Jade

by Jill Marie Landis

  Cash was outfitted in his one good suit, while Lupe was dressed in the finest gown Jason had ever seen her wear. The peach silk bedecked with ruffles was so far from the colorful full skirts and muslin blouses she wore at the ranch that he couldn’t help but stare at her. Her hair was the same, rich ebony plaited into thick braids wrapped about her head. Lupe was reed-thin, a few inches taller than Cash, her skin brown from tending her herb and vegetable garden. Lupe Younger could make anything grow. She was known as a healer, a nurturer. She had nurtured J.T. through his mother’s death, through his adolescent years. She always called him hijo, son.

  Usually Lupe was in command of everything and everyone on the ranch, but now as she stood outside and stared up at Harrington House, she was more subdued than he had ever seen her.

  “Lupita? Did you come to see me or stare at this place?” J.T. smiled down on her.

  “Hijo!” Her attention then centered on Jason as she hugged him and patted him on the back. “We were so worried about you.”

  “I don’t know why. I told you I’d be home just as soon as everything was settled.”

  Cash and Lupe stepped inside and stared up at the forty-foot-high ceiling in the foyer, at the overwhelming chandelier, and then at the green and white marble floor. “Dios!” For a moment all she could do was stare. Then she turned her attention back to Jason and captured his face between her hands. She turned him this way and that, reading his eyes with her own as if they could tell her everything she wanted to know. “When you did not answer my letter, when we heard nothing from you even though your uncle was so ill, I knew things were not right. So, as soon as Cash was able to travel, we came to you.”

  Jason started to explain, but Lupe went right on. “Your uncle was so sick. I could not believe how sick. For a few days he had no feeling in his left arm or leg and his face was frozen on one side. It was horrible. But, with prayers and good care, the trouble passed. Now he is well.” She took her husband’s hand and smiled, but was unable to entirely remove the shadow of doubt from her eyes.

  He turned to Cash. Ill? Was that the reason his usually robust uncle appeared so frail? “When did this happen? I didn’t get any letter. Are you sure you sent one?”

  “Si, hijo, weeks ago.” She bobbed her head and her dark eyes flashed. “Cash fell ill the day after you left on your journey.”

  Jason frowned. No letter had come from them since he had arrived. At least not while he had been home, and Tao had brought him the mail every day. But if the letter had arrived while he was in Monterey, and if, as Lupe said, she wrote it weeks ago, that would explain its loss. Had Jade received it and not shown it to him? More to the point, why wouldn’t she have wanted him to see it?

  “Jason?” Lupe touched his arm, and his thoughts swung back to her.

  “I’m sorry. I was just trying to think of where that letter might have gone. Let’s get you both settled. Dinner will be ready in a while, and it sounds like we have a lot to talk about.” He cast a worried glance at Cash. “I still can’t believe you’re here,” he said, forcing a smile.

  If their pile of luggage was any indication, Cash and Lupita were there to stay for quite a while. J.T. and Tao hauled it into the house and upstairs, where he gave the couple a choice of rooms. Lupe, ever sensitive to the needs of others, left the two men alone once the bags were in the room.

  “I want to go and see the kitchen,” she told J.T. “It must be grand.”

  Jason shrugged. “Turn right at the bottom of the stairs. It’s at the end of the long hallway,” he directed.

  When he was alone with his uncle he said, “I’m sorry, Cash. I didn’t know . . . ”

  “Hell, boy, nothin’ you could do for me anyway. I told Lupe that, but you know her when she gets dramatic.”

  If his uncle’s appearance was any indication, Lupe’s worry had been justified. “You know I would have come home.” Jason glanced down at his uncle’s hands. They were gnarled and worn from years of hard work. J.T. hated to think he had almost lost his uncle now that he had enough money to turn the ranch into the place of Cash’s dreams.

  “So, this place is all yours, lock, stock, and barrel?” Cash stood up and slowly limped around the room. He paused beside an urn on a pedestal table, eyed it speculatively, then turned back to J.T. “You sure you want to come back to New Mexico and give all this up?”

