The Concubine's Daughter (27 page)

Ben frowned thoughtfully. “I have been successful in the China trade for years, trusting only my judgment and experience and that of my partner. We have no faith in compradors; it is well known that they line their own pockets before those of a foreign master. To squeeze and be squeezed is a part of life as old as the first mountain. I have learned to live with this.”

“You are wise; ‘squeeze’ is the way of Chinese business.” Li dared to smile openly. “Our ancestors would be displeased if we did not cheat the barbarian or each other as cleverly as we can. It would be an insult to the family and the clan”—she shrugged—“and great loss of face for the comprador.”

“How can you be so certain of such things?”

“Because I am Chinese.” She lifted her cup to sip the tea. “When you paid Ming-Chou for his raw silk, you paid for highest quality and honest measure. Many spools were inferior, the strands broken and knotted. The wooden spools were larger than they should have been, so held less thread and weighed too much—so slightly this could not be detected, except by a vigilant comprador interested only in your profit and not her own. I can learn to be that comprador.”

She took a breath. “I improve my skill with figures every day. The Fish has taught me to bargain in the marketplace, and I can haggle as well as any Hokklo fishwife for saffron worth its weight in gold or a catty of turnips worth a copper coin. I have learned about value for money at the lowest level. Business is business at any time, in any language, and in any place. In China that means every moment of every day and night.”

He rubbed his chin, his eyes suggesting she should continue. Li felt a thrill at commanding the full attention of a taipan.

“Already, I have thoughts that may be of value to you. I have not spoken
of them because my respect for your venerable partner is great and I would not insult him with my notions without your permission. I am sure he must know how much is bought and sold that does not appear in any tally book.”

Ben spread his hands to show that nothing she had said surprised or concerned him. “Indie Da Silva will reward you well if you have thoughts that will save Double Dragon money or lead to higher profits. And so will I.”

Li sat straight backed, looking, she hoped, every inch a comprador. “In my studies of the coastal and river trade, it seems to me that much has been lost to the cost of ballast … unprofitable cargo. Many chests of tea and bolts of silk have been spoiled by seawater invading the holds in bad weather. Because of this, your schooners take on broken tiles, bags of sand, river stones, and rocks to fill the bilges and stabilize the vessel.” He nodded with interest.

“Your principal trade is in tea, silk, and porcelain and sometimes jade, which are carried separately. My thought is this … instead of worthless ballast taking up valuable cargo space, porcelain vases could be filled with jadeite and other precious stone, and stowed in the lower holds. The middle holds could carry chests of tea, with the silk in the upper holds. By such layering the vessel would take all weathers, and you would gain a cargo of porcelain and valuable minerals without spoilage.”

She bowed her head in appreciation for his patience. “Forgive me if this is a foolish thought. I am sure it must have already been considered.”

His eyes had not left her face. Was she indeed a fool to have made such a simple suggestion?

“It is not foolish to speak out; it is good that you are thinking of ways to improve our trade. All that you ask will be arranged. It is not a favor, but a business investment, as you wish it to be.”

He reached across the table with an open hand. “But first you must learn what it is to be English. I shall arrange for a tutor to teach you for one year, then we shall set an examination. If you pass, you will be taught the business of a comprador and paid accordingly. Is it agreed?”

She put her hand in his and shook it firmly. “It is agreed.”

Miss Winifred Barbara Bramble was a refined and pleasant lady of late middle age from the East Sussex village of Sparrows Green near Wad-hurst. She had spent most of her life in senior teaching positions, first in Zu rich and then with Hong Kong’s most prestigious finishing college for young ladies. Reluctantly retired after fifteen years as its principal, she had returned to England from a life of high activity and social responsibility, to find herself quickly bored by the relaxed pace of her old village.

When Captain Devereaux’s Hong Kong lawyer, Angus Grant, offered her a well-paid post to last for at least one year, with the option to renew, she had accepted with genteel enthusiasm. Confirming by tele gram that making English princesses of girls from wealthy Chinese families came as naturally to her as grooming promising fillies for the Grand National must come to the consummate trainer, she had sailed from Liverpool on the first available passenger ship.

Of the girl she was supposed to tutor, she had been told only that her Chinese name was Li-Xia and that she was fifteen years of age with a very limited education. This did not concern Miss Bramble; nothing fulfilled her more than molding and refining young ladies, and trying to do so within the very limited space of twelve months only heightened the challenge. When she arrived at Sky House three months later, however, she was surprised to find the young lady in question to be an orphan without inheritance or prospects of any kind—a far cry from the often-spoiled daughters of wealthy families she was accustomed to tutoring.

Winifred had used her Hong Kong connections to verify Captain Devereaux’s credentials and found them to be beyond reproach. She did not presume to speculate upon his interest in the beautiful girl, whom she found to be of charming manner. Any misgivings she might have had were soon put to rest by the girl’s quick mind, transparent honesty, and beguiling personality. When the captain, in strictest confidence, told her what he knew of Li’s frightful background, she found herself eager to help the child achieve her extraordinary ambitions.

Li liked the English teacher from the moment they were introduced
over tea in the study. Miss Bramble was smartly dressed in a way Li had never seen before, and was kind enough to explain the philosophy of Harris tweed, silk blouses, knitted twin sets, green pork pie hats, lisle stockings, and stout brogue walking shoes. Her impeccable hair was set in a cluster of silvery waves held in place by tortoiseshell clips; large garnets shivered from her earlobes and spilled across her throat like drops of crystalized blood. Similar stones adorned her wrists and perfectly manicured fingers. A large fan of lavender-scented lace seldom left her hand, a necessity, she claimed, for an Englishwoman in the tropics.

