The Jade Lioness

by Christina Courtenay

  ‘Not today,’ she affirmed with a smile.

  ‘Not ever again,’ Midori added with a frown, but she was distracted by something the physician said and didn’t see Nico raise his eyebrows at Temperance, seeking her promise to do as her cousin asked. She looked away and pretended to help Emi with a piece of fruit. Nico saw far too much and Temperance felt sure he wouldn’t approve of the plans that were taking shape inside her head. She suppressed the feeling of guilt that surged through her. She was an adult now; she would make her own decisions.

  ‘Please don’t do anything so foolish again,’ he whispered to her. ‘I understand why you went – I felt the same as you when I first came here, wanting to fight the boundaries, but it’s too dangerous. These people are not like us, they won’t hesitate to kill you. Pleading ignorance might work once, but it may not. This isn’t a game, do you understand me?’

  Temperance did. What she couldn’t tell him though was that she was sure she’d be perfectly well protected if only she could persuade Kazuo to help her. All she had to do was find him again.

  Chapter Five

  A week passed and nothing happened – Kazuo didn’t come to find her or contact her as he’d promised. Temperance wasn’t stupid and doubt began to cloud her mind. As the vivid memories of her day of freedom receded slightly, she was able to look at what had happened with more perspective. She acknowledged that she’d probably allowed herself to be taken in by a charming rogue who had found in her a pleasant diversion, but who had no intention of returning. She should think herself lucky he hadn’t taken advantage of her in any way.

  She sighed. Kazuo had seemed so sincere, his dark gaze promising all manner of things. When he told her that he would come back, she believed him wholeheartedly, but now she wondered forlornly if this was only because she’d been so desperate for something like that to happen. Was she seeking adventure where none was to be found? It was a sobering thought.

  She didn’t want to give up on her dream completely, but if he never came back, what choice did she have? And apart from anything else, she’d come to realise he was her only hope of escaping marriage to Haag as he could take her away from Dejima.

  Daydreaming about Kazuo and the possibility of freedom, Temperance wandered aimlessly round the island in the late afternoon, too restless to stay indoors despite the heat. Her steps took her in the direction of the little quay and, after persuading the guard to allow her outside the gate while he kept her under supervision, she stood staring longingly across the water.

  ‘Going for another excursion, Mistress Marston?’

  Temperance jumped and turned with a frown to face Mr Haag, who was standing only a few feet behind her, blocking her way back to the gate.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ She tried to infuse her words with as much icy politeness as possible. How could he know of her adventure? She hadn’t told anyone and she was sure Midori or Nico wouldn’t have either.

  ‘I saw you returning the other evening,’ he drawled, a self-satisfied smile on his lips that made her want to slap him.

  ‘You were spying on me?’

  ‘Not at all. I was merely passing by.’

  Temperance didn’t believe that for a moment. ‘Well, it’s no concern of yours where I go or how I choose to spend my time.’

  ‘Perhaps not yet. Anyway, I was merely asking if you were thinking of going again. Only, I wouldn’t be averse to a little outing myself. It’s so tedious being confined to this island, is it not?’

  ‘Well, I won’t be going anywhere. It’s too dangerous. Now, if you could be so good as to let me pass?’ Temperance took a step to the left and lifted one eyebrow superciliously, but he followed suit and blocked her way.

  ‘Not so fast, my dear Mistress Marston. I am enjoying our little talk. Can’t you spare me some of your precious time? That would be the Christian thing to do, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘The gentlemanly thing to do,’ Temperance gritted out from between clenched teeth, ‘would be to step aside when a lady asks you to.’ No point denying it any longer as he clearly wouldn’t be dissuaded from blackmailing her.

  ‘Ah, but are you a lady, Mistress Marston? That is the question.’ He stared pointedly at her attire. ‘Any young woman who thinks nothing of dressing as you do, nor going off by herself, can surely not be too careful of propriety. It makes one wonder—’

  ‘Mr Haag, as you well know, I have no choice in the matter of clothing if I wish to stay here. Now if you don’t step aside this instant, you will regret it.’ Temperance had had enough of his insinuations and the thought that he might denounce her to the Japanese authorities right now made a tendril of fear coil inside her. No, surely he would at least wait until he’d received her reply?

