“Let my wife go, Lennox, or you’ll live to regret it.”
“How did you know she was here? How did you even come to suspect me?”
“Does it gall you that your little plan was so easily upset?” Jason asked.
“Not upset,” Lennox assured him, “merely hampered by your sudden appearance.”
“The lieutenant here found a man who could decipher the writing on the crates.” As J.T. baited him, Lennox became excited with the news. “He’s the one that led us to suspect you.”
Lennox moved closer to Jason. “Did he translate the formula?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jason felt Tao tense beside him. He continued to taunt Lennox. “Has all this been worth the trouble, Lennox? What did you hope to gain?”
“In a few minutes when you’re dead, Harrington, you’ll wish you had what I’ve gone to all this trouble for . . . immortality.”
Before Jason could say another word, Tao Ling moved. His right foot shot out with lightning swiftness and blinding force. The rifle in Burke’s hands flew across the entry hall. Burke spun and ran for the door.
When Lennox turned toward Tao, Jason lunged at him, knocking the man’s gun hand upward. Chips of adobe showered down on them as the gunshot reverberated in the small room. Chang ran forward and wrenched the gun from Lennox’s hand, then J.T. pushed him back until the captain was pinned against the opposite wall.
Jason held Lennox against the wall with his forearm pressed across the man’s larynx. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see Tao fly through the air and lash out with a kick to Burke’s midsection. When Burke doubled over, Tao chopped downward with a precise movement of his hand that connected with the back of Burke’s neck and sent the huge man crashing to the floor.
Chang turned to Jason with a nod and a smile. “My secret weapon,” he said.
Jason was suddenly thankful he had not tried to get past Tao when the man was guarding Jade’s door.
The front door opened and Miles rushed in carrying a coil of rope and a knife. He froze when he saw Burke on the floor and Lennox up against the wall. Jon Chang turned his gun on the intruder and Miles dropped his knife.
“I’ll take over from here,” Chang said, stepping toward Jason. He trained his gun on Lennox, then looked at the rat-faced Miles and pointed at Burke and the captain. “Tie them both up, then we’ll take care of you.”
The little man complied without argument. Burke lay unconscious on the ground where Tao had left him.
“I’m going after Jade,” Jason said. Tao followed him toward the kitchen where Xavier stood with two pistols trained on the burly cook. He smiled when Jason walked in. “Tie him up, Xavier,” Jason. ordered. Then he reached the trap door, grabbed the hatch, and threw it open.
“Jade!”
He could see nothing in the smelly, black pit below. Cursing Lennox for leaving Jade in the dark, he climbed down the ladder. “Get a light, Tao,” he called out, carefully feeling his way down.
“Jade?”
He paused at the bottom of the stairs. Some light from the kitchen filtered down into the depths, so he waited a moment while his eyes became adjusted to the darkness. The place stunk like hell. He heard a scrabbling sound and moved toward it. Above him, Tao started down the ladder with a lamp.
“Jade?” he called out, his voice softer this time.
Jason hunkered down and reached out with shaking hands as he felt for his wife. He connected with her hair first, and his fingers became tangled in it. Then he moved his hands to her shoulders and tried to still her tremors by pulling her into his arms. “Shh. It’s all right, Jade. I’m here.” He tried to soothe her with words as his fingers tore at the gag’s knot behind her head. Her hair became tangled in the rag and his fingers, and she complained with a groan and a jerk. “Hold still,” he said softly. “Almost done.”
Tao stepped close to them and held the lamp high. Jason worked faster. He pulled the gag away and Jade sucked in a deep draught of air and coughed. Jason drew her into his arms and held her tight.
“My hands,” she whispered. “Please.”
He drew back and struggled with the knot at her wrists.
“Wait!” Tao interrupted Jason’s task.
He reached around behind him and drew a small knife out of a hidden sheath tied to his calf. He handed it to Jason who slit open the binding and freed Jade’s hands. Jason bent to undo her ankles and then took her numb hands in his own and began to rub life back into them. A dark bruise purpled her cheek from her jaw to the corner of her eye. Her sleeve was torn.
