“Oh, you live in New York too?” Rachel inquired.
“Yes, I do. What, has Nico never mentioned me to you? Nico, I’m so hurt,” Mandy said in mock outrage. She turned to Rachel with a placid smile. “I feel like I have an unfair advantage, since I’ve heard loads about you.”
“You have?” Rachel couldn’t hide her look of surprise. Why had Nick never once mentioned this friend of his, this beautiful girl who inexplicably kept calling him Nico? Rachel gave Nick a measured look, but he simply smiled back, oblivious to the nagging thoughts filling her mind.
“Well, I suppose we ought to get back to the reception,” Mandy suggested. As the foursome made their way toward the stairs, Mandy halted abruptly. “Oh look, Nico. I can’t believe it — it’s still here!” She traced her fingers over a section of the wall right beside the staircase.
Rachel peered at the wall and saw the names Nico and Mandi carved into the rock, joined together by an infinity symbol.
6
Tyersall Park
SINGAPORE
Alexandra walked onto the veranda to find her sister, Victoria, and her daughter-in-law, Fiona, having afternoon tea with her mother. Victoria looked rather comical with a dramatic opera-length necklace of mine-cut cognac diamonds casually draped over her gingham shirt. Obviously, Mummy was doling out jewelry again, something she seemed to be doing with greater frequency these days.
“I’ve been labeling every piece in the vault and putting them in cases marked with all your names,” Su Yi had informed Alexandra during her visit last year. “This way there is no fighting after I’m gone.”
“There won’t be any fighting, Mummy,” Alexandra had insisted.
“You say that now. But look what happened to Madam Lim Boon Peck’s family. Or the Hu sisters. Whole families torn apart over jewelry. And not even very good jewelry!” Su Yi had sighed.
As Alexandra approached the wrought-iron table where sweetly aromatic kueh lapis[81] and pineapple tarts were arrayed on Longquan celadon dishes, Su Yi was taking out a diamond and cabochon sapphire choker. “This one my father brought back from Shanghai in 1918,” Su Yi said to Fiona in Cantonese. “My mother told me it belonged to a grand duchess who had escaped Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway with all her jewels sewn into the lining of her coat. Here, try it on.”
Fiona put the choker around her neck, and one of Su Yi’s Thai lady’s maids helped to fasten the delicate antique clasp. The other maid held up a hand mirror, and Fiona peered at her reflection. Even in the waning late-afternoon light, the sapphires glistened against her neck. “It’s truly exquisite, Ah Ma.”
“I’ve always liked it because these sapphires are so translucent — I’ve never quite seen a shade of blue like that,” Su Yi said.
Fiona handed back the necklace, and Su Yi slipped it into a yellow silk pouch before handing it to Fiona. “Nah, you should wear it tonight to the wedding banquet.”
“Oh, Ah Ma, I couldn’t possibly—” Fiona began.
“Aiyah, moh hak hei,[82] it’s yours now. Make sure it goes to Kalliste someday,” Su Yi decreed. She turned to Alexandra and said, “Do you need something for tonight?”
Alexandra shook her head. “I brought my triple-strand pearls.”
“You always wear those pearls,” Victoria complained, casually twirling her new diamonds around her fingers as if they were toy beads.
“I like my pearls. Besides, I don’t want to look like one of those Khoo women. Did you see how much jewelry they piled on this morning? Ridiculous.”
“Those Khoos sure like to flaunt it, don’t they,” Victoria said with a laugh, popping one of the crumbly pineapple tarts into her mouth.
“Aiyah, who cares? Khoo Teck Fong’s father came from a little village in Sarawak — I will always know him as the man who used to buy my mother’s old silver,” Su Yi said dismissively. “Now, speaking of jewelry, I want to talk about Alistair’s girlfriend—that starlet.”
Alexandra flinched, steeling herself for the onslaught. “Yes, Mummy, I’m sure you were as appalled as I was by that woman’s behavior today.”
“The audacity of her to accept that ring from the sultana! It was so undignified, not to mention—” Victoria began.
Su Yi held out her hand to silence Victoria. “Why wasn’t I told that Alistair was engaged to her?”
“It just happened a few days ago,” Alexandra said bleakly.
“But who is she? Who are her people?”
“I don’t know precisely,” Alexandra said.
“How is it possible that you don’t know the family, when your son wants to take her as his wife?” Su Yi said in astonishment. “Look at Fiona here — we have known her family for generations. Fiona, do you know this girl’s family?”
Fiona grimaced, making no attempt to hide her disdain. “Ah Ma, I never set eyes on her until two days ago at Auntie Felicity’s.”
“Cassandra told me the girl showed up at Felicity’s wearing a see-through dress. Is that true?” Su Yi asked.
“Yes,” the three ladies droned in unison.
“Tien,[83] ah, what is this world coming to?” Su Yi shook her head, taking a slow sip from her teacup.
“Clearly the girl has not been brought up well,” Victoria said.
“She’s not been brought up at all. She’s not Taiwanese, even though she claims to be, and she’s certainly not from Hong Kong. I’ve heard that she is from some remote village in northern China,” Fiona offered.
“Tsk, those northern Chinese are the worst!” Victoria huffed, nibbling on a slice of kueh lapis.
“Where she’s from is irrelevant. My youngest grandson is not going to marry some actress, especially one of questionable lineage,” Su Yi said simply. Turning to Alexandra, she said, “You will tell him to break off the engagement immediately.”
“His father has agreed to talk to him when we return to Hong Kong.”
“I don’t think that will be soon enough, Alix. The girl needs to be sent packing before she does something more offensive. I can only imagine what she’s going to wear to the ball tonight,” Victoria said.
“Well, what about Rachel, that girlfriend of Nicky’s?” Alexandra said, trying to deflect the focus from her son.
“What about her?” Su Yi asked, puzzled.
“Aren’t you concerned about her as well? I mean, we know nothing of her family.”
“Aiyah, she’s just a pretty girl that Nicky’s having fun with.” Su Yi laughed, as if the idea of him marrying Rachel was too ridiculous to even consider.
“That’s not the way it looks to me,” Alexandra warned.
“Nonsense. Nicky has no intentions with this girl — he told me so himself. And besides, he would never do anything without my permission. Alistair simply needs to obey your wishes,” Su Yi said with finality.
“Mummy, I’m not sure it’s that simple. That boy can be so stubborn. I tried to get him to stop dating her months ago, but—” Alexandra began.
“Alix, why don’t you just threaten to cut him off? Stop his allowance or something,” Victoria suggested.
“Allowance? He doesn’t get an allowance. Alistair isn’t concerned about money — he supports himself with those odd jobs on films, so he has always done exactly as he pleases.”
“You know, Alistair might not care about money, but I’ll bet you that trollop does,” Victoria expostulated. “Alix, you need to give her a good talking-to. Make her understand that it is impossible for her to marry Alistair, and that you will cut him off forever if she does.”
81
Also known as “thousand-layer cake,” this decadently buttery cake with dozens of thin golden stripes is created by baking each layer of batter separately. Extremely laborious, but sinfully good.