Bill for the Use of a Body (10 page)

Tuesday was a black day for Julian. When Merri had spoken of receiving an airmail letter from Bill Urata she had not mentioned that in a few days' time he would be returning to Hong Kong. And she had spoken with considerable warmth about the young Japanese. That did not necessarily mean that she was attracted by him, but it did mean that she saw him with different eyes from Julian's.

Although Urata was a Japanese by blood, in all other respects he could be looked on as an American. Experience had taught Julian that, while travelled Americans can be as cultured and charming as any people in the world, since fewer than one in every hundred have ever been to Europe the average Englishman has much more in common with his Continental neighbours than he has with the average American. They are brought up with an entirely different background, intensely proud of their country's great achievements and inclined to regard everything to do with the Old World as effete; whereas the European finds little to admire in a polyglot people one-third of who have periodically to go into homes for treatment as alcoholics, drug addicts or for other mental disorders, yet who dictate the policy of smaller countries through the power of money, often with no long-term knowledge of the issues at stake, and have not yet even learnt to care for the welfare of their own underprivileged classes.

It was, therefore, not unnatural that he should regard the crew-cut, camera-draped, loudly dressed young Urata with faint distaste and think of him as a modern barbarian. But he had youth: splendid carefree youth; he danced the Twist and, no doubt, would be only too ready to swim with Merri however cold the water. That, Julian acknowledged grimly, was ample to account for her liking for him.

Somehow, Julian got through the day. But the evening was far worse. He felt certain that Urata would persuade Merri to dine with him. Probably he liked his food made unrecognisable with lashings of vinegar, mustard and onions and his favourite dish was nearly-raw meat; so he would order two huge steaks. But perhaps Merri liked steaks too. Then they would dance. Not gracefully, but with a wild abandon, and they would be laughing and thoroughly enjoying it.

By eleven o'clock still more tormenting visions seethed in Julian's mind. Merri would have her car and Urata could be counted on to get her to take him for a short drive before dropping him at his hotel. She enjoyed being kissed and was passionate by nature. In Julian's arms she had given ample evidence of her hot Asiatic blood. Excited by the dancing and with a man of her own age, she would be even more disposed to let herself go than she had with him. At half past eleven he finished his last brandy-and-soda and went to bed, now blessing Mrs. Sang for her ruling that Merri must be home by that hour.

Wednesday followed much the same pattern. Such doubts as he had had about marrying a girl so much younger than himself were now utterly dispersed. Attacked by a more violent jealousy than he had experienced for many years, he felt that, come what may, he had to win her. Again he spent a miserable day, and late that evening his vivid imagination conjured up pictures that were
almost unbearable; for he had persuaded himself that if she proved unwilling the husky young Japanese might take her by force.

Then on Thursday reason and plausibility got the upper hand in Julian's mind. Merri had told him that most of the people for whom she had acted as guide were rich, generally elderly, American couples; but she had mentioned several men that she had taken round the Colony, some of whom she had liked and dined with. As she was so ravishingly beautiful it was certain that some of them would have made a pass at her; so she would have had ample experience in dealing with such situations. And there was no reason at all to suppose that she liked Urata more than she had several other men. She must regard them all as only birds of passage, and even those who did attract her could mean no more than chaps to have a little fun with. All the odds were that young Urata fell into that category. Anyhow, he was combining a holiday with his business trip; so he must soon return to Japan. That, Julian now realised, gave him the ace. He had no ties. His time was limitless. He had telephoned the office of the Hong Kong Tourist Association first thing on Tuesday morning to say that he wished to engage Miss Sang's services indefinitely as soon as she was again free. He had only to possess his soul in patience until Urata departed and sweet laughing Merri would again become his companion for long happy days.

He had not long to wait. At half past eight on Friday morning the telephone in his bedroom rang, and to his delight Merri's silvery voice came over the line. ‘Good morning, Julian. I rang up to tell you that Bill is leaving today for Macao. The office tells me that you've booked me again. So if it's all right with you I'll call for you at half past nine.'

