She was very happy with her temporary life in this strange country. As a result of having fresh food every day, she began to put on weight again and felt healthy and content. She banished any thoughts of the future and just lived in the present. It was almost like being in a continuous dream, where everything was just that little bit unreal.
Until the day her dream world came crashing down.
Chapter Nineteen
Hannah was very careful not to venture out of the kitchen whenever Rydon had guests. She didn’t want to risk bumping into her brother or any of the other foreigners. ‘With healthier and more rounded cheeks, you look less like a boy than before,’ Hoji had warned. This worried her, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. No doubt, once they set sail for home, she would lose weight again. For now, she stayed out of the way.
The weather had grown steadily warmer, and after spending hours in the humid kitchen one evening, she went outside for a quick breath of fresh air. The garden looked wonderful in the half-light of an early summer evening. Enchanted, Hannah wandered over to stare out over the symmetrical perfection. It was a very calming sight and she drew in a deep breath.
As she turned reluctantly to go back inside, someone stepped off the verandah that ran along the side of the house and bumped into her. She looked up and froze.
It was Jacob.
He stilled as well and stared at her in disbelief, but not for long. Before she had time to make her escape, his hands shot out and gripped her upper arms hard. ‘Hannah?’ he hissed. ‘God’s wounds, what are you doing here?’
Hannah bit her lip as the shock of this meeting rippled through her. She had no idea how to explain everything to him and although she’d had more than two years to think of something to say in this eventuality, her tongue refused to function. She swallowed hard as her legs began to shake. ‘I … er, I … came with Captain Rydon,’ she managed finally.
Jacob’s expression turned from incredulous to furious. For a moment his mouth worked, as if he couldn’t get the words out, but then he exploded.
‘You’ve spent the last two years on board the Sea Sprite? What is the meaning of this? Are you telling me you’re Rydon’s doxy? The cur! Of all the under-handed, dastardly …’
Hannah gasped, the trembling inside her giving way to indignation. ‘No, of course not! How can you even think that?’
‘Well, what am I supposed to think? No decent girl spends two years on board a ship full of men. I … I cannot put into words how appalled I am. Not to mention extremely disappointed in you.’
Hannah took a deep breath. She could see that he was practically shaking with pent-up fury and she knew she needed to calm him down so he would listen. ‘Jacob, I know how it must seem, but I can explain. It was all a silly mistake,’ she began, but he didn’t give her the chance to continue.
He held up a hand and cut her off. ‘No, I don’t need any explanations. I have no idea what prompted you to take such desperate action, unless it was your unwillingness to marry Mr Hesketh, but –’
‘Of course I didn’t want to marry him,’ Hannah cut in. ‘You saw what happened and you promised to speak to father about it, but nothing changed.’
‘I did, but father assured me Mr Hesketh was a perfectly respectable man. He just got a bit carried away.’
‘Are you mad?’ Hannah blinked at him. ‘I thought you were on my side. The man assaulted me!’
‘Perhaps you over-reacted. Any man you married would have had the right to touch you after all. You shouldn’t have fought him.’
‘Jacob, you’re not listening to me.’ Hannah stamped her foot in exasperation, but it had no effect whatsoever. Jacob’s expression was now cold and steely, although his eyes still burned with angry fire, like hot coals in a grate.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it. The fact remains that you’re here. You may not be the only one to blame and Rydon shouldn’t have encouraged you, but still …’
‘He doesn’t know.’
‘I find that hard to believe. Be that as it may, you’ve been on his ship for two years. You’ll have to marry the man. I see no other way of protecting your reputation.’
‘What? Why should I marry Rydon? There were well over a hundred men on that ship and besides, I was under the protection of Hoji-san. He’s the only man I’ve been alone with.’
Despite the waning light, she saw Jacob turn pale. ‘Even worse, a heathen.’ His lips set in an uncompromising line. ‘Well, obviously you can’t marry him or any of the sailors. It will have to be the captain’s responsibility and he must have sanctioned your presence initially.’
