Lyon Hearted, page 9
Li-Na kept moving forward, her pace slowing so she didn’t trip on the uneven ground. “I will see the boy safe. You can get us better light.”
She watched as he quickly scanned the area from the boy climbing down, the rocks on the path, and Nessie as she strained with the carriage light. In the end, he gave her a quick nod.
“Don’t climb, step carefully, and bring him straight to me.” His words held the low growl of an irritated tiger. She did not envy the child, but she was curious to see how the tiger managed an unruly boy. Meanwhile, he turned back toward the carriage. “Step down, Nessie. I’ll do it.”
Li-Na quickly made it to where the child would come down. He could have made it by the time she arrived, but he was moving slowly, no doubt already knowing he was in trouble. She smiled up at him.
“Did it break as you expected?” she asked.
His eyes widened at her question, then he shook his head. “I thought it would split when it landed on the other rock, but it didn’t. It just landed in the dirt. But the other rock shattered beneath it. It went everywhere.” Then he looked to his left and pointed. “Can I show you?”
Meaning, could he delay facing the tiger? “You know you cannot.”
His face tightened, but she knew he understood his fate. The resignation was clear in his shrug. Finally, he made it to her side, and they headed back. Meanwhile, Lord Daniel’s conversation could be heard clearly over the wind.
“Do you believe it? He’s your father. Would he do that to you?”
“He’s always said I was too weak. That it’s my fault Joseph’s the way he is.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’d take the children from you.”
“Maybe not Joseph,” she said, her voice cracking on the name. “But he would Stefan.” The lady’s voice grew more distressed. “He has spies here in Cornwall. They tell him everything I do—everything that Joseph does—and he blames it all on me.”
The boy’s steps slowed, and Li-Na adjusted to his pace. Like her, he wanted to listen to the conversation. Unfortunately, it was too late. Lord Daniel gestured to the child’s mother to be silent, then stepped forward, his hands on his hips with the letter clutched in one fist.
“Stefan. Were you throwing rocks off my wall?”
The boy slowed to a stop beside Li-Na, his eyes wide.
“Best go forward,” she whispered. “Stand tall as he speaks to you.”
The child took three more steps until he stood in front of Lord Daniel.
“Well?” Lord Daniel asked.
“I threw a rock off the castle wall.”
“Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have tumbled off with it. Someone else might have been hurt below.”
“I was careful. No one was about.”
“And the shattered pieces no doubt damaged the castle further.”
The child didn’t respond, but his hands tightened into fists where they were pressed to his sides. Li-Na knew the gesture. He was controlling himself, keeping his words inside with effort. Lord Daniel must have seen it too because he arched his brows.
“You have something to say?” he challenged.
“I was careful,” the child repeated. “And the wall will need to come down anyway when it’s time to rebuild.”
Silence as the two stared at one another. In Li-Na’s mind, she saw Lord Daniel as a tiger looking down into a pool of water. Did he see his own reflection there? Or a fish he was ready to snatch and eat?
“Is that all you want to say?” Lord Daniel pressed.
The boy lifted his chin. “And it’s my castle. You rent it from me.”
A light went on in Li-Na’s mind as she finally understood who everyone was. This boy was Stefan, the new Earl of Walden. And the lady was his mother, the dowager countess, Lord Daniel’s sister-in-law. Now their familiarity made sense.
“And you think you can destroy it just because it’s yours?”
The boy shrugged, the answer as loud as any declaration. Of course, he could do what he wanted with what was his.
“It’s not your son’s? Or his son’s?”
The boy couldn’t be more than twelve years old. What child thought of his children then? Obviously not this one. He shook his head. “It’s mine.”
“It’s not. It’s the earldom’s, held in trust for you as you hold it in trust for the next generation.”
“But I’m the earl.”
“And how can you be an earl, Stefan, if you haven’t the least idea what it means?” He squatted down until they were face to face. “Do you have a responsibility to the land, to the castle over there, and to the son you will eventually have who will grow up to care for this place as you do?”
Li-Na watched Stefen chew on this information. It was a difficult concept for a child, but one she understood from her education in China. Man served nature in harmony with its rhythms. It was painted over and over in their art. She had not seen such a thing in England where landscapes were ignored in favor of huge oil canvases of people in stiff poses.
“Have you nothing to say to that?” Lord Daniel continued.
The boy shook his head.
“Well, you better find an answer because I’ll expect it of you tomorrow when we go about looking at your castle and figuring out how to keep other blocks from falling down.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good man. And now I have another question for you.”
To the side, the boy’s mother released a heavy sigh. “Can we not discuss this over dinner? I’m exhausted.”
Lord Daniel grimaced. “Yes, of course. Let’s get the ladies inside.” He turned to Li-Na. “Do you need to change your clothes before we leave? Are you too wet from the sand?”
Li-Na frowned at him. “I am dry.”
“Good. Then up you go,” he said as he opened the door to the carriage.
“What?”
“Inside.” He turned and gave his hand to his sister-in-law to help her climb in. “Stefen, do you go inside with them or up top with me?”
