Текст книги "The Masuda Affair "

Автор книги: Ingrid J. Parker

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

He smiled. Suddenly, he felt more optimistic about bringing home the boy he had grown fond of. He wondered what he would call him and fell asleep considering the possibilities.

He woke at dawn to the barking of Tora’s dog. As soon as he had identified the unaccustomed sound, he put aside his irritation and stretched. The barking stopped. Perhaps, he thought, a guard dog would not be a bad idea. If Tora looked after the beast, it might be possible to become used to him. As for the cat, there were enough mice scurrying about in the walls and nesting in the thatch of the roof to keep the animal occupied for years.

But there was still Hanae. And, in time, Hanae’s child. Akitada frowned. No, it would be much better if they all moved back to their own house and left him to his quiet life. On this thought, he closed his eyes and dozed off again.

The next disturbance was the sound of hammering and sawing. It was quite close to Akitada’s room, and more sleep was out of the question. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the shutters and made striped patterns on the wooden floor.

Seimei scratched softly at the door before coming in with Akitada’s tea.

‘What is this infernal racket?’ his master demanded.

‘Sorry, sir. It’s the new carpenter.’

Akitada brightened. ‘Really?’ He got up and accepted a cup of steaming tea. ‘That was very efficient of you. I’m glad the repairs have begun.’ He drank his tea.

‘It’s not my doing, sir. Tora sent the man yesterday.’ Seimei pursed his lips. ‘He’s quite old, I’m afraid.’

Akitada eyed Seimei, who was well into his seventies and had become frail. If Seimei called the carpenter old, he must be truly ancient and well beyond being useful. Putting his cup down, Akitada raised the shutter and walked outside. He followed the carpentry sounds to his wife’s pavilion. There he found a small wreck of a man with hair that was an astonishing color, somewhere between black and orange. The odd character was ponderously measuring a board, while the shaggy dog watched. The man’s skin was as deeply wrinkled and brown as a walnut shell, and every bone and tendon in his thin arms and legs was visible. He straightened up with a groan and limped to the broken veranda step to fit the board in place. The dog followed and sat, head cocked attentively to observe the operation.

‘Good morning,’ said Akitada.

The carpenter did not hear him, but the dog spun around and charged, barking loudly. Akitada stepped back, but the animal paused only long enough to recognize a recent acquaintance and then jumped. Off balance already, Akitada sat down hard. The dog pushed him down and proceeded to wash his face with an enormous wet tongue.

Akitada shouted at the animal and flung him off. Getting to his feet was another matter. The dog circled with happy barks, ready to pounce again. The carpenter finally noticed. He approached and bowed deeply. The man must be given credit for recognizing authority even under humiliating circumstances, but he was not much help at the moment.

The door of the pavilion opened. ‘Trouble!’ Tamako looked down at the scene. The dog abandoned Akitada and raced to her.

Remembering his wife’s anger the night before, Akitada got up nervously, but she smiled, wished him a good morning, and invited him in.

She still looked delicious, standing there in a pretty gown with that welcoming smile on her face, and he accepted eagerly. Bounding over the broken step and leaping across the hole in the veranda floor, he fetched up practically nose-to-nose with his wife. He caught the scent of orange blossoms, and took her in his arms. If the old carpenter was shocked at such behavior, Akitada did not care. Tamako had forgiven him, and he planned to take his time making love to her.

‘Akitada.’ Tamako’s tone was firm.

‘Yes, my dear?’ He swept her inside the room, dropping the shutter with his free hand behind them. The room was dim, but Akitada saw that his wife’s bedding had not been rolled up yet. Someone moved in the shadows.

‘You can let me go now,’ said Tamako. ‘Really, the veranda was quite safe.’ Akitada released his wife. Tamako went on brightly, ‘Hanae and I had hoped to have a word with you before you left for work. It’s good of you to come so early.’

Hanae again! Akitada felt a surge of resentment against that young woman. His eyes adjusted, and he saw her hovering near the door, looking embarrassed, though why a woman from the quarter should be embarrassed at what passed between men and women was beyond him.

Before he could sort out the situation, Tamako suggested, ‘Let’s sit down and discuss what is to be done about Lord Sadanori.’

