The colonel leaned over the table and took Condley’s hand for a moment in both of his, a gesture of affection. Mrs. Pham appeared briefly, leaving a small tray on the table with a pot of tea and two ceramic cups. Colonel Pham began pouring the tea. “I do not like Monsieur Petain very much,” he said with an openly worried nod, switching to heavily slurred English for the first time since Condley had met him. And then he switched back to Vietnamese. “I believe he is using my daughter.”

The colonel’s directness made Condley uneasy, as if he himself were being asked to find a solution. “I don’t know anything about that, Colonel.”

“She is spoiled, yes, but she is a good girl. Very emotional. She leads with her heart and not her head. She is too young to be living in his world. Not in years, but in experience. She is very naive, Cong Ly. It is all too sudden a change, from the simplicities of the revolution to his nightclubs and designer clothes and limousines. She wants nice things. She sees them on the television and in the magazines that come from France and America. Petain tantalizes her with these things. But she does not understand the price she might have to pay to get them.”

“She is a good person,” said Condley lamely, uncertain of where the canny colonel was taking him. “A very beautiful woman.”

“She told me about your evening after we all went to temple.” Colonel Pham raised a hand, as if there were no need for apology or explanation. “It opened her eyes, Cong Ly. I wish to thank you for that. We are Buddhists, as you know. We are not controlled by such an exact formula as your own Ten Commandments. Instead, we must look inside ourselves to find what is good and what is not. If she had . . . been intimate . . . with you that night, I would not have liked it. But if she had truly struggled with it and determined that it was for the good, I cannot say that it would have been wrong.”

Condley watched the colonel quietly, stunned by his directness. Finally he shrugged nervously. “I appreciate your insight, Colonel. But as you know, nothing happened between us.”

“I thank you for that. She is, as I have said, very naive. And at this moment more than a little bit confused by her freedom.”

Condley shrugged again, with a casualness that he did not feel, wishing to move on. “We are all confused, Colonel. It is a very confusing time.”

“All kinds of freedom can be confusing, yes?” Colonel Pham nodded, done with his little lecture. “I wanted to report to you that your trip to Quang Nam was most successful,” he said, raising his teacup as if delivering a toast. “The People’s Committee was very impressed with the way you conducted your business. There will be more cooperation if you need it.”