Homecoming Girls (25 page)

‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘But we might recognize certain traits in Americans or English and know when to be wary, whereas the Chinese are inscrutable and don’t show expression as we do. But if anyone can find her it will be Pinyin.’

Clara nodded. She felt a hard knot of anxiety inside her. Whatever would she say to Aunt Gianna and Uncle Wilhelm if anything bad had happened to Jewel? She took a breath. Should she cable them? How long would it take for a cablegram to reach England? But no, she was being ridiculous. They would find Jewel, of course they would, and besides, what was the point in worrying them? There was nothing they could do from such a distance.

They passed the cathedral of St Mary and Lorenzo looked out into the street. ‘Slow down, Fed,’ he called to his friend. ‘Look out for Pinyin.’

Federico muttered something they didn’t catch, but he slowed the horse as they reached the top of Chinatown.

‘There he is!’ Lorenzo said. ‘Just on the corner.’

The surrey stopped to allow Clara and Lorenzo out, and Federico said he would stable the horse and vehicle nearby and catch up with them.

‘How will he know where to find us?’ Clara asked as they hurried towards Pinyin. ‘It’s a big place.’

‘He’ll find us,’ Lorenzo said. ‘Fed knows Chinatown; better than most.’

Clara glanced at him. He sounded crabby, irritated somehow, and Clara felt sure that his displeasure stemmed from annoyance with Federico rather than anxiety over Jewel.

‘Pinyin!’ Lorenzo called, and now he did sound anxious. ‘Have you spoken to anyone yet? Has anyone seen Jewel?’

Pinyin bowed his head to Clara and then turned to Lorenzo. ‘There has been much damage in Chinatown,’ he said. ‘People are injured. Everywhere is confusion.’

‘Dammit, man, I know that,’ Lorenzo bellowed. ‘But has anyone seen Jewel?’

Pinyin shook his head. ‘No. I have asked,’ he said patiently, unperturbed by Lorenzo’s outburst. ‘People remember seeing the English lady and her companion, but not since the quake. I am about to speak to my uncle. He sees much of what happens in Chinatown.’

Clara and Lorenzo hurried after Pinyin, who moved at a
quick and nimble trot, and Clara saw him stop by the stallholder they had spoken to earlier. ‘I have asked him already,’ she said, ‘and Mr Cavalli spoke to him too.’

Federico came up behind them. ‘I’ll take a different direction,’ he told Lorenzo; he was slightly out of breath, as if he had been running. ‘It’s better if we split up. There are so many corners in which to look. I’ll try asking in the gambling dens; the doormen generally know what’s happening.’

Clara held her breath. Chinatown was taking on a different atmosphere now that daylight had gone. Lanterns had appeared outside the buildings, giving an eerie glow to the street, and there was a potent smoky aroma which was coming not from the burnt-out buildings but from some of the basements.

People were taking up positions outside the houses and stores. Men sat on stools, smoking vile-smelling pipes and watching the passers-by, and women stood by screened doorways or on balconies, their blue-black hair dressed with flowers and fancy combs. Some were wearing richly embroidered sacque dresses and gold-coloured shoes on their tiny feet, whilst others were dressed in long, wide trousers of brightly coloured satin and played twanging music on small stringed instruments and sang in high-pitched voices.

It seemed that the earthquake had not affected the usual night-time activities, and indeed there appeared to be more people milling around now than there had been during the day.

Federico turned on his heel and headed off in another direction and Clara saw that Lorenzo’s lips were tightly clenched as he watched him turn down an alley. He said nothing to Clara, but took her elbow to guide her towards Pinyin, who was still talking to the stallholder.

‘Well?’ Lorenzo asked Pinyin, and Clara was confused by their manner towards each other. Pinyin was a servant, an employee of Lorenzo’s, and yet he was treated almost as an equal.

‘Nothing,’ Pinyin said. ‘It is very strange. My uncle, Soong Zedung, says Miss Newmarch has not passed this way, but he will ask others.’ He gave Clara a small bow. ‘Please do not worry. We shall find her. Everyone will look.’

