Belle put her hands on her hips. “You want to see Dad. You won’t bother to help out with the campaign, but you don’t mind coming over in the middle of the night. What makes you think you can just barge in and demand to see him whenever you want?”
Something snapped inside Natalie.
“Why should I be part of the campaign? You and Louise made sure I wouldn’t feel welcome anywhere around this family. I can’t even come and go freely here, because I had to give my house key back when I moved out! Seriously, you don’t really consider us sisters, do you?”
She felt a small satisfaction as Belle’s jaw dropped. Capitalizing on her temporary shock, Natalie ran around her and up the stairs until she reached Brian’s study. She didn’t bother to knock, just opened the door and walked in.
“Natalie.” Brian looked up from his desk with a hint of a smile on his face, the patrician forehead wrinkling up above his glasses. “What a surprise.”
He was the only one in the family who indulged her infrequent lapses in social propriety. Was it because she had been won and he felt she couldn’t do any better?
“Have a seat. What brings you out at this hour?”
She closed the door but didn’t sit down. Now that she was face-to-face with Brian, she hesitated. There was the heavy smell of books and wood. His boldly carved mahogany desk dominated the area near the off-white bay windows, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves groaned under the weight of leather-bound volumes. This was his inner sanctum and the seat of his power, a place Natalie had rarely visited.
“I was just about to have a nightcap. Would you like something?” he said.
When she didn’t say anything, his smile slowly shrank. He stood behind his desk, peeling his glasses off. “Is something the matter?”
Seeing the stolid bulk of her father standing there, Natalie knew Alex was wrong. He had to be. He must have said those horrible things because he thought she’d betrayed him.
“Did you…” Natalie shook her head. “Tell me how you found me,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Brian frowned slightly. “I’ve already told you that, sweetheart.”
She stared at him. She knew his face as well as her own—the compassionate blue eyes, the mouth that could convey friendliness or steadfast resolve, depending on the situation. It was a perfect politician’s face, and looking at it, she decided that she would never be able to read it if she gave him time to prepare.
“Did you win me on a bet in China?”
A fine tremor went through his body, and his features seemed to freeze in place.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “How could you? You bought me?”
Brian started to come around his desk. His hip hit the edge, and he almost tripped. “Natalie. That’s not how it happened.”
“Then tell me!” Natalie put a hand over her mouth, horrified at how hysterical she sounded and how the life she’d known had been a lie. A wager won. That was all she’d ever been to the Halls.
“My lord. I never thought you’d find out.” Brian looked at her a moment, indecisive, then went to a small rolling bar and took his time putting a couple of ice cubes into a glass. He poured himself two fingers of whiskey, the ice crackling. Still facing away from her, he said, “Your great uncle was an ambassador to China thirty years ago. I accompanied him because I was thinking of joining the Foreign Service, although the family was pressuring me to follow in my father’s footsteps and go into politics.” He turned to her. “Louise couldn’t come because she was sure that… Well, it’s not important.” He paused and took a swallow of his drink.
Natalie’s lips twisted. She could imagine why Louise hadn’t wanted to go: she didn’t like any place that didn’t cater to her standards—that was to say, elite American standards.
“I met a local man there. He worked in a restaurant many of the expats liked.”
“My real father?” Natalie held her breath. “What kind of person was he?”
“I don’t know if he was your father or not. But he was quiet. Compact. Intense eyes. Looked young for his age.” Brian swirled his drink, his eyes focused on the past. “We called him Chang, but that may not have been his real name.
“Some of the Chinese resented our presence, but he was friendly enough. Showed me the city, taught me about the local customs. His English wasn’t good, but it was serviceable, and we became fairly close. He was taller than most of the others, almost my height, and I gave him one of my shirt
s as a present once.” He took another drink. “About six months after we met, we went to a bar. We had some drinks—too many, when I think about it now—and played some Chinese games. You know, mahjong, like that. He wanted to bet, said it wouldn’t be fun otherwise. And I agreed. Why wouldn’t I? I figured that I might lose maybe a hundred dollars at the most. It wasn’t that much to me, even back then. And if I lost more, well, it would have been okay. I knew the family would bail me out.” He shook his head. “Except they couldn’t help me out at all. The scandal…God!”
“What happened at the game?”
“I don’t remember. Don’t look at me like that, Natalie, it’s the truth. But the next day, an old Chinese amah delivered you to me with a note telling me I’d won and that Chang had to honor his debt. I was never able to find him again. He had disappeared.
“I’m ashamed to say I considered leaving you behind. But our maid told me you would most likely end up dead or sold into a brothel. There were no adoption families; China’s one-child policy made it impossible. Even those families without children wouldn’t have wanted a girl.” Brian shrugged. “Knowing what would happen to you, I couldn’t leave you.”
Natalie stood stock-still. There was just too much to process. It was as though she was on a movie set that she had thought was real, and someone had suddenly started moving the false walls away, revealing an entirely different world. It took all her concentration to listen as Brian went on.