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Authors: Steven Harper
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and my father’s only son. I should be following into his profession. But my father has decreed that I have failed him and the family, which includes the emperor.” Feng’s usual carefree demeanor had left him. The words came out slow and dull as lead pipe. “I am a failure and a disgrace. If I am very lucky, I will spend the rest of my days scrubbing chamber pots with the servants.”
“Good heavens,” Alice said. How outrageous this was! “Feng, I had no idea. You always seemed so cheerful. I assumed you were thrilled to get away from London and go home.”
Feng swiped a surreptitious finger under one lens of his goggles. “What is the worth of moping about? I will be unhappy enough later. In any case, I am in no hurry to face my disgrace, so I am in no hurry to arrive in China.”
“Why not simply disappear between here and there?” Gavin said reasonably. “You’re smart and know several languages. You could vanish into any number of places and live very well.”
“That,” Feng spat, “would show cowardice and bring even more disgrace to my family. I will not do that to them.”
“You are not a disgrace,” Alice said tartly. “Just now you helped save Gavin’s life. Surely that should count for something.”
“Perhaps.” Feng sounded more tired than convinced, and fell silent. Alice didn’t know what to say, so she fell silent as well.
At that point, a farm wagon drove by, and Alice’s schoolgirl French was able to persuade the drover to let them ride on the back for a penny. Less than an hour later, they passed through one of the gates of Luxembourg.
The city was cleaner than London. The air smelled of horses and wood smoke and manure, but none of the scents were as cloying as in London, and dirt didn’t hang on the air with yellow coal smoke. A cheerful sun chased away the dank smell and the dampness. The people on the cobblestoned streets bustled about and shouted good-naturedly at one another. Windows stood open to catch the summer breeze instead of locked against the misty damp. A group of chattering children ran past the cart, laughing and shouting their way through a make-believe world of their own. Alice felt her own heart lighten, and wondered what it would have been like to grow up here instead of chilly, drizzly London.
The cart carried the trio to an open market, and they hopped off. A number of church bells rang to announce midday. The metal tones bounced off the hills and scampered up the side streets. Merchants shouted for attention from brightly colored stalls, and a number of surfaces sported garish advertisements for the
Kalakos Cirque International du Automates et d’Autres Merveilles.
Here and there, a mechanical horse pulled a carriage down the street, or a spider skittered by with a basket on its back.
Alice bought a loaf of bread and a bit of butter, and they shared it for lunch on a corner. Despite the heat, Alice wore bulky gloves to conceal her spider, but noone seemed to take much notice. Most ladies were wearing gloves of their own.
“What is next?” Feng adjusted his scarf and his pack.
“We need to find paraffin oil for the ship, food stores, and a way to get both back to the ship,” Gavin said. “How much money do we have?”
Alice sighed. It was the moment she’d been dreading. She took the little book of figures from her skirt pocket. “Not near enough,” she admitted. “I performed a few calculations based on how much oil the ship used to get this far, how much weight we need to carry, what the winds are like, and the possibility that paraffin oil prices will be stunningly low—unlikely, considering how difficult it is to make, and how rare.”
“Meaning we won’t have enough money to make it to Peking,” Gavin finished.
“No,” Alice murmured.
“Then,” Gavin said brightly, “our plan is both to earn money and figure out a way to get farther on less oil. So. Feng, you buy supplies and find a way to get them back to the
Lady
without
“Good heavens,” Alice said. How outrageous this was! “Feng, I had no idea. You always seemed so cheerful. I assumed you were thrilled to get away from London and go home.”
Feng swiped a surreptitious finger under one lens of his goggles. “What is the worth of moping about? I will be unhappy enough later. In any case, I am in no hurry to face my disgrace, so I am in no hurry to arrive in China.”
“Why not simply disappear between here and there?” Gavin said reasonably. “You’re smart and know several languages. You could vanish into any number of places and live very well.”
“That,” Feng spat, “would show cowardice and bring even more disgrace to my family. I will not do that to them.”
“You are not a disgrace,” Alice said tartly. “Just now you helped save Gavin’s life. Surely that should count for something.”
“Perhaps.” Feng sounded more tired than convinced, and fell silent. Alice didn’t know what to say, so she fell silent as well.
At that point, a farm wagon drove by, and Alice’s schoolgirl French was able to persuade the drover to let them ride on the back for a penny. Less than an hour later, they passed through one of the gates of Luxembourg.
The city was cleaner than London. The air smelled of horses and wood smoke and manure, but none of the scents were as cloying as in London, and dirt didn’t hang on the air with yellow coal smoke. A cheerful sun chased away the dank smell and the dampness. The people on the cobblestoned streets bustled about and shouted good-naturedly at one another. Windows stood open to catch the summer breeze instead of locked against the misty damp. A group of chattering children ran past the cart, laughing and shouting their way through a make-believe world of their own. Alice felt her own heart lighten, and wondered what it would have been like to grow up here instead of chilly, drizzly London.
The cart carried the trio to an open market, and they hopped off. A number of church bells rang to announce midday. The metal tones bounced off the hills and scampered up the side streets. Merchants shouted for attention from brightly colored stalls, and a number of surfaces sported garish advertisements for the
Kalakos Cirque International du Automates et d’Autres Merveilles.
Here and there, a mechanical horse pulled a carriage down the street, or a spider skittered by with a basket on its back.
Alice bought a loaf of bread and a bit of butter, and they shared it for lunch on a corner. Despite the heat, Alice wore bulky gloves to conceal her spider, but noone seemed to take much notice. Most ladies were wearing gloves of their own.
“What is next?” Feng adjusted his scarf and his pack.
“We need to find paraffin oil for the ship, food stores, and a way to get both back to the ship,” Gavin said. “How much money do we have?”
Alice sighed. It was the moment she’d been dreading. She took the little book of figures from her skirt pocket. “Not near enough,” she admitted. “I performed a few calculations based on how much oil the ship used to get this far, how much weight we need to carry, what the winds are like, and the possibility that paraffin oil prices will be stunningly low—unlikely, considering how difficult it is to make, and how rare.”
“Meaning we won’t have enough money to make it to Peking,” Gavin finished.
“No,” Alice murmured.
“Then,” Gavin said brightly, “our plan is both to earn money and figure out a way to get farther on less oil. So. Feng, you buy supplies and find a way to get them back to the
Lady
without
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