Netherworld

by Lisa Morton

  At length, he continued: “Yes, well, the poor fellow’s corpse was quite bloodless. There was no trace of the remaining three men. And that’s as much as I know. I just yesterday received the letter informing me of this somewhat—er, unusual situation. I’d rule it as just more fancies of the Chinese mind—they’re superstitious heathens, you know—but for the fact that good British men are dying.”

  Diana wondered briefly if Edward had ever been to China himself. While she hadn’t, she had acquired some knowledge of the land’s history and practices; she’d found that many of the herbal remedies she employed against demonic forces had originated in China, and so she had developed a healthy respect for the culture. Unfortunately, Sir Edward’s attitude was the norm among westerners, and she saw no point in attempting to correct him.

  After a moment, Edward continued: “My ships are still anchored off Canton, waiting, and I don’t mind telling you, dear Diana, that this will be a serious blow to the Hinton Company if this crisis is not resolved forthwith. According to the Treaty of Nanking, the British are only allowed into a few ports in China; we can’t afford to lose Canton.”

  Diana set aside her own cup. “Well, this is a very serious matter. I need to proceed to Canton immediately.”

  Edward’s jaw dropped so far Diana was afraid he might injure himself.

  He fell heavily into his chair after a moment and leaned towards her urgently. “Diana, that is not why I asked you here to discuss this today. China is a primitive and dangerous place!”

  “Oh, Eddie,” Diana replied, taking one of his meaty paws, “I’ve heard China is quite a civilized country actually.”

  “I’m afraid you’ve been misled, then,” he blustered. “We English have managed to transform a few small areas there into something comfortable, but the Chinese themselves are a degenerate race. For goodness sake, their current dynasty, the Ching, is governed by a child emperor! Diana, it’s simply not possible.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” Diana said with a feigned sigh. “Then I’ll have to secure passage on some other company’s line, I suppose.”

  He uttered a groan, and shook his large head. “You are impossible!”

  “Yes,” Diana agreed, then added, “but I know how to solve your problem.”

  He stopped shaking his head and looked at her in disbelief. “You…know…?”

  “Oh yes. I’ve dealt with vampires before.”

  “You’ve…before….” Edward was plainly flabbergasted. “I know better than to doubt your word, but…surely you know how that sounds to a rational mind—”

  Diana said, “I assure you, no mind is more rational than mine. I have slain vampires before, and I can dispatch your vampires, I’m sure. And you would be doing me a favor as well.”

  “What favor?” he asked.

  “Our chat here today has reminded me that I have business of my own in Canton.”

  Edward’s eyebrows inched up before he asked, “That business?”

  “Yes,” she answered simply.

  Edward considered. “I will of course recompense you handsomely—”

  “Not necessary. I will ask in return, however, that I also be allowed to disembark briefly in Calcutta.”

  “Calcutta?! What…?” then he groaned and shook his head. “Another of those blasted things there as well, I suppose?”

  “Quite.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, my dear, but our cruise vessels don’t go by way of Calcutta. They proceed to Ceylon and then to China—”

  “But your cargo steamers do.”

  He actually spluttered. “But you…you can’t…a tramp steamer?!”

  “You have one leaving soon, don’t you?”

  Edward sighed deeply, then rose and walked to his desk, where he immediately began scratching out notes with a quill pen. “I’ll make the arrangements for your passage. But I want you to know I’m not very happy with this, Diana.”

  Diana walked over to plant a small kiss on his red cheek. “I know you’re not, Eddie, but believe me when I say I’m very grateful to you for allowing me to try.”

  Edward, his cheeks flushed, didn’t look up as he grumbled, “I love you, Diana, but you are a strange woman.”

  “Yes,” Diana agreed, “I am.”

  Chapter IX

  April 10, 1880

  Aboard the Althea

  Edward arranged an acceptably comfortable passage for Diana and Mina aboard the Hinton steamship Althea, which was named after his late wife. Althea had died shortly after William and Diana were wed, and so Diana had known her only for a short time, and felt the poignant tang of regret whenever she considered the ship’s name.

