The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) (31 page)

‘I’m so g-glad you f-found me,’ Hannah whispered. ‘I-I had q-quite given up h-hope.’

‘It was fate,’ he replied and she felt him tightening his grip. She snuggled further towards his chest and closed her eyes, too exhausted to do anything else.

‘How is she? Will there be any lasting damage?’

Taro knelt by Hannah’s bedside and spoke in a whisper to Yanagihara, who had his palm on her forehead. Hannah was asleep, but her bruised and scratched face still looked ashen and Taro hadn’t been convinced when she told him she was fine.

‘No, she will heal, but you must give her time. She’s had a great shock and her body will react to it.’

‘Did they … touch her?’ Taro hesitated to put into words the awful thing he feared. Although Hannah was now used to the act of love-making, being violated by complete strangers would have been a horrendous ordeal. It was one which he knew women sometimes never recovered from mentally. He couldn’t bear the thought of his Hannah suffering like that and wanted to kill those men with his bare hands for even harming her a little.

Yanagihara shook his head. ‘No. For that, at least, we must be thankful. But she must have been very frightened and to have survived such a fall, that was extraordinary.’ He turned his shrewd gaze on Taro. ‘She wasn’t meant to, you know.’

‘Of course I know. And I’m aware who ordered it, but I can’t prove it. What can I do, Yanagihara-
san
? I can’t have my own sister-in-law tortured until she confesses. Her father would be outraged. All I can think of is to keep a better watch over Hannah, make sure she’s guarded at all times.’

‘Time solves all problems. Don’t fret, my lord. Let us leave her now. I have given her a sleeping draught and it will be many hours before she wakes up.’

With a last look at the sleeping Hannah, Taro left the room with the old man. As they stepped into the corridor, however, a lady came running towards them, shouting, ‘My lord, please come at once. It’s the Lady Reiko …’

Taro had a sense of
déjà-vu
, and wondered if he’d been completely wrong in his assumptions. If his sister-in-law had been abducted as well, then she couldn’t have been behind the attempt on Hannah’s life as he had thought. He scowled at the woman.

‘What’s the matter? Has she been taken too?’

‘No, no, not at all, but she has gone mad. Her father is trying to calm her, but she’s threatening him with a dagger.’ The woman was wringing her hands, her eyes darting from Taro to the old man and back again. ‘What … what shall we do?’

Taro and Yanagihara looked at each other, before setting off at a run towards Lady Reiko’s quarters. Taro arrived well before the older man, and the scene that met his eyes was complete mayhem.

‘What’s the meaning of this?’ he barked and everyone in the room froze, their eyes turned towards him. Yanagihara came shuffling up behind him, panting and wheezing, but Taro ignored him for the moment. His eyes were fixed on Reiko.

Her face was wild and her hair hung down her back in a tangle. Instead of her usual immaculate robes, she was wearing her night clothes and in her right hand she held a lethal-looking dagger which glinted in the light. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth set into an uncompromising line. She recovered quickly from the surprise of his entry and opened her lips to utter a string of expletives, followed by a long harangue.

‘Rotten, low-born peasants … can’t even do a job properly … she should have died, died I tell you! I will not have her in this house, taking what is rightfully mine! Oh, the shame of it, that you should prefer an ugly red-haired foreigner to someone as high-born as myself, or even the concubines I could choose for you. It’s the outside of enough.’ She pointed the dagger towards her father. ‘I told you, my lord, not to marry my sister to this man. I told you he wasn’t worthy, but would you listen? No, of course not.’ She erupted into hysterical laughter. ‘He is one of the worthiest men in all of Japan, ha, ha, that’s what you said. You idiot! Imbecile, cretin, you do not have the discernment of an animal …’

Lord Takaki was holding on to his temper by a very thin straw, by the look of things, and Taro judged it time to intervene. He stepped into the room and advanced towards Reiko. ‘Give me the knife,’ he ordered in clipped tones. ‘You will not hurt Lord Takaki, your honoured father.’ He held out his hand for the knife, but she backed away.

‘Oh, no, if I can’t kill him or her, then I might as well kill you and then myself.’ She laughed again, but her eyes were full of hatred, which she no longer bothered to hide.

