The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley

Author:Maureen Lindley [Lindley, Maureen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9781608191970
Google: BhwkImsdyFQC
Amazon: B0046LUWWA
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Published: 2009-09-01T18:30:00+00:00

Sour Cherries and Acacia Honey

I flew to Tientsin, taking my turn at the controls with a young Japanese pilot I had first met when taking flying lessons. He was an occasional lover of mine, a man of wit and arrogance whose company I enjoyed since he wanted nothing more than sex from me and was prepared to do me favours in return. It was cold in the cockpit and we kept warm with regular shots from a thermos of hot tea laced with sake. After a smooth flight we landed in the city of Tientsin on the day before the Colonel was expecting me. Tanaka had taught me that the element of surprise puts you at an advantage and I had a plan that I thought would not only intrigue Doihara, but also display my skills at disguise and deception.

The hotel where Tanaka had arranged lodgings for me was only a short car ride from Doihara's headquarters. It was a sturdy fourstoreyed building, built out of the ruins of an old merchant house with pretensions to western grandeur. There was a dignifiedlooking doorman, uniformed Chinese staff, Indian carpets and rather dismal lighting. On the same road the Country Club, a grand establishment managed by the English, equalled the Shanghai Club both in style and luxury. Of course, Chinese were forbidden entrance, but I heard that an exception was made for Pu Yi and his wife because of who they were. While enjoying the club's hospitality, the great Emperor was treated with a qualified respect that bordered on insolence, which even the lowliest of the English were skilled at showing their Chinese superiors.

Tientsin was a smart city, with good restaurants, markets and theatres and a branch of Laidlaw and Company that was almost as well stocked as its Shanghai parent. The quality emporium was a favourite of Pu Yi's and was responsible for his ridiculous western outfits that included tweed jackets and plus fours, as well as the short coats that were split at the back into two tails that the Emperor wore with striped trousers and silk ties. There were department stores on Victoria Road and even a racecourse, but the city did not have Shanghai's intoxicating air, nor the power to instil into its inhabitants the feeling that they lived at the centre of the world. It did though have an international community with foreign industries and foreign troops too. The Peking Opera played there and the city boasted a modern cinema, as well as the usual opium dens and brothels.

I was excited about the adventure ahead in Tientsin, but I reminded myself of the last conversation I had with Tanaka before leaving Shanghai. Generous as ever, he had given me money and advised me not to trust Doihara with confidences that he might later use against me.

'I should send a chaperone with you, Yoshiko. I wouldn't trust the Colonel with any woman, let alone one as beautiful as you.'

I knew his jealousy had more to do with Doihara's superior rank than with possession of me.

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