“It’s not that simple, Emily. I’m going to open the windows, do you mind?”
She shrugged. “I see. That pianist. You’re in love with him. But you also don’t mind marrying Sassoon and sleeping with him because he’s rich and he can protect you.”
I supposed I could get used to her style, but had I not seen the roomful of ribbons of toxin, I wouldn’t have believed she’d been smoking. Her mind was sharp and perceptive. I leaned against the window. “I didn’t sleep with Sassoon.”
“Come on. You love money.”
“Everyone loves money.”
“Maybe not more than everything else. I left Sassoon for your brother.”
I looked out the window. “All I can tell you is, Emily, I would do anything I can to protect Ernest.”
“You really do care about him, I see. What about your cousin-fiancé? Never mind. It’s an arranged marriage, and you should not be bound by it. But now you have to choose. Which one can’t you live without? You can’t have both love and money.”
“Why can’t I have both?”
She shrugged again. “Fine. You sleep with Sassoon and then Ernest. One on Monday, the other on Tuesday.”
“Emily,” I called out indignantly. I was not a promiscuous woman; I was a woman with morals.
She took off her robe, and naked, she walked to the wardrobe near me. I had to avert my eyes—most Chinese women were too modest to bare themselves. Emily didn’t seem to be embarrassed, however, opening the drawer and taking out some clothes. “Or you marry Sassoon and leave Ernest.”
“If I wanted to, I would have accepted Sassoon’s proposal, and I wouldn’t have come here.”
“But you don’t want to. Listen to yourself, Aiyi.”
I sighed. Unwilling as I was to give up Sassoon’s money, I saw I had no choice. “But I’m desperate for Sassoon’s protection. What should I do when Yamazaki returns? I have to turn Ernest in, or Yamazaki will seize my business.”
She picked up a velvet dress and peered at herself in the mirror. “Now you’re making sense, Aiyi. You need to figure out a plan to protect your business and your man. Maybe you can make a counterproposal asking for Sassoon’s protection of your business.”
That was a good idea. If he became a shareholder of my club, my business would be a joint venture protected by the SMC law, and Yamazaki couldn’t do anything about it. “But there’s no way Sassoon will help me if I reject him. He’ll be so angry. He’ll never talk to me again.”
“No doubt about that. He’s vengeful. He ostracized me after I left him. He’ll do the same to you, unless you give him what he wants.”
What he wants. “He wants nude photos.”
“He has mine.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Why not? It’s my body.”
What a woman—free, open, independent, the owner of her body and soul. Could I ever be like her?
“He’s quite a photographer, Aiyi. I’m not ashamed of it. It’s not pornography. It’s only pornography in the eyes of a dirty man. And I was beautiful in those photos; you should see them. I was young, attractive, and charming. Now look at me.” She dropped the dress, cupped her drooping breasts, and her voice was veiled with sadness again. “This tired flesh, this decaying mind, this soulless body of an old woman.”
“The great smoke did this to you, Emily.” I seized the opportunity.
She didn’t look pleased, like all the addicts who refused to hear the truth. “Our conversation is over, Aiyi. Do whatever you like. Leave me alone now.”
I went to the door. “I know you won’t like it when I say this, but you must stop smoking, Emily. You’re an extraordinary woman. Don’t let opium take control of your mind. Think about it. I’ll give you the contact information of the physician who treated my father. I’ll leave it in the kitchen.”
She stared at me. Those dark eyes, perceptive.
I went back and gave her a hug, which I had rarely done to a foreigner. Emily didn’t respond at first, and then slowly, her arms held mine and she pulled me closer.
In my courtyard, I had just gotten out of my Nash when I heard Peiyu call me into the reception room. She was holding the baby, sitting on a rosewood chair.
“Come, come, Aiyi. I need to ask you something. Let me get her settled. My breasts are like rocks and she won’t latch on.” Peiyu, the puritan who buttoned her clothes up to her chin, flipped open her tunic and presented two giant breasts. For someone who had six children, Peiyu had impressive assets, perfectly round, much larger than mine. How weird. For my entire life I saw women cover themselves to their necks, and in one day two women revealed themselves before me. “Did you post the invitations?”