‘Your country is very large then?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, but mostly it’s made up of mountains so almost everyone lives around the coast or in the deep valleys in between the peaks. There are also many huge forests and numerous lakes and rivers. The easiest way to travel is by boat, and much the fastest too.’
‘I see. Thank you.’
‘Will you not tell me of your own country in return? Where do you come from and how far away is it?’
He seemed genuinely interested, or perhaps he was still bored and wanted to pass the time, Temperance thought, but she couldn’t see that it mattered whether she told him about herself or not.
‘I come from an island country as well. It’s called England and we had to sail for nine months to get here, across huge oceans and past many other countries. I lived by the coast too, although England doesn’t have as many mountains and so it is populated almost everywhere.’
They continued to talk about their respective countries for quite some time, comparing the merits of each and the differences in culture and conditions. Temperance could almost forget the circumstances of their being together. She found it fascinating to talk thus to a real Japanese person, but whenever he gesticulated to demonstrate a point, the rope tugged on her wrist and she was reminded of her captivity. Although Ryo had proved interesting and had shown her a different side to himself, he was still her captor, her gaoler, and in the end she couldn’t ignore this fact.
‘Why are you doing this to me?’ she asked at last, exasperated. ‘You seem like an intelligent man. Surely you could find some better way of earning money?’
He seemed taken aback by her question, then he looked away. It was as if a wall had sprung up between them once more and Temperance almost regretted questioning him.
‘There are things about my country you don’t understand,’ he said.
‘Then explain, please. I really want to know.’
He shook his head. ‘No. My motives for capturing and selling you are none of your business. I have no choice; this is how it has to be. I am sorry for it, but I cannot take you back, if that’s what you are asking.’
‘What if my countrymen would pay to have me back?’
He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘And inform the authorities at the same time? No, thank you. As you said, I’m not stupid.’ He turned his head away, as if terminating the conversation once and for all. ‘Now cease your chatter, I need some peace and quiet.’
Temperance did as she was bid and held her tongue. She felt she had made some progress, so perhaps it behoved her to tread carefully then maybe she could make him see sense. For now, she had to be content.
Ryo relented the following day, obviously bored again, and they talked some more.
‘You speak our language very well. Where did you learn?’ he asked.
‘My cousin taught me. She’s fluent in Japanese and I wanted to be able to understand what everyone was saying.’
Fortunately he didn’t ask how her cousin had learned and Temperance reckoned it was probably better not to mention Midori by name. She didn’t want to get her into trouble for teaching her. She changed the subject and Ryo was happy to tell her about his country and its customs, as long as she reciprocated with tales of England and other European nations. But he refused point-blank to talk about what was to happen to her.
‘Never you mind,’ was all he’d say.
Consequently, Temperance’s fear of what awaited her grew daily. Her mind conjured up all sorts of dreadful fates, none of which she could see any way of extricating herself from. And the more she tried not to think about it, the more her brain ran round in circles returning to the few hints Ryo had let slip.
He was going to sell her, as if she were a slave. He knew of a man who would be interested in buying her. What sort of a man would buy women and what would he want from her? She knew of only two things – hard work or her body. Hard work held no fears for her, as she was strong and healthy and had never been used to idleness before sailing to Japan, but the thought of someone owning her body and being able to do with it what they wanted made her feel physically sick.
She wished Ryo would at least tell her – if she knew what was going to happen, she could prepare herself for it in her mind. But whenever she tried to fish for information, he clammed up and went to sit elsewhere in the boat, tying her instead to a man called Jiro. He had a vacant expression which showed Temperance clearly that there wouldn’t be any point engaging him in conversation. She wondered what Ryo was afraid of – that she would make him see sense? That she would prick his conscience? Or that he might actually like her enough to want to set her free? She had no idea, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to work on him.