The wild look in her eyes frightened him more than the cold numbness of her hands. He followed her gaze and glanced over his shoulder. A grave yawned wide on the other side of the room. Dirt still clung to the partially decomposed body resting in the open grave. A small chest with its contents strewn about stood open at the foot of the grave near a mound of earth. Had he stepped the wrong way at the foot of the ladder, he would have fallen in.
“Get me out of here,” Jade said through chattering teeth.
“Gladly. Put your arms around my neck,” he said. Jason picked her up and headed for the ladder.
Jade clung to him as he adjusted her and held her close with one arm while he climbed upward. She buried her face against his neck, breathing in the warm, familiar scent of him. He was alive. He smelled of the outdoors, tobacco, and life.
The world brightened as they emerged from the cellar. Jade blinked, raised her head, and looked around. She smiled at Xavier, who helped her stand. A wide smile of his own brightened his features. Emery’s cook was tied to a chair near the kitchen table.
“The captain?” she asked. “Where is he, Jason? Is he—”
“He’s not dead, if that worries you. Jon Chang has Lennox and the other two tied up by now.”
When they entered the drawing room, Jason set Jade down on one of the dragon chairs.
“How did you find me?” she whispered.
Jason reached beneath her chair, picked up her reticule, and took her hand. Lowering himself to one knee, he slipped the string ties over her wrist. “I almost believed him when he said you had gone home.” Jason shook his head. “I nearly left, then I saw your bag under the chair and knew you were still here.”
“What made you come after me?”
“Chang came to the house with an old man who deciphered the symbols. That’s how we found you.”
The symbols. The reason Lennox wanted her dead. They seemed so very unimportant now.
Jade was so tired she couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything but the sight of Jason. Staring into the depths of his eyes, she recognized the look of relief in them. Relief coupled with something more. Her eyes filled with tears. Jade felt them spill hot and heavy down her cheeks as she stared down at Jason.
“I do love you, Jason,” she whispered, “whether you ever believe me or not, I love you. I married you because I loved you. I’ll always love you.”
On one knee before her, Jason opened his arms and pulled her against him. He buried his face in the cascade of shining hair that had tumbled around her shoulders. He squeezed her tight, lifted his head, and then kissed her deeply. Then he pulled back and brushed her hair back away from her shoulders.
“I love you, too. And now that all of this is behind us, I want to start over.”
“Oh, Jason, I do, too!”
Before she could say any more, they both turned at the sound of footsteps behind them. Jason stood up as Tao walked over to them.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Chang has Lennox and his men tied up in the buckboard outside. Xavier will ride guard for him. I will drive you both home in the carriage.”
J.T. reached down for Jade’s hand. “Good. I’m sure my wife is ready to go home.”
Tao looked c
oncerned. “Where is Quan Yen?”
Jade stood up and looked around the room. She hesitated to tell Tao all that she knew about Quan Yen, but the girl was dangerous, and apparently still hiding.
“Lennox told me she left with a missionary,” J.T. told Tao.
Jade shook her head. “She’s still here.” She shook her head sorrowfully as she told them, “All this time she was slipping poison in my tea.” Ashamed of her own gullibility, she was unable to meet Jason’s eyes. She watched Tao carefully as his expression changed from surprise, to sorrow, to an immobile mask devoid of feeling.
“I will find her,” he said.
J.T. stayed with Jade and took her hand in his. She chanced a look at him. “I’m quite a fool, aren’t I?” she asked.
“Because you felt sorry for Quan Yen? Or because you trusted a man you thought was your friend?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’re a fool. In fact,” Jason continued as he placed his fingertips beneath her chin and tilted it upward until their eyes met, “I think it’s time I learned to trust.”
“Oh, Jason. Don’t make me cry again.” She tried to smile.