‘Yes, but he thinks I’m a boy. Look at me – I’m wearing boy’s clothing, have been since the start. He never saw me except when I was dirty and scrawny. Ask him, he’ll tell you my name is Harry. Harry Johnson.’
‘Ridiculous,’ Jacob scoffed. ‘Anyone with eyes in their head can see you’re a girl.’
‘Now perhaps, but not during the journey,’ Hannah insisted.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. My mind is made up. I cannot allow this state of affairs to continue and I certainly can’t bring you home in disgrace. Father would kill me. Marriage it must be.’
Hannah stared at him. ‘Jacob, for heaven’s sake! Surely you’re not serious? You really expect me to marry Rydon? Just like that?’
A prospect which two years ago would have made her jump with joy, now filled her with revulsion. She knew without doubt that the Rydon she had so foolishly fallen in love with was an illusion created by her own silly romantic notions. She must have been purblind. The real man wasn’t someone with whom she would wish to spend even one night, never mind the rest of her life.
Jacob glared at her. ‘I have never been more serious in my life.’
‘Jacob, please listen to me. I was trying to leave with you. I just happened to board the wrong ship.’
‘And what in the world made you think I’d welcome you on board? I’ve never heard such nonsense. You’re a girl. Your place is at home.’
‘I know, but –’
‘And that is precisely why you will be married tomorrow. I shall go and speak to Rydon now. We must salvage your reputation.’
‘There’s no need. I don’t intend to stay in Plymouth once we return. I’ll go somewhere else, I’m sure I can find work of some sort, even if it’s just as a scullery maid. The Lord knows I had enough practice at home. No one will want me back, that’s for certain. I’ll even assume a new name.’
‘Now you’re just talking nonsense. If you marry Rydon, all will be well.’
Hannah clenched her fists. She wanted to hit Jacob as hard as she could, but knew that wouldn’t help matters. ‘No, I refuse,’ she gritted out. ‘I’m not marrying him.’
‘You will and that’s my final word. As long as we’re here, I’m the head of the family and you’ll do as I say.’ He turned to leave, signalling an end to the discussion.
The anger and frustration inside her boiled over. ‘Very well, have it your way, Jacob Marston. But I shall hate you to my dying day for forcing me into a marriage which is repugnant to me. I never want to speak to you again. I no longer consider you my brother.’
She marched off with her head held high, but safe in the kitchen with Hoji she gave way to the tears of despair. She knew Hoji disliked displays of emotion of any kind, but after she had explained the situation, this time he said nothing and tactfully left the room.
Some time later, Hannah sat in the kitchen doorway, staring into the darkness. Her tears had run out, but the anger was still coursing through her veins.
‘He can’t make me,’ she muttered. ‘I ran away from one repulsive marriage, I’ll just have to do it again. By all that’s holy, Jacob is not my keeper.’
Acting on impulse, she stood up and marched through the garden and out of the gate. The street outside was eerily empty, which suited her fine. She wasn’t in the mood to see or speak to anyone, so the longer it stayed that way, the better. Giving he
r fury free reign, she stomped off down the road in the direction of the harbour without really thinking about where she was going.
Anywhere was better than here.
Taro tossed and turned on his futon, finding rest impossible. He was due to leave for the north the following day, having stayed several weeks longer in the south than he had intended. He still hadn’t come up with any good excuse for visiting the foreign girl and had reluctantly decided that more underhanded measures had to be taken. In order to implement his plan, however, he had to be seen to go away first so no one would suspect his involvement.
He sighed for the umpteenth time and sat up. It was no use, sleep was eluding him. I might as well go out and seek some entertainment, he thought, a fairly easy thing to do in any harbour town. There were always sailors about, carousing in one way or another. All he’d have to do was follow the noise.
He waved away his bodyguards, who stood to attention as he emerged from the sleeping chamber. ‘No, stay,’ he ordered. ‘I can take care of myself.’
