Page 23 of Inventing Vivian

She nodded, lifting a lantern to illuminate the flow. “Yes, it is much better now.”

“Lord Benedict, Mr. Li is going to teach me kung fu!” Chester said.

“Is he?” Benedict asked, turning toward the boy.

“Chester saw us sparring this morning,” Zhang Wei said by way of explanation.

Miss Kirby scooted back beneath the fountain.

“I thought you were fighting,” Chester said. “But you bowed to each other and afterward laughed together.”

“We were practicing,” Benedict said. He knelt beside Miss Kirby, scooting the lantern closer and angling it to illuminate the interior of the fountain. “And Mr. Li is an exceptional instructor.Shifùis what he is called in China. It meansmaster.”

“Shifù,” Chester said, trying the word out.

“Do you know he can break a board with his hand?” Benedict said, enjoying the lad’s enthusiasm.

Chester looked back at Zhang Wei, his eyes wide. “Will you teach me to do that?”

“It is not easy,” Zhang Wei said. “But if you have patience, you can learn.” He glanced at Benedict. And smirked. “As my friend has.”

“I have patience,” Chester said.

Miss Kirby reached toward her toolbox, feeling with her hand.

“Which do you need?” Benedict asked.

“The turnscrew with the flat head.”

Benedict looked at the box of tools. He thought he knew what a turnscrew was, but which end was the head? None of them looked flat.

“It has a wooden handle,” Miss Kirby said. “With a small crack on one side.”

Benedict found the tool and set it in her outstretched hand.

She lifted it up, jamming it into place.

“And now the small spanner.” Her fingers curled into a claw.

Benedict found the tool she signified and handed it to her.

Miss Kirby used the spanner to twist something inside the fountain. She made a satisfied noise, drew herself out, and set the tools back in the box. “It is finished.”

Benedict leaned down, peering up into the fountain. A tangle of pipes and joints ran between the fountain and an open metal box set down in the earth. Its opening was hidden among the rocks at the pond’s edge. He stared at the contraption. “Where did you get all of this?”

“Here and there,” Miss Kirby said. She lifted a panel into place over the exposed section of the fountain, motioning for him to hold it while she drove screws into the corners. “I have a friend who helped me find the obscure pieces.”

“Do you think Mother will let me learn kung fu, Vivian?” Chester said.

“I don’t think she wants you to fight.” Miss Kirby moved to the open box. “Or to break things.” She closed the box, latching it shut, and lifted a rock into place to hide it.

When she picked up another rock, Benedict took it from her, setting it beside the first. “Here?”

“We can move the rocks without you.” She stood straight, glancing back toward the house. “I think you would enjoy yourself more at your dinner party, my lord.”

“How did you know I was having a dinner party? Were you spying through my windows?” he teased, wanting to engage her in conversation. She had thus far managed to ignore him.

“Mr. Li told me.” She glanced at Benedict, then back at her cousin and Zhang Wei. “And if he hadn’t, I’d have known by your clothing. You look very nice.”

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