‘I’ve told Rydon we’ll do it. The ships must be made ready as soon as possible,’ her father was saying.
Hannah’s ears pricked up at the mention of the handsome captain and she half rose to crouch under the window in order to hear better.
‘So we’re definitely going ahead with this venture, even though the East India Company have a head start?’ Jacob asked.
‘Yes. I have it on good authority that they are going by way of Bantam in the East Indies in order to trade for spices. Rydon’s friend, who works for the Company, told him they plan to stop there for some considerable time and that will give us additional leeway.’
‘But it’s June now and they left in April. We’ll never beat them to the Japans, no matter how hard we try.’
‘Nonsense. Besides, our ships will be sailing the other way, which should be faster.’
‘What other way? The Northern Passage? But no one has found it yet.’
‘For heaven’s sake, don’t be such a clodpole. I’m speaking of the other southern route, of course.’ Hannah could hear her father’s exasperation loud and clear, but Jacob took no notice.
‘Oh, through the Straits of Magellan?’ Jacob sounded doubtful. ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. There’s a reason why hardly anyone goes that way.’
‘Rydon has obtained the necessary directions and a pilot to guide the ships. He assures me it can be done. Captain Drake managed it years ago after all.’
‘Yes, but Father, even with an experienced navigator, the risks are enormous.’
‘No worse than going round the Cape of Good Hope. That way lies great danger, so I’m told. It’s riddled with Portuguese, for one thing, not to mention the weather conditions which are changeable, to say the least.’
‘Well, as to that, the Straits of Magellan aren’t exactly a haven of tranquillity from what I’ve heard.’ Jacob was silent for a moment, then added. ‘What’s made everyone want to go to Japan all of a sudden anyway? Why not some other country?’
‘Didn’t you hear? Apparently there is at present an Englishman by the name of Will Adams living there. He has somehow established himself and is said to be in great favour with the king of that nation.’
‘What? How would an ordinary Englishman ingratiate himself with a person of such high rank? That’s a ridiculous notion,’ Jacob scoffed.
‘Listen, the East India Company’s officials obviously believe this story to be true. They wouldn’t be going if they weren’t certain of their facts.’
‘Well, perhaps not, but …’
‘Jacob, there are no “buts” here. I tell you, I know those people of old and believe me, they wouldn’t risk their money on a venture that wasn’t sure to be profitable or sound. They are far too avaricious.’
Jacob cleared his throat, then asked gruffly, ‘What is there to trade with in the Japans then?’
‘Well, rumour has it there are great stores of silver, although no gold unfortunately. The Portuguese have apparently become very rich as a result of trading there. Why shouldn’t we do the same?’
‘And what if there is no silver?’ Jacob sighed as if he had almost given up the dispute. Not many people argued successfully with their father and most of the time it was useless even to attempt it.
‘We can’t know for certain, of course, but surely there must be something there of value since the Portuguese are undoubtedly rich? Besides, if we find that the people of Japan have nothing to offer, it wouldn’t be difficult to continue to China or any of the other countries in the Far East. There will always be someone willing to trade somewhere.’ Hannah jumped as her father banged his fist on the table and growled, ‘We must venture further than the Barbary Coast and the West Indies. We simply can’t be left behind everyone else. Our last few ventures have been utter disasters. There’s no way we can continue with our present trade routes, there is too much competition. We have to find something new or go under.’
‘I know, I know.’
‘A little enterprise never hurt anyone, my son. It’s time you saw the world for what it really is, a cut-throat, competitive place. There is no call for too much refinement in business. You need to be ruthless if you want to prosper.’
There was a pause while Jacob obviously digested all this, and Hannah debated whether to try to leave or stay silent and continue to listen. She felt uncomfortable to be eavesdropping for the second time that day, but her fascination with Rydon made her stay where she was. A vision of the dashing captain standing tall on board his ship, the breeze caressing his suntanned cheeks as he steered towards foreign lands, formed in her mind. She imagined herself next to him, his arm holding her safe as they sailed together …
Jacob sighed. ‘Very well. I can see your mind’s made up, Father. When do I sail?’
