The Shanghai Wife

by Emma Harcourt

  ‘Well done, Annie, not so hard after all.’

  Annie saw Chow discreetly swallow. He winked at her as he left the room. It was all over in a matter of minutes. ‘Thank you,’ she mouthed to him silently.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Annie checked that she had the spectacles in her bag before leaving for the Club the following Thursday. The car jerked over a pothole and she slid across the back seat, reaching out for her purse as it rolled away into the leather’s curved rim. Beyond the window a blockade was being erected at the intersection of Nanking and Fokien Roads. Two Sikh policemen stood in the centre of the junction, directing traffic. She still marvelled at the unique makeup of the internationally zoned area where she was subject to the jurisdiction of the British Consul and not, as she first supposed, to the law of the country in which she was a guest. She’d bought a sturdy leather case for the spectacles and she gave it a quick shine with her handkerchief as they approached the Club. She was looking forward to giving the glasses to Li Qiang.

  From beyond the lounge door she heard the sound of female voices, and pulled her step back into a tiptoe as she hurried along the corridor. She didn’t want to get drawn into sitting with the Flues. She slipped past quietly and headed for the kitchens.

  No members ventured into the working areas of the Club, but Annie had broken the unspoken rule during her first visit. She’d been passionate about seeing and experiencing everything and Alec had humoured her. She was shocked at the size and scale of the kitchen where staff worked constantly to prepare food or clean cutlery, plates and glassware. It felt like the engine room of the Club. But those staff were forbidden from entering the main building, considered so low-class they could not be seen or heard. Annie realised Chow’s decision to let Li Qiang carry the teapot into the ladies’ lounge for their tiffin had been a huge risk, and a very kind gesture to the boy.

  Chow stood waiting for her, as agreed the previous week.

  ‘This is very unconventional. But if we are quick then no one will know.’

  ‘I just want to meet Li Qiang in his space—less intimidating. Thank you for agreeing to this, you’re so good to me.’

  Chow stood aside as he held the door for Annie. Very quickly the kitchen fell silent as the staff stared at the foreign lady standing in the doorway. Two women stopped chopping vegetables and wiped their hands on aprons as they bowed. A separate door was wedged open into a dirty alleyway where rubbish piled up upon wooden planks. At least it let a breeze into the otherwise hot and airless room. A waiter entered from a side door with a tray of dirty breakfast plates and immediately shuffled to the sink to hide the mess. Annie heard the hinges of the door swing loosely back and forth in a slowing rhythm after him. A group of men at a round table abruptly stopped their noisy shuffling of mahjong tiles. She stood silent, unsure where to move or who to address.

  ‘Come in, Mrs Brand.’ Chow moved past her into the room.

  He gestured towards the table and the men stood up immediately. Annie hovered.

  ‘It is break time and the men are playing mahjong. Do you know the game?’

  Annie shook her head. ‘Now is your chance to see how it is played.’ He directed her attention to the table before walking over to the back door to talk to a man who was loading dirty laundry into a huge basket on wheels attached to the back of a bicycle.

  ‘Li Qiang is running late today it seems. But his sister is due to start work very soon, so I will find out where he is when she arrives. In the meantime, sit and watch the game.’

  ‘Are you sure the men don’t mind?’

  Chow smiled and gestured to the players to sit as he pulled back a chair for Annie. ‘We welcome you.’ He sat down beside her. Annie sipped the glass of water which had been put in front of her; she could feel the throb of heat on her skin and raised the cold glass to her cheek. Chow smiled. ‘The heat is so much worse in here. It’s like one gigantic oven. Imagine spending twelve hours in this kitchen and you have an idea of what these workers put up with.’ Chow turned his attention to the game, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. The men shuffled the decorated tiles. They concentrated on the task at hand, ignoring Annie as they pushed against each other and made a noisy mess of the pieces, some of which flipped and fell to the floor. Chow swept the tiles around the table with the others, moving his hands across the pieces quickly, and deftly sliding tiles in a smooth pattern. She was mesmerised by how fast his hands moved and every now and then she’d catch a glimpse of the green shine of the ring flashing on his slender finger. The men stacked rows of tiles in front of them, to create a wall two tiles high. The noise of the clacking pieces joined with the other kitchen sounds to draw her into the game.

