Page 35 of The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

‘No. There wasn’t a separate word for green until after they’d named everything,’ Thaniel said, feeling sorry for him.

Vaulker slouched again. ‘Have you brought all your things? Are you staying with us from now on? I wasn’t expecting you until after New Year; your contract doesn’t start until the third of January.’

‘No, I’m staying in Yokohama. I just thought I’d come in and introduce myself.’

‘Yes, very thorough. Talk to Nakano, would you. Apparently he’s leaving in half an hour – what was that? What just banged the table?’

‘I didn’t see, sir,’ Thaniel said, and then went to find his own way to the kitchen.

Perhaps because there had been one going spare, and certainly not because it especially fitted the place, the legation had a bell tower. The kitchen was directly below, tucked up and then down two tiny, unnecessary sets of steps. Thaniel only found it because he followed the smell of coffee through the dining room. The dining room couldn’t have been more grand. It had huge floor-to-ceiling windows, beautiful draped curtains, and long tables; designed, he suspected, to look like the Oxford and Cambridge colleges the diplomats were coming straight from. The kitchen was low-ceilinged and the windows were long slits high in the walls. They weren’t open, so the room was full of steam.

There were four people inside and none of them were working. An old lady was trying to calm down a weeping man, and two girls were staying quiet and awkward, pouring more tea for everyone. They all looked round when Thaniel tapped on the door.

‘Are you lost?’ the old lady said. She had a gravel voice and a cigarette in her hand.

‘No, ma’am, I’m the new translator. My name’s Steepleton. I heard that Mr Nakano was upset and I wanted to see what was going on.’

She tipped back speculatively. ‘Well, aren’t you unusually good-mannered.’

‘I think I’m normally mannered, but Mr Vaulker seems like a …’ You couldn’t really say ‘unreserved cock’ in Japanese. It didn’t translate. ‘Difficult person. May I sit down?’

‘Suppose you do,’ she said, and nodded to one of the several spare seats. They were all high stools. The table was covered in flour.

‘So what’s going on?’ Thaniel asked Nakano, who had dragged his sleeve over his eyes.

‘I saw my wife over there.’

‘She went to Aokigahara?’

‘Yeah.’ He was staring at the edge of the table. ‘I don’t know why.’

‘Well, you did hit her a lot,’ the old lady said, unmoved.

‘Mum,’ one of the girls whispered.

‘Eh,’ she said, and breathed out a lungful of smoke. ‘He should feel lucky she didn’t hang him from a tree. Classy woman.’

‘Mum!’ the girl said hopelessly.

More smoke. Thaniel had to make a tectonic effort not to laugh. Nakano had shrunk with shame.

‘And it’s not the first time you’ve seen things in here?’

‘Where d’you think everyone is?’ the old lady said, motioning at all the empty stools with her cigarette, which looped a nearly perfect smoke ring. ‘Started November. We’ve lost one a fortnight since. You can’t expect people to put up with that kind of thing.’

‘What did they see?’

‘Ghosts!’ Nakano snapped.

‘Mm,’ said Thaniel, careful not to show that he had already sided with the old lady and the dead wife. ‘Whose ghosts?’

‘Just – I don’t know, do I?’

‘Drink your tea,’ the old lady said at Nakano. She dipped her cigarette towards Thaniel. ‘I’m Marie Nakano. Ginger snap’s mother.’ She nodded at her son, who went an angry red. ‘We don’t know whose ghosts they are. Ririka was the first one we recognised. She was standing right where you’re sitting, staring at nothing like she’d got all the world on her shoulders. The others, no idea. People, ordinary people. None of them did anything frightening, but the young people, well.’ She blew smoke again.

‘What were you doing when you saw her?’

She shrugged. ‘Making bread.’