Hussein left the village hall, a simple wooden structure with a plain cement floor. The last of the voting booths were being cleared away and they could see the ballot boxes being carried to the adjoining offices. Hussein turned to the penghulu, the village headman. "Terima kasih, thank you," he said, clasping both of the older man's hands in his own before touching briefly his heart, a gesture of respect and grat.i.tude.

"It is my honour to serve you," he replied.

"No, the honour is mine. I will remember your support and you can count on me to do the best for the villagers here. I bid you farewell for now, but I will be back." Hussein bowed once more; his humility so touched the older man's heart that it evoked tears in his eyes.

Ghazali smiled, noting how easily his boss won people over. People had expected a brash, pushy westernised young man. Hussein's adherence to tradition pleased the villagers.

"Congratulations!" Ghazali said, opening the car door for Hussein, before sliding in next to him. "The votes are not all in; two other villages have yet to finish, but all the indications are that you have won a landslide victory. Here, I have received a letter from KL. You are invited to see the PM. This must be good news."

Hussein laughed. He was elated. It had been all that his father had predicted.

"Good!" he answered. "When do we go? This will give me the opportunity to go to KL. Have you called Noraidin for me?"

Hussein had been so rushed that he had not had time to lift up a phone. He depended on Ghazali to do it for him.

"One day," he continued, "we will have a phone that we can carry around with us, instead of this mad rush to find a phone and then spending time dialling a number over and over again. But before we have this miracle, we will have to rely on land lines."

"I am sorry," replied Ghazali, his voice was reproachful. "We are not in KL; telephones are still not that widely available in the villages of Kemun, and the lines are not good. I find it difficult, in fact I would say impossible to rush in search of a phone and be with you at the same time. You have to tell me your priorities."

"I know, I know. I will do it myself. Let me have the letter."

Hussein read the letter and then read it again. A smile broke out on his face, transforming it.

"Yes, I have done it! If the votes swing my way, the ministerial post is mine."

He felt a surge of adrenalin course through him; his doubts, his worry that the sacrifices he had made in pursuit of politics might not be worthwhile, fell away.

Chapter 23.

An Mei's eyes strayed to the clock; measuring each miniscule movement of its hands as though her life depended on it. Perhaps it would speed up if she were to close her eyes, she thought. She squeezed her eyes tight; she willed the clock hands to move faster. "Hurry, hurry," she whispered. Yet the minute hand lingered, making each little movement a reluctant jerk forward.

"Seven o'clock will arrive soon enough. No amount of blinking and mumbling will make it go faster," teased Nelly. "Go and make yourself beautiful."

She blushed. "No! I am just being silly, conjuring up a game I use to play as a child. I'll go through this correspondence for you and then I'll change out of my day clothes."

"You will do no such thing. I am going and I will leave you to do what you need to do. I will take these with me. They can wait. You have worked like a demon ever since you came back from Oxford. You will be worn out soon if you are not careful."

Nelly took the folder away from An Mei and walked to the door.

"Fawziah will see me out, and then I'll send her back to you." Impulsively, she turned and walked back to An Mei to give her a kiss. "Everything will be alright."

"I hope so," An Mei replied, but she was already lost in thought, reliving the day she returned to Kuala Lumpur. The memories of what happened flashed through her mind as they had done so often over the past few weeks in Kuala Lumpur waiting for Hussein to come back.

She had returned from Oxford without telling Hussein. She had taken the Kuala Lumpur airport limousine and driven straight from the airport to her in-law's home in the capital. Stepping out of the car, she had made her way up the grand entrance to the foyer. She could still recall the sharp shaft of light shining down from the dome window that overlooked the foyer. It had lit up the whole expanse of marble, light reflecting light. Standing in the midst of this, were a group of people, their backs towards her. They had turned abruptly at the sound of her footsteps. Taken off-guard, they had stared at her. She could still recall clearly the surprise and shock in their faces. Her mother in-law Faridah had uttered just one sound, "Huh!" before she turned her back on An Mei and resumed talking; there was no acknowledgement that she had seen or knew her. Her father-in-law Rahim had not lifted even an eyebrow. He had looked through her. Only Shalimar had come forward, followed quickly by Hussein.

And only Shalimar greeted her. "Welcome back," she had said, her face tinged red. She could not meet An Mei's eyes.

An Mei rubbed her arm, involuntarily as she recalled how Hussein had grabbed hold of her, his fingers digging deep into her arms.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you leave without saying a word?" he had asked.

"Leave her alone. She has only just arrived home," Shalimar had intervened on her behalf.

An Mei had shrugged off his hand, her anger boiling over. "Don't you know why I went away? Do I have to spell it out for you? How unfair can you be to make out that it was me who left you?"

