The Phantom of the Temple

XII

Judge Dee found his First and Third Ladies in the former's boudoir. He told them briefly about the inter­view with the old prefect. 'Mrs Woo's visit must have a bearing on Miss Jade's disappearance. I would like to receive her personally, but she won't talk to me, of course. I ought to see her, though, to get an impression of her personality... .' He tugged vexedly at his sidewhiskers.

The First Lady turned quickly to the Third and asked, 'Can't you receive Mrs Woo somewhere in your apart­ment where our husband can see and hear her without his presence becoming known?' In accordance with the time-honoured custom, Judge Dee had assigned to each of his three wives a separate apartment, complete with their own kitchen and their own personal maids. Although the Second and Third freely went in and out of the First Lady's apartment in the main building of the residence, the latter never set foot in theirs. Judge Dee strictly adhered to this old-established custom because he knew that it offered the best guarantee for a peaceful and harmonious household.

'Well,' the Third told him slowly, 'as you know, the moon-door that separates my bedroom from the sitting-room has a curtain of thin gauze. If I make my guest sit down near the window, and you stood in the bedroom, behind the curtain, then—'

'That'll do fine!’ the judge exclaimed. 'Let's go!'

'If you don't mind,' the Third Lady said, 'I shall take you there by the back door, so that the maids don't see you. They might tell Mrs Woo inadvertently that you are with me.'

'Excellent idea,' the First Lady approved. 'Good luck!’

The Third took the judge outside and along the wind­ing garden path leading to her apartment, situated in a secluded corner at the back of the residence. As she was opening the door of her sitting-room to let him inside he said quickly, 'Try to make her talk a bit about Miss Jade. She's Woo's second wife, you know.'

'All this is very exciting!' she whispered, squeezing his hand. 'Look, I'll make her take that chair, facing the moon-door!’

The judge went on into the bedroom, carefully adjust­ing the gauze curtain behind him. It was half-dark there, for the shutters had been closed to keep the heat out. Sitting down on the edge of the broad bedstead, he heard his wife clap her hands. She told the maid that she could leave as soon as she had ushered the lady guest in, for she would look after the tea herself.

Judge Dee nodded approvingly. She was a clever woman. And of exquisite taste. He looked with apprecia­tion at the graceful flower-arrangement on the tea table. Every time he came, he discovered something new. On the wall a poem she had written, or on the table a new painting done by her, or a piece of delicate embroidery. She was happy pursuing her own artistic interests and she loved teaching the children. Her father, an egotistic wicked man, had repudiated her after the terrible ordeal she had gone through in Peng-lai,* (* See Chapter XV of the novel The Chinese Gold Murders, London 1959.) and the judge knew she felt sheltered now, and considered his First and Second as her elder sisters. Voices in the sitting-room roused him from his thoughts.

The Third Lady was receiving a tall woman, sedately dressed in a grey robe with a long-sleeved jacket on top. It was fastened round the waist by a silk scarf, the ends of which trailed down to the floor. Her head was covered by a black shawl. As soon as the maid had left, the visitor unwound the shawl, tucked it away in her bosom, and made a bow, respectfully raising her hands folded in her sleeves.

'You'll have seen from my card who I am, madam.' She spoke in a clipped voice. 'A thousand thanks for kindly consenting to see me, despite the fact that I have not yet had the honour of being introduced to your lady­ship.'

Her mobile, expressive face was set off by a becoming high hairdress, without any ornaments. The judge thought she was not beautiful by classical standards; her lips were too full, her eyebrows a shade too heavy, and there were slight pouches under her large, vivid eyes. But she was certainly a woman of strong personality. He put her age at about thirty-five.

While guiding her guest to the chair near the window, the Third made the usual polite inquiries. Then she sat down and began to prepare the tea. Mrs Woo should have waited to open the conversation until the tea was ready. Instead, she began at once:

'I oughtn't to take too much of your time, madam, and I myself am in rather a hurry, for my husband mustn't know I am here. So please allow me to skip the formalities and come straight to the point.' As the Third inclined her shapely small head, Mrs Woo resumed quickly, 'My husband has gone to His Excellency this morning, to accuse me of having kidnapped his daughter Jade.'

The Third let a tea-cup drop onto the floor. It shattered on the marble slabs.

'I am so sorry!’ Mrs Woo exclaimed contritely. 'How stupid of me to make such an abrupt statement! I should have told you the background first. Here, let me help you!'

After they had sat down again, Mrs Woo resumed at once. 'Of course I have never even dreamt of harming his daughter. I want to explain the situation to you, for as a young married woman, you'll understand. I hope that afterwards you'll kindly communicate the gist of our talk to your husband, so that he knows what's behind all this fuss.'

