My Splendid Concubine

by Lofthouse, Lloyd

  Robert stared at it for a long moment before reaching out to shake and seal the bargain. “One year,” he said. “And I want the money now.”

  “I’ll have it for you in the morning.”

  “What will our arrangements be?” Robert asked.

  “I’ll send word to you about the shipments we want you to handle. You do the rest. If we are both pleased, we’ll both prosper.”

  “I don’t want to deal with strangers,” Robert said.

  “I’m a busy man, Robert. I may not always be free to come to Ningpo to instruct you. You’ve already met Unwyn Fiske. I could arrange to keep him working here for me. It’s time for him to be promoted anyway. He would like a ship but will be satisfied as my assistant.”

  “No, not Fiske.”

  “What do you mean? He’s a good man.”

  Robert told Patridge about his run in with Fiske during the fight to regain the opium and free the boat people.

  “He treated you like that?” Patridge said. “I’ll have a word with him. He won’t do it again.”

  “I don’t think you understand. I don’t want anything to do with that man.”

  “I do understand. Let’s not waste another word on this. I’ll take care of him.”

  “Good,” Robert said.

  “Did you know that he was the bastard of an earl? He is the man’s only son but can’t inherit the title or the family estate. After Unwyn left the navy, his father set him up for a career in China with the idea that he would make a fortune here. The earl used his connections to gain Unwyn his position with me. However, if he is going to continue to behave as he did with you, he won’t prosper with us. After all, he is a bastard. Don’t worry about him, Robert. You are more valuable to me in your position with the consulate. Fiske is only a first mate on one of our ships.”

  “But I will worry while he’s in China,” Robert said, remembering how close he came to dying from friendly fire. “Maybe you can give him that promotion he wants and send him to India. I don’t fancy running into him after you two have talked. He’s a disagreeable man with an unpredictable temper.”

  “Don’t worry about Unwyn. I’ll handle him,” Patridge said. “How about sealed letters? I could send you instructions in envelopes sealed with wax.”

  “If you are going to do that, we need a code of some kind,” Robert said. “What if someone reads one of your letters instructing me to lie about a cargo? If a letter like that reached an official in the consulate, I could lose my position.”

  Patridge chuckled. “I doubt it, but if it’s a code you want, we’ll devise something. After all, we’re not here for our health. It’s making money that brought us to China. Foolish missionaries are the exception. They came to convert these heathens and possibly lose their heads in the process. The Chinese don’t want to be converted. They resent anyone who wants to change them.”

  Robert wanted to protest but restrained himself. Though he’d had fantasies for success like most, he had not come to China just to profit at the expense of others. He also had not come to convert the Chinese to Christianity. So far, he had seen nothing wrong with Chinese beliefs. They weren’t perfect, but the Christians weren’t either.

  “You surprise me, Robert,” Patridge said. “What brought about these drastic changes? It can’t all be because of Ayaou.”

  “Coming so close to death gave me something to think about,” Robert replied. His eyes went to a carved ivory opium pipe sitting on a side table. Stepping over to the table, Robert picked it up. The scenes etched in its sides were from the Kamasutra. “Many people spend their lives craving what this pipe represents. I’m searching for something else.”

  “You have gone through some remarkable changes.” Patridge left his chair to stand beside Robert. “I bought that pipe in India where Britain has had more success.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my room.”

  “By all means. I’ll send a servant with food.”

  “Thank you. Oh, one more thing. Would you take care of Ayaou and Shao-mei for a few days after I’m gone?”

  “You can count on me. We’re partners now.” A rustling noise at the open window drew Patridge’s attention. He went to the window, looked out and then closed the shutters. Once he dropped the locking bar into place, he turned to Robert.

  “Continue to see that my women go untouched,” Robert said, “or it’ll end our business agreement. And keep an eye on Hollister. I don’t trust him.” His eyes went to the opium pipe still in his hand. He put it on the table. He didn’t like what it stood for.

