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said, feeling the same flash of anger.
'I had heard rumours of that. I'm afraid my sons must both be a great
disappointment to you, after everything you have done for them.'
Her voice was measured, but he saw that she was genuinely distressed.
'I trust Taku completely,' he said. 'But such a distraction can only make him
careless. Zenko is another question, but for the moment he is in check.
However, it seems he is determined to claim the headship of the Muto family,
and that is going to bring him into direct conflict with you, and Taku, and of
course myself.'
He paused, and then said, 'I have tried to placate him; I have threatened him
and commanded him, but he is determined to provoke me.'
Shizuka said, 'He grows more like his father every year. I cannot forget that
Arai ordered my death, and would have watched you kill his sons, in his quest
for power. My advice, both as head of the Muto and as an old friend of the
Otori, is to get rid of Zenko quickly, before he gathers any more support. I
will arrange it myself. You only have to order it.'
Her eyes were bright, but she shed no tears.
'The first day we met, Kenji said I should learn ruth-lessness from you,'
Takeo replied, amazed that she should advise him so coolly to kill her eldest
son.
'But neither Kenji nor I were truly able to instill it in you, Takeo. Zenko
knows this, which is why he is not cowed by you, nor does he respect you.'
Her words stung surprisingly, but he answered mildly, 'I have committed myself
and this country to a path of justice and peaceful negotiation. I will not let
Zenko's challenge divert that.'
'Then arrest him and try him for plotting against you. Make it legal, but act
swiftly.' She watched him for a few moments, and when he did not reply went
on, 'But you will not follow my advice, Takeo; you do not need to say
anything. Of course, I am grateful to you for sparing my son's life, but I
fear the cost to us all will be beyond bearing.'
Her words made the cold touch of premonition brush against his spine. The sun
had set and the garden was transformed by the blue light of evening. Fireflies
flickered above the stream, and he saw Sunaomi and Chikara come splashing
through the water under the wall - they must have been playing on the
riverbank. Hunger had driven them home. How could he take the life of their
father? He would only set the boys against him and his family, and prolong the
feud.
'I have offered to betroth Miki to Sunaomi,' he remarked.
'It is a very good move.' Shizuka made a visible effort to speak more lightly.
'Though I don't think either of the children will be grateful to you! Don't
mention it to anyone; Sunaomi will hate the idea. He was deeply upset by the
episode last summer. When he is older he will realize what an honour it is.'
'It is too early to announce it formally - maybe when I return at the end of
the summer.'
He thought from her expression that Shizuka was going to remind him again that
he might have no country to return to, but they were interrupted by a cry from
the far end of the house, where the women's rooms were. Takeo heard Haruka's
footsteps running the length of the veranda, making the nightingale floor
sing.
In the garden the boys stood and stared after her.
'Shizuka, Dr Ishida,' Haruka was shouting. 'Come quickly! Lady Otori's pains
have begun.'
The child, as Kaede had known all along, was a boy. The news was celebrated
instantly in the city of Hagi, though with a certain restraint, for infancy
was a dangerous time, and a child's hold on life tenuous and fragile. Yet the
birth had been swift, and the baby was strong and healthy. There seemed every
reason to be confident that Lord Otori would have a son to inherit. The curse
that people whispered had been caused by the birth of twins had been lifted.
The news was received with equal rejoicing over the next few weeks throughout
the Three Countries, at least in Maruyama, Inuyama and Hofu. Possibly the joy
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was less than heartfelt in Kumamoto, but Zenko and Hana professed all the
appropriate sentiments and sent splendid gifts, silk robes for the baby, a
small sword belonging to the Arai family and a pony. Hana made preparations
for her journey to Hagi later in the summer, eager to see her own sons and to
keep her sister company while Takeo was away.
When the period of Kaede's confinement was over, and the house had been
purified according to custom, she brought the child to his father and placed
him in his arms.
'This is what I have wanted all my life,' she said. 'To give you a son.'
'You have already given me more than I could have ever hoped for,' he replied
with emotion. He was unprepared for the wave of tenderness that filled him for
the tiny, red-faced, black-haired creature - and for the sense of pride. He
loved his daughters, and had not thought he wanted for anything, but to hold
his son filled some hitherto unrecognized need. The corners of his eyes grew
hot, yet he could not stop smiling.
'You are happy!' Kaede exclaimed. 'I was afraid . . . you have so often told
me you did not want sons, that you were content with our daughters, I had
almost come to believe you.'
'I am happy,' he replied. 'I could die at this moment.'
'I feel the same,' she murmured. 'But let us not talk of dying. We are going
to live and watch our son grow.'
'I wish I did not have to leave you.' He was gripped suddenly by the idea that
he might abandon the journey to Miyako. Let the Dog Catcher attack if he
wanted to; the armies of the Three Countries would repel him easily, and deal
with Zenko too. He was astonished at the strength of the feeling; he would
fight to the death to protect the Middle Country so that this Otori child
would inherit it. He examined the thought carefully, and then put it from him.
He would try the ways of peace first, as he had resolved; if the trip were
postponed now he would seem both arrogant and cowardly.
'I wish it too,' Kaede said. 'But you must go.' She took the child from him
and gazed into its face, her own face suffused with love. 'I will not be
lonely with this little man by my side!'
Thirty-three
Takeo had to leave almost immediately in order to complete most of the
journey before the onset of the plum rains. Shigeko and Hiroshi arrived from
Maruyama, and Miyoshi Gemba from Terayama. Miyoshi Kahei had already left for
the East as soon as the snow had melted, with the main Otori army, fifteen
thousand men from Hagi and Yamagata; a further ten thousand would be mustered
by Sonoda Mitsuru in Inuyama. Since the previous summer, stores of rice and
barley, dried fish and soy paste had been put aside and dispatched to the
Eastern borders to provide for these huge numbers of men. Luckily the harvest
had been bountiful: neither the army nor those they left behind would starve.
In all the arrangements for the journey, the most taxing was how to transport
the kirin. She had grown even taller, and her coat had darkened to the colour
of honey, but her calmness and tranquillity were unchanged. Dr Ishida was of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]