The Cloud Leopard's Daughter

by Deborah Challinor

  Bao had known she wouldn’t be staying at Lawrence, but the others hadn’t and she couldn’t tell them why not: at least not this instant. Also, she had another favour to request of Rian, and felt dreadful asking him to oblige her family yet again.

  ‘Do not put too much on the roof,’ she instructed the driver.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘We have to sit up there.’

  ‘Plenty of room,’ the man said, whose name was Bart.

  At the moment there was, Bao thought. They set off, using much the same seating arrangement as they had for the journey out. No one was looking forward to the long, bumpy trip back to Dunedin, but at least this one was taking place during daylight hours.

  A mile out of Lawrence, as the coach entered a stand of bush, Bao rapped hard on the wall, a signal for the driver to stop.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Kitty asked as the coach jerked, lurched and creaked to a halt.

  ‘Let me out,’ Bao said.

  Pierre, Mick and Simon dived out of the way in case she was about to throw up.

  Jammed between Amber and Rian, Kitty struggled to her feet. ‘Are you not well?’

  ‘I am fine.’ Bao opened the door and jumped to the ground.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Rian demanded.

  Bao stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled piercingly. Somewhere nearby a horse whinnied: several of Bart’s animals responded by nickering, their ears up. Then came a fair bit of rustling and a very audible Chinese curse, and after a moment a horse and cart appeared out of the trees. The driver was the undertaker Mr Kwan, and on the cart lay a rimu coffin.

  Turning to the coach, Bao said, ‘Come on, give me a hand.’

  They all stared at her.

  ‘Who’s in it?’ Simon asked.

  ‘My father.’

  Looking extremely confused, Mick said, ‘Didn’t we just bury him?’

  ‘We buried a pile of rocks. I am not leaving him here.’

  ‘Ah,’ Rian said.

  Bao could see by his expression that he was piecing at least some of the picture together, and had realised what she would shortly be asking him.

  ‘Who will help me?’ she asked. ‘I cannot lift him by myself.’

  By this time Bart had climbed down from his seat. ‘Here now, you’re not putting that on my coach. I’m not licensed to carry dead bodies.’

  Bao put her hands on her hips. ‘Why do you need a licence?’

  ‘In case . . . er.’

  Bart clearly didn’t know. Bao thought he was probably making it up anyway.

  ‘In case it falls off and the bits go all over the road!’ Bart declared, pleased with himself.

  Rian got out his purse and handed him a five-pound note. ‘Here, buy yourself a coffin-carrying licence. Is that enough?’

  ‘’Spect so. But it’s not going in the coach. You’ll have to tie it on the roof.’

  ‘Fine,’ Bao said. ‘Father always liked fresh air.’

  Mr Kwan hopped off his seat and he, Gideon, Haunui, Rian, Hawk – all the men, in fact – almost gave themselves hernias getting Fu’s coffin off the cart and on top of the coach.

  ‘Christ almighty, Bao, have you got rocks in this one as well?’ Simon asked, his face beet red.

  ‘No, gold.’ Finding herself the centre of attention once again, she explained, ‘I stole all the gold we’ve mined here, which would have only been spent by Kai and his cronies now that he is Cloud Leopard, and I’m taking it home to my family in China, where it should be anyway.’

  ‘You put it in with the body?’ Amber looked both fascinated and faintly ill.

  ‘Yes, but it is all right. Father has been preserved. Mr Kwan has packed him in salt and the coffin is lined with lead.’

  ‘And, er, are we taking you back to China?’ Rian asked.

  Bao felt her face burn. ‘If you possibly could. My family will be forever in your debt. And I can pay. There is plenty of money now.’

  ‘To Hong Kong?’

  ‘No, Zhaoqing. If you make port at Macau I can go inland by the Shenwan River.’

  Rian took off his hat and scratched his sweaty head. ‘Well, I can’t see why not. And we can take on a cargo while we’re there. But—’ He held up a finger.

  Bao’s heart, which had sprouted wings, plummeted like a dead bird.

  ‘I won’t hear another bloody word about payment, all right?’

  Blinking back tears, Bao said, ‘Thank you. Father will be so happy to be going home.’ Impulsively she hugged Rian who hugged her back, this time with no discomposure whatsoever.

