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One evening after work, he came home to find Ayaou’s father waiting in the downstairs sitting room where Tee Lee Ping and Robert met for the Chinese lessons. He hadn’t seen the old man since Shao-mei’s funeral.
By the expression on Ayaou’s face, he knew her father’s reason for being there wasn’t good news.
He greeted Chou Luk properly, and they made small talk for an hour. He learned that Chou Luk had been busy moving opium inland for Captain Patridge.
Ayaou served tea. Then she sat on the far side of the room with her arms folded across her chest. She avoided eye contact with Robert. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t guess what it was. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be good. His stomach became upset.
Finally, he couldn’t take the Chinese way of beating around the bush any longer. He leaned toward Chou Luk and asked, as only a foreigner could without causing insult or embarrassment, “What has brought you here?”
“A family matter. I’ve discovered that both Ayaou and Captain Patridge have been lying to me.”
“I’m sorry,” Robert said. “I’m not sure if I understand.”
The old man avoided looking at him. Instead, he took a sip from his teacup. His eyes remained downcast. A moment later, he said, “Until last month, I had not been in Shanghai for a long time. When I was there recently, I had business with Boss Takee. Ward was there.”
Robert’s stomach tightened like a hangman’s noose during an execution. He thought he might vomit. He avoided looking at Ayaou. “Tell me what he told you.” His voice was strained. He felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head.
“He told me you took Ayaou from him without paying for her. He said you insulted his patience, which led him to kill Shao-mei by mistake. He knows he killed the wrong sister. He still wants Ayaou.”
“Ward lied,” Robert said. Anger swelled inside him like a giant balloon pushing the other emotions out. He struggled to control the explosion. With an effort, he calmly explained what happened. “I borrowed the money from Captain Patridge. I went to Shanghai to pay, but Ward had been seriously wounded in a battle. He wasn’t there. I couldn’t find him. Eventually, I discovered he’d gone to the countryside to mend from his wounds. I’m still willing to pay.” Robert knew he couldn’t pay. He’d spent too much on Shao-mei’s funeral. Most of the money was gone.
He wanted to know how Ward found out that he had killed the wrong sister. Who told him? It frustrated Robert that there was no way for him to find out. Maybe Ward had spies in Ningpo watching. That thought scared him. He looked at the front door making sure the locking bar was in place. Maybe someone would come for her tonight. Maybe he should take Ayaou and find a place to hide. But where? Maybe they could flee to the Yellow Mountains in Anhui Province. He had read the poem by Li Bai, the great Tang poet.
Thousands of feet high towers the Yellow Mountains
With its thirty-two magnificent peaks,
Blooming like golden lotus flowers,
Amidst red crags and rock columns.
Robert had seen the watercolors for this breathtaking area of China. Maybe one of the Buddhist monasteries hidden in those mountains would let them stay. He frowned—too many maybes. He hated being threatened by maybes.
He wondered if Captain Patridge was behind it all. Was he keeping Ward stirred up over Ayaou so Robert would stay bound to him? After all, it was to Patridge’s benefit that Robert continued to use his position with the British consulate in Ningpo to help smuggle opium into China. Patridge had also asked him to keep the duties low for the legal cargoes. Due to his efforts, the captain was making a fortune for his employer and himself.
“Ward is crazy.” Chou Luk folded his hands together. They disappeared inside his long, wide sleeves. “I want no trouble with him.”
Fear, like a horde of rats, invaded Robert’s guts deflating the anger. “What did you tell him?” he asked, afraid of the answer.
Chou Luk leaned forward. The skin around his eyes crinkled causing his eyes to look like they were shrinking. “Ward believes Ayaou is still his property. If ...” The stony expression on Robert’s face stopped him.
It took all his discipline to stay seated. He wanted to strangle Chou Luk. However, it would have been wrong to kill the messenger. Besides, Ayaou wouldn’t like it. He almost laughed at the irony. “Ayaou is not leaving!” he said.
“I don’t want to see Ayaou go with Ward either.” Tears filled the old man’s eyes. “He killed Shao-mei. He’ll have no trouble killing Ayaou. The problem is that he’s after me now. He wants me to give him Ayaou, or I’ll lose my life. I told him to allow me some time to find her. I lied. I didn’t tell him where she was. You’d better think of a plan quick!”
Ayaou left her chair and went to the kitchen. Robert knew she was angry. He never told her she still belonged to Ward. At this point, there was nothing he could do to keep her from getting hurt. He feared losing her. He couldn’t survive another blow like the loss of Shao-mei. He was sure it would drive him crazy.
“If you believe he means to kill you,” he said, “you must take your family south to Macao and find Uncle Bark’s son and stay with him on his junk. Do you have money for passage?”
“Not enough.”
“I’ll help.”
“What about you and Ayaou?” Chou Luk asked. “If you stay here, you will be in danger. He knows where you are.”
“I’ll deal with it,” he said. He didn’t know what he was going to do if Ward came with a bunch of cutthroats. He wasn’t a rich or powerful man. He didn’t have the money to pay for protection. If he wanted protection, he’d have to ask Captain Patridge for help. He was sure the opium merchant would say yes. The price would be like selling his soul to the devil twice.
Patridge would want Robert’s oath that he would serve for decades. He did not believe the opium trade was a good thing. He’d seen what it was doing to people. Opium was destroying families. It was a poison of the worst kind.
* * * *
Ayaou came to bed after she settled Chou Luk in for the night. She had her back to Robert. He put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off. That hurt. “Please tell me what’s on your mind,” he said, and managed to keep his voice from sounding as if he was begging.
“You believed that if I didn’t know the truth, I’d be better off. But, Robert, you were wrong. Being kept in the dark has always frustrated me more than anything. That’s why I constantly seek a fortuneteller’s advice. Since Shao-mei’s death, my life is filled with chaos! Even you, my closest one, keep secrets from me.”
“I did what I felt was best. Turn around, Ayaou, please. I want to talk to your face.”
She turned. He saw the tears. He pulled her into his arms. Her body was stiff like a limb from an old tree.
“I am your woman, Robert. You bought my body, not my heart. It was me who offered my heart.”
“Yes and that is priceless. I only hope to be worthy. But ...” He felt a bitter taste in his mouth that he couldn’t explain—not to Ayaou or to himself. The question was how deep and strong was his love for Ayaou? Was it deep enough to overcome his society’s prejudices? Was it strong enough to survive the test of time like what Tee Lee Ping had gone through for his love?
Ayaou leaned over him and stared into his eyes. Her long, black hair tickled his face. He felt her warm breath against his skin. The way she was looking at him made him nervous. He didn’t like it.
“I dug a hole in the yard and buried an ugly stone with dog shit,” she said. “It’s to keep Ward from reaching us. Mr. Yin-Yang gave me instructions. He predicted we’d be safe for now. But there was something else he said that bothers me.”
“What is it?” Alarmed, he moved out from under her and sat. He was disgusted with himself for falling into this superstitious trap. On the other hand, he wanted to hear what the fortuneteller had said.
“I don’t want to believe it,” she said. “Mr. Yin-Yang said that I might be doing something unwise. I might be trying to fetch the moon, which was a reflection in the water in the beginning, with a bamboo basket. Mr. Yin-Yang believes that my safety rests in your heart. I kind of know what he meant, but ...”
He waited for her to finish. She didn’t. He dreaded what he thought she meant. Could he measure up? Was his love strong enough? He wasn’t sure.
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Links to Reviews for "Our Hart"
Honorable Mention in General Fiction
