Bless the Bride (34 page)
Authors: Rhys Bowen
And then I looked up as an amazing figure came flying toward me. It was Ryan O’Hare, wearing a floor-length black cape over a white suit.
“You didn’t think I’d let the small matter of a lack of invitation keep me away, did you?” he asked, taking my hand and kissing it. “I’ve never been known to miss a good party in my life. Besides, I can see that this one needs livening up. I may give one of my recitations—‘The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck,’ perhaps?”
I started to laugh. “Oh, Ryan, I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.
If Daniel didn’t feel the same way, he was gracious enough not to say anything. As we moved through the crowd together I heard Daniel’s mother’s voice. “Yes, she is such a dear girl, isn’t she? I’m so lucky to be getting such a daughter-in-law.”
After the toasts and the cutting of the cake the party slowed down as guests stood around the lawn in the balmy evening air.
“Ah, so there you are, Mrs. Sullivan.” Mr. Wilkie came up to me. “Come for a stroll with me and show me those lovely rosebushes.”
We walked across the lawn together.
“You know, I can’t see you settling down to domestic bliss,” he said.
“I’m going to have to learn how to,” I replied.
He leaned closer to me. “When you come back from the honeymoon,” he said in a low voice, “there’s a little job I’d like you to do for me. Oh, and no need to mention it to Daniel.” He put his finger to his lips and moved back into the crowd, leaving me staring after him.
“Ah, there you are,” Daniel called, coming toward me. “I thought you’d run away from me already.” He put his arm around my waist. “They all seem to be having a good time, don’t they?”
I nodded. “Your mother has done a wonderful job. It’s magnificent, Daniel.”
“Let’s leave them to it. I think it’s time you and I slipped away together, don’t you?” he murmured.
He took my hand and led me back toward the house.
HISTORICAL NOTE
Everything I have written about Chinatown in 1903 is accurate, including Chuck Connors’s slumming tours, the overzealous missionaries, the opium dens, and the lack of Chinese women. Congress passed the Exclusion Act in 1884, hoping to drive those Chinese who had come for the Gold Rush and the building of the railways back to their homeland. The act decreed they could never become citizens, even if born here. They could not bring over their wives and families (certain rich merchants got around this). However, in the Census of 1900 there were over three thousand men living in Chinatown and only thirty women. Of course there could have been more women, including the small-foot wives hidden away, and there were definitely Chinese prostitutes in the brothels on the Bowery.
In spite of the Chinese being sober and hardworking, they were universally mistrusted and considered to be a threat. Misconceptions about their customs and lifestyle continued well into the century, which is why Chinatowns have endured for so long.
Also by Rhys Bowen
The Molly Murphy Mysteries
The Last Illusion
In a Gilded Cage
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden
In Dublin’s Fair City
Oh Danny Boy
In Like Flynn
For the Love of Mike
Death of Riley
Murphy’s Law
The Constable Evans Mysteries
Evanly Bodies
Evan Blessed
Evan’s Gate
Evan Only Knows
Evans to Betsy
Evan Can Wait
Evan and Elle
Evanly Choirs
Evan Help Us
Evans Above
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BLESS THE BRIDE.
Copyright © 2011 by Rhys Bowen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bowen, Rhys.
Bless the bride / Rhys Bowen.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-62810-9 (alk. paper)
1. Murphy, Molly (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women private investigators—Fiction. 3. Irish American women—Fiction. 4. Missing persons—Investigation—Fiction. 5. New York (N.Y.)—History—1898–1951—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6052.O848B57 2011
823'.914—dc22
2010040697
First Edition: March 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-6739-6
First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: March 2011