Rohani nodded. “Yes I have been very happy. When I lost Siew Wong, your little brother, your father was wonderful to me. He comforted me throughout. He did not blame me when I failed to give him another son. We have Siew Loong, that is enough, he would say when I was desperate with my failure to conceive another.”
“There you are. What matters are the good memories you have of him. Perhaps finding out more is not a good way forward. What would it achieve? You can’t change his will.”
“Is that what you are doing for yourself? Not looking back?”
“I am trying. I know it is not easy. I love Jack. No one understands. Now it is too late. He is marrying someone else.”
“I can’t leave it alone,” confessed Rohani. “I dread knowing. Yet I have to know. It is torturous. Help me and I will help you with Li Ling.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Her eyes gleamed. “I can also help you with Jack. I know the whereabouts of the girl people say he had a dalliance with. You can see her and ask her yourself.”
After Rohani left, Shao Peng stayed in the courtyard. Once again the mention of Jack stirred up in her a confusion of emotions. Did she want to know about Jack’s alleged dalliance? She would be doing exactly what her stepmother was doing. Yet not knowing was killing her, just as not knowing was torturing her stepmother. She sat down and stood up again. She must push away these unwanted thoughts. She had to start anew. To do that, she had to immerse herself in work. She looked up. A mass of dark grey clouds moved across the sky, obliterating the sunlight with their ominous gloom. Any moment and the monsoon rains would be here. She could feel the dampness of the hot air building around her, a whirlpool of heat and humidity that was as oppressive as it was suffocating. She felt gripped by inertia. Yet the only way to break out of her grief was to act.
***
Some distance away in the shanty settlement, the monsoon had already arrived. Rain pelted down, fast and furious. Ping! Ping! Ping! It fell with relentless energy. The pail, so strategically placed under the leaking roof, filled over and water spilled onto the dirt floor; the damp spot spread like an ever-widening circle of leaching blood. Jing-jing ran to place another basin on the spot. She removed the overflowing pail and ran with it to the doorway to empty it. Over and over she did this, running into the house and out. She was drenched to the core. Outside the wind howled. She jumped each time lightning struck or the thunder roared.
It was morning before the rain eased. The air was still damp and the sky remained overcast. Huge cauliflowers of clouds dominated the skyline, their greyness outlined by a sun struggling to break through. Jing-jing stepped out of the hut dragging one foot in front of the other. Her legs were heavy with fatigue. She looked up and saw that parts of the thatched roof had lifted leaving an even bigger opening in the roof. The dislodged fronds rose and fell with each gust of wind. When it rains this time, she thought, no basin or pail would be able to cope. She looked around her. People were coming out to examine the damage to their property. There was not one familiar face amongst them. How could her husband leave her to this? Why didn’t he repair the roof before she came? She had accepted his explanation that his boss had refused him leave and he needed to earn every penny he could, having spent all his savings on her ticket. Not now! She was angry. It would be three more weeks before she saw him. How could she stay here? Tears of self-pity rolled down her cheeks. They mingled with the drizzle of rain that had resumed. She looked at her feet. Her ankles were smeared with mud and her shoes were in tatters. They squelched in protest with each step she took. She fell to her knees and, clasping herself with both arms around her waist, sobbed.
After a while, spent and yet oddly relieved, she sat on her heels unmindful of the green and grey slime that caked her trouser bottoms and stained her arms and face. She looked across to the grove of plank houses Ah Kum had pointed out. They looked in good order. She rose to her feet and made her way there. She ignored the fallen branches, the rivulets of brown muddy water that ran down the track, the potholes and the debris that cluttered the ground. She paid little attention to the pelting rain that had once again resumed its unremitting force. She was oblivious to the wind that whipped around her; she did not see the wildly swaying coconut palm trees. Her one thought was to get to Ah Kum for help.
***
In the Ong household, Ah Sook was having a heated discourse with Shao Peng.
