Jade

by Jill Marie Landis

  With her fingertips pressed against her trembling lips, Jade shook her head and fought back tears. He must have done it. He had seen Matt about a divorce.

  “Go to bed, Mr. Harrington. Please.”

  In the silence that followed, Jade clutched her arms about her waist and bit back sobs. The chance to win back his love had been taken from her. It was over—and she had lost.

  When she heard Jason shuffle away, stumbling once or twice as he made his way down the hall, she crept back into bed, curled into a ball, and listened to the mournful sounds of the wind and rain.

  BY MORNING THE storm had abated, but the skies were still gray and drizzling. The lackluster light cast the huge rooms of the mansion in shadow. Fires burned behind every grate but they did little to alleviate the chill.

  Bare from the waist up, Jason stood before the tall shaving stand in the dressing room of the master suite, fought to hold the hand that held his razor steady, and cursed himself for drinking so much last night. His head was ringing, his mouth as dry as the desert and twice as tasteless. In the middle of a downward stroke he closed one eye, but it did little to relieve the pounding in his head. He winced when he nicked himself. Then cursed.

  He called out in answer to a knock at the outer door and then stuck his head around the doorframe to see who dared enter his domain. It was Tao Ling, carrying a cup of steaming liquid in one hand and a stack of mail in the other.

  Without a sound, the man set the letters and tea on the washstand nearby. “Will you want breakfast soon?”

  The thought of food did little to cheer J.T. “No, thanks. Is this coffee?” He eyed the cup suspiciously.

  “No. It is an herbal tea. It should help your headache.”

  “I don’t have a headache.”

  “No?” Tao did not hide his skepticism. “In any case, the tea will help you.”

  “Don’t we have any coffee?”

  “Some. It is not made.”

  “Make it,” Jason barked, and immediately regretted it when his head throbbed. “Please.”

  After Tao slipped silently away, Jason finished shaving, then dried his hands and lifted the teacup. He sniffed it, blew on it, tasted it, and then poured it into the washbowl. Nothing that tasted that vile could possibly make him feel any better.

  He sorted through the mail. The stack of letters reminded him he was long overdue writing to Cash and Lupita. There had to be pen and ink somewhere around here. Jade had plenty of them. If need be, he would borrow some from her.

  The mail turned out to be a stack of invitations, some addressed to him, others to Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Harrington. It seemed all of San Francisco had put the scandal out of their minds now that he and Jade had married. The hypocrites. He knew he was included on the guest lists because he was one of the richest among them. As soon as the legal work had been untangled and he had liquidated his father’s export holdings and this heap of stone, he was leaving. There was no need to hobnob with socialites. He tossed the missives aside and ran a comb through his hair until it lay slicked-back and shining. It wasn’t a moment before the natural wave began to spring back, protesting his efforts.

  He wondered what sort of mood his wife would be in this morning. Hopefully it would be far better than his own. Who was she to give him ultimatums anyway? Or to bar him from her door? He tried to think of a way to pay her back, and as he stared down at the pile of opened envelopes he realized the perfect punishment had been laid at his doorstep. They would maintain their reclusive lifestyle, and she would soon come to hate being shut up alone in the mansion. They would not attend one fancy ball. He’d buy no frivolous gowns. Soon she would grow to hate the isolation and turn to him.

  Wouldn’t she?

  She had certainly enjoyed herself the night they attended the ball at the Palace. A city girl like Jade would surely soon be bored with her life if all she ever did was read and draw and unpack those precious Chinese pieces of hers.

  The longer he thought of it, the better he felt. It was a good plan. A fine plan. He’d drive her right into his arms, just like a wild mustang into a box canyon.

  Feeling better about his future than he had in a long while, Jason pulled on a clean shirt and headed out the door. He could smell coffee brewing downstairs, and now that he thought about it, he realized his appetite had even returned.

