My Splendid Concubine (82 page)

Comprehension trickled back into her eyes. She nodded but
had trouble making eye contact, and he noticed she was having trouble breathing and kept swallowing.

“
I am not going to ask you to sneak into the emperor’s palace, Ayaou. I want to discover what the common people think about what is going on in China. I want to know what they feel about the Dynasty and the Taipings and the foreigners and opium and anything else you discover.”

She looked unsure.
“I do not know anything about the emperor and the royals. The emperor is like a god; like the sun, and the center of the earth. How does someone like me understand that?”

“
You’re going to learn,” he said. “Your job is to listen to what people are saying when you are out shopping or having tea. All you have to do is ask the right questions then listen and tell me what you hear.”

“
I am not sure how I can do that,” she said.

“
This is important, Ayaou. You were doing something similar for me in Canton. Have you forgotten already? I am a foreign devil. I cannot blend in. Besides, my guards would scare everyone senseless. The royals would never try. However, you can. No one will know you are my lover. The common people on the streets or in the teahouses will talk when you are standing or sitting next to them. Because you are one of them, you are invisible. I know you can do this. You are a lot smarter than you think.”

“
I thought I was only here to give you children and keep your bed warm at night.”

“
You are more than a bed warmer,” he said. “I thought you knew that already. I trust you. We are a family.”

“
I cannot—”

“
No, Ayaou. I will not accept that answer. You will become my eyes and ears on the streets of Peking as you once were in Canton.”

“
But they will see that I am a boat person and treat me as if I were not there.” Her eyes were large and full of fear. “This is the city of the royals. They rule China. I could be squashed like a bug.”

“
Precisely,” he said. “That is the idea. Not to be squashed but to listen.”

From that day on, after Robert got home, he talked with Ayaou about what she
’d heard. The more they talked the better listener she became and the dazed expression and the fear vanished. She became more alert and surer of herself. She wanted to please him and went out of her way to shop and gather information. In time, she made an excellent spy.

Robert’s job pulled him in all directions. Not only was he to be at Prince Kung’s side when summoned to consult on treaties with foreign nations, but he was responsible for handling day-to-day details for his staff. He attended weddings and became a godfather to many children scattered throughout China. He even had to deal with deaths that took place in customs and preside over funerals.

He
also handed out justice. When one of his assistant commissioners, A. J. Campbell, had a sexual liaison with another man’s wife, a written complaint arrived from Shanghai, and Robert took his family with him when he went to investigate. He left Ayaou and the children at the Shanghai house when he went to confront Campbell at the Imperial Maritime Customs building on the Bund near the Huangpu River.

Campbell was a large Scott with a ruddy complexion. He came from a middle-class merchant family. Like Robert, Campbell had done well at a Queen
’s college. He had been recruited to work in the British consulate in Canton where Robert met him and later talked him into leaving the British to work for China.

Robert knew the man wanted more out of life than being a clerk. Cam
pbell had ambitions, but how far was he willing to go to achieve them, and some men were never satisfied with the love and companionship of one woman.

Robert knew what that was like. He had faced a similar tempt
ation when Shao-mei had been alive. Before Shao-mei, there had been Me-ta-tae then Willow, one of Patridge’s concubines. Those two brief trysts had almost been his undoing. Maybe Campbell had fallen for the same temptation too many times.

“
I heard that you had an affair with a colleague’s wife,” he said.

Campbell
’s eyes widened. “Who said that?” He saw fear in the man’s eyes. Campbell glanced beyond Robert at the two Manchu bannermen standing guard by the door.

“
Did you?” Robert asked. Watch the eyes, he thought. They are a window into a man’s soul.

Campbell
’s eyes shifted to the floor. “Of course not, Inspector General. Such behavior is unacceptable. I don’t even know who you are talking about.”

Robert named the wife and husband. They were both Ita
lians and the husband worked in Campbell’s office.

“
I didn’t sleep with her. Someone must be out to destroy my reputation—to ruin my career.”

Robert always made it a point to study the language of the body when he was talking to someone. In this way, he would know when a person was becoming bored or maybe wasn
’t telling the truth. When Campbell said he had not had an affair with the Italian’s wife, his eyes had shifted about as if searching for a place to hide. That was a strong sign that the man was not being honest.

If it turned out that Campbell was lying, he would have to pay for his deceit. Robert couldn
’t stand the thought of a liar working for him, and he had to find out.

He talked to a few trusted friends and asked them to dig deeper. He
then sent Ayaou to talk to Campbell’s Chinese servants. “Be discreet, Ayaou. I don’t want Campbell to discover that I don’t believe him.” He managed to have Ayaou show up as another cook to work in Campbell’s kitchen.

A few d
ays later, Ayaou reported. “Two of the servants say he was seduced by the Italian’s wife, and she has been to the house many times. One servant said she has heard them grunting and moaning like cows in his bedroom.”

Other witnesses were found and the evidence said that Cam
pbell had lied. If the man was bold enough to lie to Robert, what else was he willing to do?

He sentenced Campbell to three months imprisonment and a fine of one thousand yuan. After the time was served, he was reduced in rank and moved to another office hundreds of miles from Shanghai. Robert talked to the commissioner of that office and warned him to keep an eye on
Campbell. Since he had to keep his people in line, Robert had no choice. If Campbell had been honest, the punishment would not have been as severe.

