The Jade Lioness

by Christina Courtenay

  The lady Chie, Lord Kumashiro’s wife, and his oldest daughter, Megumi, who was sixteen, both smiled at her impatience. ‘They will come when they are ready,’ Lady Chie said in her soft, melodious voice. ‘I’m sure my lord husband would want to do everything in the best possible way and that might take time. In fact, everything takes time in Edo, including meting out justice.’

  Temi had been told that strictly speaking, Lady Chie and her daughter ought to have been in the capital as well, because of the laws of sankin kotai, but they had been given special permission to return to the north for a few months in order to prepare for Megumi’s forthcoming wedding. Temperance was very happy to spend time with them as she liked them both immensely.

  ‘But surely it doesn’t take this long?’ Temperance paced the floor in order to give her frustrations some kind of outlet. She felt like going for a long, brisk walk, but she was wearing an exquisite kimono borrowed from Lady Chie and matching silk slippers, neither of which were conducive to walking fast. With a sigh, she flung herself back down onto the cushion and took up her embroidery.

  ‘At least we know they succeeded in their mission,’ Lady Chie reminded her. There had been one rather short message to let them know all had gone well, but that had been weeks ago now. Temperance wanted to see for herself that Kazuo wasn’t harmed in any way.

  Just then there was the sound of running feet in the corridor outside Lady Chie’s rooms, and a swift knock on the door soon after.

  ‘Enter, please.’

  ‘My lady.’ The servant kneeled on the floor and bowed to his mistress. ‘The Lord Kumashiro has been sighted and should be here soon. I thought you would wish to know.’

  Lady Chie inclined her head gracefully and thanked the man. ‘There, you see?’ she said to Temperance, who had jumped up once more. ‘There was no need for impatience.’

  ‘There was every need,’ Temperance retorted with a smile.

  Lady Chie shook her head in mock exasperation. ‘Off with you. Go and see your husband. I shall follow at a more decorous pace. Megumi, you may go with Temi-san.’

  ‘Thank you, Mother.’

  As soon as the two of them were in the corridor and the door closed behind them, they picked up their kimonos and half ran, half shuffled as fast as they could towards the main courtyard, giggling like little girls.

  ‘Father would say you are a very bad influence on me,’ Megumi panted.

  ‘He would be right.’ Temperance laughed.

  Coming to a halt on the steps just outside the main doors, Temperance waited impatiently until the row of riders began to file into the courtyard in front of her. She scanned the crowd of men and horses anxiously, trying to locate the one person in the world she most wanted to see. At last she caught sight of him, but just as she was about to set off towards him, a familiar voice rang out from the right.

  ‘So this is where you’ve been hiding, eh? I should have known you’d go off by yourself if I didn’t arrange a visit fast enough.’

  Temperance stopped in mid-stride and turned towards the owner of that voice. ‘Midori? Midori! I don’t believe it. What are you doing here? And Nico!’ She saw her cousin’s husband standing next to his wife, a protective arm about her shoulder as always.

  ‘Why, we’ve come to take you home, of course. I think you’ve done enough gallivanting about. We waited ages for you to return to us, but despite Ichiro’s assurances that he would send you south soon, nothing happened. So here we are.’

  ‘Right, of course, but I … oh, it’s so good to see you.’ Temperance embraced them both, grinning from ear to ear. ‘I thought at one point I would never see you again.’

  ‘Temi!’

  At the sound of her name being shouted above the din in the courtyard, they all three turned and watched as Kazuo came running towards them. He had eyes only for Temperance and didn’t even see her companions as he swept her into a fierce embrace with one arm, his other one being encased in a sling. She returned it, forgetting her cousins for the moment, and clung to him, happiness bursting through her.

  ‘Temi, my love, are you all right?’

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m fine. But what happened to you? Are you much hurt?’

  ‘No, a mere scratch. It’s healing nicely.’

  They stared at each other, oblivious to their surroundings, before embracing once more. Kazuo kissed her like there was no tomorrow and she gave herself up to the enjoyment of it, forgetting everyone around them.

