Once they were inside. Lady Li ordered her maid to wait in the hallway. The Gibsons’ maid led Lady Li to a parlor on the left. Lady Li took a deep breath to steel herself before entering.
Mrs. Gibson stood and faced Lady Li as she entered, a look of surprise on her face. Mr. Gibson was also there, though he hardly looked friendly and only nodded when she entered.
“Lady Li,” Mrs. Gibson said with open arms, her mouth slightly agape. “I can hardly believe you are here.”
Lady Li went to her and the two gave a friendly, if slightly awkward, hug. “I do hope you can forgive me for staying away so long,” she said.
“It is nothing,” Mrs. Gibson said, waving a maid over to serve them tea, British style. She sat on the large plush sofa, pulling Lady Li down with her. Mr. Gibson also sat rather stiffly in a large wingback chair to the side, but still said nothing. “But where have you been? It has been years,” she asked.
“I have been at home, mostly,” Lady Li said. “After the death of my husband, Chinese windows are required to go into a year of mourning. We are not allowed to do…well, anything really,” she explained.
Mrs. Gibson nodded in understanding. “We have similar traditions. Though I doubt they are as strict as yours.”
“Indeed,” Lady Li agreed. “Well, after a year, I just thought I had been away so long, it felt awkward trying to reach out again, so I just didn’t. I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Of course, dear. Of course,” Mrs. Gibson said and smiled as she poured some tea, sweetened it with sugar, and then cooled it with cream. She offered a cup to Lady Li.
Lady Li accepted the tea and did her best to stomach it, though she knew the milk would upset her stomach later.
“I am surprised you called now, after such a long absence,” Mrs. Gibson hinted.
“But of course,” Lady Li said. “I heard of your troubles with the maid. I had to come and see if you were all right. And if you needed any help. This cannot be an easy situation to balance with the Chinese authorities or the girl’s parents. A clash of cultures, if you will.”
“How…kind,” Mrs. Gibson said as though unsure if Lady Li was there to be genuinely helpful or if she was just there wanting to stick her nose in where it wasn’t wanted.
“And with the troubles at the port,” Lady Li continued. “It must be a stressful time for your husband as well.” She didn’t make eye contact, but said this as though it was common knowledge.
“What troubles at the port?” Mr. Gibson asked, his first words since she arrived.
“Oh, that Commander Hart is planning to close the port in two days’ time,” she said. “There is going to be some sort of inspection and none of the ships will be allowed to leave for who knows how long.”
“What the devil are you on about?” Mr. Gibson exclaimed, leaning forward.
“Henry!” his wife gasped. “Language.”
“It’s quite all right,” Lady Li said. “I know it must be disconcerting. You have a ship leaving soon, yes?” she asked Mr. Gibson directly.
“I do,” he said. “In just three days! It’s nearly loaded already, tons of goods. Months of work. One of our biggest shipment of the year. If that shipment is delayed…Damn!” He stood and tossed his newspaper to the floor. “Damn that Hart!”
“Mr. Gibson,” Lady Li said calmly. “Is it possible to leave a day early? Can your captain be ready?”
“I think so,” he said. “It will take some work, and the men won’t be happy, but it could be done. Will Hart let us leave? Will he suspect I know about the inspection?”
“From what I have heard he won’t stop any of the ships from leaving early. He doesn’t want anyone to know what will happen, and if he prevents ships from leaving, that would cause suspicion. I wouldn’t tell anyone why you are leaving. If all the ships tried to leave at once, Hart might close the port at any time. But if you can convince your captain to leave early, that would be the best solution to this problem.”
“How…how do you know this?” he asked.
“My husband was a diplomat,” she said, straightening her back and holding her chin up. “I still have my friends on the inside. Hart seems to think a surprise inspection would calm the situation, at least for a time.”
Mr. Gibson scoffed. “Yes, well, we will see about that.” He started to rush off, but then seemed to recall his manners. “Thank you, Lady Li, for the information. You have no idea how useful it is.”
