by Fran Baker
“Just past those hills up ahead is the Shum Chun River,” said Kai. “And past that you can see the People’s Republic of China.”
“It’s difficult to comprehend the vast differences that probably occur in a matter of a few miles,” Anne reflected. “Imagine—Red China, just a short distance away!”
She was also amazed at the dramatic contrast between the New Territories, where they were now, and the busy, cosmopolitan surroundings of Hong Kong and Kowloon. Here she sensed a slower-paced, old-world atmosphere that was serene and inviting.
Kai’s car hummed along a smooth highway as they descended into the valley. A few miles later he turned onto a road that snaked along a slow-moving stream through parklike surroundings. They rounded a curve and routed a flock of peacocks from the road. The birds’ iridescent tails shimmered in the evening sunlight as they scurried into the trees.
“Kai, how beautiful they are!” exclaimed Anne.
“They’re my best watchdogs,” he replied.
Anne raised a delicately arched eyebrow. “Watchdogs?” she queried.
“Yes, they can make a matchless racket if they’re disturbed. I keep scores of them on my property to discourage strangers from coming too close to my house.”
Anne was anxious to see Kai’s country estate. His home on Victoria Peak was so lovely that she couldn’t imagine what this other house might be like. And although she was a little nervous about meeting Kai’s mother, she was interested in knowing the woman who had reared such an exceptional son. Kai had told Anne that his mother spent a great deal of her spare time indulging her passion for growing orchids in a greenhouse that was attached to her wing of the house.
They drove through a small archway guarded by two green stone dragons. Past a group of pine trees Anne saw a strikingly beautiful villa topped with a dark red roof. Elements of Chinese influence could be seen in the architecture, but the house could have fit just as well in a pastoral English location. A stone veranda skirted by flowering shrubs stretched the length of the front of the house.
Kai drew his car to a stop on the circular driveway and smiled warmly. “Welcome to West Wind House.”
She smiled in return. “Thank you for inviting me. I’m really looking forward to my visit here.”
A middle-aged woman dressed in a black uniform opened the door and raised her hand in greeting.
After Kai helped Anne from the car the woman came forward to take the bags that he was removing from the trunk.
“Anne, this is my housekeeper, Mrs. Burns. She and her husband keep things going for me here in the country.” Kai turned toward Mrs. Burns. “Miss Hunter will be with us for the weekend.”
The apple-cheeked housekeeper acknowledged the introduction in a delightful Irish brogue. Kai and Anne followed her into the marble-floored foyer.
“The Lady Hua will be happy that you have arrived,” said Mrs. Burns. “I'll give her maid the message.”
“Never mind,” Kai answered. “Just show Miss Hunter to her room and I’ll go see my mother now. Anne, I'll see you at high tea in half an hour or so.”
He entered a hallway that connected with the foyer and Anne presumed that it led to the Lady Hua’s quarters. She trailed up the stairs behind Mrs. Burns, welcoming the thought of freshening up after the trip from the city. She smiled, thinking of Kai’s offhand use of the term “high tea.” Sometimes Oriental, sometimes Western—this must be one of his English days. Anne hoped that Kai’s mother would join them for tea. She wondered what one should wear at high tea, then quickly decided on her soft mauve dress with the handkerchief hem.
“Here we are.” The housekeeper led Anne through a door on the second floor.
As Anne stepped into the room, she looked about in enchantment. “This room is exquisite,” she said. Like the exterior of the house, the room was a discerning blend of Chinese and English decor. An antique cherry secretary sat in one corner, a loveseat upholstered in robin’s egg blue was in front of an inviting fireplace, and the burnished oak floor was accented here and there by fringed, wool Oriental rugs. But the focal point of the room was a magnificent carved four-poster lacquer bed. Pale blue silk curtains hanging from the top were tied back, displaying a matching blue spread covered with contrasting dark blue embroidery.
As Mrs. Burns turned to leave she looked at an enameled French clock on the mantel. “Tea will be served in the dining room in thirty minutes,” she said.
