The Cloud Leopard's Daughter

by Deborah Challinor

  He waited.

  ‘I don’t want to go back to Longwei again, but I will for Tahi and Ma and Pa. And the others.’

  ‘Well, let’s wait and see.’

  He turned down the lamps and closed the door behind them.

  *

  Kitty, Rian, Bao, Ka and the crew were making their way back to the wharves, trudging along Queen’s Road, feeling tired and dispirited. The moon was full and bright and hung in the sky like a glorious pale gold pearl, but they barely noticed it, except to be grateful that it lit their way. Traffic on the road was busy but soon most of it would be gone as the city’s Chinese population retreated indoors in reluctant observance of the curfew, leaving only British subjects and other foreign visitors out and about.

  Kitty’s feet were so sore she was almost tempted to hail a sedan chair but refused to. She had principles, and the grumpier she got the more rigidly she stuck to them. Even Rian had suggested a chair.

  ‘No! I don’t need one.’

  ‘Then why are you limping?’

  ‘Because my feet hurt!’

  ‘Then hire a damn chair.’

  ‘I said no, Rian.’

  ‘Well, shall I carry you?’

  ‘Don’t be so stupid!’

  ‘Is it blisters?’ Simon asked.

  Kitty gave him a withering look. ‘No, actually, it’s gout.’

  ‘I didn’t know you had gout.’

  ‘Of course it’s bloody blisters.’

  ‘You could take your boots off,’ Simon suggested.

  Kitty said, ‘And walk all the way home in bare feet?’

  ‘Well, no. You could have my socks. Not the freshest, I’m afraid, but better than nothing.’

  ‘Mine, too, chérie,’ Pierre volunteered.

  Tahi said, ‘And mine.’

  Mick kicked off his boots, inspected his socks, and kept quiet.

  Rian also offered, but no one else was wearing socks. Haunui was barefoot.

  Kitty sat down at the edge of the road and started to unlace her boots.

  ‘Not here,’ Rian said, pulling her up by an arm. ‘You’ll get run over. Let’s cross the road and sit down.’

  They all trooped across Queen’s Road to a public garden, its gravel paths, trees and shrubs, lotus ponds and pavilions receding into shadow, where Kitty sat on a wooden bench and took off her boots. By the moonlight she could see black patches on her heels where blisters had broken and bled.

  ‘Painful, eh?’ Haunui said. ‘You want some of Hawk’s stinky bear grease. Fixed mine.’

  Kitty made a face: Hawk’s ointment really did reek, but it seemed to help most wounds heal. She dabbed at the blisters with her own socks to wipe away the blood and ooze, then pulled on Rian’s. They didn’t smell the best, but then neither did hers. Then she tugged on all the rest until she had a thick layer of wool beneath her feet, almost as good as boots but with very little pressure on her heels. She only hoped no one else got blisters now from going without socks.

  ‘Hey,’ Ropata exclaimed. ‘Isn’t that Israel?’

  They all turned to follow his gaze.

  ‘Where?’ Rian demanded, squinting into the darkness.

  ‘Going into the gardens, down there by that pine tree. About a hundred yards away? I just saw the shape of his hat. I’m sure it was him.’

  Kitty’s heart was thumping so violently she could barely hear herself think. ‘Was Amber with him?’

  ‘I didn’t see her. I only just caught sight of him.’

  Kitty grabbed Rian’s hand and yanked. ‘Come on, we have to catch up with him!’

  ‘Hold on, hold on, let me think.’

  ‘No, come on!’

  Rian twisted his hand out of her grasp and grabbed her wrist. ‘No, Kitty, wait! What if she isn’t with him but he knows where she is? If we all go pounding after him and lose him, we lose her as well. No, we’ll follow him and find out where he’s going.’

  ‘Rian!’ Kitty couldn’t believe what he was saying.

  ‘If she’s with him we’ll see her soon enough. And keep your voice down. He might hear us.’

  Kitty felt like she’d been slapped. ‘You keep your bloody voice down.’

  Rian cupped his hands around her face. ‘Please, Kitty, just do as I say, just this once. We might only get this one chance. I know you’re frightened. So am I. Please?’

  She gazed into his eyes, silver in the moonlight, and nodded.

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘That’s my girl.’ He picked up her boots, then handed them to Simon. ‘Here, take these, will you?’