Despite her nervousness, Temperance became so bored she almost cheered as they finally reached their destination. It was bliss to walk on land again, although she felt as if the ground moved for quite a while after disembarking while her body adjusted to not being rocked by the waves. They didn’t go into Kobe itself, but skirted the city and continued along smaller roads into the countryside to the north-west.
Temperance’s feet began to ache. ‘Why can’t we have horses here too, Ryo-san?’
‘I’m not made of money,’ he replied, which made her realise he must desperately need whatever sum selling her would bring him. It was true he and his men were dressed in old, worn clothes and only ate meagre amounts of food so clearly they weren’t well off. It didn’t make things any better, but at least she understood that what Ryo was doing was a necessity rather than mere greed on his part. She walked without complaint after that.
They walked past neat rice paddies, where the ears of rice were heavy, showing that harvest time approached. There had been much rain during the last two days, which undoubtedly weighted them down as well, and the humidity seemed worse here inland without the slight sea breeze Temperance was used to. She struggled on past houses like the ones they had seen in the fishing village, huddled together in small settlements, and everywhere they went the people they encountered looked tired and downtrodden. The life of a peasant was obviously a hard one here, and Temperance felt for them. She wondered how much of their produce they were allowed to keep for themselves – none seemed to be starving but appearances could be deceptive.
When Temperance had begun to think her feet would never survive another hour of walking, they arrived at a slightly larger settlement, which seemed to have grown up around a crossroads. There was much coming and going, carts and horses, and men milling about, and a large, sprawling building stood in the centre.
‘What is this place?’ Temperance dared to ask Jiro.
He stared at her as if she was a complete idiot. ‘An inn, of course,’ he replied, as though it was something everyone knew. And perhaps it was common knowledge if you were Japanese, Temperance thought rather crossly, but how was she to know when she had never seen one before?
‘There’s a tea house at the back,’ Jiro added with a leering sort of grin. Temperance wondered why a tea house should make him look like that, but didn’t get a chance to ask.
‘Come.’ Ryo took her arm in a gentle grip and led the way into the inn, which upon closer inspection seemed somewhat ramshackle and not in very good repair. He didn’t seem in much of a hurry; in fact, if she hadn’t known better Temperance would have sworn he was dragging his feet, which was odd. Was he having second thoughts? She sent him a hopeful glance, but he refused to meet her gaze. Instead he swore under his breath and pulled her along a corridor. They were ushered into a private room, where Ryo and two of his men sat down on cushions, while the others were told to wait outside. Temperance was left standing in a corner, her stomach once more harbouring butterflies as she realised this was where she would meet her fate.
The innkeeper bustled in and Temperance took an instant dislike to the little man whose fat fingers and jowly appearance made her shudder.
‘Imada-san.’ Ryo stood up and the two men greeted each
other like long lost friends. Temperance’s heart sank even further. ‘I have brought you something extraordinary this time, something I believe one of your clients will value highly. You know of whom I speak.’
‘Of course, of course.’
Ryo indicated Temperance and Imada walked over to inspect her, recoiling slightly as she raised her blue eyes from under the brim of her hat and gave him a malevolent stare. ‘Chikusho! What is this, my friend?’
Ryo removed her hat, then released her hair from its confinement with a flourish so that it tumbled around her shoulders in silvery disarray. Temperance was pleased to see Imada-san practically wrinkle his nose at the sight of it.
‘A yuki onna?’ the man whispered, his eyes wide open.
Ryo shook his head. ‘No, she’s not a snow ghost, but a gai-jin. She comes from a country far, far away, and I thought your client would be interested in adding her to his collection.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Naturally, the authorities must not be allowed to find out about her existence. Strictly speaking she shouldn’t be in our country at all, but once she’s ensconced with her new master, I doubt that will be a problem.’
‘Indeed, no. She’ll be safe there.’
Temperance was growing increasingly annoyed at being discussed as if she wasn’t there and, if her future was to include this surly man, extremely frightened as well. ‘And where is it I’m going?’ she demanded. ‘I have a right to know.’