“Could you not wait Miss until the rains settle before setting out again? We would have to take the bullock cart this morning. It is too muddy for the rickshaw. Even then it would not be an easy journey.” Ah Sook clutched the end of his tunic and tugged repeatedly at the seams, worrying it until his usually neat uniform was crushed. Ever since the young mistress’s return from China, he had been made to go from place to place to accompany her. He did not approve of her unladylike behaviour. If he could voice his true feelings he would consider her actions not just unbecoming but downright unacceptable. He was adamant that she should be persuaded against it this time.
Shao Peng was equally determined. “I know it sounds unreasonable,” she said. “Believe me, if I could postpone our trip I would do so. The trouble is who knows when the rain will stop? The roads might become even worse in the next few days. It might even flood. In any case the Klang River has not overflowed today. We do not have to travel far. We just need to go to the edge of Chinatown and cross the river.”
“You mean to the new estate bought by the Kapitan for making bricks? It is still an undeveloped area. Why do you wish to go Miss? If you must, do it another time.”
“It will be fine. With the bullock cart you would not need to walk. We don’t need to take Li Ling with us. She will stay behind.”
He stared at her, his mouth twitching with suppressed anger. She returned his stare, her face equally dogged. Finally, he bowed and without a word strode off. Shao Peng stayed still to watch his departing figure; his back was like a ramrod, stiff with resentment. She knew he was not pleased. She would have to think of a way to mollify him. Her mind cast back to the conversation she had with her brother the previous evening.
***
Dinner had been a miserable affair the previous evening. Rohani was wrapped in her own thoughts. Siew Loong said little. The servants brought dish after dish to tempt their palates. Most were sent away uneaten. Shao Peng could see that her brother was worried. A wreath of worry lines appeared to have sprouted overnight on his forehead. She could not imagine how she would have coped if she was in his position. To be thrown into father’s shoes overnight, to be responsible for the lives of many people, to take over the large and varied business and, not least, to care for his mother and his father’s other women! What would she have done?
As the rain fell fast and furious outside, the silence in the room became unbearable and uncomfortable.
“Can I help?” she asked her brother after her stepmother left the room.
He looked up, met her gaze and then said: “Would you?”
“Of course, if I can.”
“Just before father died, he had put in place a contract to buy more land. He was very much taken up with the idea of growing rubber.”
“Rubber?” she asked in surprise. It was not quite what she expected to hear. She heard of the plant from Jack. He had been very excited when Hugh Low, the British Resident in the northwest state of Perak, brought the plant into the country.
“Yes, rubber. Everything is still in an experimental stage. The few seedlings brought in some years ago have matured. The possibility of growing them in plantations is now being discussed. Before father died, he said that he wanted to be in a position to move ahead if the experimental planting succeeded. I would like to carry out his wish. However, I do not know anything about rubber. I need time to learn this. I hear that someone called Ridley is travelling around the country encouraging people to grow it. I am going to see him. The tree takes seven years to mature before we can tap it. There will be risks. A lot of capital has to be invested and
seven years is a long time to wait for a return. Even the European planters are hesitating. They prefer coffee. So I really need to spend more time to study the crop and work out the feasibility of investing in it. My plate is full. Rubber is not the only thing I need to tend to. There are the other existing businesses to be taken care of as well.”
He paused; a wary look crossed his face. “So sister, I don’t have time to carry out my promise to mother regarding the four women. Could you help me out with it?”
Shao Peng leaned back into her chair. So, she thought, this was why he was telling her about rubber. He was setting his case for her help. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
A sheepish grin appeared on his face, transforming it. She could see his relief that she had not taken umbrage. “I don’t know really. I am sorry to land you this unpleasant task. What mother wants to know is whether these women were father’s mistresses. That is the main thing troubling her. Then, we will have to decide what to do with them.”