  Chow picked up a tile from the wall and then threw one into the centre of the table with an annoyed click of his tongue. The other men laughed and Chow slapped the man beside him on the back good-naturedly as he said something. Cigarettes were shared around and Chow sat back in his chair and inhaled with enjoyment. A rich sweet smell of stewing meat filled the air, with cinnamon flavours that made Annie’s mouth water. The sound of a heavy blade chopping through stalks began, echoed by a second rhythmical knife thud. Annie looked around the room and noticed how it was busy and full of life despite the suffocating heat. Kitchen utensils hung from a rack over the bench top and cupboards lined the walls. A pile of lush-looking green leaves sat in the sink, ready to be cleaned by a woman already arm-deep in a bucket of water. A man hung a brace of ducks over a drain by the outer door and blood dripped slowly from their crooked beaks.

  People came and went freely through the door into the alley outside. A delivery boy dropped a pile of newspapers with a heavy thud onto the kitchen floor. A separate man unloaded sacks of rice from his cart into the storeroom. The tangy smell of tobacco mixed with the freshness of the day’s produce. All the time there was the loud banter of conversation. Chow looked up when someone called to him. Li Qiang’s sister had arrived. The woman ran quickly to Chow and spoke in urgent, hushed tones. Chow moved her away to a corner and Annie saw his shoulders tense as he leant in. Whatever she was telling him was not good news. The door to the Club hallway banged as someone quickly closed it before joining the growing number of staff who huddled around the woman. Annie listened with concern to the rising volume from the group, and the wailing that had started from the woman at the centre of the disturbance. Chow clapped his hands and shooed everyone back to their stations. He sat the woman down and fetched her a glass of water.

  ‘What’s happened?’ Annie asked when he eventually broke away and came over to her.

  ‘It’s not good news I’m afraid. Li Qiang has gone missing. His sister has not seen him since last night. She’s been searching for him and asking around but no one will give her any information.’

  ‘Where would he go?’

  ‘The two of them arrived from their village a few months ago to live with their uncle. They travelled to Shanghai with the help of the river gangs up north. Li Qiang’s sister believes it’s this gang which has called in her brother to work for them as repayment for their debt. He would not have had a choice and I doubt he will be back.’

  ‘Will you try to track him down?’

  ‘Even if someone knows where he is, people will not help when there’s a gang involved. No one is brave enough to stand up to them. This is what his sister has already discovered.’

  ‘I could go to the police and ask them to look for the boy?’

  ‘You would get no assistance there—he is a lowly kitchen hand.’

  ‘So that’s it?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘There must be something we can do? Let me talk to Admiral Marsden, please?’

  ‘If you alert the president, then his sister will surely be dismissed.’

  Chow ushered Annie out of the kitchen. She wanted to stay longer in the hope that there would be some good news about the boy, but he made it clear that was unlikely. ‘We must leave Li Qiang to his own path, Mrs Brand, and hope tha
t he treads carefully. The winds of heaven shift suddenly; so does a man’s fate.’

  Chow left her in the ladies’ lounge and returned to his duties. Annie avoided the small gathering by the fireplace and sat alone. But it was impossible to ignore Mrs Hill’s loud voice. She was enthusing over a local brand of mustard sold in the Sincere Department Store. It almost passed for Colman’s. Annie listened to the excited rise in the older woman’s voice.

  ‘I had cook add it to dear Robert’s cut sandwich yesterday at tea and he requested a second, which never happens!’

  Usually the Flues drove Annie mad with their superficial chitchat, but this morning she was glad of the distraction; she couldn’t shake her sense of disquiet at the way Li Qiang’s disappearance was accepted as a fait accompli. A worker was trimming the bushes outside and Annie recognised him as one of the men playing mahjong in the kitchen earlier. She couldn’t see his expression, so low was the man bending. Did the boy’s disappearance worry him or was he a gang supporter? She would never know, so vast was the world between her and that gardener.