  Althea was one of the newer steamers, and Diana took a scientific interest in its steel hull (steel being lighter and sturdier than the iron formerly used). The crew were experienced, efficient and amiable, even if they did have a tendency to curtsey and nod to her (who was, after all, a Lady of the Empire) more than she preferred. The ship carried a cargo of English woolens, which Edward had informed Diana was much desired by both the Chinese and the Indians. He also told her they would pick up more cargo en route to Canton.

  Edward himself met her at the ship and showed her to her rooms, which were amazingly spotless, and included a tolerable bed and a private head; Diana was surprised to find guest quarters on the ship, but Edward told her that one of the crew had given up his quarters for her. Edward was somewhat nonplussed to see the cat accompanying her, but Diana quickly assured him that Mina was essential to her business. Mina turned out to find the ship utterly fascinating, and when she returned from the cargo hold with a dying rat in her jaws, the crew rewarded her with high praise, dubbing her the official ship’s mascot.

  After Diana’s single trunk had been placed in her rooms (and she’d received Edward’s praise for traveling lighter than almost any other female he’d ever met), Edward took her up to the bridge, and introduced her to the captain, and several of her traveling companions:

  Captain Terence Hughes was a taciturn seaman whose first words to her were to warn her that she’d clean up after her own seasickness. Diana assured him she’d been on ships before, and wasn’t affected by their motion. Hughes had grunted, and then wandered off to check on something in the engine room. Edward tried to assure her that Hughes was very capable and not a bad sort; Diana had merely smiled politely.

  Edward had saved his surprise for last: Antonia met them on the deck and told Diana she would also be making the journey aboard the Althea. The two women exchanged a warm embrace, but Antonia plainly was more interested in overseeing the crew than exchanging small talk with Diana and Edward. Antonia supervised the loading of the ship’s cargo while her father stood in the bridge smoking a cigar and chatting with one of his officers. When Edward left, Antonia offered him a perfunctory kiss and then turned away. Seeing the morose look on Edward’s face, Diana made sure she provided him with a long and grateful farewell hug.

  After Edward disembarked, Diana returned to her cabin to unpack her trunk and put things in order. Once the tasks were completed, she selected a book and ventured up to the deck with it, planning to enjoy it as the crew completed preparations. Diana knew the voyage would be long and often tedious, and had packed a number of books, including Homer’s classic The Odyssey, which she thought appropriate for a sea voyage. She improvised a deck chair from packing crates and settled in.

  She’d only read a few pages when she looked up from her book to discover a shockingly handsome and very young Oriental man standing nearby, observing her curiously. He wore an officer’s uniform, and when he realized she’d seen him he executed a deep bow, doffed his cap and informed her that he was First Mate Leung Yi-kin, “but please you call me Thomas.”

  Diana laid the book aside and stood to accept his offered hand. He was no more than seventeen, but unusually tall and well-built, with thick glossy black hair (cut short in the English style, not kept in the long queue of the Mandarins), high cheekbones, a strong jaw and thoughtful
dark brown eyes.

  “Why would I call you Thomas if your name is Leung Yi-kin?” Diana asked, trying not to mangle the Chinese syllables too badly.

  The young man was evidently pleased, and offered her a smile of perfect, white teeth. “Many English have problem to say my name, so they call me Thomas.”

  “Say your name again,” Diana asked.

  “Last name Leung. Given name Yi-kin,” he answered.

  “Well, I’d like to call you Yi-kin, if that’s all right with you.”

  Yi-kin nodded, then indicated her book. “You like to read?”

  “Very much,” Diana answered.

  “I also, but my English need work. Maybe you help me?”

  “I’d be happy to, but under one condition,” Diana told him, and then paused before adding, “teach me your language, too.”

  “Oh,” Yi-kin blurted out, “Cantonese very hard for English people!”

  “I didn’t expect it to be easy,” Diana assured him. “Teach me something right now.”

