And the Bride Wore Red

‘You spend as much time with Lang as you can. He sounds nice. Is he good-looking?’

‘Yes, he’s good-looking?’

‘Really good-looking?’

‘Well…’

‘On a scale of one to ten?’

‘Seven. Oh, all right-eight.’

‘Jolly good,’ Norah said robustly. ‘Now, go and buy a really nice, new dress. Splash out, do you hear?’

‘Yes, Aunt,’ Olivia said meekly, and they laughed together.

After a hasty breakfast she headed out to the shops, meaning to choose something from the Western fashions that were now available in Beijing. But before long her eye fell on a cheongsam, the traditional Chinese dress that was so flattering to a woman with a good figure. The neckline came modestly up to the throat, and there was a high-standing collar, but it was also figure-hugging, outlining her tiny waist, flared hips and delicately rounded breasts in a way that left no doubt that her shape was perfect.

It was heavily embroidered and made of the highest-quality silk, at a price that made her hesitate for half a second. But when she tried it on and saw what it did for her she knew she was lost. When she combined it with the finest heels she dared to wear, the effect was stunning.

She wondered if Lang would think so. Would he compliment her on her appearance?

He did not. Calling for her punctually at six, he handed her into the car without a word. But she’d seen the way his eyes had lingered on the swell of her breasts, so perfectly emphasised by the clinging material, and she knew he had remembered their first meeting. His expression told her all she wanted to know.

She settled down to enjoy herself. They were headed for the hutongs; she’d always been fascinated by these streets that had surrounded the Forbidden City for hundreds of years. A plentiful water supply had dictated the location, and the hutongs had always flourished, colourful places full of life and industry. Shops sprung up, especially butchers, bakers, fishmongers and anything selling domestic necessities. Change came and went. Other parts of the city had become wealthier, more fashionable, but the hutongs’ vibrant character had ensured their survival.

Olivia had sometimes shopped there. Now for the first time she would see the personal life that lay behind the little stores. A hutong was a street formed by lines of quadrangles, called siheyuans, each siheyuan consisting of four houses placed at right angles to each other. Here large families could live with the privacy of their own home, yet with their relatives always within calling distance.

As they drove there, Lang described his family’s siheyuan.

‘The north house belongs to Grandfather Tao. He’s the centre of the family. Meihui was his kid sister and he remembers her as if it were yesterday. He says I remind him of her, but that’s just affection, because I don’t really look like her at all. Uncle Jing and his wife also live there, with their four children.

‘One of the side houses is occupied by Uncle Hai, his wife and their two younger children. The one opposite is the home of their two elder sons and their wives. And the south house has been taken over by Wei. He’s Jing’s son, and he’s living in the south house in preparation for his marriage.’

‘He’s the one I saw the other night? Married? He looks far too young.’

‘He’s twenty, but he’s madly in love with Suyin, the girl who sang in the restaurant, and she seems to feel she can put up with him. Apart from him there are several other children, ranging from five to twelve. They’re wonderful kids. Villains, mind you.’

‘As the best youngsters always are.’

‘Right,’ he said, gratified.

‘But how many people am I meeting?’ she asked, beginning to be nervous.

‘About eighteen.’

‘Wow! I’m getting scared.’

‘Not you. You’re a dragon lady, remember? Brave, adventurous, ready for anything.’

‘Thank you. But that big a family still makes me a bit nervous.’

‘Eighteen isn’t so many. There are at least another dozen in other parts of the country, and probably plenty more I have yet to meet.’

‘Is that where you’re going? You said something about travelling soon.’

‘Something like that. Let’s talk later. I must warn you that you’re about to walk into the middle of a feud. Uncle Jing is furious with Uncle Hai because Hai’s wife Biyu is cooking you dumplings. Jing thinks the privilege of cooking for you should have been his. He’s a fishmonger, and also a wedding planner.’

‘I’ve heard of that before,’ Olivia said, much struck. ‘It’s because the words for fish and prosperity are so alike that fish gets served at weddings as a way of wishing the couple good luck. So fishmongers often plan weddings as well.’

‘That’s right. Hai does very well as an arranger of weddings, where of course he sells tons of his own fish. The trouble is he thinks he’s entitled to arrange everything for everyone, and he’s very put out about the dumplings.’

His solemn tone made Olivia burst out laughing.

‘I promise to be tactful,’ she said.

‘Have I told you you’re looking beautiful tonight?’

‘Not a word.’

‘Well, I’m being careful. If I said that deep blue does wonderful things for your eyes you’d find me very boring.’

‘I might,’ she said in a pensive voice. ‘Or I might decide to forgive you.’

‘Thank you, ma’am, but I feel sure you’d censure me for insulting you with that old-fashioned romantic talk. Heavens, this is the twenty-first century! Women don’t fall for that kind of clap-trap any more.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t actually say any of that out loud,’ she said, laughing.

‘But you might think it silently, and that would be much worse. I’m wary of your unspoken thoughts.’

‘But if they’re unspoken you can’t possibly know what they are,’ she pointed out.

‘You’re wrong. I’m starting to understand the way you think.’

‘That’s an alarming prospect!’ she observed.

‘For which of us, I wonder?’

‘For me,’ she said without hesitation.

‘Are you more alarmed at the thought of my getting it right, or getting it wrong?’

She considered this seriously. ‘Right, I think. I don’t mind you getting it wrong. I can always tread on your toes.’

‘Good thinking.’

‘But what woman wants to be understood too well by a man?’ she mused.

‘Most women complain that men don’t understand them.’

‘Then they’re being foolish,’ she said with a little smile. ‘They should bless their luck.’

They both laughed and the moment passed, but she was left with the sense that beneath the banter they had really been talking about something else entirely. It was a feeling that often assailed her in Lang’s company.

They continued the journey in companionable silence, until at last he said, ‘Before we get there I’d better warn you of just how enthusiastically Wei has prepared them for you. I’ve explained that we barely know each other, and he mustn’t run ahead, but he-Well…’

‘Didn’t take any notice?’ Olivia finished sympathetically.

‘And how!’

‘All right, I’m prepared.’

‘Grandfather Tao and Grandmother Shu have learned a few words in English, in your honour. The rest of the family speaks English, but those two are so old that they’ve lived a different kind of life. They’ve been practising all day to offer you this courtesy.’

‘How kind.’ She was touched. ‘I know I’m going to love your family.’

At last she found herself in streets that she recognised.

‘Weren’t we here the other night?’