The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit)

by Christina Courtenay

  ‘Not at all, I’m just happy to be here with you.’

  Hannah meant it. She didn’t feel like a prisoner in any sense of the word, unless you counted being a slave to your feelings, in which case she was well and truly captured. Staying in his rooms, waiting for him to return to spend each night with her, however, was not in itself a hardship. She would happily do that.

  Several days passed, when Hannah gathered that Taro and his party had finally been to see the Shogun. The exalted man had kept them waiting for days, no doubt still annoyed at their seeming reluctance to come. He finally relented and was, according to Taro, graciousness personified.

  ‘He’s a very shrewd man,’ he added. ‘It would never do to underestimate him. I wouldn’t like to have him as my enemy.’

  ‘No, indeed. So will you comply with his wishes, and leave your son here in Edo when you return north?’ Hannah dared to ask.

  ‘I have no choice. My castle is so far away, the Shogun doesn’t have any other means of making sure I’m not up to mischief. I can understand his reasoning. Not that I would ever do anything to harm him, but of course, he can’t simply take my word for that.’

  ‘Why not? In England lords swear fealty to their king. Why can’t you do the same?’

  ‘We do, but aren’t there men in your country who break their oaths?’

  ‘I suppose so, but –’

  ‘Well there you are. The Shogun can’t take that risk. Or is unwilling to. Either way, my son has to stay here and Reiko will remain as well for the moment. Ichiro won’t be her responsibility, however. I have invited a widowed aunt of mine to come and take charge of him. I’ve always been a particular favourite of hers, so I know I can trust her to keep him safe. Naturally, I will also travel down to see them frequently. Now, let’s talk of other things, I don’t want to think of leaving little Ichiro here.’

  Hannah noticed he didn’t say he was reluctant to leave Reiko, but thought it best not to comment on that. It was none of her business.

  ‘Have you been bored?’ he asked. ‘Or have you managed to occupy yourself in my absence?’

  ‘I’ve been fine, but I have to confess I’m longing to go out. Is there no way we could walk around a little? It seems a shame to visit a great city like Edo and not see any part of it.’

  Taro considered for a moment, a slight frown creasing his brow. ‘Perhaps we could make a short excursion. I could take you to see a great temple?’

  ‘Yes, please, if it’s not too dangerous for us to go out together?’

  ‘You can wear your disguise again and just stay close to me.’

  ‘Then thank you, I’d like that.’

  When they left his mansion later that day, Hannah wasn’t the only one in disguise. Taro had dressed far less ostentatiously than usual, so he could pass for a merchant or someone similar. They were followed by only two guards, who stayed at a discreet distance.

  ‘I often do this,’ Taro told her. ‘A man can learn so much more when mingling with others at their level. People are far more likely to talk to a prosperous merchant than a daimyo. I acquire all sorts of useful information.’

  Edo was a large, bustling city and Hannah was glad she had Taro to guide her. Left to her own devices, she was sure she would have become completely lost. It didn’t help that she couldn’t look around much to get her bearings. Although she peeked out from under the brim of her hat from time to time, she didn’t dare do it too often, in case anyone spotted her unusual eyes. Therefore she only had quick glimpses of houses, temples and pleasure gardens, all thronged with people. The sheer scale of it reminded her a little of London, which she had visited once, but in all other respects it was like a different world, exotic and exciting.

  They approached the Sensoji Temple through a huge gate, or mon as Taro called it, with pillars either side of it painted bright red. A long street led straight up to a second, slightly smaller mon. Beyond that could be seen the temple’s main building and a five storey pagoda.

  ‘This temple is in honour of the goddess Kannon,’ Taro said, as he led the way through the smaller gate. Immediately in front of them, clouds of smoke billowed out of an urn set up under a small roof. Hannah could smell the delicate fragrance of incense in the air. ‘Rub some smoke onto your body,’ Taro instructed her. ‘It has restorative powers,’ he added and showed her how to do this. There were lots of other people doing the same, wafting the smoke towards themselves by flapping their hands.