Taro wasn’t a renowned swordsman for nothing, however, and he lunged forward, catching her unawares. They grappled for a moment, then he feinted to the left and quick as lightning he turned to grab her wrist. He twisted it until she screamed in pain and the knife fell from her fingers. She writhed and kicked to try to escape, but his grip held firm. He didn’t even let go when she sank her teeth into his forearm. Instead he cuffed her hard and sent her sprawling onto her mattress.

‘Tie her up,’ he commanded the guards who had stood irresolute by the doorway.

She gasped, then curled into a ball and began to wail, a high-pitched, almost unbearable noise.

Taro ignored her and looked to her father for guidance. ‘What would you like me to do with her, my lord? As I am to blame for this, I shall abide by your decision.’ He bowed to the other man.

He did feel some measure of guilt, although he didn’t consider that he had really done anything wrong. A man had a right to have a consort, several in fact, and he had never promised Reiko marriage, even if she had chosen to assume he would. It really wasn’t any business of hers what he did in his own castle.

Lord Takaki sighed. ‘I don’t see that you are to blame. If I understand correctly, my daughter has tried to have your consort murdered. I had hoped … but of course, that’s impossible now.’ He threw his daughter a cold look. ‘Besides, she has insulted me unforgivably. I shall take her back home with me, Lord Kumashiro. Although it brings shame onto my family, I must bear it as best I can. It’s clear to me that something must have been lacking in her upbringing. I shall make enquiries upon my return home and punish those responsible.’

‘I don’t want to live,’ Reiko wailed. ‘I just want to die.’

‘No!’ Taro barked, even though he didn’t really have any jurisdiction over her. He wanted Reiko to stay alive with plenty of time to repent of her crimes.

‘Lord Kumashiro is right,’ Takaki agreed. ‘You will come home with me and you can spend the rest of your days in contemplation of your failings.’

Taro nodded. ‘Thank you, Lord Takaki. I’m sorry it has come to this. The blame is all mine.’

‘No, no, it is surely mine.’

The polite argument went on for some time, with both parties protesting their faults. They each knew it was only a face-saving exercise and at the end of it they both left, satisfied that honour had been upheld. No one was to blame except Reiko, and she would be punished accordingly.

As he headed back to his own rooms, Taro muttered, ‘Good riddance.’ He couldn’t wait to see the back of her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Lord Takaki and his retinue left the very next day and Taro saw them off in person. He looked one last time into the face of Lady Reiko, a face which had once been almost as beautiful as her sister’s. Now there was nothing of that woman left. Only an empty shell remained, the eyes staring sightlessly into the distance, their rims reddened from crying. A feeling of sadness swept over him, but he knew he really wasn’t to blame and there was no point in regretting her loss of sanity. There had been something wrong with her mind all along.

No sooner had Lord Takaki’s party moved out of sight, however, than the cry went up from the guards that another retinue was coming towards the castle. Taro hurried to the top of one of the guard towers for a better view, but he couldn’t see standards of any kind to proclaim who the visitors might be. He frowned.

‘Come and inform me of their identity before you let them in,’ he ordered the captain of the guard, then he strode into the Great Hall.

He sat down in his customary place and waited, trying to keep his impatience in check. Was there never to be any peace in his castle? All he wanted was to spend some time with Hannah. To talk things over, try to persuade her to stay with him always.

‘My lord, if you please,’ the captain came in and bowed low, ‘there is a man outside who claims to be Lady Hannah’s husband. He wishes to know her whereabouts.’

Taro scowled. ‘This is all I need,’ he muttered, but out loud he said, ‘And did you tell him?’

The man looked aghast. ‘Of course not, my lord. No one has told them anything.’

‘Good. See that it stays that way. Tell them I’m very busy at the moment, but I will see them as soon as I can. The foreigner and his men may stay in the castle. Show them to some rooms in the west tower and keep a close eye on them. They’re not to be allowed to walk around at will, understood?’

‘Yes, my lord. At once.’ The captain hurried off and Taro leaned his chin on one fist and sighed.

‘Now what do I do?’ he asked of no one in particular. Then an idea occurred to him and he stood up to go in search of Yanagihara. After all, it was the old man’s fault that Hannah was here in the first place. It was only fair that he should now come up with a solution.

Unfortunately, Yanagihara wasn’t much help.

