Her chin jutted. “The feng-shui gentlemans will na learn you to sail a ship—why for’ll you learn him about dragons, heya? It’s very gracious hard to be a feng-shui gentlemans.” Struan was happy that May-may was beginning to be her old self. He had noticed that since she returned to Canton from Macao, and during the journey to Hong Kong, she had seemed piqued and distracted. Particularly the last few days. And she was right, the noise was very bad.
“Well, I’ll be off.”
“Is all right I invite Ma-ree Sin-clair today?”
“Aye. But I dinna ken where she is—or if she’s arrived yet.”
“She’s on flagship. She arrive yesterday with her amah, Ah Tat, and her ball gown. It’s black and very pretty. It’s going to cost you two hundred dolla. Ayeee yah, if you’d let me arrange the dress, I’d save you sixty, seventy dolla, never mind. Her cabin’s next to her brother’s.”
“How do you know all that?”
“Her amah is Ah Sam’s mother’s sister’s fourth daughter. Wat for is the use of a mealy mouth slave like Ah Sam if she does na keep her mother inform and have connections?”
“How did Ah Sam’s mother tell her?”
“Oh, Tai-Pan, you are so funny,” May-may cried. “Na Ah Sam’s mother,
me. All Chinese slaves call their mistress ‘Mother.’ Just as she calls you ‘Father.’ ”
“She does?”
“All slaves call the master of the house ‘Father.’ It’s ancient custom and very polite. So Ah Tat, Ma-ree’s slave, told Ah Sam. Ah Sam, who is a good-for-nothing lazy maggot and needs a whipping, told her ‘mother.’ Me. It’s really very simple. Oh yes, and to be absolutal correct, if you could speak a Chinese language, you’d call Ah Sam ‘Daughter.’ ”
“Why do you want to see Mary?”
“It’s lonely na to talk. I’ll only talk Cantonese, dinna worry. She knows I’m here.”
“How?”
“Ah Sam told Ah Tat,” she said as though explaining to a child. “Naturally such an interesting piece of news Ah Tat told her mother—told Ma-ree. That old whore Ah Tat’s a jade mine of secrets.”
“Ah Tat’s a whore?”
“God’s blood, Tai-Pan, that only a figured speech. You really should go back to bed. You’re very simple this morning.” ,
He finished his tea and pushed his plate away. “And I’ve nae wonder, listening to all this nonsense. I’m lunching with Longstaff, so I’ll send word to Mary. What time shall I say?”
“Thank you, Tai-Pan, never mind. Ah Sam will be better. Then no one knows except the servants and they know all anyway, never mind.”
Lim Din opened the door. He was Struan’s personal servant as well as cook boy, a small squat man in his middle fifties, neat in black trousers and white tunic. He had a round, happy face and darting, cunning eyes. “Mass’er. Missee and Mass’er come see my. Can?”
“Mass’er wat?” Struan was astonished that anyone would be so impolite as to come uninvited.
Lim Din shrugged. “Mass’er and Missee. Wantshee wat Mass’er, wat Missee?”
“Oh, never mind,” Struan said and got up from the table.
“You expect guests?” May-may said.
“No.” Struan walked out of the room and into the small anteroom. He opened the far door and closed it behind him. Now he was in the corridor that led to a hallway and to the separate quarters in the front of the house. And the moment he was in the corridor he knew that one caller was Shevaun. Her fragrance, a special Turkish perfume that only she used, had delicately changed the quality of the air.
His heart quickened and his anger lessened as he strode down the corridor, his soft leather half boots clicking on the stone floor, and turned into the living room.
“Hello, Tai-Pan,” Shevaun said.
Shevaun was twenty and graceful as a gazelle. She wore her dark red hair, darker than Struan’s, in long ringlets. Her full breasts, under the discreetly decollete green velvet dress, sailed over an eighteen-inch waist. Her delicate ankles and feet peeped from beneath a dozen petticoats. Her bonnet was green, her sunshade a startling orange.
Aye, Struan thought, she gets prettier every day.
“Morning, Shevaun, Wilf.”
“Morning. Sorry to arrive uninvited.” Wilf Tillman was exceedingly uncomfortable.
“Oh, come now, Uncle,” Shevaun said blithely, “it’s a good old American custom to wish a house well.”
“We’re not in America, dear.” Tillman wished he were, today. And that Shevaun was safely married to Jeff Cooper and no longer his responsibility. Damn Shevaun. And damn Jeff, he thought. I wish to God the man’d formally press his suit. Then I could simply announce the marriage and that would be that. But all this shilly-shallying around is ridiculous. “Give her time. There’s plenty of time,” Jeff is always saying. But I damn well know now there’s very little time left, now that Struan’s wifeless. I’m absolutely sure Shevaun’s set her cap for the Tai-Pan. Why else insist on coming here this morning? Why else keep asking questions about him?
All the way to Struan’s house he had been pondering the wisdom of a match between Struan and Shevaun. Naturally there would be definite financial advantages, but Struan was totally opposed to their way of life in America; he just simply wouldn’t understand.
He would certainly turn Shevaun against us, Tillman thought. He’d force the issue through her. Jeff would be furious over losing her and he’d probably break up Cooper-Tillman. Nothing I could do to stop that. If the company goes on the rocks, there’s no money for brother John to entertain so lavishly in Washington. Politics is expensive, and without political pull life for the family will be very hard, and we need every bit of help against the blasted Northern states. No, by Heaven. Shevaun’s going to marry Jeff and not the Tai-Pan, and that’s that.
“Sorry to arrive uninvited,” he repeated.
“You’re both very welcome.” Struan motioned Lim Din to the decanter and glasses. “Sherry?”
“Well, thank you, but I think we ought to be going,” Tillman said.
Shevaun laughed and her tilted nose wrinkled prettily. “But we’ve just arrived. I wanted to be the first to welcome you to your house, Tai-Pan,” she said.
“And you are. Sit down. It’s good to see you.”
“We bought some gifts for the house.” She opened her carrying bag and took out a small loaf of bread and a tiny container of salt and a bottle of wine. “It’s an old custom to bring the house good luck. I would have arrived by myself, but Uncle said that that would be in the worst possible taste. It’s not his fault at all.”
“I’m glad you came.” Struan picked up the bread. It was gold-brown and crisp and fragrant.
“I baked it last night.”
Struan broke off a piece and tasted it. “It’s excellent!”
“You’re not really supposed to eat it. At least, well, it’s just the idea.” She laughed again and picked up her carrying bag and sunshade. “And now that I’ve done my duty, we’ll be off.”
“My first guests will do no such thing. I insist, at least a sherry.”
Lim Din offered the glasses. Shevaun took one and settled herself comfortably while Wilf Tillman scowled. Lim Din padded away.
“You really cooked it yoursel’? All by yoursel’?” Struan asked.
“It’s very important for a girl to know how to cook,” she said and stared back at him, eyes challenging.