“What are you going to do now?” William asked.
“What choices have I? You were right in saying I needed to complete this transaction quickly. I have to find the man.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“Yes.” He was relieved he didn’t have to go alone. “How long will it take you to get ready?”
“Only a moment,” William replied. “I’m going to my quarters for my pistol. I don’t think it’s wise for us to go without weapons.”
“You’re right.” Robert patted his coat pocket. “I also have my pistol. I’ll wait outside the consulate.” When Robert left the building, he saw some Chinese men on the sidewalk across from the consulate. They were sitting on stools while barbers shaved their skulls and faces without the benefit of soap.
A street vender was selling battered, deep fried radish cakes on the corner. The smell caused Robert’s stomach to grumble. He hadn’t eaten since Patridge’s house. He bought three of the cakes. If he were going to complete Ayaou’s purchase, he needed the food to keep his strength up. There was no telling what was going to happen next.
The vender dipped the shredded radish in the batter mixed with flour then into the pan of oil simmering over a bed of hot coals kept inside a ceramic pot like stove. He sang while he cooked. “Radishes, a delicious taste to meet everyone’s wishes; radishes caked with baby shrimp for a nice touch!”
William arrived, and Robert offered him a radish cake. William made a face and shook his head. “I don’t trust the food from street venders,” he said. “It’s made me sick before. There have been days that I’ve spent most of my time squatting over the chamber pot instead of working.”
Robert had eaten from street venders before, and nothing had happened to him aside from some indigestion. Maybe he had a stronger stomach than William did. Robert finished the food during the walk to the American sector. When they arrived at Ward’s house, no one answered their repeated knocking.
“Here,” William said. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled, but the door refused to yield. They went to the back looking for another entrance but found nothing open. Night was settling in and there were no lights in the house. It was obvious no one was there.
What was he to do? Ayaou belonged to Ward until he paid for her. This debt was not going to disappear. Unless Ward was dead, Robert had no choice but to keep hunting.
“This isn’t doing us any good,” William said. “Come back to the consulate. Maybe the bastard will die in a day or two, and your problems will be solved.”
“But what if he doesn’t die, and I don’t pay him as he expects?” Robert shook his head. “No, I must keep looking. I won’t rest until I’ve found him.”
“Then I will stick with you until the task is done,” William said. This show of loyalty had an impact on Robert. His eyes watered. He fought back the threatening tears. “My friend,” William said, and put a hand on Robert’s shoulder, “if you want to find Ward, we should be looking for the man he answers to—that’s Boss Takee. He’s responsible for recruiting Ward and making him a general in the pay of the Chinese. If Ward survives, it will be Takee who decides whether he gets another chance.”
“Do you know where we can find Takee?”
“If we find him, it will be at one of his businesses in the Chinese sector of Shanghai. That isn’t a place you want to go alone day or night. I suggest we try his opium parlor first. If he is not there, we’ll go to the warehouses where the opium is stored. Since he is in charge of the native workers in those warehouses, he might be there. If we cannot find him at either of those locations, I suggest we give up. I don’t think it wise to let others know we are looking for Takee. He has one of the largest and most dangerous gangs in Shanghai. Ward recruited most of his army from those gangs?”
A jolt of electricity raced through Robert. “Is Ward, Captain Patridge and this criminal Boss Takee connected?”
William’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “You didn’t know? I thought when you went to Patridge’s summerhouse for your holiday you were joining him. After all, Hollister did soon after arriving to China.”
“They’re in this together.” Robert was shocked. It hurt to realize how trusting and naive he’d been. Like a stupid, blind fool, he’d allowed himself to be manipulated. He was sure that Willow had been part of the plan too. What would Patridge have done next to steal his soul?
When circumstances changed, Robert resolved to extricate himself from Patridge and end the agreement between them. What other choice did he have? To keep Ayaou, Robert needed Patridge, who could exert influence on Boss Takee to keep Ward in line and away from them. It made sense that while Robert did what Patridge wanted, he wouldn’t have to worry about Ward. It would be like living in an invisible cage waiting for his first chance to escape.
“Are you okay, Robert? I’ve never seen you look like this before.”
Robert snapped out of his black mood. “I’m fine,” he said, although he didn’t feel it. Night arrived and it was dark by the time William led Robert to a gambling establishment and whorehouse that also operated a back-room opium den owned by Boss Takee.
“Stiffen your resolve,” William said, “because you are going to be sorely tested. I should know. I was tempted the first time I came here with my brother Horatio, who visits places like this all the time.”
“What?” Robert said, thrown off balance. It was impossible to imagine Horatio Lay in a place such as this with the attitude he had of the Chinese.
“Don’t be shocked, Robert,” William said. “Horatio doesn’t come here for the gambling or the opium. He comes for the women. My older brother is not one of the men that Boss Takee or Captain Patridge owns. Horatio visits other whorehouses too. I’ve told him to buy a woman, but he won’t do it.” William opened the door. They stepped into a gloomy interior where it took a moment for Robert’s vision to adjust to the darkness.