"Please do not quarrel. He is upset because he missed you."

"And you! I trusted and befriended you and this is how you repay me. I want to have nothing to do with you," An Mei had said to Shalimar. She could not, even in her anger, but notice how beautiful her rival was, dressed in a hand painted silk batik of gold, bronze leaves. Her heart contracted recalling how she must have looked in comparison, rumpled and hot after the long flight. Just like when she first came back with Hussein from Oxford.

But neither Shalimar nor Hussein had time to answer An Mei. Both had been summoned.

"Tell Hussein and Tengku Shalimar that we are waiting for them," her mother-in-law had called out aloud to a servant. "We are late! We have to leave right away!" The family, making it known to all that she, An Mei, was the odd one out, unwanted, not part of the 'we'.

An Mei sat motionless, deep in thought, after Nelly left, unaware that the door had opened and that she was not alone in the room.

Fawziah closed the door softly behind her, pressing against the door with both palms flat against it. She watched An Mei wipe her eyes furtively. She walked quickly towards her and knelt down sitting on her heels.

"Please Puan Noraidin, I have been sent by Puan Nelly to help you dress, to prepare for Encik, Master Hussein's return. This is not the time for sadness. Don't think back. I have told you all that I know and have found out. Encik Hussein and Tengku Shalimar are not living together as husband and wife. You have to believe in him," she reminded An Mei.

"Yes, I have to believe and continue to try to win my in-laws over and in particular to retain my husband's affection," she said. But her heart sank at the enormity of the task. It was like confronting a tidal wave that threatened to rear up and crash down on her.

In the weeks following her return, she had seen little of Hussein. Rahim had commanded his son to leave the following morning to Kemun in order to continue his election campaign. They made it clear that An Mei was not to follow. "You will spoil all the progress he has made," they had warned.

In the very short time she saw Hussein, he had explained everything to her. The maid attending Shalimar had supported his story. She also learnt from Fawziah how Hussein was carried, almost unconscious, to Shalimar's room, the night he was supposed to have spent the night with her.

"He has not been unfaithful to me," she had told Nelly. "They have forced him to take on a second wife, but I shall not give him up."

Sitting in her room, she remembered her brave words. She looked at Fawziah, her only ally in this hostile house of her in-laws. She wondered if her brave words had not been foolhardy.

"He will be here soon," said Fawziah. "Why don't you bathe and I will do your hair. It will make you feel better, give you more confidence in yourself."

He came alone. An Mei ran down the stairs and was on the landing when he bounded up the staircase, two steps at a time, to reach her side. He crushed her to him.

"Where are they?" she asked Hussein. "They did not come with you?" she asked again, full of disbelief. She smiled. "Is this real? Is it possible that we are alone?"

"Yes! My mother and father think it safe enough to just let Shalimar accompany me because they believe that we are in love. But I have left Shalimar with the nurse who brought her up," he said. "And she is very happy with the arrangement." He grinned, his brown eyes shone with mischief. "And I am to spend a whole week here. Can you bear it?"

"Bear it?" she asked, nestling into his arms.

Much later. She sat up in bed. Drawing her knees up, she pulled the bedclothes to her chin and turned to look at her husband. She reached out and traced a pattern over his cheeks and down to his neck. He caught her hand.

"I wish you could stay longer," she said.

"Not this time. But when, if, I get the ministerial post, I will be able to spend more time with you in KL."

"Have you considered that if you did not get the ministerial post, in fact if you were not involved in politics at all, you could stay in KL and find something else to do?"

He turned away. He raised his arm and placed his thumb and index finger, a miniscule distance apart.

"I am that close to achieving what I have always aspired to do. Would you deny me that?"

"Of course not!" she conceded.

He failed to notice the catch in her voice. He buried his face behind the small of her back. She could feel his sharp intake of breath. Her body responded.

"Shall I give up my job and come to Kemun to be with you?" she asked. She was drunk with recklessness and the emotion of the moment.

"Yes!" he said without a second's hesitation as he pulled her to him.

Chapter 24.

An Mei and Hussein returned by car to Kemun. The driver stole a glance at his rear mirror then quickly looked at the road ahead. What a tale he had in store for his friends, he thought to himself, one man and two wives, one on either side, in harmony. He looked again. Perhaps not quite in harmony, he surmised. He had gone to fetch Tengku Shalimar the day before. He had met up with the servants of the household. Tengku Shalimar, they had told him, was not happy. No wonder, he thought to himself. The other wife, Noraidin, was a picture of contentment and it had done something for her. Changed her appearance! He had never seen her looking so beautiful before. Next to her, perhaps Tengku Shalimar was a tad pale.

