Bless the Bride

grave.” Sid gave Gus a grin.
    “Well, this is how things stand,” I said. “It turns out that the missing prized possession was not jewelry after all. It was a woman whom he had imported from China to be his concubine.” Then I related the whole story, ending with her daring escape across the rooftops. They were suitably horrified and angry.
    “We must rescue her instantly,” Gus said as she handed me a glass of lemonade.
    “But what are you going to do with her?” Sarah asked. “If this man is powerful among the Chinese community, is it wise to incur his wrath? They are ruthless people, you know, and he may well seek vengeance.”
    “What, come as far as Greenwich Village to gun us down?” Sid didn’t seem overly concerned.
    “Probably send an emissary to do so,” Sarah said. “We’ve had dealings with the Chinese at the settlement house and we’ve received awful threats when a prostitute manages to flee from one of their brothels and comes to us. In fact we’ve a young woman with us now. She escaped from a Chinese brothel.”
    “Actually she was thrown out, because she has developed consumption,” I said.
    Sarah looked astonished.
    “I met her,” I said. “I was at your house today.”
    “You were?”
    “I thought that maybe the Chinese girl might have fled there. And I expected to find you there.”
    “Ah,” Sarah said, and she sighed. “I’m afraid I won’t be going there again.”
    “Too busy before the wedding?”
    “Not exactly. Monty has forbidden me to work there anymore. He doesn’t want me running the risk of being in such a dangerous neighborhood, he says, although I keep telling him I’m in no danger.”
    “And you will obey because he has forbidden you?” I asked.
    She flushed. “I don’t have much choice, do I? In a month’s time he’ll be my husband and then I must obey him. I’m sure he’s only doing it for my own good, and I don’t want him to have to worry about me and to give up his precious time to escort me to and from the house.”
    “I saw him this afternoon.”
    “At the settlement house?” Her eyebrows shot up.
    “In that general area, coming from the direction of Elizabeth Street. He looked as if he was in a hurry and he walked straight past me. I assumed he’d just dropped you off at the house.”
    “How strange,” she said. “What was he doing there? He told me he had to visit his tailor, and he’s up on Thirty-ninth Street.” She put her hand up to her mouth suddenly. “Oh, my. You don’t think he went there to tell them that he’s forbidden me to come anymore? He can be so overbearing and arrogant at times.”
    “So what are you going to do about it?” Sid demanded. “You can’t start off married life under his thumb, you know. Look at Molly. She doesn’t let Daniel browbeat her.”
    “I don’t want to upset Monty at the moment.” Sarah stared down at her hands, twiddling the diamond ring on her finger. “He hasn’t been at all well recently, and add to that the strain of the wedding.”
    “I thought he looked not very well yesterday,” Gus said. “Rather frail in fact.”
    “I know. I’m worried. He used to be so robust, you know. A keen mountain climber and all-around sportsman. And he did wonderfully brave things when he was in the army in India.”
    “Do they know what’s wrong with him?” I asked.
    She bit her lip. “His doctor thinks it’s nothing serious, but … I’m hoping his health will improve when we’re back on his estate in England and he can get out in the fresh air every day.”
    “I’m sure it will,” I said, remembering how much I had worried about Daniel when he had been so sick in jail. “So, Sarah, I was wondering if your settlement house might take in my Chinese girl. What do you think?”
    “For the short term, maybe,” Sarah said.
    “In spite of the threats from vengeful Chinamen?” Gus asked.
    “We’ve done it before. I think they know that the offspring of important Americans work at that house—children of congressmen, senators, and bankers. I like to think that protects us a little.”
    “I thought that perhaps we could take her there in disguise and after dark,” I said. “Then nobody in Chinatown would ever know.”
    “Molly, how would you disguise a Chinese person so that she wasn’t recognized?” Gus asked. “They do have a rather distinctive look, don’t they?”
    “I’ve been thinking. She sneaked into the church with a sheet draped over her head, to