‘You’re sure you wish to go? It will be dangerous and Rydon could probably manage on his own. Besides, he said he’ll find two other ships to join the venture as well. There’s safety in numbers.’
‘No, I want to sail with them.’
‘Good. I was hoping you’d say that. You leave in a few weeks’ time.’
‘So soon?’
At that point the window was pulled shut and the conversation became inaudible to Hannah, but she’d heard enough. Her thoughts turned to this other Englishman, Will Adams, who was living so far from his homeland. She wondered if he was really in the Japanese king’s favour and how on earth he’d managed such a feat. Since he had made his home there, he must like the place and the people. Wasn’t he homesick though?
Hannah asked herself how she would feel, being so far away from her family and friends and all that was familiar. She snorted. Right now it would be a blessing. No one was interested in her anyway. It was all about Kate.
‘And when is it my turn to be of importance?’ Hannah muttered. ‘Probably never.’
A few days after Hannah’s quarrel with her sister, all their relatives and acquaintances had been invited to a feast in honour of Kate’s betrothal to Henry Forrester. The kitchen staff had been cooking for days and as she came down the stairs, Hannah’s stomach growled in response to the savoury smells that hung about the house. She was forever hungry, which she hoped was a sign she was still growing. She peeked into the parlour on the first floor, where the food was being laid out on a serving table. Since no one was looking, she snatched a pastry off a plate to stop her belly from embarrassing her at an inopportune moment.
‘Hah, saw you!’ Her younger brother Edward came racing past, grabbing a pastry of his own while flashing her a cheeky grin. At fifteen, he was as tall as Hannah and just as skinny, and his appetite more than equalled hers.
‘Shh, you little worm, or we’ll both be caught,’ Hannah hissed. They shared an easy camaraderie and Hannah often escaped the house, when her mother wasn’t looking, to tag along with Edward and his friends down to the shore. She loved being outdoors rather than cooped up inside learning household management and wished she’d been born a boy. Edward had the kind of freedom she could only ever dream of.
She tried to push such thoughts out of her mind. Today was a day for celebration and she had put on her best gown for the occasion. It was of a pretty shade of blue, which matched her eyes. Unfortunately, it did nothing whatsoever to enhance her figure though. If anything, it hid the few curves she possessed and brought back Kate’s unkind words. Hannah made a face. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it, so there was no use dwelling on it. Perhaps if she ate a lot she would grow some more? To that end, she stole one more pastry and crammed the whole thing into her mouth in one go.
‘Hannah? What are you doing now?’ Her mother’s exasperated voice startled Hannah and made her swallow too quickly so that the food stuck in her throat. She began to cough and her mother thumped her on the back none too gently. ‘That’s what greed does for you. Didn’t I ask you to keep an eye on the maids? Come now, let’s go downstairs.’
‘Yes, Mother.’ Hannah stopped coughing as they descended to th
e main hall, which was in the centre of the house. As soon as her mother turned away, however, she headed for the shadows underneath the stairs instead of going to the kitchen as requested. In her opinion, the poor maids had been harried enough as it was and she had no intention of adding to their already heavy burden.
The guests began to arrive soon after and were greeted at the bottom of the stairs by Hannah’s parents. Josiah Marston was a large man, in every sense of the word. He had a scowl that usually procured instant obedience from family and employees alike. This evening, however, he was smiling and greeting his guests with evident pleasure and Hannah sighed.
‘Why does he never look at me that way?’ she muttered under her breath, but knew that such a thing wasn’t likely to happen. The only person in the entire household who could make him smile was Kate, his favourite. Nothing Hannah ever did could change that, she was sure.
Her mother, every bit as formidable as her husband, although of much smaller stature, stood beside him. Her gaze was darting this way and that and nothing escaped Mistress Marston’s vigilance. More than one of the servants received a glare which sent them scurrying off on their business. Hannah shrank deeper into the shadows. Her mother was obviously determined that everything should be perfect this evening and Hannah would rather not be caught loitering once more.