  ‘I’m not ill any longer,’ she protested, but still followed his example, feeling slightly wicked as it seemed a very un-Christian thing to do. She didn’t care though, she was just happy to have had a chance to see this wonderful place.

  The temple precinct teemed with people, paying to have their fortunes told, praying or just generally milling around. She kept her eyes mostly on the ground, but she could still see enough to be impressed by the beautiful old buildings. They continued up the steps into the main hall. Taro clapped his hands several times before bowing to the place where a statue of the goddess was said to be held.

  ‘You don’t know for sure?’ Hannah asked in a whisper when he told her this.

  Taro shrugged. ‘She’s too holy to be on show.’

  Hannah copied his actions, but she didn’t pray. It would have felt wrong to pray to her own god in such surroundings. She didn’t feel she could ask any other gods or goddesses, if indeed they existed, to intercede for her either.

  ‘Let’s eat something,’ Taro suggested. He led her over to the side of the temple precinct, where there were booths selling all manner of delicious smelling food, catering to everyone’s tastes. He bought some yakitori, little bits of chicken that had been basted with a sweet sauce and then threaded onto sticks and grilled. They found a place to sit down to one side of the temple. ‘It feels good to spend time outside with just you,’ he told her with a smile, ignoring the two guards who still kept them under discreet observation.

  ‘I’m glad you had the time to take me. This is a wonderful place, exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to see when I came to your country.’

  It was exciting to be out and about with him. She could pretend they were an ordinary couple, man and wife even, spending a day together. While they sat in companionable silence, eating their chicken, she marvelled that she could feel so at ease with Taro. After all, he was a man who had abducted her against her will. Yet he had never used violence against her, only treated her with infinite patience. And he’d shown her a side to himself she suspected not many others saw. He might be a barbarian, according to people like Rydon, but he was a fiercely intelligent man. He lived his life in accordance with the rules of his country and, from what Hannah had heard, ruled his domain with fairness. Here was a man she could admire, unlike the men her own family had chosen for her.

  Life was strange, she thought. She glanced at Taro, who smiled at her, and a frisson of pure happiness shot through her. If only it could always be like this …

  A loud voice, discordant among the soft murmuring of the Japanese people all around, intruded on her bubble of joy and burst it comprehensively.

  ‘Would you look at those pillars! I must say, red is a rather garish colour for a place of worship, wouldn’t you agree? Quite shocking, really. But then what can one expect from heathens?’

  ‘Heathens? I’ll have you know they’re extremely civilised …’

  She looked up and caught sight of two men who stood out from the group of people around them like peacocks in a hen house. Foreigners, one tall and fair, the other even taller, but with darker hair. They were creating quite a stir among the people around them, who seemed to be whispering about them. The speaker, whose voice she would have known anywhere, was none other than Rydon. Hannah gasped and turned to hide her face in Taro’s shoulder.

  ‘Oh, no!’ she got out in a strangled whisper.

  ‘What’s the matter? Ah, I see.’ Hannah heard him swear under his breath. ‘Is that the man you were married to?’

 
‘Yes,’ Hannah replied, closing her eyes to shut out the sight. ‘Yes, it is and another man whom I don’t recognise.’

  ‘That’s Anjin-san, the Englishman who is on good terms with the Shogun. I’ve met him before.’ Taro was quiet for a moment, as if he was contemplating the two men, then asked, ‘So what happens now?’ His voice was quiet, but there was an edge of steel to it, as if he was holding his temper in check, but only just.

  ‘We have to leave immediately,’ Hannah blurted out, then drew in a sharp breath. ‘I mean …’ She looked up and stared at Taro, who was now regarding her with a strange look on his face. ‘No, I must go over there, mustn’t I?’ she asked in a small voice, swallowing past the lump which had risen in her throat and threatened to choke her.

  Taro’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is that what you really want? I thought you had agreed to stay with me for a while longer. I told you about the ships and swore to return you to your countrymen in time for you to sail back with them. Seeing them has made you change your mind?’