“When you look at me like that, I want to carry you off and make mad, passionate love to you,” he whispered.
Jade couldn’t help but laugh. Then her eyes widened and she cried out, “The pantry!”
Jason shook his head with a wry smile. This wasn’t exactly the time or place he had in mind, but if she really wanted to make love in the pantry—“I know you’re a bit eccentric, Jade, but . . . the pantry?”
“No! Quan Yen! That’s where the captain sent her—to hide in the pantry.”
“Stay put.” Jason was on his feet in seconds, heading for the kitchen.
Jade stood up in an attempt to pull herself together. Tao’s footsteps echoed overhead as she ran a shaking hand through her tangled hair and tried to pull it back in a knot. Tugging at the torn shoulder seam of her sleeve, she surveyed the damage and then let it drop again and brushed off her skirt. She shivered when she thought of the man buried in the cellar. Tomorrow would be soon enough to see to it that Li Po had a proper burial. She would remember to ask Lieutenant Chang about arrangements. Perhaps the tong associations would unite to give the old wizard a proper Chinese funeral with gongs and fireworks.
An eerie feeling crept over Jade as she stood there thinking of Li Po. Slowly she turned around, and there in the doorway between the sitting room and the hallway stood Quan Yen. The girl’s heavily painted face was as flawless and guileless as ever, her cheeks glowing with high, bright spots of color. It was not until Quan took a teetering step forward that Jade realized the girl clutched a gun in her hand.
It was aimed directly at Jade’s heart.
Jade lifted her hands in protest and slowly backed across the room. She meant to use a tone loud enough for Jason to hear, but the words were issued barely above a whisper. “You don’t want to do this, Quan Yen.”
“Yes, missee, I do. You make all kine trouble for me. For captain. I kill you. I kill everybody. Let captain go.”
“Even if you kill me, you will never be able to kill them all. There are too many of them. They are stronger.”
“I find gun. Now I kill one at time.” Quan Yen’s expression became one of joy as she spoke of killing.
The singsong girl wobbled across the room. The gun wavered in her hand.
“If you shoot, the others will hear the gunshot and run in here,” Jade warned.
“I ready. I know hiding place. Missee maybe should die before. Easier with the tea. Much nice for you. This is not so nice as fall asleep forever. Messy. Alla time messy. Now I kill missee. Captain get secret and no die.”
Jade shook her head. “There is no formula. Only an old man’s messages that were a cry for help.”
“Much magic. Li Po find magic drink. Captain and Quan Yen live all time forever.”
Jade knew then that there was no reasoning with her. Seeking a path of escape, she glanced over Quan Yen’s shoulder. To her relief, she saw Jason quietly sneaking across the room toward the girl.
He mouthed the words, “Keep talking,” and although her voice quivered with fear and anticipation, she complied.
“Perhaps you should not kill me,” Jade suggested. “You could tie me up. Make the men let the captain go. Then you can both escape.”
The idea gave the girl pause to think. It was during that very moment that Tao walked in the room. Quan Yen spun toward the sound just as Jason lunged at her from behind. He was directly in the line of fire when the gun went off.
Jade screamed. Jason fell forward, nearly knocking Quan Yen off her feet. The girl kept the gun clutched in her hand while she tried to regain her balance. Across the room, Tao took a step forward and spun around on one leg while he kicked out with the other.
Quan fired. The bullet lodged in the wall behind Tao. He spun again, whirling like a top as he lashed out, kicking and spinning, moving faster and faster toward the girl.
She fired and missed again.
Tao’s foot finally connected with Quan Yen’s arm. Jade gasped when she heard the girl’s arm break as Tao’s powerful kick snapped the bone. The gun flew out of Quan’s hand and hit the floor. Quan Yen screamed, then clutched her arm and crumpled.
Unable to hide his sorrow, Tao picked up the gun Quan had dropped, stepped over the fallen girl, and knelt down next to Jason. He rolled Jason onto his back and then turned to Jade. “He’s not dead. Can you see to him while I get her out of here?”
