Part 11 (1/2)
Chapter 18.
On the road in China Kyle might have thought the night had been a dream if he hadn't woken with Troth tucked under his arm. How foolish they'd been to end up on the hard floor rather than the bed. Yet he'd slept better than he had in a long, long time.
Though he hadn't forgotten how efficiently she'd battled a gang of villains, in repose she looked vulnerable and younger than her years. He felt intensely protective, not to mention amazed at his willpower the night before. Dressed as a man and with no more feminine wiles than a child, she was still so sensual that he'd almost thrown honor out the paper-covered window. The l.u.s.tful male part of his brain had eagerly pointed out that she was of age and more than willing, but he'd had just enough decency left to resist.
Careful not to wake her, he studied the fascinating planes of her face. It was hard to believe she thought herself unattractive when she had such striking beauty. On the voyage home, he'd have to teach her to be more wary of men. At the moment, she was so hungry for kindness and admiration that she'd be easy prey for the unscrupulous.
Her eyes fluttered open, revealing hope and doubt in the brown depths. ”My lord. Kyle. I... I'm glad you did not send me away last night.”
”That would have been the wiser course, but I found too much pleasure in your closeness. I haven't had a bedmate in many years.” He hesitated. ”The hunger for the touch of another person runs deep, as does desire. It can be treacherously easy to confuse those things with love, but there is far more to love than physical feelings.”
Something else showed in her gaze. Amus.e.m.e.nt, perhaps? He must sound hilariously pompous.
”I shall bear that in mind, Kyle.”
She spoke so demurely that he suspected she'd just acquired her first wile. She was a quick learner. By the time they reached England, she'd be up to snuff, though he would still keep a close eye on her social progress to ensure that she didn't go astray. Might she want to be presented in London? That could be arranged, though once she encountered the acid gossip and stuffy formality of aristocratic society she'd probably lose interest in it.
How delicious it was to lie with her, only a couple of layers of cotton separating them. It would be so easy to lean forward and kiss that slender throat...
He rolled over and got to his feet. ”From the noise in the courtyard, everyone at the Inn of Intoxicated Repose is up and about, and we should be the same.”
”The Inn of Heavenly Peace.” She rose and donned her outer garments.
After they'd dressed and he'd put on his graying wig, she bandaged his face and head again, adding a few more stains. They breakfasted on tea and rice cakes and fruit, then resumed their journey.
Their road ran into a larger one with steady traffic in both directions. Troth ordered Kyle onto the donkey. Dodging dust and faster-moving travelers was nowhere near as amusing as walking and talking with Troth had been the previous day.
He was about to ask if there might be an alternative route when they heard a deep drumming sound ahead. They crested a hill and saw on the road below a body of marching troops starting up the incline toward them. Carts, pedestrians, and riders pulled off into the trees to let the soldiers through.
”Imperial Bannermen,” Troth said under her breath. ”Crack troops on their way to Canton, probably.”
Having no desire to encounter soldiers, Kyle said, ”There's a small track ahead to the right. Shall we take it?”
Troth squinted against the sun as she read the painted characters running down a signpost at the intersection of the track and the main road. ”It leads to a famous waterfall and monastery. I'd thought of taking you there, so I suppose this is an omen.”
She urged the donkey along as fast as it would go. By the time they turned onto the track, the Bannermen were close enough for them to see the bamboo armor and pointed metal helmets. When they'd traveled far enough to be obscured by the undergrowth, Kyle dismounted and turned to watch the marching troops. The earth vibrated to the thunder of their steps. ”Do your people fear the Imperial Army?”
”Not exactly, but a wise man does not go out of his way to draw their attention.''
”That is true of armies everywhere, I suspect.” Kyle watched the pa.s.sing ranks in silence. Though the swords and lances were primitive compared to British rifles, the soldiers looked tough and determined. Properly trained and armed, they would be equal to anything, but at the moment they'd be cut up by trained European troops.
Hoping that wouldn't happen, he hiked alongside the donkey as they headed into wilder country. They climbed steadily over ground that was too rough and overgrown for much agriculture. Traffic was almost nonexistent.
The sun was high in the sky when they rounded a horseshoe bend and came face-to-face with a spectacular cataract. It shot from the cliff above, plunging at least fifty feet before splas.h.i.+ng into a sky blue pool, then cascading down the hillside in series of smaller waterfalls. Kyle caught his breath at the wild beauty of the place.
