Jack glumly shook his head. ‘No, I know my sister. A whole lifetime and a whole ocean couldn’t break the bond between us. In here,’ he said, pointing to his chest, ‘I’ll always recognize Jess – and when I spoke to that girl my heart felt nothing.’

‘Don’t despair, Jack,’ said Akiko, as Rose ducked inside the inn to order food and enquire about lodgings. ‘We’ve come this far, we’ll finish the journey. We will find your sister.’

Jack sighed and looked at her. ‘But what if she’s not here? What if we’re on a wild goose chase after all? Bodley could have made up that story just to save his own skin!’

Akiko gently closed her hand over his, in an effort to reassure him. ‘I believe Bodley was telling the truth. His eyes weren’t lying. So we’ll stay in Stratford as long as it takes to find Jess.’

Despite Akiko’s determined optimism, Jack wearily shook his head. ‘I’m beginning to think we never will, though.’

‘You can’t think like that!’ chided Yori. ‘Remember what the witch said: when you feel furthest away, you’re closer than you think.’

Akiko nodded. ‘Yori’s right. If you feel like giving up, just remember why you held on for so long in the first place.’

His friends’ wise words gave Jack pause for thought. The idea of reuniting with his sister had been the seed of his survival in Japan. It had sustained him during his training at the Niten Ichi Ryū. It had been his shield during the Battle of Osaka Castle. It had carried him across Japan, all the way from Kyoto to Nagasaki and back home to England. To give up on his sister now would be to give up the very thing he’d always fought so hard for.

Jack sat up straighter. ‘You’re right. As Sensei Yamada said, there’s no failure except in no longer trying.’ And once again he began scanning the crowd with renewed determination.

‘I’ve got us lodgings for the night,’ announced Rose, emerging from the inn with four tankards.

‘That’s good news,’ said Akiko, moving along the bench to make room for Rose. ‘I’m so tired I could sleep on a board!’

Rose laughed. ‘You might have to. There were only straw beds above the stable loft. We’re lucky to even get those – Stratford’s heaving because of the harvest festival.’

‘Straw! It sounds like luxury to me!’ said Yori, taking a polite sip of his drink.

A servant came out with four plates heaped with buttered bread and dark meat in gravy. He plonked them on the table, stared wide-eyed at Akiko and Yori, then cautiously backed away. Akiko studied her plate dubiously. ‘May I ask what we’re eating?’