Stone, Katherine (16 page)
Authors: Pearl Moon
"That's not true!"
"Of course it is. Maybe you don't even know. Maybe you've
convinced yourself your version is the truth. But it's not. I wish I'd never
been born! Couldn't you have
done
something?"
"Maylene,
no.
I've loved you with all my heart from
the moment I knew you were alive inside me. Do you know when that was, my
darling? Just hours after you were conceived, before your father even left Hong
Kong."
"Oh, Mother, do you hear yourself? That's impossible. Another
delusion.
This
is the truth—I'm a half-breed child of lust."
"No, my May-May, you're a precious child of love, the
Daughter of Greatest Love. Someday, my darling, you will understand. You'll
fall in love and—"
"I'll
never
fall in love. And I can assure you that no
one will ever fall in love with me." Even at age thirteen, Maylene knew
her destiny. Eurasians—in Hong Kong—were desired as mistresses. As daughters of
lust, they were known for their sensuality and, like their mothers, for their
willingness to please. That was the reality for Eurasians in Hong Kong. And in
the faraway lands about which she'd read? Was there a place she might actually
belong? "I have to get away from Hong Kong!"
"Oh, Maylene," Juliana whispered to the daughter who was
so very like the girl Tranquil Sea had been at the same age. Torn between two
worlds and searching... dreaming.
At thirteen, for Juliana, there'd been no choice but to leave the
life she'd known at sea. That life was gone, drowned without a trace. Maylene
believed her life—of love with her mother—was gone as well. But it
isn't,
Juliana
thought. I'm here, and I can't let you go, not now, not yet
Juliana's lies had caused great harm. Yet it was with another lie
that she began the new life with her daughter. "Vivian left a trust fund
for you. It will be yours when you're eighteen. By that time it should be quite
substantial. She also arranged for you to have a full British passport. So, my
darling, when you're eighteen, if you want to, you can leave Hong Kong. Until
then I'll try to convince you how loved you are by both your father and me.
Even if you don't believe my words, perhaps you'll remember them... and
perhaps, someday, you'll understand—and forgive."
***
Maylene remembered Juliana's words. During the five years before
she left for England, she played them back perfectly, with her own
interpretation of her parents' "love."
Maylene's taunts made Juliana ache with sadness. She would've
endured them gladly and forever if they'd helped Maylene. But, Juliana knew,
her daughter hated herself all the more for her cruelty.
By the time Maylene left, Juliana recognized that it was for the
best. She prayed Maylene would find happiness in London. At least she'd be able
to live comfortably. Juliana had worked tirelessly to make truthful her he
about the trust fund. The once make-believe inheritance had become a small
fortune.
Then the Daughter of Greatest Love was gone, and Juliana filled
the immense void with the dream that had mattered before Garrett, before
Maylene, before love. The dream had been Vivian's, but Juliana had been its
keeper, and over the ensuing nine years Pearl Moon surpassed even their wildest
imaginings.
***
It was the change in sound, from the hum of animated conversation
to hushed whispers of awareness, that drew Juliana from her memories.
Lady Lloyd-Ashton had arrived.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Eve said. "There was a little
girl who needed to talk."
Once their tea was poured and the voices around them were animated
again, their private conversation began.
"As you imagined, I think it's difficult for Maylene to be
back in Hong Kong. But, Juliana, she's working with people who care about her
very much."
"Really? Do you mean James Drake?"
"James, yes, of course. But all of them, really, everyone
involved with the Jade Palace. Especially the builder," Eve said.
"Sam Coulter. I get the impression he cares deeply."
"Does Maylene feel the same way about him?"
"It's a little hard to tell."
"She's such a good actress."
"Yes," Eve agreed. "She is."
"Did she look well, Eve? Healthy?"
"Healthy—and extraordinarily beautiful. Her arrival caused
quite a sensation. She wasn't wearing one of your designs, Juliana, but she'd
have known not to. Maylene may have been away for nine years, but she knows
there are unwritten protocols in Hong Kong. I'm sure she found out that any
designer label is acceptable at Peak Castle—except Pearl Moon."
It was one of Geoffrey's well-known mandates. In the presence of
his princess, no one else was to wear Juliana's designs. Pearl Moon was Eve's
signature label. The mandate didn't hurt Juliana's business, of course. Lady
Lloyd-Ashton's appearances at Hong Kong's black-tie galas were as carefully
rationed as her twice-weekly forays from the castle. There was ample
opportunity for other Hong Kong women to display their Pearl Moon best.
"People are still adhering to that?"
"Absolutely. And Maylene would have known to check. Allison
Whitaker, however—"
The sudden clatter of porcelain on porcelain halted Eve's words.
Juliana's teacup hit the side of its saucer and tea spilled onto the table.
"How careless of me," Juliana murmured, somehow finding
words.
A busboy appeared instantly. In moments, almost too quickly, the
tablecloth was replaced and tea steamed from a fresh cup.
"Are you all right?" Eve asked.
"Yes, of course." Praying that some of her daughter's acting
ability had been inherited from her, Juliana said, "I was paying more
attention to you than the saucer. You were saying something about someone named
Allison?"
"Allison Whitaker. She's the photographer James commissioned
for the Palace. She wore one of your gowns to the party, the rainbow sequins on
ivory silk. It looked lovely on her, as if you'd made it especially for
her."
In loving Maylene, I will also love Allison.
Were
both daughters really in Hong Kong? "I designed that gown for Neiman
Marcus. Allison must be an American."
"She's from Texas, like Sam. He's from San Antonio and she's
from Dallas, but apparently he knows Allison's father."
And Maylene's.
