“I intend to. But he needs incentive to comply.”
Amy started to laugh. “And you think I might be that incentive? I hate to mention it, but I was exaggerating a tiny bit about his being my fiancé. I have every confidence that someday he will be, but now he’s fighting tooth and nail to avoid matrimony. Actually, he’d probably be delighted if I disappeared.”
“That is a distinct possibility, lady, if he does not come for you,” Li Liang said menacingly.
Chapter 28
Amy was beginning to have serious doubts about refusing to be helpful to her new acquaintances when she was stuffed into a trunk and transported to a ship in the harbor. That word “disappear” began to take on new meaning. Certainly she had to wonder if these chaps weren’t a bit more serious about this thing than she’d first thought.
Title-dropping hadn’t gotten her very far either. English thieves might be impressed, but these Orientals didn’t seem to understand that the Marquis of Haverston was someone you didn’t want to get on the bad side of. Threats of dire consequences if they didn’t let her go had been ignored as well, so she had retaliated by scoffing when told of the torturous instruments that might be employed to loosen her tongue. The very idea, whips and nail-pulling and such. They wouldn’t dare. ’Course, she hadn’t thought they’d keep her all night and into the morning either. So much for sneaking back into the house with no one the wiser.
Since she was in this mess indirectly because of Warren, the least he could have done was share this misadventure as he had the last one. But no, he had to go and change hotels after his brothers sailed. But even being annoyed with him for what she saw as “leaving her to the wolves,” she still wasn’t going to assist Zhang Yat-sen in finding him.
Whether he had stolen Yat-sen’s family treasure or not, he just might refuse to give it back. He could be stubborn that way. And Amy didn’t care to find out how these foreigners would react if they really got angry. They weren’t all as short as Li Liang, and there were just too many of them. Besides, leading them to Warren would be a betrayal in her book, which she couldn’t do, even though he had thought nothing of betraying her to her uncles.
No, she was simply going to have to get out of this on her own, without her soon-to-be fiancé’s assistance. Her family wasn’t going to be able to help in this instance either. Georgina might remember their talk yesterday and think that Amy had gone in search of Warren, but since she hadn’t found him, they’d have no way of tracing her.
Now she was locked in a cabin of minuscule proportions, with no more than a pallet of rough blankets on the floor, a lantern—there were no windows—a bucket for necessities, and the now empty trunk, which hadn’t been removed after she had been released from it. No doubt about it, she was not enjoying herself.
But she had every confidence that she could escape on her own, just as long as the ship didn’t suddenly hoist sails and depart. She even had a plan formulated that she intended to implement when she was brought another meal.
The first meal, a bowl of rice and strange-looking vegetables in a tangy sweet sauce, had been delivered by a cheerful little fellow who called himself Taishi Ning. He was a stringbean of thinness in his loose trousers and belted wraparound tunic, his thick black braid nearly as long as he was. Like Li, Taishi was no taller than Amy. How hard could it be to overpower him with the assistance of her rice bowl? Not hard a’tall.
However, Amy was beginning to doubt she’d have a chance to find out, as the hours dragged by with excruciating slowness. She had dropped her purse when she had struggled against being stuffed in that trunk, but she still had her pocket watch to help her keep track of the time, and much too much time was passing without anyone coming by. They were going to continue to feed her, weren’t they? Or had starvation become their first method to try to loosen her tongue?
It was approaching evening when Taishi finally unlocked her door and came in with another bowl of food, proving that starvation wasn’t part of the agenda—yet. But Amy wasn’t interested in what he had brought her this time, despite her growling stomach. She was more interested in seeing that no other guard had been set outside her door. They apparently figured that the lock was all that was necessary to keep her on hand, and that she wouldn’t try anything with Taishi. Well, they were wrong.
It was a shame, though, because he was really a likable fellow with his toothsome grins and his stilted, funny-sounding English. But Amy couldn’t let that deter her now. He might not be the one who had put her here, but he worked for the one who had, and getting out of this misadventure and back home to safety had to take precedence. She would simply close her eyes when she hit him over the head with the heavy rice bowl and apologize afterward.
“Lookee what Taishi bring, little missee. Big-time good stuff. You no likee, I chop off cook’s hand lickety-split. Big-time promise.”
“That won’t be necessary, I’m sure,” Amy replied. “But I’m not hungry enough yet to find out. You may set it down over there.”
She pointed to the trunk, her other hand clutching the empty rice bowl behind her back. All she needed was to get behind him for a moment. And he followed her directions. This was too easy.
Amy held her breath until Taishi had passed in front of her; then she raised the rice bowl, closed her eyes, and swung. But before the bowl reached anything, her wrist was grabbed, she was flipped into the air, and she landed with several bounces on her backside.
Amy wasn’t hurt, but she was bloody well stunned. When she turned her head to glare at the skinny little runt, she saw that he hadn’t even dropped the new bowl of food. And he was grinning at her.
“How the devil did you do that?” she demanded furiously.
“Easy. You likee learn?”
“No…I…do…not!” she huffed as she got back to her feet. “What I would likee is to go home.”