Lady Li knew exactly how useful she was being, but she smiled and nodded innocently. “Certainly, Mr. Gibson.”
He left, and Lady Li turned back to Mrs. Gibson.
“That was…” Mrs. Gibson paused. Lady Li feared for a moment that Mrs. Gibson had seen the move for the manipulation it was. “…so kind of you, Lady Li,” she finally finished.
Lady Li sighed with relief and reached over and touched Mrs. Gibson’s hand. “It is nothing after the kindness you have shown to me over the years,” she said, and she meant it. Mrs. Gibson had been very friendly to her back in the day, inviting her to socialize with the other ladies of the legation as if she was one of them. Lady Li began to regret cutting herself off from the woman over the years. She had so few friends. Perhaps some female friends, even foreign ones, would help with the oppressive loneliness she felt.
Mrs. Gibson leaned back and seemed to relax a bit on the sofa. “You have no idea how terrible it has been,” she said.
Lady Li nodded in sympathetic agreement. “I am sure.”
“That girl…” She shook her head. Lady Li stayed quiet, a technique she had learned from Inspector Gong. Once a person was ready to talk, it was best not to interrupt them. “It was so shocking. Right here, in my own home. I still can’t hardly believe it.” She sipped at her tea as her mind wandered. Lady Li noticed her hand was shaking slightly.
“What happened?” Lady Li asked.
“She was shot through the chest, but with an arrow. Can you believe it? Upstairs in the guest bedroom. Crashed right through the upstairs window. One of the other maids found her.”
“An arrow?” Lady Li repeated. “How strange.”
“Isn’t it? Must have been some sort of freak accident. A ricochet from somewhere.”
Lady Li wasn’t so sure. She didn’t think an arrow had the power to ricochet and still have enough speed behind it to crash through a window and kill someone. A bullet, maybe. But an arrow? She thought someone must have been aiming for the girl, but why? And from where? She would have to see who lived across the street.
“Were you home when it happened?” Lady Li asked. “I’m so glad it wasn’t you or your daughter who was struck instead.”
“Thankfully, no. We were not,” Mrs. Gibson said. “We were at a show. The whole family. The London Theater Company was staging a production of Hamlet nearby. So none of us were home.”
Lady Li nodded. So not only were they not home, they were all together in public. So most likely none of them killed the girl. But one of them could have ordered it done while they were out of the house.
“How long had she worked for you?” Lady Li asked, wanting to find out more about the girl.
“Oh, a couple of years I believe,” Mrs. Gibson said. “She will be hard to replace. Usually the Chinese servants can’t speak English, so they just do menial tasks. But she was quite useful. I just gave her a raise. I was hoping she would stay on.”
“Were you worried she was going to leave?” Lady Li asked.
“Possibly,” Mrs. Gibson said. “She had a beau. If she got married, her husband and their families wouldn’t let her remain in service.”
Lady Li nodded. “It is hard to be in service and have a family.”
“Well, it would happen eventually,” Mrs. Gibson said. “She was pretty and smart. Someone would certainly snatch her up. But she seemed very grateful for the raise. I had the feeling…I think she needed the money.”
“What makes you say that?” Lady Li said.
“Well, she never sa
id anything, but she was always willing to take on more work for a bit of extra cash. She would do intricate embroidery work in the evenings for other ladies in the neighborhood. But as an only child, I am sure her parents depended on her quite a bit.”
Lady Li nodded as she considered this. If the girl had a boyfriend and their relationship was serious enough that they were thinking of getting married, would he have felt slighted that she chose the raise and the job over him? Would the family have felt insulted enough to have her killed? It was possible.
“Do you know the boy?” Lady Li asked. “The beau?”
Mrs. Gibson shook her head. “No. I know he works somewhere in the legation, but I don’t know his name.”
