The Empire Trilogy - J. G. Farrell [632]
‘Oh, and one more thing, Major. You’ll probably find that some, if not all, of your girls are on the “marriage list”. I suppose you don’t know the procedure in that eventuality …’
‘No, I don’t, and frankly …’
‘No need to take that tone here, Major. You don’t seem to realize that there’s a war on and that we must improvise as best we can. Now, about the “marriage list” …’
In due course the Major, accompanied for moral support by Dupigny, had driven over to the Poh Leung Kuk in one of the Blackett and Webb vans to take delivery of the half-dozen girls who had been assigned to the Mayfair. He found himself waiting in a sort of yard aware that from the windows round about him a multitude of eyes were appraising him. After a while, the official to whom he had explained his business returned, saying rather nervously: ‘They’ll be out in a moment, I think.’ He stood in silence for a moment, then said brightly: ‘None of yours have any venereal problems, as far as we know.’ The Major cleared his throat gloomily, but said nothing. ‘Ah, here they come now.’
‘But there were supposed only to be half a dozen. Here there are twice as many!’
‘That was only an estimate …’
‘What d’you think, François? They look well-behaved. Can we manage so many? I suppose they could help Cheong with the cooking and household chores …’ The Major surveyed the row of neatly dressed Chinese girls who had lined up beside the van as if for inspection, each with her little bundle of belongings. They kept their eyes meekly on the ground while the two men discussed what to do. Dupigny, who could see the Major already weakening and who, moreover, was experienced in the ways of civil servants, gave it as his opinion that they should return to the Mayfair and only accept those girls whom the Protectorate succeeded in billeting on them by force.
‘But François, we can’t possibly leave so many of them here! How would we feel if a bomb dropped on this building tonight? We could never forgive ourselves!’
And so, with the back of the van crammed with young women, the Major and Dupigny drove back to the Mayfair. ‘I’m sure they won’t be any trouble, François … what d’you think?’ There was silence from Dupigny and a raised eyebrow. ‘Once we’ve got it sorted out which of them is on the marriage list and which isn’t … I mean, that’s the only real problem.’ Smith had explained that thanks to a shortage of women in the Colony, there was a great demand for brides from the Poh Leung Kuk among the less affluent Chinese who could not afford to find a wife in the usual manner, that is through a go-between, which could involve great expense. A man who wanted a wife, once he had given details of his circumstances, might look over the girls on the list and make his selection. The girl then would accept or reject him on the spot. He would then pay forty dollars for his bride’s trousseau and undergo a medical inspection. And that was that.
‘I shouldn’t think there’ll be many men wanting to get married in the present situation,’ said the Major confidently. ‘I don’t think we need worry about it, François. What d’you think?’ Dupigny smiled but still made no comment. From the back of the van there came one or two smothered giggles.
All the same, there was no question of the Major asking any of the refugees to leave so that he might accommodate the newcomers. He allotted the former Board Room to the girls as a dormitory, asked Cheong to make use of them for kitchen and cleaning duties and, having nominated Captain Brown to deal with any difficulties that might arise, he returned to his other preoccupations, hoping for the best.
And still, as the days went by, more refugees continued to arrive so that soon new arrivals were obliged to camp in the compound. Now the centre of the city was thronged with