Chapter Twenty Eight

Alain stepped down from his horse; his long legs were in riding breeches, with a plain white shirt thrown over his broad shoulders. Wa nearly gasped from her carriage as she watched him dismount. He had taken to wearing a conical hat of late, and his smouldering eyes glanced from underneath the brim in her direction.

‘Mr Fontaney what a surprise,’ said Wa.

‘Likewise, and what brings you here?’ asked Alain, strolling up to her.

‘The Court tailor has brought me to see the silk worms.’

Hui Lin nodded his head towards Alain.

‘Well then perhaps we have something we can discover together,’ said Alain.

‘You’re too late to steal our secret,’ said Wa.

The secret of sericulture had left China hundreds of years ago.

‘Though I believe it was a priest that stole it,’ she said.

Alain smiled.

‘I am not a thief.’

‘So you don’t steal hearts?’ she asked.

‘Then perhaps I am a criminal after all,’ he replied.

‘Yi carry me inside before I faint,’ said Wa. ‘Hui lead the way, and don’t look so worried. The Emperor has a new favourite; he won’t give me a second thought.’

The new star was Bik Dong Fang, and the Court was abuzz of the Emperor’s latest infatuation.

Thousands of worms in trays stacked high were chewing on mulberry leaves; it sounded just like rain.

‘And how does the silk arrive?’ asked Wa.

‘The worms spin a cocoon of silk,’ said Hui.

‘And how is it separated out?’ asked Alain.

‘Through boiling,’ replied Hui.

‘So they never fly away,’ said Wa.

‘They can’t, their only function is spinning gold.’

Wa had her wings clipped once, when her feet were bound, and she was a decoration too.

‘I am the Emperor’s silk worm,’ she said.

‘Then perhaps that is why everything you touch shimmers,’ said Alain.

Wa held his hand, squeezing it tight. Hui looked, wiping his forehead.

‘Look why don’t you two get acquainted,’ said Alain to Yi and Hui ‘I’m taking Wa for a ride.’

He jumped up into the saddle, and Yi placed Wa behind him. She hung on tight as they galloped away.

Wa tasted freedom as they rode through the paddy fields, and Alain stopped at the banks of a river.

‘This entire area has been flooded,’ he said.

‘It ruined the last rice crop, and many peasants starved,’ said Wa.

‘Yet it is a simple task to dam it,’ he said.

‘Indeed, and Heshen collected the taxes for such a purpose.’

But Heshen and his corrupt officials had squandered the money upon themselves.

‘Does the Emperor know?’ asked Alain.

‘The Emperor is blind to Heshen’s evil,’ said Wa.

‘Or complicit,’ said Alain.

‘Oh Alain let’s not discuss them; let’s talk about us.’

‘I am sorry my love,’ he said.

‘Do you still want to take me away from here, to France?’ she asked.

‘With all my heart,’ he replied.

‘But will not your people laugh at me, at us?’ she asked.

‘They will see our love for what it is.’

Wa paused, letting the thought linger, like the sunlight in her hair.

‘It is an idea fraught with danger,’ she said.

‘As is staying here, and doing nothing. The more people that know about us the more we are at risk,’ he said.

‘We could part and denounce their lies.’

‘I could never do that. I could never leave you, and I could never say that I do not love you,’ he said.

‘Neither could I my love,’ she said. ‘So then what shall we do?’

They were sitting on the banks of the river, with Wa cradled in his arms.

‘We must plan an escape,’ he said.

‘When?’

‘By the end of summer: Before the Imperial Court moves into the Winter Palace.’

‘And Fu Chung Soo, and Zhen?’ she asked.

‘We will give them the opportunity to join us,’ said Alain.

He began to unbutton her robe.

‘But for now let us enjoy the time we have together,’ he said.

‘And is it enjoyment you seek?’ she asked.

‘On this day, that God has given us, it is,’ he replied. ‘You were quite good on the horse.’

‘I enjoy riding.’

‘In that case,’ and he lay on his back smiling.

‘We must go back,’ said Hui.

‘He is right Madam, the Emperor may not care, but the Palace guards will report the time of your return,’ said Yi.

The sky was becoming darker, and Wa whispered in Alain’s ear.

‘I will give a message to Zhen,’ she said.

Alain couldn’t resist, and he kissed her on the lips. It was no surprise to Yi, but Hui was mortified. He was in deeper than he ever would have wished.

‘So you have seen us kiss Hui,’ said Wa. ‘But it was you that brought me here.’

She needn’t have said it, Hui knew he was trapped. Though he wasn’t heartless; he had no love for tyrants or their henchman. Keeping silent wasn’t the wisest decision, but it was the honourable one, and perhaps now it was his only choice; for better or for worse.