  Annie took out the leather case that held the brand new spectacles. Li Qiang’s friendly, toothless grin flashed into her mind. She felt ashamed for thinking spectacles and a case was the right way to thank him, when really the boy had much bigger problems. She’d behaved just like a typical western fool, throwing money at a native. Chow could tell her to forget about the boy, but she just couldn’t. He was only twelve, not much older than her sister the last time she’d seen her. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise Chow’s position or Li Qiang’s sister’s job, but she could do some unofficial digging.

  Annie decided to talk to Li Qiang’s sister herself. If the two of them had travelled to Shanghai through the gang networks, then she must have a fair idea of who they were, and at least a contact. She might be too intimidated to approach them, but Annie wasn’t. Li Qiang didn’t deserve to be abandoned.

  Mrs Marsden’s voice carried through from the ballroom, where she was already rearranging the furniture for the dance lesson. Annie continued on down the corridor towards the kitchen. Li Qiang’s sister would still be there and Annie knew Chow had gone straight from the kitchen earlier to a meeting with Admiral Marsden so she wasn’t likely to bump into him. Now was her best chance.

  There was a bustle of activity in the late morning of the kitchen, with lunch only an hour away. Annie walked through a flurry of staff, and blinked repeatedly to adjust her eyes to the smokiness from a fire that flamed below a huge saucepan. Even though the alleyway door was open, the heat was even more oppressive than earlier. No one stopped her, as they’d seen her with Chow only an hour ago. In a far corner of the room, behind a benchtop laden with potatoes, she found Li Qiang’s sister. Annie hesitated, realising the woman couldn’t understand her. She looked about the room for one of the staff she knew spoke some English and beckoned to a young man she recognised.

  ‘I help you?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, please. Would you tell this woman I would like to talk to her about her brother—Li Qiang?’ The man hesitated, looking from Annie to the woman and back. ‘Go on, it’s all right, ask her. Tell her I want to help her brother.’

  ‘She no see him. She very worry,’ the man translated.

  ‘Tell her I am worried too. I only want to find her brother and bring him home. Tell her, please.’

  A girl pushed past Annie with an armful of pressed white linen napkins. She disappeared through the double doors into the members’ area, leaving the caustic smell of lemon juice and starch in the air.

  ‘She say go look see number 23 Xinzha Road.’ The waiter translated as the woman spoke.

  ‘Xinzha Road? Is that where her brother is?’ But the man could not get any further information from the woman. Annie thanked them and left; at least she had an address.

  A noisy group of women spilled out of the ladies’ lounge, laughing and talking and their presence reminded Annie of the dance class. She turned her back, hoping her white dress would blend in with the wall and she’d go unnoticed. But the ballroom was too near and the women gathered Annie up in their midst as they moved in an excited pack through to the dance lesson.

  Twenty or so women already hovered in the middle of the room, waiting for the class to start. Annie noticed the usual crowd of Flues and, of course, Mrs Marsden directing operations. All the tables and chairs had been removed and the space was big and empty with a parquetry floor that echoed effectively when walked upon. Annie walked slowly so that the group she was with moved ahead and no one noticed her holding back. Annie liked dancing and rarely got the chance but her head was full of questions about Li Qiang and she needed to think. What’s more, the idea of taking a class with Mrs Marsden filled her with horror. She watched the old rhino stamp her feet a few times, as if checking the floor could take her weight in those gaudy red heels.

  The charleston and the black bottom had been doing the rounds in the dance halls in Shanghai for a while, but amongst the more restrained members of the Club, this new fad was still a mystery. So Mrs Marsden had handpicked a dance instructor—Lucille, the eldest daughter of one of the American community, an enthusiastic eighteen-year-old. She was dressed in her dancing best; a fringed sheath with heels that clacked like tap shoes on the floor. Her knee-high socks were tightly held in place with a garter and around her neck a long set of crystals swayed as she moved.

  The music began and Lucille pulled forward Beth Cleary to demonstrate how to dance a couple’s black bottom. Annie moved towards the back of the crowd to stay out of view. Lucille and Beth moved around the room in a waltz-like dance while their bodies wiggled and their feet skipped and kicked to left and right. Even with all the jerky movements, the two young women managed to make the dancing look like pure fun.