“So sorry, missee. When man come, maybe, maybe not.” He shrugged to indicate he wasn’t privy to what was to be done with her either way.
“But man isn’t—Warren isn’t coming.”
“Lord Yat-sen say he come, he come,” Taishi insisted. “You no needee worry.”
Amy shook her head in exasperation. “How can he come when he doesn’t know where I went, where I am now, that I’m even missing? Your Lord Yat-sen is an idiot!”
“Shh, missee, or lose head big-time,” Taishi said in alarm.
“Rubbish,” she scoffed. “No one is going to cut off heads because of a little insult. Now do go away. I want to be alone to sulk over my failure.”
Taishi flashed his teeth in another grin. “You big-time funny, missee.”
“Out, before I big-time scream!”
He went, still grinning. Amy stopped him before the door closed.
“I’m sorry I tried to crack your head open. Nothing personal, you understand.”
“No worry, missee. Man come soon.”
She threw the empty rice bowl she was still holding at the door just as it closed. Come soon? When she hadn’t said a single thing that could lead them to him? They were all idiots. And even if they had found a way to locate him. Warren wouldn’t come to her rescue. He’d be delighted that she’d been kidnapped out of his life.
So now what? Obviously, attacking tricky little men was out. She should have just smashed the lantern against the bulkhead while the door was open, though, toothsome grins or not, she couldn’t trust that Taishi wouldn’t have slammed the door shut and left her inside to roast, rather than ignore her and put out the fire.
Well, her first plan had certainly been a resounding failure, no doubt about it. But she wasn’t giving up, not by any means. So she hadn’t been able to overpower Taishi. He didn’t just talk funny, he fought funny. But maybe she could outrun him. She might not get any farther than the deck, but one “big-time” scream could bring help—or not. It would depend on what time of day it was, and what area of the docks this ship was berthed in. Either way, though, it was definitely worth a try when the next m
eal arrived.
Chapter 29
Warren was supposed to be the only one in the family with a hot temper, but by five o’clock that afternoon, Georgina was running on a short fuse as she pounded on her brother’s hotel room door once again. She’d already been there twice today. She’d been to the new office three times. She’d been to the Nereus twice, but his crew hadn’t seen him. She’d even gone to Knighton’s Hall, though she hadn’t stepped inside. James had done the inquiring there.
As it happened, James had been with her all day. There had simply been no way to get him to let her do this on her own. Amy was a member of his family, and he was the one who was going to tear Warren limb from limb—after Georgina was done with him. He hadn’t said anything else, was too furious for words. But it certainly hadn’t been pleasant riding around with him all day in their search for her brother and Amy. And if this was another dead end…
The door opened at last. Georgina marched right in, demanding, “Where the devil have you been, Warren—and where is she?”
A glance around the room showed only Warren present. Georgina went straight to the bed to look under it. Warren was a bit amused.
“I assure you they clean under the bed, Georgie,” he said dryly. “The windows are spotless as well, if you’d like to have a look.”
She was heading for the wardrobe instead. “Don’t be obtuse.” The wardrobe revealed only clothes. She turned back to glare pointedly at her brother. “Amy? You remember her?”
“She’s not here.”
“Then where have you put her?”
“1 haven’t seen her, and I’ve done everything in my power to keep it that way,” Warren replied. Then he glanced at James with a hint of derision. “What’s the matter, Malory? You couldn’t trust my word?”
Georgina jumped between them. “You don’t want to talk to him just now, Warren. Believe me, you really don’t.”
Warren could see that. For James to remain silent, something must be very wrong, and if it involved Amy—He began to feel a certain alarm.
“You’re saying Amy is missing?”
“Yes, and possibly since last night.”
“Why last night? She could have gone out early this morning, couldn’t she?”
“That’s what I assumed until now,” Georgina replied, “even though it didn’t make sense, since she always tells me where she’s going.”
“But if she were going to see me, would she tell you?” Warren asked.
“No, but she’d still tell me something. I should have thought of that sooner, but I was certain she must have gone to find you at the new office and, since you weren’t there when we looked, that you’d left with her from there. But if you haven’t seen her—” She turned to her husband. “If she did leave last night to find him, she must have gone to the Albany. I hadn’t mentioned to her that he’d moved.”
Warren’s alarm escalated. “She didn’t know my room number there, did she?”
“As I recall, Drew mentioned it that night at dinner. Yes, she knew it. Why?”
“Because Zhang Yat-sen is at the Albany.”
“Who?”
“The previous owner of the Tang vase,” Warren clarified.
Georgina’s eyes flared wide. “The one who tried to kill you?”
“Yes, and he wouldn’t travel alone. He’d have a small army with him.”
“Good Lord, you can’t think he has Amy?”
“He knew I was staying there. He would have found out which room and kept a watch on it. It would have been his only hope of locating me in a town this large. And I know he’s still in town. That’s what I was doing today, finding out what ship he’d arrived on and if it was still here. But if she’s been gone since last night, why haven’t they shown up yet?”
“Where? Here? I told you, she doesn’t know where you’re staying now, and besides—”
“She could have sent them to you. She knows you would be able to find me.”
