The Jade Lioness

by Christina Courtenay

  ‘Your soul will not begrudge you a moment of enjoyment,’ he stated confidently. ‘Even the gods take their pleasure whenever they can. It is the natural order of things.’ He smiled and pulled her close, leaning backwards to float with her on top. With a laugh, he sank under the water, his laughter turning to a gurgle. Temperance could now feel every inch of him again and she knew she couldn’t let this go any further, no matter what he said. She pushed at his chest and rolled off him, striking out for land, her limbs shaking. She heard him follow, but to her relief he didn’t try to catch her again. When her knees hit sand, she stopped swimming and floated stomach down in the shallow water, digging her fingers into the bottom. Kazuo came to rest next to her.

  ‘I suppose we had better part then for I must be on my way.’ They looked at each other. ‘Thank you for a most enjoyable interlude. I shall remember you always, Temi-san.’

  ‘And I you, Kanno-san.’

  ‘Kazuo,’ he corrected. ‘I don’t wish to be formal with you.’

  ‘Kazuo,’ she repeated, knowing it was a name she’d never forget. She hesitated, then couldn’t help asking, ‘Will you ever come this way again?’

  He grinned. ‘I might. When I have finished my mission I shall make it my sole purpose in life to search for water sprites. This bay will be the first place I look.’

  She smiled back. ‘And if you don’t find any?’

  ‘Then I shall leave a special sign – perhaps carved on that tree over there – and go on to look for land spirits, kami. I hear they dwell on the island of Dejima. Watch for me after dark. Sayonara, Temi-san.’

  He put out a hand to stroke her cheek almost reverently, then rose swiftly out of the water, shaking out his long hair. It reached halfway down his back and gleamed blue-black in the sunlight. He strode over to the rock where he had left his clothes, seemingly unconcerned that she was staring at him all the while, taking in every last detail of his physique. Temperance had never seen a man completely without clothes before, but she knew instinctively that they didn’t come much better than this. She revelled in the sight, storing the images in her memory with guilty pleasure. Kazuo dressed swiftly, raised his hand in a quick salute, and was gone.

  Temperance stayed in the water until her heart rate had resumed more or less its normal rhythm, then stood up and made her way slowly to her own clothes. She stretched and dried herself carefully with a linen drying cloth before exchanging the wet shirt for a dry one and pulling the rest of her garments on. She wondered if perhaps Kazuo had stayed to watch her dress, the way she’d watched him, but she didn’t care.

  Even if he had, she had nothing to fear from Kazuo, of that she was sure. Ronin or not, he was an honourable man and she very much hoped he would come back.

  Chapter Three

  Kazuo Kanno strode away from the bay with a spring in his step. He could hardly believe his luck. No sooner had he landed on the coast than he’d come across the foreign girl, his very own water sprite, and he felt it was a good omen.

  Although she had protested against being called a spirit, he still thought of her as one, albeit a benevolent kami come to give him luck for his mission. He would need help from all the gods and other unearthly beings, that was for certain, and this auspicious beginning to his secret quest gave him confidence that they were on his side.

  ‘You must be on your guard at all times,’ his father had warned him for the hundredth time before his departure. ‘There are those who will seek to kill you, should they find out that you have set foot on the mainland. They won’t hesitate, they have too much to lose by my return.’

  The older Kanno-san had been a daimyo, a warlord, and a highly respected member of the Shogun’s inner circle in Edo, when disaster struck and the family was all but destroyed. Someone had accused him of stealing a valuable item from the Shogun’s personal quarters – a small object, but ancient and highly prized by the ruler – and when a search was made, the missing piece was found to be in Kanno-san’s possession.

  ‘I have no idea how it came to be there,’ the older man had protested, but the proof of his supposed crime was there for all to see, and with several people backing up his accusers, Kanno-san’s fate had been sealed. Banished to one of the smaller islands of the Oki group, he’d been declared an outlaw and his entire family with him. Their properties and possessions were confiscated and all honours rescinded. It was as if the whole clan had never existed at all.

  ‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ Kazuo muttered as he walked on with purposeful strides. His father had been adamant that he’d been set up. There was someone at court who obviously hated him or was jealous of his former power, and that someone had engineered his downfall. Kazuo had vowed to find this man and bring him down in turn.

  ‘There were three signatures on the warrant for my arrest, although none of those men were present when the item was found at our house,’ Kanno senior had told his son. ‘They sent others to do their dirty work for them, but they couldn’t hide when it came to signing the official papers. Now unless they were in collusion, one of them was the instigator and the other two were merely asked to sign as a matter of formality as there have to be three. You must visit all of them and infiltrate their households and try to find out whatever you can. There must be someone who knows something.’

  The chances of success were minimal, but it was all they had to go on and so Kazuo had set out on his mission. Now he was even more determined to succeed, because once he had cleared his father’s name, he would be able to think of other matters.

  Such as searching for water sprites with silvery hair.

  After Kazuo’s departure, Temperance ate the food she had brought with her then slept for a while in the shade before going for another swim. There was no point in returning before nightfall since she didn’t want to be caught trying to sneak back onto Dejima – that would ruin everything.

  As darkness fell, however, she became uneasy and wished that she’d thought of bringing a weapon of some kind. There was no knowing what might be lurking in the forest all around her and she started at unfamiliar rustling noises and the sharp crack of a branch being stepped on by some unknown creature. In the end, she went and sat in the little boat, counting the minutes until she could safely leave.

  Just as she was about to get out and push the boat into the water, a voice came hissing out of the shadows. ‘Temi-san? Are you all right?’

  She jumped, but recognised the speaker as soon as he came out of the undergrowth. ‘Kazuo! I thought you far away by now.’ She stared at him while he walked towards the boat with rapid strides.

  ‘I was, but then I came across some suspicious-looking men. It struck me that I shouldn’t have left you here unprotected, so I decided to come back, although I wasn’t sure you’d still be here.’

  ‘What kind of men?’ She glanced around, the flicker of fear in her belly suppressed by his nearness.

  ‘Who knows? Other ronin perhaps?’ He shrugged. ‘I think they’re long gone, but in any case, I will see you safely back to your home.’

  ‘That’s very kind, but won’t that be dangerous for you? You told me you’re an outlaw and I wouldn’t want you to be captured.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you?’ He smiled teasingly and her stomach flipped over with an entirely new kind of sensation that had nothing to do with fear.

  ‘Well, no. I mean …’ She ground to a halt, realising that to all intents and purposes she was consorting with a criminal and she ought to want him captured. But she didn’t and surely that was wrong of her? Although, come to think of it, she was a criminal herself, here in Japan under false pretences.

  He reached out a hand to stroke her cheek, the way he had before he left the water earlier. ‘Don’t worry about it. I can take care of myself. It’s dark now, no one will see me clearly and I doubt I’m known hereabouts anyway. Now let us be on our way or they will send out a search party for you.’

  Temperance had thought of that and had taken some precautions, but things
could go wrong. Midori would be worried if by any chance she’d noticed her cousin’s absence and might raise the alarm. More often than not she was preoccupied with her children though, so hopefully Temperance hadn’t yet been missed. She prayed this was the case.

  ‘Let me do the rowing,’ Kazuo said and pushed the boat out before jumping in.

  ‘How about we share?’ Temperance was already seated on the middle bench and moved over to make space for him. ‘It will be faster that way, although I suppose you’ll have to row lightly since you’re bound to be much stronger than I am.’

  He didn’t protest, but sat down next to her and took one oar. Their bodies began to move in a silent rhythm, raising the oars and dipping them into the water at exactly the same time with barely any splashing. It was as if they had worked together like this all their lives and Temperance marvelled at the ease with which they co-operated. With her older brother, there had always been a tussle and complaints about her lack of strength, but Kazuo simply matched his rowing to hers.

