by null
With great gusto, Ben set about the task of destroying crab, lobster, shrimp, and seafoods of every description—separating the shell, scooping out the orange roe, cracking the claws, and snapping the legs, extracting delicious morsels of flesh and placing them before her. His genuine pleasure was all-embracing, and Li felt herself caught up in his enjoyment.
“The best part of eating here is that table manners are unheard of; the more mess we make, the happier our host will be. You may spit unwanted shell upon the deck and belch to your heart’s content, and he will bring you more.” Ben proceeded to demonstrate this and urged her to do the same. Their hands and mouths were wiped from a pile of damp cloths immediately replaced, remnants of the feast tossed away to be eaten by well-fed cats that prowled beneath the tables or the ever-watchful gulls riding the ebbing tide.
Time passed unnoticed as he spoke freely of his youth. “I wish you to know the truth of Di-Fo-Lo the baby-eater, great taipan of the Double Dragon—who started as an unwanted boy with only the threat of danger and the flame of hope to keep him company. I see in you that same flame.
“I am of mixed blood, the son of a Chinese mother whom I never knew. My father was a Breton master mariner who fled Shanghai after the Boxer Uprising. It was not fear of the Boxers that drove him out, but a blood feud that has left me with dangerous enemies to this day. My father died from the trade that made him rich … opium. He fled to save me. I was little more than a newborn. When they killed my mother, burned his house, and took his business, there was little left for him to do.” When the table was cleared and a platter of quartered fruits set down with a fresh pot of Bo Lin tea, Ben said, “Forgive me; I have allowed enjoyment to loosen my tongue perhaps too much. It is time for me to listen. There is little you can ask of me that I cannot provide.” Li knew that this was the moment to speak of things that had barely left her mind since waking in his cabin aboard Golden Sky.
She began cautiously. “I am greatly honored to hear of things so close to a heart as brave as yours. To speak of my childhood would bring sadness over things I would rather forget. But there are also joys to be remembered.”
Li gazed steadily at his face. “Do you know the saying: ‘Bamboo door face bamboo door. Wooden door face wooden door. Golden door face golden door’?”
He nodded. “It means that we are from very different worlds and may not suit each other. That one may seek what the other may shun. Peasant should marry peasant, merchant should marry merchant, nobleman should marry noblewoman.”
“Yes,” she said eagerly. “China is not kind to those of mixed blood. Alone, we face its dangers and learn how to survive. Together, we have other lives to care for than our own… . This is a different kind of courage. I do not know if I possess it.”
She raised her hand as he went to speak. “The world would not be kind to us or our children. Sometimes great mistakes are made in the name of loneliness, choices that once made cannot be undone.”
“I have never known this world to be kind,” Ben answered slowly, each word crafted for her ears alone. “I am proud to be Eurasian, a jarp-jung, as our children will be proud. We will teach them to fight for their heritage if they have to. Our ancestors will rejoice in their courage. Loneliness will never again enter our lives and no one will take away our right to love freely and with all our hearts.”
Ben spoke with such depth of feeling that Li did not hestitate to reply. “Then I will ask my questions without misunderstanding.” She sat up straight. “How many wives will you have?” She could see he resisted the urge to chuckle, but he answered seriously. “I will have only one wife. My children will have only one mother.” She nodded her acceptance. “How many concubines will you have?” Again, he would have smiled, but she looked so solemn that he shook his head with equal gravity. “I will have no concubines. That is not the way of this barbarian.” Li’s surprise showed in her eyes. “Then will you have the services of a mistress? How can one wife be enough for a man? How can you be sure that you will not grow tired of me?”
Ben’s answer was heartfelt as her questions. “If I tire of you, I will tire of living. There will be no mistress. Your health and happiness and that of our children will be all I ask.”
He smiled to lighten the solemnity of the moment. “Besides, sometimes I will be away. There will not be time to bore each other, only to count the moments until we are together again.”
