The Blue Dress Girl

by E. V. Thompson

  When Kernow approached the table where She-she was clearing food, she looked up and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. ‘Hello, First Lieutenant Keats. I thought you had forgotten me. You having happy birthday?’

  ‘A wonderful time - but it might not last. Nancy Calvin’s noticed that Arthur’s nowhere to be seen. Neither is Kau-lin. Do you know where they are?’

  She-she’s smile vanished. ‘Arthur look very lonely. Kau-lin say she go make him happy.’

  ‘I think that’s what his mother’s afraid of….’

  She-she appeared puzzled and Kernow said quickly, ‘Do you know where they’ve gone? I’ll try to find them before Nancy does.’

  She-she said hesitantly, ‘Kau-lin take him to the room. Our room.’

  Kernow gasped. ‘Arthur let her take him there! If they’re caught together in a room here the scandal will rock the missionary society. It could set them back for years.’

  She-she was alarmed by Kernow’s reaction. ‘I go find them.’

  ‘Right. Tell them to get out here quickly. I’ll try to head off Nancy if she comes looking for Arthur.’

  Nancy Calvin was still talking to the bishop but her gaze had begun to wander once more and it was only a few minutes before she made an excuse to break away from the group and head towards the house.

  Heading her off swiftly, Kernow tried to appear casual as he said, ‘Hello, Mrs Calvin. I hope you’re enjoying my birthday party.’

  Nancy was too shrewd to be taken in by his sudden friendliness. Frostily suspicious, she said, ‘Have you seen Arthur?’

  ‘No. As a matter of fact I was just asking She-she the same question. She said he was down at the bottom of the garden looking out towards the harbour the last time she saw him.’

  Nancy Calvin hesitated. She had intended looking for him in his room. If he was not there she would have gone to the room shared by the two Chinese hussies. But the bottom of the garden? Then she remembered the arbour and the secluded seat among the flowers….

  Turning away, she hurried off into the darkness, leaving the lantern-lit circle around the house behind her.

  Two minutes later Arthur emerged from the house looking decidedly flustered. ‘Where’s Mother? She-she said she was searching for me.’

  ‘That’s right. I told her She-she last saw you at the bottom of the garden. Here, get yourself something to eat – and pull yourself together. I don’t know what you’ve been doing, and I don’t want to know, but you look as guilty as hell. Where’s Kau-lin?’

  ‘With She-she. They’ve gone to the kitchen. We weren’t doing anything, you know. Not really….’

  ‘I believe you, but I don’t think your mother would.’

  ‘She’s determined to think the worst where Kau-lin’s concerned. I don’t know why. Kau-lin’s been kinder and more considerate to me than any girl I’ve ever known.’

  Kernow thought this was the probable reason for Nancy Calvin’s intense dislike of the Chinese girl, but he said nothing. At that moment Nancy came back into the light. After giving Kernow an accusing glance, she turned her attention to Arthur. ‘I’ve been looking for you, where have you been?’

  He shrugged. ‘Nowhere special. I got fed up with everyone talking about missions and missionaries the whole time. I thought I’d go for a walk.’

  ‘You were fed up with everyone talking about missionary work? That’s the reason we’re all in Hong Kong. At least, that’s the reason most of us are here.’ The words were accompanied by another glance at Kernow. ‘What else would you expect us to be talking about?’

  Not waiting for a reply to her question, Nancy asked, ‘Where’s that Chinese girl? Was she off with you on this walk?’

  ‘She-she and Kau-lin are in the kitchen,’ said Kernow. ‘I saw them only a few minutes ago. I think they’ve worked very hard putting on this party for me. I’m very grateful to them both.’

  ‘Huh!’ Nancy expressed her disapproval. ‘They should be grateful to Hannah for giving them a roof over their heads.’ She flapped a hand at a moth which had passed too close to a candle flame and was now flying in frantic circles. ‘This heat! I’ve never known anything like it.’

  Fanning her face with her hand in a futile gesture, she said, ‘Arthur, you just stay in the light so I can see what you’re up to. You hear me?’

