“All because of her beauty.”
“Yes, and her bloodline. She’s the granddaughter of Ling Yin Chao.”
“Who’s that?”
“He was one of Asia’s most revered philanthropists. Built schools all over China. Not that Jacqueline is following in his footsteps, unless you consider her donations in aid of Manolo Blahnik.”
Rachel laughed, as both of them noticed that Jacqueline had one hand on Nick’s upper arm, stroking it gently.
“Don’t worry — she flirts with everyone,” Oliver quipped. “Do you want another piece of juicy gossip?”
“Please.”
“I’m told Nick’s grandmother very much wanted Jacqueline for Nick’s father. But she didn’t succeed.”
“He wasn’t swayed by her looks?”
“Well, he already had another beauty on his hands — Nick’s mother. You haven’t met Auntie Elle yet, have you?”
“No, she went away for the weekend.”
“Hmm, how interesting. She never goes away when Nicholas is in town,” Oliver said, turning around to make sure no one was within earshot before leaning closer in. “I’d tread extra carefully around Eleanor Young if I were you. She maintains a rival court,” he said mysteriously before walking off toward the cocktails table.
Nick stood at one end of the desserts, wondering what to have first: the goreng pisang with ice cream, the blancmange with mango sauce, or the chocolate chiffon cake.
“Oh, your cook’s chocolate chiffon! Now this is the reason I came tonight!” Jacqueline ran her fingers through her shoulder-length curls and then brushed her hand softly against his arm. “So tell me, why haven’t you been calling Amanda? You’ve only seen her a handful of times since she moved to New York.”
“We tried getting together a couple of times this spring, but she’s always overbooked. Isn’t she dating some high-flying hedge-fund guy?”
“It’s not serious; that man is twice her age.”
“Well, I see her pictures in the newspapers all the time.”
“That’s just the problem. That has to stop. It’s so unseemly. I want my daughter to mix with quality people, not the so-called Asian jet set in New York. All those pretenders are riding Amanda’s coattails — she’s just too naïve to see that.”
“Oh, I don’t think Mandy’s that naïve.”
“She needs proper company, Nicky. Gar gee nang.[47] I want you to look out for her. Will you promise to do that for me?”
“Of course. I spoke to her last month and she told me that she was too busy to come back for Colin’s wedding.”
“Yes, it’s too bad, isn’t it?”
“I’ll call her when I’m back in New York. But I do think I’m far too boring for Amanda these days.”
“No, no, she would benefit from spending more time with you — you were so close once upon a time. Now tell me about this charming girl you’ve brought home to meet your grandmother. I see she’s already won over Oliver. You better tell her to be careful with him — he’s such a vicious gossip, that one.”
Astrid and Rachel sat by the lotus fountain, watching a lady dressed in flowing apricot silk robes play a guqin, the traditional Chinese zither. Rachel was entranced by the mesmerizing speed of the lady’s long red fingernails plucking gracefully at the strings, while Astrid desperately tried to stop obsessing over what Oliver had said earlier. Could he have really seen Michael walking with some little boy in Hong Kong? Nick sank into the chair next to her, dexterously balancing two steaming cups of tea with one hand and holding a plate of half-eaten chocolate chiffon cake with the other. He handed the cup with smoked lychee tea to Astrid, knowing it was her favorite, and offered some cake to Rachel. “You’ve got to try this — it’s one of our cook Ah Ching’s greatest hits.”
“Alamak, Nicky, get her a proper piece of her own,” Astrid scolded, temporarily snapping out of her funk.
“It’s okay, Astrid. I’ll just eat most of his, like always,” Rachel explained with a laugh. She tasted the cake, her eyes widening instantly. It was the perfect combination of chocolate and cream, with an airy melt-in-your-mouth lightness. “Hmmm. I like that it isn’t too sweet.”
“That’s why I can never eat other chocolate cakes. They’re always too sweet, too dense, or have too much frosting,” Nick said.
Rachel reached over for another bite. “Just get the recipe and I’ll try making it at home.”
Astrid arched her eyebrows. “You can try, Rachel, but trust me, my cook has tried, and it never comes out quite this good. I suspect Ah Ching’s withholding some secret ingredient.”
As they sat in the courtyard, the tightly rolled red petals of the tan huas unfurled like a slow-motion movie to reveal a profusion of feathery white petals that kept expanding into an explosive sunburst pattern. “I can’t believe how big these flowers are getting!” Rachel observed excitedly.
“It always reminds me of a swan ruffling its wings, about to take flight,” Astrid remarked.
“Or maybe about to go into attack mode,” Nick added. “Swans can get really aggressive.”
“My swans were never aggressive,” Great-aunt Rosemary said as she walked up, overhearing Nick’s comment. “Don’t you remember feeding the swans in my pond when you were a little boy?”
“I remember being rather afraid of them actually,” Nick replied. “I would break off little bits of bread, throw them into the water, and then run for cover.”
“Nicky was a little wimp,” Astrid teased.
“Was he?” Rachel asked in surprise.
“Well, he was so tiny. For the longest time everyone was afraid that he would never grow — I was so much taller than him. And then suddenly he shot up,” Astrid said.
“Hey, Astrid, stop discussing my secret shame,” Nick said with a mock frown.
“Nicky, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, you’ve grown up to be quite the strapping specimen, as I’m sure Rachel would agree,” Great-aunt Rosemary said saucily. The women all laughed.
As the flowers continued to transform before her eyes, Rachel sat sipping lychee tea from a red porcelain cup, entranced by everything around her. She watched the sultan taking pictures of his two wives in front of the blossoms, their jewel-embroidered kebayas reflecting shards of light every time the camera flash went off. She observed the cluster of men sitting in a circle with Astrid’s father, who was engrossed in a heated political debate, and she looked at Nick, now crouched beside his grandmother. She was touched to see how caring Nick seemed to be with his grandmother, holding the old lady’s hands as he whispered into her ear.
“Is your friend having a nice time tonight?” Su Yi asked her grandson in Cantonese.
“Yes, Ah Ma. She’s having a lovely time. Thank you for inviting her.”
“She seems to be quite the talk of the town. Everyone is either trying delicately to ask me about her or trying delicately to tell me things about her.”
“Really? What have they been saying?”
“Some are wondering what her intentions are. Your cousin Cassandra even called me from England, all flustered up.”
Nick was surprised. “How does Cassandra even know about Rachel?”
“Aiyah, only the ghosts know where she gets her information! But she is very concerned for you. She thinks you are going to get trapped.”
47
Hokkien for “same kind” or “our own people,” usually used to refer to family or clan associations.