  ‘I don’t think so.’ He continued to smile in that infuriating way and Temperance saw red.

  Without further thought, she feinted quickly to the right, then stepped left and gave him a push while he was still stepping in the other direction to block her path. Off balance, he was unable to stop himself from continuing and fell heavily into the water next to the quay. He floundered around, yelling in outrage before hauling himself to where there was a sort of ramp for unloading goods that he could use to pull himself out. Temperance didn’t stay to watch. Instead, she made a dash for it, running as fast as she could towards the safety of her cousin’s house, her heart beating fast with relief at her temporary escape.

  ‘Odious man!’ she muttered. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone?

  Pieter Haag stormed into his quarters, slamming the flimsy door shut so hard it almost jumped off the frame. For a moment he stood in the little entrance hall, dripping seawater onto the stone floor, then he began to tear off his sodden garments, flinging them down into a heap.

  ‘Clean only this morning and now look at them.’ He swore under his breath. ‘She’ll pay for this, the little bitch.’

  ‘Haagu-san?’ The sliding door to his tatami covered bedroom opened and a woman’s face peered out.

  Keiko or Reiko? Haag couldn’t remember the courtesan’s name, but it didn’t matter because he’d had enough of her anyway. Her simpering annoyed him and she didn’t have much in the way of a figure. ‘What are you gawping at?’ he barked. ‘Get out. I’ll pay you next time.’

  ‘But must eat.’ She blinked in consternation, her face falling.

  ‘Out!’ he shouted. ‘Now!’

  She must have seen in his expression how furious he was, because she quickly withdrew into the bedroom and emerged soon after pulling on her robes. Throwing him a fearful glance, she stepped into her strange wooden shoes – the ones the natives called geta – and scampered away, giving him a wide berth.

  ‘Sayonara.’ She bowed politely, but not until she was outside the door, safe in the street. Haag didn’t bother to return her goodbye.

  ‘Stupid whore,’ he muttered, but he knew deep down it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t have beautiful ash blonde tresses and blue eyes. Like Mistress Marston, damn her. That was what he wanted. A proper European woman with delicious curves under that male clothing she was forced to wear.

  And that was what he’d have very soon. He’d make sure of it.

  ‘It was too bad of you, Temperance, really it was,’ Midori chided, but she didn’t look as stern as she should have done. There was a distinct twinkle in her eyes and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. ‘You ought to apologise, you know.’

  ‘Never. He’s a toad and he deserved to go swimming. I don’t know what he was playing at, blocking my way like that,’ Temperance lied. She couldn’t tell Midori the real reason, obviously. At least not yet. ‘I really can’t stand him.’

  ‘No, he’s not the most likeable of men, is he? I’ve noticed he’s quite boorish to everyone.’ Midori sighed. ‘Would you like me to ask Nico to have a word with him?’

  ‘No, don’t worry. I can handle Mr Haag.’

  Temperance’s words sounded braver than she felt. She’d seen the iron determination in Pieter
Haag’s eyes and she knew he was hell-bent on forcing her into marriage. He wasn’t afraid to use foul means instead of fair, and she was sure he wasn’t making empty threats. She sensed he was a man who would stop at nothing.

  But she had to thwart him somehow.

  A few days later, after supper, Temperance was standing by the wall facing the mainland, which was separated from the island by only a narrow canal of about twenty yards or so. She was watching the comings and goings of the natives on the other side, so near yet so far, when suddenly two arms came around her from behind and pulled her round the corner of the building, out of sight. Temperance struggled, but the hard grip didn’t lessen. Quite the opposite.

  ‘Be still and don’t cry out or it will be the worse for you,’ Pieter Haag hissed in her ear.

