And the Bride Wore Red by Lucy Gordon

mountain goat next to a gorilla, small, thin and sprightly, with a wispy beard and bright eyes.
    As the elder, Hai was introduced first, then his brother, then their wives—starting with Biyu, wife of Hai, and Luli, wife of Jing. They too greeted her in English, which she appreciated, but Lang immediately said in Chinese, ‘No, she speaks our language. I told you.’
    They repeated their greetings in Mandarin and she responded accordingly, which made them smile with pleasure.
    â€˜Mrs Lang—’ Olivia started to say, but there was a burst of laughter from several Mrs Langs.
    â€˜You can’t say that,’ Hai’s wife declared merrily. ‘There are so many of us. Please, call me Biyu.’ She introduced the others as Ting, Huan, Dongmei, and Nuo.
    There seemed to be at least a dozen grown-up youngsters, young men who studied Lang’s lady with politely concealed admiration, and young girls who considered her with more open interest. The fact that Olivia had the figure to wear a cheongsam was particularly appreciated among her contemporaries.
    It was a warm evening, and the first part was to be spent in the courtyard flanked by the four houses. Here tables had been laid out with a variety of small edibles, a foretaste of the banquet to come. Before anything was served, Biyu led herinto the south house where Lang lived with Wei, and opened the door to a bedroom with its own bathroom.
    â€˜Should you wish to retire for a few moments alone,’ she said, ‘you will find this place useful.’ She saw Olivia glance around at the room’s functional, masculine appearance, and said, ‘When Lang stays with us, this is his room, but this evening it is yours.’
    â€˜Thank you. I’ll just refresh my face.’
    â€˜I’ll be outside.’
    Left alone, Olivia was able to indulge her frank curiosity, although she learned little. There were several books, some medical, some about China, but nothing very personal. Lang had revealed as little as possible about himself.
    She went out to find that he had joined Biyu, and together they escorted her to where everyone was waiting. Now it was the turn of the children to crowd round. Just as she’d predicted, they called Lang ‘Uncle Mitch’, and even his adult relatives referred to him as Mitchell.
    Glancing up, she caught his eye and he nodded, reminding her of the moment on the first evening when she’d anticipated this.
    â€˜The dragon lady always understands before anyone else,’ he said lightly.
    The children demanded to know what he meant by ‘dragon lady’. He explained that she’d been born in the year of the dragon, and they regarded her with awe. Her stock had definitely gone up.
    The children were frankly curious, competing to serve her and to ask questions about England. She answered them as fully as she could, they countered with more questions and the result was one of the most satisfying half-hours that she had ever spent. By the time they went inside to eat, the atmosphere was relaxed.
    Olivia soon understood what Lang had meant about a feud. From the start the food was laid out like a banquet being displayed to her, dumplings in the place of honour, and a multitude of fish dishes which Hai kept trying to nudge to the fore, only to be beaten back by fierce looks from Biyu. To please them both, Olivia ate everything on offer and was rewarded with warm looks of pleasure.
    Then she had a stroke of luck. Enquiring politely about Tao’s life, she learned that he had once been a farmer. It happened that one of her mother’s passing fancies had owned a small pig-farm where they had spent the summer. The relationship hadn’t lasted, her mother having been unable to endure the quiet country life, but the fourteen-year-old Olivia had loved it. Now she summoned memories of that happy time, and she and Tao were soon in animated discussion. Pigs had provided Tao with a good