  “Sure as sunshine after a storm.” J.T. tried to smile. He stretched and wished he could make Cash whole again. “The place has been for sale since the moment I saw it.”

  Lupe bustled back in and announced, “Dinner is almost ready. That man, Tao, said it is something Chinese.”

  J.T. could not miss her less than enthusiastic expression. “You’ll get used to the food,” he told them, “but I’ll warn you now, eat a lot of it.”

  “Tonight,” Lupe said, deciding instantly, “I will fix the meal.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” Jason’s stomach growled as he looked forward to real New Mexican cooking. “Before we go back downstairs I think I should tell you that I got married.” The second the words were out he realized that he might have put the news to them a little too bluntly. Lupe sat down abruptly on the edge of the bed and Cash barked, “Married? Who in the hell to?”

  J.T. ran his fingers through his hair, sat down on a chair beside a reading table, and motioned Cash into the one opposite. “You better sit down for this. It’s a long story.”

  “SO THAT’S IT,” Jason concluded a while later. “I married her, then I overheard Jade and her friend talking about their scheme after the wedding.”

  Lupe frowned. “But she argues that she is innocent and that she never wanted to trick you?”

  “That’s right.”

  “But, hijo, maybe she is telling you the truth.”

  “You’re too softhearted, Lupita,” J.T. reminded her.

  Cash, who had remained thoughtful throughout Jason’s long explanation, finally spoke up. “You say she paid off the debt with her house when she found out she could, and that she’s tryin’ to find a home for this Chinese stuff—”

  Jason nodded. “I was beginning to think she might be sincere. When I woke up today, she was gone. No explanation. Nothing.”

  “And you are worried,” Lupe said.

  “I’m mad as hell.”

  “From worry.”

  Trying to deny her words, Jason shook his head. “I was about to go looking for her when you arrived.” His brow furrowed in thought. “I have no idea where she is, though.”

  “Maybe she went to see the detective you spoke of,” Lupe volunteered.

  “How about the attorney?” Cash asked.

  “That’s where I was going to start. I was giving her till noon to get back. I can’t wait to hear the explanation she’s concocted this time.”

  Cash leaned forward, his expression one of concern. “Do you think she has left you, J.T.?”

  Has she? Jason couldn’t be sure. “She didn’t take any of her clothes or the jewelry I gave her. She certainly had good cause to leave, though.”

  Cash looked thoughtful, snapped his fingers and then said, “You didn’t try singing to the poor gal, did you?”

  Jason ignored his uncle’s attempt at humor. His expression remained grim. “No. But I practically raped her on our wedding night.”

  “You didn’t, did you?” Even Cash was aghast.

  “No, I didn’t have to, but if she had resisted, I don’t know . . . ”

  Lupe stood up, refusing to hear more. “Well, I know. You would have done no such thing. Now, I think we should go down to eat and then, J.T., you will go look for your wife and bring her home.”

  Before he met them in the kitchen, Jason went into Jade’s room and rifled through the papers on her desk, shook the pages of all of her books, and then sorted through th
e piles of notes until he found Lupita’s letter.

  He ripped the letter open and read Lupe’s terse plea. She had asked him to come home. She had feared for Cash’s life, and he had not even known the man was ill. And just as she had said, she had written to him weeks ago.

  Why would Jade keep something like this from him? Did she somehow know what was inside? The letter did not appear to have been opened. Had she guessed? She must have feared letting him out of her clutches after what he had discovered on their wedding night.

  He shoved the letter into his back pocket and went to join the others. Downstairs, Jason couldn’t help but hover over Cash, pulling out his chair and then making sure the man was well settled before he sat down.

  Cash Younger shook his head and said, “Don’t be making such a fuss over me, J.T. I don’t intend to leave this earth for quite a while. Besides, this is one stubborn woman.” He smiled over at Lupe. “She won’t let me go.”

