Dragon Land (27 page)

Mr Wang’s abacus was clicking away due to all the sales of the book, and after the crowd had thinned out a bit, I joined the end of the queue. I had noticed that most of the customers were Chinese, but there was a smattering of British people buying the book.

When it came to my turn, Jonas O’Neill gave me a direct look and he smiled.

I held out my copy. ‘Can you sign it to Lizzie Flint, please?’

His eyes screwed up with laughter. ‘Certainly, Lizzie Flint, and it’s a grand name you have.’ After he signed it, he held the book open for Alex Garcia to sign, and I was taken aback by the dark-haired man’s American accent. I thanked them and went back to my seat.

I must have sat for a good hour reading the book, as it was a fascinating account of life as lived in China, with wonderful photographs by Mr Garcia. Every few minutes I would look across at Jonas O’Neill, but when he caught my eye I blushed like some immature schoolgirl. I didn’t know why I felt drawn to this stranger, as he wasn’t especially handsome, but I was. I tried to look at him less in case he thought I was some forward hussy.

I went over to Mr Wang to pay him and he said, ‘Miss Lizzeeeee, you seem to like Mr Jonas?’

‘Oh no, Mr Wang, I don’t even know him.’

‘Ah, but Mr Wang knows you do, and he likes you, I can tell.’

There was still no sign of Sandy, so I resumed my seat and held the book up to make it look as if I was reading it. I felt someone’s eyes on me. It was Jonas, who was studying me with a quizzical look. I tried to look nonchalant and kept glancing at my watch. Thankfully Sandy appeared, and he said he had been standing at the door waiting for me.

‘You seen to be taken with that author chappie, Lizzie,’ he said with a smile.

I felt my face go red again, but my voice was steady. ‘What author chappie are you talking about, Sandy?’

‘You know damn well who I mean, so stop trying to deny it.’

I gave him a steady look. ‘How many beers have you had tonight?’

‘As a matter of fact I’ve had three, but that’s because it’s the new year and tomorrow I might need the hair of the dog, which is funny because it’s the Year of the Dog.’

I gathered up my book, and without a backward glance at the author chappie I walked out of the shop, with Sandy following behind. Mr Wang called out, ‘Happy New Year, Miss Lizzieeeee.’

I turned around. ‘Happy New Year, Mr Wang.’

Then I saw Jonas O’Neill and Alex Garcia gathering up the leftover books, and as I caught his eye, he waved. ‘Goodnight, Lizzie Flint.’

Sandy gave me one of his looks. ‘I told you, didn’t I, that you’ve made an impression on him.’

‘Nonsense, Sandy,’ I said, but I felt my heart hammering in my chest and couldn’t for the life of me think what had happened to me that night.

When I got home, Sandy made straight for his room, no doubt dodging Marie, who would smell the beer on his breath, but I sat up with her and we had a small sherry each to celebrate another year.

Later, in bed, I sat up with my book. I couldn’t put it down. It was full of the history of China, from the opium wars to the Boxer Rebellion. It told of the slow demise of the emperors in their Forbidden City with all its concubines, and of the warlords and civil wars. It told the story of the famines, and of the incredible cruelty but also the beauty of this fabulous land, all told in words and great pictures. I turned to the back cover and found the photographs of the two authors: Jonas O’Neill, born in County Cork and a graduate of Dublin University, and Alex Garcia, born New York and a photographer of merit. Both men were now residing in Shanghai, where they were freelance reporters for a Shanghai newspaper.

It was 3 a.m. when I closed the book, but when I woke up next morning I was mortified to recall the dream I had had of Jonas O’Neill.

After the New Year celebrations were over, life at the school seemed rather flat: a feeling that wasn't helped by the weather, which was wet and humid. By the end of the day all I wanted was a bath and clean clothes, and I noticed Sandy wasn't his usual cheery self.

For some time now, ever since Gerald's death, I had been toying with the idea of going back home to see Margaret. All her letters were full of how well she was keeping and her social life in Carnoustie, but I was still worried about her.

I was also still thinking about Jonas O'Neill, and I had no idea why I felt like this. It had never happened to me before. I mentioned it when I wrote to Laura and was shocked when she replied that I was in love with the man. ‘What nonsense,' I thought, ‘and so typical of Laura's romantic nature.' How, I asked myself, could I possibly be in love with someone I hardly knew and had only spoken a dozen words to?