“Gentlemen,” a voice said in English with a thick Russian accent. An old woman appeared from the shadows. She had doughy skin and eyes like steel marbles. Her henna dyed hair was curly and brittle. She held a cigarette in one hand that was stuck in a long ivory holder. She put the holder in her mouth and sucked. He saw four burly men sitting like menacing gargoyles on stools in the murky corners. Robert recoiled and took a step back toward the door.
“Don’t be alarmed.” William whispered. “Those are the devils that protect this place of sin. This woman is the mamasan. She oversees the prostitutes. If we wanted a woman, she’d be the one to supply her.”
“What can we do for you tonight?” She stepped closer to Robert. Her breath reeked of tobacco and the sour stench of liquor. When she smiled, she revealed a mouth full of stained teeth.
“What kind of women are you looking for, sir?” she said, staring into Robert’s eyes as if she saw something that he didn’t know was there. “We have women to fit all tastes. If you want a child, boy or girl, we can provide that too.”
Panic raced through Robert, and he wanted to flee. It was as if she’d read his mind. He did want a woman—two in fact, Ayaou and Shao-mei. Her hand was like a claw when it closed on his arm. “Come this way. Maybe it is both opium and a girl that you desire. We offer many pleasures here. Would you like to start with a card game?”
William forced her to let go of Robert and almost had to push her to do it. “We are not here for women, gambling or opium,” he said.
The four guards stepped out of the shadows with menacing looks on their faces. One held what looked like a wooden club at least two feet long. Robert reached in his pocket for the revolver.
“We are here on business to see Boss Takee,” William said. “My friend knows Captain Patridge and fought with Ward as an officer in his army.”
A change of expression flowed across the woman’s face. Was it fear that Robert saw leap into her eyes? She stepped back and held a hand up toward the guards. They hesitated for an instant then retreated into their gloomy corners.
“You want
to see Boss Takee?” The tone in her voice had changed too. The voice that greeted them sounded as if it had been coated with honey. This voice sounded as if it had been scraped with a rusty metal file. “I do not know where he is.”
“Who does?” William demanded. “This is urgent. Captain Patridge and General Ward will be angry if we don’t find Takee. Take us to someone who knows where he is.” Robert stared at his friend, surprised at what he was discovering. William had an iron core.
“Come with me,” she said, and led them through another set of doors into the smoke filled gambling den beyond. As they followed her, Robert saw card tables crowded with men. Women from all races in slinky Chinese silk dresses stood behind the men as they gambled. One man was stroking a woman’s leg and running his hand up under her dress. She was licking one of his ears. The same man pushed out several hundred yuan and took two cards from the dealer.
They went through a door where Robert came to a stop as he hit a wall of smoke that wasn’t tobacco. His eyes watered and started to swell shut. His lungs wheezed. “I can’t stay here,” he gasped. “What is that?”
“Opium,” William said.
The woman was staring at them with hostility and fear.
“Go back out front,” William said. “If Boss Takee is here, I’ll bring him to you.” Robert hurried past the card tables to the entrance hall. The four guards stared at him from their shadowy perches, and he kept a hand in his jacket pocket on the grip of the revolver.
“Rotten luck,” William said, as he walked through the door. “Boss Takee left to Macao this morning and won’t be back for a month.”
They left the building, and Robert breathed the outside air as if it were nectar.
“At least we know you won’t become addicted to opium,” William said. They returned to the British consulate where Robert found an empty bed.
The next morning Robert was up early. After eating, he went looking for William. “What do I do now?” he said, after finding his friend at his desk.
William knew Shanghai, and Robert wanted advice.
“I asked around, and Ward’s second-in-command, Henry Burgevine, is on board an American ship that’s bound for California. He’s sailing tomorrow morning, so you had better see him today. He may know where Ward is?”
William took a piece of paper and handed it to Robert. “That’s the name of the ship. I regret I cannot come with you today. I can’t afford to take more time away from my work.”
“I am grateful for your help, and I’m sorry if I caused you any difficulties.”
“It was nothing,” William replied. “What are friends for? I’m sure you would do the same for me if I were in your shoes.” He put a hand on Robert’s shoulder. There was genuine concern in his eyes. “Robert, if you can’t find Ward today, leave Shanghai and forget him. Ward and his kind are the wrong sort to deal with. You have your girl now.”
Robert asked, “What about the Chinese? How do they look at Westerner’s that own their women?”
“The Chinese do not judge a man’s physical needs as in Victorian England. Here a man can have as many women as he can afford, which is a sign of his status.
“It’s a Chinese tradition that a wealthy man has both wives and concubines, and they live under one roof. Even after a wealthy man has both wives and concubines, he’ll still visit courtesans. There is no religious sexual repression in China. In fact, it’s impossible for an official in the government to avoid dinners with female entertainers.”
He tapped the desk for emphasis. “However, any girl bought by a foreigner loses face with other Chinese women and will never be able to live a normal life again. You see, most of us leave China eventually, and the women stay behind. It isn’t an appealing fate.”
“What do you mean by losing face?”
“That’s complicated,” William replied. “As I see it, gaining or losing face has something to do with your influence and power but even a penniless monk can have more face than a powerful general or governor depending on his reputation. I think it means to take a risk to achieve something. If you succeed, even if it means breaking a few laws and hurting or killing innocent people along the way, you gain face but if you take the risk and lose, you end with no face. With no face, a respectable Chinese man will probably hang himself.”