Juliana had never told Eve
Garrett's name. She trusted Eve without question. But once before, she'd made
the mistake of revealing the name of the man she loved.
"Is it because of Sam that Allison's doing the photographs
for the Jade Palace? Did he recommend her to James?"
Did Garrett ask
him to?
"No. It's just coincidence. James discovered Allison's work
himself, quite by chance."
***
Coincidence. Chance. The words echoed in Juliana's mind hours
after she and Eve parted. Neither she nor Garrett had conspired to bring their
daughters together. Neither had defied the fates. Yet both were in Hong Kong,
united by the Jade Palace, the structure that would forever celebrate the
marriage of East and West.
This was a new destiny, Juliana decided. She didn't know where it
would lead, only that she mustn't intervene.
But she thought about the daughters destiny had united.
Would Allison's presence make it even more difficult for Maylene
to be back in Hong Kong? Or, by some magic, would the sisters become friends?
Juliana hoped, and she worried. But not once did she fear Maylene
would reveal the truth to Allison. No matter how great her pain, Maylene would
keep her anguish deep inside.
Oh, my beloved May-May.
Fifteen
The Jade Palace
Thursday, July 8, 1993
"Hello."
A smile embellished Sam's greeting to Maylene as she walked into
his office at the construction site. He hadn't seen her since the party at Peak
Castle. There'd been no need—no professional need, that is. The excavation of
earth didn't require the architect's input. Neither, for that matter, did the
pouring of concrete that was beginning today. The top-grade steel beams would
be set for eternity, a foundation that would ensure the Jade Palace's survival
despite whatever natural or political disasters might occur.
But Sam had asked her to come, and he'd assured her that nothing
was wrong.
Nonetheless, her first words, before echoing his hello, were
worried ones. "Is there a problem?"
"No. I thought you should see the progress we've made."
"Oh. Yes. Thank you." Maylene walked to the window. She already
knew the answer but she asked, "You're ahead of schedule, aren't
you?"
"Way ahead. Just like you."
"I'm just trying to keep up with your pace."
"It'll be a long time before I need the blueprints you sent
me yesterday. So, Maylene, other than working around the clock, how have you
been?"
"Fine," she lied, her gaze fixed on the massive hole in
the parched earth.
In truth, she'd never felt more precarious. The hope with which
she'd returned to Hong Kong was perilous enough— that she'd find the courage to
see her mother. Now there were other dangerous journeys she might make.
Awakening in the middle of the night, confused by unremembered dreams, she felt
almost overwhelming impulses to scamper down the hall for a late-night chat
with her sister—or even, sometimes, to find the cowboy, to see if he was awake,
and restless and lonely, too.
For years she'd feared the hurtful words she might say. More
terrifying—now—were the desperate ones.
You're my sister, Allison, my sister! It's hard to believe, isn't
it? You're golden, and I'm tarnished, and if you want nothing to do with me,
I'll understand. But... I wanted you to know I'm proud of you, Allison. So very
proud.
Hello, cowboy. It's me. I wondered if you'd like to hear more
about the dragons of Hong Kong? You seemed so interested that day as we stood
at the harbor's edge. Interested in the dragons—and in me. I looked away. The
intimacy scared me. But... I feel braver now.
Maylene no longer questioned her ability to prevent hurtful words.
But because she couldn't—yet—trust herself to contain the desperate ones, she'd
been avoiding both Allison and Sam.
Until today, she'd succeeded. Early this morning and quite by
chance, she'd run into Allison. She'd been on her way to Drake Towers, and
Allison was off to Blake Pier to observe the ancient art of tai chi, practiced
at dawn by elderly Chinese.
Their conversation had been eager but awkward. They'd raved about
the dry weather, how perfect it was for the Jade Palace, and how busy they
were, how there weren't enough hours in the day—offering excuses, perhaps, for
not having shared so much as a cup of tea.
Before parting, when Allison seemed on the verge of suggesting a
get-together despite their busy lives, Maylene cut her off with the brusque
announcement that she needed to get an idea on paper before her breakfast meeting
with James. Hours later, Sam called with his mysterious request that she come
to his construction-site office.
Now she was here, and she felt both desire and fear, as if Sam was
the key to the very survival of her heart—and the most certain path to its destruction.
Maylene didn't know which would win, desire or fear, but as she
inhaled a familiar scent, fear triumphed.
Turning from the parched earth to Sam, she glowered at the
cigarette in his hand. "You obviously don't care about your own lungs, but
what about mine? There's a great deal of scientific data regarding the damage
caused by secondhand smoke."
Even before the dangers were widely known, Sam made a point of
keeping his smoke away from others. His need to destroy was for personal
consumption only. He didn't want to impose on anyone else the systematic damage
he was inflicting on himself.
Had he not been so captivated by her, he would have stubbed out
the cigarette the instant she appeared. But he
had
been captivated, and
despite the increasing warmth on his fingers, a warning that the cigarette was
burning low, it had been forgotten.
He'd been focused on another warmth, a soft glow in lustrous eyes.
He'd been permitted only a glimpse before she crossed to the window and gazed
outside.
Now her eyes were back, glaring—and yet fearful?—their warm glow
replaced by ice.
"I'll make you a deal, Jade. If you give up one of your
self-destructive habits, I'll quit smoking today—forever."
Maylene withheld her defiant echo, One of
my
self-destructive
habits? She knew she had them, and Sam knew it, too.
"You don't even need to tell me which one you plan to
abandon," he drawled, as if not the least bit concerned about the
cigarette ember touching his skin. "It would be nice, however, if I were
to derive some secondhand benefit, just as you will if I stop smoking."