***
By the time Shao Peng reached the house where the four women lived, she had got out of Ah Sook some information about her father’s relationship with them. He had see-sawed in his revelation, hinting and not confirming and then withdrawing his statements altogether. It left her completely confused. With a thumping heart, she got out of the cart and went to the front door of the house. Although a canopy had been put up over the cart, she was drenched. The strong wind had lifted the canopy most of the way and allowed the rain to lash in. Her clothes stuck wet on her body and her hair hung soaking and dishevelled. Rivulets of water trickled down her face. They ran down her neck and body and fell in a pool on the ground. In vain she tried to dry herself and wring the water from her hair. She gave up. They would just have to accept her as she was. She walked up to the door and banged on it. She looked around. The house was substantial and made of bricks, not like the wooden plank houses so common in this area. From within, voices rang out. Women’s voices mingled with those of a child! She glanced quickly at Ah Sook standing next to her. A child! She looked questioningly at him. He avoided her eyes and looked away. There was no turning back; she straightened up and adjusted her wet clothes. She knocked smartly on the door. Rap! Rap! Rap!
“Coming! I am coming!” came a voice from within. “Who could be visiting on such a day?”
The door opened. A woman peeked out. She stared at Shao Peng’s bedraggled figure. Her eyes, wide with surprise, shifted to the man standing next to her. She recognised him immediately and broke into a smile. “You,” she exclaimed to Ah Sook. She opened the door further and moved aside to let them in.
Shao Peng stepped in, disconcerted that the woman seemed to know Ah Sook well. Behind her was a boy, three or four years old at the most. He was dressed in black, the colour of mourning. More women drifted into the room. She made a mental note. Four! They too wore the colour of mourning. All of them were young, much younger than she was, except for one.
Ah Sook stepped forward to introduce them. “Miss Shao Peng, Mister Ong Ah Ngao’s eldest daughter.”
Without prompting the women moved closer together. They looked afraid. The eldest of them pointed to the group of chairs arranged around an ebony table. She indicated that Shao Peng should take a seat. Shao Peng declined pointing to her own clothes wet with rain.
So, thought Shao Peng, taking note of the well-appointed room with its furniture inlaid with mother of pearls, father had provided this household well. She kept her face neutral and smiled. “I come on behalf of my brother,” she said breaking the silence.
“I am Ah Chu their mother,” the eldest of them explained pointing to the three young women. The little one is my grandchild, Mr Ong’s son. Swee Yoke is his mother. Swee Yoke is my youngest.”
It was with great difficulty that Shao Peng held back the gasp she would have emitted. Ah Sook had made no mention of children. When she heard a child’s voice, her suspicion was aroused but to hear it confirmed aloud that her father had an affair and a love child, like it was the most normal of things to have occurred, was a shock. She thought of her stepmother Rohani and her heart went out to her.
She glanced at Swee Yoke who had not uttered a word. Swee Yoke, beautiful jade, a name that suited her because she was exquisite. Why! She could not have been more than eighteen, much younger than me, thought Shao Peng. How could her father...? She grew hot with anger. She felt betrayed; she felt her stepmother’s betrayal. She braced herself, her fingers curled tight into her palms, her nails biting into them. She had learnt all that she wanted to know. She wanted to leave immediately.
“I am sorry to drop in so unexpectedly.” She racked her head for something appropriate to say. “We did not know ... we did not know of your exis... until last week. Father never mentioned.” Desperately, she turned around to seek Ah Sook’s help. He looked away. “...I shall come again at a more convenient time.” She looked at the little boy. The reality of it all hit her again; he was her half sibling, just like Siew Loong. He was so young, so tiny he could be her child if she had married. She remembered her stepmother’s words when they last spoke. Rohani had said that her father had not blamed her for not having more children. Shao Peng’s anger grew tenfold. She knew the reason why he didn’t. She hurried out of the house.
***
Shao Peng rounded on Ah Sook the minute she got into the bullock cart. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you say there was a child involved? You said that my father was very fond of the women. That could mean anything. You led me to believe that he was fond of them as young defenceless women.”
