He picked up a bell. It rang loudly through the room and Ling Fu appeared.

He did not need to be told that his master wished to be taken to his room.

I went to mine. I was tired yet I was not at ease. I undressed and went to bed, first having looked in at Jason who was sleeping.

I was undoubtedly tired but I could not sleep. I was actually in The House of a Thousand Lanterns. I kept thinking of my first sight of the house, the walls, the courtyards and the golden-colored building with the dragons on either side of the porch, the almost stealthy servants, the quiet of the house, the rugs so many of them depicting the fire breathing dragon, the atmosphere of East and West uneasily mingling. And the lanterns.

I longed for morning. I wanted to see the place in daylight. I wanted to go to the harbor with Sylvester and learn about the business that was conducted there. There was so much that I wanted to know and I was not sure what the discovery would bring.

I dozed and dreamed that I went from my room onto the landing and that the goddess there beckoned me in some strange way without moving at all and I could not stop myself from advancing towards her. When I was close a voice issued from her. “Go home, foreign ghost. There is nothing good for you here. For you do not belong, foreign devil, go away while there is time.”

“I can’t go,” I said. “I can’t. I must stay here…”

Her eyes changed. They were no longer benevolent; I felt myself caught in a cold vise.

“Let me go!” I cried and I was awake… but the nightmare was in the room. My hand was gripped… someone was there.

“Mama, Mama. I’m frightened.” It was Jason’s hand that was gripping me. “You were shouting.”

The relief was great. I drew him into my bed.

He was cold and he clung to me.

“There’s a dragon in my room,” he said.

“It was a nightmare,” I told him.

“He’s not there when I open my eyes. Fire comes out of his mouth.”

I said: “It was a dream.”

“Did you dream about him too?”

“I dreamed about something.”

“Shall I stay with you in case you have another dream?”

“Yes,” I said, “tonight we’ll stay together.”

I felt him relax.

“It was only a dream,” he said, soothing me.

“That’s all, Jason, only a dream.”

In a few minutes he was asleep. I was not long after. The warm body of my child gave me comfort in that strange house.


* * *

In the morning the house had lost much of its sinister aspect. It was fascinating and I wanted to explore it.

Sylvester spent the morning in bed for he was exhausted. He had arranged that in the afternoon we should go down to the warehouse and could look round while he had a conference with Tobias Grantham and his staff. I thought I would go on a tour of exploration and I decided that I would take Jason with me for I did not wish him to be left alone just yet in the house with servants whom he could not understand. When he had settled in and grown accustomed to the place it would be different.

There must have been some twenty rooms in the house. They were similar to each other, and all had the one feature—the hanging lantern from the center of the ceiling. These were in wrought iron and were beautifully engraved with figures of men and women. I wondered again if there could possibly be a thousand lanterns. One day I promised myself I would count them. In my tour of the house I encountered servants who bowed low and yet averted their eyes as I passed.

We went out into the courtyards and through the three gates into the grounds beyond. Jason loved the miniature gardens and I had to explain to him how the trees were stunted. His face puckered for he was a little sorry for them. “I think they’re unhappy,” he said. “They want to be big like other trees.”

And then we found the pagoda. Of course it was magnificent with its glittering walls and the wind bells which tinkled quietly when the breeze caught them.

“Oh look, Mama!” cried Jason. “It’s a castle… No it’s not. It’s a tower.”

“It’s a pagoda,” I said. And I knew it was the one of which Sylvester had spoken.

“What’s a pagoda?”

“That,” I answered.

“Who lives there?”

“No one now. It’s part of a temple.”

Jason was awestruck. We went through an arch where once there may have been a door. Inside was a strange smell of something like incense. And dominating the circular space was the well-known figure of the goddess. On either side of her burned a joss stick and it was this which had given out that pungent odor.

“What are they for?” whispered Jason.

“Someone has put them there for the goddess. They hope she will pray for them.”

“Will she?”

“She’s supposed to pray for everyone who asks.”

“But if she’s a goddess why does she have to pray for them? Why can’t she give them what they ask for?”

“Hush.”

“Is it like church?” whispered Jason.

“Yes, it’s like church.”

I looked up at the tall walls. I could see the sky through the roof. This pagoda must have stood for hundreds of years. It was here when there had been a temple where the house now stood. But the crumbling statue of the goddess still remained carved out of stone and there were those (they must be some of our servants) who still burned joss sticks to her.

We came out into the sunshine and I led Jason back to the miniature garden. He knelt and examined the tiny trees and the little bridge over the imitation stream. He was so enchanted with the garden that he forgot the temple.

I told him he might stay there for a while if he promised not to go beyond the wall. Then I left him and went into the house. Ling Fu appeared suddenly and told me that a visitor had arrived and Sylvester wished me to join him.

He led me to a room next to Sylvester’s bedroom which was furnished as a sitting room. Adam was there.

“I came to see if there was anything I could do,” he told me.

“That was thoughtful of you.”

“I was anxious, of course, about my uncle.” He turned to Sylvester. “I never thought you would make the journey.”

“Oh come, I’m not so incapacitated as all that.”

