The Frenchman's Revenge (41 page)

“
Hmm, some are
. B
ut some are dark, dangerous
,
and horribly wicked
.”

“
I have heard
it whispered that
wicked can be good
.
”

“
Or bad.
Very
,
very good or very
,
very bad
.
However
, my
curious
little maiden
,
the best ones are both.
”

“I wish
I wasn’t just a
simple
little chamber maid
,
because then the mighty war
rior
might choose me to be his bride.
”

“
Are you wicked?
”

“
My lover says he has never seen a more wicked innocent
.”

“
Ah
, the
ultimate aphrodisiac.
A chaste innocent
exterior
and a
wicked
wanton
interior.
May
I
suggest how to
make
it
more likely
the warlord will notice you
?
”

“
Please
,
sir
,
anything that will make me less plain and ordinary
.”

“
Wear
virginal
white on the
outside
, but
underneath
wear bright whore
’s red.”

“
Hmm
.
He must be a Chinese warlord
.
I understand you are to wear red at a
Chinese wedding.”

“
Yes
,
but
for you my little chamber maid, virginal white on the outside and a tempting t
ouch
of the blood red fire inside.
”

“
W
ill
a red lace garter do?
”

“
Ah
oui
,
bright
red
,
high
up on your
pale
naked thigh
.”

“
But how will he see it
?”

“
This is
where your creativity will be tested
. A
t some point during the evening
,
you need to place that garter
on his person
where no one else can see it
.”

“
But how will he know it is mine?
”

“
Ah
,
ma petite
,
here is the wicked part
. Y
ou must first rub it up against your aroused sex
,
imparting the delightful
smell
that is yours and yours alone
.”

“
What if he doesn’t recognize the smell?
”

“Hmm, you are an innocent child. If you are meant to be his women, that smell was imprinted in his soul many lifetimes ago. And he will know from your scent alone that he has found his mate.”

Elena
smiled and her
eyes
gleamed
with tears of joy.
She touched her finger to her lips and then to his and hopped out of bed
to
d
ress
.
When she was dressed
,
she
stood for a moment
in the
doorway
. With
a saucy grin
she
curtsied to Bai
.

“
Thank you
for your advice,
my lord.
I must go to my duties
.
Wish me luck
!”

He
nodded
,
a stern frown crossed his face.

“
Remember
,
virginal white on the outside
, whore’s
red
underneath.”

“
Oh,
I pray the warlord picks me
.”

Bai
grinned
,
hearing Elena’s
luscious laughter as she
ran
through
the courtyard
.

He chuckled and muttered,
“
Like the
poor bastard
ha
s
a ch
oice
.”

~~~

Elena met with
L
ei
and Madam Quing
and her six
lead servants
to
review
the
plans
for the day one last time.
Lei shooed her off to the infirmary
,
insisting that she and Madam Qui
ng
had everything under control.

“
Remember
,
sweetheart
,
this
is what mothers get to do.
Boss everyone around and ensure that their gorgeous daughte
r
ha
s
the most spectacular wedding possible.
Now
,
I must say, most brides
d
on’t spend the better part of the
ir wedding day working
,
but then,
Elena
,
you are not most brides.
”

“
Oh
,
L
ei, I
didn’t know I could be this excited
.
I love Bai so m
uch
.
Do you
have
any idea how much I love him
?”

“
My darling
,
your eyes alone could light a dark night
you
are glowing with such happiness.
And Elena I
do
understand
.
I love your father as
intensely
as you love Bai.
Never doubt
it;
w
e are profoundly lucky women
,
Elena.
”

“
Lei,
thank you for being my mother.
I truly am the luckiest woman alive.
”
“
Thank you
,
love
.
Now run along and make those girls gorgeous.
”

Elena dashed off and
Lei
and
M
adam
Qui
ng
sho
o
k their heads
at
the
barefoot
red haired
sprite
running down the path.
Only Elena would
forget her shoes
on
her wedding day
!

Lei and Madam
Qui
ng
turned with a
vengeance
to
implement
months of
planning
.
The
wedding would be spectacular. While Bai had chosen
to
align
himself
primarily
with his
Chinese
heritage
,
as with everything
in his life
,
Bai had created his own
eclectic
cultural
take.
Fortunately
,
Lei and Wyatt had raised Elena
with
much the same ecumenical approach to religion and
culture
.
The consistent
element in all of their lives was their adherence to the
physical and spiritual
principles
of
k
ung
f
u
.

The
marriage
ritual
in the tr
aditional Chinese wedding
was
a
simple
three
part tea
ceremony
acknowledg
ing
the
gods of heaven and earth,
of
ancestors and family.
No formal vows were exchanged.
But t
he
gala
that
came after
the ceremony was anything but simple. Madam Qui
ng and
her cooks had created a
n
extraordinary
twelve course feast w
ith all the traditional wedding
foods
,
as
well as
Elena’s
and Bai’s favorites.
French
champagne
, imported brandies
,
cognacs
,
and
the finest wines from their vineyards would
accompany the sumptuous food.

Because the guests were also the servants and
workmen at the
v
illa, Bai and Elena had hi
red staff from two o
f the largest
hotels
in
S
an Francisco to
manage
the final dinner
preparation
s
,
so that
the servants at the complex
could
attend the celebration.

Nianzu and Quitin
were in charge of
the
entertainment.
A talented group of
Sing Leon
fighters had been practicing for weeks
on
what was sure to be the most spectacular
event
of the
evening --
the traditional
k
u
ng
f
u Lion Dance.
Rarely seen
except
at major festivals and
parades, the
colorful costumes, music
,
and acrobatic finesse of the performers, the
L
ion
D
ance was a feast for the senses
.
Bai and Elena
requested
the traditional dance
t
o reward their guest
s
, immigrant Chinese who missed the traditional ceremonies of
t
heir
youth
and
the
young
girls
who
had been born in
C
hina and forcibly brought to America.
The party tonight would be a special treat for
the
children
wrenched
in
hideous
way
s
from
all they had known and loved
,
and for the others who had
come by choice
to a new and unwelcoming country.
To surprise
Bai and Elena
, the
Sing
L
eon warriors had
prepared
a
virtuoso
p
erformance
of
k
un
g
f
u artistry
based on the famous five animal
styles
of the Shaolin warriors
, a presentation
th
at was sure to amaze and delight the audience.

By the time the hotel staffs
had taken
charge
and
sent
the
v
illa residents off to
dress
for the evening, the courtyards were ablaze with lanterns
and hundreds of flaming torches.
The smell of succulent roasting meats and fish and the sweet cloying odor of dumplings and
lotus paste
filled the
air. The
dining tables surrounding the courtyard were lavishly decorated with r
ed
ribbons
,
bright red
roses
,
and
sweet smelling
candles.
Traditionally
,
wedding guests
gave
red envelopes
stuffed with money to the
brid
e
and groom
,
but Bai had turned this tradition on its head
. A
t every
place setting was
a red envelop
e
for each of the guests
with
a generous
monetary
gift
from the bride and groom
.