Jack sighed, his face forlorn. ‘I thought it was home, but after so many years away it didn’t feel like home any more. England’s become a foreign country to me.’ He looked at Jess with a tender smile. ‘But I found who I was looking for. That’s all that really matters.’ He wrapped an arm round his sister and drew her to him. She buried her head in his chest, and Jack experienced the warmth in his heart that only family could kindle.

‘I’m just sorry I dragged you two all the way here,’ continued Jack, giving Akiko and Yori an apologetic look. ‘You must think England is such a dreadful place.’

‘Not at all!’ said Yori with surprising enthusiasm. ‘Your country is full of wonders and riches.’

Jack frowned in astonishment. ‘But from the moment we set foot on English soil, we were insulted, attacked, unjustly imprisoned, hunted down, accused of witchcraft, drowned or otherwise shot at, imprisoned again, and almost hanged from the gallows!’

‘All that’s certainly true,’ said Yori, his hand gently massaging the purple bruise round his neck. ‘But we’ve also seen London’s magnificent bridge, browsed the market stalls at Cheapside, visited the cottage you grew up in, performed at the famous Globe Theatre –’

‘We’ve attended a real English banquet and a masked ball,’ joined in Akiko with equal zeal, ‘travelled on horseback through glorious countryside, met some wonderful people and made some true friends, as well as –’ she stroked the slim sword on her hip – ‘been taught how to wield a rapier.’

‘We even saw the Tower of London!’ Yori exclaimed.

‘Yes,’ Akiko agreed drily, ‘although I’d prefer it to have been from the outside!’

Yori laughed. ‘You see, Jack, Sensei Yamada told me it’s the journey not the destination that matters, but I’ve discovered it’s who you share that journey with that is most important. And we shared it with you.’

Jack gazed at his friends with affection, heartened by their genuine passion for his country. Like his own experiences of Japan, there had been bad times, terrible places and cruel people. But equally there’d been much to delight in. And, with true friends at his side, he realized it didn’t matter what life threw at him. One can always stand the rain knowing that the sun still shines behind the clouds.

‘I’m getting cold,’ said Jess, a shiver running through her. The night was almost upon them and England was but a slender shadow against the twilit sky.

‘Let’s go back to our cabins,’ Yori suggested. ‘I think I’ve mastered knucklebones now.’

‘Really?’ said Jess. ‘That sounds like a challenge to me.’