Fragrant Haven Read online

  ***

  James stood on the armour-plated bridge of the Customs Preventive ship. He steadied himself to roll with the swell, breathing in the scents of China carried by the wind: the musk of woodsmoke, the bitter stench of the communal latrines and the flowery fragrance of myriad joss sticks. So different to the smell of coal fires and the rotten-egg pong of the Thames in London. A fragrant haven, alright.

  He heard his father’s words as if they were being spoken right next to him, ‘Join the Navy and see the world, son.’

  ###

  Also by Siobhan Daiko

  “THE ORCHID TREE”

  A coming of age story set against the background of World War II and changing values in post-war Hong Kong society.

  HONG KONG, DECEMBER 1948

  Another deep blast reverberated from the ship’s horn. The deck vibrated beneath my feet, my toes tingling as the engines grumbled to a stop. Hong Kong Island loomed, like an enormous whale rising into the morning mist. The salty tang of the sea filled my nostrils. Was I doing the right thing? On the water, the dark shapes had turned into ships, junks and sampans. I was home and there’d be no going back now.

  My wrist touched the metal rail, cold as the Japanese executioner’s sword, and my breath caught. A blade, glinting in the sun. A streak of silver. Shining. Silent. Deadly. Choking back a sob, I raked my nails across the scabs on my hands, scratching harder and harder until I could bear the pain no more.

  The clatter of the anchor chain, then the chug-chug of a motor-boat, and I leaned over the barrier. Where was Papa?

  A young man in a navy blue jacket strode up the gangway. ‘Miss Wolseley?’ He swept off his peaked cap. ‘Lieutenant James Stevens,’ he introduced himself. ‘I’m here to take you ashore. Your father sent me.’

  I forced a brief smile. Lieutenant Stevens was taller than me by a couple of inches, and his bronze-coloured hair had curled in the moisture-laden air; he was patting it down as if he wanted to draw attention to himself.

  ‘There aren’t any liners direct from Sydney. I’m sorry you had to come all the way out to the middle of the harbour,’ I said.

  ‘Not a problem. How long were you away?

  ‘Over three years. Since September 1945.’

  ‘You were in Hong Kong during the occupation?’

  ‘In the internment camp at Stanley.’

  ‘I’ve heard about that place,’ he said, frowning.

  I flinched. I’d grown up in “that place”, behind barbed wire, suffering cruelty and starvation at the hands of the occupying Japanese, my heart frozen ever since.

  So why come back?

  ***

  THE ORCHID TREE

  ‘An evocative and mesmerising read,’ RENITA D’SILVA, author of Monsoon Memories.

  Fifteen year-old Kate Wolseley lives a rarefied life of wealth and privilege in the expatriate community. But when the Japanese take over the colony in December 1941, she’s interned in squalid Stanley Camp with her parents.

  Forty miles away, in Macau, Sofia Rodrigues’ suspicions are aroused when her father invites a Japanese family to dinner, an event which leads to a breach between Sofia and her controlling half-brother, Leo.

  Enduring cramped conditions, humiliation, disease, and starvation, Kate befriends seventeen year-old Charles – who’s half Chinese - and they give their hearts to each other under the orchid tree. Can their love survive the war?

  In December 1948, Kate returns to Hong Kong, determined to put the past behind her. Sofia dreams of leaving Macau and starting a new life, and she won’t let anyone, not even Leo, stop her.

  A young Englishman, James, becomes the link between Kate and Sofia. The communist-nationalist struggle in China spills over into the colony, catapulting the protagonists into the turmoil with disastrous consequences.

  From the perils of internment to the beauty of Hong Kong’s fragrant harbour, Siobhan Daiko’s novel will take you on a sensuous journey of adventure, romance and redemption.

  www.theorchidtree.com

  www.fragrantpublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Siobhan Daiko was born in Hong Kong and moved to the UK in 1981. She has worked in the City of London, once ran a post office/B &B in Herefordshire, and, more recently, taught Modern Foreign Languages in a Welsh high school. Siobhan now lives with her husband in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, where she spends her time writing, researching historical characters, and enjoying the dolce vita.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I hope you have enjoyed reading Fragrant Haven as much as I enjoyed writing it. Your feedback is important to me and I would love to know what you thought of my short story. Please leave a review at your favourite retailer, or you can drop me a line by email. If you enjoyed Fragrant Haven, why not encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorised retailer? Thank you for your support.

  I’m currently working on a novel about a 16th Century Venetian courtesan and my first book to be published, In My Lady’s Shadow, will be available via Smashwords in early March. The Orchid Tree will follow mid-May 2015.

  I blog about writing and my life of romance and adventure in Hong Kong and Italy at http://siobhandaiko.wordpress.com/ You can connect with me on Twitter @siobhandaiko or by email [email protected].

  I am immensely grateful to my editor, John Hudspith, for his highly professional, prompt and precise editing of this story.

  The painting “Junks” is by my father, Douglas Bland (courtesy of the Bland Family collection), and I should like to thank J.D. Smith for incorporating Dad’s work into a wonderful cover design.

  BOOKS BY SIOBHAN DAIKO

  In My Lady’s Shadow

  The Orchid Tree

  CONTENTS

  Front Page

  FRAGRANT HAVEN

  Also by Siobhan Daiko

  THE ORCHID TREE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Books by SIOBHAN DAIKO