The Tortoise in Asia (35 page)

“Oh my goodness, Meilin, I don't know what to say. Your father's right to take time to think about it. Something like this has never happened before. People will be shocked. I suppose you must listen to your heart. But be patient – don't push too hard.

“I don't know what to say. I'm sympathetic of course- I want you to be happy. But after all we live among traditions. You know how strong they are. We have to mind what people think, especially in our position. If your father loses face we'll all be finished.”

“Can't you be stronger than that Mother? I need real support. It's going to be hard to persuade him. Your help will be crucial. To be any use at all you'll have to take a stand. Tell him interracial marriages have been allowed in the past– with the Hsiung-nu. Why not here? Please Mother.”

“It's hard for me too Meilin. This is all very stressful. Oh, why did it have to happen? Couldn't you just not see the Roman for a while? Maybe you'll feel differently after a bit.”

“Mother.”

“No, I suppose not. All right, I'll do what I can. But don't be impatient. This'll take time. You know how cautious your father is. He's always afraid of making the wrong decision. It's a good thing not to take risks.”

❧

That night Marcus is back in his tent a free man, with a pillow filled with salt as is the custom. Cool air slips through the entrance, its flap folded back. Relief at his release leads him into a deep and dream-free slumber. The Eumenides are off bothering someone else. At the end of his bed Ting Ting snores, a feature of the compromised breathing of his breed.

Around midnight he's awakened by furious barking, louder and more insistent than ever before. It takes a couple of seconds to register. He rolls over to take a look – just in time to see an arm and a knife in the air. Instinctively he lurches upwards towards the shadowy figure and tumbles with it onto the ground. Ting Ting has locked his jaws onto the intruder's pant leg and is violently shaking it from side to side, growling fiercely. As Marcus tries to grab the knife arm, the man breaks free, kicks Ting Ting off, and runs out of the tent. Shaken but angry, Marcus looks outside but sees nothing. He goes back into the tent to find Ting Ting.

“Good dog, Ting Ting, very good dog. You saved my life”, he says, still breathless and heart racing, as he pats his little friend. “You deserve a reward.”

He rummages around for the dried meat he always keeps for a treat. Enough starlight comes through the entrance to find it. Ting Ting sits up on his haunches, tight with anticipation, bulging eyes gleaming in the partial light. He's capable of supernatural concentration whenever food is the object – a role model in the art of focussing. Marcus gives him several morsels which he gulps down, too eager to chew.

In the early morning he takes Ting Ting for his usual walk. As soon as they're outside the tent, Ting Ting zooms off at top speed in a figure of two interlocking loops, his short legs working at furious pace. The pattern ends at Marcus, with the little dog panting and wagging his tail. He often does this when he's happy.

Leaving Ting Ting in the tent to sleep – he loves to sleep whenever he can, no matter whether it's night or day, Marcus goes to see Kang.

“Guiren, last night someone tried to kill me while I was sleeping. My dog woke me up just in time. An intruder was about to stab me with a knife. I was able to knock him down but he fled before I could hold him. I couldn't see his face so I wouldn't recognize him. Have you any idea who it might be?”

“No I don't. This is serious. I'll investigate. Colonel Chen is devious enough to be behind it. He really had no choice but to let you go. Maybe he's feeling vengeful. I'll see what I can find out.”

“I wonder”, Marcus says,” whether the Protector- General had something to do with it. Meilin told him we wish to get married and he didn't like it. I'd be surprised though since he and I've always gotten along well, unlike Chen.”

“No I'm certain it wouldn't be him. He's a good-natured man, a bit indecisive at times but not murderous. He's incapable of doing something like this. He's too attuned to Confucian ideals. It has to be someone else. Just go about your normal duties while I investigate. Don't tell anyone.”

As soon as Marcus goes back to his tent he speaks to Gaius and a few of his officers in confidence, ignoring Kang's advice not to tell anybody – he probably meant only the Han anyway. The Romans organize a watch at night to prevent further attempts.

❧

Three days have passed since Meilin spoke to her father. It seems he's avoiding her, or maybe he's just too busy. In the meantime her mother has approached him several times. She's tried to press the case, but despite a desire to help, the edge of her advocacy is blunted by the grinding mill of tradition. It's the father's decision in the end and in her heart she's content to let him take the blame.

Meilin can't wait any longer. She bursts into her father's office. He's alone, reading a scroll of parchment, a cup of tea on his desk.

“Father, have you made up your mind? I must know.”

He looks up, surprised by the suddenness. His daughter is usually more circumspect.

”Meilin, this is something that can't be decided quickly. There's a lot to consider, more than you probably appreciate. You must be patient. I'm thinking about it.”

“If you don't give your consent I'll be unhappy for the rest of my life. I'll never marry another man. Please, father. Marcus is a brave soldier and a good man. You've said so yourself.”

“You know your happiness is important to me Meilin. But you must understand this is highly irregular. What would people in polite society think? Or people around here, even. I can accept that Marcus is a good man, but it's so irregular, so irregular. It's not the same as a marriage made to secure a treaty. There's no diplomatic reason here. Love is important but not the only thing where marriage is concerned. I don't want to disappoint you but I can't give my consent yet. Give me more time. I must consult with people.”

Meilin leaves the room silently seething. It's best not to push the issue further today. She's never confronted her father before, respects his authority too much for that. But she's reached the point where her love for Marcus is the diving force in her life. It's clashing with her filial duty and threatens to overwhelm it.

