling’s wishes.” She busied herself rearranging the photographs, her head bent to hide the emotion in her face. She told herself that Jack had given her so many years in Malaya. It was time she gave him back what he wanted. Jack placed an arm around her. The pressure of his fingers was reassuring. She hid her face in his shoulder. His shirt was soon wet with her tears.
***
The following morning, before the first glimmer of sun, Shao Peng was up. She slipped out of bed leaving Jack sound asleep. The house was silent except for the ticking of the clock. Thrusting both arms into a silk wrap, she made her way to the kitchen. Her feet padded silently down the short flight of steps and onto the tiled flooring in the kitchen. It was cold. The back door leading to the kitchen garden was flung open and a cool wind blew in bringing with it the damp green smell of dawn. She went swiftly to the door to close it. Ah Kew appeared at the doorway before she reached it.
“Aiyah! What are you doing up so early?” Ah Kew demanded. The maid shook off the wooden clogs she was wearing outside the doorway and came into the kitchen barefooted. “Are you not well?” She frowned, closing the door behind her. “I went out to get some spring onions from the garden for this morning’s breakfast.” She thrust the bunch in front of her; they were fresh green with the dew on them. Bits of earth clung to the roots.
“I just wanted a cup of tea. I have been up for ages.”
“Sit down and I’ll make you some.” Ah Kew placed a big iron pot on the stove and busied herself stripping the outer leaves of the green shoots before running water over them to get rid of the dirt. “I’ll get on with the porridge while we wait for the water to boil.” She took a pot from the cupboard and ladled a cup of rice grains into the pot. After washing the rice, she stirred in a pinch of salt and a big spoonful of sesame oil. “I prepared the chicken broth last night and it is bubbling nicely. I’ll add it to the rice now and let it boil until all the grains are broken up and the broth thickened to a lovely pouring consistency. Then it is ready for eating. The pieces of chicken meat and the thousand year old eggs,” pointing to the dish of eggs the colour of black treacle at the sideboard, “go into the porridge when you are ready to eat. Would you...”
“I have news from Li Ling,” Shao Peng interrupted Ah Kew’s stream of chatter.
Ah Kew hit the cleaver on the wooden chopping board with a loud crunch; the knife dug deep into the board. She darted a quick look at Shao Peng. Her eyes narrowed into slits; deep creases radiated from their corners like spokes in a wheel. “What does she want?” Her voice was frosty with disapproval. The girl, she thought, was nothing but trouble.
“Aren’t you going to ask how she is?” asked Shao Peng, surprised by the animosity.
“Well, how is she?” Ah Kew didn’t give Shao Peng time to answer. “Don’t get involved with her again. She has brought you endless problems, remember!” Ah Kew resumed the dicing of the spring onions. The cleaver went at reckless speed leaving a trail of tiny bits of green and white on the wooden board. With a flourish, she picked up the whole lot with the side of her cleaver and deposited them in a little dish. Her displeasure manifested itself in her wielding of the knife.
“Don’t be too harsh on her. She was just a young girl.”
“Young? Not that young! Old enough to ensnare a man. People talk. I hear things in the market.”
“Don’t be silly. She just wants me to help her daughter learn. What could be wrong with that?” Shao Peng regretted mentioning Li Ling’s name. She hoped that she would not get the same reception when she saw Rohani later that morning. “I am going to dress now. I’ll have the tea later,” she said.
Ah Kew shook her head. “My mistress never learns.”
Chapter 43
ROHANI WAS PROPPED up in bed. Her once abundant hair, now streaked with white, was left unbound. The tortoiseshell comb that held her hair lay abandoned on the table by the side of her bed alongside a glass of water and bottles of medicines. Her hands, thin like a bird’s and mottled, lay lifeless on the bed cover. From time to time, she would dab at her eyes. Children’s voices floated up from the garden. She looked forlornly out of the window. She saw James’s kite swirling outside the window rising higher and higher until it disappeared completely from her view. Shrieks of laughter followed it. They were Fern’s and Rose’s.