  Lupe’s eyes flooded with tears. “Si, mi corazón, you are going nowhere without me.”

  Jason felt a pang of jealousy and wondered at the love he saw pass between them. What would it be like to share such love for a lifetime? Before he married Jade, he thought he would know, but now, after everything she had already done to disprove her affection, he doubted if he would ever be as lucky as the Youngers.

  Their presence helped take his mind off of Jade. It was a relief to have them there. Seeing them both at his table only served to remind Jason how much he had missed them.

  When Xavier came in from the stables to share the meal with them, Cash and Lupe were delighted to learn that he would be moving to the ranch. They both stared at Tao, who served the meal with Quan Yen’s help, another sight that Cash and Lupe could not seem to get enough of.

  Jason forced himself to slow down, to at least try to finish his food, even though he could not enjoy his meal with Jade missing. By the time he was through, he was certain of one thing. When he found her, she would definitely pay for the worry she had put him through.

  “I’M NOT PREGNANT?” Jade did not know whether to be happy or sad.

  Dr. Adams, a nondescript man of average height with brown eyes, thinning brown hair, and a brown suit, peered over his spectacles and shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Jade.”

  “Then what’s wrong with me? I’ve never felt this tired in my life.”

  He shrugged and scribbled a note on a long sheet of paper. “I think you are just suffering from nervous exhaustion. That would explain your weight loss.” He set the pen and paper down and then walked over to her again. He took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up so that he could study her eyes. “Get lots of rest, don’t skip any meals, take some light exercise. Do you ever get outside?”

  She shook her head. “Rarely.”

  “Well, start walking. Get that new husband of yours to take you out to the country.” He patted her knee. “You’ll be right as rain in no time at all. Now, you get dressed and stop by again in two weeks.” He went on to prescribe a tonic, sold her a bottle of it, and sent her on her way.

  JADE WALKED BACK along the street with her head down, watching the sidewalk pass beneath her. Lost in thought, she bumped into an old woman carrying a bundle of packages and stooped to help her pick them up. When she stood up, she felt dizzy.

  There’s nothing wrong with me.

  She kept repeating the words as she continued along the avenue, but world was still spinning. She heard a horsecar bell ringing nearby and hurried to catch the car. After paying the driver, she stepped aboard.

  Within a few blocks, Jade realized she had taken the wrong line and instead of nearing California Street, she was closer to the center of Little China. She tried to clear her head with a shake, but the movement only heightened her discomfort. She clung to the rail and stared out at the passing landmarks. The car was taking her farther from home when all she wanted at the moment was to get back to the house. And Jason.

  At the very next stop, she stepped off, rather than go any farther out of her way. The streets were crowded with Chinese men. She looked about and tried to get her bearings, but her mind was growing fuzzier as she grew weaker. She rubbed her temples with her fingertips and tried to take a deep breath, but she was unable to fill her lungs. It’s only natural, she reasoned, to feel this way after having very little sleep last night. The party and all the arrangements were more work than she was used to, and she had not eaten all day.

  Now and again she glanced up to watch the clouds fly past a patch of open sky, framed by the tall buildings on either side of the narrow street. The structures, with their sagging, bamboo balconies, gave the appearance of two-story matchstick houses.

  Up ahead, a fishmonger in his market stall wrapped an octopus, still water-slicked and dripping, in a newspaper covered with Chinese characters. He turned to shout to a companion half-hidden behind a stack of crates and barrels topped with round, flat baskets filled with Pacific crab. A jumble of goods formed the back wall of the stall.

  Walking slowly, Jade watched as an overladen peddler tried to negotiate the press through the crowded byway, carefully balancing two huge baskets suspended from a pole that rested across his shoulders. He wore a proud look as he hurried through the crowd, hawking his goods.

  With the ceaseless activity common to overpopulated places, the alleyway behind upper Sacramento Street vibrated like a tightly packed ant colony, its inhabitants ever mindful of money to be made or lost if they were not swift enough to grasp the opportunity.