”This is called the Flying Water. The monastery is just above. They are often built on mountains and near water.” Troth shaded her eyes as she peered upward. ”If we continue to the top, there are said to be splendid views of the countryside. It's a long climb, though, and I'm not sure where the next village is.”
”We'll manage,” he said, not wanting to miss such an interesting prospect.
They climbed to the head of the waterfall and past the monastery. Kyle would have liked to go inside, but it was best to avoid people as much as possible.
Though the path to the summit was steep, the effort was worth it. The view was phenomenal, extending perhaps fifty miles in all directions. Canton was a distant blur, and streams and channels feeding into the Pearl River wound through the district in a s.h.i.+ning lattice. Small villages were scattered everywhere in the fertile valleys and well up the craggy slopes. Faint curls of smoke from the foot of the mountain ahead of them indicated that there was a village there also.
Kyle could have studied the countryside for hours, but soon a party of monks appeared on the trail below them. Troth murmured, ”The good monks might wonder why an aged blind man has climbed this far, so mount up, Grandfather.”
He obeyed, and they started along the much smaller track that ran down the back of the mountain through a narrow gorge. Densely forested and with a stream in the middle, it would turn into a torrent after a heavy rain.
Here and there tea gardens clung to the side of the mountain, the plants intensely green with the first foliage of the year. ”Tea plants like height and moisture,” Troth said as a peasant working in one of the tea gardens called out to them.
Kyle asked, ”What did he say?”
”I think he told us not to spend the night on the mountain. Ghosts, maybe.”
She spoke so matter-of-factly that he blinked. ”Ghosts. Of course.”
She grinned. ”They are everywhere, Grandfather. One must pay honor to them.” As they moved down the track, she scanned the rugged landscape. ”There are many caves in these hills. Perhaps we can explore one later, Kyle.” She liked his personal name, which had the crisp simplicity of Chinese.
Seeing a promising shadow on the stone wall of the gorge, she gestured to Kyle to stay with the donkey while she explored. She'd traveled a hundred yards or so when the undergrowth trembled, and a sleek black-and-yellow shape oozed from the shadows half a dozen yards in front of her. Tiger.
She froze in her tracks. Then, heart hammering, she slowly began to retreat as the huge beast regarded her with a.s.sessing eyes.
The tiger moved toward her, one lazy step at a time. If it charged, no amount of wing chun skill could save her from having her throat ripped out.
Might she be able to climb a tree? No, none were close enough, and a tiger could outclimb a human anyhow.
She continued her withdrawal until her heel caught in a root and she fell down. Immediately the tiger broke into a lope. She cried out as it closed the distance between them in easy bounds, unable to control her terror as she looked up into the fanged, open mouth. She'd try to jab the eyes, and maybe she could kick it in the throat...
A fist-size stone whizzed past her and smashed into the tiger's nose. The beast stopped in its tracks, blinking with astonishment.
Another rock thumped into the broad, striped chest, swiftly followed by another that struck the powerfully muscled shoulder. The tiger swung its head to gaze beyond Troth and growl a warning.
There was absolute silence until another stone slammed into a dark, furry ear. The beast spat with irritation, then pivoted fluidly and bounded into the undergrowth. As the las.h.i.+ng tail vanished, Kyle hauled her to her feet. ”Are you all right. Troth?”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
”Then let's move. Luckily your feline friend wasn't hungry, but we need to be gone before he works up an appet.i.te.” He kept one arm around her waist as he hustled her back to where he'd tethered the nervous donkey.
It brayed when it saw them, tugging at the reins. As Kyle soothed the donkey, Troth asked, ”What kind of fool throws stones at a tiger?”
”A fool who doesn't have a rifle.” The donkey had settled down, so Kyle scooped her up and swung her into the saddle. ”I've had some experience with tigers in India and was reasonably sure that stinging this one with stones would discourage him without triggering his temper. Unless they're man-eaters on a hunt, tigers usually won't go out of their way to attack humans, but when you fell, you started looking more edible.”
”You're the one who's supposed to be riding,” she protested as he started leading the donkey down the rough track.
”Later, when you aren't shaking like a dish of jellied eels.” He gave her a quick smile, which contrasted oddly with the bandages that concealed most of his face.