"No, that's the strange part. I thought she'd fume about her, ask my advice, give me a clue but she didn't, after all I'm their family doctor for years, employed by her, by Struan's, and I know her better than anyone.
She didn't comment on anything, volunteer anything, the questions were just to cover details I'd forgotten to mention. Weird."
"Yes," Jamie said. "She'll have a plan."
"I agree. Of course the story was in the press from the gutter to the Peak in lurid details, "TAI-PAN DIES ON WEDDING NIGHT," that kind of headline though she had tried to bury it, sorry no pun intended.
I've all the cuttings for you, and this." His eyes took on a different glow. He gave Jamie an envelope. Tess's handwriting. Mr.J. McFay, Personal by Hand. "Before you ask, I don't know what's in it. She just said, Please give it to Mr. McFay as soon as you arrive."
Jamie put it on the desk. "Why did you come back?"
"Before I forget, something else. Old Man Brock and his equally vile son, Sir Morgan, turned up at the funeral."
"What, uninvited?"
"Created a furore! It happened like this.
Tess arranged the funeral on China Cloud. Gun carriage to the clipper along the promenade. Forty guests invited aboard, Governor, all the nobs, Admiral Sir Vincent-Sindery, General Skaffer--the new Commander in chief Asia, very pukka and Indian Army--all tai-pans and Gordon Chen. No press. Just as China Cloud swung into wind off Shek-O place, the service about to begin, Old Man Brock and Morgan arrived in his clipper, Hunting Witch. She stood off, a few chains away, dressed overall, his flag at half mast, him and Morgan on the quarterdeck dressed in funeral finery, top hats, ruffled shirts, and when the coffin went into the sea, the bastard fired a cannonade salute and opened champagne--everyone aboard said they heard the cork go. They drank a toast, threw the glasses and bottle into the sea, raising their toppers as they sailed off noisily."
"Bastards! Bloody bastards!"
"Yes! Later they claimed "it were to honor the poor dead laddie!" The Governor was standing next to Tess. He told me she did nothing, said nothing, just stayed like a poker, except he heard her breath hiss out and the violence in it shocked him, said it made his balls jump, you know the feeling... oh, I forgot to mention, Gornt was also on Brock's quarterdeck."
"Maureen said he was taking over Brock's here."
"Yes. Even so he's a nice young man, I think. Even so. He told me he was ordered aboard Hunting Witch and... by Jove, I forgot to mention Maureen! Jamie, you're a lucky man."
"Thanks."
"Very lucky." Hoag stuck out his hand.
"Congratulations." "Thanks." Jamie shook hands and pretended to be pleased, filled with gloom. "We thought...
I thought she was Tess. Through the binoculars, the dark and being muffled up, easy to make the mistake."
"Eh? Nonsense, she's nothing like her at all!"
Aggravated Jamie said, "I know that but they're about the same height, and it's the way she stood, just like Tess, you know, stiff."
Hoag frowned, then grunted, "Never occurred to me. Now that you mention it that's true, but she's nothing like Tess to look at, she must be at least ten to fifteen years younger and that red-brown hair of hers and sparkling personality."
"Christ, give over! I know that! It was an easy mistake."
"A lucky one." Hoag felt queasy.
"Wouldn't have enjoyed the trip with Tess, my God no! Your Maureen's a smasher! She said she'd written that she was arriving."
"Yes, at Hong Kong, not here. And no arrival date there."
"Ah, obviously there was no time as Prancing Cloud was leaving imminently and she'd just arrived." Hoag chuckled. "Best watch her or you'll lose her. Gornt was quite taken."
Jamie flushed, jealous in spite of himself.
"Thanks for the tip. How're Tess's kids?
Did you see them?"
"Oh yes. They're all healthy, though Duncan had another rotten cold. They'd all been to the funeral--I heard it was so sad, young Duncan trying to be brave, Emma and Rose crying, Tess veiled, heavily veiled--everyone knowing it was the end of an era, the end of Dirk's direct line except Duncan, and he can't inherit for years, the lad's just ten. Doesn't auger well for the Noble House. The hottest rumor in Hong Kong is that Brock's have got the Noble House on the run."
"No way!" Jamie tried to sound convincing.
"The new tai-pan will come from Robb's line, Robb Struan, Dirk's stepbrother. One of his sons or grandsons will be tai-pan."
"I suppose you're right, but it won't be the same. Bloody awful about Malcolm, he was Tess's hope. All the time I was in Hong Kong, I was thinking about our burial, so unnecessary, eh? It's best if we put that away forever.
Malcolm was buried there, off Shek-O."
"I wish he had been, as Sir William and we all wanted." Last night Jamie had another nightmare about what the Bosun said he had seen, the corpse clawing for the surface, eyes wide open. He felt chilled again. "We did the best we could. Now," he said, "why are you back?"
Hoag got up. "Tess asked if I'd, er, deliver mail to MacStruan, you and, and see Angelique and give her a letter."
He saw Jamie's eyes. "I don't know what's in them."
"Them?" Jamie said sharply. "You said a letter?"
Hoag reddened. "Oh, er, yes. Yes well a letter. I don't know what's in it. Well I'd better be go--"
"Come on, for God's sake!"
"Tess asked me to give her a, a letter that's all."
"Come on, I know you!"
Hoag said irritably, "I think I'd better go and see her, she'll want to know--"
"Sit down! What letters, for Christ's sweet sake?"
"I don't know ab--"
"Don't give me that shit! What letters?"
Hoag hesitated, then blurted out, "If you'll swear on your mother's head I'll...
I'll tell you."
"Done!"