Page 86 of The Cinders
‘You are not fine,’ Lim huffed.‘I shouldn’t have brought you out here, its cooler than I expected, but I thought the sunlight and fresh air may help.’
‘I’m not cold, honestly.How long have we been out here?’
Lim was likely feeling the cold thanks to Xian drenching his clothing in tears.
‘Not long.’Lim shifted on the curve of the seat to face Xian more fully.
‘I must thank you, Lim, for enduring my outburst so well.’He gestured meekly towards the damp mark upon the shoemaker’s jacket.‘I’m sorry for…that.’
‘What?’Lim made a show of peering down at himself.‘Are your tears full of squid ink that I’ll never remove?’
‘Of course not, I just meant—’
‘Xian, you do not need to thank me for simply acting as a friend would.It’s insulting, if I’m truly honest.’
Xian smiled, relieved to do something other than cry; the shoemaker remained exactly as blunt as he recalled.
‘I would never seek to insult you.’Feeling brave and foolish, he pushed on.‘I’ve not had many friends, Lim.Certainly none like you, who would travel so far, with a bewitched slipper, so they might find me.But I wonder, if I tell you all there is to tell, whether you shall wish you’d never been compelled to lift that shoe from the pond.’
That wiped all the teasing delight from Lim’s face.
‘Why do you say such things?’He got to his feet, the slipper on the seat beside where he’d rested.Xian did not recall when he’d let it go, but his heart ached all over again to see Mercy’s scales set amongst the gleaming beauty.‘And I was notcompelled,damn it.I told you, I did not need any enchantment to encourage me to follow you.What do you wish to tell me that has you so certain I shall run away screaming the moment its said?’
Xian opened his mouth, and closed it again, toying with the edge of his sleeve, conscious of the slight weight of the slipper still hidden within.
Lim turned away, huffing his unhappiness, but not forcing anything further from Xian.He folded his arms, pacing the short length of the rounded pavilion; which overlooked a walled garden, carpeted in bobbing yellow and white narcissus blooms, with a water feature at its centre.Master Chen’s passion for the gods was evident here too, withAo Qin, Dragon King of the South Sea, rising from an enormous bowl of polished brass, the water spilling from between his pointed teeth.
Xian touched his damp nose with the inner lining of his sleeve, as much to wipe it whilst Lim’s back was turned, as to have some reprieve from the narcissus flower’s heady, animalic scent.
‘How did you find me.’Lim stood gazing out at the flowing water.‘You came alone.No one guided you.’
Xian lowered the sleeve.‘There was a flower woman, she told me of your troubles, and pointed me in the right direction.’He hadn’t lied; simply hadn’t told the whole truth.But blurting out that he’d smelled his way to the shoemaker did not appeal.
Lim glanced over his shoulder.‘Mai?Was she tending the flowers at your window?’
‘No, I found her by her cart.How did you know I had flowers?’
He turned, leaning against the forest green railing; red lanterns swinging above his head.‘I saw your room…I saw you at the window.You found her cart?’
‘You found my room?’Xian frowned.‘That means you were in the inner courtyard.Why did you not ask to be shown to me…or call to me?’
Lim laughed shortly.‘Because I would have been thrown out on my ear sooner than I was about to be…before Chen stepped in.I wasn’t supposed to be where I was, and thought I was done for when the Englishman found me.I was lucky all he took was my bucket of lotus seeds.’He glanced over Xian’s shoulder.‘Chen will not like seeing those shackles on the floor when he returns, curses or not.Xian, we need to—’
‘Englishman?’A prickle of anticipation ran beneath Xian’s skin.‘Lotus seeds?’
‘Xian, we need to discuss your departure from this place—’
‘Please, Lim.Tell me of the Englishman.’
With a frown, Lim complied.‘Green eyes, very pink mouth.Pretty, much as a woman might be, though vulgar as a boatman.’
‘Sir William.’Xian’s pulse galloped.‘Did he say anything of me?’
‘William, that’s what the woman called him.Yes.He spoke of you…that’s right.’Lim was frowning again; Xian seemed to cause him to do that far too much.‘I had forgotten with all that’s gone on.He seemed to know you.’Lim’s gaze shifted to the floor, and he crossed his arms over his chest.A move Xian was learning denoted his unease.‘And knew of me…somehow, too.’
‘What did he say?’Xian leaned to retrieve the slipper from the seat, needing the comfort of its scales in his hand.
‘A few things,’ Lim said.‘Strange things, very strange man…he might have been drunk.’