  ‘How dare you?’ Temperance whispered back. ‘Let go of me at once. My servant will be back any moment.’ She continued her struggles, panic rising inside her, making her unable to think clearly.

  ‘No, he won’t. I’ve sent him on an urgent errand for you.’ He chuckled, his mouth much too close to her ear. ‘We have some unfinished business, you and I, and I wanted to get you alone.’

  ‘We have absolutely nothing to say to each other, Mr Haag, and if it’s an apology you’re after, you can forget it. I’m not the slightest bit sorry I pushed you into the water. You deserved it.’

  He tut-tutted as if she were a naughty child. ‘Such vehemence, but I like it. Spirited women are so much more exciting, I find. Now if you could just channel some of that energy into being nice to me, we’ll come to an understanding. You don’t have much time left before giving me your answer, so what will it be? Dishonour for your cousin and a painful death for you at the hands of the Japanese, or a secret marriage to me? Seems like an easy choice.’ He stroked the side of her right breast with his fingers, without letting go of her arm, and Temperance stiffened. He had gone too far.

  ‘Understand this,’ she hissed. ‘I wouldn’t be nice to you if you were the last man on earth. That is all the answer you’re getting for the moment. Now let go of me!’

  He chuckled again, an evil sound that should have made her blood freeze, but suddenly Temperance was too angry to be frightened. Her mind was busy trying to remember everything Midori and Nico had taught her during their self-defence lessons. Closing her eyes for concentration, she went through the moves in her mind, before executing them – hooking one foot behind his right leg, twisting her arms upwards quickly to free herself from his grip, and then grabbing one of his arms and pulling on it, while using her shoulder as leverage. Before he knew what was happening, he went sailing through the air and landed face first on the dirty ground with a howl of pain.

  Temperance watched him for a moment, her legs shaking so much from delayed reaction that they refused to move. But when he pushed himself up onto his knees, sending her a glare of pure hatred and launching himself in her direction, she somehow found the strength to flee. Drawing in shallow breaths, she ran all the way to Midori’s room and collapsed in a corner.

  When Midori found her some time later, she was still shivering.

  ‘Tom? What on earth happened?’

  ‘It-it was Haag. He tried to attack me.’

  ‘Attack you? Whatever for? Oh, revenge for pushing him into the water? I did tell you to apologise.’

  ‘No. No it wasn’t that.’ Stuttering slightly, Temperance finally confessed the truth to her cousin. She didn’t see that she had any other choice now. They were all in jeopardy because of her, and Nico and Midori needed to know.

  Midori went slightly pale, but she was made of stern stuff and immediately went storming off to find her husband, while muttering imprecations in Japanese. They were soon back and Nico ushered them into his private office, making sure no one was outside listening.

  ‘Tell me from the beginning, please,’ he demanded. ‘I want to know Haag’s exact words.’

  Temperance complied, then watched as Nico paced the tatami floor with a massive scowl on his face. ‘This is a damnable business,’ he muttered. ‘A pox on the man!’

  ‘What on earth are we going to do?’ Midori said. ‘We’ll all be disgraced if he tells the authorities and they might even be so angry they won’t let any Dutch people trade here at all!’ She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at Nico for support. ‘We must find a way to threaten him in return.’

  ‘I agree.’ Nico nodded, his expression severe. ‘But how? We could beat him senseless, I suppose …’

  ‘Or I could ask my brother to hire some ninja,’ Midori interjected. ‘Yes, that would be the best way, just make him disappear.’

  ‘No, don’t, please. At least not yet.’ Temperance was sure this would only make matters worse. ‘The authorities might become suspicious and investigate further, then our deception could come to light after all.’ She sighed. ‘This is my fault for wanting to come here in the first place. I’ve put you in danger so it should be up to me to extricate us all. I have a few more days to think of something, so please wait. I promise I’ll stay close to you at all times. There will be no opportunity for Haag to attack me again.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, what can you do?’ Midori was scowling fiercely. ‘The man must be made to see reason or be silenced for good.’ Temperance knew her cousin wasn’t one to recoil from violence. She’d even fought in some of the civil war battles back in Plymouth a few years earlier. But was violence really the answer here?