Li’s growing smile was gone in an instant, her tone almost businesslike. Her heart beat faster. These were the words of her future and her fortune. “Forgive me, Seal-Yeh, but I was not born to be a tai-tai, to visit the beauty parlor and play mah-jonng. I will be a strong wife and a good mother. But that is not enough. I must earn my place in the noble company as comprador of the Double Dragon. Only this will give me the true happiness we hope to share. I wish to sail with my husband, not wait with my eyes on a horizon I will never reach.”
“I would not question your wishes,” he said, “because I know they would be honest and considered with great care… .”
She did not give him time to finish. “If I do not give you sons but only daughters, what will you do with them?”
The question was so blunt, so much a part of her, he reached over to cover her hands with his. “I will love and protect them as I would my sons. I can imagine nothing more wonderful than the daughters of Lee Sheeah”—he grinned at the thought—“unless it be her sons.”
“Will a daughter learn to read and write beside her brothers? Will she be taught, by Miss Bramble perhaps, if the gods are with us?”
He held up his hand, almost afraid of how much this meant to her, again choosing his words as he had once chosen cards. “Both the sons and the daughters of Li Devereaux will be educated in the best schools and taught by the best tutors this world has to offer. This I solemnly pledge. Our daughters will be cherished in the eyes of their father; they will have the pride and dignity of their mother and the opportunities of a scholar.”
Li was silent for a moment, determined to leave nothing unspoken. “I do not know what love is,” she said at length. “Such a thing has never been shown to me… . But if love means giving you pleasure, this I believe I can promise. If it means bearing strong sons and daughters, learning skills that will build the prosperity of your clan, I will do so gladly, if the gods allow it. But love? I must understand love before I can promise it.” Her seriousness gave way to the shyest of smiles as he lifted his big hand to touch her cheek as gently as a smile.
“It is something that neither of us is familiar with. Perhaps we can discover it together,” Ben said with a tenderness that put her heart at rest.
“I must ask one final thing. If you still want me to be your tai-tai after this, I will be honored to cross your door.” Ben grinned his relief.
“You know you can ask me anything.” He would have left his chair to go to her if she had not raised a hand to stop him.
“You saved me from the river and the sentence of sau-hai. Now I must beg you to take me back where you found me.” With these words she produced a neatly folded, itemized list of words and figures. His pride in her mounted with every second that she spoke, explaining every line and digit, outlining a business proposition that left him speechless.
CHAPTER 13
The House of the Kindly Moon
The crossing of the ship Golden Sky from Macao to the mouth of the Pearl River was swift and smooth, the vessel leaning into the wind as gracefully as a great seabird. As the ship approached the silk mill of Ten Willows, Li’s heart quickened. This was a mission she had dreamed of a thousand times. Ben’s initial astonishment at her request had quickly turned to approval, giving her new confidence.
From the deck of Golden Sky, she could see the tiny figures of the mui-mui on the hill, busy as ants among the blue haze of the mulberry trees. In her mind she heard the floating notes of Garlic’s flute and the metallic whirring of cicadas, the jokes of Monkey Nut, and the unmistakable laugh of Little Pebble.
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bsp; With the mooring ropes ashore, Li descended the gangway, stepping, as Miss Bramble had taught her, with the dignity and measured pace of one who could not be hurried. As befitted a person of station, she was wearing the smart uniform of the Double Dragon comprador, which she had designed herself—a fitted sam-foo of cherry red, the double-D crest embroidered in gold thread on its breast, her hair held by a comb of ivory and mother-of-pearl. Over her shoulder she carried a splendid sunshade of pale yellow silk, and in her hand a closed sandalwood fan.
Li stepped from the gangway. Wang the steward, smartly dressed in his crisp white uniform, followed a few paces behind, leading two deck boys loaded with an assortment of wrapped packages.
The unmistakable figure of Ah-Jeh appeared at the window of her office. She hurried down to welcome the unexpected arrival, bowing before the young woman in red. The waddling figure, grown even fatter over the past couple of years, led the way, the swish, swish, swish of her tzow even more pronounced than Li remembered.
In the silk room, the same large room where her father had abandoned her, the packages were stacked upon the table. Li was made comfortable in the silk-lined seat reserved for visitors of importance, while tea was set before her in a silver-mounted cup.
