All the Tea in China (33 page)

Again they nodded, Fragrance with them this time. Some of them actually looked relieved. Uncle Toby had been an easygoing man, but once or twice over the years, I had seen him speak sternly with an indifferent servant, and both had always been the better for it.

“You may go about your work,” I said, then before they dispersed, I called them to attention. “One more thing: on behalf of my husband and myself, thank you for your faithfulness to Madame Wong. Now you may go.”

They bowed politely, and I saw not a trace of disrespect in their posture. They had all been with the Wong family for many years, and I was relieved to see that they did not appear on the verge of mutiny after all; they simply desired reassurance of a firm hand in control.

I would like to say that Nai Nai shared their desire, but unfortunately, her opinion took an opposite tack. Later that day the opium seemed to have worn off, and she actually sought me out in my room, Fragrance apparently having informed her that the drug had been destroyed.

Nai Nai threw open my door, her eyes hard as unburned coal. “Why have you usurped my authority?”

I rose from the chair, where I had been trying to embroider. “You are not yourself, Nai Nai. Someone needed to—”

A scream sounded throughout the house, followed by the sound of shouts and running feet. Fragrance, white as death, pushed an equally frightened-looking Little Sister into my room. “I am sorry,” she said, bowing quickly at both Nai Nai and me. “My betrothed has sent evil men to this house. They are wrecking everything, and I fear they intend damage to us as well!”

Nai Nai shrieked, leveling accusing eyes at me. “You did this! Now we will all pay.”

Little Sister cried. Fragrance wailed as well. I could scarcely think from all the noise and my pounding heart, but calmness took over. “Stay in here and block the door after I leave,” I commanded.

“That is good. Let them have yourself,” Nai Nai said, her voice bitter.

Ignoring her, I opened Phineas’s trunk and withdrew the sword. I released it from the leather wrap and prepared to do battle, if necessary.

15

The sword was heavier than I remembered, and I had to carry it with both hands as I ran down the hall. Oh, how I longed for the inexpressibles Phineas had given me to practice in, for my flowing skirts did nothing to aid my progress toward the vandals. I could already hear them throwing ceramics and smashing wood.

Three men were in the main room, hard at work destroying the Wongs’ home. They wore their hair long and loose instead of in neatly bound queues and wore peasant clothing. The chess set Little Sister and I enjoyed lay scattered against the far wall. Vases were smashed against walls, camellias and peonies crushed underfoot, water soaking the floor. These were pirates as surely as the French privateers we had encountered in the Indian Ocean, and my anger boiled.

“What do you think you are doing?”

They stopped as they were. One held a large ginger vase over his head, another held the remains of a smashed chair, and the third stood with a knife plunged into one of Nai Nai’s beautiful embroidered pillows. Taken by surprise, they watched me for a moment, obviously perplexed to see a British woman in Chinese clothing holding a very old sword.

The one with the knife smiled. He left the blade plunged into the cushion and straightened. “Go cower, little girl. Then maybe we won’t hurt you.”

“It is you who should leave, and maybe I won’t hurt
you
,” I said in a low voice.

The three bandits looked at one another then burst into laughter.

Narrowing my eyes, I sliced the air with the sword several times, then neatly cut a candle in two to emphasize my resolve. “Leave Madame Wong’s house!”

Scowling, the man retrieved his knife from the cushion. “This is your last chance, foolish girl. I am not afraid to use this if I must.”

I pointed the sword at him. “Neither am I.”

He nodded to his two companions, who started toward me. I waited for them to come closer, for I had learned that the strength of martial arts was to use your opponent’s own
hei
—energy—against himself. And after all, it was fools who rushed in, though I confess I prayed heartily for angels to do some mighty treading on my behalf.

These two had no weapons, so I would only use the sword if necessary for my defense. The first man, who was large and doughy, did not know martial arts at all, for he came at me slowly, hands out, as though he expected me to surrender the sword. I could easily have inflicted much pain, but I settled for cuffing him on the side of the head with the flat edge of the sword’s blade. While he was distracted, I feinted toward the second man as though to plunge the sword into his heart, then neatly employed the leg sweep Phineas had used on me just weeks ago. The man fell to the floor with a thud, and I stood over him with the point of my sword at his throat. “Get out.”