  For a moment it seemed he would argue, but he had just avoided one difficult situation. He would not tempt fate again for a while.

  ‘I’m going up to my room. No doubt you’ll want to come and check every half-hour to make sure I’m there alone.’

  Turning his back on his mother, Arthur said, ‘It’s been a good party, Kernow. Thanks. Thanks for everything.’

  When most of the guests had left the mission gardens, Kernow saw a well-lit troop transport nosing its way to a berth in the harbour. He went to the low wall on the harbour side of the garden to watch the ship’s progress. It was dark here, well away from the lights of the house.

  He heard no one approaching and jumped when a voice from close beside him said, ‘It is very pretty, yes?’

  ‘Hello, She-she. Yes, it does look very pretty all lit up in the darkness.’ As he spoke an anchor dropped from the steamer’s bow to splash into the water, the noise of the chain paying out from its steel-lined locker disturbing the night.

  ‘You have a happy birthday?’ Kernow could see She-she’s face turned up to him.

  ‘Thanks to you it’s been the best birthday I can ever remember.’ The realisation that he was speaking the truth came as a surprise to him.

  ‘I very happy too.’ She-she was standing very close to him. So close he could smell woodsmoke in her hair from where she had been cooking over the barbecue fire. Inconsequentially, he remembered being told that each strand of Chinese hair was many times thicker than European hair.

  ‘What sort ship that one?’

  ‘It’s a troop transport, bringing in soldiers. A couple of hundred or more, I expect. I was just wondering about them. Some will have left families at home. How many will ever see them again, I wonder? Less than half, I suspect.’

  She-she’s hand found his arm. ‘Must not think unhappy thoughts on birthday. Many soldiers stay Hong Kong. Find nice Chinese girl take care them. Make them very happy.’

  ‘How do you know about such things, She-she?’ Her hand on his arm filled him with a childish pleasure.

  ‘Speak to many Hong Kong girls. Girl work in mission kitchen. She live with soldier.’

  ‘Does Mrs Jefferies know about it?’

  ‘Better she not know, I think.’

  ‘Yes.’

  She-she’s hand still rested on Kernow’s arm and he thought his awareness of it was probably out of all proportion to its significance to She-she.

  After a long silence, Kernow said reluctantly, ‘We’d better get back to the house. If you’re found out here with me we’ll have Nancy Calvin saying you’re as bad as Kau-lin.’

  ‘You think I bad girl?’

  She-she’s hand dropped away from his arm as she looked up into his face in the darkness.

  A pulse in the side of Kernow’s neck seemed to be beating loudly enough to be heard by She-she as he said, ‘I think you’re the most wonderful girl I’ve ever met.’

  ‘Then no matter to me what Mrs Calvin say. No matter what anyone say.’

  When Kernow kissed her, she felt so soft and light in his arms that he was afraid to squeeze her to him for fear she might break.

  Suddenly she was leaning against him, shaking.

  ‘What is it, She-she? Are you all right?’

  ‘What you do?’ She had suddenly remembered, the stories she had heard about the Fan Qui, sucking the soul from any Chinese who fell into their clutches.

  Kernow had heard the same absurd stories and he hugged her reassuringly. ‘It’s all right, She-she. That was a kiss. It took nothing from you.’

  He hugged her again, tighter this time. ‘Indeed, I gave you something. Part of my heart. The heart of a Fan Qui. It
will always be yours, and there’s nobody will ever be able to take it away from you.’

  Chapter 13

  LESS THAN A week after the birthday party put on for him by She-she and Kau-lin, Kernow found himself a guest at a very different function. He attended a party at the United States consulate in Hong Kong.

  Due to the absence of so many more senior officers, off serving with the fleet, Kernow was invited to more of the colony’s many social functions than was usual. Most he was able to decline, pleading the need to study. However, this particular invitation had reached him via the admiral’s office. It was one he could not refuse.

  Kernow did not feel at ease at such large receptions. As he dressed in the small room he occupied in the naval barracks he doubted whether this one would be different to any of the others he had been unable to avoid.

