Stone, Katherine by Pearl Moon Page A

been consumed by the prospect of seeing Sam.
    "Well. You've remembered now. So tell me."
    "She was able to reach Golden Eight. He and James will be
here at six this evening."
    "Golden Eight?"
    "The feng shui man." When her clarification didn't seem
to make any more sense to Sam than Golden Eight's name, Maylene concluded,
"I guess you didn't even know the meeting was in the works. I assumed it
was something you and James had discussed."
    "No."
    Sam had no idea what she was talking about, and it was obvious he
should have. During the past few months, while building a cliff-top resort in
Bermuda, he had, by fax and phone, made the necessary preconstruction
preparations for the Jade Palace. In the process, during telephone
conversations with Tyler and James, he'd gleaned a few facts about construction
in Hong Kong.
    The impending turnover of sovereignty to the People's Republic of
China had escalated rather than diminished Hong Kong's building boom. As a
provision of the Joint Declaration, the government in Beijing agreed to honor
all existing land leases for at least fifty years. It was prudent, however, to
have the buildings fully operational before 1997.
    A six-day work week was de rigeur in Hong Kong, and
construction crews would work a seven-day week without complaint. The summer
months provided long hours of daylight. Every second was used—when it could be.
The problem was the weather. The summer monsoon brought drenching rains, and
construction might be suspended for days. Or weeks.
    Sam knew these facts about building in Hong Kong before his
arrival, and in the past two days he'd learned that buildings under
construction, even those climbing seventy stories into the sky, were enmeshed
in skeins of bamboo and draped with bright green netting. The bamboo
scaffolding appeared delicate. And precarious. But he'd been assured it was
strong—and that the construction workers of Hong Kong had the balance of
trapeze artists.
    Now he was going to learn something else about building here.
    "I'm lost," he confessed. "It's obvious I should
know what a feng shui man is, but I don't. Would you enlighten me?"
    "Of course. I'd be happy to." Maylene's words were
gracious, but a frown touched her face. "The Chinese believe nature is a
living creature with whom man should attempt to live in harmony."
    Sam understood her frown. Feng shui involved ancient Chinese
beliefs, the exotic mysticism of the Orient, and Maylene was afraid he'd think
it foolish. Quietly, truthfully, he said, "I guess I believe that,
too."
    "You may not believe the natural cosmos is populated by gods
and ghosts and spirits and dragons."
    "Maybe I should. I'm sure I should. Tell me more."
    "Okay. Well, let's see. Feng shui literally means 'wind and
water.' Its purpose is to place people in the most harmonious relationship
possible with the spiritual world. Such harmony, in turn, brings good luck. The
feng shui man offers advice on how to deflect evil spirits and woo benevolent
ones."
    "What kind of advice?"
    "Depending on how confident he is, all sorts of
things-wedding dates, business ventures, what horses to bet on al Happy Valley.
Most of his suggestions are aimed at putting things in proper physical
alignment with roaming spirits. A view of water, for example, is good
feng shui. If you don't have a view, you need to create one. That's why there
are many aquariums in Hong Kong."
    Sam smiled, interested, encouraging. "What else?"
    "Well, because spirits can only move in straight lines, they
can be kept out of buildings by installing the doors at a slant, or by putting
in revolving ones."
    "So feng shui is important in construction."
    "Very."
    "I'm listening."
    Maylene's whirlwind architectural tour of Hong Kong— based on the
decrees of feng shui—started with the Regent, the harborside hotel located less
than a quarter of a mile from where they stood. Since both the Regent and the
Jade Palace were on Kowloon Peninsula, she began by explaining how the
peninsula got