The Gilded Fan (Choc Lit) (12 page)

November 1641

Their lessons progressed, and Nico came to her cabin most afternoons for an hour or so. Midori enjoyed his company immensely, and found the things he was teaching her fascinating. Sparring with Nico was also a pleasure and she delighted in making him smile at her ‘foreign’ ideas.

‘I think I’d better watch myself, or you’ll soon convert me instead of the other way round,’ he laughed one afternoon, after she had explained to him in more detail about her beliefs in the spirits of her ancestors. ‘Christians would be scandalised to hear me say so, but some of your theories make as much sense as anything in the Bible.’

Midori pretended horror. ‘How can you say that? You’ll be struck down by lightning instantly.’

He looked upwards as if waiting for God to smite him, then shook his head, the blue eyes twinkling with amusement. ‘No, in that case your entire nation would be extinct, wouldn’t you say?’

‘My point precisely. Personally, I would prefer my spirit to live on in this world for a while so I can watch over my children, if I have any. Why would I want to go to Heaven?’

‘Because your children will join you there?’

‘That might take a long time, and I couldn’t help them.’

Nico shook his head. ‘I think you’d best read some more and try to think about it from our perspective. You’re going to have to be very careful, Midori. You can’t afford to antagonise people if you really want to stay in England.’

She sighed. ‘I know you’re right. I will try, really I will, but … Do
you
truly believe in this? All of it?’ She indicated the Bible, which was lying open between them on the bunk.

‘Well …’ He shrugged. ‘I have to admit I was never a very attentive pupil, only learning things by rote when I had to. As I told you before, I’m strongly of the opinion that if a person does his best and works hard, they will reap the rewards they deserve come Judgement Day.’

Midori thought about his words and after a lengthy silence she added, ‘Do you think my relatives will mind that I’m different?’

Nico gazed out of the tiny window. ‘I don’t know. They’d probably welcome you out of Christian duty, but I can’t say whether they’ll be pleased to see you. I think you have to be prepared to be considered something of an … oddity, perhaps.’

Midori’s heart sank. ‘Am I so very different, then?’

Nico didn’t answer immediately, and then he turned and put out a hand to run his rough fingers down her cheek while looking deep into her eyes. ‘I would say so, yes.’ He smiled, taking the sting out of his words by adding, ‘But in a good way.’

His smile and the touch of his fingers made her feel all warm inside and sent a spark shooting through her veins. He was so close. If she leaned forward she could …
No, what am I thinking?
His nearness confused her, but his words weren’t exactly comforting and she concentrated on them.

‘It would seem I’m doomed to be forever the odd one out.’ Midori sighed, despair creeping over her like an insidious poison. All she’d ever wanted was to belong somewhere, to be liked for who she was. Now she was yet again attempting to fit in where she was destined to stand out. Was there nowhere in the world where she would be considered normal?

Nico got to his feet, as if he was restless. ‘Your relatives might be overjoyed to see you, who knows?’ he said gently.

Midori stood up as well since his height felt intimidating from her sitting position. He was very close to her in the confined space and she had to look up to catch the sympathy in his eyes. She restrained herself from leaning her head on his shoulder. It was so broad, so near and so tempting, but her problems were not his. She sighed again. ‘Yes, you’re right, I do hope so.’

‘You’ll just have to wait and see and in the meantime I’ll prepare you as best I can. Your appearance can’t be altered, of course, but I think your behaviour will be of more importance.’

Midori resolved to behave impeccably and to that end, took a step back and turned away from temptation.

December 1641

Six weeks after leaving Dejima, the
Zwarte Zwaan
dropped anchor in the placid, muddy green waters of the Java Sea, just outside a walled town. The coast was an almost straight line here and a massive fortress dominated the view along the shore.

‘What is this place?’

It was early evening and Nico had brought Midori up on deck himself so she wouldn’t miss all the excitement of their arrival. The two of them stood by the ship’s railing, slightly apart from everyone else, watching the shore come nearer as the sun went down and the moon swiftly rose in its place.

‘It is called Batavia and it belongs to the Dutch nation. It’s a sort of general rendezvous for all our ships going to and from the Spice Islands beyond the Straits of Sunda and on the way to India, the China Sea and Japan.’

