Эльвира Барякина - White Ghosts

Mr. Bernard noticed Ada. “Come over here,” he ordered.

Her heart almost bursting out of her chest, Ada descended the stairs to the court yard.

“What an exceptional breed,” said Mr. Bernard, approaching Ada. “These horses are caught in the Mongolian steppes, and when they come to Shanghai, it takes at least four months for them to get used to good fodder. Out on the steppe, they eat nothing but dry grass and don’t want to try anything else.”

Mr. Bernard took off his dusty gloves and threw them into his hat.

“Your name is Miss Marshall, isn’t it? You know, my wife would be furious if she were to find out where you used to work.”

“Please don’t tell her,” Ada pleaded. “Otherwise, she might ask how you know me, and it would become obvious that you’ve been to the Havana.”

Mr. Bernard laughed. “That’s true. Well, in that case you’d better get back to work, hadn’t you?”

Back in the library, Ada collapsed into an armchair. She had been so brazen with her new master on her very first day at work. It was almost as if she had been blackmailing him: “If you don’t betray me, I won’t betray you.”

But Mr. Bernard hadn’t seemed to be offended. Betty was right: men like bold spirited girls.

1

Daniel Bernard never sent Nina his visiting card and hadn’t even bothered to call. She had learned that there was to be a banquet celebrating his safe return home, but she and Jiří had not been invited.

Nina couldn’t understand what he was playing at. Had he merely been dallying with her on the train to break up the boredom of the long trip? It was as if Destiny was deliberately mocking her.

Tamara had invited her over a couple of times, but Nina had refused, pretending she had a migraine. She couldn’t stand the idea of discussing her failures with anyone. But Tamara was persistent. She mentioned Nina’s reluctance to Tony, and he went to see her directly.

“Have you and Tamara fallen out?” he asked. “I hope you understand that this sort of anxiety is not good for her in her condition.”

Reluctantly, Nina went to the Aulmans. She had expected an interrogation about Daniel Bernard immediately, but Tamara never mentioned him and gossiped instead about Shanghai’s newly-opened movie studio.

“You should invite a cameraman to your next party,” Tamara said, “and get him to film all the guests. They would love it.”

She continued to elaborate on her idea, but Nina wasn’t listening. Finally she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. “Why were you so keen for me to meet Daniel Bernard?” she asked.

Tamara raised an eyebrow. “Daniel Bernard?”

“Please don’t pretend that you weren’t. You wouldn’t stop talking about him, and I know you wanted me to go to Lincheng. Why didn’t you tell me he’s married?”

Tamara stared at Nina incredulously. “This is ridiculous—”

“You set everything up,” Nina interrupted. “You even planted his portrait on your dressing table here.” She pointed to the photo on Tamara’s bedside table and then tailed off. The photograph was a portrait of Tony, not Daniel. Nina could now see that Daniel’s presence was largely incidental.

“You seemed to be interested in Daniel, so I told you all about him,” Tamara said calmly. “The rest is purely speculation on your part.”

Nina was speechless. Was this some kind of a practical joke? Or had she really blown the whole incident out of all proportion?

“I might be able to help you,” Tamara said, “if you tell me what happened. But if you feel uncomfortable, let’s forget about it.”

Brushing over the episode with Klim, Nina told Tamara all about her trip to Lincheng, her chance meeting with Daniel, and then his refusal to continue their acquaintance.

Tamara listened, her face growing gloomier.

“I think Daniel really did like you,” she said. “But I’m also sure he made inquiries about you and found out that you and Jiří are impostors. I told you not to do anything without consulting me first. Daniel is a Czech national. He constantly visits Europe and spends a lot of time with the diplomats in Shanghai. He must be well aware that there is no official Czechoslovak Consulate here.”

“But I was so sure that you wanted me to meet him,” Nina protested.

“No, I didn’t, and you’ve been very foolish.”

Nina lowered her head. There was no point in arguing.

“You need to lay low and forget about Mr. Bernard,” Tamara said. “You’re never going to catch him anyway. He’s married to the daughter of the Police Commissioner, and he would never leave her for a Russian adventuress.”

On her way home in her recently purchased Ford, Nina was deep in thought.

“I have a license to drive in the International Settlement,” her chauffeur said, “but if you want to go to the Chinese city, we’ll need a different one.”