At this point, Lady Li couldn’t think of anything else to ask, so she just made pleasant small talk. She asked about Mrs. Gibson’s daughter and if they had plans to travel during the cooler fall months. She told Mrs. Gibson about her own daughters and the recent death of her sister-in-law, Suyi. Before she knew it, a couple of hours had passed and it was time for lunch.
“I am so sorry for taking up so much of your time,” Lady Li said as she stood to leave.
“Not at all,” Mrs. Gibson said. “I quite enjoyed the chat. I do hope you will come again. You are always welcome in the legation.”
At that, Mr. Gibson came back, striding right into the parlor still wearing his hat. “Lady Li!” he said loudly, making Lady Li jump. He stepped up to her and took her hand in both of his, shaking it vigorously. “Thank you for the information. I was able to get everything arranged to set the ship to leave early. And good thing too. It would have been a terrible blow if we hadn’t gotten the goods to market as promised. Thank you. I mean it.”
“Oh, of course,” Lady Li said, though she was a bit unsure of what to do with her hand stuck in his grip.
He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. She gasped and felt her face blush deeply.
“I mean it,” he said. “If there is anything I can do.”
“Well…” She paused. She did have a request, but she was worried about the good faith she had just garnered from them both. But she also thought it might be good to capitalize on his excitement in the moment. “The dead girl, the maid…I heard that her body had not been released to her parents. You know how important death rites are to us. When my own kin recently died, the police also kept her body for so long, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to bury her before her soul became trapped on this side and she became a hungry ghost. I know this is police matter, but if there is anything you can do…”
The Gibsons stood silent for a minute, and then Mr. Gibson burst out laughing. “Hungry ghost!” he exclaimed. “Oh I forget what silly superstitions you people have.” He continued laughing, and even Mrs. Gibson couldn’t stifle her giggles completely.
Lady Li felt her anger rise up. Who were these people to laugh at her? Did they not also have superstitions? Did they not bury their dead facing east? Did they not cover mirrors? But she forced herself to be calm and even chuckle a little herself. She needed to remain in their good graces if she wanted anything from them.
“Yes,” Lady Li finally said. “I know it sounds silly. But her parents are simple country people. So if you could…”
“Yes, yes,” Mr. Gibson said, wiping tears from his eyes. “I’ll see it done. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you so much,” Lady Li said, trying not to grit her teeth. “It will mean so much to them.”
Mr. Gibson nodded and finally let go of her hand. Mrs. Gibson led her back to the entryway, where Lady Li’s maid was still waiting. Lady Li turned and gave Mrs. Gibson another hug before heading out.
“I mean it,” Mrs. Gibson said. “Do come back.”
As Mrs. Gibson’s maid opened the door and they stepped out onto the porch, Lady Li motioned to the houses across the street. “Who lives over there?” Lady Li asked. “I seem to have forgotten.”
“Oh, well you wouldn’t know the family straight across,” Mrs. Gibson said. “The Belvederes just moved in about a year ago. But next to them would be the Highcastles. You do remember Lady Highcastle, don’t you? She answers directly to the queen. Can you believe it? Queen Victoria is quite interested in the goings on around here, and even though she has official reports by the generals and the diplomats, she apparently loves to hear about things from a woman’s perspective from time to time. Can you believe such a thing?”
Lady Li could, actually. China was currently ruled by an empress, much the same as Great Britain was. She had served the empress as a lady-in-waiting for several years. She knew that even though the empress had countless official court ministers, her real advisers were often the ladies of the Inner Court.
But did that have anything to do with the death of a maid? Lady Li doubted it, but she would have to find some way to visit with Mrs. Belvedere and Lady Highcastle.
6
As always, Lady Li looked stunning. But in that tight British style gown, Inspector Gong couldn’t control his arousal. He was glad he was dressed in a loose Chinese-style robe and not the constricting trousers like a British man. Oh the things he wanted to do to that woman…
On one hand, he was surprised at how easily she gained access to the legation; but on the other, he was not surprised at all. She had proven herself quite resourceful it the past. It was one of the reasons he had turned to her now. That and he had been growing desperate for a reason to see her.
