The Ring of Water - Chris Bradford [25]
Jack beckoned Ronin to one side. ‘Now Hana knows the pearl’s true value, what’s to stop her running off with it?’
‘Good point. Go with her.’
‘Me?’
‘It’s your pearl,’ remarked Ronin, between swigs of saké.
Jack wondered whether it was worth taking such a risk, but he dearly wanted Akiko’s gift back. The pearl symbolized their undying bond – forever bound to one another. And its imminent recovery gave him hope that he would eventually find all his possessions – most importantly, the rutter.
‘I’ll need the money for the pearl then,’ said Jack.
‘We need it for food and …’ Ronin shook the half-empty saké jug.
‘I know, but as samurai we must follow the code of bushido and be honest. This money belongs to the merchant, even if he is a swindler.’
Acknowledging this fact with a grunt, Ronin handed him the coins and strode over to the treeline.
‘I’ll keep watch from here,’ he said, crouching in the shadows with his dwindling supply of saké. ‘Off you go!’
Hana looked at Jack. ‘He’s good at giving orders. Does your friend ever lift a finger?’
Jack wouldn’t have described Ronin exactly as a friend, but he remembered how the samurai had saved his life at the tea house. ‘Sometimes.’
Leading the way, Hana headed to the lowest section of garden wall.
‘You’d better not make a sound,’ she cautioned.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t,’ replied Jack, offering his hands to boost Hana over.
Little did Hana know that Jack had trained in shinobi aruki, the ninja art of stealth-walking. He silently slipped over the wall and landed nimbly beside Hana in the moonlit garden. A small tea house was set beside a pond amid well-tended shrubs and bushes. A pebbled pathway wound through this sculpted landscape, passing a carved stone lantern before reaching the back entrance to the house.
Avoiding the path – and the noise it would make – they crept towards the main shoji. The house was in darkness, but they knew the merchant and his wife were at home, having seen them return earlier that evening. As gently as she could, Hana eased the door open and peeked inside. The room was empty, except for an alcove containing a display of flowers and a hanging scroll of two birds perched upon a branch.
Leaving the door open for a quick escape, they entered a darkened hallway, at the end of which was a wooden staircase. Cautiously, they ascended to the second floor. But as Hana stepped on to the landing, one of the floorboards creaked.
They both froze.
For what seemed an eternity, they listened for the alarm to be raised and the sound of pounding feet. But no one came to investigate. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hana and Jack began to check each of the rooms in turn.
The first two were unoccupied and yielded nothing, but from the room overlooking the garden came the rhythmic sound of snoring. Jack put an eye to the crack between the shoji and the frame. The merchant lay on his back, fast asleep. Next to him, on a separate futon, was his wife – her head raised upon a box pillow, which supported her neck so her elaborate hairdo wasn’t spoiled during the night.
As silent as a shadow, Hana tiptoed into the bedroom and began to hunt through the drawers of a finely wrought lacquered cabinet. She seemed to be taking an age rifling through its contents. Concerned the merchant or his wife would wake, Jack joined Hana in the search. But Akiko’s black pearl was nowhere to be found among the lady’s accessories.
Shaking her head, Hana closed the last of the drawers. As she turned to leave, Jack noticed a gleam of silver concealed in her left hand. During the planning, he’d made it clear that they were to retrieve the pearl, and only the pearl. He gestured for her to put it back. Grudgingly, Hana returned the stolen jewel to its rightful place. It was then, with a clear view of the merchant’s wife, Jack spotted the gold pin still fixed in her hair – the black pearl almost invisible in the darkness.
He motioned his find to Hana. She grimaced at the impossible task ahead. To remove the pin called for nerves of steel and a very steady hand.
Jack, however, was prepared for