‘Do you wish her to stay, my lord?’ he asked.

‘Of course I do, but what if the man is still her rightful husband? She told me the marriage was over, but perhaps her husband disagrees?’

‘Does it matter? And either way, would it have stopped you from making her your consort?’

Taro paced the verandah, feeling more agitated than he ever had before. ‘No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know. But of course it matters. If he claims to be her husband according to their barbaric laws, I can’t keep her. The yellow-haired one has the ear of
Anjin-san
, and you know the
Shogun
listens to him. They might do something to Ichiro in retaliation and I can’t allow that to happen.
Chikusho!
I never thought they would come looking for her here, at least not so soon.’

‘Someone must have told them where to find her, but you can always deny she’s here.’

‘That would be pointless now their suspicions have been raised. I don’t think they’ll just go away. They’d be bound to send spies and find out I’d lied.’

‘At least it would stall them for a while.’

‘Are you saying that’s what I should do then?’

‘I’m not going to tell you what to do, my lord. You have to follow your heart.’

‘My heart? You mean my head, surely? My heart has nothing to do with this.’

‘That depends.’

Taro threw up his hands in disgust. It was obviously no use talking to the old man when he was in such a mood. ‘Well, you should never have told me about her coming, then I wouldn’t have this problem now.’

‘It was your destiny to meet, it had nothing to do with me.’

‘Hmph.’ Taro stormed off, completely dissatisfied with such an answer.

Two days later he finally allowed the visitors to come before him in the Great Hall. He had dressed as splendidly as he could in order to impress on them that he wasn’t to be trifled with. In comparison they looked positively shabby. Their strange clothing wasn’t even clean, although one of them seemed to have made some effort in this direction. Taro tried not to wrinkle his nose in distaste.

There were two foreigners, both of whom he recognised from Lord Matsura’s visit to their ship. One was indeed the yellow-haired one, the captain Hannah had been – or was – married to. The Japanese man at the head of the group also seemed vaguely familiar. Taro waited while his countryman prostrated himself before him and the foreigners bowed in a slightly strange manner. He nodded in return but remained seated on the dais.

‘State your business,’ he said curtly.

‘My lord, will you permit me to act as interpreter to these men as they don’t speak your language? I am Hoji.’ When Taro nodded his consent, the man continued, ‘May I introduce Rydon-
san
and Marston-
san
, they are both captains of foreign ships currently anchored at Hirado. I believe you have met them before? Rydon-
san
has a wife by the name of Hannah who has been missing for some months now. We’ve received information that a foreign lady with red hair has been seen at your castle. Is this true?’

Taro made an impatient sound, but didn’t confirm or deny the allegation. ‘Continue,’ he ordered.

‘Rydon-
san
is naturally anxious to retrieve his wife and the other gentleman is her brother. He is equally concerned for her welfare. If the lady seen here is indeed Hannah, we would be grateful for any information regarding her present whereabouts.’

Taro studied the men before him and tried to judge their character. The man who was Hannah’s husband looked ill-tempered and impatient. The other one was calm and composed, listening intently to Hoji’s translations of Taro’s replies. The latter could see the man’s likeness to Hannah. Although he didn’t have her flaming hair, they shared other features. He could also see that Marston-
san
was genuinely concerned about her. Neither man was making the least attempt to hide his emotions.

‘Tell me, can the captain prove he’s the lady’s husband?’

Hoji nodded and produced a rolled up document from inside his sleeve.

‘Yes, this is a letter from a foreign priest stating that a marriage took place. It was signed by both parties.’

‘May I see?’ Taro held out his hand imperiously and Hoji handed him the document. Thanks to Hannah’s tutoring, Taro could read at least her name and that of the captain, although the rest was in a language he didn’t know. There was no doubt the interpreter was speaking the truth, though, but he frowned when he glanced at the bottom of the document. ‘The lady signed with a Christian symbol?’

‘I beg your pardon?’ Hoji looked confused, then looked where Taro was pointing. ‘Oh, er …’ he hesitated. ‘Ladies are not required to sign properly, I believe. Her brother made a mark on her behalf.’

‘Is that so? Very well, I will make enquiries,’ Taro said, trying not to show how his spirits had sunk at the man’s answer. ‘There was a lady here with red hair some time ago, but I don’t know whether she is still in the castle. My domains are vast, you understand.’

