If she ever found out that the mirror in her quarters worked the way it did, he calculated, she would, in rapid succession, accuse him of several things, and most of them would be accurate.
He decided to keep a secret after he saw her standing in front of the mirror after a bath, not knowing he was watching her. It wasn't entirely his fault that she took her baths at different times, and it turned out that whenever he decided to see her, she would be either changing clothes or finishing her bath. And also, it wasn't his fault that she still changed her clothes in front of a mirror and sometimes watched herself. If she chose to bathe and dress at the same time, he would know and would not try to seek her, but then would he?
He had considered telling her on at least four separate occasions. And decided against it each time.
He drew on the cigarette, exhaled into the dark sky, and continued to watch.
*
Inside the room, Cixi rose abruptly from the bed.