The journey to New York took just over a week. Georgiana and Dan travelled together by train to Liverpool and caught the evening tide. Georgiana was quite glad to have his company, for he was adept at finding porters and whistling for a cab to take them to the ship when they arrived at Liverpool railway station.

Dan’s mother, Ruby, had sent him off with a parcel of home baking as if convinced that he would starve before they arrived at the western port, and Dan, embarrassed by this, was all for throwing it out of the window as soon as the train departed.

‘Don’t do that,’ Georgiana had said. ‘You’ll find when we reach Liverpool that there’ll be many poor folk who’ll be glad of your mother’s cooking.’

They travelled in a first-class carriage; Georgiana had paid the extra for Dan’s ticket. ‘If we are to be travelling companions,’ she murmured, ‘you must travel at my standard, not I at yours.’ She smiled. ‘You can pay me back in kind by taking care of my luggage.’

On board ship Georgiana had a first-class cabin, but here she considered that at Dan’s tender age he was not yet ready for such luxury, and a little discomfort would do him no harm at all.

For Dan it was no hardship. He was sharing a four-bedded cabin on a lower deck with one other passenger, who was a frequent traveller and able to advise him on the behaviour
that was expected on board. Dan stretched out on his bunk, put his hands behind his head and heaved a sigh of utter contentment.
Freedom!

He and his father had to some extent made up their differences, and he rather thought that was due to his mother’s influence. He felt sure that his mother would have warned his father that he was in danger of losing contact if he didn’t meet Dan halfway.

Daniel had taken him on one side. ‘I can’t say I approve of ’motive for you going to America,’ he’d said gruffly, ‘but ’fact that you’ve made ’decision to spread your wings is summat I can understand. You’re a young man with ambition and I hope you’ll use your time wisely while you’re away and not go chasing moonbeams that you’ll never catch.’

Dan had listened but made no comment. His father would take his time saying what he had to say, and although it was obvious that he didn’t approve of Jewel, for whatever reason, he was at least giving him tacit permission to travel.

Daniel had put a thick envelope on the table and pushed it towards him. ‘Tek this,’ he’d muttered. ‘I’ll have no son o’ mine behodden to anybody. Spend it wisely. Money doesn’t come easy.’

Dan had had a lump in his throat as he picked it up. ‘Thanks, Da.’ There was no need for any fancy speeches; his father would know that he was grateful.

‘And,’ his father had added, ‘you can tek my bowler!’

Now as he lay on his bunk he was filled with excitement, and it wasn’t wholly due to the possibility of meeting up with Jewel. It was simply because he realized that he had been stifled by his commitment to working in the family business, which although profitable gave him little chance of achievement through his own endeavours.

He heard the juddering of engines below him, the muffled shouts of seamen, and the movement of the ship which told him they had cast off and were on their way. He couldn’t help but grin and jump off the bunk to make his way on deck, to
watch the departure from the shore into what for him was unknown territory.

Georgiana Dreumel joined him, which surprised him, as he thought she might have preferred to stay in her cabin. But she leaned on the rail beside him and told him of the time when she too had made her first journey to America.

‘Kitty and I travelled from London,’ she said. ‘We took a packet boat from Hull and disembarked at London Bridge and boarded the ship, the
Paragon
, in the Thames.’ She smiled as she remembered. ‘I was about your age and it was so exciting,’ she said. ‘It was a great adventure!’

He looked at her admiringly. He’d been concerned that Jewel and Clara were travelling alone, but he thought that for two women to do the same thing twenty or more years ago was very brave, and he told her so.

She laughed. ‘If I told you some of the things that Kitty and I did when we were there, I doubt whether you’d believe me.’

As the voyage went on he didn’t see much of her. He took his meals with his cabin mate and assumed that she was probably dining with the captain, until one morning he saw her in a deckchair, wrapped in shawls and blankets and looking very pale.

‘I’m not the best of sailors,’ she said, ‘and I have been unwell. The heavy swell is worse for me than a storm.’