  It took another twenty minutes to lash Fu’s coffin securely to the roof of the coach and say goodbye to Mr Kwan, and then they were on their way again, Bart driving more cautiously now. It wouldn’t do to rein in quickly and have the coffin shoot off the roof and take off a horse’s head.

  However he was travelling too slow for Bao, who leant out the window and urged him to increase the horses’ speed, which he did, slightly.

  ‘Just in case Chong realises the gold is missing,’ Bao said as she resumed her seat, her hair blown all over her face. ‘I do not think he will, not for a while. It was locked in a strongbox hidden beneath Father’s bed. I replaced the sacks of gold with pebbles, and I have taken both sets of keys. Of course, Chong may have had another set made,’ she added. ‘I would not put it past him.’

  On reflection, she stuck her head out the window again and shouted, ‘Faster, Bart!’

  As a result they made very good time back to Dunedin but arrived almost crippled. Bao asked Bart to deliver them to the wharf, which he did for a fee everyone suspected would not see Cobb and Co’s coffers. Tumbling from the coach onto the street, they were relieved to see that the Katipo was still tied up where they’d left her. While Fu’s coffin was wrestled down off the coach, Rian went aboard to pay the two men he’d hired the remainder of their fee, on the way greeting Samson and Delilah, who sat tidily on the gunwale near the bow, apparently waiting patiently for everyone to come home.

  When he rejoined the others they were all staring out to sea.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  Hawk pointed.

  Rian looked and saw it himself – a large, fearsome-looking junk, her dragon sails furled, at anchor in the harbour. ‘Christ, is that Longwei’s ship?’

  Nodding grimly, Hawk said, ‘I think so.’

  ‘What the hell’s he doing here?’

  Bao stared out at the harbour in dismay and disbelief, though not fear. She wasn’t frightened of Longwei and had in fact found him disturbingly attractive. He was, however, also undeniably dangerous. She crouched and dug with shaking hands through the little bag in which she kept her papers, and found the bank and postal receipts Kai had given her for the money he’d sent Longwei – or allegedly sent him. They appeared genuine but they could easily be forgeries, couldn’t they? Then, chiding herself for being such a fool, she realised that if Longwei had been at sea for a month, he couldn’t have ‘not’ received the money, so that wouldn’t be the reason he was here. Had he changed his mind about their contract and come to take Amber back? Surely not.

  ‘What’s that you’ve got there?’

  She looked up to see Kitty eyeing the receipts in her hand. Quickly, she shoved them into a pocket. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Excuse me for prying, Bao, but that amount of money seems quite big to be “nothing”, and why is Wong Kai’s name on them?’ Kitty asked. ‘What have you been up to?’

  A wave of heat washed over Bao. She’d not planned to tell Rian and Kitty the details of the arrangement she’d made with Longwei. At first, this was because she hadn’t wanted them to feel beholden to her, though she knew they did anyway. She suspected they thought the deal had been struck as a result of some esoteric Chinese code of honour, and, rather guiltily, she’d let them. She’d taken quite a risk when she’d made the deal as she didn’t have anywhere near the amount of money Longwei had demanded. But she’d explained to him that as Cloud Leopard
, which she would become on her father’s passing, she would have access to the tong’s coffers. By then, however, she was already seriously considering declining the office, as she knew there were ways she could help her family without having to preside over a committee of recalcitrant and greedy old men. If Kitty and Rian knew she’d swapped the money for her inheritance, however, they would think she’d sacrificed her future as Cloud Leopard just to save Amber, and although she had, it was more complicated and a little less altruistic of her than that.

  And now Longwei was here in Dunedin, and Bao didn’t know why.

  As they watched, a tiny ship’s boat was lowered from the junk and headed for the shore.

  Bao’s mouth went dry and in her mind she ran through several versions of the truth, and some outright lies, that might satisfy Kitty. She couldn’t bear their guilt if they thought she’d thrown away her life for them.

  ‘Rian, look what Bao’s got,’ Kitty said.

  He moved closer. ‘What?’

  ‘Show him, Bao.’ Kitty gave her best stern look. ‘Please, dear.’

  Reluctantly she fished the receipts from her pocket and gave the creased papers to Rian.

  ‘Christ, that’s a fair amount,’ he said. ‘What are you doing with these?’

