The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) (14 page)

‘You may be sure I will.’

They had stopped in front of a gate set in a wooden fence. A servant opened it and after exchanging a few words with Hoji, the man bowed low to welcome them to their temporary home. Hannah hardly noticed as her eyes took in the enchanting garden beyond the gate. The simplicity of it almost took her breath away, and she found it incredibly beautiful.

There were hardly any flowers or herbs in the manner of an English garden. Instead everything that grew was of varying shades of green, from the lightest mint to deepest emerald, and the effect was stunning. Stones and boulders had been set out, seemingly without any pattern, but they looked just right, and tiny stone lanterns had been placed on some of them. Hannah could hardly wait for the evening to see the effect when they were lit.

‘Hoji-
san
, this is amazing.’ Hannah turned a smile on her companion and caught the look of surprise on the face of the servant who had opened the door at her use of his language. The servant bowed once more, even deeper than before and Hannah returned the bow gracefully as she had been taught by her mentor.

‘Come, Harry-
chan
, let’s look around the house and then we can eat.’ Hoji had taken to adding
chan
after her name somewhere along the interminable journey. Hannah had understood it to be an endearment usually reserved for children or loved ones. Since she had come to regard him as an honorary father or an uncle, she didn’t mind.

Without him, she was sure she would never have survived the journey.

Taro resisted the urge to turn and stare at the little
gai-jin
again. He had tried to observe her during their conversation without being too obvious, but it hadn’t been enough. He found her utterly fascinating and very much wanted to study her some more, but that was impossible unless he wished to give rise to gossip and speculation. In truth, he had probably shocked his retainers enough by inviting the scruffy foreigner to walk next to him.

It was a ‘her’, he was sure of that. Although she had confused him when he’d first set eyes on her out on the ship, he’d soon realised she was female. Despite the threadbare clothing that was similar to what all the other crew members were wearing, she had been unable to hide her blushes or the unconscious way she pushed her red hair over her shoulder in a very feminine gesture.

Perhaps he’d never have noticed if Yanagihara hadn’t been so emphatic that it was a woman who was coming. But since he had expected a female, his subconscious had looked for the signs and found them. There was no doubt about it – she had to be the one Yanagihara had seen in his prophecy.

It almost made him laugh out loud to think the old man had thought her a threat. How could she possibly be dangerous? Not only was she small and weak from the long months at sea, but she was obviously not an empress or any kind of leader. She was a servant girl.

It was pure luck that he’d found her at last. He’d arrived at Hirado some weeks ago to see the foreign ships the messenger had told him about. They were indeed from a country he’d never heard of and claimed to be trading on behalf of their king. Although there were some males on board with hair that had a slight tinge of orange, he’d been unable to find a single person with truly red hair and no females whatsoever. He had concluded that Yanagihara must have been wrong, but just as he’d been about to set off for home, four more ships from the same country were sighted. He waited for their arrival and there she was on board.
Akai
.

He would have to discuss her with Yanagihara, but as far as he could see, there was nothing about her that he need warn the
Shogun
of.

It would, of course, help if he could speak to her some more. Their conversations so far had been very enlightening, but he still had many questions he would like to ask her. She seemed intelligent enough, as proved by the fact that she had bothered to learn his language. She should be able to answer most of the things he wanted to know about her and her country.

But how could he get her alone?

Hannah and Hoji settled into life in the house and whenever they had some free time, they eagerly explored the town in the company of a maid called Sakura, whom Hoji had hired to help with the housework. The townspeople soon became used to the sight of her, and bowed politely. They still whispered about her hair, but Hannah took it in good humour. Hadn’t her own people stared in the same way at Hoji in Plymouth? It was only natural, she reasoned, for them to be curious. She even stopped from time to time to let the children touch her plait in order to reassure them she wasn’t dangerous.

After being sworn to secrecy regarding Hannah’s gender, Sakura introduced her to the pleasures of Japanese style bathing. This meant being first washed from top to toe by the maid and then left to soak in a tub of very warm water for as long as she wished. It took some getting used to, since at first it felt almost too hot, but it was bearable after only a few moments and very refreshing. Afterwards, Hannah was given a soothing massage and clean clothes to wear. She would have liked to try one of the gowns the Japanese ladies wore, but had to make do with male clothing. This consisted of a loincloth, a belted thigh-length robe, and something called
hakama
. This was like a long wide skirt, split in the middle and worn over the other garments.

