Lainey seethed, “Mut laan yeah?*2 How dare she show up here after the stunt she pulled the other night!”
“Who was stupid enough to bring her?” Tessa asked.
Ada rose slowly from the table and smiled tightly at her lunch companions. “Will you excuse me for just one minute? Please keep eating—don’t let the delicious turtle soup get cold.”
Evangeline de Ayala entered the parlor in a pretty black-and-white Lanvin shift dress and gave Kitty a double-cheek kiss. “So sorry to be late—I have no good excuse, except that I am always on Manila time.”
“Don’t worry—I was just admiring the art,” Kitty graciously responded.
“Quite cool, isn’t it? Do you collect?”
“I’m just beginning to, so I am trying to educate myself,” Kitty said modestly, wondering whether Evangeline was just pretending not to know that she had recently bought the most expensive painting in all of Asia.
The ladies approached the reception desk together, and the same host greeted them warmly. “Good afternoon, Mrs. de Ayala. Joining us for lunch today?”
“Yes, just the two of us,” Evangeline replied.
“Wonderful. Please come with me,” the host said, escorting the ladies up the curved marble staircase. When they entered the dining room, Kitty noticed quite a few people gawking at them. The manager of the club came rushing toward them with a look of importance.
Goody, he’s coming to welcome me personally to the club, Kitty thought.
“Mrs. de Ayala, I do apologize, but there seems to have been a huge mix-up with our computerized reservation system. I’m afraid we are completely overbooked today and will not be able to accommodate you for lunch.”
The host looked taken aback by his manager’s declaration, but said nothing.
Evangeline looked puzzled. “But I made the booking two days ago, and no one called to inform me.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. We’re truly sorry—but if you’ll allow me, I have made a booking for you right around the corner at Yung Kee on Wellington Street. They have a lovely table awaiting you, and I hope you will allow us to treat you to lunch, to make up for the inconvenience.”
“Surely you can seat us for a quick lunch here? We’re just two, and I see a few empty tables along the window,” Evangeline said hopefully.
“Unfortunately those tables have already been spoken for. Once again, please accept my apologies, and I do hope you enjoy Yung Kee—be sure to order their fabulous roast goose,” the manager said as he authoritatively steered Kitty and Evangeline toward the staircase.
As they left the club, Evangeline was still perplexed. “How bizarre! I’m so sorry—nothing like that has ever happened before. But the Locke does have rather strange rules. Now, let me just text my driver about our change of plans.” As Evangeline got out her phone, she saw that her husband was trying to call.
“Hey swithart,*3 how are you? The strangest thing just happened,” Evangeline cooed into the phone. Then she jumped at the torrent of cursing that came from the other end.
“Nothing! We did nothing!” she said in a defensive tone.
Kitty could hear Evangeline’s husband continue to rant.
“I can’t explain…I don’t know what happened,” Evangeline kept sputtering into the phone, her face getting paler and paler. Finally she put her phone down and gave Kitty a rather dazed look.
“I’m sorry, but I’m suddenly not feeling too well. Do you mind if we take a rain check on lunch?”
“Of course. Is everything okay?” Kitty asked, rather concerned for her new friend.
“That was my husband. Our membership at the Locke Club has just been revoked.”
After Evangeline’s driver had picked her up, Kitty stood at the curb, trying to process what had just happened. She had woken up this morning feeling so happy and excited, and now she was rather crestfallen that her lunch plans had gone so awry. Poor Evangeline. What an awful thing to happen to her. Just as she was about to call for her driver, Kitty noticed a gray-haired woman in a dowdy-looking pantsuit smiling at her.
“Are you okay?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Kitty responded, a little confused. Did she know her from somewhere?
“I was just at lunch at the Locke, and I couldn’t help but notice what happened in the dining room,” the woman said by way of introduction.
“Yes, it’s quite strange, isn’t it? I feel so bad for my friend.”