An Inch of Ashes Read Free

Mach might even give the T’ang his father’s ear back.’
    The night was clear and dark, the moon a sharp crescent to the north-east, high above the distant outline of the mountains. It was a warm night. Laughter drifted across the water as the long, high-sided boat made its way out across the lake, the lanterns swinging gently on either side.
    Tsu Ma had insisted on taking the oars. He pulled the light craft through the water effortlessly, his handsome mouth formed into a smile, his back held straight, the muscles of his upper arms rippling beneath his silks like the flanks of a running horse. Li Yuan sat behind Tsu Ma in the stern, looking past him at Fei Yen and her cousin, Yin Wu Tsai.
    The two girls had their heads together, giggling behind their fans. It had been Fei Yen’s idea to have a midnight picnic and Tsu Ma had been delighted when the two girls had come to them with blankets and a basket, interrupting their talk. The two men had smiled and laughed and let themselves be led out on to the lake.
    Li Yuan grinned broadly, enjoying himself. In the varicoloured light from the lanterns Fei Yen looked wonderful, like a fairy princess or some mythical creature conjured from the rich legends of his people’s past. The flickering patterns of the light made her face seem insubstantial; like something you might glimpse in a dream but which, when you came closer or held a clear light up to see it better, would fade or change back to its true form. He smiled at the fancifulness of the thought, then caught his breath, seeing how her eyes flashed as she laughed at something her cousin had whispered in her ear. And then she looked across at him, her dark eyes smiling, and his blood seemed to catch fire in his veins.
    He shuddered, filled by the sight of her. She was his.
His
.
    Fei Yen turned, looking out behind her, then turned back, leaning towards Tsu Ma. ‘To the island, Tsu Ma. To the island...’
    Tsu Ma bowed his head. ‘Whatever you say, my lady.’
    The boat began to turn. Beyond the temple on the small hill the lake curved like a swallow’s wing. There, near the wing’s tip, was a tiny island, reached by a wooden bridge of three spans. Servants had prepared it earlier. As they rounded the point, they could see it clearly, the bridge and the tiny, two-tiered pagoda lit by coloured lanterns.
    Li Yuan stared across the water, delighted, then looked back at Fei Yen.
    ‘It’s beautiful, you clever thing. When did you plan all this?’
    Fei Yen laughed and looked down, clearly pleased by his praise. ‘This afternoon. After we’d been riding. I... I did it for our guest, husband.’
    Tsu Ma slowed his stroke momentarily and bowed his head to Fei Yen. ‘I am touched, my lady. You do me great honour.’
    Li Yuan watched the exchange, his breast filled with pride for his wife. She was so clever to have thought of it. It was just the right touch. The perfect end to a perfect day. The kind of thing a man would remember for the rest of his days. Yes, he could imagine it now, forty years from now, he and Tsu Ma, standing on the terrace by the lake, looking back...
    She had even been clever enough to provide an escort for the T’ang. A clever, pretty woman who was certain to delight Tsu Ma. Indeed, had Fei Yen not been in the boat, he would have allowed himself to concede that Wu Tsai was herself quite beautiful.
    For a moment he studied the two women, comparing them. Wu Tsai was taller than Fei Yen, her face, like her body, longer and somehow grosser, her nose broader, her lips fuller, her cheekbones less refined, her neck stronger, her breasts more prominent beneath the silk of her jacket. Yet it was only by contrast with Fei Yen that these things were noticeable: as if in Fei Yen lay the very archetype of Han beauty, and all else, however fine in itself, was but a flawed copy of that perfection.
    The island drew near. Li Yuan leaned forward, instructing Tsu Ma where to land. Then the boat was moored and Tsu Ma was