Imada scowled at her. ‘You have no rights at all, girl. Now keep a still tongue in your head or it will be the worse for you.’ He turned back to Ryo and the two men began to discuss remuneration.
‘How much? You can’t be serious!’ Imada-san looked thunderstruck at the amount Ryo was asking and Temperance had the distinct impression he was reluctant to sell her after all, as he’d clearly quoted a sum well beyond the norm. He kept glancing her way with a frown, squirming on his cushion as if he were ill at ease. But really, did he have a choice? She knew that if he didn’t sell her, he and his men would be without funds. Without food. And the others would surely be angry if they’d come all this way for nothing.
Temperance tried to keep calm, but panic threatened to overtake her at the prospect of having to stay here. Being captured by Ryo and his men had been bad enough; being left here with this coarse stranger was far worse. She looked around her to see if there was any way of escaping, but the door was barred by Ryo’s men and she couldn’t see any other way out. All too soon the haggling was over. Imada had agreed to a preposterous sum, which seemed to stun Ryo. The innkeeper went off to fetch the money, muttering under his breath, and Ryo fixed her with an almost defiant stare.
‘Do as he tells you or he’ll beat you,’ he warned. ‘I’m saying this for your own good. Imada-san is not a man to be trifled with. He wants a good price for you, so he’ll treat you well if you behave, but he will not hesitate to punish you for any wrongdoing.’
‘And you’re leaving me with this monster? What kind of man are you, Ryo, that you can do this to a defenceless woman?’
‘One in need of money and who can’t afford sentimentality,’ he retorted. ‘Sayonara.’ He gave her a curt bow and turned to collect his money from Imada, who came back into the room.
‘You’ll pay for this, Ryo!’ Temperance shouted after him and thought she saw him flinch, but he didn’t so much as look her way. Within moments he was gone and she had to fight the urge to run after him.
Imada walked up to her and backhanded her across the cheek. ‘Shut up,’ he said. ‘Now come with me. It’s time to begin your training. You’re way past the usual age.’
‘Training? What training?’
Another slap. Temperance felt as if her ears were ringing. ‘I told you to shut up. Are you deaf as well as ugly?’
This time she’d learned her lesson and said nothing. Instead she let her eyes speak for her and had the satisfaction of seeing him turn away. He muttered something about a ‘damned yuki onna’, and this gave her a ray of hope. She prayed that he was heartily afraid of ghosts as she intended to send him malevolent glances at every opportunity from now on.
Chapter Nine
‘You are now a shinzo, even though you’re a bit old for that,’ Imada told her. ‘You’ll be trained in the arts of a courtesan. I expect you to learn fast as really you should have started at the age of fifteen.’
‘A shinzo! I’ll have you know I’m a decent woman,’ Temperance protested, shocked to the very core at this prospect, although she had suspected something of the sort the moment she set foot in Imada’s establishment.
She’d heard the Dutchmen on Dejima joking about the loose women that frequented the island, and their comments were definitely not flattering. Courtesan was just a nicer word for these women’s profession. And this man expected her to become one? ‘I’ll not submit to any man except my husband,’ she stated, trying desperately to sound as if she actually had a choice in the matter.
Imada sent her a scornful glance and said sarcastically, ‘Don’t try my patience, fool. Husband, indeed. Hah! Where would such as you find one of those? No, if you wish to survive, you’ll do as you’re told. I don’t want to hear another word out of you. And as I said, you’d better learn fast. I don’t want you here eating me out of house and home for weeks on end with no profit to show for it. Count yourself lucky I don’t put you to work immediately. I have other plans for you.’
He gave Temperance a none too gentle push in the small of her back, which made her stumble into one of the houses that were built at right angles to the back of the inn itself. ‘This is the tea house, where my girls live and work.’
Temperance looked around her as she finally understood why Jiro had been smirking about the word ‘tea house’. Apparently it was just another term for brothel, or at least in some instances.