Finally able to breathe, Jade choked back a sob and nodded.
She ran to Jason’s side, gazing with horror at the blood that seemed to be everywhere. The whole right side of his face was covered with it, as was his neck and his shirt. She had no idea where he had been wounded.
“Jason?” she whispered frantically. Reaching for the hem of her skirt, she tenderly began to wipe away as much blood as she could without hurting him.
Behind her, Tao jerked Quan Yen to her feet. The girl sobbed as she held her crippled arm tightly against her. Issuing curt orders in Cantonese, he marched her out the doorway just as Jon Chang came running in. He went immediately to Jade and knelt down beside her.
With her hands and skirt hem covered in blood, she implored him to help. “I don’t know where he’s hurt. There’s so much blood.” She grabbed the front of Jason’s shirt and balled it into her fists. “Damn you, Jason Harrington! Don’t you dare die—not after all you’ve put me through already!”
Chang drew a wide, white kerchief out of his pocket and wadded it up. Slowly, beginning at Jason’s hairline, he began to pat away blood and search for a wound. The copious amount of blood was coming from a crease that ran along Jason’s temple. When it appeared that Jason had suffered no more than a surface wound, Jade let go of the death grip she held on his shirt.
“I can do that for him,” she whispered, willing to relieve Chang. He gave the task over to her and Jade pressed the wad of fabric against Jason’s temple. She did not like the idea of having only Tao and Xavier watch over so many prisoners. She doubted if she could take any more surprises. “I’m fine. Maybe you should see to the others.”
“Call out if you need me.”
Chang left after she reassured him that she would be fine caring for Jason alone. With one hand still on the kerchief, she placed her other open palm alongside Jason’s cheek. “Jason?” she whispered softly. “Can you hear me?”
As he lay there with his eyes closed, she noticed his exceptionally long lashes before his eyes opened. The momentary confusion in his gaze quickly became one of recognition and understanding.
“Where’s Quan Yen?”
He tried to look for the girl, but Jade’s hand at his temple kept him from moving his head. “Tao took her outside with the others.”
“I want to sit
up.”
“Wait.” She lifted the wad of blood-soaked cotton and checked his wound. The flow of blood had slowed to a trickle. “All right, but slowly. I don’t want you to black out again.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned up at her.
When he was seated cross-legged in the middle of the floor, Jade finally relaxed. “Are you all right?”
“Still a little dizzy,” he acknowledged, now holding the cloth to his temple on his own. “But I’ll live.”
“You’d better,” she mumbled, half to herself.
“Don’t you relish being an extremely rich widow? I thought that was the plan?”
Unaware that he was only teasing, Jade caught her breath until she met his eyes and saw his smile.
“That’s nothing to tease about, Jason. In fact, I don’t ever want you to refer to that part of our lives again. It was all a misunderstanding that I thought you wanted to leave in the past.”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to yell at a wounded man?”
She remained stubbornly silent.
“All right. Agreed. If you kiss me, I won’t mention it again for the next fifty years or so.”
“Is that blackmail?” she asked.
“My kind of blackmail.”
“Then I have no choice, I guess.” She feigned a sigh of resignation and leaned forward to kiss him.
“Now,” he said when their lips finally parted, “if you’ll help me up, we can go home.”
She slipped her arm beneath his and helped him to his feet.
Epilogue
In bed, be wife and husband . . .
In hall, each other’s honored guest.
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, an overcast sky produced sheets of drizzling rain outside Harrington House. Inside the master suite the flames of two dozen candles arranged around the room mingled with those from a blazing fire in the fireplace to dispel the gloomy weather.
Jason’s capable hands roamed over Jade’s willing body as she lay back against the pillows propped against the high, curved headboard. The candlelight gilded her fair skin; the flames were reflected in the shimmering highlights of her hair. Where he touched her, she felt her body tingle. As his lips followed his hands, every nerve beneath her flesh jolted to life with a quiver.
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