She silently weeps as she walks down the corridor to her suite, relieved that Ping isn't there. The view from the window overlooking the oasis, which she has always loved, seems barren of beauty. She can't see anything good in it. Even the snow lotuses below she brought from the mountains and tends herself are no better than weeds. As she enters the privacy of her bed chamber, a turbulence of guilt and anger overwhelms her. All she can do is throw herself onto the bed and grab the pillow, squeezing it in two and sob uncontrollably.

❧

The next day, calmer now, Meilin slips away from her governess to meet Marcus in the privacy of a well on the outskirts of Goachang where the desert becomes a land of fire. Since ancient times the people in this region have tapped the runoff from the mountains through a system of underground channels, linked by wells. Earth dug from them is piled up in circles which are set in straight lines. They look like sunken pots with their rims exposed.

She climbs down the friable slope where a small poplar tree gives assistance. Marcus is there already, sitting beside the slowly flowing water. They embrace – a long kiss, and sit down together. He's decided not to tell her about the intrusion until Kang has completed his investigation – no need to worry her until all the facts are known, for until they catch the culprit it could happen again. Knowing the prospect of that would just create needless anxiety. Once he's caught he can tell her and it'll just be history. It seems sensible to take the risk that another attack will occur and she'd be furious he didn't say anything.

She's brought a Hami melon, famous for its sweet and delicious taste. Its skin is so thin the juice leaks through. She cuts up a couple of slices and gives him one and says,

“I love this shelter – it's so intimate, like a secret room – those little lizards over there always keep confidences. Here we can feel the wonder of nature – live in harmony and enjoy beauty. But at home it's different. Why do people always have to wreck things? I wish we could just be here forever.

“I had another session with him yesterday. I have to say it doesn't look good. He won't make up his mind. I know he doesn't like it – too worried what the reaction will be. Mother seems willing, thank goodness, and may have some influence, although even she's not totally convinced. But, you know in our culture it's the father that makes the decision.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“All we can do is wait and hope he comes around. Maybe Kang Guiren can help. I know he likes you. And he's more broad-minded than most of the people Father listens to. He says I'm not supposed to see you.”

“That's terrible. Will you obey him?”

“Certainly not. What a question to ask. But we have to be discreet. If he finds out we're seeing each other he may harden up and never give consent.”

They go back to the fortress gloomy, by separate paths. They're at a stumbling block. Any thought of eloping would be a fantasy. Marcus would be ostracised and have no employment. Gan would dismiss him from his command and disown Meilin. They would have nowhere to live. The brutal reality is that without paternal consent they would have to spend their lives in secret love, lurking in the shadows and terrified of discovery.

The walk through the oasis is melancholy. Is there something in him that prevents fulfilling his capacity for love? First Aurelia, then Meilin have come within his orbit and spun out of it. It would've been possible to marry either, different though they are. Aurelia is more of an extrovert, Meilin more modest, but both have strength of character and are beautiful in their own way. It's no good comparing them. The only hope of course is that one day the obstacle to marrying Meilin will be removed. It's frustrating to be so powerless; not even to be able to assist in the process. All that can be done is to be patient, as Meilin says – hard for a man of action.

Back at the fortress a messenger comes to the Roman quarters outside the walls and says Kang wants to see him. He goes over immediately.

“Marcus, I've discovered who was behind the attempt on your life. It was a conspiracy led by a fanatical Han nationalist. He was the one who attacked you. One of my servants overheard him talking with other soldiers about the attack – said he would have succeeded if it hadn't been for your dog. They were the ones who accused Wu-Jiang. I had them arrested and interrogated.

“The culprit has confessed. He admitted he and his friends were upset at the decision to free Wu-Jiang and furious that he was decorated. He blames you for the whole affair – thinks if you're out of the way, the conspirators would have a chance of persuading Colonel Chen to take a different line. There's deep prejudice here against Wu-Jiang's minority group, going back for years. That's the motivation, plus the fact that he and Wu-Jiang had a few arguments in the past. They hate each other.

“I'm satisfied that Colonel Chen had nothing to do with it. He can be intemperate at times but when he heard the evidence at the trial he was convinced. He doesn't bear you a grudge.”

“Thank you Guiren. I'm grateful for your efforts. It's a good result. What'll happen to the fellow?”

“He'll be punished and so will his co-conspirators. There'll be a military trial of course but they'll be convicted. They're in prison now. It'll be up to the Protector-General to impose sentence. He can't afford to be lenient since it's necessary to keep the minorities from rebelling. It's a constant problem for us. I imagine the attacker will be executed. The others will be discharged from the army and receive long prison sentences.

“There's been a new development. The Protector-General's decided to take his family and five hundred troops, me included, to Lanzhou. It's the capital of this region – much bigger than Gaochang, a proper city. He'll head up the Commanderie there. It's a major promotion for him. You and your Romans are to go with him as part of the escort. You'll represent a quarter of the force so you'll play an important role. The Han are placing a lot of confidence in you. It's based on what you did in the battle against the Hsiung-nu.”

“That's interesting. I would have thought that maybe he would not want me to come. As you know, he isn't keen on Meilin and me being together.”

“You're right. He wanted you to stay here but the Court at Chang – an ordered him to take you and your Romans. That's why you're to go. The mandarins are curious about you and want you closer to the Capital so that one day they'll see you. Colonel Chen will be left in charge of Gaochang.”

“Where's Lanzhou?”

“It's further east, not far from the capital at Chang – an where the Emperor lives. It's a couple of month's march away from here, along the Caravan Road. I suppose you're willing?”