‘Yes, please. I don’t think he has anything more constructive to say.’
The interpreter was still in full flow and automatically translated these words for Haag’s benefit. Haag began to struggle against the guard’s hold on him, shouting imprecations in English. ‘She’s my woman, I tell you! Why won’t anyone believe me? Do you not have laws about these things in this godforsaken country? Heathens! Barbarians! Sons of she-dogs …’
The flow of words continued as he was dragged from the room and he could be heard all the way down the corridor outside. The guard returned briefly to ask what he was to do with the prisoner, while the interpreter bowed himself out, having been dismissed by a gesture from the lord.
‘Just leave him in the dungeon for the moment, please,’ the lord said. ‘It sounds to me as though he needs to cool down a little.’
Silence descended on the room and Temperance took a deep breath. She was having a hard time comprehending that the man in front of her had taken her side against Haag, even though the story he’d been told had sounded so plausible. On top of that, she still didn’t know what was going to happen to her and Kazuo and her fears returned in full force. Unable to wait any longer, she blurted out, ‘So what do you plan to do with me then, my lord? With us?’ The question came out in a hoarse whisper as she had to keep swallowing hard to keep the tears at bay.
The lord didn’t reply immediately, so she plunged on even though she knew she was probably asking in vain.
‘Could … would it be possible for you to let my husband go on his way, uhm, before you hand me over to the authorities? It’s not his fault. I mean, my husband isn’t responsible for me being foreign …’ She tailed off, realising how lame a defence she was presenting.
When she looked up again, however, the lord was smiling broadly and looking at her with something like admiration in his eyes. ‘I can’t fault you for trying and your loyalty to your husband is commendable,’ he said, ‘but the answer is no.’
Temperance opened her mouth to ask why, but he startled her into stunned silence by adding in perfect, albeit slightly accented English, ‘He is not going anywhere until I find whole truth, but now you, Temperance-chan, are going to bed. It is very late.’
He had spoken English and he’d called her by her real name. Shock reverberated through Temperance and she stared at him in disbelief.
‘How did you …?’ she began, then the truth dawned on her and she almost fainted with relief. ‘You are Ichiro-san, Midori’s brother,’ she said, hardly able to believe her luck. ‘I beg your pardon, I mean Lord Kumashiro, of course. This is Castle Shiroi, my cousin’s former home?’
‘Indeed, and I apologise for testing you in this manner, but it was necessary. Had to make sure you were not held by your so-called husband Kanto against your will. It would seem not, so I cannot accuse him of abduction. But …’ Here he gave her a faint smile. ‘I doubt my sister will be too pleased to hear you married a Japanese man without asking permission.’
‘Midori, is she all right? I mean, have you heard from her?’ Temperance still couldn’t believe this was happening. She was here, in the very castle her cousin had told her about so often, the one place in Japan where she was truly safe. It was incredible.
‘Many times recently,’ Lord Kumashiro replied in a somewhat caustic tone. ‘She has been in panic because her cousin disappeared and did not leave a message for her.’
Temperance heard the unspoken disapproval in his voice and hastened to defend herself. ‘But I was abducted. How could I have left a note? I have worried so much about what Midori and Nico would think, but I’ve had no way of letting them know I was safe.’
He frowned. ‘You just said you were not abducted. This was not true?’
‘No, you don’t understand. I was, but not by Kaz— … er, my husband. It was a band of outlaws led by someone called Ryo who grabbed me. Although they’re now my friends, but that’s another story. Anyway, they sold me to a despicable man who owned a tea house, and after that—’
‘Hold on a moment.’ Lord Kumashiro held up his hand. ‘Slow down, let me understand clearly. You were taken. Where?’
‘In a small bay where I went swimming near Nagasaki.’
‘Yes, Midori said that what probably happened. And outlaws who abducted you had a leader, one Ryo, who is now your friend?’
‘That’s right. He sold me to Imada-san first, a horrible man who trained me to be a shinzo so that he could sell me to a rich man as a concubine.’