‘Sir John! And Lady Forrester, how wonderful to see you again.’ Hannah’s mother was suddenly all smiles as the guests of honour arrived with their son and heir in tow. Hannah risked a peek and studied her sister’s betrothed critically. She’d seen him before, of course, but never really paid much attention since he wasn’t for her. Now she noticed he was of medium height and somewhat stocky, with a small mouth and receding chin. She had to admit he did look rather stupid, just as Kate had said. However, on closer examination his eyes didn’t have the vacuous stare usually found in imbeciles. Instead, he had a sharp gaze that was taking everything in. Hannah was suddenly convinced young Mr Forrester was a great deal cannier than he’d led Kate to believe.
In her eagerness to see, Hannah leaned forward a bit further and too late she noticed Henry Forrester catch sight of her out of the corner of his eyes. To her great relief he didn’t give her away, but turned and gave her a small smile and a nod. It was almost as if they were co-conspirators. Hannah grinned back and, while their parents were busy, he sidled over to greet her.
‘Hiding yourself away, Mistress Hannah?’ he said in a low voice. ‘That won’t do, you know, if you want to find yourself a husband too.’
‘Oh, I’m in no hurry on that score, Mr Forrester.’
‘Perhaps you’re wise. Matrimony isn’t something to be rushed into lightly.’
This was the first time Hannah had ever spoken to Kate’s betrothed privately and she found she quite liked him. Since she wouldn’t wish Kate on her worst enemy, she was therefore in a quandary. Should she warn him what was in store for him if he married Kate or would it be better to keep quiet? Before she had time to come to a decision, however, he had turned to greet his betrothed, who was at that moment coming down the stairs, a vision of loveliness in pink and white. Hannah stared at the pair of them and bit her lip when she saw Henry take Kate’s hand and draw it through the crook of his arm. But when Kate tried to pull away, his hand remained firmly closed over hers and Hannah blinked in surprise.
Perhaps Kate wouldn’t find him as easy to manipulate as she imagined, Hannah thought. She prayed that she was right, for Henry’s sake if nothing else. He seemed much too nice for her sister.
‘Hannah? Hannah!’ Her mother’s annoyed hiss dragged her back to the present. ‘Why are you skulking back there? I thought I told you to go to the kitchen?’
‘Yes, Mother.’ With a sigh she turned to do as she was bid.
The meal dragged on, interminable to the restless Hannah, despite the various treats on offer.
After the main courses of mouth-watering roast meats, fish, pies and other savoury dishes, the desserts were brought out. Crystallised fruits, tarts, cakes and jellies vied with each other to tempt the guests. To Hannah’s delight, there was also her favourite sweet – marchpane. Like everyone else, she drank a glass or two of the fine wine provided for the occasion, but she was still bored and fidgeted in her seat. She had elderly aunts either side of her, both of whom were as deaf as a post, and she wished her mother had allowed her to sit with Edward instead. At least then she’d have had someone to talk to.
They were in the parlour, which was the biggest room in the house. Large oriel windows made up of small leaded panes of glass overlooked the street outside and allowed the sunshine to stream in. The beams of light fell on the finely carved oak panelling, making it gleam and seem less dark and austere. A few tapestries added a splash of colour.
Although the parlour was so vast, it was still a crush when everyone was seated at the trestle tables erected specially for this feast. Once the meal was over, however, the furniture was cleared away and a couple of musicians came in to start the dancing.
‘Come, dance with me, Hannah.’ Jacob pulled her out of her seat at last and dragged her into the circle that was forming for the Branle. Hannah had no trouble performing the sideways steps, but going round and round eventually made her dizzy. When it was over she retreated to a corner and held on to her head until it stopped spinning. That wine must have been stronger than usual, she thought. Ordinarily she would drink it slightly watered down. She decided to just watch the others from then onwards. It seemed safer.
‘So this is where you’re hiding yourself, young lady.’
The voice of Captain Rydon startled her out of her contemplation of the dancers and she looked up to find him taking a seat beside her. He was dressed in a green velvet doublet that went well with his fair hair. His beard had been trimmed into pointy perfection for the occasion and his moustache was equally neat. Hannah tore her gaze away as she remembered her sister’s words. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him why he wasn’t with Kate, but he spoke first.