When she arrived in her car she said, ‘This is the 1st March and it's the hottest day yet; so unless you've any
other plans I thought I might take you to bathe at Sheko.'

Stunned afresh at the sight of her flower-like face and slim body, he was willing to agree to anything; so they drove down to the beach. Quite a few people were already in the water, and when he had hired two tents she said, ‘What about skis? You do water-ski, don't you?'

He shook his head. ‘I'm afraid not. I've never learnt to.'

She sighed. ‘What a pity. It's marvellous fun. Bill and I came here yesterday. He's absolutely first-class and wonderful to watch. But never mind. We'll just go in for a swim.'

Again Julian felt the awful handicap of middle-age that, despite his firm good figure, was creeping upon him. But they enjoyed their bathe and afterwards lunched off a delicious crab omelette and avocado pear salad.

When she asked him if he would like to return to the Repulse Bay for his afternoon nap he suddenly formed a determination to break that habit of the ageing and replied, ‘No; let's drive up into the hills and find a place where we can sit and enjoy the heavenly view.'

Half an hour later they had left the car and were sitting side by side several hundred feet up looking out towards Lamtong Island and the ocean that faded into a blue haze beyond it.

It was very peaceful and they were utterly alone there. Putting an arm round her shoulders, he made to draw her to him; but she wriggled free and said abruptly, ‘No, Julian, no. It's too hot for that sort of thing.'

He did not press her; yet as he refrained he was suddenly cynically conscious that, heat or no heat, had he been younger he would have laughed at her protest then pulled her to him and kissed her.

All the morning he had been tempted to ask her about Urata. Now he could resist no longer, and enquired, ‘What sort of a time did you have with Bill?'

Her large grey eyes regarded him with an amused look, and she replied, ‘I believe you're jealous.'

‘Of course I am,' he admitted with a smile. ‘I just hated the thought of your being with him, because I know you like him.'

‘I do,' she agreed frankly, ‘and we had great fun. We danced every evening and it was heavenly. He's the nicest and most amusing man I've met for a long time.'

‘Then you find him nicer than me?' Julian asked with a sinking feeling.

She regarded him gravely for a moment with a little frown. ‘No, I wouldn't quite say that. The two of you are so utterly different. Bill is a masterful sort of man. He wants his own way in everything, but all the time he is bubbling with spontaneous gaiety. Whereas you are wonderfully peaceful to be with. And you understand things about life and art that Bill hasn't got a clue about. He is much more exciting; but you have so many things he lacks, and I'd put my trust in you much sooner than I would in him.'

‘Thanks for the compliment,' Julian smiled, much comforted; but, wisely, he made no further attempt to kiss her.

That night they dined at the Carlton and on the way home she willingly surrendered again to his kisses.

Over dinner they had planned their next day. Merri had said that one of the most enjoyable outings was to hire a private launch and go round the island, but it was so expensive that usually a group of tourists clubbed together to make the trip. Not the least deterred by that, Julian had asked her to engage one so that they could enjoy a long day together on the sea.

Next morning they left Ferry Pier in a big motor launch with a crew of five: a skipper, an engineer, a deck hand, a cook and a steward. In the forepart of the launch there was a cabin that would seat ten in rough weather, and
a small bar; above it the deck, covered with an awning, was furnished with a table and a number of cane armchairs. Below, in the stern, lay the engine room and the galley.

In perfect weather they headed westward, with no more than a gentle breeze to chop the sea slightly and refresh them in the torrid heat. By midday they had come round to Ti Tam Bay and, anchoring, went overboard for a swim. Back on board they were served an excellent lunch, then during the afternoon they rounded Kau Pi Chau Point and headed north. By six o'clock they had entered the Lei U Mun Channel and were about seven miles from Victoria, but opposite Quarry Point the engine broke down.