Her face, Li reflected, was nothing like the hideous behind of a baboon, as she had been warned. Free of makeup, her ruddy features were apple cheeked and kindly, her hazel eyes alert but friendly behind highly polished spectacles in their pale lavender frames. Her keen powers of observation and seemingly endless patience made her the perfect teacher.

Miss Bramble intended to inform her pupil of anything she cared to know about the British way of life without in any way diminishing the richness of her Chinese heritage and culture. A sensitive blending of the two, she assured Ben, should produce a young woman of outstanding qualities. “From the aptitude tests I have given her, she possesses quite a remarkable capacity for learning.”

Ben had made his study available as Miss Bramble’s classroom, confining his own work to the office on the Praia. He also made frequent visits to Hong Kong and Shanghai and several trips at sea extending up to five and six weeks. When he did return to Sky House, it was usually for a short period, accompanied by others who ate and drank late into the night. If he greeted Li at all, it was briefly, although he spent much more time speaking with Miss Bramble behind closed doors.

Li did not admit to herself that she missed Ben’s presence, that the sight, sound, and scent of him had become so much a part of Sky House it seemed to lose its luster without him. Her days were too crammed with interest to allow much time to wonder where he was and what he was doing. Even her evenings were spent studying, often late into the night. Miss Bramble was delighted by her appetite for knowledge and the depths of her character.

The Fish considered the appearance of the foreign teacher to be divine intervention in response to her prayers. She did not need to be told of Li’s disappointment at Ben’s absence; she and the girl had become so close that they sometimes thought as one. “Master Ben has not forgotten you. He will come to see you when he thinks it is time.”

No day passed without
yum-cha
in the English garden, drinking tea with the Fish, who kept her informed on the household gossip. There was talk among the servants that the master was overseeing the construction of a villa on the beautiful Repulse Bay in Hong Kong, even more splendid and with gardens more magnificent than those of Sky House.

Concerned about their place in this new residence, Ah-Ho and the other servants kept well clear of Li and the Fish. They bowed deeply on passing Miss Bramble, yet secretly cursed the devil hag from a strange land who would weave silk from straw. The driver, Ah-Geet, had avoided Li since the incident in the compound.

“They are saying that the red-faced Englishwoman cost a chest of silver to teach the farm brat manners.” The Fish chuckled slyly. “They are afraid the master will not take them when he moves to Hong Kong—that he will find a new head amah, new maids to do the cleaning and washing, new cooks, and a new driver. There is talk that when he returns he will take you and the
gwai-paw
teacher, and only I and Ah-Kin will be chosen to accompany you. Their suspicion is as bitter as their hearts, but they are sure of nothing, so they will make no move to displease him.”

Her chuckle faltered as she glanced nervously at the door. “This does not mean that Ah-Ho and her followers will no longer be our enemies. They will hate us more now that you have become the favored one. They will never believe you are not here to share his bed and turn his head, because that is what they would do if they could.”

“I have given Ah-Ho nothing to be afraid of,” Li protested, “only that I will be taught to read and write in the language of the English. I am not his
cheep-see
and never will be. How can they think so little of his kindness and so badly of me?”

“They think this is your intention, and that he intends to make you his mistress, even his
tai-tai
—his wife.” Li would not let herself think of such a prospect, and nothing the Fish said would convince her that she could ever become Ben Devereaux’s
tai-tai
.

The Fish persisted. “They fear you will gain power and take revenge. They will do anything to stop you.” There was a note of alarm in the Fish’s voice. “They blame their change of fortune on you. Word is spread by the
sau-hai
that you are a fox fairy, that this is why you were condemned to die. They say that the master interfered in this because he is under your spell.”

The old lady drew a deep breath, her troubled eyes staring at the closed door. “Ah-Ho is cunning and Master Ben is a good and trusting master—he understands that she must have her squeeze. He is very wise for a
gwai-lo
; he pretends to know only what he is shown of our people and nothing of its dark side.”

She shook her head. “He has dealt with the triad tongs and played at their dangerous game and is greatly respected by those who cut throats for a living … but he knows little of the
sau-hai
and little of Ah-Ho’s true power.”

As she lifted her head, Li saw the same hint of fear that had shown itself for an unguarded moment in the smoky shadows of Joss Street.

“He thinks he understands enough—he speaks more of our language than he will say—but he knows nothing. The
sau-hai
are known to consult the black Tao … the shaman of evil magic. They are said to raise a curse upon those they fear but cannot reach.”

The Fish lowered her voice to a whisper. “You must warn the master of this danger.”

Li shook her head. “I will not interfere in things that are his to decide. If he asks me, or if a hand is raised against me without reason, I will tell him. I have faced far greater evils than Ah-Ho and the servants of Sky House, and am not without some cunning of my own. There is nothing that can happen to me that can compare with what I have already suffered. You are dear to me, Ah-Paw, but please do not worry yourself for my safety.”

The Fish could not be comforted. “There are kinds of betrayal and treachery that even you cannot imagine.” She sighed heavily. “I have heard it said that revenge is a banquet best eaten cold. So perhaps we are safe for now. Ah-Ho dare not be seen to raise a hand against you. She will pay others to take the risks. There are many who will kill for a chicken leg and eat it on the grave, others who will steal a child from under the nose of its parents and send it home piece by piece until the price is paid. This is the way of the black society.”

The Fish suddenly reached for Li’s hand. “Ah-Geet cannot be trusted. Already two
mooi-jais
from other households have carried his child.” She gripped Li’s hand tighter. “He is a
sai-lo
, a younger brother of the tong. We must beware of him.”