Burning Tigress (42 page)

"We traveled in disguise," continued Ken Jin. "For safety." So forceful was his statement that Charlotte believed him, even knowing that it was a lie.

"Foreign thinking," the brother spat. "Honest Chinese have no need to hide themselves—"

"Are we to stand out here like strangers speaking politics? Or do you invite us in as family?"

Again, Gao Jin pulled back. Apparently he wasn't used to being reprimanded. "Your associations do you no credit," he snarled. Then he frowned. "What is she? A gift to the Emperor? I can tell you that Heaven's son has no perversions such as yours. He will as likely have her killed as—"

"She is no gift!" Finally Ken Jin's temper showed. He even advanced a furious step toward his brother, far enough that Charlotte put out a restraining hand. She had no wish for fisticuffs here.

"Perhaps I should go," she began, though she had no idea where she could possibly go in Peking dressed like this and without money.

"You will stay, Miss Charlotte," Ken Jin said firmly as he stared at his brother. "Stay and be treated as the honored guests we are." Then he let his gaze travel across the expensive carvings adorning the outer courtyard, the ornamental lanterns painted in red and gold, and the hanging tai shan plaque to repel bad fortune. All of it added up to money that no doubt had come from Ken Jin. She sincerely doubted a eunuch had managed to accumulate so much wealth. "Unless my godson wishes to end his relationship with me," Ken Jin drawled. "You have only to say the word—"

"Nonsense! Nonsense!" returned Gao Jin. "Don't be so polite. My son adores you! He was only taken by surprise, is all. Understandable, given your appearance. He is but a child, of course. Come in, come in."

Then he draped one fleshy arm across Ken Jin and steered him up the stairs to the guests' entrance hall. Charlotte had no choice but to trail behind. It felt a little like walking open-eyed into a den of thieves. She half expected some servant to leap out of the shadows and plunge a dagger into Ken Jin's heart—or her own, which was much more likely.

But her only concern was to protect Ken Jin. It was a ridiculous thought. He was more than capable of handling a greedy sycophant. Wealthy First Boys often had to push away hangers-on, women after their money, or simple beggars looking for a handout. She'd seen him gently push aside a dozen or more on any given outing.

Except, of course, Gao Jin was no simple leech. He was a brother. Worse, he was the brother tricked into becoming a eunuch. If Ken Jin had an Achilles' heel, it was right here in this fat, bigoted, pudding-faced devil of a brother. And so Charlotte had no intention of leaving Ken Jin's side, no matter how many social niceties she trampled.

She trailed behind the two men as they crossed into the inner courtyard. She had a quick impression of a rather sad locus tree lost amid a dozen toys. Then Gao Jin snapped his fingers at a maid and spoke in rapid Mandarin, the words flowing much too fast for her to follow. Soon he was bellowing again to his wife and son, snapping his fingers while people scampered all around. Within moments, his son was bowing before Ken Jin, his mulish attitude cowed by his father's fist. The wife hung behind, anxiously fluttering about her child. And then Charlotte felt a nervous tug at her sleeve. She turned to see a frightened maid bowing before her.

"Please come," the girl said in very slow Chinese.

Charlotte smiled and shook her head, trying her best to refuse politely. She wasn't going anywhere without Ken Jin. The maid nodded and bowed more vigorously. Her smile widened with obvious urgency as she gestured to the side. "Please come."

"No, I'm fine here," she said in Chinese.

The woman's eyes widened in shock. Clearly she hadn't thought Charlotte spoke Mandarin, but Ken Jin had been teaching her the dialect along the road. Given her base in Shanghai dialect, Charlotte had become almost fluent.

"I will stay here—" she began, but the maid cut her off.

"Bath. Clothes. Come see." She spoke as if she were tempting a child with treats, but Charlotte just shook her head. As much as she wanted those things, she wasn't about to let them separate her from Ken Jin.

"Yes, you come."

"No, I stay."

"Bath very good."

"I will stay here—"

Ken Jin's voice interrupted her. "Is there a problem, Miss Charlotte?"

Charlotte started, instinctively feeling guilty for drawing attention to the little argument. She opened her mouth to respond, but Gao Jin answered for her.

"She's just feeling anxious about a bath. You know how the ghosts fear water."

"I am not afraid of water," Charlotte snapped, then immediately regretted her unruly tongue. Women did not speak in this culture. Certainly not with that tone, and not to the master of the household.

Fortunately, Ken Jin smiled as if she had just discovered gold. "An excellent suggestion. It has been a long trip. Baths with oil, fresh clothing, and sweet melons while we wait." He grinned at his brother. "You are the most excellent of hosts."