Lord Kumashiro’s brows had risen as he listened to this. ‘And this came to pass?’
‘Unfortunately, yes. He found a man who was willing to pay for me, but he was even worse and I just couldn’t … I didn’t want to … well, I’ve never been so happy in all my life as when he was called away to Edo before … before anything happened to me.’
‘And do you know this man’s name?’
‘Of course. It’s Tanaka. He is a very powerful man, I understand, but evil if you ask me. I had to escape.’
‘Ah, soh. Of course.’ Lord Kumashiro’s mouth was twitching again, as if he found her tale more fantastic than anything he had ever heard before. ‘And how you accomplished this?’
‘Well, that’s where K— … uhm, my husband comes into it. You see I had met him before, while swimming in that bay on another occasion. Unbeknown to me, he was working for Tanaka-san too and when he saw me, he knew at once he had to rescue me, so that’s what he did. We ran away early one morning while Tanaka was in Edo.’
Lord Kumashiro shook his head. ‘This is very complicated story and you must be tired. If you like, we continue tomorrow? Please tell me. I don’t mind waiting. At least I know you are safe and can send messenger to my sister.’
‘Well, if you don’t mind, I would really prefer not to go on without speaking to my husband first. You see the rest of it concerns him more than me. I merely tagged along, as it were, until he could find the time to take me back to Nagasaki.’
‘So you planned to go back?’
Temperance felt herself blush. ‘Uhm, yes, until we discovered that we wanted to marry. I mean, of course we would have gone back anyway, but until that point I had thought to return by myself once he found a way of getting me there.’
‘I see. Well, you have some rest now and we will speak more in the morning. Guards will bring your husband to you at dawn and you can speak with him first if you wish. No doubt he’s asleep already, so we won’t disturb him now.’
‘Thank you, you are very kind. I’m so happy to have met you at last.’
‘And I you, Temperance.’
He managed to pronounce her name quite well, but she could tell it wasn’t easy for him, so she said, ‘Please, just call me Temi. Everyone else does.’
‘Very well. Goodnight, Temi-chan.’
As she arrived some moments later at a suite of rooms almost as grand as Lord Kumashiro’s own, Temperance pinched herself hard to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It was such a far cry from the miserable prison cell she had been imagining would still be her fate this night that she couldn’t believe it. But if it was a dream, she never wanted it to end.
In a cold, dark and damp little cell, Haag sat on a straw mattress and watched as drops of moisture chased each other down the walls. All the fight had gone out of him. He realised that he had burned all his bridges by shouting imprecations at the lord of this domain.
He had lost.
His last sight of Temperance had been of a woman in full control of herself, not cowed in the slightest. She had sounded believable and the lord had been taken in by her lies.
She had won.
He couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to. But all hope had died inside him. No one except her knew that he was even here. There was no chance of escape, no chance of rescue. And he was sure she’d never tell a soul of his whereabouts. Why would she?
It was so unfair. So unnatural. She should have known her place and done as she was told. Women weren’t meant to de
cide anything. They were weak. Meek. Biddable.
Most of them.
Why did he have the misfortune of coming across the only one who wasn’t? Damn it all to hell!
But it looked like he was the one going to hell. Or rather, he was already very nearly there.
He felt faint now. His head ached, feeling as though someone was pounding on his brain with a mallet, whereas his shoulder had gone blessedly numb. He’d tried to staunch the flow of blood earlier with torn-off bits of his shirt but could feel it oozing slowly still. His life force was ebbing away, drop by red drop in little rivulets down his torso, and no one cared. They didn’t even know because he hadn’t mentioned his wounds. He’d been too intent on gaining his freedom and getting his hands on that infernal woman.
‘Help!’ he called, remembering how to say it in Japanese. ‘Tasukete kudasai! Please, someone, I need a surgeon …’ But the guards didn’t come and he knew it was his own fault. He’d shouted too much earlier, when they’d first put him in the cell and now they had stopped paying attention to him. It was doubtful if anyone was even within earshot as they’d probably left him to cool his temper.
