A couple of days later when they arrived at work Mrs Yung told Jia Li, ‘You go work in yard today.’
Jia Li visibly paled. Normally she liked working out in the yard. Whoever was out there had to peg the sheets to the line, then fetch them in and fold them before they were sent to be ironed. It was a chance to feel the sunshine on her face but it would mean that she was alone out there and after the way Huan had been harassing her she was suddenly nervous. Should he happen by and come out to her she dreaded to think what he might be capable of. Even so, she knew better than to argue so she quietly made her way through to the yard. Soon the first lot of clean sheets were flapping on the line and she was beginning to feel a little better. Perhaps Huan wouldn’t call in that day after all, in which case she could start to relax. But then mid-morning, shortly before the girls were allowed to take a fifteen-minute break, she glanced up to see him standing in the doorway with a wicked grin on his face. Her mouth was full of wooden clothes pegs and she spat them out and nervously wiped her hands down the front of her apron as she said politely, ‘Good morning, Mr Yung.’
Up until then she had been able to ward off his advances while in the company of the other women and girls but she knew that out here it would be much more difficult.
‘No need for formalities,’ he said, licking his lips as he stared at her dainty figure. ‘It is Huan to you, Jia Li.’ He began to advance on her and she automatically backed away from him until she found her back against the brick wall. Rows of sheets now stood between her and the entrance to the laundry and she began to panic. In seconds he was directly in front of her with an arm resting on the wall either side of her.
‘You know, you are very beautiful.’
As she stared fearfully up into his handsome face her heart began to pound painfully.
‘If you were to be nice to me I could be very generous,’ he crooned and without thinking she put her hands on his broad chest and pushed with all her might, sending him toppling backwards.
‘I no wish to be nice to you. I just work here,’ she whimpered as she tried to skirt around him but already he was up on his feet again and his face had turned ugly now as he brought his hand back and slapped her viciously across the mouth.
‘You do not talk to me this way,’ he ground out through gritted teeth as blood spurted from her mouth. ‘I your boss’s son and if I say you be nice to me you be nice!’ He grabbed her arm and swung her round as if she weighed no more than a feather. Her back connected with the wall again so hard this time that the scream that had been building in her throat died away as the wind was knocked out of her.
‘You nothing but a little whore bitch!’ he screeched and then he threw her onto her back on the hard ground.
She began to cry as she tried to fight him off, but within seconds she knew that her strength was no match for his and despair and terror in equal measure coursed through her. She started to scream even though she knew there was no chance of her being heard with all the noise that was coming from the laundry. And then she heard a ripping sound as he caught the front of her blouse and buttons rolled across the floor.
‘Ah!’ He eyed her pert young breasts with glee as she began to sob then he fastened his mouth to one of her tender nipples and began to bite it, making her yelp with pain. But that was nothing to what happened minutes later when he managed to rip her underwear to one side and he pushed himself into her. The pain of it took her breath away for a moment and she prayed for death to take her, for surely that would be preferable to the terrible agony that was ripping her apart. She felt as if she was being rent in two but he was oblivious as he took his pleasure bucking away on top of her. And then, just as she thought she could bear it no more, he took a deep shuddering breath and collapsed on top of her panting wildly. She just lay there too terrified to move in case he started again until he rolled away and began to right his clothes, then standing he stared down at her with contempt.
‘Do not try to tell my mother I forced you,’ he said threateningly. ‘I shall tell her that you have been tempting me for weeks and who do you think she will believe, little whore! Just think yourself lucky that boss’s son like you.’ And then he strolled casually away as Jia Li rolled herself into a tight ball and sobbed broken-heartedly. As far as she was concerned her life was over. She was spoiled and her beloved Bai, or indeed any other man, would never want her now.
As break time approached, Colleen commented to Flora, ‘Jia Li is late coming t’rough from the yard, isn’t she? We’d agreed we’d go outside and sit in the fresh air for our break.’
She and Flora were working side by side that day feeding the sheets into the massive coppers and they were both running with sweat.
‘She’s probably lost track of time being out the back on her own,’ Flora puffed as she dried her hands and slipped off her apron. ‘I’ll run through and fetch her.’
She walked through the rinsing room and the ironing room and looked into the yard but all she could see at first glance was rows upon rows of snow-white sheets dancing on the lines.
‘Jia Li.’ When there was no answer she began to duck beneath the sheets, her eyes going this way and that and it was then that she heard a low keening sound that might have been made by an animal in pain and it struck terror into her soul.
‘Jia Li!’ Her voice was louder and more urgent now and as she approached the far side of the yard she spotted a figure lying on the floor shaking uncontrollably, and her heart missed a beat.
‘Oh no!’ Flora dropped to her knees and gathered the shaking girl into her arms.
For a moment Jia Li thought it was Huan come back to violate her again and she struggled violently. Then when she saw that it was Flora she gave a great gasping sob and sagged against her chest. Blood was trickling down her chin and when she opened her mouth to try to speak she spat out one of her back teeth.
‘Dear God, who’s done this to you?’ Flora asked, horrified.
Jia Li was trying to pull the front of her ruined blouse together but before she could manage it Flora could see the bruises already beginning to appear across the girl’s naked breasts.
‘I-It w-was Yung Huan … he …’ Unable to go on, Jia Li began to sob again.
Flora rocked her back and forth and now anger took the place of her distress. ‘Did he …?’ She found that she couldn’t form the question but Jia Li knew what she had been trying to say and nodded miserably.
