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 All right, but look at these shoes. Aren t they
beautiful? Wouldn t you love to have a pair like that?
Dora dragged her to another window.
A salesperson took a pair of shoes from behind the
glass pane and replaced them with another pair. All the
shoes were displayed on a length of black velvet and
were arrayed at different heights in an attractive
presentation.
Alan needs to put our dresses in a front window.
We ll have so many orders our fingers will bleed
trying to keep up with them. She was excited by the
prospect. A workroom full of seamstresses and her
ingenuity in duplicating the magazine fashions, and
they d have a solid business. Maybe over time she
could introduce some designs her own.
This time it was Dora who pulled on Huiann s arm.
 We d better get going. We have quite a walk ahead of
us.
After several more blocks, Huiann s feet began to
ache. The heavy brogans had rubbed blisters on her
heels and toes. She wished she d worn her soft-sided
slippers. They wouldn t have shown beneath her skirt.
But she marched on without complaining.
They made a few more twists and turns, ending up
on a quieter street. Dora stopped before a door with a
placard above it.  Dr. Harrigan will have what you
need.
Dora opened the door and ushered Huiann inside a
dimly lit, stuffy room. A woman sat behind a desk,
knitting, and a few wooden chairs were placed in a
Bonnie Dee 149
row along the opposite wall. Two of them were
occupied one by a very fat man with a sweating red
face, the other by a pregnant woman whose hands
were cupped around the bulge beneath her gown.
Huiann stayed a pace or two behind Dora as her friend
went to the desk and talked to the knitting woman. The
woman rose and left the room.
Dora returned to Huiann.  She ll get the elixir.
Huiann was suddenly very nervous about taking
whatever concoction this doctor might provide. What
if it poisoned her? This place was so dingy and a bad
smell hung in the air. She folded her arms and turned
away from the seated patients who were staring at her.
Minutes of waiting felt like hours before the woman
returned and held out a small bottle. Dora paid her
with some of Huiann s money.
Outside the doctor s office, Huiann drew a deep
breath. Dora gave her the change and the bottle of
brown liquid.  You drink this before& you know& and
again after.
Huiann nodded, her cheeks flaming at the idea of
doing  you know with Alan.
On the way home, they walked faster and each step
was painful. Huiann couldn t wait to take off her shoes.
She paused near the shop window with the shoe
display and leaned against the brick wall, rubbing her
heel. But there was no relief through the thick leather
and no way to loosen the shoes since they were
buttoned from ankle to calf.
Dora wrapped an arm around her waist.  Poor thing.
Lean on me.
Gritting her teeth, Huiann pushed off the wall,
anxious to make the last few blocks to home. It was
150 Captive Bride
late in the afternoon. Alan might already have closed
the shop and be wondering where she was.
She noticed a tall, heavily built white man about a
half block ahead watching them. His hair and beard
were reddish brown and his face was blotched with
freckles. As his gaze met hers, he started toward her,
bumping aside other pedestrians in his hurry.
Huiann s heart leaped to her throat. She grabbed
Dora s hand and pulled her in the opposite direction.
Dora squeaked as Huiann nearly pulled her off her feet.
 What& ?
 Run! Huiann demanded in Wu, too panicked to
remember any English. Their pursuer might be Xie s
agent or only some street thug, but she wasn t going to
wait to find out which. They ran around the first corner
they came to then turned down an alley between two
buildings. Emerging onto another street, Huiann turned
again without glancing back to see if they were
followed. She simply ran and Dora followed her lead.
People and buildings flew past, but all Huiann
could feel was the pain in her chest and Dora s sweaty
hand clenched in hers. Not until they d zigzagged
several more times did she finally risk looking over
her shoulder.
The man was no longer there. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]