‘Thank you, you are very gracious.’

He waved his hand to indicate the audience was at an end. Marston-
san
said something to Hoji, who hesitated before speaking again, while the other foreigner snorted in disgust.

‘Please forgive me, my lord, but Marston-
san
asked me to tell you he is grateful for your help in this matter. He also wants to thank you for your hospitality.’

Taro nodded and watched the party leave. So the man had some manners at least. Well, he was related to Hannah after all, and Taro hadn’t really been able to fault her behaviour. He sighed. He had much to think about.

He stalled the foreigners for as long as he could, but they became impatient. Even Hannah’s brother showed signs of strain, and in the end, Taro was forced to tell them part of the truth.

‘I have ascertained the lady’s whereabouts,’ he said to the little translator, ‘and the man with whom she is housed would like to make her his consort as they deal well together. Would her husband be willing to divorce her? Perhaps in return for ample compensation?’

‘I will ask, but … is she well?’ Taro thought Hoji-
san
looked particularly anxious when he asked that question, and he reassured him quickly.

‘I believe so, although I’m told she recently had a fall from which she is recovering.’

‘A fall? How so?’

Taro summoned up his haughtiest expression. ‘I don’t have any details.’

‘Of course not, forgive me, my lord. Allow me to pose your question to the lady’s husband.’

It seemed that Rydon-
san
was not enamoured with the idea of exchanging Hannah for payment, however. He gave a bellow of rage which was quickly shushed by his companions, although Marston-
san
looked just as outraged. A lot of jibberish was spouted, some of which Taro understood. He heard words like ‘foreigner’, ‘think they can take what’s ours’ and ‘not right’. All of them were true, if Taro was honest. Only the calming words of Hoji brought the men back to some semblance of normality. In the end it was Marston-
san
who replied through the interpreter.

‘I’m sorry, my lord, but the foreigners have no such thing as divorce. They ask for the lady to be returned immediately.’

‘Really? A marriage cannot be dissolved in any way?’ Taro fixed Rydon-
san
with a sharp glare and he saw the man squirm when Hoji quietly translated his words.

The yellow-haired
gai-jin
muttered, ‘She may not want me, but I’ll be damned if I leave her here.’ Hoji wisely didn’t relay these words, but Taro got the gist of it and clenched his fists inside the sleeves of his robe.

‘Very well. I shall have her brought,’ he said.

He had tried, but he’d known deep down it wasn’t to be. Although he was sure he could easily defeat Hannah’s would-be rescuers and retain her by force, it would go against every principle he had been brought up to honour. And he simply couldn’t jeopardise his son’s wellbeing in any way.

There was another reason as well, which had been niggling at the back of his mind. His
Akai
was happy right now, while they were together and everything was new and exciting. She was still learning about all the sensual delights he could teach her, but he was wise enough to know that the time would come when love-making wasn’t enough. She was bound to be homesick, longing for her own people and customs, and then it would be too late. The regrets would come, then the anger and resentment.

He hardened his resolve. The fact also remained that she wasn’t a free woman if Rydon-
san
refused to give up his claim on her. He didn’t understand the Englishmen’s laws, but he felt sure the annulment she’d talked about couldn’t take place unless both parties agreed to it.

Looking at the angry foreigner, he knew that was unlikely in the extreme.

Hannah sat down on one of the large stones encircling the ornamental pond and closed her eyes, tilting her face up towards the sun. The tranquillity of this peaceful part of the castle gardens made her relax fully and she felt its healing powers on her battered body. She was feeling better this morning, but still a bit lethargic.

Water cascaded with a soothing noise down a small waterfall, cunningly wrought out of a hollowed-out old tree trunk. She almost dozed and let her thoughts wander freely. Trailing one hand absently in the cold water, she swished her fingers to and fro with languid movements. The colourful koi fish who lived in the pond came over to see whether her fingertips might be edible. Hannah was startled at first when the bravest one took a cautious nibble, but enthralled as the sleek creatures let her stroke them on the top of their large heads. She watched them when with a flick of their tails they glided past her silently near the surface of the water. The hungrier ones came up time and again to open a questing mouth.