The China Bride

her to spy upon the Europeans. Though she was ugly, too tall, and with huge unbound feet and the coarse features of her mixed blood, she was still a woman. But not to Chenqua, or to anyone in his household. To them she was known as Jin Kang, a freakish creature neither male nor female.

Suppressing her resentment, she bowed. 'Good morning, Uncle.'

He was dressed in a simple cotton tunic and trousers like hers, so he had come to practice two-person kung fu exercises with her. He lifted his arms into position to begin formalized sparring.

She pressed the backs of her arms and hands against his in the posture known as sticking hands. His skin was smooth and dry, and she felt the power of his chi energy pulsing between them. Though he was over sixty, he was taller than she, strong and very fit. One of her uses to him was that she was the only person in his household capable of giving him a good kung fu workout.

Slowly he circled his arms in the air. She maintained contact, sensing the flow of his chi so she could anticipate his movements. His pace quickened, becoming more difficult to follow. To a casual observer, they would have looked like partners in some obscure dance.

Chenqua attempted a sudden strike, but was unable to elude her blocking wrist. While he was off balance from the failed blow, she countered by lashing out with the heel of her hand. He deflected her punch so that it only clipped his shoulder. Once more their hands came together in a pattern of motions that looked formal and graceful, but concealed dynamic tension. Like two wary wolves, they tested each other.

'I have a new task for you, Jin Kang.'

'Yes, Uncle?' She made herself relax so that she felt rooted into the earth, impossible to knock from her feet.

'A new partner will be coming to Gavin Elliott's trading firm, a man called Maxwell. You must take special care with him.'

Troth's stomach tightened. 'Elliott is a civil man. Why should his partner be difficult?'

'Elliott is from the Beautiful Country. This Maxwell is English, and they are always more trouble than the other Fan-qui. Worse, he is a lord and surely arrogant. Such men are dangerous.' He tried again to break through her guard, without success.

She was fighting well today. Buoyed by the exercise, Troth made a request she had been considering for years: 'Uncle, may I be released from spying? I… I do not like the pretense.'

His dark brows arched. 'There is no harm in it. Since I and the other Cohong merchants are responsible for everything the foreign devils do, it is necessary for our safety to know their plans. They are unruly children, capable of causing trouble far beyond their comprehension. They must be watched and controlled.'

'But my life is a lie!' She lashed out at him but misjudged, giving Chenqua the opportunity to jab her upper arm. 'I hate pretending to be an interpreter while secretly listening to their private words and studying their papers.' Her father, as honest a Scot as had ever lived, would be appalled at her life.

'There is not another person in the world who is equally fluent in Chinese and English. Watching the Fan-qui is your duty.' Chenqua tried to shove her off balance.

Fluidly she evaded his movement, grabbing his arm and adding her own momentum to his. He fell, rolling onto the soft turf. Immediately she regretted her loss of control. Chenqua was very skilled, but she was better. Usually she took care not to overcome her master in the sparring.

He recovered and was on his feet swiftly, a spark in his dark eyes. Abandoning the sticking hands, he dropped into a watchful stance, slowly circling her and waiting for an opportunity to engage. 'I have fed you, housed you, given you privileges unlike those of any other female in my household. You owe me a daughter's gratitude and obedience.'

Her rebellion crumbled. 'Yes, Uncle.'

Distress had unbalanced her energy, so it was easy for him to punish her for forgetting her place. He feinted, then struck her with one hand and one foot together in a double blow that explosively combined strength and chi. She hit the ground with bruising force. Instead of instantly leaping up, she lay gasping for a moment, allowing him the victory. 'Forgive me for not thinking clearly, Uncle.'

Mollified, he said, 'You are only a woman. It is not to be expected that you should act with logic.'

Troth Montgomery, a Scotswoman, would dispute that. But Mei-Lian only bent her head in submission.

Chapter 2

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The final approach to Canton reminded Kyle of the port of London, only twenty times as crowded and fifty times more raucous. Foreign trading ships had to be moored a dozen miles downriver at Whampoa, with cargo and crew transported the final distance on a ship's boats. The vessel carrying Kyle and Gavin Elliott sliced boldly between giant lorchas and junks with huge eyes painted on their prows to watch for demons. Gangs of rowers sent some boats flying across the water, while others were propelled by paddle wheels turned by men on treadmills. Often collision seemed inevitable, but their craft always slid away in time.

A gaily decorated flower boat glided by, primped and pretty Chinese girls hanging over the railings as they called and beckoned to the Fan-qui with unmistakable gestures. 'Don't even think about going aboard a flower boat,' Gavin said dryly. 'They may be the most attractive brothels in the China seas, but they say that Europeans who sample the girls' wares are never seen again.'

'My interest was purely intellectual.' The statement was true. Though Kyle found the dark, slender women of the East very attractive, for the most part he'd been celibate during his years of travel. He had loved once, and when his desire for the touch and taste and scent of a woman overcame his better judgment, he was always reminded painfully of how inferior lust was to love.

Nonetheless, his gaze lingered on the girls until the flower boat disappeared behind a junk. It was easy to understand why many of the European traders who had homes in Macao kept Chinese concubines.

'There's the Settlement.'

Kyle turned to study the narrow, bustling strip of land between the river and the city walls that was the only place in China where foreigners were allowed. A row of structures lined the riverbank, European and American flags snapping in the wind overhead. These were the hongs, huge warehouses where the foreigners stored and shipped their wares, living on the upper floors during the months of the winter trading season. 'Strange to think that most of the West's tea comes through those warehouses.'

'A trade that creates enough wealth to make men kings.' Gavin squinted against the brilliant tropical sun. 'We've a reception committee waiting at the water gate. The fellow in the embroidered silk tunic is Chenqua.'

Kyle had heard of Chenqua, of course. The man was the chief merchant prince in Canton, perhaps the greatest in the world. Besides being head of the Cohong guild, he personally handled the affairs of Elliott House and several of the largest British and American trading companies. A spare man, tall for a Chinese, he had erect posture and a wispy, gray-streaked beard. His immense dignity was visible even across the water. 'How did he know that we were arriving? '

'Information flows down the river swifter than water. Chenqua knows everything that involves a Fan-qui trader. In fact, he has one of his spies with him.'

'Good Lord. Do the infamous Eight Regulations say that Europeans have to accept being spied on?'

'No, but I can't say that I blame Chenqua for wanting to keep an eye on us. You British lot are particularly rowdy, often breaking the regulations from sheer contrariness.'

'Don't blame me for the sins of my countrymen!'

Gavin grinned. 'I'll admit that you're fairly well behaved for an English lord. When you feel the urge to be outrageous, remember that Chenqua and the other merchants are the ones who will be punished for your sins. Heavy fines if they're lucky, and it's not impossible that they and their families could be arrested and tortured or strangled to pay for Fan-qui crimes.'

Kyle stared at him. 'You're not joking, are you? '