Robert shook his head. “A difficult concept.”
“In China, face is everything, because what one man does can destroy an entire family or clan.”
“You mentioned most foreign men leave their women when they return home. What happens to the women?”
“After the foreigner leaves, the Chinese woman does not live a normal life. Most become dockside prostitutes. And if the woman had children by the man, the children suffer a worse fate.
“I’ve seen beautiful half-breed girls as young as eight or nine hooked on opium selling their bodies to any man that pays. They do it to survive. When most of these half-breeds get old enough to have babies, the baby usually ends in the river.”
“It sounds like Chinese women have no value,” Robert said, shocked.
“Not so.” William shook his head. “If you are the dowager of a large, respectable family, you have power in the home.”
William laughed at the confusion on Robert’s face. “Let me explain further,” he said. “The man could be a peasant farmer or the governor of a province appointed by the Emperor, and that governor commands an army and collects hundreds of thousands of taels in taxes each year. He married because of an arrangement made soon after his birth. Besides that first wife, he could have married two or three others and maybe has a few concubines. He also plays around with a singsong girl now and then, who is of course hoping he buys them and makes them his concubines so their status improves.
“However, once that first wife gives him a son, she has the power inside the home. She can make life wonderful or miserable for the entire family, including the husband. There is nothing the man can do about it. It’s the Chinese way.
“When a son marries, he hasn’t gained a wife—he’s given a daughter-in-law to his mother. The horrible part is that the daughter-in-law can be treated like a slave, and the son can do nothing about it. The son won’t cross his mother.
“Then the daughter-in-law gives birth to a son. One-day her husband’s mother dies and suddenly the wife, who was the daughter-in-law, is now the dowager and has the power inside the home. Now she can make life miserable or wonderful for the family. When her sons marry, she has daughters-in-law to boss around until she dies, and the power inside the home passes to someone else. It can be a vicious cycle.”
Everything Robert heard confused and bothered him at the same time.
William put a hand on Robert’s shoulder. “Welcome to China, Robert,” he said, with a big grin.
“What will I learn next?”
“From all the questions you were asking about the women here, I think that’s what you were looking for. Go back to Ningpo and enjoy your concubine. I suspect you worry about what your family and friends back in Ireland might think of you, but this is China. No one will condemn you here. I will not.”
William knew Robert better than he knew himself. What would William have thought if he knew the truth—that Robert had two women instead of one? Would William have condemned him and seen him for the depraved man he was?
For the truth was that before Ayaou had fought her way into his heart, Robert’s desire for women kept him awake nights and filled his thoughts during the days. Every time he saw a woman with a beautiful neck or delicate hands or pixie ears, the temptations that had ruled him in Belfast returned. All he wanted was to touch his lips to the lips of every appealing woman he saw and send his exploring hands over their naked bodies. Those demands had made him a slave to his libido and had driven him into the arms of Me-ta-tae and Willow. If Ayaou hadn’t come along, there would have been others. Robert was sure of that.
On the other hand, he was fooling himself thinking that Ayaou was going to suffice
, because Shao-mei was there too. Robert couldn’t deny that he also wanted the younger sister. It was against everything he’d been raised to believe. He hated himself for it. This constant battle with the flesh was exhausting.
He wondered again what Shao-mei had meant by the Chinese phrase Wu Hei Nee. He couldn’t get those words and the inviting tone of her voice or that adoring look in her eyes out of his head. And every time he closed his eyes, he saw her naked body getting out of the bed.
Robert kept a straight face and hid the turmoil boiling inside. He thanked his friend again and went on his way. It felt good knowing he had William on his side. Only a friend would have done what William had done last night.
At the same time, it hurt to think he’d fooled himself into thinking that Patridge was a friend. Robert would be doubly cautious in the future before he let anyone else get close to him. Now he trusted two people—Ayaou and William. He wasn’t as lonely as he had been.
Shanghai was different in the day. It wasn’t as threatening. With the ship’s name in his hand, he walked to the far side of Shanghai and found it anchored in the river. He paid a man to take him out in a sampan. Before he went up the ship’s ladder to the deck, the unwashed bodies of hundreds of men assaulted his sense of smell.
“You taking coolies to America too?” a ship’s officer asked Robert as he set foot on deck. “Well, we’re full. Find another ship.”
“I’m here to see Burgevine,” Robert said. “I don’t know anything about these coolies. Why are you taking them to America?”
“To build railroads,” the man said. “They work harder than slaves and cost less. Feed them a bowl of rice and they’ll work all day and half the night for next to nothing.” The officer nodded toward an open hatch in the deck. “Take that ladder down to the first deck and walk aft. Burgevine’s cabin is there.”
The space between decks was cramped. Robert walked stooped over. There were bales of cargo but no coolies. They must have been crowded into the lower decks below the waterline. The foulness of unwashed, sweaty bodies was stronger here. There was also the sharp stench of urine. It was all Robert could do to refrain from retching.
My Splendid Concubine Page 16