“Drop your sword.”

The point of the knife touched my own throat, and the bandit’s left arm encircled me, pinning me fast. I could feel his hot breath on my neck, and I chided myself for not considering his presence. I hesitated, gathering my wits. Phineas was not here to save me this time, as aboard ship.

“Drop it now!” The knife tip pierced my skin, and I felt a trickle of blood.

Phineas’s training returned to me instinctively. I jabbed my right elbow into the miscreant’s ribs and stomped on his instep as hard as I could with my heel. For good measure, I punched him in the groin, and he screamed with pain. The knife clattered to the ground, and he released me, cursing. I whirled out of reach and swept the sword from side to side, covering the intruders. I kicked the knife across the room, where Nai Nai—to my shock—retrieved it. Little Sister and Fragrance cowered behind her, but I turned my attention to the bandits.

“You came here to harm us, but you have not succeeded,” I said. “Go back to Chow Wah and tell him that Madame Wong no longer desires to purchase what he sells. I will be lenient toward you this time, but next time you will not be so fortunate.”

I stepped backward and pointed the sword toward the door. “Now leave!”

The bandits scrambled to their feet and hurried toward the door. I followed to make sure they had truly left, laughing to myself as I saw them run through the gate and down the street without glancing back. I reentered the home and shut the door firmly. “Good riddance,” I could not help muttering, feeling pleased.

When I surveyed the damage they had wrought, however, my heart no longer laughed. Nai Nai’s beautiful home was in shambles. The servants had come out of hiding, and they stumbled through the mess, weeping and moaning.

“There, there, it is over,” I said, comforting them one at a time. “Let us pick up this mess together and forget what happened. All of these things can be replaced, and we are safe.”

Little Sister rushed to me, her face shining. “You were so brave, Eldest Sister-in-law. I cannot believe you fought those men . . . and won!”

Nai Nai still stood with the knife in her hand, apparently in shock. Blinking, she let it clatter to the floor, and she stared at my hands. “What is that you hold?”

I held out the sword, flat, and presented it to her with a bow. I had no right to keep it when she did not accept me into the family. I hoped that Phineas would not be angry. “I am certain you recognize this, Nai Nai, for it belongs to your family. Your son gave it to me, but perhaps it should return to you.”

She stared at it a moment, and her gaze jumped to mine. Her eyes flickered with admiration then shuttered again. She turned away. “What would I want with such an old thing?”

Relieved, I gripped the hilt of the sword for a moment then set it aside. I wanted to hug Nai Nai—indeed, I moved forward on impulse to do so—but I stopped short at the last minute. “You understand why these men were here?”

She nodded, no trace of regret in her expression. It seemed likely she would never acknowledge the danger she had placed us all in.

“You must stop smoking opium,” I said. “I understand it may be difficult, but Fragrance and I will help you.” I lowered my voice, glancing at Little Sister, who was sobbing over the scattered chess set. “I pray that we may keep her from learning the truth just yet, for she is too young to be so burdened.”

Nai Nai gave me a slight bow in agreement—surely, not deference!—and shuffled to comfort her daughter. I watched them together, gaining a tender glimpse of Nai Nai that I seldom saw. She usually looked to Phineas for support, but with Little Sister, she allowed herself to be the one to reassure. She had a gentle side yet!

I clapped my hands to gain everyone’s attention. The servants stopped crying and looked to me for guidance. “We must all work together to clean this mess,” I said, excusing the cook to prepare something special for dinner. It would help our moods if we had a festive meal to reward our efforts. Fragrance I took to one side. She admitted that the bandits had forced their way through the door and that she would never have allowed them admittance otherwise. If I wanted her to leave, she was prepared to pack her bags.

I put my hand on her shoulder. She was but a little older than I, and I wondered if she had the same pressure to marry as ladies our age in Britain. Perhaps the notion of being a servant to Nai Nai and her family for the rest of her life frightened her. Yet perhaps the alternative frightened her more. “I do not believe you meant any harm to come to anyone in this household,” I said. “If you promise to have nothing to do with Chow Wah anymore, you may stay.”

She nodded, her face tearful but joyful to learn that I did not plan to put her out on the street. “Madame Wong will need our help in the coming days if she is to rid herself of the poison in her body,” I whispered. “Have you any experience with such?”