He had dressed simply, so as not to draw attention to himself, and instead of his usual swords, he brought only a couple of sharp daggers hidden inside his clothing. No one would guess he was a daimyo, especially not in the dark.
The town wasn’t large and he soon found his way to the entertainment area. There was raucous singing, laughter and shrieks coming from several directions, and Taro stood still for a moment, wondering which way to go. Despite the urge to go out, he wasn’t really in the mood for jollity though. He was just debating whether to go into the nearest inn and order some sake, when he heard a high-pitched scream. Without thinking, he headed in the direction of the sound.
Hannah had belatedly realised that running away in a foreign country was an incredibly stupid idea. She’d been so blinded by fury, she hadn’t been thinking straight, but when the worst of her anger had been dispelled by the brisk walk, self-preservation kicked in and she stopped.
Only it was too late.
A group of young men came spilling out of a nearby house, clearly the worse for drink, and immediately caught sight of her. Before she had a chance to run off, they surrounded her and one of the group – seemingly their self-appointed leader – started firing questions at her.
‘What’re you doing out so late, gai-jin boy? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?’
Hannah kept silent, hoping they’d leave her alone if she didn’t talk back.
‘Can’t speak? Lost your tongue? Or you just don’t understand us, eh?’
‘Yes, you all expect us to accommodate you, but you don’t make any efforts for us, do you?’ someone else put in.
‘Leave me alone,’ Hannah said, to show that she could speak their language.
‘Oooh, he does talk. Well, well, well.’ The leader came and put his arm round Hannah’s shoulders, shaking her a bit. ‘Come on then, let’s go have some fun. I want to see how you foreigners enjoy yourselves.’
‘No, let me go. I have to go back. I’ll be missed,’ Hannah said, trying to shake him off. He was like a limpet though and his arm seemed stuck to her.
‘Hey, none of that,’ he admonished. ‘You’re coming with us and that’s that.’
‘I said no!’ Hannah could feel panic welling up inside her. In sheer desperation she kicked the young man on the shin, hoping that would make him let go, but it had the opposite effect.
His arm snaked round her throat from behind and he started to squeeze. ‘Want to play rough, do you? I’ll show you rough.’
Without thinking, Hannah screamed, then realised how silly that was. Not to mention feminine. No one would hear her, and even if they did, they wouldn’t come to her rescue. What was she to do? A sob of sheer fright escaped her, but she swallowed hard and tried to fight back instead. She dug her elbow into the youth’s chest and kicked and bucked, but his grip around her neck just tightened. Hannah screamed again, although mostly out of frustration this time.
Just when she thought she’d run out of air completely, something big and dark hurtled into the nearest two youths and pushed them out of the way. Someone shouted ‘Chikusho!, and then the one strangling Hannah suddenly found himself staring at the end of a sharp knife. He let out a whimper of fear.
‘Let her go.’ The voice was as steely as the knife and Hannah’s attacker didn’t waste a second.
He gasped and loosened his grip in an instant, stammering something about only having a bit of fun. Soon after, he took to his heels, closely followed by his companions and they were swallowed up by the night.
Hannah bent over and drew in huge breaths of air. A hand settled on her shoulder, but it was a supportive gesture and she didn’t feel threatened. She straightened up and glanced at Lord Kuma. She wondered what he was doing out so late, but she was extremely grateful that he’d come to her rescue.
‘Are you hurt?’
The question was curt, but Hannah thought she detected a hint of concern in his voice. From what she could see in the light from a nearby lantern, he was also frowning.
‘I’m fine. Thank you very much for your help, Kuma-sama.’
‘Are gai-jins really stupid enough to let their women wander around all alone in the dark?’ he asked.
Hannah realised belatedly that he’d told the drunk youth to let ‘her’ go. She stared at him. ‘W-women?’ she stammered.
He made an impatient noise. ‘I’m not blind, Akai. Nor am I stupid. So what are you doing out at this time of night?’
‘Uhm, I was running away,’ Hannah admitted, although now that she said it out loud, it sounded even more stupid.