  ‘Had you gone far?’ she ventured to ask when they had travelled some way down the coast. She found the silence unnerving since it made her focus too much on the way their thighs were practically joined together and the feel of his arm as it brushed against hers inadvertently every so often.

  ‘Yes, but it doesn’t matter. Although my mission needs to be accomplished fairly swiftly, it’s not so urgent that I can’t rescue water sprites if I want to.’

  She heard the teasing note in his voice again, but protested nonetheless. ‘Kazuo, I told you—’

  ‘I know, I know.’ He chuckled. ‘But you seem magical to me, so that is how I will always think of you.’

  ‘I’m just a woman like any other.’ Temperance wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a fairy tale creature. She would rather he treated her the way he would a real woman. A woman he cared for. No! What was she thinking? She barely knew him.

  He stopped rowing for a moment and turned to gaze at her. The moon was rising and she could see clearly that his expression had turned serious. ‘No,’ he said firmly, ‘to me you will always be unique.’

  She stared back, not knowing what to say, then acted on impulse and leaned forward to brush his cheek with her lips. ‘Thank you,’ she breathed. ‘So are you.’

  He looked startled, as if no one had ever kissed him before, even in such a chaste manner, but then he smiled again and nodded. ‘Perhaps we can be unique together one day, but for now, we must row.’

  They remained silent the rest of the way until they reached the harbour and began to make their way across to the island of Dejima.

  ‘How will you enter the gate without being seen?’ he whispered.

  ‘I don’t know. I’ll think of something. After all, the guards don’t have any orders not to let me in, I’m just not allowed out.’

  He laughed at this. ‘Very well, good luck. You should be safe enough now. Jump out of the boat when we reach the steps and I will return it later, then swim ashore.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She hesitated, then blurted out, ‘I wish you didn’t have to go.’

  ‘I told you, I’ll come back to the bay. I have a feeling you’ll be going there again too, am I right?’

  ‘The thought had crossed my mind, but we may not go at the same time.’

  ‘Then I’ll leave a sign as I said – carved on a tree – to let you know that I’ve been there and when I’m coming back. Else I’ll find you here. Don’t worry, you will see me again, I promise, but I have to fulfil my mission first.’

  She nodded. ‘Sayonara and thank you again.’

  ‘Where on earth have you been?’

  The question came hissing out of the darkness, making Temperance start guiltily as she entered the Chief Factor’s residence. To her surprise, there had been no one about and she’d been able to sneak into the house without anyone seeing her. As she came in through the sea gate she’d been challenged by a guard, but she told him she had only slipped outside for a minute to look at the sea and he believed her. Obviously he’d been under the impression that another guard had allowed her out earlier. It was a relief to reach the house unseen, but now here was her cousin.

  ‘Midori! You startled me. I … I’ve just been out for a while.’

  ‘All day?’

  ‘Well, no, not exactly.’ Temperance’s brain worked with lightning speed, trying to come up with some plausible excuse for her absence.

  ‘I’ve been worried sick about you! I thought you’d been taken by pirates or something.’ In the faint light from the moon that shone in through the window, Temperance could see Midori cross her arms over her chest, glaring at her.

  ‘I was in my room earlier. I had a headache.’ Temperance had asked Akio to tell everyone his master was resting because of illness and didn’t want to be disturbed. Had the stupid boy misunderstood?

  ‘Yes, that’s what Akio said, but when I went to check, you weren’t there.’

  ‘You must have come just when I was out getting some fresh air.’

  ‘Tom, I’m not stupid.’

  Temperance could hear the warning in Midori’s voice and decided it was time for the truth. She took a deep breath and turned to face her cousin. ‘Oh, very well, if you must know, I went swimming. I borrowed a rowing boat this morning and found a small cove up the coast, very secluded, and I swam for most of the day. I’m sorry if I worried you, I didn’t think you’d notice I was gone. You’ve been so busy.’

  It was true that Midori had been preoccupied lately, as her baby son Casper had been ill with a fever. In her anxiety she seemed to have no time for anyone else, spending every waking moment watching over the child.