Anne quickly stripped off her rumpled slacks and jacket in the charming bath adjoining her bedroom. She washed her face and applied a light touch of fresh makeup. Returning to the bedroom, she shook out the mauve dress and slipped into it Opal earrings and a matching ring were perfect accessories.
Downstairs again, Anne stood, undecided, in the cool foyer. Several doors opened off the entrance hall and she had no idea which one might lead her to the dining room. She made an arbitrary choice and reached for the brass knob. Some invisible force drew her gaze back up the stairway.
“You’re beautiful,” Kai said in a low voice. He swiftly descended the stairs and embraced her. His arms were gentle around her and neither of them spoke. Anne felt an unexpected sense of belonging that filled her with peace.
After a moment Kai released her and led her through the hall in the opposite direction. They entered a large paneled room with floor to ceiling windows that reflected a crystal chandelier hanging over a mahogany table covered with a snowy linen tablecloth. The gleaming buffet held a group of covered silver dishes and the enticing aromas promised a delicious meal.
Kai held Anne’s chair for her and as she sat down, she asked, “Will your mother be joining us? I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
“She takes her evening meal earlier than this, but has asked that we come to her suite for a cup of tea a little later,” Kai replied.
Over their repast Kai entertained Anne with riotous stories about Mr. and Mrs. Burns’s years of adjustment to the Chinese way of life. The pair had been in his employ for several years and before that, had worked for a British diplomat in Hong Kong.
“They’ve been talking about returning to Ireland,” he said. “They have grandchildren there whom they’ve never seen, and I think that they’ve grown very homesick during their last few years here.”
Their meal was topped off by a delicious lemon soufflé; then Anne and Kai strolled in the rose garden behind his house and admired the full moon suspended in the night sky. Silvery light glinted off Anne’s hair as they walked hand-in-hand.
“Tomorrow I’ll show you the maze,” he promised. “We can also go horseback riding, if you like.” They followed a narrow corridor to his mother’s suite.
“I’d like that,” answered Anne. “By the way, my bedroom is beautiful—especially the bed; it’s so unusual.”
“I’m glad the room pleases you.” He smiled mysteriously. “The bed is an antique Chinese wedding bed. They’re rather rare now.”
Wedding was not a word Anne wanted to hear. She lapsed into silence as they entered his mother’s domain.
The Lady Hua was working at her desk, but she greeted their interruption with a gracious smile. “I will ring for another pot of tea,” she said, waving a delicate hand at the thick ledgers open in front of her. “These can wait until tomorrow.”
Soon after Anne’s introduction to Lady Hua, Mrs. Burns appeared with a tray that held a vitrified china teapot insulated with a copper cozy. Kai’s mother served the steaming tea in tiny, hand-painted cups that seemed as thin as eggshells. Her regal posture bespoke her noble heritage.
The older woman appeared fragile, but an indomitable spirit illuminated her dark, almond-shaped eyes during the course of their eclectic conversation. Her hair was the color of woodsmoke, and her smooth skin was as translucent as rice paper. Anne was impressed with Lady Hua’s independent views, an attitude she hadn’t expected to encounter.
The time passed quickly and when a tiny silver clock on the table beside Kai chimed nine o’clock he suggeste
d to Anne that they leave, since his mother liked to retire early. Lady Hua bid them good evening and told Anne that she would look forward to talking with her again.
At the door of Anne’s bedroom Kai kissed her lightly on the cheek, then his lips traveled to her full mouth. After a long, hungry kiss, he said, “I want you to know that I have no intention of saying good night to you yet. May I come in?”
A delicious shiver ran through Anne’s body. “Yes, you may, Mr. Shanpei. As I recall, you mentioned yesterday that you were going to show me just how much you have missed me.”
A faint, sensual smile touched Kai’s lips as he closed the door behind them. The shadowy bedroom was fragrant with the odor of the eucalyptus branches in a tall porcelain jar beside the fireplace.