Hussein caught his eye on the rear mirror. The driver quickly averted his gaze to the road ahead. Five hours later they arrived in Kemun.

They drove into the driveway. Ghazali and the security guard in the escorting vehicles were already striding towards them. They opened the door.

"Do you wish me to accompany you sir?" asked Ghazali, brief case in hand.

"No! Not now. Business can wait. Just arrange to have the suitcases sent up to our quarters and please instruct the servants to prepare Puan Noraidin's rooms. We will go to see my parents now and break the good news to them."

"Shall I send someone to run ahead to tell them that you are on your way?"

"No! We'll surprise them," Hussein replied.

They made their way slowly up the stairs, walked through the hallway, pa.s.sed the maze of staterooms and entered the private gla.s.s-covered courtyard. An Mei recalled the earlier scene she had witnessed there; she breathed deeply to calm her nerves.

"Do we go to your parent's quarters now or should we first go to ours?" she asked Hussein hoping to postpone meeting with her in-laws.

"I am sorry," said Shalimar. She had not spoken throughout. "I wish to go to my room. I don't feel well."

"Then go. Rest," Hussein said not unkindly, "but, An Mei, we should go straight to my parents and let them know. We should not give them too much time to prepare their confrontation with us." He took An Mei's hand. "Come along," he coaxed, leaving Shalimar standing on her own, totally oblivious to the distress on her face.

They walked through the gla.s.s-domed courtyard with the potted ferns and bamboos and entered another part of the mansion. An Mei had never been to this part of the house before. She had never been invited to the private quarters of her in-laws. She slowed her pace, her trepidation increasing by the minute. A maid spotted their entrance.

"Good afternoon," she said. "Welcome back. I'll tell Datuk and Datin."

Hussein stopped her. "Shhh," he mimed with a broad smile, "we want to surprise my parents."

Hussein held on to An Mei's hand and together they entered the room. It was a large room that spanned the entire length of the wing. Light flooded in from the windows. Rahim and Faridah were in deep conversation with Ahmad. They did not hear their entry. An Mei stumbled, her toe caught the corner of a chair; Hussein reached out to steady her. All three turned: Faridah's eyes widened; she was surprised to see An Mei with Hussein. Rahim, rose from his chair; Ahmad followed suit. To An Mei, their movements were a record in slow motion, a film reeling slowly forward.

"Mother, father. We are back," said Hussein, his voice shattering the silence. "And we have good news. I've got the post. I am now a Deputy Minister. An Mei, Noraidin, has resigned from the bank and has come to Kemun to be with me. Isn't that great?"

They stared at him, speechless.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

Ahmad was the first to recover. He extended his hand. "Of course! What good news though we knew from the start you would succeed. Even then, the speed with which you have advanced is outstanding. Everyone is talking about it."

Faridah and Rahim took Hussein in their arms, taking turns to whisper words of praise. No one commented on An Mei's presence. They ignored her completely.

"And Shalimar?" Ahmad asked. "Where is she?" He kept his smile firmly on his face, but he was furious. His sister had once again failed in her responsibility.

Once Hussein and An Mei had left the room, Faridah turned on Ahmad furiously. "Send for your sister, this very moment. Where was she when all this happened?"

Ahmad bl.u.s.tered. "Don't ask me. I thought she was with Hussein all the time in KL."

Faridah turned impatiently to the hovering servants. "Tell Tengku Shalimar to come here at once!" she said.

"Hussein and Shalimar had looked so in love when they were here in Kemun. What happened?" asked Rahim. He too was bewildered by the speed his son seemed to have switched his allegiance from one wife to the other.

"Noraidin, that Chinese minx put a charm on him, that is what happened," replied his wife. "That brazen hussy. Otherwise, how could my son change so completely?"

"I am not keen to have An Mei, I mean Noraidin, here," said Rahim. "She will distract Hussein from his work and I am not at all sure that his popularity with the electorates will not suffer as well. It would be a shame; the people have responded so well to his marriage to Shalimar."

"I will have to consult my bomoh. I'll get him to undo her charm," said Faridah.

Her belief in magical powers was not a thing that Rahim would like the public to know. He did not believe in them and he did not approve of her use of what was tantamount to witchcraft. He had left her to her own devices just for peace.

"Maybe it has nothing to do with magical charms," he muttered. "Remember the potions you gave him? They did nothing for our cause; they did, however, make him very ill. Hussein had such extreme changes in mood, fluctuating between elation and depression, smiling and laughing one minute and in a cold sweat, the next. Leave him alone. For goodness sake!"