  He passed Jade’s room, and when he saw the door open, he could not resist pausing to look inside. She was seated at her desk near the window, staring out at the rain. As much as he hated to admit it, he was not enough of a fool to deny that his blood still ran hot whenever he saw her. As always, she intrigued him. There was an aura of mystery about her that made him wonder if he would ever penetrate it, even if he lived with her for a lifetime.

  She turned around, alerted by his footsteps when he was halfway across the room. He watched her expression change from an initial reaction of welcome surprise to one that was closed, almost defensive.

  “Good morning, Jade.”

  She tugged at the neck of her blouse as if it constricted her breathing. “Jason.” Her nod was polite, distant. “I thought you were Tao.”

  “What are you doing?” He stood over her, staring down at the papers on her desk. He had seen her studying the strange figures before.

  “Tao and I discovered that each crate had some very strange symbols painted on it. I think someone tried to leave a message, but I’m having no luck at all in deciphering them.”

  He needed to touch her. There was no denying the intensity of the feeling that welled up inside him. J.T. reached around her, brushing his arm against the side of her breast as he did. She stiffened at the contact, and drew back so that he could reach the page he was after. “This is certainly strange. What’s that? A lion?”

  It was hard for Jade to concentrate on an answer with him so near. She wanted to beg him to tell her what business he had conducted with Matt, wanted to know if he was planning to divorce her. Instead, she fought to quell the tremors his touch had initiated. She tried to focus on the page in his hand and not on the fact that he was so close. A four-footed figure was drawn beneath a moon and two stars. “It is a lion,” she agreed. “Then again, it might be a dragon.”

  Feeling quite smug, he smiled, and tossed the page back onto the desk. “So what does it mean?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” she said, tilting her face up to him.

  It would be so easy to kiss her now. He caught himself staring and tore his gaze away from her lips.

  Jade concentrated on straightening the pile of papers. “Jason?” This tenuous situation between them was wearing on her nerves. She almost asked him outright about the divorce, but she lost her courage and said instead, “How are the horses? Did the storm bother them?”

  “I haven’t been down yet. Taking it slow this morning.”

  “I heard you come in last night.”

  He had the decency to be embarrassed.

  “You’re a terrible singer,” she added.

  “I wasn’t trying very hard.” He hid his smile. Somehow it satisfied him to know she had been awake and heard him outside her door. Did she know that had he been determined to get past Tao Ling he would have succeeded?

  “Jason?”

  “What?”

  “We need to talk,” she said, trying to gather her courage about her like a hen whose chicks had scattered. “I . . . that is, you went to see Matt yesterday and I wondered, I mean, I wanted to—”

  “Did you want to see Matt about something?”

  “No. No, I was wondering what you went to see him about.”

  His expression became immediately guarded. “Why?”

  She couldn’t help but notice the chill that had crept into his eyes. A lesser woman would not have pressed him, but her immediate future hung in the balance. “Did your visit have anything
to do with me?”

  “No, it didn’t.” Her relief was immediately visible. He wondered what she was afraid of. “Why?” he demanded.

  “I thought, well, you told Tao you didn’t have a wife anymore, and I thought—”

  “You thought I’d gone to Matt about a divorce?”

  Unable to speak, she nodded.

  “Would it matter that much to you?” He tried to keep his voice casual, his tone light, but he knew he was staring down at her too intently.

  Jade knew a moment of hope. His expression was far from nonchalant. He does care. He cared what her answer would be, and because she could see it in his eyes she relaxed and said softly, “Yes, Jason. It would matter.”

  He turned away so that she would not see the overwhelming relief he felt, shut himself off from her so that he would not follow the impulse to take her in his arms. “I’m going down to breakfast.”

  He heard the chair legs scrape against the floor, knew that she was following him across the room.

  “Please, Jason. We need to talk about this—”

  Instantly, he turned on her, stopping her in her tracks. “Listen, Jade. We have nothing to talk about. You have shut me out of your room and made that ridiculous ultimatum that I’m not to touch you until I trust you. What if I never trust you again? Will we go on like this forever?”