  “That’s two men you’ve had problems with,” Patridge said. “I know what happened between you and Fiske, but what happened with Hollister? He’s not a bad sort.”

  “I don’t want to talk about that,” Robert said. “Ask Hollister if you must. I’m more concerned about my girls. I want your assurances they will be safe while I’m gone.”

  “Nothing will happen to them,” Patridge said. “You have my word on it.”

  “After I’m done with Ward, I’m going to arrange for a house in Ningpo. I’ll return for them when I’m done.” Robert walked to the door and paused. “Is there a place where Shao-mei can sleep?”

  “Isn’t she sleeping with you and Ayaou?” Patridge replied.

  “No.”

  Patridge shook his head. “I’ve seen it before,” he said. “Dull old England still has a hold on you. Eventually, you will adapt and sleep with both girls. You’ve already had Shao-mei, so she’ll probably think you’re a master who sleeps with one woman at a time. Keep them happy, Robert. These Chinese women are like dogs. If you don’t spread the affection, the bitches will fight each other.”

  He didn’t care for the analogy, but Robert didn’t want to argue. He was determined Ayaou was going to be his only woman. He had no idea what he was going to do with Shao-mei. “China will not change me that much,” he said. “I won’t sleep with two women at the same time.”

  “Have it your way,” Patridge said. “Shao-mei will sleep with Willow in her room.”

  “Willow!” Robert said. His face became hot. He didn’t like the idea that Shao-mei was sharing a room with a girl he’d had intercourse with.

  Patridge laughed. “You worry too much, Robert. If you didn’t figure it out the night you spent with her, Willow is not the talkative sort. I doubt Shao-mei will learn her name. If Shao-mei did find out, she’d think nothing of it. Wake up, man. This is China. You’re not in England any longer. Send Shao-mei to the servants’ quarters when you’re ready. Willow will be waiting.”

  Robert walked into the inner garden and stood among the bamboo and flowers. He wondered if he should take the girls with him. If he did, there was a risk they’d be seen together and word would spread through the small European community in and around Ningpo. Ayaou and Shao-mei would be called whores like Me-ta-tae. After that, it wouldn’t take long before word of Robert’s behavior reached Ireland and possibly his family would hear of it. This was something he wanted to avoid.

  The sound of a shoe grinding against gravel alerted Robert. He turned to see Hollister stepping out of the shadows. Robert’s hand went to the revolver in his pocket. “You startled me,” he said.

  Hollister’s eyes went to the pocket and then to Robert’s face. His lips twisted into a smile that was almost a grimace. “Pardon me,” he said. He took a step back. He had one hand behind his back. Robert kept an eye on that arm. If Hollister made a sudden move, Robert meant to shoot first. “I didn’t mean to surprise you,” Hollister said. “I was just out here taking the fresh air.”

  Hollister’s hidden hand came into sight. Robert almost pulled the pistol from his pocket. He watched as Hollister lifted a cigarette to his mouth and took a puff. The man lifted his head toward the sky and let out a stream of smoke.

  “Fine,” Robert said. He went to find his girls. Hollister made him uneasy. He reconsidered taking the girls with him. They would be better off if they weren’t around Hollister. Robert
regretted he had to leave them here until he found a place to live in Ningpo. If Ward’s men were looking for him, they would be watching for a foreigner with a Chinese girl. It was risky taking them with him, and he could move faster alone. He thought of Hollister, who reminded him of Unwyn Fiske. Robert should have shot Hollister when he had the chance. He doubted Captain Patridge would have done anything about it.

  Robert reached the bedroom and found his women sitting on the bed talking and holding hands. When he entered the room, Shao-mei stood and bowed. “My sister has explained everything,” she said. “I envy Ayaou’s good luck and consider myself fortunate you are letting me stay with you. I’d like to be your second concubine, but Ayaou said you have your own beliefs and customs. I must learn to respect them. I’ll do whatever you say.” She turned to Ayaou. “Did I forget anything?” It could’ve been Robert’s imagination, but he believed Shao-mei was watching him from the corner of one eye.

