Authors: Maureen Reynolds
I was washing the dishes when Elsie hurried in. She was out of breath and I thought she was ill.
‘What’s wrong, Elsie?’
She sat down and began to cry.
‘Is it Ronnie who’s causing more grief?’ I asked, feeling really angry with him for his off hand treatment of his wife.
She nodded, but it took two cups of tea before she felt well enough to tell me what was wrong. Peter was playing on the rug with his toy wooden train that he’d got for his birthday, and I kept giving him fond glances as he made train noises while pushing it around the wooden tracks.
I sat beside Elsie. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s happened now?’
She looked so miserable and tearful, but she nodded. ‘I haven’t seen Ronnie for four nights now, so last night I was determined to have it out with him. I went and hung around the American Café and he came out at midnight. He was with that dark-haired woman we saw that day on the Bund. They went to a house a few streets away and I followed them. A light went on in the window, so I went up to the apartment door and knocked.’ She stopped and swept her hair back from her wet, tearful face. There was an expression of grim defiance on her face that I hadn’t seen since the day on the ship when she’d told her mother off. ‘The woman answered the door and I saw Ronnie lying on the bed. When he saw me, he jumped up and almost pushed me down the stair. He said I was never to embarrass him again and that I should go home to my mother. I told him I loved him, and he laughed. It was a terrible, sneering laugh and he said he was in love with Ivanka, that’s the woman’s name, and he was going to divorce me and marry her.’
I was shocked. ‘That’s terrible, Elsie. You must get a solicitor or write to his father and tell him how awful his son is.’
‘I did that this morning,’ she said. ‘I wrote to his father and asked for the money for a ticket back to Scotland. I mentioned the divorce and Ivanka so that he knows it isn’t just me wanting to leave his son on a whim.’
I made another cup of tea and thought bitterly of the young girl I had met on the outward journey here.
‘Last night I was so unhappy that I wandered around these narrow streets and I got lost in the alleyways. I began to panic, but out of the blue this policeman appeared. He’s with the Municipal Police and he originally comes from Edinburgh. I realised we had been at the same school. His name is Robert Macdonald. At first he didn’t recognise me, but when he did he asked me why I was wandering around in the early hours of the morning.’ Elsie sat in silence, a deep-red flush spreading up from her neck. ‘I told him I had lost my way after being out for the evening with my husband. He offered to see me back to the house. We got chatting and he asked my husband’s name and what his job was in here in Shanghai. I told him I was Mrs Lomax and my husband was in charge of his father’s cotton mills. He gave me such a concerned look, Lizzie, when he said, “Ronnie Lomax: is that your husband?” When I nodded, he never said another word but wished me goodnight at my front door.’
‘Well, that was courteous of him to see you safely home, Elsie.’
Her voice rose until it was almost a scream. ‘But don’t you realise he knows Ronnie and it looks like he’s been in trouble with the law? When he writes home to his parents, who live just a few streets away from my mother, then all her neighbours will know my situation. I’ve been writing to tell her how happy and contented I am here and now she’ll know I’m a liar.’
I didn’t know what to say but told her she was welcome to stay with me until her ticket arrived. She was obviously concerned about her image of a happy marriage and that overcame her unhappiness. She knew her mother would be the target of gossips back in Edinburgh and she was ashamed at the thought of being the cause.
Betsy and Jeannie were overwhelmed by the numbers arriving from Peking. Elsie and I went to help, but there wasn’t enough food to go round. ‘We’re hearing terrible stories from the refugees about Peking now being occupied by the Japanese and all the killing and fires and the utter devastation.’
I was really worried about Jonas, as I hadn’t heard anything from him since he’d left. I now realised this was what my mother would have experienced when my father had gone to France. I hoped history wasn’t repeating itself, and I tried to feel confident. I managed it fine during the day, but in bed at night all my fears and worries emerged and stopped me from sleeping, which meant I was tired in the mornings.
Ping Li came round every morning to help with Peter, as Elsie had gone back to her own house. I could see my Chinese friend was also worried about the future.
‘Zheng Yan says the Japanese naval ships have fired on some of the boats coming into Shanghai. A Chinese houseboat with a family on board was sunk and they all died. The Japanese captain said it was a spy ship and they were within their rights to fire on it. Zheng Yan said it was clear it was a local boat and the family could all be clearly seen from the riverbank.’