Moonlight shining through the windows highlighted the camellia white of Anne’s skin as Kai slid her clothes away before stripping himself and taking her in his arms beside the bed. She clung to his golden body, feeling flames of desire rising higher and higher. He gently lowered her onto the bed and stretched out beside her, teasing her with light, massaging fingers that roamed over her body freely. A tide of heat surged through Anne and she responded to Kai with ardor.
“Ah,” he breathed. “My Lotus is impatient.”
“I’ve missed your touch,” Anne admitted. She ran her fingers along the cleanly defined contour of his jaw, letting her feelings take over. With Kai, when she felt like this, all thoughts of staying cool and uninvolved fled like dust before the wind.
Kai’s eyes were dark pools of mystery in the moonlight as he leaned over Anne. He smoothed waves of blond hair back from her face and kissed her eyelids with feather-light touches of his lips. He caressed her breasts as his mouth found hers and the tips of their tongues met in an electrifying fusion. Anne twined her arms around Kai’s neck, drawing him ever closer.
The room darkened as clouds passed over the moon. Thunder rumbled as a storm moved across the valley. A cool breeze stirred the curtains by the window and blew gently across the lovers. Rain began to fall, first softly, then so hard that numerous drops pelted through the open window.
“I’ll close the window,” said Kai, and he rose from the bed. As he stood at the window a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the room. Anne’s unexpected glimpse of his muscular, amber body heightened her passion. She thought to herself that the storm raging inside her was more fierce than the one outside her bedroom window.
Back at Anne’s side, Kai held her with rain-damp arms. His questing mouth fueled the fires within her and a moan escaped her lips. She moved against him, craving more and more of the sensations that she knew he could set off in her.
“Your skin is as soft as rose petals,” Kai whispered. He stroked her rounded hips, the tips of his fingers tracing tingling lines of pleasure over her flesh.
Peals of thunders crashed and hail beat against the windows, adding a provocative turbulence to their lovemaking. The repeated glare of chain lightning scintillated in the room, dazzling Anne’s eyes. Her breath came faster and faster and she recognized the approach of the dizzy rapture that Kai had evoked in her when they had made love before. His familiar sandalwood scent seemed to envelope her with its pervading sensuality.
They climbed together toward a pulsating peak and Kai held Anne imprisoned in an iron embrace that she did not resist. She welcomed the pressure of his strong, hard body against her, feeding the need within her that only he could satisfy. Their passion spun them higher and higher, whirling them in a vortex of intensity. On her lips and in her thoughts only one word was present . . . Kai; nothing mattered but Kai.
As they reached the summit of sensual experience, Kai cried out Anne’s name just as a tremendous clap of thunder rattled the windows. In the brilliance of the lightning that followed he loomed above her like a barbarian warlord. She had never before seen such raw feelings on his face. He collapsed against her, his breathing ragged and shallow, kissing her as he rested his head on her shoulder.
Anne’s arms were loosely clasped around Kai’s waist. When she rubbed her cheek against his it surprised her to realize that her face was wet with tears. The emotions they had shared had touched the innermost part of her being; she was overwhelmed with feelings that she didn’t understand. Not for the first time, Anne wondered what she had done by allowing herself to become so involved with Kai, much more involved than she had ever meant to be.
The pair lay together quietly for a while; then Kai disengaged himself from the tangled sheets and tucked them carefully around Anne. She watched his shadowed figure as he dressed and returned to the bed to place a kiss on her forehead.
“I will see you at breakfast,” said Kai. “I would like to sleep with you all night, but Mrs. Burns would be shocked if she should see me leaving your room in the morning.”
Anne gave a sleepy giggle of agreement and closed her eyes as the door shut behind Kai. She drifted off to sleep to the sound of distant thunder from the receding storm.
Early the next morning Anne awoke relaxed and refreshed. After a brisk shower she dressed in a pair of khaki jeans and a butter-yellow chemise top. She brushed her gleaming blond hair back from her face and anchored it firmly with a pair of tortoise-shell combs. The warm sunlight streaming in through the windows promised a beautiful day.
