Chapter Nineteen #2
“Repapered?” the royal asked. “Whyever would you…” He glanced past Max’s shoulder into the room, then his eyes abruptly widened as he remembered. “Oh yes, the murder. Christopher said it was very grizzly.” He continued to peer into the room. “Looks respectable now.”
“We hired excellent workmen,” Max inserted. “Ones I expressly hired because of their work on Carlton House—”
“Yes, yes,” Prinny said, waving to silence Max as he stepped down the hallway. “Is that Miss Wong’s sickroom?”
“It is, Your Highness.” Lady Kimberly dipped into a curtsy—a little late, but Prinny didn’t seem to care. “And Miss Yihui has expressed a desire to meet you, if you would like.”
Oh good God no! This was no doubt a generous gesture on Yihui’s part, but she had no idea what kind of a ham-handed brute Prinny could be.
He’d treat her like a pig at a county fair.
Or a back-alley whore. Neither was acceptable, even from a royal, and so Max rushed forward to forestall the coming disaster.
“This isn’t…” Max’s voice trailed away as he looked into the bedroom. It had been a week since her bath. He’d certainly gotten reports of Yihui’s health multiple times a day. He’d even checked in when he could, making sure not to disturb her sleep. But he’d never seen her like this.
She was seated upright on her bed with pillows behind her back, but she didn’t seem to need them.
She sat with her chin lifted, her lips curved in a polite smile, and her hands clasped before her.
She dipped her head and pushed her hands forward in a kind of Chinese greeting, and when she straightened, she kept her head lowered but her eyes raised.
The position emphasized the beauty of her dark eyes, even as her head tilt showed her humility. A deferential woman with hauntingly exotic eyes. She was stunning, and for a moment, he was knocked silent.
Not so for Prinny, who blustered forward with a large smile. “My lady, a pleasure to meet you under less formal circumstances. I am so sorry you have been feeling ill.”
“I am honored to greet you,” she said, her English clear enough that Max was strangely proud, as if he had something to do with her language ability.
“How are you feeling?” Prinny continued, his gaze going quite clearly to the lumps beneath the cover that were her feet.
“The duke and his family have treated me well. I am grateful.”
“Max is a good man. His father is a bit more prickly, but Max and I are great friends.”
“We are,” Max inserted. “But perhaps you would be more comfortable downstairs?” He already knew the ploy wouldn’t work, but he had to do something to save Yihui. But apparently, the lady didn’t need rescuing.
“I will show them to you,” she said, her gaze demurely downcast. “But then you must speak to the emperor about how it is wrong.”
Prinny took a moment to fully hear her words, then pulled back with a frown. “Speak to the emperor? The Chinese emperor?”
Yihui dipped her head. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The prince pulled a chair close and settled himself upon it. “My lady, you cannot think I can command the Chinese emperor what to do in his own country.”
“You are the leader of this country, yes?”
“Of course, I am, but—”
“You can speak big man to big man. You can say this thing of binding a woman’s feet is wrong.”
The prince shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “That would be like me coming into another man’s home and demanding that he do things differently. I have no right to tell him what to do.”
A long silence ensued as everyone—including the prince—realized that he had done exactly that in this house. He had entered and demanded to see a lady in her boudoir. And in the awkward silence, Prinny shot an annoyed look at Max.
“Your home is different. You are my loyal subject.”
“Yes, Your Majesty—”
“I can demand anything I like here,” he kept saying. “But I cannot do such a thing in China.”
Yihui bowed again. “I understand.”
“Of course, you do—” he began.
“And so I cannot show you my country’s shame. If you will not help end it, then I will keep the ugliness from your eyes.”
The prince did not like that answer. He had come all the way here just to see her deformity, and now he straightened as if he were the one insulted.
“But the others have seen it. Max has seen it!”
“Max is to be my husband, yes? He has the right.”
Max nodded. “And the others were doctors plus my sister and Lady Kimberly who has helped with her care. Please, this is most irregular.” He was choosing his words, softening them as a good diplomat would.
But inside, he wanted to scream at his leader.
The man was here to gawk, nothing more, and a royal should know better than to treat a woman like a cripple at a bearbaiting.
Unfortunately, Prinny did not take the admonition well. He stood upright with an angry glare. “I only wished to learn of her Chinese medicines. How can I know if they work if I do not see the damage firsthand?”
“You know,” Max said curtly, “because she is alive. You know because the doctor said she would not last the night and yet here she is, growing stronger every second. You know because myself and my family have been tending her, watching as the fever left her screaming in delirium until her medicine turned the tide. You know, Your Majesty, because I have said so and I have never lied to you.”
Max’s patience was at an end. He had never spoken so harshly to the prince and Prinny’s face reflected the fury of his reaction. Too bad. Max held out his hand and gestured down the hallway.
“Now perhaps, we shall leave Miss Wong to her recovery.”
There was nothing the royal could do now short of throwing a tantrum, and that was something he rarely did unless in his cups. But he wasn’t above getting back at Max. He turned to Yihui with a hard look.
“Max has seen your feet because you are to be married, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Then I look forward to attending the happy event.” He turned back to Max. “Three weeks to call the banns. I shall see that the cathedral is at your disposal.”
And there it was. The royal decree repeated that he and Yihui would wed.
Forget that Lady Kimberly stood nearby. Forget that Yihui would never be accepted in society, much less able to fulfill her duties as duchess.
Forget that his descendants would be forever tainted by Chinese blood.
Prinny had been insulted, and so he forced shame upon Max and his heirs for generations.
It was a cruel punch, and one that Max had to accept simply because he had lost his temper and demanded that the royal behave like a compassionate adult.
“I shall expect an invitation forthwith,” Prinny commanded, and then he swept out of the room leaving Max—as usual—to pick up the pieces.