“Miss, Big Master swore me to secrecy. He said that he loved Big Mistress and didn’t want her to know. It was not my place to tell you.”
“What else haven’t you told me? Can’t you see how it is going to tear Big Mistress to pieces?” Shao Peng’s chest heaved with emotion. She loved her father, had yearned for his love when she was little and had thought it was not reciprocated. Events in the last few days convinced her that he did love her. And now this! Just when she thought she found some semblance of security! Could she ever trust any one again?
“But Miss, Mistress need not know, must she? Big Master loves her. He is a man. Please understand that a man can love several women. Look at all your father’s contemporaries. When you compare him with the others, what he did is nothing. Can’t you comfort her and think of something to tell her?”
Shao Peng turned away from the old retainer. She didn’t want to hear any more. She would talk to Siew Loong. Together they would think of something. The cart rolled forward pulled by the bullock. The animal plodded on while the wind blew with increasing frenzy. They crossed over the river swollen beyond recognition. Water, dense with grey silt, spilled over its banks pouring its torrent over roads and fields. The water reached the ankle of the bullock. By tomorrow, much of the town would be flooded. A sigh escaped her. Thoughts of her family and her own situation chased through her mind, one after the other until she could not fathom which was which and which was worst. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the rain, letting it cleanse her; hoping that it would also cleanse her thoughts.
***
“Of course you must stay while the storm lasts. My madam insists.” Ah Kum handed a set of towels and dry clothes to Jing- jing. “There, change into this. You can’t wear those wet clothes. You will catch a cold.”
“I am trying to find someone called Ah Sook. He works for Mr. Ong Ah Ngao. My husband told me the address but I have forgotten it. He assured me that everyone knows him and I should look for him if I am in trouble.”
“Yes, yes. No problem for me to give you the address. I guarantee you though he would not be able to see you at this moment. His boss, Mr Ong, the one you spoke about, has just passed away. And look,” she pointed to the raging storm outside, “who is going to go out in this weather?”
Ah Kum bustled around Jing-jing to make her comfortable. She gave her a cup of hot tea. She offered her a plate of peanut brittle. Sh
e sat the girl down; she made soothing noises while she dried Jing-jing’s hair; she was the epitome of kindness itself.
Jing-jing was grateful. When she set out to find Ah Kum that morning, she had been worried about the reception she would get after their parting the previous day. Ah Kum had been so curt. Now she was all kindness. And the lady of the house too had been so kind.
Jing-jing sipped the hot tea and looked around her. Unlike Jing-jing’s abode, the house was sturdily made. A central corridor ran through the entire building with rooms branching off from it. The house had a narrow frontage but was very deep. In the front room, a small altar with offerings of mandarin oranges, red candles and joss sticks adorned a corner. Chairs lined the room. From a distance, the click clack of mahjong tiles could be heard. She turned towards the source of the sound. She saw a figure walk past. Ah Kum quickly closed the door.
“Come, rest. Stay in this room. Don’t worry about your house. It can be fixed. Look, my boss has given me some money for you. Take it. You can repay us later. For now, just rest. I’ll leave you to do that,” Ah Kum said with a smile.
Outside in the corridor, Madam Lily was waiting. “She is pretty. She would do. “ She rewarded Ah Kum with a pat on her shoulder. “Well done!” she said.
Chapter 12
AFTER SHAO PENG LEFT, Ah Chu gathered the young women together. In the candlelit room, they sat in a circle, clustered close together, knees touching knees, their heads bent. They spoke in whispers. There were no others in the room, save the little boy fast asleep on a mat. The maid was in the kitchen, yet they felt that they had to speak in hushed voices. The flames flickered, sending long shadows onto the wall. Outside the wind howled and the rain continued its incessant downpour.
“Listen to me. You heard what I said. Mr Ong fathered Swee Yoke’s child. That will be our secret. On no account should you say anything different,” Ah Chu looked in turn at each of the young women. Her eyes held theirs, seeking their connivance.
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