Darkness enveloped him and he felt as if he was falling, even though he was still lying down. Then everything went quiet and he suddenly saw a white light coming towards him, beckoning, inviting.
He welcomed it.
Kazuo was woken early.
‘You’re to come with me,’ the guard said. He sounded gruff and Kazuo braced himself for a cuff on the head or some such, but it didn’t come. The guard just waited patiently until he was on his feet, then led the way into the castle.
To Kazuo’s amazement he was taken into the luxurious domain that must be the daimyo’s own part, with long corridors of polished floorboards and huge suites of rooms along one side. The guard stopped outside one and nodded towards the door. ‘In there,’ he said.
Kazuo frowned and steeled himself. It would seem the lord of the castle himself – or at least someone very high-ranking within his staff – wanted to speak to him. He only hoped he could make whoever it was believe his story.
The guard opened the sliding door and Kazuo entered on his hands and knees, but when the door hissed shut behind him, there was no sound from within the room. He chanced a quick upward glance and drew in a hasty breath. Before him, on a thick futon, lay Temi, seemingly asleep. Kazuo rushed over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently.
‘Temi? Temi, my love, wake up.’
She sat up abruptly, looking completely disorientated as she took in the sight of him and also the opulence of the large room she’d been sleeping in. Kazuo knew exactly how she felt – totally bemused – because he felt the same.
‘Kazuo!’ She smiled, but then frowned and reached out a hand to touch his cheek. He knew it was grubby and he probably had several fresh bruises. ‘Oh, what happened? Did they mistreat you again?’
He shook his head. ‘Not really. It was mostly my own fault because I tried to escape. I should have known there wouldn’t be a way out of a castle like this, not without inside help. But please, tell me what’s going on? I don’t understand. Why are you here, in such a room? Why am I here? What happened last night? Did he … did he touch you?’
‘Who, Ichiro? No, of course not.’ Temperance laughed and Kazuo stared at her, confused. She put her arms around him and pulled him closer. ‘He is my kinsman,’ she explained. ‘Well, sort of anyway. My cousin Midori’s half-brother. Do you see?’
He pulled away to stare at her, having a hard time taking this in. ‘You are related to Lord Kumashiro?’
‘Yes, strange isn’t it? If you had only told me the name of the third man, I would have known immediately that you were on a doomed quest. And I could have obtained entry for you to this castle without any need for subterfuge.’
‘Why doomed? He is still the third man, whether he is related to your cousin or not.’ Kazuo scowled, not at all convinced.
‘Yes, but don’t you see, I know him through everything Midori has told me about him and there is no way he would act dishonourably. Never! He is firm, but just, and he wouldn’t stoop to anything as low as ousting another man from power to promote himself. Especially not in such an underhand manner. It’s just not possible.’
‘How can you be so sure? You don’t know him.’
‘Midori lived with him for nineteen years and they were very close. She knows him inside out and he simply wouldn’t do such a thing. Please, talk to him and explain your quest, then perhaps he will help you? He can at least tell you why he signed that piece of paper.’
Kazuo stood up and paced restlessly to and fro. He just couldn’t sit still as a jumble of thoughts chased each other round his brain. ‘This is all very strange,’ he muttered. ‘Too strange. I can’t take it in.’ He stopped before her. ‘Why should I trust him? He might have changed since your cousin left. She’s been gone how many years?’
‘Seven, eight, I don’t know, but—’
‘You see? A man can change and there’s no denying how powerful he is. Look around you.’ He swept a hand to indicate the costly surroundings.
‘He was born with all this. His father was very powerful too. That doesn’t make him a bad man. Please, will you not trust me?’
Kazuo ran his fingers through his hair, almost dislodging the already unruly topknot. He wanted to believe her, but it seemed too easy somehow. A trap? He sighed. ‘I don’t know. I suppose I have nothing left to lose. There’s no way I’ll find any evidence of his guilt now, unless he invites us to stay on as guests for a while and I can snoop around.’