‘I see you are adopting native ways, boy,’ Rydon sneered, when he first caught sight of her in her new clothes. ‘I suppose you’ll be going to their temples next.’

Hannah had kept out of his way as much as possible, just like she’d done on the ship, and held her breath, wondering if he would now realise that she was a girl. But Rydon must have become used to thinking of her as a boy, because he didn’t seem to notice and his glance only flickered over her with irritation. She dared to answer him.

‘Not at all. You should try it yourself, captain. These garments are very comfortable, and when it turns warmer I’m sure it will help.’

The climate was very hot and humid in this part of Japan during the summer months, Hoji had told her. ‘Almost like the first bit of our journey, where the dark-skinned people lived. Japan is quite big though, so if you went to the far north, it would be much cooler.’

‘No, thank you,’ Rydon replied curtly to her suggestion. ‘I’m not dressing like a heathen for any reason.’

‘Would you like to have a bath then and let Sakura wash your clothes in the meantime?’ She didn’t add that it would be polite to be clean, although she was itching to give him this piece of advice.

‘What for? I washed my hands and face this morning and there’s nothing wrong with my clothing.’ Rydon flung out of the room, in the process almost knocking down the flimsy wood and paper partition which separated it from the next room.

Hannah could have told him he smelled dreadful, and that his servants and any other Japanese person he came into contact with would find this offensive. However, she didn’t think there was any point in arguing with him. He would never listen.

In comparison to Rydon, everything around her was fresh and fragrant. The house was constructed of camphor-wood and cedar, and most of the floors were covered by mats woven out of rice stalks.

‘They are called
tatami
,’ Hoji told her.

‘Mmm, they smell heavenly.’ Hannah inhaled deeply. ‘It reminds me of the scent of sweet hay, and they are so wonderfully soft to walk on.’

At night-time even softer mattresses called
futons
were brought out and placed on top of the
tatami
mats. Hannah thought she had never slept so comfortably in her life. It was a far cry from the rough bricks of the ship’s cook room at any rate, although it was some time before she stopped feeling the rocking motion her body had become so used to.

She was very happy with her temporary life in this strange country. As a result of having fresh food every day, she began to put on weight again and felt healthy and content. She banished any thoughts of the future and just lived in the present. It was almost like being in a continuous dream, where everything was just that little bit unreal.

Until the day her dream world came crashing down.

Chapter Nineteen

Hannah was very careful not to venture out of the kitchen whenever Rydon had guests. She didn’t want to risk bumping into her brother or any of the other foreigners. ‘With healthier and more rounded cheeks, you look less like a boy than before,’ Hoji had warned. This worried her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. No doubt, once they set sail for home, she would lose weight again. For now, she stayed out of the way.

The weather had grown steadily warmer, and after spending hours in the humid kitchen one evening, she went outside for a quick breath of fresh air. The garden looked wonderful in the half-light of an early summer evening. Enchanted, Hannah wandered over to stare out over the symmetrical perfection. It was a very calming sight and she drew in a deep breath.

As she turned reluctantly to go back inside, someone stepped off the verandah that ran along the side of the house and bumped into her. She looked up and froze.

It was Jacob.

He stilled as well and stared at her in disbelief, but not for long. Before she had time to make her escape, his hands shot out and gripped her upper arms hard. ‘Hannah?’ he hissed. ‘God’s wounds, what are you doing here?’

Hannah bit her lip as the shock of this meeting rippled through her. She had no idea how to explain everything to him and although she’d had more than two years to think of something to say in this eventuality, her tongue refused to function. She swallowed hard as her legs began to shake. ‘I … er, I … came with Captain Rydon,’ she managed finally.

Jacob’s expression turned from incredulous to furious. For a moment his mouth worked, as if he couldn’t get the words out, but then he exploded.

‘You’ve spent the last two years on board the
Sea Sprite
? What is the meaning of this? Are you telling me you’re Rydon’s doxy? The cur! Of all the under-handed, dastardly …’

Hannah gasped, the trembling inside her giving way to indignation. ‘No, of course not! How can you even think that?’

‘Well, what am I supposed to think? No decent girl spends two years on board a ship full of men. I … I cannot put into words how appalled I am. Not to mention extremely disappointed in you.’

Hannah took a deep breath. She could see that he was practically shaking with pent-up fury and she knew she needed to calm him down so he would listen. ‘Jacob, I know how it must seem, but I can explain. It was all a silly mistake,’ she began, but he didn’t give her the chance to continue.

