2

RACHEL AND NICK

SHANGHAI, JUNE 2013

“And this,” the general manager said with a flourish, “is your living room.” Rachel and Nick walked through the foyer and into a room with double-height ceilings and a grand art deco–style fireplace. One of the associates in the general manager’s entourage pushed a button, and the sheer curtains in front of the tall picture window parted silently to reveal a breathtaking view of the Shanghai skyline.

“No wonder you call this the Majestic suite,” Nick said. Another associate popped open a bottle of Deutz champagne and began pouring the bubbly into a pair of tall flutes. To Rachel, the sprawling hotel suite felt like a decadent box of chocolates—from the black marble bathroom with its oval soaking tub to the ridiculously plush pillows on the bed, every corner was just waiting to be savored.

“Our yacht is at your disposal, and I would highly recommend a late-afternoon cruise so that you can see the city transition from day to night.”

“We’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Nick said, eyeing the plush sofa longingly. Could these lovely people please just leave so I can kick off my shoes and crash for a bit?

“Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to make your stay more enjoyable,” the manager said, placing his hand on his chest and making an almost imperceptible bow before discreetly exiting the room.

Nick plopped down on the sofa lengthwise, grateful to be able to stretch out after their fifteen-hour flight from New York. “Well this is a surprise.”

“I know! Can you believe this place? I’m pretty sure the bathroom alone is larger than our whole apartment! I thought our hotel in Paris was something else, but this is on a whole other level,” Rachel gushed as she returned to the living room.

They were supposed to be staying with her father for the first couple of weeks of their vacation in China, but upon landing at Pudong International Airport, they were greeted at the gate by a man in a gray three-piece suit who had a note from Bao Gaoliang. Rachel took the piece of paper out of her purse and read it again. Written in Mandarin script in bold black ink, the note translated to:

Nick noticed Rachel’s face light up as she reread the letter, her eyes skimming over the words “your family” for the umpteenth time. Taking another sip of the champagne, he said, “It was so cool of your father to arrange all this for us. Very thoughtful.”

“Wasn’t it? It’s all a bit over the top—from this ginormous suite to the Rolls that picked us up at the airport. I felt a little embarrassed to be riding in it, didn’t you?”

“Nah, the new Phantoms are perfectly discreet. Colin’s grandmother had a vintage Silver Cloud from the 1950s that looked like it came straight from Buckingham Palace. Now that was embarrassing to ride in.”

“Well, I’m still not used to all this, but I guess this is how the Baos live.”

As if reading her mind, Nick asked, “How are you feeling about tonight?”

“I’m excited to meet everyone.”

Nick remembered the hints his mother had made about the Baos back in Santa Barbara, and he had shared all the details of that conversation with Rachel a few days after their wedding. At that time, Rachel had said, “I’m happy that my father and his family have done well, but it really makes no difference to me whether they are rich or poor.”

“I just wanted you to know what I know. It’s part of my new ‘full disclosure policy,’ ” Nick had said with a smile.

“Ha—thanks! Well, I’m a lot more comfortable navigating around the Richie Rich crowd, thanks to you. I’ve already gone through a baptism of fire with your family. Don’t you think I’m ready for anything now?”

“You survived my mother—I think everything else from here on out is a piece of cake,” Nick had laughed. “I just want you to be fully aware of what you’re getting yourself into this time.”

Rachel had given him a thoughtful look. “You know, I’m really going to try to approach this with no illusions—I know it’ll take a while to get to know my new family. I imagine it’s just as much of a shock for my brother and my stepmother as it is for me. They probably have issues out the wazoo about all this, and I’m not expecting to bond with them overnight. It’s enough for me to know they exist and to meet them.”