It bothered Robert each time a rare case of this type su
rfaced. He’d interviewed everyone in the service and hired men based on his judgment. In Campbell’s case, he’d taken a liking to the man. Campbell laughed easily and always had a ready smile that lit his freckled face.

Prince Kung often walked into Robert’s office without warning, and this visit was no different as he slipped in unannounced.

“
If I had another hundred like you,” the prince said, “we could resolve all the problems in China.”

Robert
, engrossed in a report from Canton, was startled but recovered quickly. “That’s a big reputation to live up to,” he replied, and realized that he would never let Kung down intentionally.

“
My spies have informed me that the Longhaired Bandits have put a price of one-hundred-thousand taels on your head,” Kung said.

“
How could they know about me?” Robert asked.

“
It seems that maybe there is an Englishman who works for them as a spy, and this man told them you were behind the agreement that led to the French and English military joining the Imperial army that led to the Taiping defeat near Shanghai.” The prince noticed a new vase sitting on a bookshelf. He walked over and picked it up. It was imperial yellow with blue stallions decorating the sides.

“
It was a gift from the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi,” Robert said.

“
Better than her ink paintings,” the prince replied. He nodded his approval and put the vase back. He looked around and noticed the flowers.

“
She sent the flowers too,” Robert said.

“
She enjoys working in her gardens,” the prince said.

“
What else did your people learn?”

Kung plopped into a chair in front of the desk.
“This Englishman also told the Longhaired Bandits that you were behind buying the modern weapons China is getting from Europe and America. We are trying to discover how he gets his information. He even knew you were responsible for General Tseng Kuo-fan being given the job to defeat the rebels. Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Longhaired Bandits, is unhappy about that, because Head Chopper is winning battles.”

“
Could this be the same Englishman that was behind the Forbidden City thefts?”

“
That is possible,” Kung replied.

“
He may know that I was behind stopping the thefts. He may want revenge.”

“
If so, he is doubly dangerous. This Englishman has convinced the Longhaired Bandits that you need to be assassinated. For that reason, your bodyguard will be increased from a dozen to one hundred bannermen. General Jung Lu has been informed and will select his best men. From now on, your house will be guarded until the Taiping threat is eliminated.”

“
I’m curious about this man working for the Taipings,” Robert said. “Did your people get his name or describe what he looked like?” He had thought that when Ward died he had rid himself of the only man wanting him dead. It seemed he was wrong.

“
Is this man large with red hair?” he asked, thinking of Burgevine, Ward’s second-in-command. Burgevine had been close friends with the Devil Solider. It would make sense if he were seeking revenge. Had Burgevine somehow found out about his deal with General Li Hung-chang to kill Ward? No, that wasn’t possible. Burgevine was not clever enough to make that kind of discovery. He was a brute with low intelligence.

“
My spies never saw this Englishman,” Prince Kung replied. “He is like a ghost. Robert, cooperate with your guards. I have heard that you tend to walk ahead of them even when you are urged to stay close. China cannot afford to lose you, and I do not want to lose a friend. Stop walking. Use a sedan chair. That is not a suggestion.”

There were
others that might want to do him harm. He had not forgotten Payne Hollister. Because of Robert’s indiscretion in Ningpo with Me-ta-tae, Hollister held a grudge against him and had written that letter to Harry Parkes in Canton in an attempt to ruin his reputation.

Then there was
Osborn and Horatio Lay. Both men had reason to seek revenge. In addition, there were the English merchants he had rejected and defeated in a London court for seeking favors.

Good god, Robert thought, it seemed
enemies never ceased popping up when one gained rank and power. He thought of himself as a simple, honest, hard worker from Ireland. It had never occurred to him that success included this sort of danger.

After that, he
couldn’t go anywhere without a squad of bannermen. It was only in the office or inside his home that they didn’t follow him, and he started to carry his pistol in a coat pocket again.

He confided in Guan-jiah, who
thought it best if Ayaou didn’t know of the threat. “Master,” Guan-jiah said. “She might get suspicious with all the guards around. What do I say if she asks?”

“
You’re clever. Think of something.”

When he traveled through the streets, half his bodyguards cleared the way while the other half kept his sedan chair surroun
ded. It was embarrassing that so many eyes were trying to see who hid behind the sedan chair’s curtains. He hated being confined in a damned box on legs while four men carried him everywhere.

When he was in Peking on Saturdays, Robert usually worked into the afternoon and returned home early to spend time with his family. Since Anna was turning five, he decided to surprise her. He’d bought a bamboo flute several weeks earlier, and one of his Chinese employees had been teaching him to play a few simple tunes on it.

There were seven holes in the flute. The first hole was b
etween the hole for the mouth and the first finger hole. It was covered with a membrane that produces a kazoo like buzzing that added a rich sound to the notes—one that he thought Anna would delight in. That sound was something he had discovered was unique to Chinese flute playing. He knew the tunes he had learned were not perfect but Anna was only five. He hoped she would be pleased with his musical gift.

Guan-jiah met him at the door and was w
ringing his hands. “Why do you look so nervous?” Robert asked. “Has something happened?”

“
Nothing has happened, Master. It is a surprise. They are waiting upstairs in the piano room.”

“
Who is waiting?”

“
That is part of the surprise. Do not be disappointed, Master. She has been practicing eight to twelve hours a day for months. If she is not perfect, do not criticize her. At times, it was very hard for her and she cried a lot.”