Anne found the dining room with no difficulty, but saw no evidence that breakfast was to be served. She peeked through a door that led to a flagstone terrace and saw Kai seated at a round wrought-iron table, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper. Anne watched him for a moment without speaking, admiring the clean lines of his profile. Remembering the first time she had seen him, she thought again that he was one of the most attractive men she had ever met.
“Good morning,” she said as she stepped onto the patio. “What a lovely morning!”
“Made lovelier by your presence,” replied Kai. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did, and I'm starving.” Anne slipped into a chair across from Kai and poured herself a cup of coffee from the engraved silver pot on the table.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that somebody’s hungry,” said Mrs. Burns as she carried a large tray toward them. “Lady Hua eats like a bird and I like to cook for hearty appetites.” She set several covered dishes on the table and told Kai and Anne to enjoy their breakfast.
Anne helped herself to a heaping serving of scrambled eggs accompanied by a thick slice of ham and a croissant. She began to eat with obvious relish and Kai laughed at her.
“The country air must be good for you,” he said. “You really are hungry today.”
“I don’t think it’s the country air that gave me this appetite,” Anne answered.
“Oh?” Kai gave her a quizzical look. “What do you think the cause could be?”
Anne’s only answer was a deep blush. “It must have been the good night’s sleep I got,” she answered lamely. She wished she hadn’t made her earlier, daring remark, but Kai’s hearty laugh reassured her.
After breakfast Kai took Anne into the rose garden that they had walked in briefly the night before. A gardener was already at work, clipping off blooms that had been damaged in the night’s storm. Droplets of water sparkled on the leaves in the bright morning sunlight. Kai selected several full buds that were ready to burst into full bloom and instructed the gardener to cut them and give them to Mrs. Burns for Anne’s bedroom. Anne smiled at this evidence of Kai’s thoughtful, romantic tendencies.
He turned to her then. “Would you like to ride over my property with me? I want to take a look around and I’m sure my horses could use some exercise.”
“That sounds nice,” said Anne. She went back to her room to exchange her sandals for other shoes while Kai headed for the small barn that stood some distance behind the house.
When Anne met him at the barn a few minutes later he was just finishing saddling the horses. He handed her the reins of a shining bay mare with a white blaze on her face. Kai’s horse was a tall black gelding that stamped hi
s feet in anticipation of a run over the fields. Both horses wore gleaming, carefully tended English saddles. Kai warned Anne that the horses would be a little frisky since they hadn’t been ridden for a while.
The morning passed pleasantly for Anne. They rode over Kai’s estate and she was amazed at the harmonious order of the grounds. Every tree, every bush, every fence and stone wall had its place and it was a pleasure just to be there.
“Kai,” she said finally, “I can’t get over how perfect everything seems here. Your land is so beautiful.”
Kai smiled at her. “I’m glad you appreciate what you are seeing. There is a Chinese term that might help you to understand what you see here and elsewhere in China. It is fung shui—the ideal relationship between man and nature. It’s a very worthwhile goal to try to live one’s life in harmony with nature.”
Their ride concluded, they dismounted at the barn and Anne laughed in mock dismay at the shakiness of her legs. Kai warned her that she would feel the full effects the next day. “Your pretty little derriere will probably be very sore since you’re not used to riding.”
As they approached the house Kai told Anne that he wanted to go over some paperwork with Burns before lunch. He added that his mother could usually be found in her greenhouse at this time of the day.
“I’m sure that she would welcome your company,” he added. “And she loves to show off her orchids.”
Anne smiled and bid Kai farewell until lunch. She went to her room for a quick shower and changed into a sleeveless hot-pink jumpsuit that did full justice to her statuesque figure. Kai had told her that his mother’s greenhouse was just off the corridor that led to Lady Hua’s suite and Anne found the leafy haven with no difficulty.
A petite figure could be seen through masses of blooms as Anne walked into the greenhouse. Lady Hua was bent over a delicate orchid plant, carefully snipping here and there. Anne approached her, feeling an onslaught of unfamiliar shyness. Kai's mother straightened from her stooped position and smiled a greeting.