He couldn’t get her off his mind. He had abandoned his regular trips to the flower houses after meeting her. It somehow felt wrong to return to prostitutes after the amazing night he had spent with Lady Li in the Forbidden City. He wasn’t sure why. He knew he had feelings for her. Had things been different, he would probably try to court her. But he couldn’t. Why should he deny himself the touch of any woman because he couldn’t have the one he really wanted? It didn’t make sense.
Yet he couldn’t shake the fantasy of having her in his life. Of course, he also wanted her in his bed, but more than that he appreciated her company. For the first time in his life, he could imagine having a wife. Someone he could come home to, share his day with, and ask advice of.
But he couldn’t think about that right now. Now, he needed to focus on this case. The prince was worried the people could revolt, attempt to storm the legation. Inspector Gong thought that was highly unlikely, but it was true that many people disliked the foreigners holding such a prominent place in Peking, both physically—right in the shadow of the Forbidden City—and socially. The foreigners, even if they left the legation and ventured into Peking proper, were given special treatment. They were not beholden to Chinese law. They were governed by the laws of their home country, no matter where in China they were or how severe the crime. It was not uncommon for foreigners to kill Chinese people and simply be returned to their homeland, more for their protection from the wrath of the locals than to actually see justice in their own courts. Though that usually happened in more rural places. Here in Peking, the foreigners might engage in unscrupulous business practices or beat their housemaids, but they didn’t murder. The murder of a young lady was a crime against the dignity of the Chinese that could not be ignored.
He milled around outside the gate of the legation and waited for Lady Li to return. It was a grueling two hours. Finally, she emerged, followed by her maid. He quickly crossed the street toward her.
“Lady Li,” he said with a bow.
“Inspector Gong,” she replied, inclining her head.
“Would you care to join me at the inn nearby,” he asked. “So we can have a chat.”
“I certainly would mind,” she replied. “I have some shopping I must see to before I return home. And I certainly could not be seen in a public house.”
“Shopping?” he asked. “Shopping is more important than finding the girl’s killer?”
“It is part of the investigation,” she explained. “The foreigners have strict social rules, just as we do. I look a fright in this old, rotti
ng frock. If I wish to call in the legation again, I must look the part.”
He sighed but accepted that she had a point. He was asking her to go undercover. She had to blend in with the other ladies. Well, as much as a Chinese woman could anyway.
“Do I have permission to call on you at home, then?” he asked.
“Indeed,” she said with a small smile. “Midafternoon.”
When he was led to Lady Li’s receiving room, he was disappointed to see she was once again dressed in her Chinese chaopao. He had hoped to have more glimpses of her in that tight western gown.
She stood to greet him. “Inspector Gong.”
“Lady Li.”
She waved Eunuch Bai away, leaving them alone in the room, but he knew the eunuch was probably watching and listening from a spyhole nearby.
They sat in chairs on either side of a tea table.
“So, what did you learn?” he asked as she poured him a cup of tea.
“Probably nothing of use,” she said humbly. “Except that the immediate family—Mr. and Mrs. Gibson and their daughter—were not home on the night of the murder. They were at the theater, so there are probably many people who can account for their whereabouts.”
“So they have alibis then,” he mused.
“They have what?” she asked.
“We call it an alibi, when someone says they were somewhere and another person can vouch for them,” he explained.
“Oh, I see,” she said. “Well, did you have reason to suspect them anyway?”
“Other than the fact that the girl was murdered in their home?” he asked. “No.”
“I suppose that would make them the first suspects,” she said. “But Mrs. Gibson said she was quite fond of the girl. She had recently given her a raise to convince her to stay on instead of getting married. She said that she was being courted by a young man who also worked in the legation.”
“Did she know who he worked for?” he asked.
The Qing Dynasty Mysteries - Books 1-3 Page 20