Adam sat down, crossing long legs. He looked elegant and there was no denying that he had a certain dignity. He wore a dark blue waistcoat and tightly fitting jacket; his shirt was very white with a frilly front and his cravat was of a blue to match his coat. The blue made his eyes seem less steely. On a table was his top hat and an ebony-topped walking stick.

“I suppose you will go to the Go-Down this afternoon,” he said.

“I hope to go this afternoon.” Sylvester turned to me. “That’s the warehouse. Did I tell you that they call them Go-Downs here? I couldn’t discuss anything of importance with Toby last night so I am eager to get down there at the earliest possible moment.”

“You rely very much on Tobias,” said Adam.

“I have never found any reason not to.”

“Do you ever think that one day he might like to strike out on his own?”

“Not everyone thinks along those lines.” Sylvester’s smile was quizzical. “It can be a hazardous undertaking,” he added.

I thought Adam’s expression hardened. He changed the subject abruptly by turning to me.

“You’ll find everything different here from at home,” he said. “The people most of all. Their outlook is not ours. Sometimes that makes communication difficult.”

“I have read a certain amount,” I told him. “Sylvester always kept me well supplied with books, so I don’t feel it’s as alien as it would otherwise have seemed. I think I shall adjust myself quickly.”

“You have a child to look after and I know you do a great deal for my uncle.”

“Jane knows a good deal about the business, too. I want her to come down to the Go-Down and hear what’s going on.”

Adam was silent for a few moments and I thought I detected a slightly scornful look about his mouth. Clearly he didn’t think I was capable of being much help. Then he said thoughtfully: “You need a companion… a kind of go-between, a maid perhaps.”

“There are plenty of servants,” said Sylvester. “She can take her pick.”

Adam shook his head. “That’s not quite what I meant. These people speak little English. She needs someone to help look after the child, someone who can go with her to the shops. She can hardly go alone.”

Sylvester looked uneasy.

“I could suggest someone,” went on Adam. “In fact I know the very one.” He turned to me. “You need someone who will make a bridge between you and the Chinese, someone who can be with you… someone who is more than a servant… someone who has enough English to talk to you about China and who will help you to understand the Chinese. I have the answer. She is a young girl—half Chinese, half English. She speaks English after a fashion. She has been brought up in a less closed household than most. I think Lotus Blossom is the girl for you.”

“What a beautiful name!”

“It’s the English version. It is pretty, and she is very… presentable. She is fifteen years old or so but that is not immature in China. I shall send her to you and if you like her… then you can keep her.”

“Who is this girl?” asked Sylvester.

“I’ve had dealings with her family. They’ll be glad to find a place for her. Yes, Jane, you must meet little Lotus Blossom and if you take a fancy to her you will find her a very useful companion. When you go shopping you will need her with you. She will bargain for you and in a manner be a kind of chaperone. She will help look after the child. You will find her useful in all manner of ways. That’s settled that point then.”

Sylvester said: “I realize that Jane will need someone. We may as well try this girl.”

“She shall be sent along to you,” replied Adam.

When he left Sylvester was thoughtful.

“Adam is determined to be agreeable,” he commented.

“You sound surprised that he should be,” I replied.

“Well, there was a rift and I saw little of him during the years preceding his father’s death. I have a notion that he would now like to join forces with me.”

“Would you want that?”

“No, not now. I have other plans.” He smiled at me warmly and I thought I understood. At one time Adam and Joliffe would have been his natural heirs. It was different now that Jason had appeared.

He changed the subject and talked to me about the district in the days when his father had been alive. Then the traders used to come out; they anchored in the harbor and the chief commodity they carried was opium. Fifty years had passed since the Opium War between Britain and China at the end of which the British flag had been hoisted over Hong Kong Island.

“It was nothing but a barren rock then. Now of course it’s thriving, flourishing. People are being ferried back and forth between the island and Kowloon hundreds of times a day. The whole place now is teeming with life. Tea is one of the most profitable exports. The climate’s suitable for it. It provides work for the people and revenue for the government. The Chinese are a hard-working race, Jane. It must have been a great day when the British flag was hoisted at Possession Point, and we’ve been prospering ever since. But you’ll get to understand something of the country although it will often leave you baffled.

Sylvester lay back in his chair looking tired.

“The idea of Tobias’s striking out on his own!” He laughed. “Yes, I think Adam might well be hinting that he would like to come back. I wonder how things are going with him. Not so well, I imagine. No doubt we shall see. Of course it is very easy in our business to make a mistake.”

“Could that really be so? He seemed so contented.”

“I know Adam well, Jane. He always puts on a good face. We could sink a great deal of capital into something which even though it’s intrinsically good has little sales value. Sometimes so much capital is locked up in our pieces that we could find it difficult without borrowing extensively to meet our creditors. My father and I were of a more cautious nature than Redmond and my brother Magnus. They could be led astray by their enthusiasms. I was never like that. Tobias has been trained by me. I can trust Tobias.”

“It is good of Adam to send this girl to us.”

“Oh yes, it’s a good idea. Well, this afternoon we shall go to the Go-Down.”

“Do you feel equal to it?”