‘No, Kazuo, I can’t let you do that. If you don’t want to tell him, you had better just leave. Go now, while you are free. I assume you are allowed to roam the castle or is there a guard waiting outside?’
‘I don’t think so. They merely brought me here and left.’
‘There you are then. If you want to continue your quest elsewhere, you can, but personally I think you’ll find the answers you need right here.’
Kazuo felt torn and began to pace again. ‘And if I leave, what about us?’ He knew deep down that Temi meant more to him than the quest now, but he still hoped he could finish that first. He would hate to disappoint his father, if he was still alive, and lose face before his clan. He’d been brought up to put honour before all else, especially personal feelings, emotions. How could he go against that?
‘You know where to find me. Ichiro has sent a message to Midori and somehow I will be taken back to Dejima. You can come there when you are finished.’ She held out a hand to him. ‘You know I’ll wait as long as it takes, if only you promise to come for me.’
He stopped and took her hand, then pulled her close and kissed her hard. ‘Oh, Temi, I was out of my mind with worry last night. I thought I’d never see you again. I imagined all sorts of things …’ He buried his head in her shoulder. He’d had nightmares about what might have been happening to her.
‘Me too. I was so scared, but as soon as I realised who the lord was, I knew everything would be all right. Why not come with me to speak to him at least, on other matters? You’ll see that he is very amiable and perhaps you’ll find you might be able to trust him after all.’
‘Perhaps.’ He kissed her again, then just held her close for a long time before pulling away. ‘Well then, do you think we ought to ask if we could make ourselves a bit more presentable first? I can’t think that Lord Kumashiro wishes to speak with two dirty fugitives.’
Temperance smiled at him and nodded. ‘I’ll call the maid and ask.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The bathhouse at Castle Shiroi was every bit as wonderful as Midori had described it to be. After a lengthy session in the hot water, as well as a welcome change of clothes, the two of them were ushered into Lord Kumashiro’s presence. Temperance still thought of him as Ichiro, since that was how Midori had always referred to her brother, but she knew that she ought to use his more formal title. She also followed Kaz
uo’s lead in bowing low and staying down until he told them to rise.
‘Please, come and join me for a meal. You must both be famished.’ Lord Kumashiro indicated a low table groaning with all manner of delicacies and surrounded by three plump cushions upon which they took their places. He squeezed Temperance’s hand as he helped her to be seated and she thought he gave her a reassuring nod, but couldn’t be sure.
Kazuo was wary at first and the conversation very polite and stilted, but as the meal progressed he relaxed slightly, although he let Temperance do most of the talking. Lord Kumashiro tactfully refrained from asking Kazuo any questions and instead concentrated on Temperance, making her give him her impressions of Japan.
‘Well, I have to say I never thought I would travel through your country quite this extensively,’ she said, ‘but what I have seen so far is wonderful for the most part. There are one or two places I could have done without, like the tea house of The Weeping Willow for instance, but on the whole, I love it here.’
‘Your Japanese is very good,’ Lord Kumashiro commented. ‘You must have a quick mind.’
‘There was nothing else to do on Dejima, so I spent a lot of time practising with Midori. I was most disappointed when I discovered that I couldn’t enter your country, but had to stay cooped up on that tiny piece of land.’
‘And that is why you decided to go, er … exploring?’ Lord Kumashiro asked with a smile.
‘Yes, although I’m sorry I caused Midori so much worry. I never meant to and I suppose it was naïve of me to think I could leave Dejima without anyone being the wiser. Having already met Kazuo the first time, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that I might meet other people too, like the outlaws.’
‘As you say, you were perhaps a bit naïve, but you were not to know.’ Lord Kumashiro turned to Kazuo. ‘So what did you think the first time you came across Temi-chan?’
Kazuo looked vaguely embarrassed and gave a sheepish smile. ‘I thought she was a water sprite.’ As Lord Kumashiro chuckled, Kazuo defended himself. ‘Well, who wouldn’t? Look at that hair and imagine her swimming in the sea like a dolphin. She’s a great swimmer, you know.’
The Jade Lioness Page 29