  The United States consulate was situated in a new and impressive house, some distance from the British naval headquarters. He realised it was a very large party indeed when he saw the assortment of transport queuing outside the lofty doorway to disgorge the cream of Hong Kong society. There were carriages; locally made pony traps; saddle-horses and rickshaws. There were even a few sedan chairs in evidence. Few arrived, as did Kernow, on foot.

  The reception took the course he had anticipated. At first a number of guests spoke to him, believing that a junior officer attending such a party must belong to a very influential family. Once they had established the truth, they drifted away once more, in search of someone of greater importance.

  As the evening progressed, Kernow gradually edged his way towards the door. He was almost there when he reached the sanctuary offered by a huge indoor plant that erupted from a stone tub placed on an eight-foot-high pillar.

  Hidden from the view of most of the other guests Kernow awaited an opportunity to slip unnoticed through the doorway and return to the naval barracks. Suddenly a voice from near at hand said, ‘So there is someone under forty living on this God-forsaken island! What are you doing hiding yourself among the shrubbery? Come on out and let me take a look at you.’

  The accent was American. When Kernow turned he saw a tall, blue-eyed young woman, perhaps a year older than himself, peering at him through the foliage of the hanging plant.

  ‘I’m Sally Merrill,’ she introduced herself before he could say a word. ‘I’m here because I’m American and obliged to be here. What’s your excuse? Are you rich or something?’

  Kernow grinned at her. ‘I’ve been invited to the party because all the more socially acceptable officers are off with the fleet, doing battle with the Chinese. It’s a story I’ve already repeated to at least ten other people this evening. They all quickly lost interest and left to go looking for more illustrious company. I promise not to hold it against you if you decide to do the same.’

  Kernow had drunk more than he was used to during the course of the evening. Had he not done so he would not have been so ready to express such views to a stranger. Not even one so seemingly unorthodox as this tall young girl.

  Sally Merrill seemed taken aback, but only for a moment. Her lips parted in a wide smile and she said, ‘You mean you’re not here hoping to further your career by collecting names to drop into the conversation in the right places? Well … it’s nice to meet someone different from the rest, I’m sure.’

  ‘I’m here because the invitation came through my admiral’s office. I dared not refuse. But I’ve performed my duty now. I’ve spent the last half-hour moving towards the door so I can slip out unnoticed.’

  ‘Not now, you can’t. I’ve found you and I don’t intend losing you for a while. Let’s find another drink and go out on the terrace to get some air. It’s absolutely stifling in here.’

  It was quieter outside on the lantern-lit terrace. They soon found a secluded table in the shadows between twin pools of light formed by two of the highly decorative paper lanterns.

  Kernow studied the American girl as she cupped her hands to rescue a huge, bird-like moth that had formed a suicidal attachment to the candle inside one of the lanterns. She was too tall and too thin to qualify as a beauty by accepted standards, but she had long, attractive fair hair and an open, honest face. She also had an indefinable quality which would cause most men to look twice at her without really knowing why.

  Kernow found her easy to talk to. Before long she knew more about him and his background than did his fellow officers in the naval barracks.

  They had been talking together for about half-an-hour when Admiral Sir Michael Seymour came from the house accompanied by a tall man with a distinguished appearance, and a younger companion who wore the uniform of a United States captain of cavalry.

  The small party stood in a doorway looking about them until the young American officer pointed in the direction of Kernow and Sally.

  As the trio approached, with Seymour in the lead, Kernow stood up.

  ‘We’ve been looking for you, young Kernow,’ said the admiral, heartily. ‘This is the new United States consul for Shanghai. I’ve just been telling him about your exploits with the pirates and he said he’d like to meet you.’

  The tall civilian reached out and clasped Kernow’s hand firmly. ‘The name’s Bellamy Merrill. Nice to meet you, son. I see you’ve already made the acquaintance of my daughter. I haven’t been able to educate her to enjoy official parties. I thought I might find her outside somewhere.’

  Before Kernow had time to recover from the shock of learning he had spent the last half-hour monopolising the company of the United States consul’s daughter, Bellamy Merrill waved a hand in the direction of the young uniformed captain. ‘I’d like you to meet Caleb Shumaker. He’s with our consulate here in Hong Kong, as a military attaché. He’s also my daughter’s fiancé.’