  ‘Just give me a little more time to come up with a plan,’ she begged. ‘I feel responsible and want to make things right.’

  Neither Midori nor Nico looked convinced, but after further pleading on Temperance’s part, they finally acquiesced.

  ‘Very well, we’ll keep this quiet for now, but if he tries anything more then I’ll personally thrash him within an inch of his miserable life,’ Nico concluded.

  Temperance had had no word from Kazuo and was beginning to give up hope of any help from that quarter. She was also wondering how he was supposed to reach her, even if he wanted to. He’d said he would look for her in the bay first, and if she wasn’t there, he would come to Dejima, but how could he? No one was allowed onto the island except certain Japanese officials.

  What if he had tried and failed? Although she had no idea how long his mission would take, she imagined he could have completed it by now. She had a growing conviction that she simply had to go back to the bay and see for herself whether there was any sign of him. Just in case he’d been in earnest, she could at least check, couldn’t she? And if she could only find him, she was sure he’d help her disappear for a while and thereby thwart Haag’s evil plans.

  Temperance was nothing if not impulsive and no sooner had this idea taken root, than she was planning her escape. However, it wasn’t as easy to sneak away a second time. Not only did she have to think of a new type of diversion in order to pass by the guards, she also had to watch out for Pieter Haag. And Midori’s eyes seemed to follow her everywhere as well so that Temperance had to force herself to act normally. It was impossible.

  ‘No, I can do this,’ she told herself, determination firing her blood. All it would take was some careful planning.

  The last time she left the island she’d gone just before daybreak. This time she decided she would have to leave even earlier. Surely Haag wouldn’t be spying on her all night? At some point he had to sleep. And two could play at that game – she’d ask Akio to keep an eye on the man for a while. She began to accumulate a secret stash of items she would need, hiding them at the bottom of her clothes chest. Remembering Midori’s comment, she gathered together Japanese clothing. Her cousin had given her some hakama, a type of loose trousers to wear over a male belted robe when they practised self-defence, and she also had a straw hat, some geta – the strange clogs that looked like a piece of wood with two smaller pieces attached to it underneath – and a large cloth to tie her hair up with. From the kitchens she stole some rice biscuits, sembei, and dried smoked fish,
and she decided to bring a small knife, just in case she needed to defend herself against anyone.

  Her preparations complete, she waited for night to fall,

  Akio had agreed to keep Haag under observation all night, fortunately without questioning why this should be necessary.

  ‘Please just come and tell me if Haag-san leaves his quarters,’ she’d told him.

  ‘Hai.’ Temperance had often been grateful for the fact that the boy wasn’t terribly bright and tonight she was extra thankful for his obedience.

  She dressed quickly in the Japanese garments. The clothing was easy to put on in the dark and she made hardly a sound. Tying her hair into a scarf on top of her head proved more difficult. It was thick and straight and had a tendency to escape every attempt at confinement, even though she’d cut it to just below her shoulder blades in order to pass for a youth. She managed it at last and then crammed the straw hat down on top of it. It was a wide-brimmed, cone-shaped one, bought for the purpose of shielding her from the fierce sunlight, but if she tilted her head forward, it also served well to hide her pale face and blue eyes.

  Satisfied with her preparations, Temperance picked up the little bundle of food she’d prepared earlier, tied into a piece of wrapping cloth called a furoshiki, and made her way stealthily out of the house. She had also brought a bucket, a blanket and a lantern, which was lit but shuttered so that no light escaped it at the moment. Once she’d drawn close to the guardhouse, she rolled the blanket into a tight bundle and placed it inside the bucket near a window, together with some dry grass gathered nearby. Then, after listening carefully to make sure there was no one else about, she opened the shutter of the lantern and extracted the candle, which she applied to the edge of the blanket and the grass. Both caught fire almost immediately and flames began to rise upwards, past the window, as well as a billow of smoke.