  ‘Ahem. Is there something we should know about?’ Nico said loudly, reminding Temperance of their presence. She felt her cheeks grow hot and let go of Kazuo, although she held on to his hand almost defiantly.

  ‘This is Kazuo Kanno, my, er … my husband to be. If you don’t mind. And if his father agrees. Although if he doesn’t, we’ll marry anyway. Isn’t that right, Kazuo?’

  Kazuo nodded and squeezed her hand, but before he had time to reply, Midori interrupted. ‘But what about Mr Haag? I thought you were promised to him?’

  ‘What? Pieter Haag? Never! He would have been the last man on earth I’d want to marry, you know that,’ Temperance protested. ‘And anyway—’

  But Midori laughed and didn’t allow her to finish the sentence. ‘Just teasing. In fact, you couldn’t marry him even if you wanted to because he seems to have gone missing. He apparently set off in pursuit of you, as far as we understand, but never returned.’

  ‘Yes, well, I’m afraid there’s a reason for that – he’s no longer alive.’ Temperance shuffled her feet slightly. ‘He was wounded in a skirmish, fighting on Lord Tanaka’s behalf, but no one knew so he was put in your brother’s dungeon without having his cuts seen to. The guards found him the next day and … it was too late. I’m sorry. I feel bad because I asked Lord Kumashiro to keep him there for a while in order to teach him a lesson and he very kindly agreed. Only we had no idea he was hurt so badly. He never said.’

  Nico shook his head. ‘A shame, but you weren’t to know. Haag wasn’t the easiest of men and I’m sure he didn’t help matters. I’ll talk to Ichiro, think no more about it.’ He abruptly changed the subject. ‘Now then, about this marriage …?’

  Midori and Nico were still looking at Kazuo, who bowed to them formally, his expression serious now. ‘I apologise for not introducing myself, but I didn’t realise Temi was with someone.’

  ‘Are you indeed her husband-to-be?’ Nico asked, looking merely curious to Temperance’s great relief.

  ‘Yes. I have spoken to my father and he has agreed, so I hope we can go ahead with the ceremony as soon as possible. In fact, here he comes now, so he can confirm it himself.’

  They all watched as what looked like an older version of Kazuo approached across the courtyard, smiling broadly. ‘There you are, my son. I wondered where you disappeared off to, but now I can see what drew you in this direction.’ He bowed to Temperance, staring at her blonde hair and blue eyes in fascination, before recalling his manners and bowing to Midori and Nico in turn. They all bowed back.

  Temperance felt her cheeks heat up. ‘I am pleased to meet you at last, Kanno-sama.’

  ‘Father, I was just telling Temi and her relatives that you have agreed to our marriage. Is that not so?’

  ‘Indeed. How could I refuse after the young lady saved your life?’

  ‘Really, I did nothing special …’ Temperance felt embarrassment stain her cheeks an even deeper red.

  ‘That’s not what I have heard,’ Kanno senior smiled again, ‘but I like your modesty. A good trait in a wife. Still, my son has the permission of the Shogun himself, so who am I to gainsay such an exalted man?’

  ‘The Shogun?’ Temperance gasped and stared at Kazuo. ‘You told him about me?’

  ‘But of course. He would have found out anyway, he has spies everywhere you know.’

  ‘And what did he say?’ Temperance hardly dared believe this.

  ‘Well, although he doesn’t like foreigners in general, he gave me his special permission to marry you becau
se of your bravery. I could see it went against the grain, but I have promised him we won’t live on the mainland and he seemed satisfied with that. We will be going to the Oki islands as soon as possible. Will you mind?’

  ‘No, I’ll live anywhere, as long as I can be with you.’ Temperance turned to her future father-in-law. ‘And you, my lord, are you staying on the mainland?’

  ‘Oh yes, nothing could induce me to set foot on those accursed islands again.’ He chuckled. ‘Unless I have the incentive of visiting a grandchild, that is.’ His eyes twinkled at Temperance and she smiled back at him. She had a feeling he would be a frequent visitor, grandchildren or not, and she looked forward to spending time with him as she already liked him immensely.

  ‘Sounds like you have everything in hand,’ Nico said. ‘Congratulations.’

