Trade Winds (Choc Lit) (36 page)

‘It was nothing. I’m pleased he’s not hurt.’ Killian felt shaken, but tried not to show it. It had been a close call and could have ended in disaster, not just for Mr Li, but for their entire venture. There was no saying who the Chinese officials would have blamed for such an accident.

Li put the palms of his hands together in front of his chest and bowed deeply to Killian, and said ‘Sank you.’

Killian copied him and replied in English, ‘It was my pleasure.’ To the linguist he added, ‘I will make sure the men stop working overhead for now so that nothing like this can happen again.’

There was no need for such orders, however. The sailors had already climbed down and came hurrying over to him. ‘Are ye hurt, Mr Kinross? We’re right sorry, we’d no idea that piece was loose.’

‘I’m fine, but the Chinaman could have been killed. You’d better wait until they’re gone before you continue and make sure the deck is clear when you do so. Go and have a rest for now, I’m sure you must be as shaken as I feel.’

They nodded. ‘Too right, sir. Will … will there be money taken off our wages for bein’ so careless?’

‘No, accidents happen. I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose.’

‘Thank ye, Mr Kinross.’ They trooped off, looking relieved, and Killian returned to watching the Chinese officials as they continued their measuring.

A short while later, Mr Li made his way over to the stairs that led down to the deck below. Killian followed, beckoning to the linguist who came hurrying over as well. ‘Where is he going?’ he asked.

‘Needs measure down where cargo is.’

‘Oh, I see.’ The man would have to pass the cabins, but not actually enter them. Killian went down the stairs after him, just to make sure, but his relief was short-lived. Just as Mr Li reached the bottom, they heard a sharp cry from their right. It sounded almost like an animal in pain, and before Killian could stop him, Mr Li had rushed over to the cabin that contained Jess and yanked open the door.

Mr Li stopped dead and simply stared, and when Killian caught up with him he could see why. Jess was standing in a puddle of water, clutching her abdomen while her face was twisted with pain. Adair was patting her shoulder awkwardly, an anxious expression clouding his features, obviously not sure what he should be doing.

Mr Li turned to Killian, his eyebrows raised and pointed between the two of them. Killian nodded and gritted his teeth. ‘Yes, that’s my wife.’ No point pretending otherwise now that she had been seen.

He had forgotten about the linguist, but Mr Li turned to the man and uttered several rapid sentences, while Jess moaned again, although not as loudly as before. ‘Are you all right, Jessamijn?’ Killian hissed, while what sounded like a Chinese argument broke out behind him.

‘Yes, I’ll be … fine. I was just surprised, that’s all. I … wasn’t expecting this so soon. I … ah, it’s a lot fiercer than I thought too.’

‘Your clothes …?’ Killian gazed at the puddle by her feet.

‘The waters broke. Must change. Can I borrow some of your breeches?’

‘Yes, of course, but let me help you.’ Killian moved forward, but she shook her head and shooed him and Adair away.

‘No, leave me. I’ll manage.’

She shut the door in their faces and Killian turned just as the linguist began to address him. ‘Mr Li say your wife must come with him,’ the man began.

‘What? No! I mean, she’s done nothing wrong. No one said she wasn’t allowed this far.’ Killian felt perspiration beading his forehead and almost panicked. He couldn’t allow them to take Jess away now, that was unthinkable.

‘No, no, nothing wrong, but Mr Li wife just have baby too. She can help your wife. Not safe here. Stay with Mr Li.’

Killian blinked. ‘You mean, as a guest?’

The linguist and Li both nodded and Li bowed again and added something, which the linguist translated rapidly. ‘Mr Li say owe you life. Repay by taking care of wife. Even.’

‘Ah, I see.’ Killian smiled at the two men, understanding dawning at last. ‘Thank you, that would be wonderful. Do you mind if I accompany her as far as Mr Li’s house? Just to reassure my wife?’

‘Of course. Please let us go now. Baby come quickly perhaps.’

Killian knocked on the cabin door and when Jess let him in he explained what had happened. She agreed to go after some hesitation.