Dan was astonished to hear that, as he thought it had been a tranquil voyage. But the Atlantic swell had been deep as the ship ploughed through the vast waters, dipping and plunging into troughs so yawning and bottomless that only the greenness of massive waves could be seen above them. He had found it exhilarating; that, and the darkest of skies covered in a million sparkling stars.

‘Come and sit down,’ she said, ‘and we can talk of what you’d like to do when we arrive in New York.’

He drew up a chair beside her and she motioned to a passing steward to bring coffee for Dan and a cup of mint tea for herself.

‘First I shall stay in the Marius,’ she said, ‘and hope there
will be a letter waiting for me from Wilhelm; then I shall travel on to Dreumel’s Creek.’

‘And ’town that was burnt down – will you go there?’

‘Yeller. Yes,’ she said. ‘But it’s only through the mountains. They are what you might call sister towns. If the mountain didn’t divide them they would have become one large town. I’m pleased that they haven’t. They have quite separate identities and it will be interesting to hear what plans are being made for Yeller’s rebuilding.’

‘Interesting indeed,’ Dan agreed, and thought that to be in at the beginning of such a project might be very satisfying.

‘So what would you like to do, Dan?’ Georgiana sipped her mint tea. ‘Jewel won’t be at Dreumel’s Creek. She and Clara have already left for California. They might or might not return to Dreumel; I know nothing of their arrangements.’

Dan considered. The original point of his journey had been to see Jewel. But what if she was displeased with him for following her? She had her own reasons for being in America. Perhaps if she had been able to solve her own questions, she might be happy to see him again.

‘I have already told you that I don’t think Jewel is ready to make promises or vows, Dan,’ Georgiana said softly. ‘She’s on the verge of making discoveries for herself. You will, I feel, have to exercise patience.’

‘I think you’re right, Mrs Dreumel,’ he confessed. ‘I’ve always been so obsessed by her that I haven’t been able to think of anything else but to be with her. Perhaps it might seem ridiculous, but it’s not infatuation. I really do care for her.’

‘It doesn’t seem ridiculous, Dan. I understand exactly how you feel, but if you really do care for Jewel, you will allow her the freedom to do whatever she wants without trying to influence her.’

He nodded. She really was a most understanding woman. You’d almost think that she’d experienced such emotions herself. ‘I will,’ he said. ‘Thank you for your advice – I’ll tek it. If you’ve no objection, I’d like to travel with you to Dreumel’s
Creek and to Yeller, and if I can be of any help in rebuilding ’town, then perhaps I could stay there for a bit afore moving on.’

They stayed two days in New York, and whilst Georgiana rested after the voyage, for she said that it had tired her, Dan explored the city. He was impressed by the wide roads, or boulevards as the locals called them, and the fact that not all streets were given names, so some had numbers instead. Tall buildings were going up, taller than he had ever seen. Towers, they were, soaring high into the sky, with elevators to take people to the top floors. He strolled in Central Park with its immense green areas, flower beds and lakes, and knew that there was nothing he could possibly compare it with; not the People’s Park or the Zoological Gardens in Hull, for neither was anything like this vast and landscaped space.

Carriages and pony traps swept along the wide paths and he heard the sound of music as an afternoon concert began, but he realized that only the wealthy and those with leisure time were enjoying the pleasures of this oasis in the middle of the city; he was disheartened to discover later that many of the poorer residents of New York had been moved out of their homes so that this garden of delight could be created.

When he returned to the Marius in the early evening Mrs Dreumel was seated in the hotel lounge. Her head rested on the back of the chair and her eyes were closed. A pianist was playing something soothing and Mrs Dreumel was nodding her head gently in time to the music.

‘Mrs Dreumel!’ Dan spoke softly so as not to startle her. ‘Are you sleeping?’

She opened her eyes and smiled. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I was reminiscing.’

‘I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you,’ he said awkwardly.

‘Not a bit,’ she said. ‘Did you enjoy your excursion?’

‘I did,’ he said earnestly. ‘It’s so different from anything we’ve got at home.’

‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘And it’s changing and growing constantly.
I can see a difference from when I was last here, even from the hotel doorway.’