Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

outside her bedroom for the past two days like a Doberman. He’s not letting anyone in
who will ruin his plan!”
“Sek si gau!” * Ah Ling muttered angrily.
Vikram peeked out of the larder door for a moment to see if there was anyone within
earshot before continuing in a lower voice. “Now, from what I understand, Mrs. Young
thinks that Nicky had to cancel his trip because of the Intergalactic Wars. She has been
kept completely in the dark, and has no idea he’s even back on the island. Astrid is being
kept away too, and you know none of those daughters are going to tell her anything. We
need to do something about this!”
Ah Ling let out a long sigh. “I don’t know if we can interfere. This is a family matter. I
don’t like to get mixed up in their quarrels. And I especially don’t want either of us to get
in trouble for this…after Su Yi is gone.”
“Mrs. Young isn’t…going anywhere!” Vikram sputtered.
“Vikram, we both have to face it…I don’t think Su Yi is going to last much longer. I see
her waning day by day. And we have no idea who’s going to get control of Tyersall Park.
God forbid, it could be Eddie. We need to be extra careful, especially now. I’ve seen what
has happened before in this family. You weren’t around when T’sien Tsai Tay passed
away. My God, the drama!”
“I think there’s going to be drama no matter what. But you practically raised Nicky—
don’t you want to see him get the house?”
Ah Ling gestured for Vikram to follow her to the back of the larder. “Of course I do,”
she whispered.
“We both know it would be ideal if Nicky is the new master of Tyersall Park. He is our
best hope to keep things just the way they are. That’s why we have to do what we can to
make sure he gets to see Mrs. Young.”
“But what can we do? How are we going to get Nicky into the house and into her
bedroom without the whole family knowing about it? Without losing our jobs?”
Vikram felt a lump in his throat, but he continued to speak. “Ah Ling, I swore an oath—
a Gurkha’s oath—to protect and serve Mrs. Young with my life. I feel like I would be
betraying her if I didn’t see that her wishes are followed. You just confirmed that she
wants to see Nicky, right?”
Ah Ling nodded. “I have a feeling she’s hanging on to see him.”
“Well, it’s my duty to make sure that happens. Even if I lose my job.”
“You are an honorable man,” Ah Ling said as she sat down on a wooden stool,
momentarily lost in a thought. She gazed up at the rows and rows of glass bottles
containing the world’s rarest foods—wild mountain ginseng, preserved abalone,
caterpillar fungus—precious herbs that had been stored here since before World War II,
suddenly remembering one afternoon back in the early eighties…
Su Yi had taken out a leather box from the vault filled with old medals that she wanted
Ah Ling to polish with extra care. Most of them were honors given over the years to Su
Yi’s husband—his Order of the British Empire badge, a medal from the Knights of Saint