Another tear rolled down Rohani’s cheeks. Soon, James too would disappear from her life, along with Shao Peng and Jack. How could she bear it? She had as good as lost her only son, Siew Loong. After the initial days of her illness, his visits had again become few and far between. It was all her fault. She could only blame herself for the unhappiness she had caused everyone. Poor Siew Loong. Poor Suet Ping. Poor Rose and Fern. Would they ever forgive her when they grew up and learnt the truth of her actions.
Perhaps she should consider Shao Peng’s proposal. She could at least put right the wrong she did to Li Ling by taking her daughter in and giving her the education she sought. It would be a start to her atonement. It would, after all, not be much of a problem. Shao Peng had promised that she would make all the arrangements for schooling before she left. If Su Hei went to the same school as Fern and Rose, then the logistics of sending her there would be simple. She must make amends for her sins. She did not realise the full scale of Li Ling’s sufferings until this morning when Shao Peng told her. Poor girl.
She lifted the bed cover and placed her feet on the floor. Her legs felt shaky, as though they could not remember what they were for. She rose slowly, holding on to the bed’s edge. Through the window, she saw the kite bob down before swooping up again, its colourful tail swishing through the air. How wonderful, she thought, if I were to be like the kite. She reached for her walking cane. With infinite care she walked to the window and looked out to the garden. Fern and Rose were running after James as he tugged and pulled on his kite. Soon there would be just Fern and Rose. Would Siew Loong ever return to his wife? Would he give her a grandson? If not, she was to blame for ending the family’s bloodline. There would be no heir to carry the family name. Ngao would not forgive her, if he were alive.
***
“No! This would be better.” Li Ling held up a garment for Ah Chu’s inspection. “See here!” She fished out a grainy photograph taken when she first arrived in Malaya. Shao Peng had arranged for the picture as a memento. It showed Li Ling, Lai Ma and Jing-jing sitting in a row. Lai Ma was in the centre looking stiff and self conscious; Li Ling was on her left and Jing-jing on her right. Both were staring straight at the camera without a hint of a smile. Shao Peng, her lips slightly apart as though caught unaware, stood behind them in a loose Mandarin collared ensemble with frog buttons running down one side of the bodice.
Ah Chu peered closer at the photograph. Li Ling had on a plain looking samfoo. Its low stiff collar was buttoned up at the neck; the trousers, wide at the bottom, were of the same material. The dress was completely shapeless.
“Mine was pink, although you can’t see the colour from this photograph. We should make a couple of these dresses for Su Hei. I want her to look like me when I was young.”
Ah Chu sniffed; her nose twitched as though she had smelt something bad. She looked at the photograph again. It was true that Li Ling was very pretty despite her glum face. But it was unthinkable to make Su Hei wear those awful clothes. She pointed at the dress. “Not very flattering. It is not stylish is it? How would Su Hei compete
with Ann Ee who owns a wardrobe that can fill this room. I was told Ann Ee wears only brocades and silk. Colourful clothes: gold, reds as vibrant as the hibiscus flowers in our garden or as deep as red roses; lush green that conjures up the scent of forests. How could the pink you describe do anything for Su Hei?”
“Didn’t I say that we are not competing with that woman? I want Su Hei to be me when I was young.” Li Ling lowered her voice and cast an anxious eye at her daughter seated within earshot. “I want him to fall in love with me all over again. Can’t you see that?”
Ah Chu saw the tremble in Li Ling’s lips. She sighed. “Fine! Fine! I understand.” At times she wondered if Li Ling was becoming a bit crazy. She had gone along with the idea because of the grudge she bore against the Ong family. Now she wasn’t sure if she had done the right thing. What started as a bit of prank seemed to be growing into something bigger.
Li Ling rushed over to Su Hei. She snatched a hairbrush from the dressing table and began brushing Su Hei’s hair. She applied the brush vigorously, stroke after stroke until the hair crackled. Her eyes shone with fervour. “I think we should do something to make her hair more beautiful. Do you think we should oil it just a tiny bit?” She ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair and twisted it right and left. “I had my hair braided when I was young. Su Hei should have it done the same way. Here, help me do the other side and let’s see if she looks like me in the photograph.
They braided Su Hei’s hair; then they dressed her in a pink samfoo. “There! What do you think? Li Ling stepped back and looked at Su Hei with satisfaction.
A Flash of Water Page 27