“If you had let me finish, I could have told you she wouldn’t do that. She loves you, Warren. And speaking of which—”
“Not now, Georgie!”
“Very well, but she’s not going to lead anyone to you if she thinks they might do you some harm.”
“Even to save her own neck?”
James intervened at that point in a deadly calm voice. “Is her neck in jeopardy?”
“Probably. Yat-sen doesn’t fool around when he wants something. He’ll use any means to get it. Christ, I should have known I wasn’t going to be able to avoid this.”
“There’s something else you won’t be able to avoid if anything’s happened to her,” James promised.
“You’ll have to get in line, Malory. It’s me they want. They’ll let her go once they have me.”
“Then it will be my pleasure to give you to them. Shall we go?”
“We? There’s no reason for you to involve yourself in this.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it—”
“If you haven’t been paying attention, James,” Georgina cut in irritably, “it’s been established that Warren isn’t at fault here. He had no warning that Amy might try to come to him. So you can just rearrange your thinking on this and help him instead of blaming him.”
“I’ll bloody well reserve judgment on who’s ultimately to blame, George.”
“You’re impossible,” she snapped.
“So you frequently tell me,” was all he said to that.
Warren, however, was of the same opinion as James. He did know that Amy might try to come to him. She’d told him so, and he’d believed her, which was why he had already decided to change hotels even before he ran into the Chinaman. He could have prevented her abduction by stopping by Berkeley Square a few times, which he would have done if she weren’t there, and simply ignoring the fact that she was there. But no, he’d been afraid he couldn’t ignore her, so he’d stayed away. Blasted lust—but lust had nothing to do with his fear for her now…
Twenty minutes later, Warren and James walked into the Albany, leaving Georgina outside in the carriage. Another five minutes and a message brought Li Liang down to the lobby. Warren remembered the man from his several visits to Zhang’s palace outside Canton. It was rumored the warlord spoke perfect English, but he wouldn’t deign to prove it, using interpreters like Li Liang instead.
Li Liang bowed formally when he reached them. “We have been expecting you, Captain. If you will follow me?”
Warren didn’t budge. “First tell me what I want to hear.”
Li Liang didn’t waste time pleading ignorance, but answered directly. “She has not been harmed—yet. We trusted her…disappearance…was all that was necessary to bring you here, and so we were right.” With a glance at James, he said, “Your friend must wait here.”
“I’m not his friend,” James replied. “And I’m bloody well not waiting anywhere.”
Li Liang was amused. “You thought an enemy would help?” he asked Warren.
“He’s the girl’s uncle.”
“Ah so, the one who is your brother-in-law?”
That question proved that they had Amy, if Li’s other answer had left any doubt. “The same. He’s here to take her home.”
“That will depend on your cooperation, of course,” Li told him.
“You mean on Zhang’s whim, don’t you?” Warren retorted bitterly.
Li Liang merely smiled and moved off. Warren gritted his teeth and followed.
James remarked at his back, “Real informative chap, wasn’t he?”
“He’s merely Zhang’s mouthpiece. And speaking of which, I’d suggest you keep yours shut and let me handle this. I know these Chinese. In many ways, they’re still living in the Middle Ages, and one thing they don’t appreciate is condescension, which might as well be your middle name.”
“Oh, I intend to let you muck your way through this, old boy, as long as you get it right in the end.”
Warren said nothing to that, and a few moments later, Li stopped a
t the door to Warren’s old room. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Christ, Amy had walked unsuspectingly right into their lair.
“You had everything covered, didn’t you?” Warren said, indicating the room.
Liang shrugged. “It was a logical move. Unfortunately, by the time we gained access, your belongings had already been removed.”
“I’m nothing if not quick.”
“You will perhaps wish it were otherwise.”
“If that’s a threat against the girl, her uncle isn’t going to like it.”
“You will understand if that causes no alarm.”
They were nothing if not superior in their numbers, and there was no telling how many guards were in that room. What he wouldn’t give to get Liang off alone somewhere when this was over.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a pompous ass, Liang?” Warren asked casually.
“I believe you did once before, Captain.”
“Just announce me,” Warren ground out, “so we can get this over with.”
The Chinaman nodded and slipped inside the room. James stepped forward, bracing one arm against the wall.
“Was that a threat against Amy?” he wanted to know.
Warren shook his head. “No, these court types just love to make foreigners squirm, and I think that one actually thrives on it. But I hold the ace here, Malory. They aren’t going to jeopardize my cooperation until they know whether they have it or not.”
The door opened again, ending their conversation. One of the guards bowed them formally into the room. Warren spotted Zhang instantly, reclining indolently on the bed, his own silk bedding the only enhancement made to the chamber. He looked rather naked without his opium pipe in his hand, and he couldn’t like these less-than-lavish surroundings. Warren’s heart bled for him, it really did.
“Where is my vase, Captain?” Li asked immediately on his lord’s behalf.
“Where is the girl?”
“You think to bargain with me?”
“Absolutely. So which is it you want, my life or the vase?”