  Wishing she were anywhere else but where she was, even back in Yip Chun Kit’s compound – well, no, perhaps not there – Bao moved from foot to foot, crossed her arms, then sighed. ‘Amber!’ She beckoned. ‘You too, Tahi.’

  And she told them.

  When she’d finished, both Amber and Kitty were crying. Amber threw her arms around Bao’s neck.

  ‘You’re so clever, Bao. And so brave. And such a friend. Thank you.’

  Kitty blew her nose. ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before? Not that we’re not grateful. We’ll always be grateful.’

  ‘See, this is why. I did not want you to feel beholden.’

  Tahi kissed her on the cheek. ‘Won’t you miss being the Cloud Leopard?’

  ‘No. I have thought about it a lot, and no, I will not.’

  ‘What did your father think about your decision?’ Rian asked. ‘Mind you, knowing Fu, I think I know the answer.’

  Bao glanced out to sea: the ship’s boat was a lot closer. ‘I did not tell him outright before he died, but I think he knew. He told me to follow my heart.’

  ‘Sounds like him. So why is he here?’ Rian inclined his head towards the harbour.

  ‘I do not know.’ Bao decided there was no time to be anything but blunt. ‘I am very worried that he has come for Amber.’

  Rian’s eyes narrowed and he looked suddenly far more alert. ‘But I thought all that’s over and done with?’

  ‘So did I.’

  Turning, Rian ordered, ‘Hawk, get everything aboard ship and stowed now, including Fu. And have the crew wait on deck. There could be trouble.’

  ‘I will stay here,’ Bao said.

  Rian said, ‘No, you’ll go aboard.’

  ‘No. I will speak to him.’

  ‘I’ll do that. Go aboard.’

  ‘No!’ Bao’s voice was close to a shout, something she rarely did. ‘It was my contract with him, I will speak to him.’

  She and Rian glared at each other, then Rian gave in. ‘I’ll be on the wharf if you need me. If there’s trouble, Bao, run.’

  ‘I never run away.’

  ‘No, I don’t think you do, do you?’

  As the crew carried their bits and pieces onto the Katipo, Bao waited alone on the polluted, fish-guts-strewn beach.

  The Kaili’s boat arrived, and Ip To scrambled out and hauled it up onto the sand. Everyone on the Katipo lined up along her gunwale to watch, ready to race back down to the wharf if necessary.

  Longwei stepped out of the boat, scowled at the filthy surrounds, and picked his way across to Bao. A low-flying gull shrieked overhead and Bao, taut with apprehension, started badly.

  He bowed. ‘Miss Wong, we meet again.’

  Her heart thumping, Bao returned the bow. ‘Captain Lee. You have travelled a long way.’

  ‘Yes, I wished to speak to you.’

  ‘You could have sent a letter.’

  ‘I did not know your address.’

  ‘Is this about our contract?’

  Longwei looked faintly surprised. ‘No.’

  Bao felt so faint with relief she suddenly needed a seat, but certainly wasn’t going to sit in stinky fish guts. And sitting down would only make her appear weak. ‘Then why are you here?’

  ‘To enquire about your circumstances.’

  ‘My . . . circumstances?’

  ‘Yes. When we last spoke you told me that your father was very ill.’

  ‘Oh. Yes, he died several days ago.’

  ‘He passed peacefully?’

  ‘He did.’

  ‘I am glad. And you are now tong master?’

  ‘No, I am not. I relinquished my claim to the office last night.’

  Bao waited for him to ask about his ransom money, but the question didn’t come.

  Instead he said, ‘And now?’

  ‘I am taking my father home. I am sailing with Captain Farrell.’

  Longwei glanced over at Rian. ‘I would be honoured to escort you and the body of your esteemed father back to China.’

  ‘Oh, but—’

  Longwei had already marched off towards the wharf. She hurried after him.

  ‘Captain Farrell,’ Longwei said.

  ‘Captain Lee.’

  ‘I understand that Miss Wong is sailing with you to China.’

  ‘She is.’

  ‘I would be very pleased to take her. It will save you a trip.’

  ‘Why?’

  Longwei frowned. ‘Why what?’

  ‘Why do you want to take her?’

  ‘Because I wish that we may learn more about each other so that I can ask her to be my wife, and I cannot do that if she is aboard your ship, can I?’

  Bao nearly died of embarrassment – and excitement.

  ‘Is that so?’ Rian said. ‘Why should you be trusted? You stole my daughter.’