  Ayaou smiled. “No, everything was clear.” She turned to him. “Robert?”

  He didn’t know how to respond. He opened his arms and the two girls threw themselves on him. It was while he was holding them they had their first spat. “You’re taking advantage of me, Ayaou,” Shao-mei said, knocking a fist on Ayaou’s shoulder. “I wish I were the older sister. I never get to choose.”

  “You wrong me!” Ayaou replied. “I told you I didn’t choose Robert. He chose me.”

  “Well, you never taught me enough to be attractive. Have you forgotten it was your responsibility as the oldest to guide me?”

  “All right. I will improve.”

  “That is a promise, sister! You can’t take your words back or a bad omen will come to curse you.”

  It was a challenge to keep up with their rapid fire Chinese. Robert understood about a third of what they said and had to guess at the rest. He found it was impossible not to adore and want to keep them. His feelings for them shocked him when he considered the reasons he’d fled to China.

  Shao-mei yawned, turned to the bed and pulled one corner of the blanket back.

  “No, Shao-mei,” Robert said in a panic. “You’ll be sleeping with one of Captain Patridge’s concubines. Her name is Willow. She will be waiting for you in the servants’ quarters.”

  Shao-mei’s eyes widened. They started to fill with tears. Her lower lip quivered.

  “You heard our master, Shao-mei,” Ayaou said. “You have to do what you’re told.” Shao-mei dragged herself to the door with a despondent look on her face. It made Robert feel as if he’d beaten her.

  “Shao-mei,” Ayaou said. The younger sister stopped and looked. “Remember that peacefulness brings good luck; patience is the best family heritage.” Shao-mei nodded as if she had received a lesson in life and left the room.

  Robert was baffled. He hated not understanding what was going on.

  Guan-jiah eventually explained what Ayaou meant. “Once there was an Imperial minister named Chang Kung,” he said. “He served under the emperor Tang Koachung. This emperor ruled China during the early part of the Tang Dynasty during the seventh century. The minister was envied because he had nine generations living together under the same roof. When the emperor asked the minister for the secret of his success, the minister called for a brush and paper and wrote a hundred times the Chinese character for An. It means patience or endurance. In other words, Ayaou was telling Shao-mei to be patient. They would win you over.”

  Ayaou and Robert slept together in a bed for the first time. After they made love and Ayaou fell asleep, he worried that Willow would talk to Shao-mei. If she found out he’d been with Willow, what would Shao-mei think?

  His only hope was that Willow had already forgotten him. After all, he was probably just another faceless man—one in a long line of men that Patridge had ordered her to service. It was a pitiful thought. Robert had trouble imagining how Willow survived. She was a prostitute who was not paid. No, not a prostitute. She was a slave. He could never do that to his girls. He would never have intercourse with someone like Willow again. Since Ayaou and Shao-mei belonged to him, he would do everything to protect them from such a fate. They were his responsibility. He still hoped Shao-mei would not find out. He hated looking bad to other people, because he had done something without thinking it through.

  Chapter 13

  Death was whispering to him.

  Since Robert planned to meet Ward alone, he knew there was a possibility his remaining days were few. He didn’t want to worry the girls, so he was leaving without telling them his plans.

  It was three in the morning. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom and watched Ayaou sleeping. They’d made love in that bed for five nights and four mornings.

  Leaving without saying goodbye was digging an empty hole in his stomach.

  His next stop was Willow’s room in the servants’ quarters where he stood in the doorway watching Shao-mei and Willow sleeping together in the same bed. The younger sister was a sweet girl. Robert was going to miss her too. When he turned to go, something crunched under one of his boots. He froze and held his breath.

  “Huh?” Shao-mei said, her voice thick with cobwebs. Robert looked back and saw her staring at him. Willow, on the other hand, did not move.

  “Master,” Shao-mei said in a breathy whisper. She slipped off the bed and came to wrap her arms around his waist. She was naked. Her body radiated warmth. She pressed her face against his chest. His hands jerked like a fish on a hook, while his heart beat furiously from desire.

