The Gilded Fan (Choc Lit) (2 page)

‘Very well, have it your way. Go now and hurry back!’

As she approached the foreign enclave, Midori tried to quell her misgivings. There was a fluttering in the pit of her stomach, and she swallowed hard before setting foot on the narrow bridge. Then she took a deep breath and clenched her fists inside her sleeves, holding tight to the handle of the sword she’d hidden there. It was always best to be prepared and she was. Holding on to that thought, she marched across the bridge, breathing evenly to calm her spirit so she could concentrate on the task in hand.

‘
Konbanwa,
I have come to see the foreigner in charge here,’ she said politely to the guard on duty, bowing with respect and hiding her gaze under the brim of her straw hat. Above all, she knew she mustn’t show him her eyes, which were a murky green rather than the usual brown. She doubted he could see them in the dark, but it was best not to take any chances.

‘Corneliszoon-
san
or the captain?’ he asked.

Midori hesitated. ‘Er, the second one,’ she muttered. If he was a captain, that must mean he was in charge of a ship, and therefore exactly the man she needed to speak to.

The guard’s insolent glance travelled over her from top to toe and back again, but she just waited patiently until he had finished. Normally she would never have tolerated such blatant disrespect, but now she couldn’t afford to be so sensitive, even though it set her teeth on edge.

‘I don’t think you’ll have much luck with him dressed like that. Very particular about his women, is the captain. In fact, I don’t recall him asking for any at all.’

‘His women?’ Midori wondered what he meant by that, but soon had her answer.

‘I assume you’ve been sent to entertain him, since whores are the only women allowed on the island, but I doubt you’ll entice anyone dressed in
hakama
.’ The man chuckled, as if the thought of a courtesan dressed thus was ridiculous. Midori could see his point.

So that was it.
She swore under her breath, but recovered quickly from this unwelcome news. Ichiro’s informant had told them only Japanese women were allowed on the island, apart from the officials in charge of foreigners and any servants. He hadn’t told them what kind of women, though, the fool
.
Still, it didn’t matter if the guard thought her a courtesan, she thought, so long as she could speak to the captain. Once she had stated her business, she was sure he’d understand. It was a nuisance about the clothing, but she’d dressed in men’s clothes on purpose. If there was any trouble, she needed the freedom of movement in order to defend herself properly.

‘He apparently asked for something a bit different this evening,’ she lied. ‘Besides, I hardly think he cares what I’m wearing, but rather what is underneath.’ She adopted a flirtatious tone of voice, giggling slightly, and saw a slow smile spread over the guard’s face as he digested her words.

‘I suppose you’re right. Oh, very well, you may pass. Go straight on, then turn left and it’s the second house on your right.’ He waved her through and Midori hurried past him.

A Japanese servant was just coming out of the main building when she entered a small courtyard and he bowed when she told him who she’d come to see.

‘Please wait here and I will find out whether the captain-
san
is ready for you.’

‘Thank you.’

Midori looked around the yard and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Large lanterns had been placed at intervals and cast their pale light over the scene, showing her it was none too clean. There were piles of animal excrement dotted everywhere and hens picking their way between them, clucking gently. A couple of pigs fought over the contents of a trough and an unsavoury smell hung about the place. It was a far cry from the well-kept grounds of Castle Shiroi, her home. Making her way carefully through the mud and dung, Midori walked over to a small bench which leaned against a wall. She sat down, after first checking to make sure it was clean and wouldn’t collapse under her weight.

She heaved a sigh of relief. It was wonderful to have made it this far.
I should be safe enough here with all the other foreigners.
After all, they were allowed on this island by order of the
Shogun
, and she was one of them now. She refused to think of what lay before her and she wouldn’t contemplate failure. These Dutchmen had to take her to Europe.
I have to persuade them somehow.
Neither did she allow herself to think of the people she would leave behind. Her fate lay elsewhere.

Midori watched the pigs for a while in horrified fascination. They were ugly, loathsome creatures who seemed to be eating nothing but rubbish. Midori couldn’t understand how the foreigners could actually want to eat something so repulsive. Samurai hardly ever ate meat. And although Hannah had occasionally made her try it on the few days when she hankered after her own native food, Midori had never liked it and had struggled to hide her distaste. Looking at the pigs now, it made her shudder to remember the leathery texture of it in her mouth.

