The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) (20 page)

Hannah couldn’t dispute that, but still felt restless. To help her to pass the time, Yukiko took on the task of trying to teach Hannah to read and write in Japanese, and also the art of calligraphy. Since Hannah had always loved to draw, she quickly learned how to form the easier writing called
kana
. These were phonetic renderings of syllables, rather than individual letters, and didn’t take her long to master. The more
complex characters called
kanji
were an entirely different matter, however.

‘I’m never going to learn all these,’ she complained one morning, and Yukiko smiled.

‘Perhaps not all of it, but the most common
kanji
at least. It does take time and patience to remember the more difficult ones.’

‘Well, I’ve had enough for today, my mind is spinning. Can I have a piece of charcoal instead to draw with, please?’

A sharp piece was found for her, and to amuse herself she began a rough sketch of Yukiko. The woman had the kind of face that was easy to catch on paper, with distinctive, sharp features. Hannah worked steadily for quite a while, then when she was satisfied, she showed it to the other women. Yukiko gasped and the others exclaimed excitedly over it.

‘Hannah-
san
, that’s beautiful. It looks just like Yukiko,’ Sakura said, her eyes large with wonder. ‘How did you do that?’

‘I just looked at her and drew. Don’t you have portrait painters here? Surely you must.’

‘Well, yes, but a formal portrait never actually looks much like the person it’s supposed to be. It’s more stylised,’ Yukiko explained. ‘But this, this is me.’

Hannah laughed and handed over the piece of rice paper. ‘Please, take it if you like it.’

There was a chorus of, ‘Please draw me,’ from the others, and Hannah was busy for the rest of the morning.

Chapter Twenty-Five

‘You have forgotten to do my hair this evening,’ Hannah said to Sakura when, two weeks later, they made their way to the garden house once again. They were walking slowly, enjoying the beauty of the garden. Tiny lanterns had been lit at intervals to highlight certain features, such as the waterfalls. It was like the setting of a fairytale.

‘No, not forgotten. Lord Kumashiro ordered us to leave it natural today. He wanted to see the swirls.’

‘The swirls?’ Hannah assumed he meant her curls and wondered why his lordship was suddenly interested in them. Although her hair had been oiled into sleek submission every day until now, a few tendrils always escaped and curled around her face. Perhaps he wanted to see if the rest of her hair was the same. Or maybe he had another motive entirely, one she’d rather not think about …

He was sitting immobile on the verandah as usual, and his expression didn’t change at the sight of her hair floating freely around her. Although it had grown some more, it wasn’t as long as some of the other ladies’ hair which hung halfway down their thighs or even further. Having just been washed and dried, the red tresses curled wildly around her head like a cloud of vivid silk threads. She wondered whether he would find it ugly. Her mother had always told her to keep it hidden, since it was such a violent shade of red.

‘Come inside,’ he ordered, still showing no signs of noticing anything unusual. She did as she was told.

The door slid shut, and suddenly he was standing very close behind her. He didn’t speak, just picked up one strand of hair after another, holding them up to the light. Then he wound the curls around his fingers before watching them slide off again. Hannah stiffened and stayed motionless. Having him touch her hair in this way was oddly exciting, but terrifying at the same time.

She realised she’d been holding her breath and let it out slowly, trying to control the fear that had risen inside her. Was this it? Had he decided to bed her and therefore ordered her hair to be left loose? Perhaps he had satisfied his curiosity with all those questions, so was he now turning his interest to her person? She trembled when he picked up yet another length of hair, studying it closely.

‘It’s remarkable,’ he said at last. ‘Look, it changes colour in the light when I twist it.’

‘I … yes. Yes, I suppose it does. I’ve never thought about it.’

‘Strange that it swirls like this.’

‘Yes. I was born with it this way. About half the people in my country are and the others have straight hair or something in between.’ Hannah was still aware of him standing so close and it was having a strange effect on her. She had a sudden urge to lean back and rest her head on his broad chest, then remembered where she was and with whom.