  ‘Of course I noticed. I may have been worried about Casper, but I still see what’s going on around me.’

  Temperance shrugged. ‘Well, I’m back now and no harm has befallen me.’ She knew she sounded defiant and defensive. Knew also that Midori had a right to be angry, but she didn’t care. She’d had a most wonderful experience, nothing could spoil that.

  They stared at each other for a moment in the darkness, then Midori heaved a sigh. ‘You should never have come here, should you.’ It was a statement, not a question, so Temperance didn’t reply. It was true after all, as she knew only too well now. ‘Would you like me to arrange passage back to England for you? I could send Akio with you to keep you company.’

  ‘No!’ Temperance was startled by her own vehemence, but she didn’t think going back to England would solve her current problems. By the time all had been arranged it would be too late, for she doubted Midori would be able to find her passage immediately so the threat of Haag’s ultimatum still remained. She’d have to find some other way of getting out of that. ‘I mean, no, thank you. I’d like to stay a while longer, if you don’t mind? Really, I’m fine. It was just the heat. It’s been unbearable these last weeks and I couldn’t stand having all this water around me and not go in it, do you see?’

  ‘Yes, I can understand that, but please, don’t do it again. It’s too dangerous.’ Temperance didn’t reply, and her cousin seemed to take that as an affirmative. ‘And what were you thinking, going dressed like that? You should at least have worn Japanese clothing.’

  They both looked at Temperance’s outfit. She was wearing her usual English men’s clothes and, thinking about it, perhaps it was a miracle that so far the Japanese didn’t seem to have noticed that she was a girl. She supposed all foreigners looked so strange to them, it never occurred to them that she could be a female. Midori was right though, outside the island Temperance should have worn something else.

  Midori herself wore Japanese garments at all times. In order to be allowed on the island, she had to pretend to be her husband’s concubine, and this had been accepted without question since she was half Japanese and therefore looked the part. She was also very beautiful in an exotic way with large, slightly almond-shaped green eyes under perfectly arched brows, sculpted cheekbones and flawless skin. Her dark, straight hair was so lon
g it reached to her knees when not twisted on top of her head and she had the grace and figure to tempt any man. Temperance knew that playing the role of a courtesan, when in fact she was Nico’s wife, had bothered Midori at first, but as she wanted to be with him at any cost, it had soon ceased to worry her. It was a strange situation for both of them, but after a year of practising these deceptions, they were used to it.

  ‘It was dark, no one saw me,’ Temperance muttered.

  ‘They could have done. Never mind, let us go to bed, I’m exhausted. I must tell Nico you’re safe, he’s been worried too, although he did tell me you were probably off on an adventure of your own.’

  As her cousin linked her arm with hers, Temperance suppressed a shiver of excitement. Adventure was the right word and how could she possibly leave Dejima now that she’d met Kazuo? He had said he would return, hadn’t he? Implied it anyway.

  She had to find a way to stay without marrying Haag.

  Pieter Haag skulked in the shadows and watched Mistress Marston hurry down the main street towards the Chief Factor’s residence. He’d noticed her absence all day and wondered where she’d gone and how she had escaped the island. Did she have a lover on the mainland? Someone she bribed with her luscious body? The thought made him want to smash his fist into the nearest wall but he restrained himself for now and waited.

  It annoyed him that he didn’t know her Christian name. Obviously it wasn’t Tom, as he’d heard Noordholt call her, but he guessed it must be close – Thomasine or Tamsyn perhaps? He’d find out when they married as she’d have to give her real name then.

  He heard low voices and guessed that either the Chief Factor or his concubine had lain in wait too and was giving Mistress Marston a telling off. Good! She deserved it. Soon it would be his privilege – and pleasure – to take her to task and keep her under control. He’d given her two weeks to get used to the idea, which he thought was generous in the extreme, but he knew she had no choice really. Not if she didn’t want to be handed over to the Japanese authorities. Nor if she cared for her step-cousin at all, and it was clear to everyone on the island that she did. Haag was counting on it.