  They entered the gardens following a path that crunched alarmingly loudly beneath their feet. Rian held up a hand; somewhere farther into the gardens they could hear other footsteps, so the owner could probably hear them.

  ‘Move onto the grass,’ Rian said quietly.

  They all did. Coming to a little arched bridge spanning a pond filled with lotus plants, their flowers closed for the night, they crossed one at a time, Kitty feeling ridiculously like one of the billy goats gruff. They paused on the other side and listened again. They could still hear the original footsteps but now they thought they could hear more, approaching from a different direction.

  Rian raised his eyebrows at Hawk, whose face, as usual, remained impassive. ‘Sounds to me like quite a lot of feet,’ he said.

  ‘More than us?’ Rian asked.

  Hawk nodded. ‘Perhaps. We are eleven but the women cannot fight.’

  ‘I will,’ Kitty said fiercely. ‘I’ll fight for my daughter.’

  Rian settled a calming hand on her arm. ‘It could be nothing, just soldiers going back to the barracks. We might not even pass them.’

  ‘Hush,’ Hawk said.

  They all fell silent, and listened.

  *

  ‘Are you sure this is the right way?’ Amber asked over her shoulder.

  Israel was feeling slightly hysterical and had a terrible urge to laugh. Of course it wasn’t the right way. How could it be? He’d made the whole fucking thing up! He slipped the opium bottle out of his pocket and took another sip. He shouldn’t, he knew he shouldn’t, but it was definitely taking the edge off his nerves, and God knew they needed the edge taken off them.

  He hadn’t told Longwei where they were allegedly meeting William Eastwood in the gardens, and Longwei hadn’t asked, which, now that he thought about it, was a bit odd, so he supposed they should keep walking until they came to a spot that looked suitable for a tryst. If Longwei couldn’t find them, he, Israel, would be euphoric. They’d wait for ten minutes just in case, then get out of this horrible place as fast as possible. Amber would be full of bloody questions, of course, she always was, but she’d forget them as soon as he told her she was now an orphan.

  ‘It is,’ he said. ‘Keep going.’

  ‘I can hear other people walking around,’ she said. ‘Quite a few, actually.’

  That’ll be Longwei, Israel thought, feeling suddenly sick with disappointment. Somewhere deep inside himself he’d harboured a desperate hope that Longwei wouldn’t actually turn up, but obviously he had.

  They walked through a pavilion paved with wide flagstones, passed a pond, then crunched along yet another path that opened through an arch onto a wide lawn.

  Israel’s heart sank into his boots when he saw that Longwei was standing in the middle of it. With him were Ip To and perhaps a dozen of his shifty-looking pirate cronies.

  He and Amber had no choice but to approach them. Amber dumped her swag on the ground, which annoyed him because she was bound to waste precious seconds grabbing it when it came time for them to run. And then he remembered that she didn’t know yet that they would be running: he should have told her before they’d got here.

  Longwei produced a ridiculously expensive-looking watch from the depths of his tunic and tilted the face towards the moon.

  ‘Are my mother and father well?’ Amber snapped. ‘And my husband? And what about the rest of the crew?’

  Israel nearly faint
ed from an overwhelming surge of panic. Why couldn’t she just keep her mouth shut?

  Longwei stared at her. ‘I assume so.’ He looked back at his watch. ‘Mr Eastwood appears to be late.’

  ‘Who—’ Amber began before Israel stepped on her foot, hard.

  Sweat popped out on his brow and in his armpits. He’d planned to suggest to Longwei that William Eastwood must have developed cold feet, to explain his failure to appear, but he’d also completely forgotten that Amber didn’t know anything about the fictitious arrangements involving Eastwood. But perhaps he could still get away with it, if he was careful with his words.

  ‘Maybe he thought better of it,’ he said. ‘Or changed his mind?’

  Longwei smiled. ‘It is only five minutes past the hour. Let us give the man a little more time, shall we?’

  ‘I really don’t think he’ll be coming,’ Israel said, hearing the desperation in his own voice. ‘He said he’d be here exactly on the dot of eight.’ Then he had a spectacularly brilliant idea. ‘Maybe he didn’t fancy being outdoors. Why don’t I take Amber to his house?’

