The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) (34 page)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Impatience made Taro spur his horse into a gallop whenever possible and he rode ahead of his men, even though he knew this might not be wise. He wanted to reach Hannah as quickly as possible and if he had to wait for his retainers, he was sure he would be too late.

He knew the route the foreigners would take, since he’d given the orders to his men himself, and was able to calculate approximately how much progress they ought to have made. His best guess was that they’d be somewhere in the vicinity of the ford. There was only one for miles around and because he knew the layout of the land very well, he was able to take a short-cut towards it.

As he came close, he heard shouting and decided to approach with caution in case the party had been ambushed. He dismounted and walked quietly forward to observe from behind some thick bushes, keeping all his senses on alert. He tried not to think of Hannah at the mercy of
ronin
or other scum, but when he peered out of the forest, the scene before him was much worse than he’d imagined.

‘By all the gods …!’ he hissed, clenching his fists so hard the leather of his gloves creaked in protest.

He caught sight of Hannah immediately. She was wearing that infernal scarlet
kimono
again so she was easy to spot, although he couldn’t understand why she should be alone in the middle of the raging river. With horror he saw her slip and go under. He took in the rest of the people at a glance and noticed the indecision written on everyone’s faces. Although Marston-
san
was shouting something, no one was paying him any attention, and Taro couldn’t see the other foreigner anywhere.

‘Imbeciles,’ he muttered and decided there was no point involving any of them in trying to rescue Hannah. She was only one person he was concerned about and if he wanted her saved, he realised had to do it himself.

He kept his eyes trained on Hannah as the river swept her downstream. The red of her clothing made it easy to follow her progress, but the water was carrying her along very quickly. He ran back to his horse and spurred it into a gallop, doubling back the way he’d come to avoid some thick undergrowth, then returning to follow the edge of the river where the bushes thinned out. He soon rounded a bend, trying to get ahead of Hannah by a large margin.

Fear made him ride like the wind and his horse must have picked up on his master’s feelings, because it fairly flew over the uneven ground. When Taro reckoned he was far enough ahead of Hannah, he pulled sharply on the reins and vaulted off the horse before it had even stopped properly. He ran towards the edge of the water, tugging off his hat, armour and shoes. Hopping along on one foot while performing this last manoeuvre, he made it to the river with time to spare.

If only Hannah is all right.

He hadn’t seen her head come up during the last few minutes and this worried him. There were glimpses of red and occasional flashes of gold and silver thread where the weak sun caught the material as it surfaced from time to time, but as far as Taro could tell, she wasn’t swimming any longer.

‘
Hannah!
’ he shouted, as much to release his own emotions as calling out to her. There was no reply.

Taro waded in and threw himself into the water. He was strong, but even so he had a real battle on his hands to fight the current which was hell-bent on sweeping him downstream as well. All he wanted was to reach the middle, the place where he judged Hannah was heading, but he had to work extremely hard to make it.

The water was cold, almost numbingly so, but his efforts kept him warm enough to continue. He caught sight of something scarlet about to hurtle past him. With strength born of desperation, he ploughed through the water even faster to reach it. He only just made it and caught a handful of material, which he hauled towards him while kicking his legs to stay afloat himself. After checking that Hannah was actually still inside the
kimono
, he began to swim back towards the shore, dragging her behind him by holding onto the robe.

Taro knew time was crucial. He might even be too late already, but he refused to think such thoughts. Instead he concentrated on going as fast as he could. Just when he thought he’d used up his last reserves, his feet touched bottom and he was able to push against the stones and boulders to propel them to dry land more quickly. As soon as the water was only up to his middle, he lifted Hannah clear of the water and waded the rest of the way.

‘Hannah? Can you hear me?’

He laid her gently on a mossy patch and tried to undo the
obi
so he could hear if she had a heartbeat. Her pale cheeks were even whiter than usual and her skin was freezing to this touch. His own fingers were too cold to struggle with the knots of the cord that kept the
obi
in place and instead he pulled a knife out of his belt and cut them. It was but a moment’s work to free her from some of the clothing and he laid his ear to her chest. He heard nothing.

‘Kumashiro-
sama
!’

Taro looked up to find the interpreter, Hoji, dragging himself ashore not far from where Taro was kneeling.

‘Is she alive?’ the older man panted, clearly exhausted, but crawling on all fours to reach Hannah now.

‘I don’t know.’ Taro hadn’t given up hope quite yet. He put his hands where he thought her heart would be and pushed hard.

‘What are you doing, my lord?’

‘I saw my
Sensei
do this to someone once. It brought them back to life.’ Taro kept his eyes on Hannah and continued to push at regular intervals, the way he’d seen Yanagihara do. Soon after, his efforts were rewarded as Hannah spluttered suddenly and turned her head to the side to bring up a load of water. Taro lifted her shoulders slightly and held her while she coughed up some more.

‘The gods be praised,’ he murmured.

‘And all the spirits,’ Hoji added.

Taro looked up to see the older man was blinking furiously as if trying to contain tears, but since he was soaking wet anyway it was hard to tell. They smiled at each other and Taro gave a huge sigh of relief.