  “Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me? I didn’t do anything to hurt you, Jason. I’m willing to do anything to make this marriage work, but I will not sleep with a man who thinks I lied to him. I can’t sleep with you knowing you don’t trust me, to mention nothing of love. Can you go on like this?”

  “If I have to,” he told her coldly. “But you can count on one thing, love and trust aside—I don’t intend on letting you go. Not yet. I paid the highest price a man can pay when I put that ring on your finger. It was like putting a noose around my neck.” He looked away, clenched his jaw, then looked back down at her as if he had come to a decision. “But I’m damned sure not gonna let you tighten it, and I’m not going to stand here and talk about this mess we’re in. I don’t even want to think about it this morning. If you’re content with things the way they are, then that’s your choice.”

  When he turned away, Jade felt deflated. Then, unexpectedly, he paused in the doorway and faced her again. “Don’t spend all your time worrying about a divorce. You’ll be the first to know if I decide that’s the only way out.”

  THEIR STRANGE TRUCE held. An uneasy week passed as everyone fell into a routine they all knew to be temporary. Jade immersed herself in unpacking, cataloging, and setting the art pieces up in the ballroom. Quan Yen stayed at Jade’s side all day, chirping in her high voice, often hiding her smile behind her hand while she flashed her eyes at J.T. whenever he came upon them. She even argued with Tao Ling over the evening meal and the choices he made.

  When Jade first told Jason about the girl, his only response had been a puzzled shake of his head. He asked her if her Chinese collection included people, and then, if she thought the house had enough spare rooms.

  She had not tried to hide her smile.

  Whether he admitted it or not, she could tell Jason was adjusting to the pattern she had set for their days. Tao kept the house running smoothly, and everyone was well fed. She often wondered what Babs would say if she ever witnessed a mealtime at Harrington House with everyone gathered at the kitchen table. It was an eclectic group to say the least: the Chinese houseboy, the singsong girl, Xavier—who could not take his eyes off of Quan Yen—and Jason, an indomitable presence in any situation. Not to mention herself, quiet, contemplative, observant.

  By the end of the third week as his wife, Jade had made progress with her plans for the soiree, if not with Jason. At first she had debated whether or not to ask his permission to hold the small gathering. Then, the more she thought it over, the more she felt it was not up to him to grant permission, since she was using her own money to put on the event. He would not even have to attend if he chose not to. In fact, she thought as she opened the door to the third delivery that morning—this one a cart filled with flower arrangements—she would be just as happy if Jason never had to find out about the soiree. But with the party set for that night, there was no way she could hide the preparations from him any longer, not with Tao already hanging up paper lanterns in the ballroom.

  Nearly all of the fifty guests she had invited had responded positively. Using Matt’s original idea, she decided to limit the guest list to only the very wealthiest, most highly regarded members of San Franciscan society. Whether they would find the collection worthy of support, she couldn’t guess, but at least the gathering would provide them with a look at her grandfather’s pieces. Jade still thought of the collection as her grandfather’s, not her own. It was just this feeling she hoped to convey to the guests when they gathered that evening. Philo Page had been an eccentric, but he had also been a wealthy landowner, one of the original American citizens of San Francisco. She hoped his name would help sway their opinions in her favor, and that by the end of the evening some of the guests would have made a commitment to funding a museum.

  The last decision facing her was a major one that she had put off far too long. She couldn’t decide what to wear to her own party. There was nothing in her closet except for two plain skirts and as many worn blouses with frayed collars and cuffs. Various sets of Chinese pants, two Mandarin jackets, and a silk robe completed her entire wardrobe. Unconcerned until the last moment, Jade found herself with no time to have a dress made, nor did she really relish spending her money on something she might never wear again. If Jason did take her to New Mexico with him, she would have no need of finery on a ranch.