  Yi-kin thought for a moment, then offered up: “Nei ge maau hai ho cheung ming.”

  Diana had never heard Chinese before, and she immediately thought it was a beautiful language, not at all the “infantile gibberish” Sir Edward had called it, but rather musical, with highs and lows quite unlike anything found in English. She also knew better than to try to repeat it before her ear had grown more accustomed to it. “And what does that mean?” she asked.

  “’Your cat is very smart’,” Yi-kin told her.

  “Yi-kin,” Diana returned his grin, “I think I’m very glad we’re going to be on this voyage together.”

  That night, after the ship left port and was bound south down the coast of France, Diana shared dinner with Antonia and Captain Hughes.

  Despite his gruff manner, Captain Hughes did seem to enjoy regaling Diana with tales of the days when the Chinese trade was conducted by clipper ships that engaged in “tea races”, making the Chinato-England run around Cape Horn in one hundred days. Hughes turned out to be older than he looked, and had worked “the triangle” (which Diana realized meant the England-India-China trade route) since the days when wind-powered sailing vessels, not steamers, had dodged storms and pirates. When Hughes ran out of sea yarns, the conversation passed largely to the ladies, who chatted over the surprisingly good roast beef prepared by the Althea’s Scottish cook, Macnaughton.

  “Enjoy it while you can,” Antonia said, smiling, “because soon enough you’ll be quite sick of salt pork and fish.”

  “Oh dear—perhaps I should have taken your father up on the cruise ship, after all.”

  Hughes grunted in agreement.

  “You know my father thinks the world of you,” Antonia told Diana.

  Diana smiled and answered, “And he’s very dear to me. He was like a father to my husband, and has extended the same affection to me, for which I’m very grateful.”

  There was a pause before Antonia went on: “Yes, and that’s why I’m slightly surprised that he allowed you to accompany us.”

  When Antonia didn’t continue and Diana offered no response, Captain Hughes said, “China’s no place for a white woman. Neither of you should be here.”

  Diana sensed a fight coming, but decided she wasn’t going to back down easily. “And why is that, Captain Hughes? If they’re all like your man Yi-kin—”

  “Who? Oh, you mean Thomas,” Hughes said. “And no, they’re not like him. He’s been around white men long enough to have picked up a few manners.”

  Antonia also sensed the storm clouds gathering between the captain and Diana, and struggled to disperse them. “What Captain Hughes isn’t telling you, Diana, is that Canton could even be somewhat…dangerous.”

  Diana considered before answering. “I do appreciate your concern for my well-being, Antonia, but I’m probably better acquainted with dangerous situations than you might know. I’ve had considerable experience dealing with situations which might be thought of as…well, occult in nature. Besides which—how dangerous can it be if you’re going?”

  Hughes and Antonia exchanged an uncomfortable look, then Antonia spoke. “It’s not just the murders at the dockside warehouses. It’s also…well, relations between the British and the Chinese have traditionally been rather strained. I’m barely accepted as a representative of the Hinton Company.”

  “I thought those difficulties were in the past,” Diana said, thinking of the last opium war of 1856. “Strained how, exactly?”

  “The Chinese,” Hughes interrupted, “feel that certain treaties negotiated on behalf of European powers—including England—aren’t in their best interest. There are a number of—well, gangs, for want of a better word—that have sprung up around China with the singular goal of ousting all foreigners from Chinese soil.”

  “Triads,” added Antonia.

  Diana blinked in perplexity. “’Triads’?”

  “Secret societies. China has a great number of them. Apparently they were once quite noble, serving as revolutionary pockets to oust the Manchus from China, but they’ve devolved over the years into little more than criminal clans. And they think of us as foreign devils,” said Antonia.

  “Fan-gwai,” added Hughes, and then he spat into a corner.

  Diana considered all that, then asked, “Are you saying I’ll be in danger simply by being English?”

  “The young Chinaman, Thomas,” Antonia said, “has he told you what happened to his parents?”