That did not particularly worry them, as they had planned to make the most of their day on the water and dine on board. However, the trouble proved more than a temporary fault and, after tinkering with the engine for three-quarters of an hour, the Chinese engineer told them apologetically that it might be two or three hours before he could get it going again.

Still not unduly worried, they watched the sun decline in the west crowned by a great aura of orange, salmon and gold, while drinking cocktails then eating a very pleasant meal. By the time they finished it had grown chilly; so they went down into the cabin and, with the aid of a pile of cushions, snuggled up comfortably in a corner there. With the failure of the engine the lights had also failed, so by nine o'clock they were shrouded from the sight of the crew by complete darkness.

Confident that it could not now be long before the repairs to the engine were completed, Merri was in one of her happiest moods. She let Julian kiss her to his heart's content, responded passionately and now and then gave little sighs of pleasure.

He had not meant to force the pace but after a while the temptation was too much for him and he said softly,
‘Merri, I love you. I love you desperately. Will you marry me?'

She gave a little gasp, drew away from him and asked, ‘Do you … do you really mean that?'

‘Of course I do,' he assured her. ‘You are the loveliest and sweetest thing that God ever put breath into. I've told you all about myself, so you know what you'd be taking on. I've had a rotten life so far; but you said yourself only the other day that I ought to settle down and make a new life for myself. I know I'm much older than you, but I'm still young enough to do that, and I'm sure I could make you happy. My sweet, I beg you to say yes.'

She gave a sudden nervous little laugh. ‘I … I've had quite a number of proposals; but never before two in one week.'

‘Does that mean that Bill proposed to you?' he asked with a frown.

‘Yes,' she nodded. ‘On his last night here, before he left for Macao. He was terribly set on marrying me; but I couldn't, even if I really loved him enough, and I'm not sure that I do. You see, the Japanese are responsible for a great deal of the dope running that goes on here, and Mother loathes them on that account. She would never consent to my marrying a Japanese.'

‘I see. Then that puts Bill Urata out of the running. And, anyway, you're not in love with him.'

‘I find him terribly attractive. But that's not the same as being head over heels in love, is it?'

‘No. And what about me?'

‘I find you terribly attractive too, but you fulfil an entirely different need in me. In some ways Bill is almost a barbarian; whereas you have all the intellect, love of beauty and kindly worldly wisdom that appeal so strongly both to the Chinese and European in me.'

‘Such qualities are much more lasting, Merri, than being able to dance the Twist and ride a surf-board with agility. Say “yes”; I implore you to.'

She shook her dark head. ‘No, I can't. Please, Julian, don't press me. To be honest, I've let you make love to me partly, at least, to get Bill out of my mind, because that's all over and I want to forget about him. Perhaps to tell you that is unkind, but it wasn't altogether that. I've never been kissed by such an accomplished lover, and I'll admit that your gentle fondling of me sends me into a dream of bliss. But you must be content with that for the moment. To marry you is another thing, and you must give me time to think.'

More than content with her admission that she liked him so much, Julian refrained from urging her further, but again drew her to him and time drifted by unnoticed by them.

When at last she asked the time he looked at his watch and saw that it was after ten. Worried now about getting her home, he went aft and spoke to the engineer, who was working on the engine by the light of a torch. The Chinese assured him glibly that the major trouble had been dealt with but another half-hour went by before the engine began to stutter. Unrealised by them, the current had meanwhile carried the launch several miles down towards Lamtong Island. In consequence it was midnight before they at last landed at Starr Ferry, and they still had to collect the car and drive across the island.

Fearing that Merri's mother might be waiting up for her, Julian insisted that she should drive straight home so that he might support her explanation for her lateness, and afterward he would walk back to his hotel. When they arrived he found that their fears were only too well founded. Mrs. Sang let them into the house herself and her fine face was grim with disapproval.

Merri nervously gabbled out an account of what had happened, but her mother said only, ‘You go straight up to bed, child. I want a word with Mr. Day and he shall do the explaining.'