‘Aren’t you dancing?’ His eyes sparkled even more than usual and he seemed very merry.
‘No, I … that is, I’m resting for a while.’ She felt her cheeks redden under his scrutiny.
‘Well, we can’t have that. Will you take a turn with me?’
Hannah gasped. ‘With you?’ she exclaimed, hardly daring to believe her luck.
He smiled. ‘Yes, who else? So what do you say?’ He stood up and held out his hand.
Hannah stared at it for a moment before rising as if in a trance. She put her hand in his, which was large and warm to the touch, and stammered, ‘I, I don’t know,’ but he didn’t wait for the rest of her reply and walked onto the floor, pulling her with him towards the lines forming for the next dance, which was Strip the Willow. They faced each other, men on one side, women on the other, and as they were the first couple they linked arms and began to spin. Hannah counted silently to sixteen in her head, then headed down the line, alternately swinging someone else’s partner and Rydon. At the bottom of the set she joined arms with him again and spun for a count of eight, before it was Rydon’s turn to ‘strip’ his way back to the top.
It was heaven to dance with him, to watch his face and his smiling eyes each time they linked up. They were grey, she decided, not blue as she had previously thought. Or perhaps silver shot through with blue sparks. Hannah gave herself up to the enjoyment of it all and ignored the sour look she caught from Kate at one point. Her sister whispered something to Eliza, who was seated next to her friend as usual, and Hannah saw Eliza frown and nod. Well, let them talk, she thought. Rydon had asked her, not Kate, and joy made her face split into a huge grin and gave her feet added impetus. She wished the dance would last forever.
When it was finished, he fetched them both a drink, and handed her the glass with a wink. ‘You’re old enough to drink sack, I take it?’ he teased.
Hannah stammered an incoherent response and was relieved when he began to speak of other matters. When she had re
covered her composure, she begged him to tell her of his recent journey to foreign lands and he obliged with several hair-raising tales. He told of waves higher than houses, enormous sea creatures and hostile natives in strange lands. ‘I’m not frightening you, am I?’ he asked after a while, his eyes still sparkling.
‘No, not at all. It all sounds wonderfully exciting.’ She beamed at him and hung on his every word.
‘Perhaps after the event.’ He made a wry face.
‘I hear you are going to the Far East next.’ The strong wine gave Hannah the courage to flirt a little with her eyes, the way she’d seen Kate do, although it didn’t seem to have much effect on him unfortunately. He continued to smile blandly as before, his eyes a little glazed now.
‘You heard about that, did you?’
‘Father and Jacob were discussing it last night at supper.’
‘Yes, your brother and I are going on a long voyage to try and reach the Japans.’ He frowned a little, but continued. ‘Damned Portuguese discovered those islands some years ago and we want to trade with the natives too. Could be extremely profitable. Your father’s giving us his backing. We leave soon, it’s all been arranged.’
‘So I hear.’ Hannah had, in fact, spent quite a lot of time thinking about it during the past few days. It had been impossible not to.
‘Can you keep a secret?’ he whispered and leaned close to her ear. Hannah nodded enthusiastically. His nearness made a delicious shiver run through her, but she forced herself to concentrate on his words. ‘We’re going to try to arrive before some merchants from the English East India Company who’re also going there. If we can get there first, we can secure a trade agreement and then the Company won’t have a monopoly.’ He nodded, as if it was already a deal.
‘You mean, it will be a sort of contest? A race?’
‘Something like that, yes. Only this is serious.’
‘That sounds thrilling. Oh, how I wish I could go with you,’ Hannah sighed. To sail the ocean to faraway lands, to experience new things, see different peoples, it all sounded so much better than her own dreary life. What did she have to look forward to? Marriage to someone of her parents’ choosing and the role of wife and mother. It wasn’t an appealing thought at all, unless her husband should happen to be Captain Rydon, of course. Unlike her sister, Hannah would be quite happy to wait for him for as long as it took. But she would much rather spend her entire life with him, following him wherever he went.
The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) Page 3