Burning Tigress Read Free Page A

complaint.
    The hot water was ready, and Mr. Yi poured according to custom. He said nothing and neither did Ken Jin. They were pretending to have a quiet tea. Obviously, the man wanted to share the newest house gossip, but as butler he couldn't give the information outright. So Ken Jin had to infer what was going on from the talk around him.
    Fortunately, he had an advantage. He already knew from where Miss Crane had come, and with whom. He already knew that she had become a Tigress student, and that her partner was a former Shaolin monk. What he gathered now was that the young miss had returned home and claimed the monk as her husband. Then her father had walked out, disowning them both. Such was hardly a surprise, and certainly what the girl deserved for her disobedient actions. But where were the two lovers now?
    "Think the master'll catch them?" the scullery girl asked, her voice quavering with fear. "Will he kill them and eat them?"
    The others burst into mocking laughter. They had been around whites long enough to know that the English didn't eat their young as was commonly thought.
    "Hai," chortled the first footman. "Mr. Crane'll find them. But it's General Kang who'll feast on their vitals." He widened his eyes and dropped his voice. "The Qing Empire has no pity on its enemies."
    The girl was appropriately terrified. "But the master... What if General Kang catches him?"
    The footman's answer was as clear as it was graphic. He bared his teeth and pantomimed ripping out a heart and eating it. "The master is as good as dead. Just be grateful the General was too rushed to bother with us."
    The room fell into a mournful silence. Apparently, the Crane household had fallen afoul of General Kang, a powerful Manchurian officer. Which meant, of course, that the Cranes would not live long in China. Which meant the servants were all about to be unemployed.
    Reality descended hard upon the poor scullery maid. "But I don't have another job!" she wailed.
    Neither, apparently, did Mr. Yi, for that was the moment he began to speak, asking after the Wicks family butler. "Tell me, how is the health of Mr. Tseng? I understand he had a terrible cough last month."
    Ken Jin nodded sadly. In truth, Mr. Tseng was twenty years younger than Mr. Yi and in excellent health. But who was he to brag about the Wicks family's good fortune? Or to dash Mr. Yi's hopes of a job?
    "Ah," he said, "you are correct that Mr. Tseng is not as young as he once was. That cough was terrible and still lingers. The young master hides whenever he hears the hacking sound, and guests shun the house." Ken Jin paused, trying to deliver the truth in his most delicate manner. "But you have worked for the ghost people for years, Mr. Yi. You understand that they are ignorant of the true nature of things. Mr. Wicks cannot comprehend the bad fortune that comes from an ill butler."
    "Of course, of course." Mr. Yi nodded, his drawn expression showing he had received the message: There would be no job opening for him in the Wicks household. "The whites are indeed a barbarian people," he rasped. Then he pushed up from his chair. "Perhaps we should see if Miss Charlotte has finished her letter. You would not want to leave her too long. Women should not have so much time alone. It damages their minds."
    Ken Jin could not agree more. In his opinion, whites spent too little time controlling their daughters; but it was not his place to comment. It wasn't Mr. Yi's place either, but the old man could be forgiven his grumbling considering that he was about to lose his livelihood. Ken Jin could only pray the man had adequate savings. It would not be easy to find a new job at his age.
    They returned to the front parlor, where Miss Charlotte was slowly descending the stairs. Ken Jin waited silently, his head slightly bowed, his manner completely reserved as was appropriate to his position. But he had long since mastered the ability to observe all while keeping his demeanor subservient, and