From the little she knew about them, the foreigners were dirty and disgusting in their personal habits too, not much better than the animals they ate, in fact. And yet, she herself was half-foreign, so what right did she have to criticise them? Wasn’t she betraying her mother by having these thoughts? Midori felt guilty and resolved not to make any hasty judgements. Perhaps she was doing her mother’s relatives a great injustice? She would just have to wait and see.

‘Upon my word, it must be my lucky day!’

The exclamation made Midori’s head jerk up. It was the first time she’d heard English spoken by anyone other than her mother, father or Ichiro, and she stared intently at the three men approaching across the mire. At first, she couldn’t see them properly, but soon they were close enough for her to make out their features in the light of the lanterns.

Large and hairy, with straggly beards and strange clothes that looked as if they hadn’t been washed for years, they were like no one she’d ever met before. One had a huge, porous nose, the other two had long, sharp ones. They looked similar enough to be brothers. Unfortunately all three wore identical, leering expressions which weren’t difficult to interpret. She stood up and readied herself for confrontation, reaching inside her left sleeve to grip the handle of her sword.

‘Good evening,’ she said, keeping a wary eye on the three men while bowing slightly the way she’d seen her father do when acknowledging someone of inferior rank.

‘“Good evening”?’ one of the men mimicked and they all burst into laughter. ‘D’you hear that, Barker? ’Struth, a whore what’s been trained by someone with manners. And in English, too!’

Midori frowned, wondering what she had said that was so amusing. She thought she’d greeted them correctly, but then she had never lived among her mother’s people and therefore had no way of knowing what they considered proper. No doubt she would learn in time.

‘You are English?’ she asked, thinking that perhaps she could keep them distracted by small talk until the captain arrived. Unless one of them was the captain? She hoped not. ‘I thought only Dutchmen lived here.’

‘We work for ’em, though the Lord only knows why,’ one of the sharp-nosed men replied.

‘They pay better’n most of ours. Which leaves us with extra money to spend.’ The man with the porous nose, who was apparently called Barker, wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Midori. He looked so idiotic she had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

‘Kimura-
san
’s outdone himself this time,’ he said to his companions. ‘A pretty little piece he’s brought us and no mistake.’ He crooked his finger at Midori. ‘Come here, my sweet, and show me what you can do.’

‘I’m here to see the captain, no one else.’

‘Captain Noordholt? No, no, we’re not lettin’ him keep a tasty little morsel like you all to hisself.’

‘Definitely not,’ the others echoed. ‘Whores are shared equally around here. Not that he normally takes part, but then I can see why he’s been saving hisself for the likes o’ you.’

They advanced on Midori, who warned them, ‘Do not come any nearer.’

‘Why not? Are you going to stop us?’ The men started laughing again, one of them going so far as to clutch his stomach in mirth.

‘Enough o’ this nonsense.’ Barker walked forward and stretched out a hand to grab Midori’s arm, only to stop short as a very sharp curved sword appeared in front of his face.

‘I
said
 … do … not … come … any closer.’

The man glared at her for a moment, before turning bright red with anger. ‘What’s this? Fight me with a sword, would you? We’ll just see about that, wench.’ He stepped back a few paces and whipped out his own sword. It was badly made and of inferior quality, and Midori wondered vaguely how he’d survived as long as he had.

The other two men watched the ensuing fight in open-mouthed astonishment, oblivious to the fact that they should be helping their friend. Midori soon forgot about them as she concentrated on the man in front of her. He came at her like an enraged bullock and almost went charging straight into the wall when she simply stepped to one side. It was easier than she had imagined to whack him on the side of the head with the hilt of her sword, but apparently he had a thick skull, since this only served to annoy him further. Turning faster than she’d thought him capable of, he swung his sword over his head while shouting some unintelligible curse, then brought it down hard. She parried, but it took all her willpower not to show that his blow had jarred her arm. The clanging of steel on steel rang in her ears and she shook her head slightly in order to concentrate.

