Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [179]
When Bao got restless, he picked fights.
One sunny afternoon, I watched it happen. For the first time since I'd known him, Bao was jittery and ill at ease, unable to concentrate on our meditative exercises. I watched him make his apology to Master Lo Feng, kneeling on the sun-warmed planks, bowing and gesturing to the deck below us where the soldiers were wont to spar with one another. I watched Master Lo Feng nod and lay one elegant, long-fingered hand on Bao's head in benediction.
It seemed there was a standing wager at stake. Bao approached a group of soldiers on the main deck and spoke to them, then waited calmly, leaning on his staff while they laughed and argued among themselves. Coins were proffered; he shook his head and said somewhat in reply. In a little while, two Ch'in women clad in bright silk garments emerged from their quarters, and further discussion ensued, soldiers gesturing back and forth. Standing on the upper deck, I couldn't hear the details, but in the end, Bao gave a broad grin and nodded vigorous agreement.
The women leaned their heads together, whispered and giggled. Neither of them seemed displeased at being wagered. I felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.
Master Lo sighed.
"Do you disapprove, Master?" I asked him.
He was silent a moment. "No. It is Bao's nature to fight. He has his own demons to conquer."
"Aye?" I prompted. "His family?"
He glanced at me. "If he wishes you to know more, he will speak of it."
I watched Bao fight two soldiers that day. He was good. He was beyond good. I watched him shuck his loose-fitting shirt and caught my breath. His drawstring trousers clung to his narrow hips, and sunlight glistened on his golden-brown skin. Lean muscles surged beneath it in a complicated play of light and shadow. His dark eyes glittered above his high, wide cheekbones. Stone and sea! He was beautiful.
How had I not seen it?
His face was at once fierce and happy, oddly calm. He moved with careless grace, sandal-clad feet skipping over the deck. The staff was a blur in his hands, darting in and out, striking with both ends. His opponents fell, rolling, clutching their heads, swords dropping from their hands. The other soldiers roared with laughter, mocking them.
Bao bowed, tucking his staff into the crook of his arm.
I watched him go with the women to their quarters, his arms around their waists. He glanced up once to see if I was watching, and I looked away. Master Lo Feng regarded me.
I shrugged. "He's very skilled."
Master Lo nodded. "Yes."
Two days later, Bao brought me a pillow—a real one made of silk and stuffed with soft materials. I was so delighted, I hugged it to me.
"For this, I could kiss you," I said. "Where did you get it?"
He looked smug. "One of the women make for me. I make them feel sorry for you. They curious now. Ask all kind of questions what you like."
"What did you tell them?" I asked wryly.
Bao laughed. "I tell them to meet you they own damn self if they want to know. You want to?"
"Aye," I agreed. "I'd like that."
After weeks of relative isolation, it was a pleasure to be in the company of my own gender. Mei and Suyin, the two women that Bao had bedded, received me with wary curiosity that gave way to giggling warmth at my futile efforts to communicate.
"Different tongue," Bao informed me in D'Angeline. "They from the country, they no speak Shuntian. Also, you sound like a duck quacking."
"Oh." I was discouraged.
The bolder of the two girls leaned close, studying my face. She tilted her head and peered intently at my eyes, reaching out to brush my eyelashes and eyebrows with one fingertip. Uncertain, I held still and let her. She shivered with horrified delight, then addressed Bao in her