I was worried about leaving Marie and Sandy in the lurch, as the new school term had started, so I said nothing about leaving. At the beginning of March, Sandy announced one morning that the two authors of
Dragon Land
were coming back due to the popularity of their book. He had given me a bland look as he ate his porridge with its powdered milk, then said, ‘Oh by the way, Lizzie, I was talking to Mr Wang and he's having another book signing with those two author chappies.'

I nearly choked on my toast, and Sandy looked triumphant. ‘I knew you would be pleased.'

‘I'm not pleased, Sandy,' I said indignantly. ‘It's just that I never expected them back here in Hong Kong when there's the entire country of China to go round with their book. And another thing: why didn't Mr Wang tell me?'

‘Well, I expect they have been doing that, but they obviously have enough customers here to warrant another trip. Or maybe they've got another motive. As for Mr Wang, he said to tell you, and I'm telling you now.' He scooped the last spoonful of porridge into his mouth with a grimace. ‘Good Lord, Marie, this powdered milk tastes atrocious.'

She looked at him over the top of her spectacles. ‘Well, I must say it's taken you a long time to come to that conclusion, Sandy. You've been eating it for years.'

‘I know, and my stomach has finally gone on strike, so I won't be eating any more of it.'

‘Are you sure your stomach isn't rebelling against that awful junk you eat every night?' she said tartly.

I had to smile. Sandy had eaten two helpings of fried rice and prawns along with two bottles of beer last night, and Marie's words echoed my thoughts.

Although I hadn't said anything to Sandy, a few weeks earlier I had written a letter to the publishers of
Dragon Land
, hoping they could pass it on to the two men. It was a short letter stating that I wanted to thank them for such a super book and how much I had enjoyed it. I hadn't had a reply, but then again I wasn't expecting one.

I could barely wait to get to Mr Wang's shop, and I found him putting up a poster about the book. The event was on the Saturday, which was three days away.

On Saturday I was in two minds whether to go or to stay in the school. I tried on three different outfits, but all the time my mind was on the letter I had sent. Would Jonas O'Neill and Alex Garcia think I was some starry-eyed youngster? Why had I written it, I wondered? The answer was that I'd never expected to see either of them again. I finally made up my mind I wasn't going to go, but when Sandy popped his head round the door I found myself walking out with him into the crowded streets.

‘I'll not bother coming into the shop with you, Lizzie. I'll just pop into the wee restaurant down the road, as it's a special menu on tonight.'

I started to panic. ‘Can you not come in for a minute or two, Sandy?'

He laughed. ‘No, if it's a toss-up between Mr Chan's sticky ribs and rice and Jonas O'Neill's book, then the rice wins hands down.'

I hesitated by the door and was almost on the verge of leaving when Mr Wang called out, ‘Miss Lizzieeeee.'

I saw Jonas turn round and he smiled. ‘Hello, Lizzie Flint, nice to meet you again.'

I picked up a copy of the book and walked towards him. ‘Can you sign this, please? Put “To Margaret from Lizzie”.'

I watched as the now familiar flourish of a signature was scrawled across the page, and Jonas handed it to Alex, who also signed it.

‘We want to thank you for your letter, Miss Flint,' Alex said. ‘It's always good to hear how well our readers like the book.'

Jonas didn't say anything and my heart sank, but when I looked at him he smiled. ‘I was hoping your father would give you our special invitation.'

‘My father …?'

‘Yes, the man who was with you the last time we were here.'

‘Oh, he's not my father. We're both teachers at the same school, but yes, he did say you were both coming back.'

As I went to pick up the signed book, Jonas touched my hand.

‘Can you wait till we're finished here? I would like to take you out for a meal.'

I thought, ‘Will I wait? Why, Jonas, I've been waiting a lifetime to meet you.'

Instead, I smiled back. ‘Yes, I'll wait.' I pointed to the bench. ‘I'll be sitting over there.'

The shop began to fill up. There was a huge queue in front of the table and I could hear Jonas's voice as he chatted to the customers. When Sandy appeared, I said, ‘Hello, Father.'