“You do not recognize me?” Li asked when the superintendent showed no sign of it. “Perhaps because my face was bruised and swollen, my hair had been cut off and my body caked with mud and the droppings of swine the last time you saw me; I could not stand because you had crippled me. You saw me dragged from the river more dead than alive. You watched, I believe, from your window, cursing me from a distance because you had not the courage to face me.”
Ah-Jeh’s thin brows drew down in a moment of confusion; her mouth opened and closed like a fish in a jar. She looked so absurd that Li wondered how this pudding of a woman could have once controlled her life.
“Do not be alarmed; I have returned only on matters of business. First, I come to pay the sung-tips of the mung-cha-cha family. Let us settle this first.” Li found none of the satisfaction she had expected as Elder Sister stood speechless, her eyes, normally so alert, blank with shock and her pallid face flushed as though it had been slapped. Li did not prolong the superintendent’s astonishment. Her tone was expressionless, as befitting simple matters of business. She handed Ah-Jeh a sealed red packet. “You will find the sum far greater than their value to Ming-Chou, and of course there is a generous commission for your services in this matter.”
At that moment Li saw Ah-Jeh as a fat, overfed frog in a small and hungry pond, no match for the wily taipans of the Praia or the seasoned compradors of the Macao godowns. “If you have the authority to close this matter quickly and quietly, without disturbing the great Ming-Chou, your commission will be doubled.” Li shrugged, closing her fan with an air of indifference. “If this cannot be arranged, I shall have to inform Captain Devereaux … we will be forced to reconsider our offer and perhaps withdraw.”
At the word “we,” Ah-Jeh raised an inquiring eyebrow despite the uncertainty of her position. Now that she saw with much amazement who she was dealing with, her eyes narrowed to mask her thoughts.
“I am comprador to the Double Dragon Trading Company,” Li went on, “under the authority of Captain Devereaux, to whom I am also personal assistant. I speak on his behalf because you and I are known to each other, but if you wish his presence it can quickly be arranged. I warn you, however, Di-Fo-Lo will not be so generous nor as patient as I; he will demand the presence of your master.”
Li found it difficult to suppress a smile at the superintendent’s discomfort, but took advantage of it. “Are not the mung-cha-cha known to be a little mad, sometimes rebellious and disobedient; did they not show defiance in my defense? Will life at Ten Willows not be easier for you without such bothersome creatures?”
Ah-Jeh opened the fold of the red packet and fingered the thick wad of banknotes with familiar efficiency. Li did not wait for a reply. “Have the mung-cha-cha brought here without delay.”
There was the slightest hint of mockery in the superintendent’s words. “This can be arranged.” She affected a sympathetic tone. “But I am sad to tell you that the Little Pebble no longer works in the groves. Her eyes do not see and her fingers cannot find the cocoons. Her basket is empty.”
Li felt a growing alarm. What punishment Pebble must have endured at the hands of the sau-hai for being her friend! But always there had been the laugh and the dance that reassured her: I will be here waiting, little Crabapple. Li summoned the courage to ask one hushed question, her mouth suddenly dry. “Is she gone to the Pagoda of Pity?”
Ah-Jeh sniffed. “She forfeited her rights when she too disobeyed the rules of the mui-mui.”
Li felt a stab of raw fury at the superintendent’s smugness. “Have her brought here, sick or well. Do as I say or I will bring down powers you cannot imagine to investigate her disappearance.”
Ah-Jeh was quick to respond, spreading her hands in a show of innocence. “She is no longer the responsibility of Ten Willows or of mine.” Again, the shrug of thinly veiled indifference. “Ask the mung-cha-cha; perhaps they know what has happened to their Little Pebble.”
“Send for them immediately,” Li snapped. “We will speak of other business while I wait.” She produced a second envelope, sealed with the chop of the Double Dragon and addressed to Ming-Chou in the bold, flowing hand of Ben Devereaux. “This is to be delivered by hand. I do not wish to look upon Ming-Chou’s face, so I pass this urgent duty to you. It contains certain requirements if the Double Dragon is to continue doing business with Ten Willows.” Ah-Jeh left the envelope untouched as Li raised her hand and Wang handed her a wooden spindle.