'I can't promise you anything before I have heard what it's all about, Mrs Woo,' the Third said in her soft, measured voice.

'Of course you can't!' Mrs Woo said impatiently. The polite veneer was rapidly wearing off. 'Let me begin by assuring you that I love my husband. He's twice my age, of course, but kind and considerate, and he gave me the security I wanted. Before my marriage I was what is called an abandoned woman, you know, and I hadn't a cent to my name. But that's neither here nor there. The main point is that when Woo married me he had been a widower for three years. He had only one child, a daugh­ter called Jade. He thought the world of her, but I can tell you she was nothing special. Just an ordinary chit of eighteen, with men on her mind before she was quite ready for it. I wanted to take her in hand, but Woo said no, he would look after her education. He was fond of her, a bit too fond, if you know what I mean. Probably didn't realize it himself, but I have been around, and I knew. I didn't tell him that, of course, but I did tell him that she was standing between him and me as man and wife, and that he'd better marry her off as quickly as possible. And that was the beginning of endless squabbles.'

THE THIRD LADY RECEIVES MRS WOO

She shrugged and went on: 'Now, husbands and wives will quarrel from time to time; that can't be helped. But when I smelled out that Jade had a boyfriend, I thought it my duty to warn my husband; and then the fat was in the fire! And even that was nothing compared with the row he made when the wench eloped with her lover. Woo shouted at me that I had murdered her, and hidden her dead body! After he had calmed down a bit, he realized he had been talking nonsense, of course. But then he developed the theory that I had had her kidnapped, to be sold to a brothel! I ask you!’

'Don't let your tea get cold,' the Third Lady said quietly, pushing the cup towards her guest. Mrs Woo gulped the tea down.

'Well, I denied that crazy accusation till I was blue in the face, but he wouldn't believe me. It so happened that I was away the night she vanished, you see. Had to see an old acquaintance.'

'Wouldn't it be the best proof of your innocence if you told your husband the name of his daughter's boyfriend, and where they went to?'

Judge Dee smiled. She was doing very well.

'If I'd known that, I would've told him at once!’ Mrs Woo replied curtly. 'She made eyes at a Mr Yang, her father's secretary. But Yang is a decent young fellow, he feigned not to notice the wench. No, there must have been another man, but I never found out who it was. Her father gave her far too much freedom. Trust those modern young girls to handle their little affairs cleverly!’

'Well, couldn't you ask your friend to tell your hus­band you had been with him?' the Third Lady asked sweetly.

Mrs Woo shot her a suspicious glance. 'Well,' she replied slowly, 'to tell you the truth, Mr Yang had in­vited me. He's a man of the world, and he had noticed that my life was very dull. So he invited me for a bite in a place he knew. All above board, of course. But if my husband knew, he'd have a fit. He is a very fine man, but rather old-fashioned, you see.'

Mrs Woo heaved a sigh. Then she went on quickly: 'I shall be brief. This morning my husband suddenly told me he was going to take steps about Jade's disappearance. After nearly six whole months, mind you! Your hus­band the judge summoned him, I suppose?'

'That I really couldn't tell you, Mrs Woo. At home the judge never talks about official matters.'

'Wise man! Anyway, Woo had Lee Mai called. That's his best friend, a banker and gold-merchant. A bit pom­pous, but not a bad fellow. They rushed off to the tribunal together. Now I hope that you, having heard the whole story, will kindly suggest to His Excellency that he tells Woo it's in his own interest to forget all about his crazy suspicions of me. Then your husband can tackle the prob­lem of the girl and her paramour. Your husband is a famous investigator, madam! He'll locate the couple be­fore you can say knife! And that will settle this disgraceful affair for good. Then Woo'll treat me again as a husband should. He hasn't set a foot in my bedroom since that silly young bitch disappeared, believe it or not! Well, that's all.'

The Third Lady remained silent for a while. Then she said, 'I'll think over what you told me, Mrs Woo. But I must repeat that my husband dislikes discussing official matters with his wives, and I doubt whether he ...'

Mrs Woo rose. Tapping her lightly on her arm, she said with a smile, 'Any man will listen to a pretty young lady like you! Any man, dear! Thanks a thousand times for your kindness and your patience, madam!’

She wound the shawl round her head again. The Third Lady conducted her to the door.

When she had pulled the curtain of the moon-door aside, Judge Dee saw tears glistening in her eyes.

'It wasn't so exciting, after all,' she told him listlessly.

The judge pulled her down by his side and patted her hand.