“How do you know all this?” asked Leah.
“It’s in his dossier.”
“Do I have a dossier?”
“Yes,” he said. “That’s the kind of world we have now.”
“Yes, of course,” Leah acknowledged, all the while knowing that facts don’t mean much. No one knew she traipsed around curio shops and stalls searching for a Japanese woodcut of a handsome prince with a sharp chin and rich clothes. She couldn’t find what she wanted; now, she decided, she wouldn’t look any more.
Eldersen discussed Japan’s desperation at the turn of the century to obtain the know-how of the West. Hiroyuki was an ideal candidate to live abroad and bring the new technology back. For his father, it solved the embarrassing problem of his son’s overreaction to his wife’s death. His grandson, Tokai, would remain in Tokyo to be educated like a proper son of Japan.
“This is where it gets interesting,” said Eldersen. “Hiroyuki insisted on taking his son with him.Tokai has visited Japan many times, but he has never lived there. He’s a foreigner in his own country. He speaks German, French and English as well as Japanese. You can see why we picked him.”
“You don’t think he’s loyal.”
Eldersen drew more doodles and eyed Leah nervously. “He’s loyal to his father. It’s a national trait, subservience to the father.”
Leah watched Eldersen backpedal.What was he really saying? That ‘they,’ whoever ‘they’ were, had chosen her because she was like Tokai? She didn’t fit in either. Icily, she said, “I am my own person. I am not like Tokai Ito at all.”
Agitated and upset, unable to continue with the briefing, Eldersen got up and inspected the trench as his thoughts collided. He was such a fraud. He couldn’t remain detached. Even as he C35 discussed Tokai calmly, without emotion, he pictured Tokai and Leah together.His mind was a cesspool;just like the ditch it offered only limited protection.Oh hell,he was a pimp.The higher ups had put it about, well actually had looked uncomfortable over their teacups, as they let it be known that they expected Leah to seduce information from Ito: where the Jap plants were in China, when large shipments were going to be made, what kind of ships were passing right under their noses in the port of Hong Kong loaded with armaments. In a minute, reality would hit Leah too. He wished he were a thousand miles away, holed up in a rat trap of an Asian newspaper office, banging out stories, not responsible for someone he cared so deeply about.Love in wartime was shit.
Leah watched Eldersen scrutinize the trench. He walked up to it and tapped his foot against the side, as if trying to determine if it would cave in. It wouldn’t because Huang fu had overseen the project. Leah suspected Jonathan provided Huang fu with generous squeeze money to ensure that the trench was dug and braced properly. Several times she caught Huang fu and Jonathan, deep in conversation, pacing around the garden.They both looked guilty when she asked them what they were plotting. Eldersen had the same look, caught in the act. In a flash of mortifying insight,Leah realised Eldersen’s spying was whoring. He wanted her to become Ito’s mistress. Ito’s loyalty to his father was absolute. Eldersen was asking her to wheedle information from Ito in bed, or later, as he slept, to go through his private papers.They might be written in Japanese but she would be able to understand more or less what they meant and figure out the rest. Livid, she said, “Do you get excited at the thought of my bedding the cosmopolitan Mr. Ito?”
Eldersen lost his balance and fell onto the roof of the trench. He rose awkwardly to his feet and brushed off the dirt. He came to stand uneasily by her side, catching hold of both her hands, and gazed into her eyes, knowing he mustn’t fake this. He spoke from the heart. “There are no rules about . . .” He searched for an appropriate word. None came to mind that he felt like saying aloud and he muttered like a coward, “This sort of thing. We rely on your own judgment.”
“I screw him and you learn his secrets.”
He dropped her hand. “You don’t believe that.”
“No,” she said. “I believe you are my friend and wouldn’t hurt me.”
Her words made him feel worse. “Forget it. You aren’t cut out for this.”
“You know I am.”
“We need you,” he said by way of an apology. He dug around in his battered briefcase and brought out a tiny camera. “To photograph Ito’s papers.”
She took the camera and squeezed his hands. “I won’t tell you how I got the information. If I have to fuck him, I will.”