Akitada sat down obediently. ‘Done? Nothing can be done.’

Tamako bristled. ‘Nothing? After what he did to Hanae?’

‘Unless I missed something, nothing happened to her.’

‘How can you call the abduction of a respectable young woman from her home for the pleasure of a depraved nobleman nothing?’

Respectable? Tamako had not led so sheltered a life that she did not know what passed in the amusement quarter. Hanae made a small noise of protest, and Akitada said peaceably, ‘I’m sure it must have been very unpleasant, but we don’t have any proof that Sadanori was involved – even if it were wise to charge a man of his stature.’

‘Wise?’ Tamako cried. ‘What has wisdom got to do with it? Shall he continue to prey on defenseless women because everyone is too afraid to oppose him? Will you risk Tora’s ruin by leaving this to him?’

Akitada opened his mouth and closed it again. He wanted to tell his wife that you don’t pull the tiger’s tail, but then he had never been very wise in such situations in the past. He tried reason. ‘Hanae has assured me that she never saw Sadanori. She says she was unconscious.’ A thought struck him, and he looked at Hanae. ‘You’re quite sure that – er – nothing happened to you?’

Hanae blushed. ‘I wasn’t raped,’ she said. ‘Oh, please, you must make Tora believe that nothing happened. I just want to forget the whole business.’

Tamako said, ‘Don’t be so timid, Hanae. My husband can put a stop to that monster. If he didn’t rape you, he probably had just not got around to it yet.’

Akitada considered. Perhaps Hanae would know if she had been raped while she was unconscious. Coroners could usually determine recent intercourse in a dead woman. But Hanae might well cover up certain details because of Tora. He said firmly, ‘There’s no evidence against anyone, let alone Lord Sadanori. The sedan chair could have been sent by another admirer.’

Hanae said stubbornly, ‘It was he who asked me to be a nursemaid. And he sent a woman to arrange for my visit to his wife. That’s the only reason I went with them.’

‘But you have no proof that it was not some other man who wanted your company. The woman could have lied.’ Akitada was more and more convinced that Hanae herself was lying. ‘I was told Lord Sadanori expected you to perform at a party that day. Kohata was asked to fill in for you when you didn’t show up.’

Hanae clenched her small fists. ‘I turned down the job. He knew I wouldn’t perform because my husband objected. He was angry with me. They say he has some strange fancies. Only, I didn’t think he felt that way about me.’ She sighed. ‘Can’t we forget about it? I was very foolish.’

Tamako said, ‘Whatever we decide to do, you cannot go back to your house. It’s too dangerous. Besides, as Tora’s wife you belong here, and this house is big enough for all of us.’

Akitada looked at her in dismay. His wife put an arm around Hanae. ‘Oh, I am so glad that we shall soon have another child in this empty house.’

Akitada thought about the boy in Otsu – the as yet nameless child who had no voice to plead for himself and no one to take him in. Tamako had disregarded his own feelings in favor of Hanae’s unborn child. Poor boy, he would not be welcome here.

Getting to his feet, he said soberly, ‘My wife is quite right, Hanae. Tora’s wife and child belong here. I hope that you will feel comfortable in this house.’ Then he nodded to both of them and left.

Tora returned towards midday. When Akitada heard the news, he went to the courtyard, where he caught Tora swinging Hanae in his arms. They separated hastily when they saw him, and Tora came to greet him.

‘How did you manage it, sir?’ he asked, his face shining with happiness. ‘Where was she?’ He turned to look at Hanae, who hung back a little. ‘Is she all right?’

‘She says so. In fact, as she’ll tell you herself, she escaped on her own and I merely brought her home. What about you?’

The charges against Tora had been withdrawn. He still looked the worse for wear, but a bath and tender care from his wife would soon improve that. Akitada returned to his study, where he went over his accounts again and thought about the Otsu problem. He was ready to write off the exorbitant amount of gold held by the Otsu judge if it bought the child’s freedom. He had, after all, intended to do this in the first place.

Shortly after his midday meal, Tora and Hanae came to see him.

