The Paper Daughters of Chinatown - Heather B. Moore Page 0,108

her fingers as if she had something else plaguing her beyond the raid.

Finally, she whispered, “I am pregnant.”

Tien translated, but Dolly already knew what the young woman had said. She grasped Mei Lien’s hand. “We know, dear.”

Mei Lien’s eyes widened at that admission. “You know? How?”

“We have seen others in your situation,” Dolly said.

Mei Lien asked, “Will you make me leave now?”

“No,” Dolly said with a soft smile. “Your child is welcome here too. Have you seen our nursery yet?”

“I have walked past it,” Mei Lien admitted.

“They are the babies and young children of other residents,” Dolly said. “Of women who found themselves in your same situation.”

Mei Lien stared at her. “You mean, they were pregnant when they were rescued, and you didn’t send them away?”

Dolly nodded after Tien translated.

It seemed that once Mei Lien realized she wasn’t going to be sent away due to her pregnancy, the tension that always surrounded her softened. Over the next few days, Mei Lien spent more and more time outside her bedroom. She joined in the classes and cooked in the kitchen with Lonnie.

Several evenings later, Dolly was working on returning overdue pieces of correspondence when someone knocked at the front door of the mission home. It was a quiet knock. A quick look at the clock told Dolly it was about an hour after dinner.

Of course, a knock any time of day could mean anything. It was with trepidation that she approached the front door. Through the glass she could see a Chinese man. He was alone, and Dolly recognized him immediately. He had visited her weeks ago with a desperate plea.

Something wasn’t right. The expression on his face looked pained. She unlocked each of the bolts quickly, then opened the door. “Huan Sun, are you all right?”

The man staggered through the doorway, grasping his shoulder. He said something in a raspy voice, but it was all in Chinese.

When Dolly saw the blood, she called for Tien.

“Let the first oath be recited. By this incense stick we swear to avenge any wrong committed against any brother of this Tong. He who violates this oath, let thunder from all points annihilate him. . . . He who violates this oath, let him suffer death by a thousand knives. . . . By this incense stick we swear to kill without mercy all who lift their hands against any member of this Tong. He who fails to keep this oath shall without fail die at the hands of the salaried assassin.”

—Ceremony of the Tong with the Exalted Master, the slave owner, the secretary, the treasurer, and Six Honorable Elders in attendance

1904

“You must come. Now.”

Mei Lien glanced up from her embroidery to see Tien Fu Wu in the sewing class, looking like she had bit into a sour lemon.

“What is it?” Mei Lien asked.

“There is a man,” Tien Fu Wu said. “And he’s been shot.”

The rest of the girls in the class stilled. One of them gave a little cry. After a few seconds of silence, the room erupted into noise as the girls abandoned their work. Some fled the room; others crouched beneath tables.

Mei Lien stared at the young interpreter. Why had she been singled out? “Who is this man?” Then she knew, without Tien Fu Wu telling her. Mei Lien scrambled from her chair and hurried into the hallway.

“It’s Huan Sun, isn’t it?” she demanded from Tien Fu Wu. “Was it the tong?”

“Yes,” Tien Fu Wu said.

Mei Lien didn’t waste another moment. She didn’t ask if Huan Sun was still alive. She bolted into the corridor and hurried down the stairs. “Huan Sun!” she cried as she reached the main level. Where he was, she didn’t know. She continued through each room until she found him on the couch in the Chinese parlor.

Miss Cameron hovered over him, and another staff member stood nearby.

Huan Sun wasn’t moving.

Mei Lien choked on a sob and moved to his side, searching his face for any sign of life. “Huan Sun,” she whispered.

His eyes fluttered open, and Mei Lien started to cry. He was alive.

“Don’t cry,” Huan Sun said. “They missed my heart.”

Mei Lien only cried harder. She grasped his hand and sank to his side. “Who did this to you?”

His voice was a whisper. “I don’t know.”

“It has to be Zhang Wei,” she said.

Huan Sun’s gaze was resigned, which told her he agreed. He grimaced as Miss Cameron undid his shirt. Mei Lien began to help remove the stained garment. She blinked through blurry vision when she