He laughed out loud. ‘I didn't want to let on to that author chappie that I'm not your father. I hope you don't mind.'

I said I didn't mind at all and explained about having a meal with Jonas.

Sandy looked worried. ‘I'm supposed to be looking after you, Lizzie, and I'm not sure about this chappie's intentions.'

‘I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now, and I promise I'll not stay out too long.'

‘Well, mind and remember that. I won't mention to Marie anything about this. I'll just tell her you're still at Mr Wang's shop.'

Earlier on I had noticed a lovely Chinese girl sitting quietly on one of the other benches, but as the signing came to an end she got up and went to the table.

Jonas came over.

‘I'm leaving my book with Mr Wang,' I said, ‘and I'll collect it later.'

Jonas took my arm. ‘There's someone I would like you to meet,' he said as we went over to where Alex was sitting with the girl. ‘This is Sue Lin Crawford, Alex's fiancée.'

She said, ‘Hello, Lizzie, nice to meet you,' and she laughed when she saw my surprise that she had a Scottish accent. ‘I lived in Scotland for twelve years and went to Glasgow University.'

I told her I was from Dundee and had been a teacher there before coming out to Hong Kong.

As we left the shop, Mr Wang beamed a huge smile at me. ‘Goodnight, Miss Lizzieeeee.'

‘Goodnight, Mr Wang.' I could sense his gaze following me as the four of us stepped out into the street.

As we walked along, Jonas explained that Sue Lin and Alex were going back to the hotel, and if I didn't mind, there was a small seafood restaurant on the same street that we could go to.

I didn't tell him that I would follow him to the moon and back, but just nodded.

The restaurant was tiny, but we got a table by the far wall, and a tiny Chinese lady came and took our order. It was all so surreal. One day I was working away at the school and now I was sitting here with a virtual stranger, and the strange thing was, I was loving every moment of it.

After we had eaten, we sat with tiny bowls of fragrant tea and talked.

Jonas said, ‘I originally come from Cork, in Ireland, where my father has a small farm and also breeds and stables horses. I'm afraid I'm a disappointment to him, as I didn't want to stay on the farm or in Ireland. My uncle has a farm in the Scottish Borders, and I didn't want to go there either. I came to Shanghai ten years ago and I love the life there as a freelance journalist and now an author. I sometimes worry about my father, as my mother died five years ago and I haven't seen him since I went back for her funeral. What about you, Lizzie, what brought you to Hong Kong?'

‘My father was killed in the war when I was six and my mother never recovered from it. My granny and mother are both dead, but I've got my aunt Margaret to thank for coming out here. Her friends run the school I teach in. I've always longed for adventure. When I was a child, I used to shock my granny by saying I wanted to be a pirate.'

He burst out laughing. ‘A pirate?'

‘Or an explorer, I didn't mind which.'

He became serious. ‘You must all have missed your father very much.'

I said we had. ‘My mother always said the war had a lot to answer for, with all the families left behind to mourn their loved ones, and she was right. In the end it killed both my father and my mother.'

He sighed. ‘The worst thing is there's no end to conflict. There's a war brewing in China, with the Japanese armies taking over the northern part of the country. Then there's Chiang Kai-shek with his army and the Communists under Mao Zedong fighting one another, and the Japanese have their sights on the rest of the country.'

I was shocked. ‘But people said the conflict of 1914 to 1918 was the war to end all wars.'

‘Well, they're wrong. It will happen all over again. Not just here, but in Europe as well.'

This statement depressed me. Surely there had been enough killing and, judging by Jonas's book, there had been enough in China as well.

‘Let's speak about something cheerier,' said Jonas.

‘What a lovely girl Sue Lin is. When are she and Alex getting married?'

‘Well, tomorrow if Alex had his way, but Sue Lin loves her job as a journalist on the newspaper, and with Alex and I always travelling and looking for news, as well as starting another book, they just never seem to set a date.'

I said I was surprised by her Scottish accent.

‘Her father is a doctor from Glasgow who came out to China to do missionary work. He met Sue Lin's mother in Shanghai and they were married. She takes her looks from her mother. They moved back to Glasgow when Sue Lin was a girl. When she got the job on the newspaper, she came back to Shanghai and her birthplace.'