His father’s carriage waited outside. For some reason, the Admiral decided to sanction his trip and sent Henry to pick him up. Politics being what they were, someone could have pressured the old man.

Albert turned off his mechanical footman, popped on his hat, and grabbed his travel bag. Harris had already loaded the final pieces of his luggage into the back compartment. He shut the house door and locked it. “Father alright?”

“Yes, but he is worried about you traveling around the world. There’s a lot of danger out there.”

“I’ll be careful. Plus, I have my gadgets. And Harris is going with me.” With a grin, the house keys were pitched up to Henry before climbing in beside his valet-guard.

“Keep in touch. Telegraph him updates.” The admiral’s aide flipped the reins, and they started forward.

Albert leaned back and closed his eyes trying to ignore his throbbing foot.

“You alright? Forget anything?” The last was asked with a laugh. He loaded four boxes in the back, plus another two were sent ahead.

“Yes, I’m fine. And I got everything. Thinking about the trip. Don’t like the unknown and always have a backup plan. Only right now, nothing comes to mind.”

The carriage turned the corner and stopped next to a waiting train. Albert carefully climbed down. Harris exited the other side and started pulling out the boxed equipment. Men stepped forward, bowed, and hefted them on their shoulders. He chose to carry their personal bags. His weighed a lot more than Albert’s.

Geishas stood with fans unfurled. As Albert walked up the train steps, their metal blades protected his back.

The lead geisha said, “Dr. Timmons, Mr. Tamako requests you first come to his suite. If you will please follow me. Someone will escort your valet to place the luggage.”

“Thank you. My boxes need to be stored in an adjacent compartment in case I need to access them.”

As the train started with a loud whistle and jerk, his feet took a double step to keep from tripping. The girl glided forward on sandal-clad feet with sure, quick steps. She stopped at a closed door. An official Japanese emblem was fastened to it.

The ornate vestibule between the cars caught him by surprise. He read about luxurious rail travel in the paper, but no description equaled the reality. Edison bulbs glowed in gold sconces. Velvet wallpaper and polished wood panels glistened in their light.

“Your gracious President McKinley offered the use of his private cars,” a geisha said.

The door swung open before his hand could touch the knob.

Stolen novel; please report.

A guard, again dressed in black, stood before him. He stepped aside and bowed. “Please come in.”

He entered followed by the two women. Mr. Tamako stood in the middle of the car and bowed.

Albert bowed to him and started to step into the room. A hand lightly tugged at his sleeve. He glanced down and discovered the lead geisha pointing down at his feet.

“Our custom. Remove shoes, please. I help. Sit here.” She removed both shoes, taking extra care with his broken toes. Brocaded slippers were then guided on.

Albert watched with shocked eyes. The overall process was strangely seductive as the woman bent over and her fingers stroked his feet. To break the connection, he looked up and discovered Tamako observing him with a satisfied expression.

Was this the plan? A way to control him? Something was off about the whole setup.

“Come, sit, eat. I had a traditional Japanese meal for you. Izumi, please help him sit.”

“Thank you,” Albert said as the geisha pulled out a chair for him.

“You must discover how delicious our food is. Izumi, show him how to eat with the chopsticks.”

The woman knelt beside him, picked up the chopsticks, and laid them in his open hand. Her fingers folded his in different positions to hold them. Then guiding his hand, she picked up the sticky rice. He locked eyes with her as the food was raised to his mouth. At a sudden twitch of his fingers, the rice dropped on the table. He spied a fork and spoon next to his place and grinned. “I think I will use the western way for a while.”

After the meal, Albert stood, bowed, and thanked Tamako for his hospitality. He turned to search for his shoes and discovered they were gone.

“Izumi will bring them to you later. They needed polishing.”

Again, he was being manipulated. Standing outside in the foyer between the two cars, Albert breathed a sigh of relief. The emissary was too obvious in his actions. Walking into the next car, Harris waved at him from an open door.

“We have two adjoining cabins. Had to run off a servant that wanted to unpack everything for you.”

“My boxes?”

“Across the hall in another cabin. I couldn’t watch as they were delivered. Busy keeping people out of our luggage. Inquisitive help. How was the meal?”

“I’m starving.”

“Thought so. Sandwiches and some ale on the table in your cabin.”

“Watch out for Izumi. She is supposed to bring my shoes by later.”

“Already on first name basis, huh?”

“Close the door. We need to talk. Something is going on. Roosevelt may not have known the whole situation. The geisha is being shoved at me. Tamako wants us to connect. Although not that unpleasant, it is worrisome.

“Control you? Geishas are skilled at seduction.”

“I think so. Also, something about her perfume. Almost hypnotic.” He leaned forward and bit into his sandwich.

Harris uncapped the ale.

Albert drank almost half the bottle before going back to the sandwich. “Food was fish, boiled eggs staring back at me, noodles in a spicy sauce, and gooey rice. Also, a warm drink in small cups. Felt a buzz after the second refill. Must be alcoholic.”

“It’s called, Sake. Can be very strong. Starts slow, and then hits you all at once. I was fourteen and was sent home from school. Some boys and I got caught sipping whiskey behind the building. Dad decided I needed ‘educating’ and gave me sake. After the third cup, I was floating. On the fourth my head hit the table so hard, it took a week for the bruise to disappear. And boy, the headache. Always been careful after that.”

Albert raised his glass in salute. “My father kept port in the cabinet. Found me passed out in his favorite chair. Although, my bruise was in a different location. Almost a week before I could sit down properly.”

Harris lifted his bottle of ale. “To fathers and their educating.”

“To fathers.”

A hand tapped on the door.

“Your shoes?”

Albert sighed. He was too tired to handle this.

“I’ll take care of it.” Harris walked to the door and held out his hand. He nodded ‘thanks’ and closed the door.