Authors: Elsa Hart
The White Mirror (39 page)
“In what direction?” Shu looked at the little boy, who pointed to the east.
“Ah,” said Shu. “Then we face a grave emergency and I must make you and your sister librarian lieutenants. Show me your hands.” He inspected their hands and pronounced them sufficiently clean and dry.
For the next hour, they worked hard, carrying the planks into the inner sunning room and climbing ladders to unclip books from the silk ropes. Just as they were carrying in the final set of pages, the rain began to fall, turning one patch of stone after another dark gray. Inside, Shu delighted the children by recounting to them the stories depicted by painted screens. After a servant took them home, Li Du stood with his friend looking out at the courtyard, which had become a single, square puddle of water.
“This is why,” Shu said, “I have always recommended that we sun the books in the first month of autumn, when the weather is less changeable. We will have to begin again tomorrow.” But his tone held no annoyance. It had been a good day. As Li Du looked out at the soothing gray and the drops pinging in the teacup that had been forgotten on the table, he felt his anxiety leave him.
Shu was scanning the courtyard for forgotten books. Satisfied that there were none, he put on his hat and prepared to go home. He turned to Li Du. “If you did as well on your exams as I know you did, you may be honored with a position of magistrate in an important city.”
Li Du lowered his head, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I hope that I did well on the exams,” he said, “but I have been thinking that I do not want to be a magistrate after all.” He hesitated. “I have been thinking that I would very much like to be a librarian.”
In the courtyard of the Markham inn, Li Du shouldered his pack, glanced at the sky, and picked up his walking stick. Beside him, his mule dipped her head and shook her mane in the sun. The ground was covered in fine, sparkling frost. With a determined little nod, he straightened his faded hat and set out on the path to the east.
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Also by
Elsa Hart
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Elsa Hart
was born in Rome, Italy, but her earliest memories are of Moscow, where her family lived until 1991. Since then she has lived in the Czech Republic, the United States, and China. She earned a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She wrote
Jade Dragon Mountain
in Lijiang, the city that has grown up around the old town of Dayan. It was her first novel. You can sign up for email updates
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Contents
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE WHITE MIRROR.
Copyright © 2016 by Elsa Hart. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover image: Hermit in the Mountains, Zhu Henian (c) AKG-IMAGES/Quin + Lox
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-07496-6 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-8639-1 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466886391
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
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First Edition: September 2016