Now that they were actually on Chinese soil, Nick could sense that Rachel wasn’t feeling as laid-back as she had been in Santa Barbara. He could feel her nervous energy even as she lay nestled against him on the sofa, both of them trying to battle through their jet lag. Even though she tried to play it cool, Nick knew how much she longed to be accepted by this newfound family of hers. He had grown up rooted in a long-established lineage: The hallways of Tyersall Park had always been hung with ancestral portraits in ancient rosewood frames, and in the library, Nick had spent many a rainy afternoon paging through volumes of hand-bound books containing intricate family trees. The Youngs had documented their ancestors going all the way back to AD 432, and it was all there in the brittle, brown pages of these ancient tomes. He wondered what it was like for Rachel to grow up not knowing a thing about her father, about the other half of her family. A soft buzz interrupted his thoughts.

“I think someone’s at the door,” Rachel said with a yawn, as Nick got up reluctantly to open it.

“Delivery for Ms. Chu,” the green-uniformed bellman said cheerily. He entered the suite pulling a luggage cart groaning with stacks of immaculately wrapped boxes. Behind him was another bellboy with a second luggage cart packed full of cartons.

“What’s all this?” Nick asked. The bellboy smiled and handed over an envelope. Scrawled on a plush creamy note card was: “Welcome to Shanghai! Thought you could use some essentials. Cheers, C.”

“It’s from Carlton!” Rachel exclaimed in surprise. She opened the first box and found four different jams nestled against the packing hay: Seville Orange Marmalade, Redcurrant Jelly, Nectarine Compote, Lemon and Ginger Curd. Stamped on the minimalist glass jars in elegant white type were the words DAYLESFORD ORGANIC.

“Oh! Daylesford is an organic farm in Gloucestershire owned by my friends the Bamfords. They make the most glorious foods. Are all the boxes from them?” Nick asked, duly impressed.

Rachel opened another carton and found it full of bottles of Sparkling Apple and Bilberry Juice. “Who’s even heard of bilberries?” she remarked. As the two of them dove into the boxes, they discovered that Carlton had for all intents and purposes supplied them with Daylesford’s entire product line. There were crackers with sea salt, shortbreads, and biscuits of dizzying variety to go along with the fine cheeses, farmed Shetland Isles Smoked Salmon, and exotic chutneys. And there were sparkling wines, cabernet francs, and bottles of whole milk to wash it all down.

Rachel stood amid the open boxes in astonishment. “Can you believe all this? There’s enough stuff here to last us for a year.”

“Whatever we can’t eat we’ll save for the zombie apocalypse. I must say Carlton seems to be a rather generous fellow.”

“That’s putting it mildly! What a sweet welcome gift—I can’t wait to meet him!” Rachel said excitedly.

“Judging by his taste, I think I’m going to like him. Now, what should we try first? The white-chocolate-dipped lemon biscuits or the chocolate-dipped ginger biscuits?”

BAO RESIDENCE, SHANGHAI

EARLIER THAT MORNING

Gaoliang was on his way upstairs to shower after his morning jog when he encountered two maids coming down with several pieces of black-and-tan Tramontano luggage.

“Whose bags are those?” he asked one of the maids.

“Mrs. Bao’s, sir,” the girl replied, not daring to make eye contact with him.

“Where are you taking them?”

“Just out to the car, sir. They are for Mrs. Bao’s trip.”

Gaoliang headed into his bedroom, where he found his wife seated at her dressing table putting on a pair of opal-and-diamond earrings.

“Where are you off to?” he asked.

“Hong Kong.”

“I didn’t know you had a trip planned today.”

“It’s a last-minute thing—there are some problems at the Tsuen Wan factories I need to sort out,” Shaoyen replied.

“But Rachel and her husband are arriving today.”

“Oh, was that today?” Shaoyen said.

“Yes. We have a private room booked at the Whampoa Club tonight.”

“I’m sure dinner will be very good. Be sure to order the drunken chicken.”

“You won’t be back in time?” Gaoliang said, a little surprised.

“I’m afraid not.”

Gaoliang sat down on the chaise lounge beside his wife, knowing full well why she was making this sudden trip. “I thought you said you were okay with all this.”

“For a while, I thought I was…” Shaoyen said slowly, letting her voice trail off as she methodically wiped one of the earring posts with a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant. “But now that it’s really happening I’ve realized I’m not comfortable with any of it.”

