The Phoenix Tree by Jon Cleary

Author:Jon Cleary
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

3

Major Nagata came to the villa again in the late afternoon. Natasha, who had been waiting for him, went out to meet him on the front verandah. They sat down on the dusty cane chairs; Nagata dusted his chair with a handkerchief before he sat. He was wearing his best uniform, hoping to impress Madame Tolstoy, and was disappointed when she did not appear.

‘Madame Tolstoy is not well?’ He knew she hadn’t left the villa; his two junior men had been patrolling the village constantly.

‘She is resting.’

‘Does she know that I know who she is?’

‘I haven’t told her.’ Not yet: that might need to be explained later. But for the present she did not want Lily to know the extent of her arrangement with Major Nagata. She wanted a card or two up her sleeve, though she did not know how she would use them. She had always been able to handle men (she supposed she had inherited that talent from Lily); but she had never had any serious dealings with a woman, certainly not one as clever and experienced as Lily. A little Chinese patience (from her grandmother? Though no one had ever spoken of her grandmother) might come in handy. ‘Do you want me to?’

Nagata had decks of cards up both sleeves: he was a crooked poker tournament in himself. ‘Let’s wait and see. Is General Imamaru coming to visit her?’

‘This evening. Shall I mention you’re in charge of the village?’

‘Better not.’ His vanity responded only to the highest bids; he knew no general would be impressed by a kempei major’s being in charge of such a small place. But he looked down at the village and thought of the distinguished company now under its roofs: ‘You have some very superior neighbours now. An ambassador, some rich businessmen, the families of two other generals, some foreign correspondents – you could create a very interesting social circle, if you wished.’

‘You mean bring them together so that I can spy on them for you?’

He was not offended. ‘Why else do we have our arrangement?’

‘Whom do you want watched?’

He shrugged. ‘All of them. Don’t limit yourself. Perhaps Madame Tolstoy will help you entertain them.’

Natasha didn’t think so; but she didn’t tell him that. She stood up. ‘We’ll see.’

He too stood up, but reluctantly: he had really come to see Eastern Pearl. ‘I shan’t come up every day,’ he said grudgingly, but sensibly. ‘We don’t want people gossiping about us.’

‘Of course not,’ said Natasha, hiding a smile at the thought. Then: ‘Haven’t you forgotten something, major?’

‘What’s that?’ He turned on the top of the steps.

‘It’s pay day.’

‘I brought you Madame Tolstoy. Who else would get a guest who could pay as well as her?’ But he saw she was unimpressed and he took out his wallet and passed over some notes. ‘You’re very mercenary, Mrs Cairns.’

‘So I’ve been told,’ she said, smiling, not at him but at Tom’s remark. ‘Goodbye, major. When I have something to report, I’ll let you know. But please keep your officers away from here.

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