The boy jumped up onto the driver’s bench before his uncle had finished the question. And then Lord Daniel turned to her.
“Miss Li-Na?”
“You want me to ride in the carriage and then dine with you?”
He nodded. “That had always been the intention, you know. Didn’t I tell you that you were supposed to stay at the manor home? Dinner with the family was always my plan.”
Was this a strange Cornish custom? “Why would a servant dine with the family?”
“Because you’re not a servant, Miss Li-Na. You’re a guest.”
“Good God,” his sister-in-law huffed from inside the carriage. “Don’t blame her for being confused. You haven’t even introduced us!”
Shock flowed across Lord Daniel’s face. “I do beg your pardon. Miss Li-Na, please allow me to introduce my sister-in-law, Countess Walden. Nessie, this is Miss Li-Na.”
“The artist,” the lady said, the two words tainted with jest.
“The bookkeeper,” Li-Na said firmly.
“The guest,” said Lord Daniel.
“The hungry guest,” quipped Stefan.
Obviously, the boy wanted to eat.
Seeing Lord Daniel’s determination, Li-Na ducked her head and climbed into the carriage. It was only after the vehicle began to move that she realized the problem.
Dealing with Lord Daniel had been difficult enough. Now she was face to face with his sister-in-law. And the female tiger could be more cunning than the male.
Chapter Eleven
Li-Na sat down beside the countess. She kept her body as contained as possible on the seat, but the lady was not as careful. As soon as the carriage began moving, she turned to look at Li-Na. Her gaze was steady as her legs stretched out. The light from the lantern gave them a gloomy interior at best so the woman leaned forward as her hand waved at Li-Na.
“Daniel says you’re a painter. He wants to sell your art.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“He also says you don’t want to paint for him.”
“No, my lady.”
“I would do it if I were you. He’s like a dog with a bone. He’ll keep at you until you give in.”
Li-Na thought that the lady was more like a dog than Lord Daniel. She studied things like a dog did, with a heavy stare that did not waver. Her words and motions were forceful, but her delicate bones made her seem more like a small dog with a large attitude.
Which meant the best defense was to distract with something unexpected. “Mrs. Dove-Lyon knows gentlemen who can protect you and your sons. If you have the money to employ them.”
The lady reared back as if struck. “Why would you say something like that? Why would I need such men? Are you threatening me?”
Bark, bark. The lady was snapping at her in fear, but there was no bite yet.
“I overheard your conversation with Lord Daniel.” She glanced significantly through the front window to where Lord Daniel and Stefan sat. She kept her voice low, but she guessed an attentive man could hear them nonetheless. “Someone is trying to take your son from you?”
The lady’s face paled, and she pulled her hand back as she looked away. A frightened dog, then.
“My father. He thinks he knows best, and he has people here who report to him. He knows it if I set one foot out place.”
“Every powerful man has spies,” Li-Na said.
“Daniel’s powerful, too. He will stop my father.”
“Of course, he will,” Li-Na said gently. “But what woman leaves the defense of her children in a man’s hands? If you have money to pay—”
“And have them shoot my own father?” She shuddered. “He thinks I’m too soft with the boys and that I cannot manage money.” She wrapped her arms around herself and stared through the window.
“To fight one’s own father is a daunting task.”
The lady nodded, but her gaze remained on her son. “I cannot hire bodyguards for the rest of his childhood. I am his mother. I should have a say in his life!” Those last words came out with bite, but the power was quickly lost. “But the law says I cannot be his guardian because I’m a woman. The church court was set to declare Daniel as guardian, but now my father’s contesting it.”
What was she to say to that? She had no understanding of the laws in this land. She suspected it was like China where men ruled and women obeyed. And yet, even in China, there were ways to fight back. “A mother’s strongest power is over her son. Have you taught him to respect you?”
“Of course, I have.”
“Then he must fight with you against his grandfather.”
“He’s a boy.”
“He is male and the earl. The power will always be in his hand. If you help him wield it, then you can direct that power as you need.”
The lady’s eyes narrowed as she peered at her. There was a flash of teeth, a tentative gesture with her finger, but it didn’t last long. In the end, the lady shifted as if sniffing the air or tasting the idea on her tongue.
“Is that something taught in China?”
This time Li-Na dropped her eyes. “I was a servant to the eldest daughter of a powerful family. I stood in the room while the daughter was taught female things.”
“Like how to hire bodyguards?”
Li-Na shook her head. “I learned that from Mrs. Dove-Lyon. I learned how to influence boys from the Zhong mother.”
The lady leaned forward. “How did she do it?”
“She taught her sons to look to her for their food, their comfort, and their very lives.”
“And it worked?”
No. They rebelled at her cruel ways. They turned their attention to what young men want. And they listened only when the mood suited them. But there was one thing they never forgot. “They learned to respect the strength of a woman.” She lifted her chin. “Madame Zhong taught me that women can be powerful in small ways even if they lose in the large ones.”
The countess shook her head. “I don’t understand your ways. How can a small fight keep my father away from my sons?”
“By telling the boy to choose you over his grandfather. If you have wielded your power well, he will stand by you.”