‘Amazing,’ he said again and stroked her hair from the crown of her head down to her waist. She shivered and tried to stand still. ‘It’s so soft too, each hair like a baby’s. See, feel mine, it’s completely different.’ He took her hand and put it on his head, where she reluctantly fingered a strand of his topknot. His hair was thicker than hers, but still fairly sleek and smooth.

‘Yes, you’re right, but your hair is a nice colour too.’ Hannah didn’t know why, but she thought it best to try and compliment him out of this strange mood. ‘It looks to me as if it changes from black to blue in the light, and it’s much shinier than mine.’

‘Perhaps,’ he conceded. ‘When Yanagihara-
san
told me of your hair, I thought he’d gone mad. Some people say he’s a bit crazy, but I’ll never doubt him again.’

‘Who is this Yanagihara-
san
?’ Hannah frowned. She remembered Lord Kumashiro had mentioned him before. ‘And how could he possibly know what I looked like when I’ve never met him?’

‘He’s a seer and he has visions. Usually warnings from the gods, but when he told me about the images of you, we didn’t know what to think. That was partly why I had you brought here, to see if you were a threat in any way.’

‘Me, a threat?’ Hannah laughed. ‘Hardly.’ She grew serious once more. ‘But he actually saw me in a vision? That’s terrifying.’

Lord Kumashiro nodded. ‘You gave him quite a fright, you know. He thought your hair was made of fire tentacles. And as for your eyes …’ He smiled and Hannah was very aware of his dimples yet again. Her fingers itched to explore them, but she suppressed this urge and buried her hands inside the deep sleeves of her
kimono
. ‘I’ll have to take you to see him.’

‘Who?’ Hannah was still staring at his smile and had forgotten what they were discussing.

‘Yanagihara-
san
. He lives in the castle grounds. Perhaps tomorrow if I have the time.’

Lord Kumashiro stretched out a hand and lifted all of Hannah’s hair so that her neck was bare. She half turned away. ‘You have a graceful neck and very white skin,’ he said and caressed the nape of her neck slowly. ‘You’re definitely not as ugly as I expected you to be.’

Hannah came down to earth and moved away from him so that he had to let her hair fall. ‘Ugly?’ She frowned at him. ‘I may not be a great beauty like my sister, but I’ll have you know I’m not ugly.’

‘But that’s what I just said.’ He crossed powerful arms over his chest. ‘Do you find me repulsive? I’m told your people usually do.’

‘Well, no. No, I don’t.’ Hannah didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t possibly tell him she had just been thinking how handsome he was when he smiled. That wouldn’t do at all.

She had never given a thought to Hoji’s looks one way or another, because she thought of him only as a benign older uncle. Now, however, she had to acknowledge that a Japanese man could be very attractive indeed, disturbingly so. Hannah turned her gaze towards the floor in confusion. Had she been among the Japanese for so long they didn’t seem strange to her any more? Was it just the fact that she had become used to them? Somehow, she didn’t think so. It was he, Lord Kumashiro, who had this effect on her. Only him.

‘Good,’ he said, breaking off her thoughts. ‘Then let us eat.’

Taro ate mechanically, without registering what he put in his mouth. His attention was focused entirely on the woman sitting opposite him, a woman who occupied his thoughts to the exclusion of everything else at the moment.

When he had first met her in Hirado, he’d been intrigued by her intelligence and forthright way of speaking, but she had been nothing more than an object of curiosity to him. He’d had her brought to his castle because he wanted to learn more about her and the country she came from, but he’d never expected to feel drawn to her. Fascinated by her odd looks until the novelty wore off, certainly, but nothing else. He realised with surprise that he’d become so used to her see-through eyes and swirling red hair he barely gave them a second thought now. Instead, he was becoming very aware of her as a woman.

The blue eyes were stunning, no doubt about it, but so was her face. It was perfectly proportioned, the eyes wide apart, the nose small and dainty and her mouth, although perhaps a bit on the generous side, beautifully shaped. Her skin was clear and unblemished and looked as soft as dew on a leaf in the morning. He had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke her cheek whenever she was near.

The disturbing truth was that he found her extremely attractive.

His fellow countrymen would think him mad.