Imada interrupted her thoughts. ‘You’re to listen and follow instructions, nothing more. Even a foreigner should be able to manage that. Nyoko!’
He bellowed the last word and a pretty but slovenly-looking girl appeared through a doorway and sashayed towards them. Her clothing was rumpled, her hair mussed, hanging in uneven tresses around her face and down her back, and her skin was sallow with traces of face powder. And yet Temperance had no doubt that when scrubbed clean and wearing her best clothes, the girl was probably devastatingly attractive, especially to the opposite sex. She fairly oozed confidence and her eyes seemed to speak of some secret knowledge, which made Temperance feel very uncomfortable. Would she herself end up looking like that? It was a sickening thought.
‘What?’ Nyoko asked, coming to a halt in front of them with a frown. She looked Temperance up and down. ‘By all the gods, what have you brought me this time? Have you taken leave of your senses?’
‘Don’t talk to me in that tone of voice. I’ve warned you before,’ Imada snapped at the girl, but she merely stared him down. ‘This is … what’s your name?’
Temperance decided not to use her own name any longer, since she most certainly didn’t feel like herself. ‘They call me Shinju,’ she lied, remembering how Kazuo had said she resembled a pearl.
‘Very apt,’ Nyoko drawled and grabbed some of Temperance’s hair and yanked hard.
‘Ow!’
Nyoko shrugged. ‘Just checking it’s not a wig. Dreadful colour, looks dead. We could dye it perhaps?’
‘No,’ Imada cut in, forestalling Temperance’s own protest. ‘You’re not to change her in any way. Just teach her what she needs to know in order for me to sell her. You know what needs to be done. A few mannerisms, proper walking, the basics. She knows nothing, like those little peasant girls they keep bringing us, although she’s much older to be sure. How old are you exactly?’
‘Eighteen,’ Temperance answered, reluctantly. After all, what business was it of Nyoko’s how old she was?
‘Untouched?’ Nyoko asked with eyebrows raised as if she didn’t believe it for a moment.
‘Yes, of course!’ Temperance felt her cheeks flame at dis
cussing such intimate details about herself in front of this pig of a man, but he took no notice.
‘You’ll have to check,’ he told Nyoko.
‘What? No, you can’t do that!’
‘I thought I told you to shut up unless you were spoken to?’ Imada snarled, raising his hand as if to strike her again. ‘Don’t learn very fast, do you?’
Temperance glared at him, but said nothing. Instead she ground her teeth in silence, anger warring with fear inside her. What a whoreson. She would pay him back somehow.
‘Well, come with me then, I haven’t got all day,’ Nyoko said and turned to go. ‘I’ll have to get old Mai to help me, I think. I’m too busy to babysit all the time.’
‘Do whatever is necessary,’ Imada growled. ‘I want her ready in two weeks.’
‘Two weeks?’ Nyoko stared at him as if he was mad. ‘Three at the very least, if not four.’
‘Two and a half and not a day more.’ And he turned on his heel and left.
Nyoko regarded Temperance with acute dislike. ‘You’d better learn fast or else …’
Temperance glared back defiantly, albeit shaking inwardly with suppressed dread. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to get away from here. Lead on.’
Imada’s inn and tea house was called the Weeping Willow, presumably because there was such a tree outside or overhanging the nearby river, but Temperance was never given a chance to verify this fact since she wasn’t allowed outside. She had exchanged one prison for another.
‘You’re to stay indoors,’ Nyoko told her, and added that Imada had guards posted outside the front door at all times. ‘They protect us girls from intruders,’ she said, her smirk making it clear that wasn’t their main purpose.
‘You can sleep in here.’ Nyoko pulled open the sliding door of a small room already filled to the brim with girls, some of whom looked to be as young as five or six. ‘There’s a spare futon in the corner and someone will fetch you a blanket later.’
The Jade Lioness Page 8