‘I suppose being with another woman will be good, even if we can’t communicate much. At least she’ll know what to do if she’s just been through it herself. Very well, let’s go.’

A short while later they were on their way up the river. Killian left a message for Campbell to let him know what was happening, and Mr Li excused himself from his duties. Killian sat next to Jess and took her hand and squeezed it.

‘I wish I could stay with you,’ he whispered. ‘Are you sure you’ll be fine with these people?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. There wouldn’t be much you could do anyway and I’ll ask them to let you know as soon as it’s all over. Don’t worry if you don’t hear immediately though. Some babies take days to be born, although I hope this one doesn’t.’

‘Amen to that.’ He looked deep into her eyes. ‘I will pray for your safety and that of the baby.’

He knew he would be devastated if he lost her. The mere thought made him feel cold all over.

Chapter Thirty

Mr Li’s wife, whose name was Mei, took one look at Jess and hustled her up a narrow staircase into a small bedroom with a balcony that overlooked a courtyard. A couple of little dogs, so furry they looked like tufts of wool with legs, jumped off a cushion and came to sniff the newcomer. They wagged their tails, but were evicted by their mistress before Jess had a chance to make friends.

Mei then sat Jess down on a stool, before clapping her hands and issuing a series of commands to the stream of servants that came running. The sweet smell of incense hung over the room. Combined with the fragrance of flowers from outside, this made for a very pleasant atmosphere. Jess tried to breathe slowly and deeply, so as to help her body through the pains that came at regular intervals.

The room itself was fairly plain, with only a few items of furniture – the stool Jess was sitting on, a couple of clothes chests and a large bed. The walls were covered in white paper. At least it was clean, Jess thought to herself. She watched with gratitude while the servants started to bring all the things needed for childbirth, such as towels, hot water and cloths. She could see that they knew what they were doing, and this reassured her.

‘Thank you,’ she said to Mei with a smile, when the woman turned to her again. She stood up and bowed as Killian had showed her. ‘It’s the custom here and shows respect,’ he’d whispered. Mei smiled back and indicated with gestures that Jess should sit down and wait for a while longer.

Soon after, an old lady came into the room, huffing and puffing with exertion. She had obviously hurried to obey Mei’s summons from wherever she lived, and listened intently while Mei explained the situation. Her little brown eyes widened at first when she saw that Jess was a foreigner, but she soon nodded and concentrated on the coming baby. She put her hands on Jess’ stomach to feel the contractions which were coming harder and faster now. Jess bit her lip and tried not to moan out loud, but the old woman smiled kindly, and said, ‘Aaaaah!’ in a loud voice as if to show her that it was fine to cry out.

Jess could only hope she wouldn’t have to.

Thankfully the baby was in a hurry, and arrived only a few hours later. Jess, dazed with pain, held her newborn son and said, ‘Thank you, thank you,’ over and over again to the Chinese women. They all beamed at her and chattered amongst themselves.

Servants cleaned her and the bed and tidied away all the paraphernalia of childbirth, while Jess settled down to try and feed her baby the way she had seen her mother feed James. ‘Even if they don’t get much nourishment at first, it will help your body to produce milk,’ she remembered her mother saying. When she felt the strange pull of the baby’s mouth on her breast, Jess understood what she’d meant. It was all a miracle, and so was her son.

‘You’re beautiful,’ she whispered and kissed the downy head covered in tufts of blond hair. He took after his mother in that respect, but she’d already seen that he had bright blue eyes. Killian’s, she thought with a smile.

‘And so are you,’ a voice said softly beside her.

She looked up and to her amazement Killian was kneeling next to her, an expression of relief on his face. There was also reverence as he gazed at her and his son.

‘Killian! I thought they sent you away hours ago.’

He shook his head. ‘No. Mr Li seems determined to repay me for saving his life and he let me wait in a room downstairs. I’m very grateful to him. But … are you well? And the baby, is he healthy?’

‘We’re both fine, I think. Here, would you like to hold him?’