She had hardly any manners, didn’t know how to conduct herself while in his presence and her every emotion showed clearly on her face. There was nothing hidden and he doubted she could keep a secret if she tried. He should have deplored such poor self-control, but after what had happened with Hasuko, he couldn’t help but welcome it.

With Hannah-
san
there wouldn’t be any play acting. If he tried to bed her and she didn’t like it, he would know. On the other hand, he had a feeling that if he pleased her, she wouldn’t hesitate to show him. She’d never hold back. If he won her trust and affection, she would give it to him with all her heart.

But was that what he wanted?

He’d noticed she was getting used to him and was less nervous in his presence. The tell-tale shivers when he touched her neck, her hair, had confirmed that she was speaking the truth. She didn’t find him repulsive, far from it. And he wanted her, there was no doubt about it now.

It was madness.

There was no future for them. It was a fact that he’d had her abducted and no one knew where she was at the moment, but he had planned to take her back as soon as he’d satisfied his curiosity. Should he take advantage of her? How would her fellow countrymen react to such an outrage? It might create a furore within the foreign trading community and even be the beginning of warfare. The
Shogun
would have his head, his lands, his entire clan probably.

Surely no woman was worth taking such a risk for?

And what if, having had her, he decided he didn’t want to let her go? Taro frowned at the thought. It had to be better to leave her alone now, send her back straight away.
Remove the temptation.

He sighed. He needed to think about this some more, perhaps discuss it with Yanagihara-
san
.

Not yet though
, he thought.
I can’t part with her yet.
There was so much left to learn.

‘Tell me about the god you worship and his son, the carpenter.’

Hannah looked up from her rice dish and blinked at Lord Kumashiro. ‘You know about Christianity?’

‘Of course. I keep myself well informed about everything that’s going on and I’ve listened to the black-haired foreigners who preach about their god. They claim he’s the only one and all-powerful.’

By ‘black-haired foreigners’, Hannah gathered he meant the Portuguese priests who were trying to convert the heathen Japanese to their faith. ‘What exactly do you want to know, my lord? I mean, if you’ve heard them speak, you must know the story of Jesus. In my country we believe in him and the one true God as well, although there are some differences in our, er, approach.’

She wasn’t sure how to explain about Catholics and Protestants. To him, the two would no doubt sound the same.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I’ve heard the story and I suppose it could be true. Many men have become deities here too. Why do you think there is only one god though? We prefer to believe there are many. Here, we also have spirits,
kami
, who help us with our daily lives. They live in places like rivers, lakes and trees for instance. We give them offerings, pray to them. Don’t you have spirits?’

‘Well, there’s the Holy Ghost. I suppose he’s a spirit. And some people believe in ghosts that are dead people who for some reason stay among the living instead of going to heaven. But that’s not what you mean, is it?’

‘No. We have ghosts too. They’re a different thing entirely.’

‘I don’t really know how to explain it. People in Europe used to believe in lots of gods too, but when Jesus came along he convinced everyone they were wrong. His God was so powerful, you see, there was no need for any others. And he proved it to the people alive at the time.’

‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that. That much power concentrated in one being would be dangerous. Far better to have it divided.’

Hannah thought about this for a moment, then challenged him. ‘So you don’t think your
Shogun
should have all the power in your country?’

‘I didn’t say that.’ He frowned at her. ‘That’s different.’

Hannah shook her head. ‘No, it isn’t. He’s all-powerful in Japan and there’s nothing you can do about it from what I’ve heard.’

Lord Kumashiro’s scowl became ferocious. ‘Never say such a thing again,’ he commanded. ‘There are spies everywhere and you could die for less. Not to mention the fact that you could get me into serious trouble.’

Her heart thudded uncomfortably, but Hannah glared back anyway. ‘Very well, I won’t speak of it, but I don’t see how you can have such double standards. Perhaps if you gave our God a chance, he would help you.’

‘I doubt it. I could add him to the others perhaps, but not pray to him exclusively. In any case I’m quite happy with the gods and spirits I have. One other thing, while we’re on this subject.’

‘Yes?’