"We're not guests; we're damned prisoners!" the drunk retorted. "We can't sail for pleasure, or go into the city, or bring our wives and mistresses. The Royal Navy should sail up the Pearl River and teach the mandarins some manners! Then we'll be able to trade anywhere we want, not just in Canton."

"That's enough!" Boynton ordered.

"Quite," Logan agreed. "Civilized men can agree to disagree."

Yet anger was still palpable in the room, and Troth sensed that much of it was aimed at Maxwell, as if he were responsible for the problems of the China trade. Gavin Elliott shot Troth a glance. Though most of the servants did not speak English well enough to understand the conversation, Troth did, and Elliott knew it.

She kept her face blank and her eyes downcast, as if so bored that she wasn't following the discussion. She'd have to tell Chenqua about the dinner conversation, of course, but nothing new had been said. Grumbling was chronic among the Fan-qui traders. Only Maxwell, with his reasonable suggestions, was different from the usual.

"I understand why you feel imprisoned," Maxwell said in a conciliatory tone. "I've been here only a week, and I'm already restless. Do any of you defy the regulations and go into the city or inland? It would be interesting to see more of the country."

Most of the traders looked shocked at the thought. A blond Dutchman said, "We'd not get far if we tried! We foreign devils stand out too easily."

"The Portuguese Jesuits travel into China. Maybe a merchant could do the same if he wore a long black robe." Maxwell's tone was light, but Troth sensed that he was very interested in the answer.

Boynton shook his head. "It's true that the emperor tolerates the Jesuits, but even they aren't allowed to wander freely. It's all permits, guides, and regulations. A pity, or I'd be tempted to put on a black robe and try it." His comment produced chuckles.

"Then I shall have to get my taste of China by exploring Hog Lane. Perhaps I'll visit there tomorrow night. The contrast with tonight's gentlemanly entertainment should make it seem more exotic," Maxwell said with barely detectable irony. "Is the place really a foul sink of iniquity? "

"The drink shops sell the wickedest liquor in the East, and you'll see European sailors spewing in the alleys and passed out in the gutters," Logan said. "You may get your pockets picked, but since Hog Lane is part of the Settlement, at least you won't get a knife in your back. This place is safer than London."

" Hog Lane sounds tame compared to most ports. Calcutta, for example."

Maxwell's comment inspired a discussion of which ports were the wickedest, often with graphic descriptions to support the opinions. Troth found it educational, though she wondered how much was true and how much was mere boasting.

By the time the guests took their leave, all signs of discord had vanished. But as Troth faded in with the other servants, she understood why Elliott had asked her to keep an eye on Maxwell. His candor could bring trouble down on that handsome head.

Chapter 6

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Troth worked late the next night, translating and writing letters for Boynton at the English Factory. As Chen-qua's employee, part of her job was to perform any special task requested by merchants who were clients of her master. She was grateful for an excuse not to be at Elliott's hong, where she ran the risk of running into Maxwell again. He'd haunted her dreams the night before, and she'd woken hot and humiliated. A good thing he would leave soon, never to return.

Tonight he'd intended to visit Hog Lane. Would he find the area interesting? For a man who'd traveled as widely as he, the local taverns and prostitutes would probably be nothing special. With a sharp ache, she envied him his freedom to travel. If only she had really been born male!

Because her mind kept wandering from her work, it took her longer than usual to do the translations. Her brushwork was clumsy and several letters had to be redone. She was startled to hear the office clock striking midnight as she finished. Perhaps in the morning she'd skip her exercises and sleep late.

Yawning, she left the English Factory. The porter who guarded the gate nodded farewell, used to her irregular hours.

Though Hog Lane, a mere block away, hummed with lights, noise, and activity, the waterfront was quiet, with only a handful of sampans gliding silently over the water. She was heading toward a cluster of taxi boats to get a ride across to Honam Island when a dark, stealthy figure approached. "Jin Kang?"

She recognized the whisper of a young man who worked at a drink shop on Hog Lane and sometimes supplied her with useful bits of information. "Good evening, Teng. What brings you away from your business at such a busy hour?"

Teng drew close, his voice dropping. "I heard something you should know."

He'd obviously also heard that she was working late. There were few secrets in this narrow strip of land. "It's very late." She covered another yawn. "Is your information urgent?"

"Two toughs from one of the gangs were in the shop. I heard them discussing the money they'd earn for killing a Fan-qui, one under Chenqua's protection."

Troth stared at him, her fatigue forgotten. "No one would dare kill a Fan-qui!"

"Maybe not, but they were laughing over the number of taels of silver they'll earn when they break the skull of the new Fan-qui lord, Max-Well."

Gods above, if he was still in Hog Lane, he'd be an easy target! "Have you seen this Lord Maxwell tonight?"

Teng shrugged. "I don't know the man, but the street is full of Fan-qui sailors on leave. He might be among them."

"When did you hear the men talking?"

"Only a few minutes ago."

Seeking help would take precious time. Hog Lane was a small area, and gods willing, she'd find Maxwell before the gang members did. She was whirling to leave when Teng caught her sleeve. "My information is valuable?"

She yanked free. "You'll receive your reward tomorrow, I swear!"

Then she bolted, racing along the silent fronts of the hongs toward the noise and lights of Hog Lane.