‘Taro?’ Hannah’s weak voice made him return his attention to her. ‘What … how …?’

‘Shhh, don’t try and talk now, I’ll explain later. Now let’s get you out of these soaking garments.’ He pulled off the red
kimono
and called for his horse, which hadn’t gone far. It was an obedient mount and came trotting over, snorting and blowing gently as Taro stood up to catch the reins. ‘Good boy,’ he whispered, then reached up to undo the saddle. There was a blanket underneath, which he retrieved to wrap Hannah in.

‘You came for me,’ Hannah whispered, then frowned. ‘Taro, I must … speak to you.’

‘Not now, Hannah-
chan
, we can talk later.’

‘But there won’t be a later if I don’t tell you now.’ Hannah sounded determined, despite her recent ordeal.

‘What do you mean?’ He sat down on the ground and pulled her close to try and warm her up a bit. Hoji was shedding some of his own clothing and jumping up and down nearby to try and regain his own body heat. Taro felt cold too, but as long as he knew Hannah was safe, it didn’t bother him too much.

‘Can the others see us?’ Hannah asked, her voice still hoarse and weak.

‘No, they are further upstream. I will take you back to them presently to retrieve your belongings and to inform them I’m taking you back. Their strange laws don’t apply in this country so they will have to negotiate with me according to our rules.’

‘No! No, you mustn’t.’

Taro frowned and looked down into her anxious eyes. ‘
Nani
? You don’t wish to stay?’

‘I do, but your way won’t work. You have to return to them with just the
kimono
and tell them you weren’t able to save me. Say … say I sank, out of sight. You couldn’t hold on. It was too late.’

‘Hannah, has all that water gone to your brain?’

‘No, I swear, I’m perfectly rational. The thing is, my brother will never let me stay here with you, no matter what, so you must convince him I’m dead.’

‘But that’s a terrible thing to do!’ Taro was shocked. ‘Surely he can be persuaded. He seemed like a reasonable man and he has your best interests in mind.’

‘Yes, but to him, that means taking me home to England. He’ll never see that I’m better off here, believe me. I know Jacob, he can be very stubborn when he sets his mind to it. He wouldn’t leave his sister with what he thinks of as a bunch of heathens, no matter what.’

‘She’s right, my lord.’ Hoji entered the conversation, his tone sombre but earnest. ‘If you wish to keep her here, it’s the only way. I’ve heard Marston-
san
talking to the captain. He thinks he’s saved her from a fate worse than death.’

‘This is preposterous.’ Another thought struck Taro. ‘What about the other foreigner?’

‘He’s dead,’ Hoji said. ‘I tried to save him, but I think his horse kicked him senseless and he drowned before I could reach him.’

‘I see.’

Taro wasn’t at all happy about this, but he wanted Hannah to stay and he had to admit she would know her brother best. If this was what it took, then so be it. He sighed. ‘Very well, if you’re sure it’s the only way,
Akai
?’

‘I am, absolutely.’

‘Then stay here, while I walk back with Hoji-
san
. We’ll be as quick as we can.’

‘No, wait a moment.’ Hoji frowned at him.

‘What is it? We don’t have much time.’ Taro was impatient to get going and knew that any delay was bad for Hannah.

‘Did anyone see you arrive here?’

‘No, I don’t think so.’

‘Then let me go on my own,’ Hoji pleaded. ‘If Marston-
san
catches sight of you, he may be suspicious. It’s better if I take the
kimono
back to him and break the bad news. He’ll have no reason not to believe me. He knows I care for Hannah-
chan
.’

Taro looked at Hannah, who nodded feebly. ‘Hoji-
san
is right,’ she whispered. ‘It would be best if you’re not involved in any way. And it means we can leave immediately.’

That settled it as far as Taro was concerned. The sooner he got Hannah to a warm place, the better. ‘Very well, but please come and find us afterwards if you can get away, Hoji-
san
. Hannah will want to know how it went.’

Hannah felt terribly guilty about deceiving her brother in this way. It was probably a dreadful sin, but she hoped God would forgive her and not punish her further. She considered that she had already suffered enough and surely God hadn’t brought her all this way without a purpose?

She really felt it was her destiny to stay with Taro.

She was a free woman now. Although she hadn’t wished for Rydon’s death, it was still a relief to know one complication had been removed. Hannah was also grateful that her brother was safe and hoped he would be able to return to England with the wonderful cargo he’d told her he had secured at long last. Her father would be pleased.

As for herself, she had no way of knowing what the future would bring, but as long as it contained Taro, she didn’t mind.

‘There you are at last!’

They had returned to Shiroi Castle late in the afternoon and Taro had been waiting for Hannah to have a bath and change her clothes. She’d had to borrow some of his garments to travel back in, but now she was once again dressed like a lady. She came walking swiftly through the garden, lifting her heavy robes to allow more freedom of movement. Taro rushed to meet her halfway. ‘
Akai
,’ he whispered into her hair as she smiled and threw herself into his arms. He lifted her up and swung her round, hugging her tight without putting her feet back onto the ground. ‘What kept you so long?’ He caressed her smooth cheek and looked into those beautiful blue eyes. How he had missed their clear gaze.