The Sword Dancer by Jeanne Lin Page B

boil atop it. The tavern keeper stood off to the side, overseeing the workmen as they stacked sacks of rice in a storage area.
    ‘Oh, no!’ Yiyi dragged her back out to the dining room and seated Li Feng at a table beside the window. ‘You are a guest, Little Sister.’
    There was little to do but sit dutifully and wait. The men in the corner paid her no notice. They seemed to be conversing about the boats on the river. The bamboo shutters had been propped up to let in light from all sides. Li Feng looked out to the rest of the village, hoping to catch a glimpse of Han.
    It was a quiet and secluded place, though there seemed to be more activity than she’d seen the day before. Li Feng had always preferred the noise of the cities, for her ears to be filled with music and conversation rather than the solitude of her own thoughts.
    The aforementioned cat made an appearance, sauntering out of some corner to wind between the legs of the bench. Its ears were black-tipped and its fur sleek in a pattern of white and grey. Given how the creature seemed to be loitering around the table with anticipation, it was likely he fed on more than just mice. Yiyi shooed the cat away as she reappeared with an armful of dishes and bowls. She set them out on the table and disappeared again, re-emerging with more dishes and a pot of tea.
    ‘Ping,’ Yiyi admonished the boy when he started climbing on to the bench beside Li Feng.
    ‘It’s no trouble. Let him stay.’ Li Feng helped the child seat himself. His legs dangled from the bench and his head barely reached the table.
    ‘You like children,’ Yiyi observed with a sly look.
    ‘Yes. Yes, I like them very much.’
    Was she supposed to blush? Smile proudly? Li Feng was a better dancer than she was an actress.
    Yiyi ladled out two bowls of soup for the both of them and a smaller bowl for Ping. ‘What does your husband do?’
    Husband. Han was supposed to be her husband.
    ‘He catches…fish.’
    ‘No wonder he’s so well built and strong. And so handsome too!’
    Pretending to be married was awkward, but pretending to be married to Han was excruciating. She considered telling Yiyi, in a fit of ill humour, how Han tied her up and wanted to keep her locked away. Instead she took a spoonful of soup. It was a rich broth flavored with braised pork bones in a mix of wine and garlic.
    ‘I’ve embarrassed you now,’ Yiyi said.
    ‘No, not at all.’
    ‘I can see how he dotes on you.’
    ‘Dotes on me?’ she asked incredulously. Yiyi had to be teasing her.
    ‘He spoils you so, you lucky woman.’
    Well, of course Han had to appear to care for her. It was part of their ruse. Maybe this bit about being husband and wife was why she was becoming confused about them. They had only spent two days in each other’s company, but their time together already seemed quite intimate and personal. She had never confided so much to anyone else.
    ‘Your husband seems a very good man as well,’ Li Feng replied.
    ‘That oaf?’
    At that moment, the husband came out of the kitchen. With a roar, he picked up Ping and swung the child into his lap as he sat. Li Feng could see that any complaint that Yiyi had about her husband was in jest. Li Feng’s chest squeezed tight with longing as she watched them together. They were happy.
    Yiyi made quick introductions. Her husband’s name was Wei. He was broad shouldered and had an endearing habit of talking out of the side of his mouth. He had inherited the tavern from his father.
    ‘The old man knew a hundred recipes for soup,’ Wei boasted. ‘One recipe has over twenty-five ingredients, some of them very rare.’
    They ate together in harmony and Li Feng marvelled at the sumptuousness of the feast. It was even more extravagant than the parade of dishes she and Han had enjoyed last night.
    ‘Really, you must allow my husband to pay you,’ Li Feng said, happily volunteering Han for what was likely a substantial bill.
    Wei raised his hand in refusal.