  “No,” Diana answered. “Why would he?”

  “His family worked for English missionaries in a village not far from Canton. One day about ten years ago, when Thomas was only seven, he was at home when his older sister suddenly took his hand and told him to run. The two children hid in the bush, and watched as a group of men killed the missionaries, then burned down the entire village. Thomas and his sister saw the men—who were all members of one of these secret societies—stab their mother and father to death, not fifty feet from where they hid. After that they ran until they could run no more; they lived in the countryside for three days, scrounging what they could to eat and drink. Finally they were found near Whampoa and brought to Canton, where they lived in an orphanage until they ran away two years ago. Thomas’s sister married a merchant who took her to Shanghai, and Captain Hughes gave Thomas work on the Althea.”

  Diana, surprised by the notion that the clearly-bigoted Hughes would have hired one of the Oriental heathens, turned to see him staring down at his plate, apparently intent on cutting up a stubborn piece of beef. “Boy had picked up some English from the missionaries, and he has made himself useful.”

  “So,” Antonia said, looking pointedly at Diana, “you see why China could be a land of some risk for you.”

  “But what of you, Antonia?”

  “Well, I’ve been to Canton before. I know how to negotiate it.”

  Diana blinked in surprise. “I wasn’t aware that you were so widely traveled.”

  Antonia half-winced. “Yes, well…my father requires considerable assistance in running his company. Once we reach Canton, I shall confine myself entirely to the Hinton Company quarters and the British sector of Shameen, and I’d advise you to do the same. If you are intent on venturing forth to the Chinese areas, Diana, you’ll be on your own.”

  “Well, perhaps I shall have to ask for Mr. Leung to accompany me, then.”

  Antonia offered a half-nod. “As you will.”

  After a moment, Diana asked, “What about Calcutta?”

  Captain Hughes hesitated in mid-bite, a gesture Diana found curious. He was obviously waiting for Antonia to answer, and Diana wondered why.

  “We do dock at Calcutta, do we not? Or was your father wrong?” asked Diana.

  Antonia stared at her. “My father wasn’t wrong. We do indeed dock at Calcutta, but only for an overnight cargo load. You weren’t seriously thinking of going ashore there, surely…?”

  “I was. I will. I have business to attend to just outside of Calc
utta. Sir Edward assured me it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “It won’t be,” answered Antonia, “for us.”

  With some exasperation, Diana said, “Surely you’re not trying to tell me both destinations are unsafe? Hasn’t India become a popular destination for English who are looking for warmer climes during our winters?” Diana asked.

  Antonia shrugged. “Yes. India’s fairly safe….”

  Hughes muttered under his breath, “…if you don’t count the Black Hole of Calcutta.”

  Before leaving England, Diana had studied some of Calcutta’s history, and she was thus knowledgeable on the infamous 1756 incident in which one hundred twenty-three British soldiers were supposedly imprisoned by the cruel Indian nawab Siraj-ud-Daula in a cell so small that most of them had perished overnight.

  “That was over a century ago, Captain. Surely you can’t apply those sorts of conflicts to modern relations?” she asked.

  Antonia shrugged. “We won’t stop you, Diana, but you must understand we’ll only be able to put you in touch with our representative in the city; we won’t be able to help you beyond that.”

  Diana smiled at Antonia, and said, “I quite understand and accept.”

  Antonia’s smile was slow in coming, but its brittleness gave Diana no pleasure when it finally arrived.

  Chapter X

  April 15, 1880

  Aboard the Althea

  Captain Hughes may not have provided sterling dinner conversation, but fortunately he was a very competent sailor, and their voyage proved to be overall a calm and pleasant one. They encountered neither human nor natural obstacle, for which Diana was secretly very glad—since she’d lied about not suffering from seasickness. Truthfully, she couldn’t stomach storms at sea, and was relieved that so far she hadn’t suffered that indignity.

  Five nights after they left London—just after docking briefly at Gibraltar before resuming their voyage—Diana had a rare nightmare.