Adam’s apple on his long pale throat did not bob. Yet, like the sculpture he was studying, his still frame filled with silent tension, and just like that, without him uttering a word or making a gesture, I knew.
“No,” he said after a very long pause. “Why would you think that?”
“That night, you were at the club.”
“I was just passing by.”
“And at the Northern Star… that awful lady told you to remember your loyalties. The Crane Club was vandalized, soon after.”
He finally looked away from the bridge, his eyes meeting mine. His coat flapped, and something twinged in the depths of my memory. “And why would one thing have anything to do with another?”
“Your country was at war with China.”
He smiled, as if I were a child he had decided to indulge a bit longer. “We have signed a peace treaty. But even if we had not… do you think ransacking a Chinese club is the same as declaring military hostilities? It was more likely some drunks or thieves who were hoping to find alcohol in that place — it was all but abandoned recently. So they took some trinkets to sell. Really, Sasha, you’re too smart for your own good — you’re making things so complicated.”
I did feel very young and very foolish then. “We can go,” I whispered.
He offered me his elbow and I hooked my hand over the crook of his arm. “Don’t feel bad,” he said. “I know you are upset about your friends. Only I wish you wouldn’t cast me as an enemy.”
Those words made me blush. “I remember that you saved us,” I said. “You saved me twice, and I told you I was grateful. But there are things happening now that I do not understand, all I know is that I do not trust Prince Nicholas and his secret police, and I do not trust your Dame Nightingale.”
He seemed amused by my words, as we turned toward the Palace Square. “She may be a bit brash,” he said.
“And a bit rude,” I added. “I really don’t appreciate being insulted, but this is not why I do not trust her. I think she may be a spy.”
His face retained the same smiling expression but mirth left it momentarily, only to return with an exaggerated chuckle. “Nonsense,” he said.
I thought he was an awful liar but did not challenge him, content to see my guess hit near its target. “And you are here to help Nicholas,” I said. “The gendarmes listened to you. What do you want with the Chinese? Is this why Nightingale and Herbert are here?”
He shrugged, uncomfortable. “I cannot tell you much, but be assured that it has little to do with your friends. However, I can say Prince Nicholas once sought an alliance with Britain to help protect Russia from the Chinese threat.”
I snorted. “This is nonsense. There is no threat.”
Jack only shrugged. “If you say so. If there’s no threat then the Chinese have nothing to fear.”
“This is not true and you know it,” I said. “There has been enough damage done already, and I still don’t know what happened to Wong Jun.”
“I cannot help you.”
“I do not need you to.” I freed my arm from his. “I wrote to my aunt about this injustice, although in vague terms and naming no names.” I had learned from my encounter with the police. “I expect she will set things straight when she arrives in December.”
A gust of wind grabbed my shawl and flapped it in my face while simultaneously tearing off Jack’s hat — he had foolishly forgotten to maintain a grip. He lunged after it, just as the wind picked up force and hurled the hat down the street with the speed of a locomotive.
“You can always get another,” I said, but discovered Jack was no longer in my immediate proximity — somehow, he was a few hundred feet ahead, picking up his hat from the pavement and shaking it free of puddle water. I was still rubbing my eyes when he returned to my side. “How—” I started to ask.
“I was a sprint runner when I was younger,” he said with an apologetic smile.
But that was no
“No,” he said after a very long pause. “Why would you think that?”
“That night, you were at the club.”
“I was just passing by.”
“And at the Northern Star… that awful lady told you to remember your loyalties. The Crane Club was vandalized, soon after.”
He finally looked away from the bridge, his eyes meeting mine. His coat flapped, and something twinged in the depths of my memory. “And why would one thing have anything to do with another?”
“Your country was at war with China.”
He smiled, as if I were a child he had decided to indulge a bit longer. “We have signed a peace treaty. But even if we had not… do you think ransacking a Chinese club is the same as declaring military hostilities? It was more likely some drunks or thieves who were hoping to find alcohol in that place — it was all but abandoned recently. So they took some trinkets to sell. Really, Sasha, you’re too smart for your own good — you’re making things so complicated.”
I did feel very young and very foolish then. “We can go,” I whispered.
He offered me his elbow and I hooked my hand over the crook of his arm. “Don’t feel bad,” he said. “I know you are upset about your friends. Only I wish you wouldn’t cast me as an enemy.”
Those words made me blush. “I remember that you saved us,” I said. “You saved me twice, and I told you I was grateful. But there are things happening now that I do not understand, all I know is that I do not trust Prince Nicholas and his secret police, and I do not trust your Dame Nightingale.”
He seemed amused by my words, as we turned toward the Palace Square. “She may be a bit brash,” he said.
“And a bit rude,” I added. “I really don’t appreciate being insulted, but this is not why I do not trust her. I think she may be a spy.”
His face retained the same smiling expression but mirth left it momentarily, only to return with an exaggerated chuckle. “Nonsense,” he said.
I thought he was an awful liar but did not challenge him, content to see my guess hit near its target. “And you are here to help Nicholas,” I said. “The gendarmes listened to you. What do you want with the Chinese? Is this why Nightingale and Herbert are here?”
He shrugged, uncomfortable. “I cannot tell you much, but be assured that it has little to do with your friends. However, I can say Prince Nicholas once sought an alliance with Britain to help protect Russia from the Chinese threat.”
I snorted. “This is nonsense. There is no threat.”
Jack only shrugged. “If you say so. If there’s no threat then the Chinese have nothing to fear.”
“This is not true and you know it,” I said. “There has been enough damage done already, and I still don’t know what happened to Wong Jun.”
“I cannot help you.”
“I do not need you to.” I freed my arm from his. “I wrote to my aunt about this injustice, although in vague terms and naming no names.” I had learned from my encounter with the police. “I expect she will set things straight when she arrives in December.”
A gust of wind grabbed my shawl and flapped it in my face while simultaneously tearing off Jack’s hat — he had foolishly forgotten to maintain a grip. He lunged after it, just as the wind picked up force and hurled the hat down the street with the speed of a locomotive.
“You can always get another,” I said, but discovered Jack was no longer in my immediate proximity — somehow, he was a few hundred feet ahead, picking up his hat from the pavement and shaking it free of puddle water. I was still rubbing my eyes when he returned to my side. “How—” I started to ask.
“I was a sprint runner when I was younger,” he said with an apologetic smile.
But that was no
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