Chapter 15 #2
Elizabeth pressed her lips together, hiding her mirth.
The monk who spent a lifetime of showing unaffected passion or feeling, and firmly restraining any response to pain or distress was in love?
The girl barely lifted her eyes, but when she did, they clapped on Chen.
A flicker flashed in Chen’s eyes, a glorious spark.
Then Anhe looked away, picked up a hoop and commenced embroidering.
Chen’s shoulders slumped. He sat frozen and forlorn like a raindrop lost to the ocean, painfully shy and pitiful.
Mrs. Merriweather, Fiona and O’Reilly joined them. Elizabeth nudged Mrs. Merriweather. “Look at our miserable Chen,” she whispered. “Look at the girl embroidering. Could you be of assistance?”
Mrs. Merriweather reared her head. “Our Chen is not so much of a monk? What about his vow of chastity?”
Elizabeth gave a dainty shrug. “Vows made during a calm are forgotten when the storm commences.”
The old woman rubbed her hands together with conspiratorial glee.
“There is a charm about the prohibited that makes it unspeakably desirable. She is lovely. You have employed me with such a delightful activity. God forgive me for assisting a lovelorn monk to grasp the forbidden fruit, but I can’t help it. I’m a hopeless romantic.”
Mrs. Merriweather turned to Zachary. “Mr. Rourke.” She tapped Zachary’s shoulder.
“The girl’s craftsmanship is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.
With brilliant colors of thread and the fineness of her stitches, she stirs the silk fabric to life.
Her work is unparalleled, and I need a girl who is an excellent seamstress.
Would it be possible for Mr. Chen to escort her to my home. I’ll pay her well.”
Zachary translated in Chinese to Lian Li and her daughter. There were excited smiles and continued bowing.
“There’s your answer, Mrs. Merriweather.”
“Well done. With that business concluded, where is Mr. O’Reilly?” She caught sight of him and hurried to the Irishman’s side where he lectured like a scholarly professor the merits of another machine.
Elizabeth smiled behind her gloved hand. The two Chinese women were still bowing to Mrs. Merriweather. “You have everything working with perfect efficiency, Mr. Rourke.”
He leaned over and spoke lightly into Elizabeth’s ear. “What I find troubling is the division of the Chinese and the Irish. How can I make men of different backgrounds work together when they hate each other? How will I ever succeed unless there is a mutual respect built?”
A large, heavily built Irishman with ham hock fists and a broken nose dared to push between them. Zachary was quick, sweeping Elizabeth behind him.
“I see you’ve selected your crew,” said the man, his deep-toned corroded voice as grating as a shovel against concrete.
Zachary narrowed his eyes on the Mick who dared to come between them. Donnelly was trouble. “I have.”
“Except for the Chinks.” The big man angled his head to Chen and the Chinese workers.
Zachary folded his arms in front of him. The argument brewing was like a choreographed dance of distrust and bigotry. “I expect you to accord them all the respect I do.”
“That’s if I don’t kill them first. And to boot, I don’t eat that Chink garbage they call food. I can’t stand that Chink wife. The daughter I might take a turn in the alley.”
He heard Elizabeth gasp behind him.
Chen picked up a long sharp knife from Lian Li’s table, legs spread wide. “Do you want to die cut horizontal or vertical?”
Zachary gave a sharp bark of laughter. Never had he seen Chen go on the offensive, but Donnelly had hit a nerve when he slurred Anhe and her family.
As men from both sides crowded near, it was O’Reilly who moved between the two combatants with Mrs. Merriweather and Fiona pulling up the rear.
O’Reilly emptied his clay pipe, took a portion of tobacco, pulled safety matches from one of his pockets and busied himself striking one against the sandpaper strip on the side of the box.
Both foes stood silently glaring at each other.
“To my estimation,” said O’Reilly, peering up to the Irishman, “you owe Mr. Chen, Mr. Li and his wife and daughter an apology.”
“By my mother’s sainted soul, I won’t do it.”
“When Chen gave you an option of horizontal or vertical, he was being kind. I’ve never seen the likes of a warrior other than our Mr. Chen.
” O’Reilly punctuated his warning with a puff of smoke that curled above the Irishman’s head and hung motionless in the air.
“I’d hate to see you get fired nor would I wish to see Mr. Chen’s violence unleashed. What’s it to be?”
Grudgingly, the Irishman muttered an apology. Chen bowed.
“Jesus,” said Zachary, watching the men linger with their hackles up.
O’Reilly pointed his pipe at him. “That will be fine. You pray, me and the others, we’ll make your steam engine and pay off those loans.”
“Dyer and Spencer are so far true to their word with the financing,” said Zachary.
O’Reilly rested a hand, heavy as an anvil on his shoulder.
“Dyer, no. I don’t trust him. And if you think Spencer says so, it’s as dubious as Moses coming down the mountain with a block of stone in his hand and his forehead glimmering with the truth.
So, get to the point because it is impatient I am, and Chen can’t seem to shut up once.
I’m offering you a head start against wind and tide. ”
“Don’t get carried away over a loan. And Chen doesn’t talk unless he has to.”
Amidst the men, Zachary stepped up on a box and asked all of them to listen. “Mr. Li, will you translate to your men?”
Irish and Chinese surrounded him albeit to their sides.
“I am sure you all recognize what a serious disadvantage it would be to have the wrong people made privy to our ideas before we’ve brought them to completion.
Such an error, gentlemen, could cost every man here an enormous profit.
I’m sure I can rely on your discretion.”
“Did you say profit share?”
Unheard of for a business owner to share his profits, Zach knew the idea would fascinate them.
“That’s right. There will be a percentage of profits distributed to every man for his work.
That comes with responsibility. No thieving.
No giving any outsiders any information on what we are working on.
Being aware of spies. Coming to work on time, not missing any work days, working long hard hours, making deadlines, and most importantly, working together in a harmonious fashion.
I hired each of you for your talents. You must realize each other’s talents to make this endeavor come to fruition. Can I count on you?”
“Well done,” beamed Elizabeth. As the men dispersed, Mrs. Merriweather and Fiona also nodded their approval.
Zachary stepped down. “It’s not an easy task.
Over the weeks, I’ve encountered numerous nightmares.
Supplies, especially iron, are slow to get to them.
“I’ve procured a great number of orders due to my salesmanship skills yet have been unable to produce one steam engine, producing angry customers by extending deadlines.
I must streamline time-consuming and labor-intensive operations.
Trouble-shooting last details on the engine is endless. ”
A vein pulsed in his neck. “The worst problem is getting the men to work together. The divide is wider than the Great Plains. The Chinese distrust the Irish, and the Irish hate the Chinese. Work done by one faction is booby-trapped by the other.”
O’Reilly brought his eyebrows together over the bridge of his nose.
“The Irish are quick to find fault and quicker with their fists. Mr. Li said a cheery ‘top of the morning’ and a brawl broke out. What’s more they refuse to eat the food Madam Li’s providing.
“Misunderstandings have come deliberate and innocent. We cannot control the way people interpret ideas when they refuse to control the words and tones they convey. It is unfortunate that one wrong word or negative tone can change the meaning of an entire utterance and start a war.”
Mrs. Merriweather said, “Is there anything I can do?”
“I appreciate the gesture, Ma’am. If I can’t get the men to stop fighting, I’ll never get one engine out the door.” Zach ran his fingers through his hair. “Delays. Delays. Delays. Impossible to do it all alone. I’m drowning in postponements and rising debt.”
O’Reilly gazed out over the factory. “Patience is bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Hopefully something will happen to bind them together.”
“We’ll need a miracle.”