  Hannah continued to look into his eyes, trying to read his mind, her own in turmoil. Did he want her to stay? Did she mean anything to him? Did it matter? ‘I don’t know. I … should go, you know I should.’

  She knew what she ought to do, of course, where her duty lay, and yet, her entire being rebelled against doing what was right. She didn’t want to go back. It was too soon. She wanted to stay with Taro, just a little longer.

  Her indecisiveness seemed to galvanise him into action. Without further ado, he pulled her to her feet and, holding her hand in a firm grip, towed her towards the temple entrance. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I take back what I said. You have no choice. I’m keeping you for the time being whether you want to or not.’

  Taro didn’t know why he was so angry. He had known this day would come and it would have been very simple to abandon Hannah in the crowd so she could rejoin her countrymen. She would never have been able to prove that it was the mighty Taro Kumashiro who’d had her kidnapped. It would have been her word against his.

  But he couldn’t do it.

  The thought of her with that yellow-haired captain turned his stomach. She’d said she didn’t want the man and their marriage was over, but what if she had changed her mind? Seeing her former husband after weeks as a captive among strange people might have made her look upon him more fondly. After all, she didn’t exactly fit in at Shiroi Castle.

  No, she was bound to be homesick. Perhaps to the extent that even a man she’d previously scorned would begin to look attractive. Though how anyone could find that stinking brute to their liking was more than Taro could understand.

  He balled up the fist that wasn’t holding Hannah’s arm in an almost painful grip. Realising how hard he was squeezing her, he lessened the pressure a little, although she didn’t seem to notice either way.

  How had he got himself into this mess? Why couldn’t he let her go? The questions swirled around inside his brain endlessly, all the way back to his mansion. There was no answer, however, except for the fact that this was how it was. Somehow he was ensnared in her tentacles, whether they were real or not.

  He would have to consider this some more, but right now he couldn’t think straight. He just wanted Hannah.

  Now and for the foreseeable future.

  Taro virtually frog-marched her back to his Edo house at high speed. The two guards who followed them had to trot to keep up. Once there, he dragged her back to his quarters and pulled the door shut with a thud.

  Out of breath, Hannah turned to him, intending to say something. She didn’t get any further than opening her mouth before he swooped on her, pulling her into a crushing embrace. He tugged impatiently at her boyish clothing and the cloth that bound her hair, until she was half-naked with her hair tumbling all around her in a mass of curls.

  ‘I want you, Akai,’ he whispered hoarsely. ‘I am not giving you back, not yet.’

  ‘But I –’

  ‘No, you have no say in the matter.’

  He didn’t give her a chance to tell him she was profoundly grateful, despite the guilt that gnawed at her. As he made love to her with an almost desperate urgency, she felt as if she’d had a very lucky escape. Leaving him would have been sheer agony. She loved him, she knew that now beyond any doubt. And even though it was a love that was doomed from the start, she’d hang on for as long as she possibly could.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  ‘I hear you’re staying a bit longer, gai-jin. That’s too bad.’

  Hannah looked up from the piece of paper she was sketching on and shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand. She had been sitting in the peaceful private garden attached to Taro’s quarters, waiting for him to return for the evening meal. He had finally calmed down when she’d made him understand she was in complete agreement with him and was, in fact, very happy to stay. She gathered he’d thought she preferred to go back to Rydon, but he soon realised this was far from the truth. After that, he returned to his usual imperturbable self.

  Now here was the Lady Reiko instead, glaring at her with her piercing dark eyes.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ Hannah didn’t know what the woman was doing here, nor why she had come. She decided to act stupid in an attempt to deflect Reiko’s anger.

  ‘You should have gone back to the other foreigners when you had the chance. I was told what happened at the temple,’ Reiko said. ‘You may come to regret your decision.’

  ‘I had no choice in the matter.’ Hannah gritted her teeth, becoming angry now, more so because she knew Reiko was right. ‘Lord Kumashiro dragged me away and threatened to kill me if I so much as opened my mouth.’ The first part, at least, was true. If Reiko had sent someone to spy on them, which she must have done or she wouldn’t have known about the foreigners, then she knew this was what had happened. Hannah saw by the tightening of Reiko’s mouth that it had been reported to her.