Nina nodded absentmindedly. She was convinced Tamara had wanted her to see Mr. Bernard again. “I think Daniel really did like you,” she had said teasingly to Nina. But again, it was impossible to be sure what she truly meant. Tamara was a master at hiding her intentions.

Nina herself was not about to give up on Daniel that easily. She didn’t want her whole future depending on the good grace of a man she barely knew. Even though he was married and a serious relationship with him was out of the question, she could nevertheless try to turn his head, and then he wouldn’t dare harm her.

2

Every now and then, Nina met the Bernards at mutual friends’ houses, at theaters, or at concerts. Daniel’s face had healed, but Nina had to admit that he looked much more handsome in Tamara’s photograph than he did in real life.

Daniel would greet Nina and then do his utmost to avoid getting into conversation with her. Nevertheless, she would catch him giving her the occasional furtive glance, and that was encouraging.

In order to gauge her chances of success, Nina gathered various bits of information about Edna and soon discovered that she was educated, fearless, and smart.

Mrs. Bernard couldn’t stand anyone belittling women and questioning their intelligence. At one dinner party Nina heard Daniel saying that it was all very well allowing women into the work place but they were totally incapable of creating anything truly great.

“Yes, your mother is ample evidence of that,” Edna said.

Many at the table were outraged at her boldness, but Nina was secretly delighted that Edna had so publicly taken her know-it-all husband down a peg or two. After all, he had been the first to cast aspersions at their sex.

Feminine wiles, with their secret, soft power and a woman’s ability to play on men’s weaknesses were an alien concept to Edna. She preferred a relationship based on reason and rational agreement rather than tumultuous passion and unpredictable emotional turmoil.

“Let the man think,” Nina’s mother had always told her, “that he’s the head of the family and in charge of everything. But you must be the ‘neck’ turning the ‘head’ in the direction that suits you.” And this was exactly what Nina was planning to do.

She persuaded Jiří to invite Daniel out to lunch and to steer the conversation towards the events in Lincheng and particularly the journey back to Shanghai.

“Find out what Mr. Bernard really thinks of me,” she instructed Jiří. It provided him with a perfect opportunity to make fun of her, but he still agreed to meet Mr. Bernard. To Nina’s great relief, Daniel accepted the invitation, and on the appointed day, she restlessly waited for Jiří to return with the news.

One way or another, I’m going to land Daniel, Nina thought excitedly. And then we’ll see what that arrogant Mr. Rogov has to say.

Jiří arrived back late, drunk and mellow.

“What took you so long?” Nina asked.

“I do beg your pardon, Madam Excellency, but we were busy reminiscing about Prague.”

“Did Daniel say anything about me?”

“Yes. He told you to go and find the ninth son of the dragon.”

“What on earth does he mean by that?” Nina frowned.

“I have no idea. Perhaps it’s some kind of Chinese riddle.”

Nina went to see a recent acquaintance, an old antique dealer by the name of Gu Ya-min, and asked him about the ninth son of the dragon.

“He’s referring to Jiaotu,” the old man replied, pointing at a bronze door handle cast in the shape of an animal snout with a ring in its mouth. “Jiaotu doesn’t like to be disturbed and keeps uninvited guests out of the house.”

Nina was furious. Albeit politely, Daniel had just told her to go to hell.

In response, she sent him a traditional Chinese watercolor of a fish jumping out of the water against the background of a distant gate standing in the middle of a river. She was sure that Daniel knew the legend of the silver carp that had overcome a great waterfall called the “Dragon’s Gate” and thus turned into a dragon itself.

3

Every 4^th of July, Shanghai’s American expatriates would celebrate U.S. Independence Day. In the Public Garden long rows of tables were laid out with perfectly starched white tablecloths under striped awnings. Next to them stood souvenir stalls and barbecues selling food, merry-go-rounds for the children, and a huge stage with a podium for the U.S. Consul General and the Chairman of the Municipal Council, who were due to address the gathering.

The heat was so intense that the air seemed to tremble overhead. The enticing aroma of vanilla ice-cream and grilled meat mixed with the bitter smell of the gunpowder smoke that hovered over the well-dressed crowd. The sound of gun shots and cheers could be heard over the booming music of the brass band.