Page 63 of The Cinders
She reached the Englishman, William, and sought to touch at the bucket, only to be met with a slap upon her wrist and a curt admonishment.
‘Don’t think to take a single one, you cow.’
‘Watch your mouth,’ she called him something Lim could not decipher, ‘I’m a bloody lady, don’t you know?’
William’s laugh was succinct and dismissive.‘Someone only told you that to get you on your back.’
The woman suddenly turned and looked at him, eyeing him up and down in such a way that Lim took a quick look at himself to ensure his clothing lay correctly.She turned to William.‘Have you been fucking the peasants again?’She said it in a staged whisper, drawing nervous glances from the attendant, who was wide-eyed with confusion.Lim suspected she couldn’t understand a word of the conversation, and he thought her lucky for such ignorance.‘He’s handsome enough, but darling must you be out here where the air smells like mackerel that have been left in the sun too long?’
They strolled as they talked, moving out of the shadows where Lim stood and into the sunshine.Carrying the bucket that Ren had been so insistent Lim keep hold of.
‘Wait!’he said in a hissed whisper.‘Those are mine.You cannot take them all.’
William dismissed him with a limp wave over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around.‘Carry on there, shoemaker.You have more interesting endeavours to attend to.Go on, seek your heart’s desire, but find him before the clocks strike midnight…or you may miss your chance.’
The lady’s laughter scattered like sparrows, rising just as high.‘I adore when you play at being wonderfully dramatic, William.’
Lim scowled at their backs but dared not call out.‘What is he talking about?What shall happen at midnight?’
The lady and gentleman carried on at a decent pace, and Lady Margaret exclaimed in delight, ‘How delicious!’
‘The tastiest thing you’ve had in your mouth all week, I bet.’
Lim eyed the low fence, thinking how easy it would be to leap over and race to snatch back his bucket.But he admonished himself.He was already inside the residence.Let the bucket and the odd Englishman with talk of midnight and heart’s desire be on his way.Lim had made it this far with barely anyone giving him a second glance.All this time speaking with the gentleman, it was as though they stood upon an island, alone, drawing no attention.
Lim glanced up at the window.He knew where Xian lived.Let that be his destination.
‘You there!What is your business?’The stern shout came from behind.Back down the alley, where Lim ought to be.A guard clad in a uniform—sky blue cross-fold jacket and trousers with white trim—pointed the very sharp tip of his spear, the gold tassel dangling from the base of the arrowhead shaking as he did.His shout had already drawn attention; workers passing by had halted, eager for distraction from their tasks, murmuring amongst themselves as they peered into the shadows of the thin corridor.Lim doubted they could even see him from where they stood out in the bright afternoon.The guard had been keen-eyed to spot him.
Lim raised his hands, his mind thinking up a storm of excuses.A storm his tongue couldn’t seem to handle, for he said, ‘Fine courtyard…lovely place, isn’t it?’
The guard shook his spear, sending the tassel swinging wildly.‘And no place for the likes of you.Step out.Now.’
So much for his whimsical idea of invisibility.Lim was plain to see, and an utter fool for letting that blasted bucket out of his possession.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE ANGEREDguard was joined by another man.Diminutive in stature but with a glare intense and wide as an owl.Hisnuanmaodenoted his status as a civil official; the hat with its wide upturned black brim and red thread-covered skullcap gave him a few extra inches in height.But this man was not high in the rankings of officials.Hisbufuwas a telltale green, with the surcoat embroidered with a pair of silver quails, revealing him to be at the very bottom of the hierarchy; an official of ninth rank, a minor clerk.
But that did nothing to soothe Lim.
‘Come forward, get out of the shadows.’The official’s lips were a thin line of impatience.‘Show us your token, or perhaps you’d prefer to be taken to Mandarin Feng’s cells?’
‘No, I would not prefer that.’Lim swallowed hard.It felt as though every eye in the residence was upon him now; a stark and frightening contrast to earlier when he’d felt like a ghost.
The laughter of the Lady Margaret and Sir William danced across the courtyard, distant now, but inspiring.
‘I brought lotus seeds for Sir William Black, a guest of Mandarin Feng’s.’He paused, wavering under the scrutiny.‘The gentleman had not tasted such delicacies in his own land and was curious.’He turned, sweeping a hand towards the courtyard.‘See for yourself, excellent master.He carries the bucket I brought for him.’Lim cast a furtive glance up to the window where he’d glimpsed Xian.The fabric hung in its frame, with no breeze to stir it, and no hand lifting it aside.A good thing; Lim had no wish for the prince to see him in such a predicament.
‘Then thatyang guizishould have brought his own servants to be ordered about.’The official named the Englishman a foreign devil with great zeal.‘He insults the Mandarin’s hospitality with his self-indulgences.You are weak, if you have allowed him to charm you, but you join many others in the residence who have succumbed.’His lips curled.‘I have not.Now present your token.’
This was not a man the Seven Maidens themselves could have charmed.Song Lim made his way down the narrow passageway slowly, whilst he tried to find an inch of a lie to tell.
‘Blast, I am a fool.My token is in that bucket.’Lim shrugged, secretly rather proud of himself for his quick thinking.‘Sir William insisted on taking it from me, and as I am a lowly man, unused to those of the West, I dared not deny him.I hope Master Ren does not anger at me for losing the bucket.’
The official’s thick brows twitched, like black worms sensing a bird nearby.‘Master Ren sent you?’He glanced at the young guard beside him, still with his spear pointed towards Lim.
‘I was not at the gates when he arrived, Master.’