Gaoliang sighed. Since his reunion with Kerry and Rachel back in March, he had spent many a long night trying to placate his wife. Shaoyen had been shocked, of course, by the bombshell he had dropped after returning from California, but over the past two months, he thought he had succeeded in reassuring her. Kerry Chu was a woman he had loved, ever so briefly, when he was only eighteen. He was a boy. It was a lifetime ago. When he brought up the idea of inviting Rachel to visit, thinking it would actually help her see that everything would be fine, Shaoyen raised no objections. He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“I know how difficult this must be for you,” Gaoliang ventured to say.

“Do you? I’m not so certain you do,” Shaoyen said, spritzing her neck with Lumière Noire.

“Surely you can imagine that this isn’t easy for Rachel either…” Gaoliang began.

Shaoyen glared into her husband’s eyes in the mirror for a few seconds, and then she smashed the perfume bottle against the table. Gaoliang jumped out of his seat in shock.

“Rachel, Rachel, all you’ve talked about for weeks is Rachel! But you haven’t really listened to a word I’ve said! You haven’t thought about my feelings,” Shaoyen screamed.

“All I have been trying to do is be considerate of your feelings,” he said, trying to remain calm.

Shaoyen glowered at her husband. “Huh! If you were truly being considerate, you wouldn’t expect me to sit there and smile through dinner while you parade your bastard daughter around to a room full of our family and friends. You give me no face!”

Gaoliang winced at her words, but he tried to defend himself. “I’ve only invited our closest relatives—people who need to know about her.”

“Still, for her to meet our family—your parents, Uncle Koo, your sister and her husband and his big mouth—the word will get out in no time and you will have no more face in Beijing. You can kiss any hope of becoming the vice-premier goodbye.”

“It’s precisely to avoid any scandal that I wanted to be open about all this from the very beginning. I didn’t want to have any secrets. You’re the one who’s stopped me from telling anyone. Don’t you think people will see that I’m only doing the right thing, the honorable thing, for my daughter?”

“If you think that’s what people will see, you’re more naïve than I thought. Enjoy your dinner. I’m going to Hong Kong, and Carlton is coming with me.”

“What? But Carlton’s been looking forward to meeting his sister!”

“He’s only been saying that to keep you happy. You have no idea the hell he’s been going through—his mood swings, his despair. You only see what you want to see.”

“I see a great deal more than you think!” Gaoliang said, raising his voice for the first time. “Carlton’s depression has more to do with his reckless ways that led to almost being killed in a car wreck. Please don’t drag him into the middle of your issues with Rachel.”

“Don’t you see? He is in the very middle of this whether you like it or not! By accepting your illegitimate daughter, you bring nothing but shame upon him! You do what you want to ruin your own future, but I’m not going to let you ruin our son’s!”

“You realize that Rachel and Nick are going to be staying with us for two months? I don’t know what you think you’ll accomplish by avoiding them now.”

Shaoyen said through gritted teeth, “I’ve decided that I cannot—will not—sleep under the same roof as Rachel Chu or Nicholas Young.”

“Now what could you possibly have against Nicholas Young?”

“He is the son of that two-faced schemer who wormed her way into our lives.”

“Come on, Eleanor Young was such a great help to us when Carlton was in the hospital.”

“That’s only because she knew who he was from the very beginning.”

Gaoliang shook his head in frustration. “I’m not going to continue arguing with you when you are being this unreasonable.”

“I’m done arguing too. I have a plane to catch. But mark my words: I will not allow Rachel or Nicholas into this house, or any of my houses.”

“Stop being unreasonable!” Gaoliang exploded. “Where are they supposed to stay?”

“There are a thousand hotels in this city.”

“You’re insane. They are landing in a few hours! How can I suddenly tell my daughter she isn’t welcome in my house after she’s just spent twenty hours on a plane?”

“You figure it out. But this is my house too, and either you choose them, or you choose your wife and son!” Shaoyen stormed out, leaving her husband alone in a room that reeked of spiced rose and narcissus.