I was now getting twinges in my side, but I didn’t want to go and see about it until Jonas came home. However, by the middle of August I couldn’t put up with the pain any longer. I decided to go to the doctor after Peter went to bed and thought maybe Elsie or Ping Li could look after him.
By teatime I was doubled up with pain, and luckily Ping Li called round. She took one look at me and called for her husband.
‘Lizzie needs to go to hospital, Ping Li,’ he said. ‘Try to get a taxi for her, as I don’t think she’ll be able to walk.’
I knew I couldn’t walk, as the pain came in waves and made me feel nauseous. I managed to ask Zheng Yan if he could ask Elsie to come and look after Peter, and he nodded. Thankfully a taxi arrived at the door and Ping Li helped me into it. I held on to her hand.
‘Can you come with me?’
‘Yes, I am going to come with you, Lizzie.’
I don’t remember much after I was examined by the doctor, except that I heard him tell the nurse I had a perforated appendix and he was afraid peritonitis had set in.
‘How long have you had the pain?’ he asked.
I only managed to gasp out a few words. ‘For a couple of weeks.’
He looked concerned, and I was whisked away along the corridor on a trolley.
The next thing I recalled was the sun shining in through the window of my little room in the hospital. For a moment or two, I couldn’t think where I was; then the pain struck me again and I called out loud. A small Chinese nurse came hurrying in, followed by the doctor, who sat in the chair by my bedside.
‘I’ve had to take your appendix out, Mrs O’Neill, but because it burst, you will still be in pain. I’ll give you something to dull the pain, but you must lie quiet and rest, with no sudden movements.’
If I had had the strength to laugh, I would have, but every movement felt like my body was on fire, so I just nodded.
The doctor went on. ‘I believe your husband is away on a job to Peking?’
I nodded again but became alarmed when he turned to the nurse and shook his head.
‘Have you had any word from him?’ I asked, and my voice sounded deep and gravelly.
He said he hadn’t, but when he did manage to contact him he would let him know I was recovering.
I managed to fall asleep but was awakened by the sound of voices in the corridor. It had turned dark and I realised I must have slept all day. The voices became agitated, but I still didn’t think anything about it, as my pain had returned.
The door opened, and I expected to see the nurse, but it was the doctor and Elsie. She was agitated as she came to my bedside.
‘Lizzie, you must listen to me. The Japanese have attacked Shanghai and there are dead bodies and fires all over the city.’
I suddenly grew cold. I felt my heart hammering in my chest. ‘Is it Peter? Or Jonas?’
The doctor tried to get her to leave, but she was adamant. ‘There’s a British ship leaving tomorrow to evacuate the women and children. I have to go on it and I want to take Peter with me, as I can’t leave him behind while you’re ill. Betsy and Jeannie say they aren’t going, but David has made them promise they will.’
‘Will Zheng Yan and Ping Li be going as well?’
She shook her head. ‘It’s just the expatriates and their families. The doctor tells me you will be in hospital for ten days or more and this will be the last chance to get Peter to safety.’
I looked at the doctor. ‘Can I be discharged right now?’
‘No, I’m sorry.’
I grabbed Elsie’s hand. ‘Please look after Peter. Take him to my aunt’s house in Carnoustie, and Jonas and I will join him when we can.’
She gave me a kiss on the cheek. ‘Of course I’ll look after Peter, and we’ll see you sometime when you leave and return to Scotland.’
She was almost out of the door when I said, ‘Can you pack his wooden train, Elsie? It’s his birthday present.’
She gave a backward glance and a tiny wave before disappearing. I cried silently into my pillow. I knew I had made the right decision, as I wouldn’t want Peter to be in any danger, but why wasn’t Jonas back home? Surely he had written up his story and Alex had taken his photos, so they should be coming home soon. Then, in the grey light of dawn when worries seem to magnify, I had the terrible thought that they were both either injured or dead. I knew history was repeating itself and I was now in the same position as my mother had been away back in 1917, with my husband missing in action like my father.