‘I see. And the Dutch conquered it?’

‘Yes. It was necessary to acquire a strategic position between the Indian and Pacific oceans, otherwise trade would have floundered. This is ideal as it commands the western end of the Java Sea through which all spice trade has to pass.’

‘And the fortress, I assume that’s for defence, then?’ Midori gazed at the imposing edifice, which was surrounded by a sturdy wall and a moat. Nico nodded. ‘Against whom?’

He smiled. ‘Everyone, I should think. As I said, this port is needed for the success of the Dutch East India Company, but they’re not alone in wanting a foothold in these parts. The Company’s governor-general is housed in that fortress, as well as all the senior officials, and of course there’s a garrison to defend them. Never fear, we won’t be attacked by natives if that’s what worries you, although it has happened in the past.’

‘I’m not worried …’ Midori began, then stopped as she realised he was staring at her in a strange way. ‘What is it?’

‘Your eyes,’ he said, looking into their depths, then nodding towards the water where a moonbeam now lit the murky green of the sea. It made the surface shimmer as if by magic in the half-light. ‘They look just the same. Like the moon over green water.’ He laughed suddenly and shook his head. ‘Sorry, I think your penchant for writing poetry is rubbing off on me. Lord help us.’

Midori opened her mouth to reply, but before she could think of anything suitable to say, he’d already sauntered off to give more orders, beckoning for Harding to take his place beside her. She followed Nico with her eyes for a moment, admiring his tall, broad-shouldered frame and the graceful way he walked, despite his size. Although he was so different from the men she’d been raised with, she didn’t find his height and looks strange. After only a few weeks in his company she’d become used to them. In fact, if she was completely honest, she would have to admit to more than that – she found him extremely attractive. His intensely blue eyes in a tanned face, the little crow’s feet at the edge of them from squinting at the horizon, the golden hairs on his muscular forearms … all these things drew her gaze, even though she tried not to notice them.

And what did he think of her? He was taken with her eyes, that much was clear, since this was the second time he’d commented on them. Did he like anything else about her? She thought perhaps he did, but he was an enigmatic man who kept his thoughts to himself, so she couldn’t be sure.
And what if he does?
A shiver slithered up her spine and she acknowledged to herself that the possibility tantalised her.
More than it ought to.

She stood by the railing for quite a long time, thinking about Nico and how far she had come already. Japan seemed so distant, yet sometimes it felt as if this journey was all a dream and she would soon wake up in her own familiar surroundings at Castle Shiroi. The sights, sounds and smells around her were all too real, however, and she was brought back to reality. There was no turning back now, and if she was perfectly honest, would she want to?

The first few days in port were busy ones for the crew, as some of the cargo had to be unloaded in order to be traded for goods that could more readily be sold in Europe. Midori stood on deck with Jochem for hours on end, watching as the men toiled. Harding, with his immense strength, was needed elsewhere.

There were ships and boats of all shapes and sizes around them and people of various nationalities calling out to each other in unintelligible languages. Midori found it exciting to listen to them all and asked Jochem to identify their countries of origin for her if he could. Although she recognised the Europeans, she had never seen any Chinese, Indian or native Indonesian people before. Most of them wore light tropical clothing, even the Europeans.

‘The outfits are called sarongs,’ Jochem told her.

As it was the middle of December, the heat wasn’t as intense as during the summer months. Combined with the humidity it was still warm enough to be uncomfortable though, especially for the foreigners who weren’t used to such conditions.

‘Won’t be much longer now. We’ve nearly finished.’ Harding came up behind them and Midori turned to greet him.

‘Then what will happen?’

‘The men’ll be given leave to go ashore at last. They’ll want to celebrate Christmas, I expect.’

Midori nodded. Her mother had told her about this festival, but at Castle Shiroi they had followed the Japanese tradition and only celebrated New Year. ‘Is that possible here?’

‘Well, not like at home, but no doubt they’ll spend every penny they’ve earned in the grog shops and brothels …’ He stopped abruptly, and turned a bright shade of red. ‘Beggin’ your pardon, mistress, I shouldn’t be speakin’ of such things to a lady.’

