The China Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

queue swaying. "We have no alphabet."
    "No alphabet? Then what does this mean?" Kyle pointed at a character.
    "It begs the honor of the merchant's attention." Jin set his brush on a porcelain rest, his brow furrowing as he sought the words to explain. "In your language, each letter stands for a sound. Putting them together shows the sounds for a whole word. In Chinese each character is an… an idea. Combining them produces a new idea. It is… subtle."
    "Fascinating, and very different. How many characters are there?"
    "Many, many." Jin touched the abacus. "Tens of thousands." Kyle whistled softly. "It seems like a clumsy system. Surely it takes years of study to learn how to read and write."
    "It is not to be expected that everyone would excel at such a high art," Jin said stiffly. "Writing, poetry, and painting are the Three Perfections. Skill in all three is the mark of scholars and poets."
    "Since you can write, does that make you a scholar?"
    "Oh, no. My learning is not fit to take a scholar exam. I have only the skill of a clerk." His tone implied that Kyle's question had been absurd.
    "Can you show me how to write a single character? Surely that is not the same as teaching me how to write."
    The corner of Jin's mouth twitched slightly. A repressed smile? "You are very persistent, sir."
    "Indeed." Kyle examined the ink cake. It was octagonal, with a dragon embossed on one side. " Better to yield now, since I will pester you until you show me."
    Yes, Jin was definitely trying not to smile. "A humble clerk cannot resist such force, my lord." He placed a blank sheet of paper on the table. "Watch as I draw the character for fire . The strokes must be made in the correct order." Twice he drew the same simple, star-shaped character, working slowly so that the strokes were clear. Then he freshened the ink on the brush and handed it to Kyle. "Try."
    Even to the most casual eye, Kyle's attempt was not a success. "This is harder than it looks." He tried again, getting closer to the shape of the character but creating nothing like the elegance of Jin's writing.
    "You hold the brush wrong. Not like an English pen. More straight. Like this." Jin put his hand over Kyle's, changing the angle of the brush. A strange tingle went through Kyle. What the devil ? Jin felt something, too, because he quickly pulled his hand away.
    Could this boy be a holy man like the one in India? Sri Anshu's gaze could melt lead, and perhaps Jin Kang concealed similar inner fires. Or was the basis of that inexplicable reaction rooted in something that didn't bear thinking about?
    Though disturbed, Kyle forced himself to act as if nothing had happened.
    "The brush should be more upright?"
    "Yes." Jin swallowed. "And held more loosely." Kyle painted the character several more times. Holding the brush differently did produce a more delicate stroke, but he still had a long way to go.
    And he had made no progress toward understanding his baffling response to Jin Kang. Quite the contrary.

Chapter 4
    « ^ »
    England
    December 1832

    Troth awoke in a soft bed with lavender-scented linens. It was night, but flames crackled cozily in the fireplace to her right. She felt warm for the first time in what seemed like months.
    A quiet, familiar voice asked, "How are you feeling?" She turned her head to the left and saw the man whose appearance had caused her to faint when she arrived at Warfield Park. Kyle . Yet now that she saw him more closely, he was not Kyle, despite the uncanny resemblance. "You are Lord Grahame?"
    He nodded. "And you are Lady Maxwell, my brother's wife. Before we start talking seriously, do you need food or drink? Water?" She realized that she hadn't had anything since early that morning.
    "Water… would be nice."
    He poured a glass from a pitcher on the bedside table, then piled pillows behind her so she could sit up and drink. His hands were kind, but they were not Kyle's hands.
    She swallowed thirstily, emptying the glass. Her dizziness faded.