telling him to go away and shouting for help if he refused, but Madame would think she had gone mad. Bai Huang was a frequent and generous customer.
“Were you at the Hundred Songs the night of the festival?” she asked, edging closer to a ceramic vase on an end table.
“I was here. Don’t you remember?”
“ Before you came to the Lotus.”
She glared at him, her irritation rising. She supposed it benefited him somehow to adopt the persona of the fool, otherwise why would he do it so often and with so much enthusiasm?
“I wasn’t at the Hundred Songs. I swear on my grave.”
“Why did you tell Magistrate Li you were with me?” she demanded
He looked confused. “Because I was with you?”
“Not in the way you implied.”
“I said that I was delightfully delayed by—” he paused to recall the exact words “—a charming young lady.”
“Delayed?” she asked through her teeth. “Delightfully?”
The dog. She dropped the slipper and took hold of the vase.
A light dawned in his eyes. “You think I murdered Huilan?” he asked incredulously. “Do you truly believe I’m capable of doing such a horrible thing? And to someone as gentle and kind as Huilan. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I don’t believe you killed her.” She kept the vase between them. “But I don’t think you’ve been completely truthful.”
“I am trying to find whoever did this and bring him to justice,” he insisted. “I came here to ask your help on that very matter.”
“Why would you need my help?”
He eyed the vase in her grasp. “Shall we discuss this over tea?”
She was overanxious. Constable Wu might be right that she didn’t know many killers, but she had known men who were capable of it. She remembered a brothel owner who had beaten one girl to death and was only forced to pay a fine for the crime, the ruling being that he hadn’t intended to kill her. She knew in her gut Bai Huang wasn’t like that.
She set the would-be weapon down and went to light the tea stove. He sat out in the parlor as she worked. Peering out from the screen, she saw him running his hands back and forth over his knees, standing, then sitting again and looking around as if to search for some possible inspiration to start a conversation. It was disarming to see him like this, so uncertain.
Lord Bai Huang probably expected tea to miraculously appear when he asked for it, with no extra effort or delay. Once she had the fire started in the stove, she ladled water into the pot and set it on top. With nothing to do but wait, she returned to the parlor and seated herself. It was unusual to be sitting across from a gentleman, eye to eye.
“Why do you need my help?” she asked again.
“You’re familiar with the quarter. People know you and trust you.” He paused, looking at her intently. “And you have a good heart.”
She fidgeted. “I don’t understand why you can’t let the magistrate handle things.”
By now, she was certain Bai Huang wasn’t half the fool he presented in public, but she still didn’t think he was more qualified than Magistrate Li and his constables.
“First, the pompous Li Yen and the evil-eyed Wu Kaifeng are new to the city. People don’t trust them. They won’t be able to act as quickly as you and I. Second, Magistrate Li has his own agenda. I don’t trust him. And third—”
He paused for a long while on the last point. His dark eyebrows folded into a frown.
“Third, I swore to Huilan I would help her. I owe this debt to her.”
He looked away. Yue-ying stood and returned to the stove to allow him his privacy. Had he been in love with Huilan? She was the sort of woman that would inspire such devotion in a man. And Bai Huang had shown himself to be the romantic sort.
She scooped tea leaves into two cups and poured the hot water over them, covering the cups with a lid to let the tea steep. Bai Huang sat wordlessly as she set his cup before him. They took a few sips and he seemed to relax,
“Were you at the Hundred Songs the night of the festival?” she asked, edging closer to a ceramic vase on an end table.
“I was here. Don’t you remember?”
“ Before you came to the Lotus.”
She glared at him, her irritation rising. She supposed it benefited him somehow to adopt the persona of the fool, otherwise why would he do it so often and with so much enthusiasm?
“I wasn’t at the Hundred Songs. I swear on my grave.”
“Why did you tell Magistrate Li you were with me?” she demanded
He looked confused. “Because I was with you?”
“Not in the way you implied.”
“I said that I was delightfully delayed by—” he paused to recall the exact words “—a charming young lady.”
“Delayed?” she asked through her teeth. “Delightfully?”
The dog. She dropped the slipper and took hold of the vase.
A light dawned in his eyes. “You think I murdered Huilan?” he asked incredulously. “Do you truly believe I’m capable of doing such a horrible thing? And to someone as gentle and kind as Huilan. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I don’t believe you killed her.” She kept the vase between them. “But I don’t think you’ve been completely truthful.”
“I am trying to find whoever did this and bring him to justice,” he insisted. “I came here to ask your help on that very matter.”
“Why would you need my help?”
He eyed the vase in her grasp. “Shall we discuss this over tea?”
She was overanxious. Constable Wu might be right that she didn’t know many killers, but she had known men who were capable of it. She remembered a brothel owner who had beaten one girl to death and was only forced to pay a fine for the crime, the ruling being that he hadn’t intended to kill her. She knew in her gut Bai Huang wasn’t like that.
She set the would-be weapon down and went to light the tea stove. He sat out in the parlor as she worked. Peering out from the screen, she saw him running his hands back and forth over his knees, standing, then sitting again and looking around as if to search for some possible inspiration to start a conversation. It was disarming to see him like this, so uncertain.
Lord Bai Huang probably expected tea to miraculously appear when he asked for it, with no extra effort or delay. Once she had the fire started in the stove, she ladled water into the pot and set it on top. With nothing to do but wait, she returned to the parlor and seated herself. It was unusual to be sitting across from a gentleman, eye to eye.
“Why do you need my help?” she asked again.
“You’re familiar with the quarter. People know you and trust you.” He paused, looking at her intently. “And you have a good heart.”
She fidgeted. “I don’t understand why you can’t let the magistrate handle things.”
By now, she was certain Bai Huang wasn’t half the fool he presented in public, but she still didn’t think he was more qualified than Magistrate Li and his constables.
“First, the pompous Li Yen and the evil-eyed Wu Kaifeng are new to the city. People don’t trust them. They won’t be able to act as quickly as you and I. Second, Magistrate Li has his own agenda. I don’t trust him. And third—”
He paused for a long while on the last point. His dark eyebrows folded into a frown.
“Third, I swore to Huilan I would help her. I owe this debt to her.”
He looked away. Yue-ying stood and returned to the stove to allow him his privacy. Had he been in love with Huilan? She was the sort of woman that would inspire such devotion in a man. And Bai Huang had shown himself to be the romantic sort.
She scooped tea leaves into two cups and poured the hot water over them, covering the cups with a lid to let the tea steep. Bai Huang sat wordlessly as she set his cup before him. They took a few sips and he seemed to relax,
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