  ‘Nico, you’re supposed to be acting as her guardian,’ Midori protested, glaring at her husband.

  ‘And so I am. Didn’t you hear me asking the young man his intentions?’

  Midori hit him on the shoulder. ‘That was very half-hearted and you know it. You don’t even know who he is.’

  ‘Well, what would you have me do? Look at our dear cousin. She doesn’t exactly seem as though she’ll brook any interference from me. Likely, she’d run away again. I’m satisfied that Kanno-san’s intentions are honourable and anything else can be discussed later.’ He winked at Temperance, who threw her arms around him and gave him a bear hug.

  ‘You are a wonderful man, Nico. I’ve always said so. You are so lucky, Midori, but now I’m lucky too.’ She took Kazuo’s hand in hers once more and smiled at him. ‘Come, you must be in need of a bath and clean clothes.’ She beckoned to Midori and Nico. ‘You as well. Please, come and meet Ichiro’s wife and children. It must be years since you last saw them. Lady Chie is a gem, I adore her.’ Chattering on, she led the way into the castle.

  ‘You should have been sterner,’ Temperance heard Midori hiss at her husband. ‘Temi’s brother will blame us when he hears about this.’

  ‘Daniel is a very intelligent man, he’ll do no such thing,’ Nico replied. ‘He would want his sister to be happy and have you ever seen anyone happier than that girl right now?’ Temperance turned to see him nodding in her direction and she exchanged a glance of pure delight with her husband-to-be.

  Midori sighed. ‘Only one person – me, the day you asked me to marry you.’

  ‘Well, there you are then. Now lead the way to our room, my little termagant.’

  Temperance rolled her eyes at Kazuo as her cousin once more punched her poor, long-suffering husband on the arm, but he didn’t look as if he minded in the slightest. In fact, quite the opposite. They were perfectly matched and Temperance knew that she and Kazuo were too. Whatever life threw at them from now on, they would weather together.

  Having come to Japan to find excitement and adventure, she felt sure that despite everything she had been through, the adventure was only just beginning.

  Epilogue

  April 1650

  Temperance and Kazuo stood on the newly strengthened balcony of the little temple in the forest, where they had hidden from Tanaka, and looked out at the magnificent view across the valley. It seemed a long time ago now, that desperate journey from Edo, but the intimacy of their brief moments together here remained vivid in her memory and made Temperance give her husband’s hand a squeeze. He looked at her and smiled, no doubt thinking about the same thing.

  Daisuke, the monk, came to stand in the doorway behind them. ‘All is ready for the purification ritual,’ he announced. ‘And I think my namesake is getting slightly fractious so we’d better hurry. Perhaps it is soon time for his meal?’ As if to concur with this, the sound of a baby’s grizzling could be heard from inside the temple.

  ‘No, he’s just impatient, like his mother.’ Kazuo bent to kiss his wife to show that he was joking.

  Temperance shook her head at him. ‘Or maybe he’s always hungry, like his father?’

  ‘Well, I have to eat a lot. I’m still recovering my strength after the ordeals I went through.’

  Temperance just snorted. Her husband had recovered ages ago and was as fit as any man – probably fitter since he spent so much time training with his men. Although they had made their home on one of the Oki islands, Kazuo assured her the Shogun might one day call on his services and he intended to be ready.

  ‘I simply cannot risk him taking his wrath out on my family ever again,’ he’d said and Temperance could see his point. But she was very happy with the way things were right now and secretly hoped the ruler would forget all about them so they could continue to live in peace. She knew Kazuo’s father was doing his utmost to help in that respect, offering the services of his other sons whenever anything needed doing. Kanno senior had assured her she need not worry and she believed him.

  They had decided to name their little boy after the monk because without him Kazuo might not have lived to sire him at all. It seemed an auspicious choice. Little Dai, as he was usually called, was a strong and healthy baby with a huge set of lungs, a delight to his parents, grandparents and Temperance’s relatives. They met up whenever possible and had all gathered here today for the monk to perform a purification of the recently refurbished building.

  ‘It’s normally done for newly built structures,’ Daisuke had written to them, ‘but I feel as though this temple has begun its life anew and therefore it seems fitting to do this. I would be honoured if you could be present.’

