Rather than argue, Yihui folded her hands and adopted a listening attitude. The duchess was often pleased by this posture. “I am eager to understand.”
“I should hope so.” The duchess looked at her hard, and then she abruptly sighed. She waved imperiously at her maid to leave them alone. Yihui jolted. She hadn’t even seen the girl there, but of course, a duchess never went anywhere alone.
The maid disappeared, the duchess pulled out the near stool, and then settled herself with much shifting of skirt, shawl, and reticule. It took forever, and Yihui found that she hadn’t the patience for it. Not today. Not when she already guessed what was coming.
“Your Grace,” she said, “please let me set your fears to rest. I shall cry off as promised. I will not marry Max.”
The duchess looked up, her regard heavy. “I know he has shared your bed. I’m sure you dream of marrying him.”
“You do not know my dreams,” Yihui returned tartly, even though the lady was absolutely correct.
“Every girl wants to marry a duke, and my son is the best of the lot,” the lady retorted.
Yihui could not argue that point. Instead, she repeated her early statement. “I will cry off. As I have promised.”
“Good.” The lady straightened. “You must do it tomorrow night.”
“What?” At first Yihui didn’t understand the words. But when she did, her entire body rebelled. She would not give upone second of her time with Max. “No! We agreed on the night before the wedding. That was Max’s plan.”
The duchess snorted. “Max’s idiotic plans are what created this disaster in the first place. It was his plan to rescue you, his plan to keep you at the house. And his plan—”
“Your Grace!” Yihui snapped. “You may say what you want about your son in your home. But in mine, I will not disrespect him. It was his plan, and I will honor my bargain with him.”
The lady glared at her, but she could not contradict Yihui’s words. After all, she had been speaking poorly of her own family and that was something that no good woman should ever do, whether Chinese or English.
“Be that as it may,” the lady finally ground out. “Max does not understand thehaut ton.He cannot simply declare you have cried off the night before the wedding. No one will believe it. They will think you are being forced.”
“I am being forced!” A month ago, she would not have had the fortitude to speak so plainly. Not without great fear. But she was an independent woman now. She was not beholden to anyone, least of all this privileged woman who had no compassion. If she lost a customer from it, then so be it. She would not hold her tongue any longer. “I was forced by my father, who sold me, by the Wongs, who gifted me like a prized goat to the prince. I was forced to kill my attacker because no one else would. And now I am forced to play a game for your benefit, not mine. If I had my way, I would be done with it now.”
It was a lie. She did not want to be done with Max, merely with the games that society played. She despised the rules that said she could not have the husband she wanted, that Max would suffer from his association with her, and that she must learn all the rules of being English in order to survive here where she had been taken against her will.
Most of the time, she thought little of the ill path that had brought her here. It did no good to dwell on it. But sometimes, resentment boiled up and she could not contain her fury.
“Just like the Wongs, you want to dress me up like a prize pig,” she continued, her voice modulating as she gained control of her emotions. “You want to present me to the prince. I have agreed because it is what I promised Max. Do not seek to change it unless you mean to end it.”
“That is exactly what I mean to do,” the duchess said.
The cold finality in the woman’s voice hardened Yihui’s fury. It was bad enough to be a toy to powerful men. It was worse when women did it to each other. For all that the duchess had softened toward her, it was clear she still thought Yihui an ugly problem to be solved. She might drink Yihui’s teas, but she would never give her respect.
“What do you want?” Yihui asked.
“Exactly what you do. To end this charade as quickly as possible.” She leaned forward. “Tomorrow night in front of everyone, you will throw over my son in front of the prince himself. He cannot force Max to marry if you do such a thing publicly.” The duchess leaned back, her expression smug. “Then you will be free several days early.”
“I am supposed to cry off the night before the wedding. That is several days further along.” Four extra days and nights, to be exact.
“I thought you wanted it ended,” the woman taunted.
“I will honor my bargain with Max,” she countered. “If I am to change it, then what will you give me in return?” It was a stupid response. There was nothing the lady could offer that she wanted. But when cornered, Yihui resorted to bargaining. She would not discuss her feelings for Max, certainly not with this woman. What was left then, except commerce?
But it brought everything down to the measures of gain and loss, and the duchess was clearly disgusted by that. “I knew you wouldn’t cry off,” she spat. “I knew you would need more.”
Yihui had just confirmed all of the duchess’s worst opinions about her. With a self-satisfied grunt, the duchess withdrew a large stack of notes from her reticule. The lady threw it down on the worktable, the weight of the impact blowing tea leaves onto the floor.
“Is that enough?” she asked.
“No.” The answer was automatic. Yihui had no idea how much money was on the table. She guessed it was a great deal. But the amount didn’t matter. She would not end her time with Max one second earlier. She had found too much pleasure in his touch, too much peace in his arms.
“That is enough to keep your shop alive for years,” the lady retorted. Then she added to the weight of her offer. “Don’t you understand? This is for Max! He needs to be free of you. It must be done in front of the prince, and there must be no doubt that you are the one demanding an end. It must be a spectacle in front of everyone.”