He fumbled as he lit a cigarette and inhaled too deeply.The smoke caught in his lungs. Coughing and gagging, he drank the now cold tea to soothe his wounded throat. “Let’s leave it at that,” he said, flame-red with embarrassment.
She didn’t care she had made him look small. She had a right to set the ground rules. Look what he was asking her to do. “What do I do with the film?” she asked.
“Right, to business,” he said, not looking up. “Nathan Thwaites is your contact. He’s a clerk in charge of new accounts at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. Open a trading account in the name of New Lotus Enterprises. The funds are there for anything you might need.” He sighed, “For bribes or asking anyone you can trust to find out things.You give Thwaites the film, C37 verbal reports, anything at all of interest. I respect your judgment.” Then he launched into technical details on how to read bills of lading to understand what actually might be found in the ship’s hold. Even as he talked on, he was consumed with a creeping despair, his explanations growing shorter and more precise until he couldn’t speak any more.
The sun hung low in the late afternoon sky; the garden was getting chilly. Leah rubbed her hands against her cold arms. Half-eaten sandwiches and cakes littered the table. She was surprised at how ordinary a spy briefing was. She didn’t know what she had expected. Ben looked ragged; she felt exhilarated, agitated and overwhelmed.
Finally, he said, “I have to leave tomorrow.Another assignment. Any questions?” and rolled cake crumbs across his plate, waiting for her to answer. Her face was obscured by the long shadows. He lit a cigarette to prevent himself from reaching across the table to touch her petal-soft skin. Christ, why couldn’t he stop these thoughts?
Leah leaned closer so he could see her clearly. He was keeping something back. If they wanted her this badly, then they were more afraid than Eldersen was letting on. She must know. “When will the Japanese invade?”
He paled and stared intently at the trench. “Our best intelligence is that nothing will happen before early June 1942, over six months away.More troops will be stationed here and defences improved by then.”
“Really?”
He ground his cigarette into his plate. “Go to Macau. Portugal is neutral and so by extension is its colony, Macau. Don’t try for Free China. God knows what will be happening in China. It won’t be safe.Whatever you do, don’t fool yourself you can remain in Hong Kong, it’s—” He stopped.
Jonathan strolled across the garden in his uniform: khaki shorts, open collared shirt, his hat jammed onto his head at a jaunty angle. Leah sprang up and went running to his side, entwining an arm around his waist.
Eldersen stared at the handsome couple. Jonathan looked like a bloody recruiting poster, even to the sweat stains that ringed his armpits, as if the ad man wanted to prove the model was a man of action. Jonathan kissed Leah on the cheek. Elder-sen wanted desperately to leave.
Jonathan plonked a bottle of whisky on the table. “What have you two been plotting all afternoon?”
“Ben has been telling me about his travels.He’s off to Burma tomorrow.”
“Must be off. Have to check the telegraph office to see if there have been any last minute changes.”
“Stay for a drink at least.”
“Sorry, another time. Have to check the wire services too.”
“Ben,” said Leah, “we’re going to hold you to your promise to visit more.”
Eldersen trotted out his wise uncle smile and said, “Next time. I’ll drop you a postcard before I come. Do
n’t bother to see me out.”He walked quickly away, not wanting to turn around and see them together. It would be a memory he couldn’t remove.
“I didn’t mean to scare him off,” said Jonathan as Eldersen reached the garden gate and left with a backward wave.
“See you soon,” called Leah.
“Cheers.” The gate banged closed.
“No,” declared Leah, “he was getting ready to go. He had packing to do.”
Jonathan shook his head. “He doesn’t pack. He sleeps in his suit. Probably has only two pairs of underpants. He always looks the same.”
Leah laughed, but felt a stab of guilt at ridiculing Eldersen behind his back.The man really did carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Actually, I think he’s aged and he’s lonely.”
“He could quit anytime he wants. Settle down, marry. No, he likes the life he leads.”
“Things are never that simple.You don’t know what drives him.”