  ‘It will be our pleasure,’ Kazuo had replied, even though it would be a risk for Temperance to travel across the mainland. She’d once again dressed in men’s clothing, hiding her hair as before and keeping her eyes downcast. But this time she’d had Nico and Midori by her side, also in disguise, which made things easier, as well as Ryo and the other outlaws who had tired of their nomadic lifestyle and pledged their allegiance to Kazuo and had now made their home on the Oki islands.

  ‘We’re not missing out on this,’ Midori said with a smile when they met up on the coast. ‘Ichiro told me what was happening and said he was going, so just you try and keep us away. Besides, his men will protect us if necessary.’

  ‘So will Kazuo’s,’ Temperance replied, glancing at Ryo who had overheard and was smiling and nodding at her words. She knew he would lay down his life for her and her family, which was a comforting thought.

  ‘I’m so grateful to your father for restoring the temple,’ Daisuke murmured now to Kazuo as they made their way to the inner room of the temple, which was no longer gloomy and damp. ‘It’s as beautiful as I always imagined it could be.’

  And indeed it was. All the rotten timbers had been replaced, the holes in the steep roofs repaired, pillars painted a bright fiery red and everything polished, cleaned and spruced up. The building smelled of paint and beeswax mixed with cedar wood and various types of incense. Temperance breathed in these fragrances and stored them in her memory. Outside, the forest had been cut back and the temple grounds tamed and pruned to show nature to its best advantage. Temperance felt it was a magical place, the site where she had finally begun to hope that her love for Kazuo might be reciprocated.

  A new red-painted torii – a traditional Japanese gate made of two sturdy upright pillars and two crossbars, with curved ends on the top one – had been erected at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the temple. It added a wonderful splash of colour to the surrounding greenery, where trees were bursting into their light green spring colour. Just outside the temple itself stood two sakura trees in full bloom, one either side of the path, and the white blossom petals floated on the breeze like thistledown, ending up in little drifts in various corners. It was a sight Temperance would never tire of, she was sure.

  ‘Here, you’d better hold the little varmint.’ Midori, with Casper and Emi trailing in her wake, came over to hand Dai into his mother’s arms where he snuggled contentedly as the monk began his rituals. He remained quiet through the ringing of a bell, clapping of hands
and chanting, as if he understood the importance of this day and the part this wonderful place had played in his life.

  One day Temperance would tell him about it and she vowed to bring him back when he was older so he could see it for himself. To her, the temple represented hope and new life, and as they all left the building she lagged behind to perform one final task. She stopped before the little stone god by the entrance. His bald head gleamed in the sunlight while his bronze eyes glittered. She bowed low, holding Dai close, and smiled at him.

  ‘Thank you so much for your help. I shall be forever grateful,’ she whispered, and was almost sure she saw a twinkle in response.

  ‘As will I, thank you.’ Kazuo’s voice was slightly louder and she looked up to find him bowing to the god as well before putting his arm around her and their son.

  Musubi-no-Kami, the god of love, hadn’t just shown her the way to the inner room, to safety, that cold October day, he’d outdone himself since. He had given both of them the greatest treasure they could ever have – a perfect soulmate.

  Author’s Note

  Although I try to stick to known historical facts as much as possible, as an author I sometimes have to use a little bit of ‘artistic licence’ to make the story more exciting. In the case of this novel, I have described the Yoshiwara pleasure district of Edo as it looked slightly later than during this period. It existed at the time this story is set, but didn’t actually become a separate walled-in area until 1657.

  The foreign traders were restricted in the ways I describe. I have been to Dejima myself where you really do get an understanding of how claustrophobic it must have been for them and how frustrating not to be allowed on the mainland. I would thoroughly recommend a visit for anyone going to Japan as it’s a fascinating place!

  I have not used real people in this story, apart from the Shogun, preferring to make them up, and I hope my portrayal of him is fair.

  About the Author

  Christina lives near Hereford and is married with two children. Although born in England she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden. In her teens, the family moved to Japan where she had the opportunity to travel extensively in the Far East.