“Jesus, Margaret, what the hell do you think you’re playing at?”

Margaret was beside herself with indignation. “What have I done now? The hotel is booked. It was all agreed. I didn’t want to go home at night and have to start making my own bed and cooking my own meals.”

He drew her away from the reception room. “Yeah, but Lily didn’t know that. You don’t just go contradicting people here, Margaret.”

“Don’t tell me. I made her lose ‘mianzi.’”

“Oh, so you have read your briefing notes.” Margaret resisted the temptation to put him straight. “The thing is, Margaret, the Chinese have got a thousand ways of saying ‘no’ without ever saying ‘no.’ And you’re going to have to start learning some of them, or your six weeks here are going to seem like six years.”

Margaret sighed theatrically. “So what should I have said?”

“You should have said how grateful you were for the university’s offer of accommodation, but that unfortunately you had already booked a room at the Friendship Hotel.” Bob stopped her at the top of the stairs. “I told you, they do things differently here. And if you want to get anything done, you’re going to have to start getting yourself a little guanxi in the bank.”

“What the hell’s ‘gwanshee’?”

“It’s what makes this whole society work. A kind of old boys’ network—you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. I do you a favour, you do me one in return. And you’re not doing anyone any favours by making them lose face.”

Margaret’s head dropped, and to Bob she suddenly looked very small and very frail. He immediately regretted his impatience with her.

“Hey, listen . . . I’m sorry. You’ve had a long day . . .”

“Two days,” she corrected him, a hint of petulance in her tone.

“And I guess this is all pretty bizarre stuff.”

“Yeah.” Now she was fighting an unaccountable urge to burst into tears, and became aware of her foot tapping manically on the top step. Bob was aware of it, too. His voice became soothing.

“Look, Lily’ll take you to the Friendship. Have a shower, get changed, maybe even grab an hour’s shut-eye, and just let the banquet tonight wash over you. Enjoy it. The food’s great. And as for the other stuff . . . I’ll keep you right, okay?”

She flicked him a look that verged on the grateful, and a wry smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “Sure. Thanks.”

But her reassurance lasted only as long as it took to reach the car and the scowling face of Lily Ping, and Margaret’s heart sank again.

IV