  Amber demanded, ‘Whose house? Why would I want to go to someone’s house?’

  Israel caught her gaze and tried, with all his will, to convey to her that she had to play along with him. ‘William Eastwood’s. You know.’

  ‘Who the bloody hell’s William Eastwood?’ Amber exclaimed, her voice getting louder with every word.

  Longwei said, ‘Oh dear. It seems that the spinner of yarns may well have been exposed.’

  ‘What yarns?’ Israel flinched as Amber punched him on the arm. ‘Israel, what the hell is going on?’

  ‘Look,’ he said to Longwei as he furiously tried to think. ‘There’s a reason for all this.’

  ‘I have no interest in your reasons,’ Longwei said flatly. ‘You are a dead man. And you, Mrs Atuahaere, are coming with me.’

  *

  ‘Like hell she is,’ Rian called out, stepping from the shadows.

  There was an ominous shiiiing sound as a dozen sabres were unsheathed simultaneously.

  Kitty swallowed nervously. They hadn’t come heavily armed, having not started the day expecting that they’d need to, but she knew Rian was carrying his revolver and that the others would have knives tucked away somewhere. No match, however, for the pirates’ weapons, which could take your head off with one stroke.

  But her worry about how well armed they were, or weren’t, was subsumed by her delight at seeing Amber. She rushed forwards, only to be jerked back by Rian’s hand gripping her forearm. ‘Just wait,’ he hissed.

  Haunui had been right, she thought: Amber must have been with Israel. How could he? How could he, after all she and Rian had done for him? She glanced at Tahi, whose face was set in rigid lines of absolute fury.

  Longwei took a firm hold of Amber’s wrist and the two groups approached each other warily. Israel, Kitty noted, was now surrounded by Longwei’s men.

  Close up she could see that Amber didn’t look particularly well. There were great shadows beneath her eyes and her face seemed pale. It might just be the moonlight but she feared it wasn’t. Israel certainly didn’t look too chipper with two black eyes and a swollen nose, and a good job, too.

  ‘Tahi!’ Amber said, ‘are you all right?’

  ‘Yes, but are you?’

  ‘Fine. Ma and Pa? You haven’t been harmed?’

  Kitty glanced at Rian. What was she talking about?

  ‘Thank you for letting them go,’ Amber said to Longwei.

  He frowned at her. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘Thank you for letting my family and friends go. I didn’t realise they’d be released so quickly.’

  Longwei looked contemplative, then reached out and hauled Israel forwards by an ear. ‘Explain to us what it is you have been telling her.’

  ‘I haven’t told her anything.’

  ‘I think you have.’

  He drew his own sabre then and held the tip to Israel’s throat. It moved as Israel swallowed and said, ‘I told her you’d taken the crew of the Katipo prisoner.’

  A terrible silence fell over the little crowd. Even Longwei’s men were engrossed – at least those who could understand English were.

  ‘Why?’ Longwei demanded.

  ‘To get her to come here tonight.’

  Longwei nodded again. ‘Because the story you told about William Eastwood was a lie, too, yes?’

  Israel admitted that it was.

  ‘And all this so you could take this girl for yourself?’

  Israel was silent for several seconds, then burst out, ‘She should be with me! Not with him,’ he rasped, pointing a shaking finger at Tahi. ‘Me! I’m the one who can look after her. I know what she likes, I can make her laugh, I can make her happy. I’ve just never had the—’

  Amber flew at him, punching up at his already damaged face and kicking his shins and doing her best to ram her knee into his balls.

  ‘You bastard!’ she shrieked. ‘You bloody, bloody bastard. You told me they’d been taken captive! I was worried sick! And all because you were jealous and felt sorry for yourself! You . . . fucker!’

  ‘Bravo!’ Pierre exclaimed, applauding.

  Tahi stepped forwards but Longwei got there first and pulled her off Israel, then Haunui steered Tahi back the way he’d come, for fear that a killing might occur.

  ‘We’ll take Amber and go now but you can keep him,’ Rian said, nodding at Israel. ‘We don’t want him.’

  ‘I do not think so. He made a contract with me, and so did you. Neither contracts were executed. The girl comes with me. You have lost her.’

  ‘No!’ Kitty cried.

  Longwei ignored her and turned away. Amber booted him in the leg but Ip To simply picked her up and carried her.