Ping Li came to visit me every afternoon and she said there was no word of Jonas or Alex. ‘Zheng Yan has gone to see the editor of the
China Times
, but he hasn’t heard anything except that the Japanese army has occupied Peking and is attacking Shanghai and Nanking.’
My wound was still painful, but I wanted to go home. I kept asking the doctor when I could leave the hospital, but he said only after my stitches were removed and that would take another day or two.
On her next visit I asked Ping Li to try to contact Sue Lin. ‘If anyone knows the whereabouts of Jonas and Alex, it’ll be her.’
Ping Li seemed evasive as she answered me. ‘We can’t find Sue Lin.’
I was vexed at her disappearance, but it was typical of her to be away when I badly needed some answers. Hopefully I would catch up with her when I got home. The doctor removed my stitches the following day and he said the wound had healed satisfactorily, so I could return to my house provided I rested as much as possible.
Ping Li brought my clothes around and we set off for Bubbling Well Road, with Ping Li carrying my suitcase. As we walked along the main road I was shocked by the devastation. People were still thronging the streets, but a good many of the houses had been destroyed in the shelling.
Ping Li said the railway station had been badly damaged and there had been lots of casualties, with children left crying by the side of their dead parents. She said that a British ship, the
Rajputana
, had evacuated the women and children, and that the houses on Bubbling Well Road were now empty.
‘Your friend Elsie has taken Peter away with her and the two ladies from the Mission have gone with her, so there are hardly any of our neighbours left.’
I was glad to be home and pleased that there wasn’t any damage to the house. It seemed odd not having Peter running around, and when I went into his bedroom I saw some of his toys neatly put away in his toy box. The train set was missing and I was glad that Elsie had managed to pack it. Our bedroom was as I had left it apart from a vase of flowers that had wilted, so I threw them out along with the brackish water.
Ping Li made some tea and we sat on the veranda. Everything was so peaceful that it was difficult to reconcile the bombed streets and deaths with our little corner, and I prayed that Jonas would return soon.
After Ping Li left, I wandered around the house because I had nothing better to do. Picking up Mr Wang’s box, I tried once again to find a way to open it, as I had done ever since I had received it. The sun was setting as I sat with it on my lap and I fiddled about with it. Suddenly, and much to my surprise, the lid sprang open and I found a lovely jade pendant on a fine silver chain nestled inside.
I gasped in wonder as I drew it out of its recess in the box. It seemed to shimmer in the fading light and I fastened it around my neck. For a brief moment I wondered if I should return it to his niece, who now ran the shop, but then I remembered he told me that I would find the secret of the box when the time was right. It now seemed as if that time had come.
Ping Li came in to make sure I was fine before going to bed and her eyes opened wide when she saw the pendant. I told her about the box and she said, ‘Your pendant is a lucky symbol and it will protect you if you are in danger.’
I thought it was just a very pretty piece of jewellery and not a potent symbol of protection. But for some reason this comforted me, and I put the pendant under my pillow when I went to bed. It was strange not having Elsie or Lorna-May popping in and out, but when Jonas came back then we would both leave Shanghai to be reunited with Peter.
I still found walking a bit hard and had to take my time, so I was sitting having my breakfast when Zheng Yan and Ping Li came in. I went to pour them a bowl of tea, but Zheng Yan held up his hand.
‘We have very bad news for you, Lizzie,’ he said, his face serious.
I held my breath. Was it news about Jonas?
‘We haven’t been able to get in touch with Jonas or Alex, but I have to tell you that Sue Lin is dead.’
I was stunned. ‘Dead?’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so. She was covering a story about the amusement park, but Chinese planes dropped bombs on it and a thousand people have been killed, including Sue Lin. The plane’s pilots were meant to bomb the naval ships in the river, but they dropped them too early. About two thousand people have been injured, some very badly.’
The amusement park was a very popular place to visit and a great attraction for the Chinese people, with its theatres, halls, menageries and refreshment room, and now it was a scene of devastation, with a thousand men, women and children killed and thousands injured.
I couldn’t take in this terrible news. Young, vibrant, career-minded Sue Lin had had so much to live for. It was hard to imagine her dead. Then I remembered Alex. ‘Alex is going to be devastated.’ It then struck me that he was also dead, along with Jonas, and I prayed so hard for it not to be true.