‘Who was my mother to you?’ he asked. This, at least, seemed to rattle the professor, if only for the briefest moment. ‘We are not here to discuss your mother.’ ‘You killed her. And you didn’t even bother to bury her.’ ‘Don’t be absurd. It was the Asiatic Cholera that killed her—’ ‘You were in Macau for two weeks before she died. Mrs Piper told me. You knew the plague was spreading, you know you could have saved her—’ ‘Heavens, Robin, she was just some Chink.’ ‘But I’m just some Chink, Professor. I’m also her son.’ Robin felt a fierce urge to cry. He forced it down. Hurt never garnered
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