He extended his arm to her in the most courtly of manners. "Please allow me to escort you to our chambers, Miss Charlotte." He glanced at his brother. "You have a most efficient staff. I am sure we will be excellently pleased by our service."

Gao Jin looked like he was not in the least bit pleased, but he forced a smile nonetheless. "You are too polite. Go rest. I will see to everything."

So Ken Jin and Charlotte strolled off to the guest quarters, while behind them Gao Jin started bellowing orders to a frantic and obviously inefficient staff.

Self-Care for Emotional Numbness: With your knees bent and your eyes closed, practice long, deep breathing as you very slowly roll up and down over tennis balls that press into B36, B37, and B38, three spots between the shoulder blades and spine. Meanwhile, press in slowly and hold CV12 (midway between your navel and the base of your rib cage).

Acupressure for Emotional Healing

Michael Gach, Ph. D., Beth Henning, Diplp, ABT

Chapter 17

"Well that was excruciating."

Ken Jin heard Charlotte's muttered words even though her voice was low and muffled. Odd, that he could, especially since he stood in her bedroom doorway and she had dropped facedown onto her small bed. But then again, he now was so tuned to her that he heard everything about her.

He'd heard her argue with the maid who wanted to take her off to the servants' quarters. He'd listened to the splash of her bathwater and her hiss of disgust at the cheap clothing his brother had given her to wear. And he'd noticed her every shift and stifled curse as she'd held her tongue all through dinner and evening chatter.

In truth, he was quite proud of her restraint. He doubted his brother realized the depths of her hatred of him and his family. Gao Jin likely dismissed her as a ghost barbarian too stupid to understand the petty slights he had inflicted upon her all evening. But she had known. And she'd held her tongue, though it cost her three broken nails and his brother two pairs of chopsticks that she'd snapped in fury.

He stepped into her room. How he cherished her for her self-control. "I am sorry you were subjected to that," he said.

She lifted her head to stare at him. "Me? Pfff." Her hair lifted off her face with the force of her exhalation. "But you, Ken Jin—how can you stand it? He's terrible to you."

She pushed up to a sitting position, and he crossed to her side. "He is a eunuch, Char. I have cost him everything a man wants."

"Horseshit. He's got a wife. He's got a son. You're supporting them. He's got everything, and they don't even have the decency to say thank you." She leaned toward him.

"He is a
eunuch.
Do you not understand—"

She cursed and rolled her eyes. He was startled enough by her expletive, but then she continued with no restraint at all. "He's got everything, Ken Jin, and you have nothing!"

"He deserved—"

"Nothing! Bloody hell, no one should become a eunuch. No one! But
you
can't keep paying. You can't..." Her voice trailed off. Then, "Ken Jin?"

He opened his eyes. He hadn't even realized he'd shut them. And once he looked at her, he noticed that she gripped his hands and yet he barely even felt it. His entire body was numb. "Yes, Char?" he asked.

She sighed, her entire body drooping. "At least you didn't call me Miss Charlotte."

He frowned, and she groaned.

"You've gone all formal on me again. It's what you do when you don't want to deal with me. You think I don't know it, but I do. You're tired of this argument and want me to just shut up."

It wasn't a question, but he answered it anyway. "You are my dearest friend." Odd, how the words flowed easily now when a few short weeks ago he couldn't have imagined thinking it, much less saying it aloud.

She moved her hands, but he had to look down to see that she caressed his arm. "I want to help, Ken Jin. I can't stand seeing you like this."

He tilted his head. "I don't understand."

She laughed—a short explosion of sound that had nothing to do with humor. "You
do
understand, but you've cut yourself off. I watched it happen, you know. I watched all evening while Gao Jin picked at you and insulted you. He offered you the best food like a guest, then pitied your lost years toiling for the barbarians. He waved his finery in front of your nose without acknowledging that you paid for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he spit in the wine he gave you. I know he did mine."

He flinched. "What?"

She waved it away. "I didn't drink it. Didn't eat much either, because I'm sure it was dog meat."

He'd noticed that she hadn't eaten, but thought she was bowing to the custom of women not eating with men. "You saw this?"

She sighed as she stared at him. Never had she appeared more defeated. "I saw. I felt. I cried... for you. Ken Jin, how can you think you owe that man anything? His son spit at you. No, wait. He's
your
son."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, yes," she said as she pushed to her feet and paced about the small chamber. "I know that legally he's your brother's, but you..." She swallowed, clearly struggling with the concept. "You did the deed on the wedding night."