The woman fell silent as she stared through the front window at her son. “But he’s just a boy.”
“And you are just a woman. There is always power if you want to wield it. It may not be enough, but there is always something you can do.”
The countess looked at her. Her finger was no longer pointed. It had fallen into her lap as her gaze caught Li-Na’s and held. They were coming to the village now with buildings to the left and right. Li-Na wanted to see what she could through the darkness, but she didn’t change her gaze. The lady’s expression seemed weightier than the buildings.
“Daniel is right. You are not the usual servant.”
Li-Na almost laughed. If the lady thought her own servants didn’t push their influence, then she was sadly mistaken. Every soul from the lowest kitchen maid to the mad king sought to control their environment.
“Why won’t you paint something for him?”
The dog was back at her bone, and this time Li-Na didn’t think she could create an effective distraction.
“Because it is mine.”
“You want to control your art like I want control of my sons,” she said. Then her gaze shifted to Daniel’s broad back. Even through his shirt and coat, they could see the flex of his body as he controlled the horse. “Do you think he will best you?”
“Do you think your father will beat you?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The lady smiled, and her finger wagged in a happy cadence. “I hope we are both wrong.”
They came to the inn soon after that. The sun was down, but the coaching inn was filled with light and movement. The innkeeper met them as they alighted, then they all moved from carriage to meal in appropriate societal order.
Lord Daniel escorted his sister-in-law.
Stefan walked with a light step right behind them.
Li-Na kept pace three steps in the rear, feeling reassured by the bustle in the yard. Compared to the silent emptiness of the castle, this place felt familiar to her. Noise filled the air along with a chaotic mixture of smells. Even the private dining room felt comfortably small.
Lord Daniel pulled out a chair for his sister-in-law. Stefan pulled another out for her.
“Thank you,” the ladies responded almost at the same time.
Li-Na was not accustomed to English dining customs, but she knew how to watch and imitate. The food was hearty, the wine good, and the conversation general. She participated only when spoken to. Most of the questions directed to her were about China, and she answered as best she could. They even allowed the boy to speak, and he talked with enthusiasm about how the post horses were fed something different than the family’s horses. The details were beyond her, but she was surprised to see the others listening with apparent interest. Could they all be fascinated by horse feed?
Was this what people in Cornwall did? Ate together and listened to their children? That was very odd to her. She’d been brought into the Zhong household to talk to the eldest daughter so that the adults didn’t need to.
England was very strange.
And yet as she listened to the ebb and flow of conversation, she found she liked it. Or more accurately, she liked how Lord Daniel presided over it all like the tiger he was. He did not speak often. The occasional question or response that kept the conversation going without dominating. But he watched it all in a well-fed cat kind of way. These people where his cubs, and so he would watch over them as the powerful creature he was.
Then disaster happened.
The youngest boy—Joseph—came in with his nanny to bid everyone goodnight. This too seemed very unusual to Li-Na. Apparently the countess felt the same way as well as she rushed to apologize.
“I am so sorry,” she said to the table at large. “I lost track of the time, and as I said, Joseph’s schedule is very exact. I would normally be upstairs by now. We have a routine.”
She left her chair to join the nanny who turned the boy to greet his uncle.
“Can you bow to Uncle Daniel?” the countess asked. “Joseph? Bow please.”
The boy did as he was bid and was rewarded with his uncle’s wide smile. “That was very nicely done, Joseph.”
“Yes, it was,” the countess echoed. “Do you think you can do it again, Joseph? Can you bow to Miss Li-Na?”
The boy was directed to face Li-Na. It was her first good look at the child, and she had to cover her surprise. She had expected a younger version of Stefan, but this boy’s features were somewhat flat, and his ears were small. His hair resembled his uncle’s, being short, brown, and curly, but there was a marked softness to the child that contrasted with his uncle and brother. Those two had sturdy frames and strong muscles.
She did not mean to study the boy, but in her mind’s eye, she drew a happy rabbit, plump and fluffy. And like the animal, the boy made no sound. He looked sideways at her—as a rabbit might—and showed no emotion at all.
“Can you bow to Miss Li-Na, Joseph?”
Apparently not because the boy did not dip his head. Instead, he walked directly up to her, his gaze sideways but still steady on her face.
What was she to do? She glanced quickly at Lord Daniel, but he gave no guidance, though he watched his nephew closely. Then the boy caught her full attention as he peered at her. He even placed both hands to her cheeks and pulled her close until they were nearly left eye to right eye. She had to lean down to do this, and once she was close enough, he touched his forehead—sideways—to hers.
She felt a quiet thump as his green eyes filled her vision. They remained like that for a very long time until the countess finally spoke.
“Come along, Joseph. It is time for bed.”
The boy did not move.
“Joseph, come away now. It is time for bed.”
Still the boy did not move, though his breath came faster.
“Third warning, Joseph. It is time to leave.”
The countess caught the boy’s wrist, and Li-Na gently pulled herself back. He did not want to let her go, but she would not help him disobey his mother. So while she leaned back from the child, she smiled.