  Chow appeared to one side during the demonstration dance. Annie watched him quietly open each of the long windows that bordered one side of the room without looking to where they all stood. The skittish flow of air cooled her neck.

  ‘Find a partner, now don’t be shy.’ Mrs Marsden’s directive sent the women into an excited whirlpool of disorder that quickly resolved into pairings dotted about the room. Annie stayed where she was, purposely avoiding any likely dance partners. She would escape quietly once the music started. ‘Mrs Brand, is that you hiding back there? Where’s your partner?’ Mrs Marsden’s question was polite but Annie heard the self-satisfaction in her tone.

  ‘I’ll sit this one out, I really don’t mind.’

  ‘I won’t hear of it.’ Mrs Marsden was beside Annie quickly, a hand on her arm and she saw, with a flood of heat to her face, that she was motioning for Chow to come forward.

  ‘Come on, come on, hurry up, chop, chop,’ she called to him. ‘You will partner Mrs Brand for this dance. Do your best, we won’t expect much.’

  Annie couldn’t look at Chow. She let him take her hand and rest it on his shoulder, as he moved his arm around her waist. He held her other hand softly, but she had to clasp her fingers over his glove to stop her arm from slipping. At least he wouldn’t be able to feel the heat; she was sure the mortification that burned inside her went all the way to her fingertips. Chow’s black patent shoes were glossy and clean, lined up neatly opposite her own brown and plain lace-ups. He pressed gently into her back. She kept her eyes on the ground.

  For a moment they were still, and then the music started, boisterous and fast and Annie bounced to the left as Chow went right, their knees bending in rhythm. She danced without focus, automatically following the steps which she did, in fact, already know. There was a lot of laughter as women fumbled against each other, or misjudged the rhythm and stopped altogether before restarting. Annie heard none of it. Her head was buzzing. Her hand rested so lightly on Chow’s shoulder it ached from the effort of holding it up. But they moved together without stumbling and as the music shifted into the well-known reprieve, Chow pulled Annie round and round in a whirling circle. He held his body firm and straight as his feet kicked one w
ay and then the other in mirror of her own. A faint smell of cologne wafted out from his neck collar. She allowed herself a quick look up; his eyes stared ahead with determined focus and a formal smile was etched on his lips.

  Annie felt her heart race with the exertion of the dance but there was no let-up as Chow moved them into the foot shuffle. For a moment they stopped, while their feet shimmied left and right with knees bent. Annie breathed heavily. Beyond Chow’s shoulder the room was a blur of moving skirts. Then he pulled her closer as they began to waltz. Perspiration marked his cheekbone; the smooth line of his shoulders filled out his dress coat perfectly. The tails flapped as he moved.

  It was noisy and hot, but the longer they danced, the harder it was for Annie to stay reserved. Chow danced so formally, yet he was very good; he didn’t break between knee bends and foot kicks, never lost a beat. She found herself enjoying the dance. Annie kicked one way and then the other. Chow did the same and she couldn’t help smiling at him with an apologetic shrug. How ridiculous they both looked. With the next move, he swung her round in a free-flowing rush and it was exhilarating. His hold on her waist tightened and she followed his lead, matching each complicated step. The repetitive beat of their shoes on the floorboards seemed to get louder and the closeness of their heavy breathing filled the space between them. The sounds of the other dancers disappeared within the concentration of their own circle. They swung together on the next syncopated beat and she threw out her feet with unrestrained delight. He held her gaze as they whirled madly and grinned back as she laughed at his splendid bravura.

  Then people were clapping and Annie realised the others had stopped dancing to watch her and Chow. The music was over. All she could hear was the sound of her own rasping breath as her chest heaved with the exertion of the dance. Chow took a step back and dropped his gaze to the floor.

  ‘Well done, you two, excellent show!’ Lucille ran up and hugged Annie in congratulations. Annie’s cheeks flushed but she managed to smile and make a silly curtsey. Chow bowed.