Midori smiled. ‘Please don’t worry about it. But tell me, when will I be allowed on shore?’

‘That I don’t know.’ Harding scratched his bald pate. ‘You’d best ask the cap’n. I’ll fetch him for you.’ He scurried off and came back with Nico in tow.

‘Good morning.’ Nico gave her a brief smile, but seemed distracted. He kept glancing towards the last of the cargo being unloaded. ‘Harding tells me you have a question for me.’

‘I just wondered when I would be allowed to go into the town.’

‘I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until I can escort you and right now I have a lot of other things to do. Sorry.’

‘If I have Harding to guard me, I should be perfectly safe, don’t you think?’

‘Possibly, but I would prefer to take you myself as you’re my responsibility. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d better be on my way.’

He bowed to her and left, leaving Midori to wonder at his insistence that he wanted to accompany her himself. ‘Is Batavia a dangerous city, Harding?’ she asked.

‘Well, no more’n any other, I suppose.’

‘So why can’t I go with you?’

Harding frowned. ‘Dunno, but I wouldn’t like to go against the cap’n’s orders, mistress.’

Midori sighed. ‘Very well, I’ll just have to wait and see then.’

The captain, however, remained occupied and, for the next few days, Midori waited impatiently for the promised outing. It seemed Nico was busy with disposing of his cargo and finding a new one, and this took up all his waking hours. She sought out the first mate, who was a particular friend of Nico’s, and left messages that she would like a word with the captain, but he never came to find her.

On the fourth morning, she temporarily forgot about wanting to go ashore when Harding came to fetch her, looking worried.

‘It’s the boy, he’s not well, mistress. I don’t know what to do. The ship’s surgeon has gone ashore and I’ve no experience of these things.’

‘Let me have a look at him.’

Harding took her to Jochem immediately and they found him in his hammock below deck, sweat running in little rivulets down his face and bare torso. Midori put a hand on the youth’s brow and almost flinched – he was burning up. ‘Oh dear, he’s caught a fever. Has anyone else been ill recently?
Mijnheer
de Jong hasn’t asked me to help him since we arrived here.’

‘Some of the other fellows had it a few days ago, but the surgeon said as how he could handle it hisself.’ Harding looked ever more worried now. ‘Though one of ’em died.’

‘I hope it won’t come to that, Harding. I think I know just the thing to cure this, but I need a special kind of herb. You’ll have to buy it for me in town.’

‘Me? But I won’t know what it looks like.’

Midori described the herb she was after, but it soon became clear to her Harding wouldn’t recognise it. He didn’t seem able to grasp the differences between the various plants she was talking about and she knew then she’d have to obtain it herself somehow.

‘Never mind,’ she told him soothingly, as he was looking more and more flustered. ‘I’ll go and speak to the captain to see if anyone else can do it. You stay here and sponge Jochem with cold water. Just keep doing that, over and over, until he cools down a little and see if you can’t make him drink something. He really must.’

The captain had gone ashore again, though, and there didn’t seem to be anyone else about who could be trusted to buy the right herbs. Feeling frustrated beyond belief, Midori finally decided to take matters into her own hands. She went in search of Harding again.

‘I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take me into the town. Can you find someone to keep sponging Jochem while we’re away?’

‘I suppose, but are you sure?’

‘It’s not as if we have a choice. We’ve got to save the boy.’

Harding nodded. ‘All right, I’ll find someone to look after him.’

‘Meet me on deck as soon as you can,’ Midori said and went to prepare for the visit to town. She made sure she had a sharp knife tucked inside her sleeve and enough silver for any purchases she might wish to make, before leaving her cabin.

Most of the men had gone ashore too, and it was eerily silent on deck. There was nothing to be heard except the soft slapping of waves against the hull and the screeching of sea birds. Everyone left behind either sat around desultorily gazing towards land, waiting for their turn to go ashore, or slept in whatever shade they could find.

While leaning over the railing earlier, Midori had noticed the ship’s boat was tied to the stern. ‘Can we take that?’ she asked Harding as he came up behind her.