As Barker feinted clumsily to the right, she quickly slashed to the left, cutting a hole in the fabric of his sleeve. He bellowed and brought his sword down again, but this time she’d learned her lesson and jumped away from him, instead of trying to meet his thrust. He followed her, slashing wildly, and she moved out of the way again and again. This strange dance continued for a while until his breath started to come out in great gasps and sweat poured down his face, as if he wasn’t used to such exertion. Midori recoiled from the stench of him, which was vile in the extreme. She decided to end the fight as quickly as possible so she could remove herself from his vicinity.

If she hadn’t been trained never to show her emotions during a fight, she would have laughed out loud at the look of incredulity which crossed Barker’s features when, after a swift attack when he least expected it, she sank her weapon into his sword arm. He uttered a harsh cry of pain and stumbled backwards, where his companions caught him.

‘She cut me! My arm!’ The shout echoed round the courtyard, galvanising the others into action.

‘Bloody impudence!’

‘She’s got to be taught a lesson.’

Midori gritted her teeth and prepared to take on the other two men, her heart pounding with indignation and fury. They were the ones who needed to be taught a lesson, both in how to treat a lady and in sword fighting.

I’ll show them.

Nico sat on a verandah, staring across the bay, his thoughts still with Casper. The older man’s body had been taken away to be prepared for burial, but although Nico had watched him being carried out, it still seemed a bit unreal.

He had informed the crew members and Corneliszoon, as well as a Japanese official, and everyone had immediately started calling Nico ‘Captain’. It felt wrong to him, since it had been Casper’s title for so long, but he knew he had to get used to it, and fast. As first mate, he’d already been in charge of the crew on a day-to-day basis, but now he had to show them he was truly in command.

He heard shouting from somewhere on the island, but ignored it. The crewmen were forever brawling, but he was too tired to care right now. Sighing, he prepared to go indoors to start checking the list of goods to be loaded on to the ship in the morning.
Better to keep busy than wallow in unproductive thoughts.

In the doorway he almost collided with a servant. ‘There is lady to see you,’ the man said, bowing politely.

‘A lady?’ Nico was well aware what the man meant by that euphemism. ‘I’m sorry, but I didn’t ask for one. Please, either send her away or tell her to speak to the other men.’ He nodded to dismiss the servant. He had to immerse himself in his new role and didn’t have time for whores. They would only distract him.

To his surprise the servant stood his ground. ‘
Sumimasen
, but lady ask for captain. Said she want speak to you.’

Nico stifled another sigh. It amazed him how enterprising some of the courtesans could be, not to mention tenacious. If he didn’t go and send her away in person, she might make a nuisance of herself. ‘Very well, I’ll see to it. Thank you.’

Nico made his way towards the little yard outside the house. As he approached the door, he frowned at the sound of steel clanging on steel. He also heard voices raised in anger and they were speaking English.

‘Damn it all,’ he muttered. ‘What are they up to now?’ The English crew members were a constant source of trouble and he was tired of dealing with them. They were a particularly rough bunch, but he hadn’t had much choice when he signed them up during a brief stop in Batavia on the island of Java. Sailors frequently jumped ship in various ports and then found themselves needing passage home. Unfortunately, the Englishmen had been the only ones available when Nico was short-handed.

Stopping in the half-open doorway, Nico blinked at the sight that met his eyes. It certainly wasn’t one he’d ever thought to see. John Barker, one of the Englishmen, was leaning against a wall, clutching his arm, which seemed to be bleeding profusely. From time to time he swore out loud, in between making a keening noise to show he was in pain. Meanwhile, a Japanese woman fought with two of Barker’s compatriots, and she wasn’t intimidated in the least by the look of things. Nico stood rooted to the spot, watching her with growing amazement.

‘A pox on ye, wench!’

Abe Jessop, Barker’s friend, charged at her first, with a murderous look in his eyes. It was clear his anger ruined his concentration, however, and when the woman’s foot shot out to deliver a well-placed kick to the stomach, Abe wasn’t prepared and fell heavily. The second man, Abe’s cousin Peter, launched himself at her from the other side, brandishing a long knife. Nico watched as the woman turned just in time to knock the weapon out of Peter’s hand with a few thrusts of her own. She had a short, curved sword, which flashed in the light from the nearby lantern. Nico could see it was honed to perfection and she wielded it with expertise. Peter didn’t stand a chance – the woman made besting him look as easy as stealing from a child.