  She inhaled the cloying scent of tobacco and sandalwood that mingled with sesame oil and overused grease. Even the smell of the place was the same as she remembered it.

  Little China was always the same. Foreign, intriguing, but never frightening. Not until today.

  Jade stopped beside a corner vendor serving noodle soup out of a huge steaming caldron. She bought a bowl, drank the rich broth, deftly used the chopsticks to shovel the noodles into her mouth, and then quickly moved on. As her head began to clear, she became more aware of her surroundings, and with realization came fear. She had ventured into Little China alone. If someone still wanted her out of the way, she was a perfect target.

  She glanced over her shoulder. No one seemed to be paying her any mind. When she came to the middle of the street, she realized she could be out of Little China in minutes if she took a short cut through the narrow alleyway to her left. She looked behind her. She looked ahead. There was no one in the alley. Jade ducked into the passageway, which was wide enough only to accommodate foot traffic, and stealthily walked alongside the tall buildings.

  The sky was still gray. The hour seemed later than it actually was. Still, if she did not get home soon, there was no telling what Jason would think. The beat of her footsteps accelerated, keeping time with her racing heart. She was near the end of the alley when she stopped to catch her breath. This time when she looked over her shoulder, Jade caught sight of a tall, bearded Caucasian at the other end of the path.

  The sight of the burly man at the end of the alley gave her the energy to run. She did not pause to see if he was running too. She did not have to, for soon she could hear him bearing down on her.

  Jade rounded the corner. Fear quickened her steps and helped overcome her exhaustion. Her breath was coming in heaving gasps, but still she did not stop. Instead, she ducked into the first door she came to, and found herself enveloped by a cool, dark world heavily scented with incense.

  She recognized the interior of a joss house, a place where medicines and fortunes were dispensed. She stood in what appeared to be an anteroom. Incense burned in a brazier on a small altar in the corner near a statue of Buddha. Colorful ceramic bowls of oranges, rice, and sweets were arranged around the base of the statue. Thankful that the room was deserted, Jade hid there until she heard voices approaching from behind an inner door. With a furtive prayer to
every god in existence, she stepped back out onto the street. Up ahead, moving away from her, was the man who had chased her down the alley. Unmindful of the curious stares of passersby, she pressed up against the building.

  A firecracker exploded beside her. Jade nearly jumped out of her skin. Gongs sounded. A long string of firecrackers exploded in rapid succession. When a funeral procession turned the corner, Jade saw a means of escape. She waited for the hearse to roll past, and barely glanced at a draped portrait of the deceased that was propped up on the seat beside the driver. Red strips of paper “road money” were being tossed in the air by members of the funeral procession. The paper money was meant to appease any evil spirits who had not been frightened away by the gongs and fireworks.

  Jade darted across the street between the hearse and the wagon that followed behind it, which was loaded with paper replicas of the dead man’s most prized possessions and enough food to leave at the gravesite to help send the man off to the hereafter. She prayed that the noise and confusion would hide her escape.

  Not until she had struggled to run two blocks more did she pause to take a breath and reconnoiter. Her pursuer was nowhere in sight.

  Afraid to take another trolley, she ran up to a well-dressed man standing near a hitching rail and grabbed his sleeve.

  Gasping for breath, she tried to make her need known. “I . . . I have to . . . rent your horse.”

  An Englishman in a bowler hat looked shocked. He untied the reins of what appeared to be the tallest horse in the world. “Really, madam, I—”

  “I’ll pay you. Please. I’ll pay you five dollars. I only need to ride it to California Street.”

  The man stared back at her in amazement. A hired hack was only a dollar and a half a mile. “This is really quite strange.” He shook his head.

  Jade glanced over her shoulder, afraid the bearded man would catch up to her. “Please, have you heard of Harrington House? It’s the biggest house on California Street. That’s where I have to go. You can come get your horse in a few moments, but I need it now!” She fairly shouted the last words at him.