“Sid even thought she was quite justified in killing him,” Gus said with a grin, “but you know that Sid sometimes does get a little heated on the subject of women’s rights.”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve just realized that I can’t leave her here. I know she hadn’t exactly been charged with a crime yet, but I can’t let you run the risk of harboring a fugitive. I’ll take her over to my house. She can stay up in the attic and I’ll take her food and drink until we can decide what to do with her.”
“And if your bridegroom decides to make a sudden inspection or brings back the paper-hanger, what then? He’d be furious if he knew you were even working again.”
I sighed. “I’m afraid he’s already discovered that much. He burst into the room at Mr. Lee’s house. And believe me, he was furious. I was tempted to tell him that I knew of the whereabouts of the Chinese girl, but while that Captain Kear is in charge of the case, I just couldn’t risk it. They were already talking about throwing Frederick in the Tombs to soften him up. What if they did that to Bo Kei too?”
Gus slipped her arm around my shoulder. “Don’t get upset, Molly. She can stay here. We don’t want to do anything to cause friction between you and Daniel. I’ll make up a bed for her in my studio. Then she’ll be well hidden away when the guests come for the party tonight.”
“Oh, the party.” I started to laugh. “So much has happened today that I completely forgot. Did your lanterns survive the wind so far, Sid?”
Sid glanced out of the window. “So far, but the sky does not look too promising, does it? We must make alternative plans in case we have to move the whole thing inside.”
“Candles,” Gus said firmly. “We’ll need hundreds of candles. Paper lanterns are just too dangerous, but we do need to set the mood. What a pity we took down that big chandelier in the dining room when we moved in here. Do you think we still have it in the attic, Sid? Maybe we could rig it up again.”
“No time, dearest. We have so much to do as it is.”
“Put me to work,” I said. “I’ll do anything I can.”
“We could send Molly out to every candlemaker in the Village,” Gus said.
“The bad weather may pass over,” Sid said. “We may be able to hold it in the garden and use our paper lanterns after all. It’s more important to make sure the ice is delivered or our tubs of ice cream will be a disaster.”
And they were off, discussing party provisions and whether they should serve the fruit salads in individual rock melons. I found it hard to think of domestic details while a girl waited up in that room.
“I’ll go and make up a bed in your studio then, Gus,” I said. “And if I may, can I take up some food and drink to Bo Kei? I don’t know what she’s had to eat today.”
Then, of course, they fussed around, suggesting all kinds of delicacies that might tempt a Chinese palate. Sid even wanted to get out her Chinese cookbook and see how to make bird’s nest soup. I stopped them and took up a cheese sandwich and an orange. The way she devoured them made me think that she hadn’t had breakfast. I then explained about the party, how busy we’d be, and how she must stay well hidden when the guests arrived. I found her some books, although I wasn’t sure whether she had learned to read much English. She was more interested in the dolls that Gus had sitting on a corner shelf and I was reminded again that she was little more than a child herself.
Then I went down to join in the preparations. As with everything that Sid and Gus did, they threw themselves into it wholeheartedly. Some might say that they went overboard. By evening the tables in the conservatory were groaning under the weight of hams and cold chicken and salads and exotic cheeses. There was asparagus in aspic and oysters and potted shrimp, fresh fruits of all kinds, including pineapples, which I had never seen before, cake stands of tiny French pastries, and tubs of ice cream keeping cool for the right moment. Then there were drinks of all descriptions—fruit punches and chilled white wines for the ladies, claret and stout for the men. They had even borrowed the young man who normally worked in their favorite tavern to act as barman. There were Japanese lanterns and banks of candles waiting to be lit, flowers on the tables, and greenery trailing from the picture rails.
As I stood and surveyed the scene and thought of the cost of it all, it dawned on me that this was all for me. The thought was so overwhelming that I felt tears springing into my eyes. They had been good friends since they took me under their wing at a difficult moment in my life and they had constantly rescued me and cheered me up ever since. And I—I had repaid them by constantly rushing around and making demands on them. I watched them standing there, admiring their handiwork, and I came to a sudden decision.
“I’ve changed my mind,” I said. “I want you two to be my bridesmaids.”