Each time Jonathan saw Eldersen, he wanted to explode. Instead, he was unfaltering polite and chummy. If he were honest, he disliked Eldersen because he had been in Manchuria with Leah and shared a part of Leah’s past he wasn’t privy to. Leah never talked about Manchuria. He changed the subject, determined not to probe further about why the reporter had been hanging around all afternoon. “Things are looking up. Everyone says the Japanese will come by land.They’ve reinforced our defences on the Heights. The Canadian troops are going to man it. The Japs hate the sea, prone to seasickness and they can’t swim. So, it’s good the Canadians are here.”
“What nonsense, Jonathan. They live on an island.”
“Leah, marry me.”
Leah’s face paled under her tan and her grey eyes grew large with terror.
“Don’t look like that. It makes perfect sense. I can’t go on in this . . .” He looked around the garden with its ugly gash and the imposing house. There was nothing of his here, except the woman he loved. “I think if you don’t, I will leave. If I do it now, I know that I can. Otherwise we’ll be in this infernal no man’s land I can’t stand.”
His eyes raked her face. He looked so lost; her heart lurched. She couldn’t imagine life without him. He made her feel safe, filled up her heart, her house and chased away old ghosts.With the coming of war, no one was truly safe. And she recalled Theo’s bleak words: In the end, we are all dead. She moved into Jonathan’s arms, showering him with kisses. “It’s nearly Christmas. Let’s have a Christmas wedding.”
A shock of joy spread across his face, the look of a drowning man unexpectedly rescued. Hand in hand, they went indoors to celebrate their love and their decision.
In her bones, Leah knew it was the only decision she could have made.
4
LEAH WALKED DOWN Queens Road in the full glare of the sun. She had arranged to meet Jonathan at the jewellers to pick out rings after she went to the bank to settle some accounts. Jonathan hadn’t suspected a thing. It was a normal day; he was going to his office first.
She stood in front of the imposing new headquarters of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, known affectionately by all as Honkers and Shakers. The building radiated money and power, and towered over the island. She walked through the heavy brass doors and asked the man sitting at an enormous mahogany desk to direct her to Nathan Thwaites.
Thwaites was a thin man with glasses, probably not yet thirty. His brown hair was plastered to his head with water and his eyebrows were raised in a perpetual look of surprise. He led her to one of the inner sanctums of the bank, containing a portrait of King George VI and a baroque table with uncomfortable Chinese ladder-back chairs. She declined his offer of tea.
“Your line of credit has arrived for New Lotus Enterprises,” he said genially.
They did not discuss its purpose as he handed over signature cards and forms to be filled in and waited patiently.When she finished, he asked if she knew when Mr. Ito might be returning to Hong Kong. She told him about the meaningless postcard.
“Our friend wants to maintain contact,” he concluded. “An encouraging sign.”
On alert for sexual allusions concerning her future relations with Mr. Ito, Leah stiffened. Thwaites kept talking without innuendo.He was exceedingly courteous as he asked if she had any other information to report.
“Do you know about the newly opened wholesale tea business on Queen’s Street? It’s a supply front for the Chinese Communist 4th Battalion fighting the Japanese.”
“It has just come to our attention. Your sources are good,” he said and counted out $500 in Hong Kong notes. “The bank is always at your service.”
At the jeweller’s, Jonathan was enthusiastic. “Show me your best,” he requested, squeezing Leah’s hand with excitement as they sat on plump chairs painted gold. The bald, white-gloved jeweller unrolled a black velvet mat on top of the glass case. He arranged a row of diamond rings to demonstrate their clarity and cut.
“The choice must be right,” the jeweller said, looking at Leah for encouragement, extolling the virtues of the diamonds: the clarity, the cut, the colour and the carats.
Leah was unmoved by their brilliance. Her soft-skinned, long-fingered hands were Theo’s genetic gift. Like his, hers were crowned with perfect nails, buffed pearl pink; just visible underneath the clear varnish were flawless half moons.You have connoisseur’s hands, Theo gloated. Gimcracks and gewgaws must not spoil them. He would be happy she was marrying for love; he would have been repelled to see a diamond on her finger. “It’s a short engagement.We just want wedding rings.”
“I want to do this,” Jonathan pleaded.
“I want to be married, not engaged.”
It was an arrow to his heart. Conquered, he agreed.