He held up a hand and cut her off. ‘No, I don’t need any explanations. I have no idea what prompted you to take such desperate action, unless it was your unwillingness to marry Mr Hesketh, but –’

‘Of course I didn’t want to marry him,’ Hannah cut in. ‘You saw what happened and you promised to speak to father about it, but nothing changed.’

‘I did, but father assured me Mr Hesketh was a perfectly respectable man. He just got a bit carried away.’

‘Are you mad?’ Hannah blinked at him. ‘I thought you were on my side. The man assaulted me!’

‘Perhaps you over-reacted. Any man you married would have had the right to touch you after all. You shouldn’t have fought him.’

‘Jacob, you’re not listening to me.’ Hannah stamped her foot in exasperation, but it had no effect whatsoever. Jacob’s expression was now cold and steely, although his eyes still burned with angry fire, like hot coals in a grate.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it. The fact remains that you’re here. You may not be the only one to blame and Rydon shouldn’t have encouraged you, but still …’

‘He doesn’t know.’

‘I find that hard to believe. Be that as it may, you’ve been on his ship for two years. You’ll have to marry the man. I see no other way of protecting your reputation.’

‘What? Why should I marry Rydon? There were well over a hundred men on that ship and besides, I was under the protection of Hoji-
san
. He’s the only man I’ve been alone with.’

Despite the waning light, she saw Jacob turn pale. ‘Even worse, a heathen.’ His lips set in an uncompromising line. ‘Well, obviously you can’t marry him or any of the sailors. It will have to be the captain’s responsibility and he must have sanctioned your presence initially.’

‘Yes, but he thinks I’m a boy. Look at me – I’m wearing boy’s clothing, have been since the start. He never saw me except when I was dirty and scrawny. Ask him, he’ll tell you my name is Harry. Harry Johnson.’

‘Ridiculous,’ Jacob scoffed. ‘Anyone with eyes in their head can see you’re a girl.’

‘Now perhaps, but not during the journey,’ Hannah insisted.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. My mind is made up. I cannot allow this state of affairs to continue and I certainly can’t bring you home in disgrace. Father would kill me. Marriage it must be.’

Hannah stared at him. ‘Jacob, for heaven’s sake! Surely you’re not serious? You really expect me to marry Rydon? Just like that?’

A prospect which two years ago would have made her jump with joy, now filled her with revulsion. She knew without doubt that the Rydon she had so foolishly fallen in love with was an illusion created by her own silly romantic notions. She must have been purblind. The real man wasn’t someone with whom she would wish to spend even one night, never mind the rest of her life.

Jacob glared at her. ‘I have never been more serious in my life.’

‘Jacob, please listen to me. I was trying to leave with you. I just happened to board the wrong ship.’

‘And what in the world made you think I’d welcome you on board? I’ve never heard such nonsense. You’re a girl. Your place is at home.’

‘I know, but –’

‘And that is precisely why you will be married tomorrow. I shall go and speak to Rydon now. We must salvage your reputation.’

‘There’s no need. I don’t intend to stay in Plymouth once we return. I’ll go somewhere else, I’m sure I can find work of some sort, even if it’s just as a scullery maid. The Lord knows I had enough practice at home. No one will want me back, that’s for certain. I’ll even assume a new name.’

‘Now you’re just talking nonsense. If you marry Rydon, all will be well.’

Hannah clenched her fists. She wanted to hit Jacob as hard as she could, but knew that wouldn’t help matters. ‘No, I refuse,’ she gritted out. ‘I’m not marrying him.’

‘You will and that’s my final word. As long as we’re here, I’m the head of the family and you’ll do as I say.’ He turned to leave, signalling an end to the discussion.

The anger and frustration inside her boiled over. ‘Very well, have it your way, Jacob Marston. But I shall hate you to my dying day for forcing me into a marriage which is repugnant to me. I never want to speak to you again. I no longer consider you my brother.’

She marched off with her head held high, but safe in the kitchen with Hoji she gave way to the tears of despair. She knew Hoji disliked displays of emotion of any kind, but after she had explained the situation, this time he said nothing and tactfully left the room.

Some time later, Hannah sat in the kitchen doorway, staring into the darkness. Her tears had run out, but the anger was still coursing through her veins.

‘He can’t make me,’ she muttered. ‘I ran away from one repulsive marriage, I’ll just have to do it again. By all that’s holy, Jacob is not my keeper.’