  “Go back to bed,” he said, while a lump formed in his throat.

  She stepped back. Her face was full of love and innocence. If his heart could have melted, it would have.

  “Wu Hei Nee,” she said.

  He didn’t know what the words meant. He still didn’t have a full working knowledge of Mandarin, and this was something he hadn’t heard before.

  “Don’t say another word,” he said. “Don’t ask any questions. Just get into that bed and go to sleep.” Disappointment swept across her face. When she returned to the bed, he felt as if he were being torn apart. What a rotten way to start a day that might end in his death.

  Robert arrived in Shanghai late in the afternoon and went straight to the British consulate. He found a desk and sat to write a note telling Ward that he had the money for Ayaou and would turn it over to him at the consulate. Robert had changed his mind and decided that after the earlier confrontation at Ward’s house, the consulate would be a safer place to complete the transaction. Besides, he wanted a witness. He didn’t trust Ward.

  Once he finished the note, he went looking for William Lay. He was going to ask to have the official consulate messenger take the note to Ward’s house. He found William at his desk.

  “This is a surprise,” William said. “I thought you were on holiday.”

  “I returned briefly to take care of business with Ward,” Robert replied. “I want the consulate messenger to deliver a note to Ward’s house directing him to come here to collect the money I owe him. I’d like you to be a witness to the transaction when it takes place.”

  William looked surprised. “You haven’t heard!” he said. “Patridge’s summerhouse must be isolated. Most of China has heard by now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  William held up a hand. “Wait here. I’ll be right back. There’s something you must read.” William left the room and returned with a copy of the North China Herald, Shanghai’s English-language newspaper.

  “Read this,” he said, handing Robert the newspaper. “There’s no way Ward can come to you even if our messenger delivers your note to his house.”

  The top headline jumped off the page. It read, WARD DEFEATED AGAIN!

  “By the way,” William said, “what kind of business are you involved in with Ward? I wouldn’t think he was the sort you’d want to be seen with. From what I’ve heard of him, he’s a rascal with a history.”

  “Let me finish reading then I’ll explain,” Robert replied
, as he scanned the columns of type.

  While he’d been gone, Ward had taken Sungkiang then attacked the Taiping stronghold of Tsingpu. That was where he lost his artillery, gunboats and his provision train. For a moment, Robert thought Ward was dead and felt a rush of excitement. Then he skipped a few paragraphs looking for what he wanted and discovered that Ward had only been wounded. The anticipation he’d felt a moment before died a quick death leaving depression in its wake.

  The Herald did not take kindly to Ward either. The paper’s correspondent had written, “The first and best item is the utter defeat of Ward and his men before Tsingpu. This notorious man has been brought down to Shanghai, not as was hoped, dead, but severely wounded in the mouth, one side and one leg.”

  Ward was only wounded, Robert thought. Hell and damnation! “It’s too bad he didn’t die,” he said. He saw questions in his friend’s eyes. It took a moment to explain what had happened starting with the battle to regain the opium from the Taipings. Robert did not mention Shao-mei.

  When Robert finished, William said, “That is horrible. I’d want to get that man off my back too if I were you. I’ll gladly be your witness, but don’t be too hard on Ward. He’s had bad luck. The Taipings know what he’s going to do before he does it. They were ready for him.”

  Patridge had talked about a traitor feeding the Taipings information. Robert wondered if there was a connection. He dismissed that idea. It was too far-fetched. How could one man sell the Taipings information about opium shipments and the movement of Ward’s army at the same time?

  It wasn’t right for Robert to wish death on anyone. He hoped that his Maker would understand and forgive him for his depravity—for he’d finally found love. With Ward out of the way, Ayaou would have been his without a challenge. He could have paid Patridge back the five hundred pounds and freed himself from their odious agreement. Robert patted the spot where the money belt was hidden. He’d probably checked that money a hundred times since leaving Patridge’s house. He worried that it might vanish and wouldn’t be there when he needed it.