My Splendid Concubine (80 page)

A pain
stabbed deep into his guts, and he rubbed his stomach. He had no idea what he was going to do. Why couldn’t he be like his father and sit down daily with Ayaou and the children for supper? Clearly, he would never live the life he had once wanted. With every passing day, the fate of China seemed his responsibility and his alone. Why couldn’t this burden belong to someone else?

Robert returned to Shanghai to be with his family expecting that Horatio Lay would soon be sending him back to Canton where he would resume his old post. He almost welcomed the change. At least in Canton, the responsibilities would not be as daunting. There was also the possibility that Horatio would replace him with someone that would do as he was told, and Robert might get his old job in Ningpo back after all.

He wondered how long he would have to wait before the orders arrived sending him south? Should he tell Guan-jiah to start packing for the return
trip to Canton? If that happened, at least he would have time to read and discuss Chinese poetry with Ayaou.

On November 29, Robert was surprised when he received word from Prince Kung that Horatio had been officially dismissed by the Yamen from his position. He was no longer inspector general, and Prince Kung wanted Robert to take Horatio’s place.

He was ordered to move to Peking and take up residence i
mmediately. Prince Kung had already selected a house for him in the same Hutong where his palace was located. Robert’s pay would increase by another eight hundred pounds a year.

He wrote a reply.
“Prince Kung, I cannot accept this position for I have failed you. I am responsible for what happened with Horatio and Osborn. I ask that I serve a punishment instead.”

It was two in the morning several days later. He had worked late and hoped Ayaou would be sleeping, but she wasn’t. Once he was under the blanket, she rolled over and pressed against him and he discovered she was naked.

“
Ayaou, I don’t feel like making love,” he said. “Prince Kung has not responded to my letter. It is all I can think about.”

Ayaou would not take no for an answer, so he surrendered. After they finished making love, she wrapped her arms around him.

He ran a hand down one of her long, slender legs and marveled at how smooth she felt compared to his sandpaper skin.

“
The prince has not replied for a reason,” she said. “Accepting the position of Inspector General is your punishment.” He felt her warm breath on his neck as she whispered in his ear. The silky sound of her voice excited him. He shivered. “It is your responsibility to clear up the mess that Horatio and Osborn made? Would you trust anyone else?”

She made sense, which endeared Robert to her even more, but he still had doubts and was racked with regrets.
“I’d rather be kissing you,” he said. “I have considered quitting. I am sure the British would take me back as an interpreter. No foreigner knows the Chinese as well as I do. They would assign me to one of the consulates. Maybe Ningpo again or we could stay in Shanghai. I would probably be in charge. With luck, maybe even Hong Kong. We would have to give up this house and the servants. We’d still have Guan-jiah though.”

“
We cannot go back,” she said. “Your fate has been decided. You are to serve China. Running away will only make things worse.”

“
But we would always be together,” he said, knowing that he had already lost to her wisdom.

“
When China is at war again with the foreign devils, you would feel the blame and our love would suffer.”

With regret, Robert saw that there was no turning back to that simpler time in Ningpo. An old ache appeared deep inside where his broken heart from the loss of Shao-mei had gone into hiding. He looked around expecting to see her in the room watching.

“What is it, Robert?” Ayaou asked.

“
Nothing.” He rolled over and kissed her while his hands became busy.

To Robert’s surprise, Osborn came to see him in Shanghai, and the bruises that he had inflicted on Osborn’s face in Peking were still visible.

He met the man in his first floor st
udy, a room furnished with a sturdy teak desk and chairs. One wall was lined with shelves filled with books and scrolls, and a Turkish wool carpet covered half the floor, while a latticed window opened on a lush garden filled with trees, flowering plants and a stand of bamboo.

He had Guan-jiah and two large servan
ts stay in the room standing in the shadows near the door.

“
Don’t accept the position of Inspector General,” Osborn said. “If you do, I’ll spread word when I return to Britain that you were behind a conspiracy to oust Horatio and take his job. I’ll make people believe that you long desired his position and planned his downfall.” Osborn’s smile was smug. “This is the only way for you to avoid being considered a traitor. I will ruin your reputation.”

Robert was furious but hid his emotions behind an inscr
utable mask he’d spent years perfecting. He was tempted to have Guan-jiah and the servants beat the man with the stout sticks they held.

“
I appreciate your concern,” he replied. “However, others have threatened me before and did not succeed. You can be assured that if you hadn’t come to see me, I would have resigned before accepting the position.”

Robert knew that wasn
’t true, but he said it anyway. Ayaou had already convinced him he couldn’t quit. “Since you have seen fit to come here and threaten me, I have changed my mind, and I thank you for that. By the way, how is your nose?”

Osborn sputtered his indignation. He took a step forward, his face full of purple anger
. His fists started to come up, but Guan-jiah and the two servants grabbed Osborn from behind and escorted him from the house.

It was ironic that Osborn had stiffened his resolve. He r
efused to allow Horatio or anyone like him to use China for their personal benefit. Horatio’s younger brother William had been right all those years ago, when he had warned Robert about his brother. If Robert had listened, he would never have recommended Horatio as China’s agent in Europe.