  It was late morning when she went upstairs to lie down and ponder her predicament. Lately she found herself drained by the slightest activity. She blamed a case of nervousness over the plans for the soiree, not to mention the anxiety of telling Jason about the affair. Now, with one thing and another, she was sure that when she did tell him, he was certain to say that she had purposely kept her plans from him.

  During a moment’s respite from the preparations, she stretched out on the settee in the drawing room and tried to concentrate on what she might wear for the occasion. She could go out shopping and perhaps find something already made in a dress shop, but the quality would not match the price. Besides, every gown had to be altered, and given her height, she most likely would not find anything suitable at all. Shopping seemed to be a wasted undertaking that she had very little enthusiasm for anyway.

  Quan peeked in the open doorway, and Jade bade her enter. The young girl teetered in slowly, a tray balanced in her well-tapered hands. Jade smiled. The girl had taken to bringing her a soothing cup of tea each morning and afternoon. It was the one time of the day Jade felt truly pampered.

  “Tea for missee,” Quan Yen said softly. “Kine you like.”

  “Thank you, Quan. Please, sit down.”

  The graceful way Quan moved when she was off her feet never failed to fascinate Jade. Her fingers were long and elegantly tapered, every movement like that of willow branches swaying in the breeze. Jade wished there was something she could do for the girl whose feet had been maimed for beauty’s sake, but it was far too late for that. Besides, according to Tao, Quan Yen’s bound feet made her all the more valuable.

  Jade had been appalled but curious the day Tao had taken time to explain the art of foot binding to her. When a girl reached six or seven years of age, it was her mother’s duty to force her small toes toward her sole and bind them back with a ten-foot-long bandage. The large toe was left unbound and then the top of the foot was drawn forcefully toward the heel.

  Although many girls lost their small toes when infection set it, they suffered the consequences to achieve the perfect golden lotus, a foot that was no more than three inches long.

  Having golden lotus f
eet forced women to move with the curious lotus gait, the swaying walk that attracted men.

  “How can a poor, crippled creature inspire anything more than pity? How could the men make them perpetuate this hideous thing?” Jade had asked Tao one morning when Quan Yen was still asleep.

  “It is well known that a woman with perfect golden lotus has tighter flesh on her thighs. The lower half of the body must be tensed to walk—this strengthens the legs, enlarges the buttocks, tightens . . . ” He had paused, as if wondering how to go on. Finally Tao had said, “The hidden cave behind the jade gate is so tight it gives a man great pleasure, not to mention the thrill one experiences when he is permitted to watch a lady unbind the foot, when he fondles it in his hand.”

  When Jade finally recovered from her revulsion, she told him bluntly, “I think it’s a hideous practice. Quan Yen has become a prisoner because of her feet.”

  Tao had smiled knowingly. “That was the original idea, Mrs. Harrington. When a man was afraid his wife would stray beyond the bedroom, he had her feet bound.”

  “Do you . . . ” It had been her turn to pause, suddenly embarrassed.

  “Do I admire Quan Yen, Mrs. Harrington?”

  Jade had wanted to ask if he lusted after the girl, but was satisfied with the way he had phrased her thought. “Yes. Do you?”

  He arched a brow and admitted openly, “I am mad for her.”

  “I hope you will remember that she was entrusted to my care, Tao.”

  “You need not worry. She wants nothing to do with me.” Jade had not needed to see the sorrowful look in his eyes to know what Quan Yen’s rejection cost.

  As she looked at the girl sitting so quietly beside her now, Jade wondered why she had rejected a handsome suitor like Tao Ling and what provisions could be made for her future.

  She refused to think of this strange, beautiful child returning to the cribs of Little China.

  JASON CAME IN from his morning ride and knew immediately that something was going on. Tao held court in the middle of the kitchen, bartering in harsh, no-nonsense tones with three Chinese vegetable peddlers. Mounds of vegetables were piled on the tables, more were spread out on cloths on the floor. The men pointed and gestured, oblivious of J.T. as Tao haggled with them over the price.