But Beatrice felt uneasy throughout the voyage, especially as they were sharing the ship with several orchid hunters. It was impossible to hide the existence of the trees from them. They had all seen them being loaded, and gossip spread quickly around the ship. The hunters didn’t know what exactly the forest could do, but they knew it could do something. Magic poured off the trees like a scent. And although that part of the cargo hold was out of bounds to all but James and Beatrice, the bright glow of the plum blossom shone out beneath the cracks in the door, day and night.

‘We must be watchful,’ James remarked early on. ‘I know the other orchid hunters, by reputation, if nothing else. Most of them are all right, but Horace Johnston is a bad sort.’

Beatrice had tried not to flinch at the name. She’d not mentioned anything to James, but she’d overheard Johnston mocking her to the other orchid hunters in the canteen one evening.

‘B-B-Bovine B-Beatrice!’

He was neat and tidy, always much smarter-dressed than the other hunters, but there was a meanness in his eyes and a permanent smirk seemed to linger around his mouth. More than that, there was a sulkiness about him that Beatrice recognised. He was the type who believed the world owed him something, and that type of man could be dangerous. When he’d realised that she had overheard his remark in the canteen, he hadn’t even had the grace to look embarrassed. Perhaps he was one of those men who believed it bad luck to have a woman on board a ship.

‘Y-You d-don’t th-think he would h-harm the t-trees?’ she’d asked, alarmed.

James had lifted his shoulders in a shrug. ‘I don’t think he would miss an opportunity to make money, that’s all.’

So Beatrice had taken to sleeping in the cargo hold, beneath the canopy of the plums. It was no less uncomfortable than her cramped cabin, and she liked being near the trees. She tried to object when James first joined her, but he wouldn’t be moved on the matter.

‘It isn’t safe for you to be here alone,’ he insisted. ‘No one would hear you if you called out. I promise I will behave like a perfect gentleman at all times, if that’s your concern. Besides, it will be good for the trees to have the company at night. I’ll even sing them a Chinese lullaby.’

Beatrice smiled, in spite of herself. ‘You kn-know one?’

‘Madam, I know several, and I’ve been reliably informed that I sing them very well too. And trust me, it’s quite difficult to sing in Chinese.’