Acting on impulse, she stood up and marched through the garden and out of the gate. The street outside was eerily empty, which suited her fine. She wasn’t in the mood to see or speak to anyone, so the longer it stayed that way, the better. Giving her fury free reign, she stomped off down the road in the direction of the harbour without really thinking about where she was going.

Anywhere was better than here.

Taro tossed and turned on his
futon
, finding rest impossible. He was due to leave for the north the following day, having stayed several weeks longer in the south than he had intended. He still hadn’t come up with any good excuse for visiting the foreign girl and had reluctantly decided that more underhanded measures had to be taken. In order to implement his plan, however, he had to be seen to go away first so no one would suspect his involvement.

He sighed for the umpteenth time and sat up. It was no use, sleep was eluding him.
I might as well go out and seek some entertainment
, he thought, a fairly easy thing to do in any harbour town. There were always sailors about, carousing in one way or another. All he’d have to do was follow the noise.

He waved away his bodyguards, who stood to attention as he emerged from the sleeping chamber. ‘No, stay,’ he ordered. ‘I can take care of myself.’

He had dressed simply, so as not to draw attention to himself, and instead of his usual swords, he brought only a couple of sharp daggers hidden inside his clothing. No one would guess he was a
daimyo
, especially not in the dark.

The town wasn’t large and he soon found his way to the entertainment area. There was raucous singing, laughter and shrieks coming from several directions, and Taro stood still for a moment, wondering which way to go. Despite the urge to go out, he wasn’t really in the mood for jollity though. He was just debating whether to go into the nearest inn and order some
sake
, when he heard a high-pitched scream. Without thinking, he headed in the direction of the sound.

Hannah had belatedly realised that running away in a foreign country was an incredibly stupid idea. She’d been so blinded by fury, she hadn’t been thinking straight, but when the worst of her anger had been dispelled by the brisk walk, self-preservation kicked in and she stopped.

Only it was too late.

A group of young men came spilling out of a nearby house, clearly the worse for drink, and immediately caught sight of her. Before she had a chance to run off, they surrounded her and one of the group – seemingly their self-appointed leader – started firing questions at her.

‘What’re you doing out so late,
gai-jin
boy? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?’

Hannah kept silent, hoping they’d leave her alone if she didn’t talk back.

‘Can’t speak? Lost your tongue? Or you just don’t understand us, eh?’

‘Yes, you all expect us to accommodate you, but you don’t make any efforts for us, do you?’ someone else put in.

‘Leave me alone,’ Hannah said, to show that she could speak their language.

‘Oooh, he does talk. Well, well, well.’ The leader came and put his arm round Hannah’s shoulders, shaking her a bit. ‘Come on then, let’s go have some fun. I want to see how you foreigners enjoy yourselves.’

‘No, let me go. I have to go back. I’ll be missed,’ Hannah said, trying to shake him off. He was like a limpet though and his arm seemed stuck to her.

‘Hey, none of that,’ he admonished. ‘You’re coming with us and that’s that.’

‘I said no!’ Hannah could feel panic welling up inside her. In sheer desperation she kicked the young man on the shin, hoping that would make him let go, but it had the opposite effect.

His arm snaked round her throat from behind and he started to squeeze. ‘Want to play rough, do you? I’ll show you rough.’

Without thinking, Hannah screamed, then realised how silly that was. Not to mention feminine. No one would hear her, and even if they did, they wouldn’t come to her rescue. What was she to do? A sob of sheer fright escaped her, but she swallowed hard and tried to fight back instead. She dug her elbow into the youth’s chest and kicked and bucked, but his grip around her neck just tightened. Hannah screamed again, although mostly out of frustration this time.

Just when she thought she’d run out of air completely, something big and dark hurtled into the nearest two youths and pushed them out of the way. Someone shouted ‘
Chikusho!
, and then the one strangling Hannah suddenly found himself staring at the end of a sharp knife. He let out a whimper of fear.

‘Let her go.’ The voice was as steely as the knife and Hannah’s attacker didn’t waste a second.

He gasped and loosened his grip in an instant, stammering something about only having a bit of fun. Soon after, he took to his heels, closely followed by his companions and they were swallowed up by the night.

Hannah bent over and drew in huge breaths of air. A hand settled on her shoulder, but it was a supportive gesture and she didn’t feel threatened. She straightened up and glanced at Lord Kuma. She wondered what he was doing out so late, but she was extremely grateful that he’d come to her rescue.