  Caleb Shumaker shook hands with Kernow, maintaining considerable reserve. He resented the fact that he had found Kernow in Sally’s company, yet there was a tinge of envious respect in his manner. Admiral Seymour had made much of Kernow’s exploits in fighting off pirates on his way downriver in the Sans Pareil’s pinnace. Caleb had yet to hear a shot fired in anger.

  Kernow was the first to speak. ‘You have my congratulations, sir. You’re a lucky man.’

  Sally rose from the table and clasped Caleb’s arm, apparently unaware she might have offended her fiancé. ‘There are many who’d delight in telling you that it’s me who’s the lucky one, Kernow. Caleb is one of America’s most eligible bachelors. His father is so rich that when he went to London and took a fancy to Buckingham Palace, the home of your queen, he found the architect who’d completed the building and got him to sell him the plans. He then had a similar home built, hack in Georgia.’

  ‘That’s something of an exaggeration, Mister Keats,’ said Caleb, mollified by Sally’s show of affection towards him. ‘Our house is on a much smaller scale.’

  The remainder of Kernow’s evening was passed in pleasant conversation. Now he was observed on such intimate terms with Admiral Seymour and the new United States consul in Shanghai, he found he had suddenly become a very popular figure.

  He left the reception with a number of invitations to visit the homes of the United States consul’s guests. The only one he intended taking up was an informal suggestion from Consul Bellamy Merrill that he join the family and Caleb Shumaker for dinner one evening, before the consul took passage to Shanghai.

  Kernow little knew that fate was about to step in and prevent him from taking up this or any other invitation for a very long time.

  Chapter 14

  THE BRITISH FLEET was away from Hong Kong for ten days. During this time it sank a war fleet of almost two hundred junks.

  Such were the anomalies of the situation between China and Britain that even as the junks were being destroyed, a request was received from a Provincial Chinese Viceroy asking that the British take action against a pirate base on an island a hundred miles from Hong Kong.

  The request was met and the pirate base destroyed, but the Royal Navy had litt
le opportunity to gloat over either victory.

  Twenty-four hours after the men-o’-war returned to Hong Kong, a typhoon struck.

  The signs had been building up as the ships entered harbour, beginning with a sudden and dramatic drop in barometric pressure. Masters of seagoing vessels began tapping the glass of their barometers with increasing frequency in the vain hope they would discover a fault in the instruments. When they dropped anchor they exchanged urgent messages with other masters, seeking reassurances that could not be given.

  The sharp and exotic colours displayed in the late evening sky gave a final warning to the more experienced Far Eastern traders to prepare for the worst. A typhoon was on its way.

  Each ship’s captain had to make his own very difficult decision – and it needed to be made quickly. He had to decide whether to keep his ship at anchor in the harbour and risk being driven ashore, or leave and hope to ride out the fury of the storm on the high seas. It was an agonising decision and one that the captains of the men-o’-war shared with masters of the many merchantmen in the harbour.

  Masters of smaller coastal trading vessels were not called upon to make such life-or-death judgements. They took their craft to typhoon shelters built along the foreshore. Here they crammed their ships together between stone breakwaters. Attached to each other and to the shore by stout chains, everything was stowed below decks that might be blown away or torn to shreds by the frighteningly high winds they could expect.

  All but a handful of the larger vessels put to sea. So too did the men-o’-war. Their crews went about their duties grave and unsmiling as the rising wind moaned through the rigging. None could be certain they would ever enter or see Hong Kong again.

  Those few ships that chose to remain in harbour put out extra anchors and battened down to await what was to come. Their masters hoped the main force of the tropical storm might pass by and leave them safe.

  In the naval barracks, Kernow and the other officers went around ensuring that everything capable of being blown away was either stowed safely in one of the stone-built stores, or dismantled. Few of the naval officers knew what to expect from the typhoon. Some had experienced minor hurricanes in other parts of the world, but they admitted these had been only marginally worse than a severe electrical storm at sea.