“Or what, Father?”
“Or remain as you are now, a jester in Prinny’s court. A useful jester, to be sure, but a silly one nonetheless.” His father sighed. “And a true embarrassment to the title we hold.”
Chapter Fourteen
Yihui woke quickly,as was her habit. She had spent the last three days and nights in a fog of illness but was now alert and the feeling was startling.
“The fever is gone,” she said. She spoke in Chinese as the words were for herself, but a woman to her right reacted.
“Good morning, Yihui. How do you feel today?”
She turned to see Max’s sister, Emmaline. After that first night, she had not seen much of Max. His sister was the usual person beside the bed. Yihui pushed herself upright, taking the glass of water Emmaline offered.
She drank greedily, happy to find that she felt hunger. That was another good sign.
“My fever,” she said in English. “Gone.”
“Yes, it broke late yesterday. You finally got some good sleep.”
“Good sleep,” she echoed. “Yes.” But she knew better than to stop the medicinal tea. She had seen many people grow sick again from quitting it too soon. She looked to the jar by the bedside. Someone had refilled it, most likely Max, and she flushed with pleasure at the kindness. She knew it was a disgusting task, and yet he had done it.
“I’ll ring for more hot water,” Emmaline said as she set down her sketchpad.
“Thank you.”
“My maid will help with your toilette.”
She nodded. What she really wanted was a bath, but that was too much to ask. And though her feet felt better, she knew she’d never be able to make it to a stream.
“And Max wanted to know when you woke—”
“No!”
Emmaline’s eyes widened. “But—”
“I cannot see him. I need washing. Cleaning. Hair brush.”
Her expression softened. “He has seen you every day that you have been here. He knows—”
“But I am better now.” She pulled back the covers to show her feet. Still swollen but the heat was down and the pain less throbbing. “No red streaks. No fever. I am better—”
“That’s good—”
She jerked the cover back over her feet. She did not like to see them so deformed. “There is a place between sick and well that men do not like. They expect very sick or nearly well.” She gestured to the left and right with a wide distance between them. “The middle is very unpleasant for them.”
The lady blinked, then leaned back in her chair. “That’s very true,” she said. “Of everyone, I think. No one enjoys the slow road to health.” Then she shook her head. “But Max won’t expect you to look your best.”
Yihui shook her head firmly. How could this lady not understand? “Better he think I’m still very ill. It will give me a few more days to heal.” She smiled even though she knew she would need weeks, not days. “It is the dance between men and women, yes? Men do not like to be troubled with women’s pain. Best he not know the in-between steps.”
Emmaline frowned, but her mood beyond that was unreadable. She didn’t seem angry, but neither was she pleased. “What kind of life have you lived that you think men’s pain and women’s pains are different? We are all people. Patterns change,of course. People are different. But even men get sick and they wait as they gain strength slowly.”
Yihui tried to sort through the woman’s words. She understood the language for the most part, but it was the meaning that surprised her. “What world do you live in that have men and women so equal?” She glanced down at Emmaline’s feet. They were set on an embroidered stool. Her feet were not large by a laborer’s standard, but they were huge for a society woman. It was clear the woman walked easily. She could climb and jump without pain. Yihui knew of no highborn Chinese woman who could do the same.
As if guessing her thoughts, Emmaline stretched out her feet before her. “I love dancing,” she said. “And in the country, I sometimes run as far as I can go. On the very best days, I run to a stream miles behind the house, and then I swim all the sweat away.”
Yihui gaped at her. She could not imagine such freedom, even in the country. Women and girls were hidden away unless they worked. “Your brother, your father allow this?”
“Max used to go with me, but now he prefers to ride. Father doesn’t care one way or another so long as I keep the servants doing what they’re supposed to do.”
