XXIII

Hope …And a Little Trust

"Luncheon, sir," Came the maid's voice through the door. It had been the first of their interruptions. The entire day became a montage of moments cut short. From guests making their leave and wishing their host farewell to matters of the castle clean up needing tending to. By the time night fell and the castle was seemingly asleep, Rathbone crept through the corridors to his study, where the locked off room was hopefully still occupied by Lin. He had learned something direly important and did not wish to waste time.

"Lin," He whispered into the dark room. He heard no sound in reply… only the faint howl of the wind through the casement. Lighting the lamp upon the table, he peered over the room's contents, noting nothing out of place… only his note remaining on the tabletop had been turned over.

Crossing the room, he lifted it from its place. It bore one word in Chinese. 'Library'. Crumpling his note, and what he assumed to be Lin's writing, he placed it into a tray and set it alight. When it was nothing more than ambers, he extinguished the light and left the room to pursue the library. The halls were dark and silent as he walked alone. He stepped past the artillery room he had used so many times for fencing practice. Crossed swords marked it over the doorway, and just beyond that lay the short hall of full-bodied armor, guarding the way to the library. His pace slowed as he stepped by the artillery room. The door was ajar. A dim light flickered within. Curious, Rathbone stopped beside the doorway and listened. He heard nothing distinguishing aside from the rustling of the branches outside the windows. Pressing the door with a hand, he quietly pushed it open. The lights were lowered to a brown glow, giving the checkered floor a dizzying effect.

He pushed the door open further and stepped fully inside. Seeing no one, he moved to a nearby dial upon the wall and turned it, extinguishing all the lights. The door latched. Spinning around, he found Lin stepping lightly toward him.

"Lin – God, I half expected to smell cigars any moment…"

Lin didn't smile. Through the faint light of the moonlit windows, she looked at him questionably.

He blinked. "What?"

"The seal isn't destroyed."

Rathbone half smiled, "Yes, I know. That is, I've just learned there was a boy who was spied crossing the fields carrying a rather impressive piece of 'jewelry'."

Her eyes lowered as she distantly nodded.

He canted his head. "Lin, what…" He began to question when he too remembered. There would be no more time for play. The seal quite literally pulled the strings of so many lives at stake. Something strummed in his chest as he looked to her. "You have to leave."

She nodded, looking to her hands.

"I'm leaving for London in the morning." He said quietly.

"I am leaving tonight." She said quietly.

Standing still for long moments, Rathbone decided a lie, in this case, was better incentive than the truth. "When this is over then, perhaps we may journey to the Forbidden City together and return it. After the dust settles, perhaps we will have time." It was a lie. After this he would never be permitted to travel to China, or likely welcomed in the Forbidden City… if he lived through it at all. He brushed aside her fallen strands that seemed to block her eyes from his view.

Lin met his gaze. Somehow he conjured a faint smile to her, bringing out the hopeful grin from her he came to admire. She took the wrist of the hand at her cheek. Smiling, she leaned into his hand, looking to him, "There is no time in battle."

He shook his head, "No. I suppose we should have thought of it earlier. Love must wait when lives are at stake."

Pressing her lips together, still in a smile, she nodded affirmatively. He kissed her forehead and she kissed his chin. Their lips met in the middle for a soft farewell.

"You'll find me when it's over, won't you?" He asked.

Nodding, Lin hiccupped and nodded again. "Yes."

With a last kiss, Lin stepped toward the window, her fingers slipping from his. Rathbone urged his feet to stay planted upon the checkered tiles, knowing if he moved even one inch he would sweep Lin back from the windows and beg her to stay anyway…

The tall window squeaked as she pushed it open. The wind wisped through, fluttering her hair as she jumped to crouch in the window frame. A last glance over her shoulder, she smiled to him and then dropped from sight.

He darted after her, pressing against the frame of the window as he searched the darkness below. "Lin!" He whispered urgently.

Her face popped up from below, "What?" She asked with surprise, blinking up to him.

He'd jumped again, leaning over the window to speak closer to her. "Lin this is important, and I need you to listen carefully… I don't want you interfering directly, but I can't help what your brother and Mr. O'bannon do… Wu Chow intends on assassinating nine of my family members on the Queen's Jubilee on the 20th this month. He's on a set of three barges on the Thames and is well equipped with a gatlin gun. He's going to shoot them all down in one efficient sweep unless someone stops him. Boxers surround him and the warehouse at all times."

Lin stared at him, dumbfounded. "…You're family?"

"I'm tenth in line from the throne, Lin. It was our agreement. I got him the seal and he would get me the throne. The only reason those Boxers are helping is because Wu Chow needed reinforcement to gain the seal and he found they are easily swayed with the promise of permanently keeping out foreigners from China. Britain is their biggest fear and most common visitor. We're their threat. Wu Chow already told them that when I'm king, I would put an end to it and sever ties with China, allowing them to be left alone."

Lin's eyes darted with scattered thoughts. "You agreed to this?"

"Partly. The man is quite convincing… I thought it was hypothetical until he introduced me to the Boxers and then revealed the rest of the plan to them, as well as myself. Lin, I had no intention of following through with something so horrific. I've no immediate family left. Why would I erase those I have left? Who could possibly get away with such a scheme? Why would I want to be king in the first place? It's even more lonely on the throne." Being the Queen's favorite cousin, he had learned a thing or two from the woman. She was lonely, and it was one of the few things he had not envied.

A hand reached down to brush her hair from her face one last time, "I might not have minded the idea of loneliness before I met you."

Lin frowned, her hand rising to grasp his own and squeezing it. "Then I will hurry." Kissing his hand, she dropped again into the darkness.

She'd vanished again, just as easily as she had arrived…and suddenly he was empty, …so very empty.