Sin was sin the world round, Kyle decided. Still, the rough friendliness of the sailors at the various drink shops was a pleasant change from the suffocating respectability of the night before.

Even dressed in his oldest clothing he was conspicuous, but since he wasn't a ship's officer he was accepted easily. It helped that he was willing to buy rounds of fiery samshu, a local liquor guaranteed to banish sobriety, and quite possibly the lining of a man's stomach along with it. He drank sparingly.

Information usually flowed freely in the lower reaches of society, and that held true here. He ambled from drink shop to drink shop, talking with sailors of several nations and avoiding the swift sporadic fights with the skill of long practice. As the evening progressed, he collected a wide range of opinions about the China trade, though his future colleagues in the House of Lords would be appalled at the ways in which he was educating himself.

The thought of their horror did not bother him. As a boy, he'd always dreamed of traveling to distant lands. Only after he'd achieved his goal had he understood his yearning. Being a viscount and heir to an earldom from the moment he first drew breath had condemned him to a life of narrow privilege. Mostly he'd known men much like himself, bred to power and the rigid customs of his class. That was why he was drawn to people who were different. One of many reasons for loving Constancia had been that she was Spanish, as exotic as she was warmhearted.

But it was in Asia that he had truly discovered people, ideas, and communities very different from his own. The Indian holy man whose eyes had burned with knowledge had not cared that he was Viscount Maxwell. Neither had his shipmates when they'd fought side by side against murderous Spice Islands pirates. After the battle the bosun had told him that " 'is lordship didn't fight like no damned gentleman." Kyle thought it one of the finest compliments he'd ever received.

In his journeying he had discovered himself, and he'd gained freedom and tolerance. Even if he never left England again, he was a better man for what he'd learned. He supposed that was why he now felt ready to return home. Still, he would enjoy these last days in a land so different from his own.

Hog Lane ended at Thirteen Factories Street, which paralleled the massive city wall a couple of hundred yards away. Deciding it would be best to explore the maze of shops and alleys on the other side of the street during daylight, he was about to head back to his quarters when a small boy scampered from an alley no more than seven feet wide.

The boy bowed, then said in the pidgin spoken by most of the local shopkeepers, "Sir want to see vely fine singing clickets? My master has best clickets, best plices, sir!"

Singing crickets? Amused, Kyle asked, "Where is your master's shop?"

"Just up here, sir!" The boy bowed again, then trotted down the alley, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that Kyle was following. Most of the businesses they passed were closed, but he saw a lantern illuminating an alcove ahead where minuscule cages hung from nails driven into the wall. As he approached the tiny shop, the shrilling of insects pierced the noise of Hog Lane.

Listening to the crickets, he didn't hear footfalls behind him, but a swift-moving shadow triggered an instinctive sidestep. He spun around just in time to avoid a swinging club. "Bloody hell!"

Three Chinese men moved in behind him, and three more were coming from the far end of the alley. The boy had vanished, his job done. Swearing, Kyle charged at the men who blocked his retreat. If he could reach the drunken European sailors two blocks away in Hog Lane, they'd happily help him fight off robbers.

Weight and speed nearly broke him free before another club smashed across his left side and shoulder. He staggered and almost fell, his side going numb.

Since he carried little money and no valuables, it might be wiser to toss his purse and run, but surrender was against his nature. He grabbed the nearest man and flung him into his two companions.

The attackers from the end of the alley closed in, their grim determination visible even in the darkness. Damnation, they meant to kill him! Retreating until his back was against a wall, Kyle shouted for help in the faint hope that his voice would carry above the clamor of Hog Lane.

He used every vicious trick learned in fighting pirates, bandits, and thieves to keep the attackers at bay. But there were six of them, and he'd been damned fool enough to come without his pistol.

Thanking God for the knife in his boot, he whipped the weapon out and stabbed his nearest attacker. The man fell back, dark blood flowing over his hand. A menacing growl came from the others when they saw their victim was armed. Two of them pulled knives of their own.

Another club struck a glancing blow to his skull. He fell to the ground, stunned, blackness closing in on him. Kicks crashed into his ribs and belly as he helplessly watched a flashing blade raised to strike. Dizzily he thought that it was a hell of a way to die, in a "safe" city just before he was to return home. Dominic would be stuck with the earldom after all.

A blood-freezing shout sliced through the air. An instant later, a dark-clad figure cannoned into the attackers. Moving with balletic grace and unbelievable speed, the newcomer kicked one man in the crotch, chopped the throat of another with the side of his hand, and slammed the heel of his hand into the nose of a third. All three of the toughs collapsed, crying out with agony.

The gang turned on this new threat, but were unable to come to grips with the man, who was elusive as a shadow and fierce as a raging tiger. Sliding away from clutching hands and swinging clubs, he kicked a drawn knife, sending it spinning into the darkness, then dropped another man into a crumpled, moaning heap with another throat chop.

Two of the thugs tried to pin the dark-clad stranger against the wall. Leaping into the air, the man somersaulted over the back of one assailant as if they were acrobats practicing a routine.

Seeing the flash of a knife, Kyle shouted a warning and tried to struggle to his feet to help, but the effort was too much. Pain seared through him and he collapsed into darkness.


Giving thanks that none of the attackers were trained in kung fu, Troth used one man's own momentum to slam him into a wall. He fell to the ground and didn't rise again. The two still standing fled into the night.