He wasn
’t concerned about the Prime Minister or the Queen believing that he was a traitor. Robert had friends working in the British legation. He knew the governor of Hong Kong. He had helped save the life of Harry Parkes, and had earned respect from James Bruce, the 8
th
Earl of Elgin.

That night in bed, Robert said, “Ayaou, we should find a cellar like the one in Ward’s Shanghai house where we first made love and have a honeymoon.”

“
What is a honeymoon?”

Robert laughed and kissed her. For some reason, he felt like an adole
scent again. He explained.

She sat up.
“I have a surprise.” She left the bed and started to rummage in the wardrobe. When she turned around, there was a mischievous smile on her face. She had her hands behind her back as if she were hiding something. “Do you know where the root cellar is?”

He nodded.

She said, “Wait five minutes then go there.”

“
Ayaou, what are you doing?” he asked, as she hurried from the room. “It’s late.” Since she was gone, his words faded. He had no choice but to get dressed and follow.

A few minutes later in the root cellar, he discovered baskets of yams and bags of rice. Manure clung to the produce. It looked and smelled like his memories of their first sexual encounter.

The low ceiling sloped toward the far end of the cellar where a dim light leaked around a stack of burlap bags filled with rice. The place reminded him of that night. It was like déjà vu. He remembered the rat that had run across his boot. Would there be a rat too?

Smiling, he walked the length of the root cellar and had to get down on all fours to squeeze around the fifty-pound bags of rice and into the narrow space beyond.

Once Robert crawled past the rice, light brushed away the gloom. He saw Ayaou sitting against a wall with her knees pulled to her chest. She looked just like she had eight years ago. She was even dressed in the same dancing clothes. She had lost weight since having Herbert, and the clothes fit. The top of her head was inches from the close ceiling. She turned the lantern to its softest illumination and put the light on top of a small barrel nestled in the corner behind her.

“
Welcome to my secret place—this sanctuary of our love. This is where I have been going when I want to be alone and remember.”

“
I thought you burned those clothes after the way I treated you in Canton.”

“
How could I do that, Robert Hart?” she said. “After all, I know why you are here.”

He didn
’t know what to say. He shifted around uncomfortably in the tight space until he faced her.

“
I believe you are here to make me your concubine,” she said.

“
I’m not here to cause you unhappiness.” He remembered his words from that night, but he wasn’t nervous this time. If she wanted to relive their first moments together, he was willing to take that journey with her. “It is too bad your father has to sell you. You must hate it.”

“
I do not hate it,” she replied, shaking her head. “My father hates what he does to feed his family. He has to sell us. He is not the only man in the village who does that. He has to treat us like hens and fish in the market. He cannot afford to be soft hearted.”

Instead of seeing tears in her eyes like before, Robert detec
ted a sexual hunger, and he felt the same way. “But he’s selling you to a stranger.”

“
This time my master will not be a stranger.” There wasn’t any uncertainly in her eyes. She knew what she was doing.

“
How much will your price be?”

“
I do not know. My father said I am no beauty. My skin is too dark, and I am too thin. My chest is a washboard.” She lifted a foot. “My feet were never bound. I do not have a pale moon face, and that is the requirement for selling at a high price to a Chinese man.”

Their legs touched and the excitement was more than he could handle. He didn
’t know how much longer he could play this game.

“
There is an empty rice bag in the corner behind you,” she said. “Hang it in the opening so the light does not leak out.”

He twisted around to do it.

“Do you think that you would like to be my master?” she asked.

Robert reached for one of her hands and held it between both of his. Her flesh was hot. They both knew exactly what they wanted.

“My father will decide soon to which man I will be sold. Can you afford my price?”

He had said
‘no’ in 1855. This time his answer was different. “Yes, because I am the Inspector General of China’s Customs Service. I work for an emperor. No one will beat my price for the woman I want.”

“
I like that,” she said.

“
I will never abandon you like you once feared.”

“
I know that now,” she said. “You are a good man. No Chinese man or any other foreign devil would promise that and mean it. I am lucky you found me.”

He couldn
’t wait any longer. The desire was spreading through him like hot lava, and he pulled her closer.

“
Hurry,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.

“
I’m going to kiss you,” he replied.

She leaned away from him.
“I am not sure I will like that.” She pouted, and her lips looked inviting. “My father had me practice kissing by sucking a carrot.”

“
A carrot.” He wanted to laugh. He remembered this conversation.

“
Yes. He said barbarians liked it.”

“
What did he mean?” He was ready to burst. He hadn’t wanted her this bad in years.

“
He said the carrot is the barbarian’s tongue.”

“
I see. So, you didn’t like it.”

“
No, my father ruined my appetite for carrots for good.”

“
That’s a pity.”

“
How are you going to kiss me?”

“
I’ll show you.”

“
Do I have to suck?”

“
You don’t have to do anything.”

“
That will be nice,” she said.

He kissed her nose, her cheeks, her ears and her neck where he lingered. Then he took her face between both hands, held her, and kissed her warm, moist lips. That kiss was nothing like the first time. It was better.

“I want more, Robert Hart. I have always wanted more.”

Robert slipped his tongue into her mouth.
“Kiss me back,” he said.

She became the aggressor, and they peeled off her thin la
yers of silk together.