‘Nani?’ he barked, his frown deepening into a heavy scowl. ‘What?’
Hannah shook her head. ‘I know, it was very foolish of me, and I had just reached that conclusion myself when those – those men found me. I’m going straight back now, I swear.’
‘I’ll make sure of it. Come.’
‘Really, there’s no need for you to escort me. I’ll be on my guard now.’
He snorted. ‘And what will that achieve? You’re no match for any man, are you?’ As if to demonstrate this, he swooped on her and scooped her into his arms, holding her tight to his chest so she couldn’t move her arms. Hannah gasped. Although he probably meant to frighten her a little, she felt a strange exhilaration instead. She’d only been held close by a man before when Mr Hesketh … but she refused to think about that. This was different and for some reason she wasn’t scared.
‘Lord Kuma! Please, let me go. I – I understand.’
He did, apparently satisfied that he had made his point. ‘Don’t ever go wandering around on your own again,’ he said sternly.
‘I won’t, trust me.’ She tried to keep the slight trembling out of her voice, but he had disconcerted her with his demonstration and she had to make an effort to calm herself. He began to walk in the direction of Rydon’s house and she fell into step beside him, suddenly grateful for his presence.
‘Now what were you running from?’ he asked.
‘Er, something my brother wants me to do that I don’t agree with.’
‘He is older than you, neh, and your father is not here?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then it is his right to decide for you, in your country as well as here?’
Hannah sighed and nodded.
‘Well then?’ he prompted. ‘It is your duty to obey. Why are you fighting against it?’
‘I don’t know.’ She gritted her teeth. Lord Kuma was right and perhaps Jacob was as well. She had behaved badly, running away in such a hoydenish manner, not to mention concealing herself among hundreds of men for so long. Anything could have happened to her and if it hadn’t been for Hoji, she would have been lost. If marrying Rydon would atone for that, then surely it was her duty to go through with it? Her family’s honour was at stake, not to mention her own, such as it was.
She felt her shoulders slump in defeat. I brought this on myself. I must take the consequences.
They had reached
the gate to Rydon’s house and she turned towards Lord Kuma and bowed. ‘Thank you again, my lord. You are very kind and I’m in your debt.’
‘Dozo. You’re very welcome. Perhaps you will be able to repay me soon.’
With that enigmatic sentence he was gone.
Chapter Twenty
The marriage ceremony took place on the verandah the following morning. A Dutch clergyman had been found to officiate, although he didn’t look too happy about it. Hannah suspected he didn’t like the English and had been coerced into performing this duty since he kept throwing malevolent glances at everyone. It made no difference to her.
He wasn’t the only one who had been forced to attend. Rydon was standing beside her, looking like a volcano about to erupt. He kept alternately glaring at her and peering at her as if he couldn’t believe she was the same person as the boy he’d employed to cook for him. For the wedding, however, she’d been dressed in a hastily purchased plain kimono and her hair had been washed and left loose. There could be no doubt that she was a woman.
Hoji had reported that Jacob and Rydon had had a row of epic proportions while she’d been gone the night before, and she could well believe it. Somehow Jacob seemed to have prevailed, however, since Rydon didn’t officially protest. His eyes made his feelings plain though.
The Dutch priest spoke heavily accented English, but used mostly Latin phrases to perform the service. As the lingua franca of Europe, this was obviously easier for him and Hannah had no difficulty in following the words. The minister back in her parish church in Plymouth insisted on using Latin for important rites, so she was used to that. Not that she was interested in hearing any of it and she could see from Rydon’s mutinous expression he was of the same mind.
Jacob was of course present, but Hannah didn’t so much as look at him. Despite having thought about it some more after Lord Kuma left, she still didn’t want to do this. She acknowledged that Jacob had the right to decide over her in their father’s absence, but she knew in her heart this marriage was wrong. She and Rydon were a match made in hell and there was absolutely no way she would co-operate or make it easy for her brother. She was sure they could have found some other solution, if only Jacob would listen to her.
The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit) Page 14