“What’s that?” Ito was obviously taken aback. “Only Siam and Japan?”
“Those are the only two countries from their trip that are independent nations,” Sherlock said quietly, “free from colonial rule.”
“And also we assumed they were less advanced,” Nicholas added completely indifferently. “For instance, we knew that the Siamese royal family prohibited newspaper correspondents from entering the country.”
Ito was beginning to find Nicholas’ attitude very provoking. “I imagine Your Highness’ opinion had begun to change after seeing our country for yourself.”
“True, it is much more modern than I had expected. But we had no way of knowing that before.” Nicholas sounded surprisingly contrite. “We did not bring the military photographer ashore in Siam to make sure there wasn’t any evidence.”
Chekhov sighed. “The entire crew was operating in the utmost secrecy, including the captain. Naturally, not even the palace was informed.”
Sherlock stared at the young man. “So you thought if you did not take photographs you would be safe?”
Nicholas’ face clouded over. “Unfortunately, we learned later that the Siamese had taken shorthand notes. Things George said contradicted with what I had said earlier in other countries.”
“So officially you said you wanted to compare records, but in fact you were hoping to revise the Siamese records to better match your own official views.”
“My brother’s statements were not the only problem. Some newspaper correspondents had paid local Siamese press to do some reporting for them. George had even been photographed in secret, from afar.”
“Luckily for you, the photographs were all unclear,” Sherlock filled in. “None of the newspapers realized they actually depicted Grand Duke George. The Russian court has offered a large sum to purchase those negatives, the goal being to remove them from circulation.”
“Since the photographs were developed using rudimentary technology, they will likely deteriorate in a number of years. The negatives, however, are a different story. If someone enlarged them they might realize it was George.”
Sherlock nodded. “You worried the same situation might occur in Japan, so you didn’t inform the reporters of your itinerary. Instead, the Grand Duke snuck out in secret.”
“Yes. Of course I’d met the Emperor before all this, so the plan was that I would go in person for only the Tokyo portion of the trip. At any rate, Japan agreed with George greatly, and he showed little reserve in his travels. He even visited the homes of commoners. And of course, everyone he met were people he’d never met before. I’m sure he assumed that no one in Asia would be able to tell the difference between him and I. And even the dignitaries were fooled. There were no reporters, everyone bowed their heads on the street, and cameras are not popular here with the public. Photographs were prohibited. I wrote my diary entries based on George’s letters, just as I had in Siam.”
Ito didn’t understand. “But there were photographs taken during your visit, I am sure of it. I saw them myself at the newspaper offices. It was clearly you in those photographs, sitting in a rickshaw.”
Sherlock held up a hand to stop Ito. “Your Highness, you must have been very shocked when you heard of what occurred in Otsu.”
Nicholas groaned. “Shocked! I could hardly believe it. The entire Pamiat Azova was in a panic. I was desperate to know if my brother was safe. I could not rest.”
“Were you worried for your brother?” Sherlock asked coldly. “Or were you more worried that the Emperor of Japan was on his way to see him? You received notice that he wished to check on your brother’s well-being, I believe.”
Nicholas closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “And my heart nearly fell out of my chest. I consulted with the officers and other attendants. We decided I should switch with George before the Emperor arrived. He had been sent to Tokiwa Hotel—if we had admitted him to a hospital there would have been records. We snuck ashore in secret, and travelled to the hotel by carriage.”
“Were you able to observe your brother’s condition when you arrived?”
“Yes… He was in serious condition, and remained senseless. He still does, today.”
The entire conversation had left Ito reeling. They had been notified at first that the injury was serious, and included damage to the skull. During His Grace’s visit, however, they were told the injury was quite minor. As confusing as that discrepancy had been, Ito never imagined that the truth would be as strange as this.
Nicholas stared off into space. “I was uninjured, of course, but we wrapped my head in bandages. We arranged our story with the court physician in advance, before the Emperor arrived. George was transferred to the Pamiat Azova, then later to another ship, and then to a hospital in Vladivostok.”
And this explained why Prince Takehito Arisugawa and the interpreter, Naohide Madenokoji, had not been admitted into the room. Naturally they could not be allowed inside. They still believed Nicholas was the younger brother.
“After the incident,” Sherlock said, “the Emperor was not the only person you needed to deceive. There were reporters, as well.”
“Yes, precisely. Originally we planned that I would go to Tokyo, and we could take photographs then. It would have looked strange if the military photographers had not taken any photos before the Otsu incident. After Siam, they might have been punished for forgetting their duties again.”
Sherlock snorted. “Your Highness is very kind to worry.”
Nicholas was offended. “We didn’t mean any harm. We assumed the whole matter would remain secret.”
“You summoned the two rickshaw drivers to the warship in order to falsify some photographs. That is why you asked them to wear their rickshaw uniforms.”
“You have worked it all out, I see. Yes. We paid the drivers a great sum, and awarded them with medals to keep them quiet after. We thought if we had given them a one-time reward they might have had second thoughts afterward. But a lifetime pension meant we could cut off their funds if they should ever let the secret slip.”
“Very effective. I suspect your father had a hand in devising such a threat.”
“Yes. I had hoped to keep the whole affair a secret from Father, but George was still senseless when we sent him to Vladivostok. We had no choice but to lay the whole thing bare. I had the captain send a wire to ask for Father’s orders.”
“The medal ceremony was not held until the evening. You invited the drivers aboard at noon. That was so you could sneak them from the ship and take your photographs.”
“We lowered the boat from the starboard side in order to avoid detection. Disguising ourselves as commoners, we docked at a small fishing port where we took the photographs using a rickshaw we’d arranged for. I wore the same bowler and blazer that George had when he was in Otsu. We continued taking pictures until the sun dipped and began to set, at which point the photographer said it was too dark to take any more. We returned to the warship by boat, and held the medal ceremony then.”
Now it finally makes sense, Ito thought. That must have been when the rickshaw drivers saw Mt. Fuji.
“After spending so much time taking fake photographs, I should think you would have more to show for it,” Sherlock said in some astonishment. “You provided only two photographs to the newspapers.”
“But if even a single passerby was in frame, someone might work out that the photographs were not taken when we said they were. We had to be sure nothing was behind us that could give away our location, and that the lighting generally matched my brother George’s travels. So from all the pictures we took, we were left with only two photographs.”