and then washing her hair. It was now held in an elaborate design with combs and pins that Dao had spent over two hours twisting into place. After that, Dao had sat her down and pulled out an array of creams, paints and powders.
The powder brush teased over the tip of her nose and she sneezed. ‘It tickles,’ she protested.
‘Be still for one moment, will you?’
Yan Ling finally thought of the room as her own, though she still wasn’t accustomed to having so much space to herself. She always felt more comfortable when Dao was there with her. She opened her eyes to see Dao mixing a paste with a dark blue-green tint on a shallow dish. It was much like grinding ink. Dao used a thinner brush with a fine point this time.
‘This dye is made from sea shells. Very expensive. Close your eyes again.’
‘Have you done this before?’ Yan Ling asked.
Dao snorted. ‘Many times! Don’t worry. I’ll make you as pretty as a spring flower.’
‘You sound like the old woman from the market.’
The tip of the brush traced delicately along her eyelid. There was something soothing and decadent about being pampered.
‘Do you know why I was so angry yesterday morning?’ Dao said. ‘That green vase in the front parlour was gone.’
‘The large one that’s as tall as I am?’
She nodded. ‘I was certain that someone had broken it, but was afraid to say anything. I interrogated everyone about it and no one knew anything.’
‘That’s odd.’
Yan Ling opened her eyes as the brush lifted. Dao looked at her carefully, turning her head this way and that. Her dimple deepened as she pressed her lips together. Then she
nodded in approval.
‘And then this morning, I found something else missing. An ivory figure of the Weaver Girl.’
This sounded alarming. ‘Are you certain?’
‘It was my mother’s favourite. Of course I noticed it was gone.’
The revelation was a shock. Fei Long would be furious if he found that one of the servants was stealing from him, but all the servants seemed so forthright and loyal.
‘I can mention it to Fei Long today,’ Yan Ling offered.
‘Fei Long?’
She blushed. ‘Lord Chang.’
‘Hmm.’
Yan Ling narrowed her eyes in warning and Dao fluttered her lashes in response. The girl could be precocious when she wanted to be.
‘We shouldn’t trouble the lord with such insignificant matters,’ Dao said dismissively, lifting her brush again. ‘I’ll discuss it with Old Man Liang first.’
‘You don’t need to be afraid of speaking to him.’ Yan Ling closed her eyes as the tip of the brush outlined her eyelid. ‘Lord Chang is quite reasonable.’
‘It’s not fear. This is out of respect.’
Had the servants been so distant from the elder Lord Chang? Yan Ling marvelled over the divide between Fei Long and the household servants. She’d always been aware of her place in the teahouse, but everyone, even her master and mistress, had been of humble birth. Perhaps this had put them on more common ground. She resolved to bring up the missing items with Fei Long.
‘I had a thought about what you were saying yesterday,’ Yan Ling ventured.
‘What was that?’ Dao chose another brush and dipped it into the vermilion tint.
‘Wait, that’s too dark.’
Dao muttered something about her being too timid and leaned in to outline Yan Ling’s lips. The fine brush glided carefully over her mouth, sending a tingle down her spine. She supposed she could always take one look in the mirror and wipe it away.
She couldn’t go to Fei Long so blatantly painted and perfumed, though she wished she was brave enough to do it. He’d take one look at her and be stricken. He’d see her with new eyes. And then…
And then she had no idea what next. What could he give her other than a single look of desire? One look and nothing else.
But she wanted so much to have that one look.
She turned her attention back to Dao. ‘You were talking about marriage. Perhaps Lord Chang could help you. He can stand as your guardian and accept proposals for you.’
‘Shush! I need to get your mouth just right.’ Dao’s expression hardened as she bent close. ‘There are no proposals for me, Yan.’
‘Of course there will be. You’re so pretty. Men would fight over you for those dimples alone.’
‘I can draw some in for you, if you like them so much,’ Dao teased.
‘What about Bai Shen? He’s very handsome.’
‘Li Bai Shen? He’s beautiful and no one knows it better than Li Bai Shen himself. But you are an absolute failure