She nodded, whispering back, “Yes, Madame, and I will be there to help. I do not think that Madame Wong has taken so much opium that she will have physical problems, but she will crave it all the same.” Without being told, she moved immediately to help the other servants dispose of the shattered ceramics and roll up the damaged rugs for cleaning.

I picked up the sword and carried it back to my room, rewrapping it in the leather. I thanked God for his protection and that I had not had to hurt anyone beyond what was necessary to protect the household. If there was one thing I had learned from Phineas’s stories about Wo-Ping and Mei, it was that warriors stood firm.

I smiled. Wouldn’t the three bandits have been surprised if I had run up the walls or floated to the ceiling as they did in Phineas’s story—and in Chinese folklore? Perhaps the bandits would spread the word that Nai Nai’s house was supernaturally guarded. Indeed, I had certainly felt it so.

With the sword tucked back in Phineas’s trunk, I lingered in my room for a moment. I needed to rejoin the others to help, but I also needed time alone. I could do little but bow my head in thanks, which led to fervent prayers for Phineas’s safety. No doubt the dangers that lurked between Canton and the mountains in Hupei were greater than the three bandits who had visited us today.

We had just enough time to put the house back to some sort of rights, but late that evening I was awakened by Fragrance. “The desire for the drug is upon Madame Wong,” she said after apologizing for awakening me. “She will suffer now for a while until she is free from its hold. I thought you might want to be with her.”

I certainly did not! Like most sheep, I yearned for peaceful green pastures and crystal blue waters, knowing that my loving Shepherd guarded me. But my Savior did not want me to live a fat and lazy life, and after all, he had called me specifically to this region, perhaps for this very purpose. “Thank you, Fragrance. Please make her comfortable, and I will be right there.”

I opened Phineas’s trunk yet again and retrieved the original Chinese translation of the Gospel According to St. Luke that Phineas had given me so long ago. I did not know of what use it would be, as I would be more likely required to tend physical needs, but it felt good to hold.

Nai Nai paced the rug in her room, turning abruptly when I entered. “I do not want those horrid men back in my home, but I must have some opium. You must see that, even though you are a particularly stupid girl.”

“I know what you want, but it is not what you need. I have been told that you will go through a time when you crave the drug, but if you will resist its pull, you will be free. I am certain you want that.”

She laughed. “Why would I? I was happy under its spell. If you foreigners have done anything useful for China, it is bringing this wonderful drug.”

She must not venture forth very often or far, or she would
see the results it has wrought.
“Nai Nai, your son has gone to the Hupei Province to find something that would stop those who bring this drug into China. It is for people like you that he is willing to risk his own life to travel so far.” I paused, uncertain how much she would believe. “I want to help, as well.”

“You? What can you do?”

I smiled. “Once when I was afraid, your son told me many stories about China. They prevented me from worry and helped me to sleep at night.”

She sighed, clasping and unclasping her hands nervously, then lay down on her bed. “I know all the old stories. What new ones can you tell?”

I held out the Gospel According to St. Luke so that she could see Chinese characters. “I will read to you from this.” I pulled a chair beside the bed and began. “‘Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us . . .’”

It took several days and nights for Nai Nai to feel settled again, by which I mean she stopped talking about opium. Fragrance whispered her thankfulness that her mistress had been spared the physical withdrawal symptoms of the drug—nausea, chills, fever, and sweating—but I knew Nai Nai would fight the mental desire much longer. I tried to encourage her to take an interest in Little Sister, but she seemed ashamed somehow, though we had all managed to keep the truth from the girl.

My thoughts turned to Phineas, as always, and I found myself frequently gazing at the jade wedding ring he had placed on my finger not so long ago. I remembered our conversation about Naomi and Ruth. What, particularly, had Ruth done for her mother-in-law, other than to travel to her homeland? Surely she had not stumbled over Scripture in her mother-in-law’s native language, as I did with Nai Nai. How she laughed at my stumblings and fumblings as I tried to read my own poor copy of Robert Morrison’s original. My ears burned at such times, but I continued to read until she asked me to cease. Other times, I was delighted with how long she suffered my reading, as though she were absorbed with the story.