  ‘I’m sure you didn’t resist too much,’ she spat. ‘Tell me, is it the done thing in your country to steal other women’s husbands?’

  ‘Lord Kumashiro isn’t married,’ Hannah stated boldly.

  ‘As good as,’ Reiko muttered, but Hannah ignored this.

  ‘I’m the injured party here. I was abducted, if you’ll remember?’

  ‘I haven’t seen you try very hard to escape,’ Reiko sneered.

  ‘How can I, in a foreign country where I don’t know my way around and with no money?’

  ‘So if I give you money and the opportunity to go, you would leave?’ Reiko regarded her with her eyebrows raised, as if in disbelief, and Hannah felt a strong urge to hit the woman. She wanted to scream, of course I don’t want to leave, but knew that would be extremely foolish.

  ‘Yes, I would,’ she said calmly, fixing Reiko with a glare from her blue eyes, which seemed to disconcert her opponent slightly.

  ‘Very well, I’ll arrange it then. I might even be able to find someone who can take you to Anjin-san’s house. He will no doubt know how to return you to your countrymen. But just remember, if you breathe so much as a word to Lord Kumashiro about this, you’ll regret it.’ Reiko swept back down the path with an angry swish of her kimono, and Hannah was left alone once more.

  She leaned her head against the wall behind her and took deep breaths to calm herself. What on earth was she to do now?

  As it turned out, she had no need to worry. Taro came striding out into the garden half an hour later with his mouth set in a grim line.

  ‘We’re leaving for the north in an hour and I’ve posted guards so don’t even think of trying to escape.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You heard me. Now if you have anything to pack, do so, or it will be left behind.’

  He strode off again, presumably to issue more orders, and Hannah was left staring after him. It dawned on her that he must have been playing the same game as Reiko. Someone had been spying on them when she came to visit earlier. Presumably Taro now thought Hannah wanted to leave, since her words must have been reported to
him, and he wasn’t best pleased. She shook her head and sighed.

  ‘What a tangle,’ she muttered, but there was nothing she could do to soothe his ruffled feathers at the moment. She would have to wait until they were well on their way and had left Reiko behind, her plotting to no avail.

  At least Hannah had been spared having to fake an escape attempt.

  They travelled back to Castle Shiroi with slightly less of an entourage, which made their progress faster. As soon as they stopped for a midday meal, Hannah realised Taro hadn’t been angry with her at all, he’d only been play-acting for the benefit of any audience.

  ‘Everywhere in Edo there are ears listening, reporting back to someone, somewhere. I was told of Reiko’s conversation with you, so I had to sound harsh. For your own safety, it had to appear as if I was giving you orders you couldn’t refuse.’

  ‘I see, but what about now?’ Hannah glanced around at the rest of the men, feeling as if she was under constant scrutiny. ‘Can’t your words be reported back to Edo from here?’

  ‘Of course, but we must take care never to speak about anything of importance when someone else is nearby. At the moment, no one is within earshot so we’re safe.’

  ‘Very well, I’ll be on my guard. You know I didn’t really want to escape, don’t you?’

  The look he sent her was one of pure male satisfaction. ‘I gathered that last night. You didn’t seem like a woman trying to avoid me then.’

  Hannah felt her cheeks heat up and cuffed him playfully on the arm. ‘Taro!’

  Serious once more, he took her hand for a moment and squeezed her fingers. ‘You must promise to tell me if you really want to leave though.’

  She nodded. ‘I promise.’

  Somehow, she didn’t think that day would ever come.

  ‘Show me the paintings you have done. Your teacher tells me you are progressing well.’ They had been back at Castle Shiroi for two weeks. Taro had come for an unexpected visit to Hannah’s quarters, flustering all the serving women who bustled about finding him the best cushion to sit on and some green tea to drink.