“What in God’s name are you doing?” Corinna screeched when she was finally able to reach Kitty.
“I take it you’ve read this morning’s paper? Or did you read Honey Chai’s latest post?” Kitty said with a giggle.
“You sound almost as if you’re proud of yourself!”
“I am proud of myself! I finally got Gisele away from Bernard.”
“But you’ve completely sabotaged all the work we’ve done! This scandal is going to do untold damage to your reputation in Hong Kong!” Corinna moaned.
“You know, I no longer care about all that. Ada Poon can have Hong Kong all to herself—I’m in Singapore now, and there are all these lovely international people here who have lots of fun and don’t give a damn about local society. And I’ve just moved into a fabulous new house on Cluny Park Road. Actually, it’s a very old house, but you know what I mean.”
“Oh my goodness—you’re the mysterious buyer of the Frank Brewer house?”
“Haha. Yes, although just between you and me, it was a gift from Jack.”
“So Honey Chai isn’t making it up. You are Jack Bing’s mistress!”
“I’m not his mistress, I’m his girlfriend. Jack has been a wonderful friend to me. He has bought me many lovely things, and he has rescued me and my daughter from the hellhole that was Mar Vista. Funny that the neighborhood was called that—it means ‘view of the sea,’ but the only view we ever had was of that damn 405 freeway.”
Corinna sighed. “I guess I can’t blame you for escaping from there. How is Gisele doing?”
“She’s as happy as any little girl can be. She’s in the garden playing on the swing with her grandmother. And she’s been discovering wonderful things, like pineapple tarts and Barbie dolls.”
“Well, I hope you won’t come to regret your actions,” Corinna said worriedly.
“Higher, I think. Sorry, what were you saying, Corinna?” Kitty asked, momentarily distracted.
“I said…oh never mind. I hope you can work things out with Bernard amicably.”
“What does ‘amicably’ mean?”
“Friendly, peacefully.”
“I don’t want a war with Bernard. I just want him to be able to share Gisele with me, that’s all.”
“That’s the spirit. Anyway, good luck, and be sure to call me the next time you’re in Hong Kong.”
“We’ll take Gisele for high tea at the Four Seasons!”
“No, the Mandarin. Always the Mandarin. And don’t say ‘high tea’—high tea is only for factory workers. It’s ‘afternoon tea.’?”
“Of course. Whatever you say, Corinna.”
Kitty hung up the phone and took a few steps back. “You know, Oliver, you were right. It didn’t need to be higher. Let’s move it all back to where you had it originally.”
Oliver T’sien winked at her. “I was right when I told you to buy this house, and I was right when I told you to buy the painting, wasn’t I? I always imagined it looking utterly exquisite against this wall. It’s all about how the light filters in through those old lead-glass windows.”
“You’re right, it’s all going to be utterly exquisite,” Kitty said, gazing out the window as the workmen began rehanging The Palace of Eighteen Perfections on her drawing-room wall.