  Rian drew his pistol. Out came the sabres again.

  ‘Stop!’ Bao commanded, her voice ringing through the clear night air.

  She moved between the two groups and uttered a sharp order to Ip To, who glanced at Longwei, then put Amber down.

  A rapid conversation in Cantonese ensued between Bao and Longwei, then Bao said to Rian, ‘Please excuse us. I wish to discuss a proposition with Longwei that I hope will secure Amber’s release, and I would prefer to speak in his language. Do I have your permission to proceed?’

  ‘Christ, of course you do, Bao. If you need money, for God’s sake, say so. If it’s something else he wants we can get him practically anything.’

  Bao gave a small nod. ‘Thank you.’

  She and Longwei walked away, into the shadows, though the sounds of their voices carried. Not their words, however, to the disappointment of all those who could speak the the language.

  At one point the conversation became very heated and Kitty despaired, her heart thudding painfully as she feared that all might be lost, then the voices resumed their calm cadence and hope flooded her chest once more.

  Bao and Longwei returned thirty minutes later.

  ‘A contract has been made,’ Longwei announced to Rian. ‘I will release your daughter.’

  Her knees feeling wobbly with relief Kitty hurried to Amber and wrapped her arms around her, horrified to find that she could feel her ribs beneath the fabric of her dress. ‘Oh, my darling, didn’t he feed you?’

  ‘I was sick. I slept most of the time.’

  ‘You slept? Why?’

  ‘I had some really strong medicine. It knocked me out.’

  Bao’s lips flattened into a straight and very forbidding line as she marched over to Israel, spun him around and, to his shock, tore off his jacket.

  ‘Give me that, that’s mine,’ he complained, trying to snatch it back.

  Bao leapt away from him, digging through the pockets. In a moment she’d produced the opium bottle, and a ring that glittered faintly in the moonlight.

  Amber stepped closer. ‘That’s my wedding ring!’

  Passing it to Amber, Bao wrenched the cork from the bottle and licked it. ‘You gave her this
?’ she accused, furious. ‘How could you? Opium is death! You could have killed her!’

  ‘Yes, but I was careful. I love her!’

  Dropping the bottle, Bao jumped straight up and kicked out with a foot that connected very solidly with Israel’s already broken nose, then performed a half turn in the air and let fly with the other foot, collecting him across the side of the head. He went down, hard. A cheer erupted from both groups.

  Astonished, Kitty realised that her mouth was hanging open. She shut it with an audible click of her teeth. Longwei, she noticed, was staring at Bao with undisguised admiration.

  Israel struggled to his feet, holding his jaw, his eyes wild. He shoved his way past several of Longwei’s men and ran, sprinting madly across the grass, his moon shadow streaking behind him.

  Longwei turned to Rian and gave a formal bow, divesting himself of any claim to Israel.

  Rian, in turn, exchanged a glance with Haunui, who nodded, and they both stood aside to let Tahi past. He took off after Israel like a cat after a mouse, catching up with him just before he ducked into a stand of bamboo, which would have been a mistake anyway, Kitty thought, because he’d have been caught in it like a bug pinned to a board.

  She watched what followed with almost complete indifference, except to wonder briefly what had happened to the cheeky lad she’d met outside that hotel in Melbourne. He’d been full of life and full of himself, but it was true that he’d been light-fingered, and it was clear he’d not learnt to keep his hands off what didn’t belong to him. She had no sympathy for him, and tried to recall when she’d become so hard-hearted. Not when she’d killed Amiria, because she’d had no choice about that. Probably, she thought, when she’d shot Avery Bannerman.

  She decided it didn’t matter anyway, not when her family were concerned.

  *

  Tahi grabbed Israel’s collar and jerked him backwards, unbalancing him. Israel spun on one leg, raising the knee of the other and withdrawing a long, curved, Chinese fighting knife from the ankle of his boot. The handle snagged on his cuff and Tahi heard him swear as he tore fabric extricating it.

  Tahi fell back, drawing a knife of his own from his waistband. His, however, was shorter, though its blade glinted malignantly in the moonlight. It wasn’t a mere, a patu, a taiaha or tewhatewha, a musket or a rifle, the weapons Haunui had trained him so thoroughly to use, but he knew how to handle it. He was confident, and he was angry.