‘He … he rape me,’ she gulped. ‘And now my Bai no longer want me. No man will want me. I am ruined goods.’
‘Don’t be so silly. This wasn’t your fault,’ Flora told her but Jia Li was inconsolable as she tried to pull her skirt down to cover the blood stains on her thighs. It was then that they heard someone approaching and seconds later Mrs Yung appeared from beneath the sheets, her mouth set in a straight, grim line.
‘What go on here?’ she demanded as Flora glared up at her.
‘What does it look like? She’s been attacked … by your son! He did this to her.’
‘You lie!’ Mrs Yung was furious and her small hands clenched into fists. ‘My Huan not do this unless girl ask for it! She cheap whore!’
‘Does she really look like she asked for it?’ Flora snapped as her eyes flashed angrily. ‘Just look at the state of her.’
‘She get out!’ Mrs Yung pointed towards the rear door. ‘I no longer give her job! She big troublemaker.’
‘Then I go too!’ Flora retorted. ‘Your son is a rapist and he needs reporting to the police!’
Mrs Yung trembled with fury and began to wave her arms frantically. ‘You bring trouble on my Huan and I make big trouble for you too,’ she warned. ‘Now go and do not come back!’ She began to gesticulate wildly and chunter away in her own language.
‘Don’t worry, we shall. I wouldn’t work for you now if I was starving,’ Flora retaliated as she bodily hoisted Jia Li to her feet and pushed her way past her employer.
Jia Li was almost a dead weight and was clearly in shock but somehow Flora managed to get her through the laundry and out into the street where Colleen was waiting for them.
‘Sweet Holy Mother! Whatever happened to the poor wee girl?’ she gasped and when Flora told her, Colleen’s brilliant green eyes seemed to flash fire.
‘Why, the filthy scum!’ she spat. ‘But what happens now?’
‘Me and Jia Li have got the sack,’ Flora told her.
‘Fine, and I’ll leave too, so I will,’ Colleen declared. ‘I wouldn’t work for that witch now if she paid me in gold, to be sure. Come away, let’s get the poor lassie home.’
Between them they somehow managed to get Jia Li back to their meagre room and it was only then it occurred to them that they would lose this too along with their job, for there was no way Mrs Yung would allow them to stay there now.
‘So, what do we do now?’ Colleen asked despondently when they had cleaned Jia Li up as best they could and settled her down for a rest on one of the straw mattresses.
‘We’d best let her have a rest then we’ll clear out,’ Flora sighed. ‘Better we go ourselves than have Mrs Yung have someone come and throw us out.’
‘But where will we go? I have a little tucked away and I know Jia Li has too but it’s not a lot.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll manage,’ Flora assured her with a confidence that she was far from feeling. ‘We’ll rent another room somewhere for tonight while we figure out what to do. In fact, if you don’t mind staying here to watch over Jia Li I’ll go and have a scout round for somewhere right now.’
When Colleen nodded in agreement, Flora set off on her quest. She trudged the streets for an hour getting more disheartened by the minute. The cheaper rooms that were available were so filthy that she wouldn’t have felt happy putting a dog in them and the dearer ones meant that they would eat into her savings in no time at all. And then it occurred to her, Mrs Casey seemed keen to offload the business as soon as possible. Perhaps it was time for her to make the decision for the other two girls. At least then they were assured of having a roof over their heads. She set off again and soon arrived at Mrs Casey’s café.
A glance through the window showed that it was almost empty as usual apart from a few burly sailors who were drinking tea and coffee from cracked mugs. Dora Casey was in her usual position at the counter, leafing through a magazine with a cigarette dangling from her lips, so after taking a deep breath, Flora entered, setting the little bell above the café door jangling.
The woman smiled when she saw her and asked, ‘Come for a cuppa, have you, or have you made a decision?’
‘We’ve made a decision,’ Flora answered, crossing her fingers behind her back. ‘But there’s one slight problem.’
‘Oh yes, an’ what would that be?’
‘Well … the thing is, one of my friends …’ Flora lowered her voice and glanced over her shoulder to make sure that she wouldn’t be overheard before going on in a hushed voice, ‘One of my friends was involved in a very traumatic incident today … The son of the woman who owns the laundry where we work, er …’
Dora Casey raised a carefully plucked eyebrow. ‘You wouldn’t be talking about Yung Huan by any chance would yer?’
When Flora looked shocked and nodded the woman sighed. ‘Then you’ve no need to say anymore. I can guess what he did. He’s well known around these parts for takin’ advantage of young women. Needs lockin’ up, if you were to ask me, but how does this affect your decision to rent the café?’
Flora nervously licked her lips. ‘The thing is … we paid Mrs Yung for the room we stay in and now that we’ve all left …’
‘She’ll kick your asses out onto the street!’ Dora Casey sighed again as she finished Flora’s sentence for her.
‘Yes, so I was wondering – could we move in … today?’
‘Today!’ Dora Casey looked shocked. ‘But, honey, that gives me no time to have a proper contract drawn up.’
‘I know,’ Flora agreed. ‘But I’m more than happy to pay you a month’s money up front and you can trust me, I promise. Then I’ll sign the contract as soon as it’s ready.’
The woman eyed her thoughtfully as she tapped at her lip with her forefinger, then making a hasty decision she nodded.
‘All right. But I warn you, you’ll all find yourselves out on the street if I have any funny business off you, contract or not.’
Flora sighed with relief as Mrs Casey shook her hand. ‘Looks like you just got yourself a little business, girl,’ she said with an amused gleam in her eye.