“The holds of Golden Sky and other Double Dragon ships carry many thousands of these each month, and in half the time of any junk on the coast. Ming-Chou’s price has been agreed upon and paid without fail. Yet when delivered, some spindles are found to be imperfect … the golden thread broken or knotted, the quality inferior, the weight inconsistent.” Li placed the spindle beside the letter. “This is now the standard spindle approved by the factories in Shantung and all the big silk cities. It is the exact size, shape, and weight required. From this day, every cargo will be inspected and all other spindles rejected. The Double Dragon will charge a fee for each rejection.”
Ah-Jeh’s protestations of innocence were cut short by the appearance of the mung-cha-cha, who had run from the groves, breathless and dirty. They stood hesitantly in the doorway, afraid to enter until Li went to them with open arms, calling out their names and repeating her own. Even then, they stepped back, their hats clutched before them, unable to believe this important lady was truly the little Crabapple.
Only one thing tempered Li’s joy at this reunion. “Where is Little Pebble?” she asked, half afraid of the answer. Her fears were quickly put to rest. “She is in the care of Giant Yun,” Garlic reassured her. “We will take you to her.”
“She will be happy to see you, Crabapple,” Mugwort said.
“We have missed you,” Monkey Nut agreed.
“We thought you had been taken away by the barbarian and sold as a slave,” Turtle added. “Pebble has made up many stories. Is it true that you are the only scholar in the harem of an Arabian prince who pays you in diamonds?”
“It is almost true”—Li laughed—“but he is not an Arab and he pays me in sapphires … and sometimes diamonds.” The mung-cha-cha looked at each other wide-eyed.
Li turned to Ah-Jeh. “If our arrangement is acceptable, please have these young ladies bathed in the mill bath house and let the masseurs attend to them. Please see that our business is concluded in two hours’ time.” She indicated the pile of wrapped packages. “Then have them put on these clothes, which are clearly marked with their names. Meanwhile, I would like to inspect the weaving mill.”
The sisters of sau-hai looked up from their looms as Ah-Jeh opened the door for Li. Accustomed to occasional visitors, they did not pause in the rhythm of
their work.
For a few moments, Li walked among them, breathing in the stale air agitated by worthless fans, the clatter and clank of outdated looms, the cheerless concentration and the absence of laughter. From the steps leading to the superintendent’s dingy office, she looked down one last time upon the weavers of sau-hai, the gentle sisters who would have killed her with a smile. She felt no anger or thoughts of revenge, but only pity as she saw that the sisters of sau-hai had empty hearts; they had exchanged their souls for the white handkerchief and the colored parasol. Once outside, with the sun on her face, she said a prayer of thanks to Little Pebble for warning her of the price to be paid for a rice bowl that would never be empty,
Fresh from the delights of the bath house, dressed in sam-foos of silk, each of a different shining color, with pretty slippers on their feet and their hair brushed and tied with ribbons. the ladies of the mung-cha-cha were unrecognizable. Each of them held an open sunshade in pink and blue or green and yellow, as Li led the way along the loading wharf and up the gangway of Golden Sky.
Farther upriver at Giant Yun’s hut, Little Pebble was carried aboard, and the mung-cha-cha helped her to change her tattered mien-larp for one of quilted black chased with gold and silver thread. The family was complete.
“I knew you would not forget us, Crabapple. True scholars forget nothing of great importance.” Little Pebble grinned up at Li. “I am not as strong as I was. I can’t see very well … but I am still a dancer deep inside, and my heart is still filled with secrets.”
Golden Sky came about, to sail five miles to the jetty of the farm of the old lord, Ah-Bart, who had joined his ancestors at last. As it came into view, the mung-cha-cha lined the rail, bewildered by this day of many miracles and amazed by what they saw: The cottage and its outbuildings had been repaired and repainted, with the door now the shade of lucky red. Broken tiles had been replaced, the garden tended, the mulberry trees pruned and heavy with cocoons. The largest of the outbuildings had been converted into a sorting and spinning shed; another contained a new copper boiler and all the necessary tools and equipment for making silk. Beside these a mill of brick and tile had been built, fitted with ample fans, combustion stoves, and the very latest in weaving looms.