She handed Killian the bundle and showed him how to support the baby’s head. He sat on the floor and just stared at the little mite, who had now closed his eyes and gone to sleep. ‘Amazing,’ Killian muttered. ‘Truly amazing …’

Their eyes met and Jess felt a deep connection, as if they were inextricably bound together through this child. They grinned at each other like a couple of village idiots and happiness bubbled up inside her. She had survived, the baby was fine and Killian had said she was beautiful. The world was a wonderful place.

‘What shall we call him?’ Jess asked after a while. ‘Would you like him to be named after yourself or your father perhaps?’

‘No, I don’t think so. I’d prefer him to have my older brother’s name, Brice. He was always very kind to me even though he must have thought me a nuisance. But you did all the hard work, it should be your choice. Would you like him to have
your
father’s name?’

‘How about both? Brice Aaron Kinross. That has a lovely ring to it and I like the name Brice.’

‘Yes, why not. Here, you’d better take him back, my arm is going to sleep.’

She took the baby and snuggled down next to him. ‘Now I think I’d better get some rest, because if he’s anything like as lively outside the womb as he was in it, he’ll be wanting food soon again.’

Killian smiled and reached out a hand to stroke her cheek. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘for giving me a son.’

He stood up and to her surprise he bent to kiss her on the mouth before leaving. Jess stared after him, feeling more content than she ever had in her life. Then, overcome by exhaustion, she fell asleep.

‘This is a strange place and no mistake,’ Farquhar grumbled to John Ley, the first supercargo of the Ostend ship
Hertogh van Lorreynen,
on which he had at last found passage to Canton. They had left in April, but made good time and arrived just after the Swedish ship, to Farquhar’s great relief. Now he had four or five months in which to find a way to eliminate his cousin.

‘To be sure, it’s not what we’re used to,’ Ley agreed. ‘But intriguing, wouldn’t you say?’

‘I don’t know. There aren’t even any decent-looking women,’ Farquhar continued. The tiny ladies he’d seen so far hadn’t appealed to him in the slightest. He didn’t see how they could tempt anyone else either, unless a man was desperate like the sailors. It was very aggravating, because he had come up with a vague plan to bribe a whore to entice his cousin. Then he was going to murder the woman in such a way that Killian would be blamed and hopefully punished for the crime. He’d heard the Chinese had very harsh punishments for their criminals and hoped this would take care of his cousin once and for all.

‘Oh, I don’t know about that. The little Chinese ladies are very sweet and obliging if you pay them enough.’ Ley laughed. ‘Mind you, there are others who seem to think like you. I hear someone brought his wife along and she’s actually here in the suburb with us.’

‘What? Who’d do a thing like that? I thought it wasn’t allowed.’

‘It isn’t, but this fellow Kinross seems to have got round the rules somehow and –’

‘Did you say Kinross?’ Farquhar suddenly felt sick.

‘Yes, what of it?’

‘Oh, nothing, only I thought the name sounded familiar.’ Farquhar managed to feign indifference. He was glad he’d travelled under a false name so that no one could connect him to Killian in any way. ‘And he’s brought his wife, you say?’

‘Yes, as I was telling you, she’s staying with some merchant or other and has just given birth. A boy I think, but I’m not sure. It’s the outside of enough, wouldn’t you say?’

Farquhar only nodded. He wasn’t capable of speech at that moment because he was consumed by a rage so great he was afraid he might explode. Killian had brought a wife? Where had he found her? And the infernal woman had given birth to a son? It was more than ‘the outside of enough’, it was an outrage. His own wife had given birth to another daughter just before he left, and he’d been so angry he hadn’t even bothered to choose a name for the baby. Three daughters and now here was Killian with a son at the first attempt. It simply wasn’t to be borne.

Restless now, he stood up. ‘I’m going out,’ he said. He had to find the woman and her brat and do something, anything. He couldn’t allow this state of affairs, it was an absolute disaster. And no doubt that whoreson would soon be busy making another child, another boy most likely.
No!