Edward Kerrison, the health inspector, sent by Selby’s very respectable father, Richard Hancock, saw Selby lurch down a lane toward the sellers of pastries and congee. He’d been searching for almost an hour and was glad to see the stupid boy. Why in God’s name did he not just stay at home with that nice young wife of his and keep out of trouble? Kerrison understood though—he’d seen it tons of times before. These young men, boys really, coddled in their British prep schools and disciplined within an inch of their lives, came to Hong Kong and imagined it a free-for-all. They struggled with the humidity, the heat, and the mix of cultures that, while far from egalitarian, accommodated a much wider variety of people than boys like Selby Hancock would have encountered at home. Unable to really see what was there, they imagined it a fantasyland where they could do anything they wanted. And so they did. “I should have brought him out here sooner, blast it,” Richard Hancock had said. “Now he’s too old to acclimatize and too young to handle a world he doesn’t understand. If only that wife of his were not so pious and guilty, so embarrassingly attentive to the Chinese. She’d be much better off paying attention to Selby and keeping him off the streets.” Emily was managing well—she’d found Tak-Wing’s favourite vendor and was getting her tiffin filled with congee, oily stick, shrimp dumplings, and steamed pork buns—when Selby spotted her.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Hey, lady!”

Emily recoiled, aghast. “Do I know you?”

“How would you like some company?”

“No, thank you.”

“Come on, don’t you recognize a charming fellow when you meet one?” He lurched toward her.

She stepped away. “Please leave me be.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. What’s wrong with you?”

“Stuck-up cow.”

She wished now that she hadn’t come alone. “Please just go away.”

He approached her closely, much much too closely, and towered over her, clearly enjoying his height in relation to hers.

“I don’t know you,” she said.

“Come on—” He attempted to put his arm around her just as the vendor handed back her tiffin full of hot, delicious food.

As Selby leaned toward her, she skirted away. His lean was a little more aggressive than he intended. He lost his balance, tipped over, and crashed into her, knocking the congee and pastries all over her and the ground. She yelped as hot congee splashed her face.

Ting-Yan and Edward Kerrison simultaneously entered the alley just as Emily fell and cried out, “Oh!”

Without seeing the face of the woman falling, Ting-Yan rushed forward and, miraculously, caught her.

Kerrison rushed to Selby and helped him up. “Come on, old boy. What do you think you’re doing?”

“That lady was so rude to me,” said Selby.