He focused his attention on her boots as she came near. The hilt of a weapon teased over the edge of the tanned leather. He wondered if she could wield it with any skill.
‘Are you hungry, Brother?’
She held her bowl out to him, extending her arm with great care as if approaching a wild beast. The steam from the rice carried hints of ginger and scallions to his nose and his stomach twisted in greedy little knots.
He was well aware of how he must look to her. Another one of the hordes of beggars and vagrants roaming the empire since the collapse of the old regime. Against his better judgement, he lifted his head and for the barest second, forgot that he was stranded and that he was starving.
Her eyes widened as she met his gaze. Hazel eyes, like the turning of autumn leaves. How anyone could mistake her for a man was beyond his understanding.
Now that she had seen who he was, he assumed she would recoil in fear or disgust or, even worse, pity. Instead she regarded him with curious interest. Next to kindness, it was the last reaction he expected.
‘Xiè xie.’
He mumbled his thanks as he took the food from her slack fingers. Any words he knew would be inadequate for this moment. She nodded wordlessly and backed away, still staring. Only when she had returned to her companions did she take her eyes off him. By then the rice had gone cold. He gulped it down in three swallows and set the bowl on the ground before pausing to steal a final glance.
Inside the hut, the group finished their meal with little conversation and tossed a scatter of copper coins onto the table. A sense of desolation fell over him when she turned to go, but she did look back. He nodded once in farewell. They were both in hiding, after all—he in the shadows and the woman behind her disguise.
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Jeannie Lin
grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles. After four years of trying to break into publishing with an Asian-set historical, her 2009 Golden Heart® winning manuscript,
Butterfly Swords
, sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon.
As a technical consultant, backpacker, and vacation junkie, she’s traveled all over the United States as well as Europe, South Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. She’s now happily settled in St. Louis with her wonderfully supportive husband and continues to journey to exotic locations in her stories.
You can visit Jeannie Lin online at www.jeannielin.com.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5292-3
The Taming of Mei Lin
Copyright © 2010 by Chi Nguyen-Rettig
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