  ‘I do not care if you trust me,’ Longwei replied. ‘It is whether Miss Wong trusts me that matters.’

  ‘Do you trust him, Bao?’ Rian asked her. ‘And do you want to go back to China with him?’

  He’d stopped short of asking her if she wanted to be Longwei’s wife, Bao noticed, and what a relief, too. She thought she might but she wanted time with him before she decided.

  ‘Yes, I do trust him,’ she said. ‘He has not proven devious, has he? And I would like to accompany him back to China, if you do not mind, although I am very grateful for your offer, Rian. I think Father would enjoy the trip home on the Kaili.’

  Rian said, ‘You should probably follow your heart. Isn’t that what Fu would say?’

  ‘It is,’ Bao agreed. ‘It is exactly what he would say.’ To Longwei she said, ‘Thank you, Captain Lee, I accept your offer. Of passage home to China,’ she added hastily.

  Clearly extremely pleased, Longwei said, ‘I should warn you, Miss Wong—’

  Interrupting, Bao snapped, ‘Really, if we are to sail together, I would much rather you called me Bao. “Miss Wong” will get very irritating quite quickly.’

  ‘Very well, then. I should warn you that aboard the Kaili you must be prepared to fight for what is right, to put yourself in the path of danger, and to defy the law.’

  ‘That sounds like sailing on the Katipo,’ Kitty said, who’d appeared at Rian’s side.

  ‘Is that acceptable to you?’ Longwei asked.

  ‘It is,’ Bao replied, ‘and I would be disappointed in you if it were not the case.’

  ‘See?’ Longwei said. ‘We are already coming to know each other.’

  Then he took Bao in his arms and kissed her. Aboard the Katipo a great cheer went up. Ip To glanced over at his captain and rolled his single eye.

  ‘I need to say goodbye,’ Bao said. ‘I do not know when I will see my friends agai
n.’

  ‘Of course.’ Longwei turned to Rian and Kitty and bowed. ‘We will meet again, Captain and Mrs Farrell.’

  ‘I hope not,’ Rian muttered under his breath.

  Longwei gave a small, amused smile. ‘Oh, we definitely will.’

  As Fu’s coffin was unloaded from the Katipo and wrestled into the Kaili’s boat, Bao said goodbye to everyone.

  ‘Congratulations – I assume?’ Amber said happily.

  ‘Perhaps. I will have to see how everything goes. I would say come and visit but I do not know where we will be.’

  ‘No, I never know where we’ll be, either.’

  They laughed.

  ‘But I am sure we will see each other again,’ Bao said.

  ‘So am I.’

  Bao gave Amber an extra hug, then she was running back down to the beach. She took off her shoes, threw them into the boat, splashed through the scummy waves and jumped in.

  ‘Poo. She will need the proper bath after that,’ Pierre remarked.

  They all waved madly as Ip To leant into the oars and the boat rounded the end of the wharf and headed out into the harbour.

  Rian took Kitty’s hand and squeezed.

  She squeezed back. ‘I like a happy ending.’

  Author Notes

  Not knowing much about the history of China in the nineteenth century, I needed to do quite a bit of research for this book. Unfortunately the more I did, the greater became my realisation that I was barely scratching the surface, to use a cliché (which writers should avoid), and that it would take me much longer than I had to really appreciate the complexities of recent Chinese history. Even worse, I was only seeing a Western perspective on that history, but I suppose I should be used to that by now. I didn’t go to Hong Kong, either, but perhaps I will one day.

  Here is an extremely brief and simplified summary of China’s so-called Opium Wars. The problem was essentially an unbalanced market. China had tea, for which Westerners were desperate, plus lots of gorgeous silk and delicate porcelain, but Britain had nothing the Chinese wanted to buy or trade, except gold and silver, both scarce in China. So the British reluctantly paid for their pekoe, teacups and bolts of silk in bullion, but, concerned at the amount of silver in particular leaving England, soon realised that there was also a market for opium in China. They hadn’t introduced the drug there – that had apparently been the Arabs, for medicinal purposes, then the Portuguese – but the British East India Company discovered how to grow opium cheaply in Bengal and by the 1770s they were the leading suppliers to the Chinese market via the one port open to foreign trade – Guangzhou, known as Canton to Westerners, on the Pearl River near Hong Kong.