He had watched her work that morning as he did any morning, every morning he could. Admiring her quiet efficiency, her centeredness as she pursued each small task. Her seeming obliviousness to his close (and poorly disguised) observation.
Her obliviousness was anything but. She could feel his eyes pick apart every seam of her dress. Every day. The energy of his gaze made her quiver. Even when his guests were with him, his attention on her barely wavered. It puzzled her yet thrilled her, to hold his attention so, if even in passing. But why? She had tried to talk of it a little, shyly, with her friend Si Lun, but that had been a mistake. Her crass suggestions had made Mi Lai's ears burn with shame. Si Lum had laughed and said that she would do the job instead, then laughed much more at Mi Lai's instant, clumsy, anger.
It was much later that night Mi Lai allowed herself a surge of other thoughts on Si Lum's suggestions. Picturing them in her mind. The forwardness. The seductive entrapment. Having him suckle her proffered breasts, swallowing his desire with eager hunger. Simple, hopeless, fantasy. But it turned in her mind, swirling and colliding images that filled each night until the meekness of each day became unbearable. So that morning she had found herself quietly stepping out of her panties, without even looking down from the mirror where she had just finished preparing. An unseen gesture. To her nighttime longing and daytime dedication. Unseen. But correct. Every stitch on her body, every moment of her preparation, was for his benefit. Had been for months. This was just one more like the others. He would not know it. But she would.
He was all that she was not - all that she feared and admired. Powerful, educated, Western, wealthy. A man of consequence. But for him, she was just as otherworldly and unattainable - beautiful, exotic, delicate. Poised.