The jeweller sucked in his cheeks, swallowing hard to avoid showing his disappointment and swept the diamonds back into the glass case.
They chose two wide bands of gold and asked that they be engraved: Jonathan & Leah, 23 December 1941, their wedding date. High on a tidal wave of happiness, Jonathan said, “Engrave the word ‘Love.’” Then he kissed Leah and even the jeweller minded a little less about losing a big sale. The engraved rings would be ready on Tuesday.
Out on the pavement, Jonathan linked arms with Leah. They grinned at one another, feeling slightly drunk and totally happy. Jonathan’s friend,Tony Pentley, was hosting a dinner in their honour in the Gripps Room, but it was too early to go there. The ring-buying had taken so little time. They had planned to change at Jonathan’s Mid-Level’s flat, but if they went there now, Jonathan’s giggling, under-worked houseboy would be in the way.
“Let’s go to a film first,“ she proposed. “I can’t face Pan Ling. He’ll simply ooze all over us.”
Jonathan laughed and agreed. He didn’t mind. If the film were slow, he would daydream about the evening: Tony’s party would be fun with magnums of champagne; Leah would be heart-rendering beautiful and everyone would be pea green with envy.To cap off the night, they would sink into bed on the Peak in a mutual embrace of lust and desire. Life was perfect.
They went to the newly-opened cinema on Nathan Street. The seats still give off a new leather smell and the carpet underfoot was a deep, unspoiled red. The film was Bringing Up Baby. Everyone said it was screamingly funny: Cary Grant ran around like a lunatic, trying not to fall in love with an ebullient Katherine Hepburn, as a lion (a present from Katherine’s brother in Africa) ran amok. Cary Grant ended up in jail until Katherine sorted things out. In the dark, Jonathan pulled Leah close and stroked her neck and fair hair.
Already Leah regretted her decision not to go to Jonathan’s flat.To hell with Pan Ling. She’d tell Jonathan that they should leave. It would be a delicious end to the afternoon. She whispered, “Let’s go—“
Instead of the sudden rush of music heralding the film’s beginning, the screen went blank, then flickered. The audience groaned. The screen flickered again, then lit up with an announcement.
8 December 1941
ALL MEMBERS OF TH
E MILITARY AND VOLUNTEER UNITS ARE TO REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO DUTY
As the house lights came on, there was a collective gasp of disbelief. Leah and Jonathan looked at each other, uncomprehending and slightly mad with suppressed desire and grief.
“Perhaps it’s a false alarm,” said Jonathan.
There was a great deal of pushing and shoving as people attempted to say goodbye and others struggled to get to the aisle. Leah hugged Jonathan. An old man hissed his annoyance as they blocked his way.
Gently,Jonathan unwound Leah’s arms.“I’ll get leave for a few hours.Nothing is going to happen yet.The rings don’t matter.”
Tears welled in Leah’s eyes. “Do it.”
Jonathan kissed her again, then stared, memorising every inch of her face. When he joined the tide of men moving towards the door, he didn’t turn around.
Around her stood deserted, dazed women reeling in the brightness of the house lights. She recognised the look. She had seen it in newsreels. It meant her world was falling apart.
At home, Leah directed the servants to tape the windows to prevent them breaking. She and Huang fu wrapped the porcelain in sheets, placing the pieces underneath the furniture, and then scattered cushions to stop them rolling. Exhausting the supply of cushions, they resorted to overturning chairs to make tents for the brasses and stone carvings. She surveyed the mess and felt foolish and chilled. If a bomb hit—the house made an easy target, squatting large and vulnerable atop the winding drive—everything would be blown to smithereens. As to her shop, well, it was locked and bolted and there was no way she could protect it. Even if she could find a truck and men to haul her antiques up here, they wouldn’t be any safer. Besides, she reassured herself, she had sent her best pieces away.
“No more,” said Leah. “It won’t help.”
“Tea?” asked Huang fu.
Leah nodded and sank down on the hard base of the cush-ionless sofa.Out the window, she saw the ancient gardener and his wife creeping around the garden supervising the two younger gardeners, making sure it remained exactly as Theo designed it.
Deep Night Page 4