They walked over to the rack, and the captain pointed out to Chiao Tai the special merits of each sword, going into great detail about different methods of welding the blades. Then he told a few stories about the feats of famous Cantonese swordsmen. The twins listened avidly, their kohl-rimmed eyes very wide.
Suddenly the old crone came in and handed Nee a small envelope. 'Excuse me, will you?' he asked. He went to stand in front of the window arch and read the note. Then he stuffed it in his sleeve, sent the old woman away and said to Chiao Tai, 'Let's have another cup of tea!'
'I like this mint tea,' Chiao Tai remarked. 'Last night I had aniseed liquor in Mansur's place. Rather good too. Do you know the fellow?'
'You two go down and water the flowers,' Nee told the twins. 'It's getting quite hot already.' When they had left, looking highly indignant, the captain resumed, 'So you want to know about Mansur. Well, I'll tell you a little story about him. It goes back four years or so, when Mansur paid his first visit to our good city. There was a certain young lady here. Her parents were dead, and consequently her elder brother was the head of the house. A very wealthy and distinguished house, I should add. She was in love with a young man here, but they quarrelled, and he went away. Then her brother married her to an official, an awful dry stick nearly twice her age. Shortly after this ill-assorted marriage, she met Mansur and fell violently in love with him. One of those hectic, short-lived affairs, you know. She repented soon enough and told Mansur that it was all over. Know what Mansur said? That it was all right with him but that she'd have to pay him a round sum, for services rendered — as he chose to call it.'
'The dirty blackmailer! Know of any mischief he's engaged in now? I'd welcome a chance to collar the bastard!'
Captain Nee stroked his short beard. After a while he replied:
'No, I don't. I am sorry, for I am not very partial to Arabs. They trampled my mother's country underfoot. And I was very fond of my mother — Nizami was her Persian name. I changed my name to Nee, as a tribute to her memory.' He paused, then resumed, 'It's a large city, always buzzing with all kinds of rumours. But as a matter of principle I refuse to repeat vague rumours, which usually are just malicious gossip.'
'I see. By the way, at Mansur's party I met an Arab dancing girl called Zumurrud. Ever seen her?'
Captain Nee gave him a quick look.
'Zumurrud? No, I never met her. But I have heard her described as a beautiful and skilful dancer.'
'Do you happen to know who her patron is?'
'No. If she has one, he must be a wealthy man, for she's rather exacting, I've always heard.'
Chiao Tai nodded, and emptied his teacup.
'Talking about beautiful women,' he resumed, 'those twins you have around here don't look too bad either! They complained to me about your detached attitude, by the way!'
The captain smiled faintly.
'I've had them now for four years, have seen them change from children into young women. It has given me a kind of paternal feeling towards them.'
'They seem quite a handful! Where did you buy them?'
Nee did not reply at once. He gave Chiao Tai a searching look, then said:
'They are the illegitimate children of a very nice girl, a distant relative of my mother's, who was seduced by a Chinese official. She gave them away to a Chinese merchant of her acquaintance, for she feared that her lover would abandon her because of them. When he left her anyway, she killed herself. It created quite a stir here, but her lover managed to keep his name out of it, so it didn't harm his career.'
'Pleasant fellow! Did you know him?'
'Of him. Didn't feel like meeting him. But I kept myself informed about the twins. They were treated well in the merchant's house, but he went bankrupt. I bought them when his possessions were auctioned off. I educated them as well as I could, and now I must look for a suitable husband for them.'
'I wouldn't put that off for too long,' Chiao Tai remarked judiciously. He got up adding, 'I'd better be off now.'
'You must come again for a boxing bout,' the captain said, as he took him downstairs. 'You are a bit heavier than me, but the years are on my side.'
'That's fine! I need practice. Used to exercise regularly with my blood-brother Ma. But the fellow's married now, and developed a paunch!'
In the small garden Dunyazad and Dananir were spraying the flowers with diminutive watering pots.
'Good-bye, children!' Chiao Tai called out.
They pointedly ignored him.
'They are cross that I sent them away,' the captain said with a smile. 'They are as inquisitive as a pair of monkeys. And they hate to be called children.'
'I am getting paternal too,' Chiao Tai said wryly. 'Many thanks for showing me your swords!'
When the captain closed the door behind him, Chiao Tai noticed that the street was crowded now; people were rushing back home after their early morning shopping. As he elbowed his way through them, he bumped into a young woman. He wanted to apologize but she had already brushed past him. He saw only her back as she disappeared in the throng.
XII
Prefect Pao and Tao Gan helped Judge Dee descend from the palankeen in the front yard of Liang Foo's residence. The judge saw that the dimensions of the compound were indeed palatial. The court was paved with carved marble slabs, and the broad stairs that led up to the iron-bound double gate in the rear were of the same costly material. Mr Liang came hurrying down the steps, followed by an old man with a ragged grey beard, apparently the housemaster.
Liang Foo bowed deeply and bade the judge welcome. Then he started on a long speech explaining how unworthy he was to receive such an eminent official from the capital together with the Prefect of the city. Judge Dee let him go on for a while, then interrupted:
'I fully realize that my visit is against the rules of conduct for high officials, Mr Liang. I am keen, however, to see the house of such a great national hero as your late father. And I always like to see people in their own surroundings — a habit that has stayed with me from the days when I was still a district magistrate. Lead the way!’
Liang made another elaborate bow.
'Allow me to take Your Excellency to my late father's library. I have kept it exactly as it was.'
They ascended the marble stairs and walked through a dim hall-lined on either side by enormous pillars. After they had crossed a flower garden, they entered a second two-storeyed building, even larger than the first. It was sparsely furnished with heavy antique pieces of carved ebony. Painted on the walls were pictures of naval battles, in full colour. Except for an old maidservant who scurried away as soon as she saw them, there was no one about.
'Don't you need a host of servants to keep up this palatial residence?' Judge Dee asked after they had crossed another courtyard.
'No, Excellency, for I use only one side wing. I come here really only at night; during the day I am always in my office downtown.' He paused and continued with a smile, 'Until now I have been kept so occupied by my business that I have always postponed getting married and founding a family. But next year, when I am thirty-five, I shall take that important step. Here we enter the section I actually live in. My father's library is at the rear.'
The old steward preceded them into the broad, covered corridor. Liang Foo followed behind him, together with Judge Dee and the Prefect. Tao Gan brought up the rear.
The corridor first led round a bamboo garden. Here the rustling leaves of tall trees afforded a cool shade. Then it brought them to another single-storeyed building. To the left of the corridor now broad windows gave on to a rock garden, while to the right was a row of closed rooms, with a black-lacquered balustrade all along their front. The sliding windows were pasted over with clean white paper.