They entered shyly and expressed their thanks for accepting Hanae into the Sugawara family. Hanae looked very ill at ease and kept glancing at Tora as if she had to remind herself that this was what he wished to do.

Akitada was pleasant, said the right things, and then added, ‘My wife will make the proper living arrangements for you.’

The Sugawara property was not in good repair, but it was large. One whole wing, once occupied by the late dowager, stood empty. Akitada had given it a cursory inspection; he still disliked being reminded of his stepmother. Now he remembered another matter. ‘That carpenter you hired, Tora. Isn’t he a very old man?’

Tora looked uneasy. ‘He’s a good carpenter. Sadanori’s overseer fired him for being slow, but he’s experienced and I thought …’ He faltered.

‘Yes. Quite. Well, set him to work on giving you two a dry abode.’

‘I can do that myself, sir. No need to take him from other chores.’

‘I shall need you for something else.’

‘Now?’ asked Tora, astonished.

‘Have you forgotten the child in Otsu?’

‘Sorry, sir. Stupid of me. What will you do about those charges against you?’

‘Against you, too, don’t forget.’

Tora grinned. ‘If yours are dismissed, mine will be too. Anyway, all we really have to do is prove that the boy doesn’t belong to the Mimuras.’

‘How?’

‘We’ll find his real parents.’

‘If the courtesan Peony was not his mother, and apparently she was not, then I have not the slightest idea where to begin to look.’

Hanae interrupted, ‘I beg your pardon. Is that the same Peony you asked me about, Tora?’

Tora said, ‘Yes. Did you find out anything?’

‘It may be nothing, but when I asked the old hag where I was, she said I was in Peony’s house. And then she gave me that drugged wine.’

THIRTEEN

Peony’s House

Peony again.

This time Akitada had to face the problem of the drowned courtesan. He had made only a token effort to trace her. Never mind that the child had recognized a cat, and that the cat had led him directly to the dead woman’s house and a toy sword in the garden. He had stopped looking for the boy’s family because what he had really wanted was the boy.

Without strings.

He looked at Tora and Hanae, sitting hand in hand across from him. Tora’s bruised face shone with happiness, but Hanae still looked nervous. It occurred to Akitada that she did not trust him any more than he trusted her. Perhaps it was enough that she made Tora happy, though marriage was no guarantee that all would be well between them. He sighed. Who was he to judge their chances?

He said gravely, ‘Thank you, Hanae. We have been trying to trace a young woman by that name, a courtesan of the first class who lived in Otsu under the protection of a nobleman.’

She nodded. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to find out more.’

Tora squeezed her hand and said, ‘You see what it means, sir? That bastard Sadanori used to keep Peony in that house. When she ran off to be with her lover, he followed and killed her. Hanae thinks that he only cares for women who don’t want him. He’ll do anything to have them. Maybe that includes killing them.’

‘A tempting theory, but our Peony lived in Otsu for years after she left the capital.’ Akitada looked at Hanae. ‘Did you reject Lord Sadanori’s advances, Hanae?’

She shot Tora a glance. ‘He made no advances, sir.’

Tora frowned. ‘You told me he wanted you.’

Hanae said with dignity, ‘Not that way. At least I did not think so.’

‘Well, that was stupid,’ exploded Tora. ‘Look what happened.’

She lowered her eyes. ‘Yes, Tora. I see that now. I’m very sorry.’

Akitada asked, ‘What do you think, Hanae?’

Hanae raised her eyes. ‘It’s possible, sir. He gets angry when he can’t have his way.’

‘We must have a look at the house where you were held. Do you think you could find it again?’

‘I doubt it, but I can try.’

Akitada remembered Tamako’s anger with him the previous day. ‘Please describe what you remember. Start at the beginning,’ he said.

‘The sedan chair stopped outside our house about mid morning two days ago. One of the bearers came to the door and said they had been sent for me. I thought it was for the interview.’

‘Describe the sedan chair and the bearers.’

‘It was ordinary, the kind you hire, and the bearer was the usual type. I explained that my husband was taking me, but he said they had instructions and couldn’t wait. I left a message with my neighbor and got in.’

‘You said you could not see where you were going, but did you get a sense of direction?’

‘I know we went westward to start with and then turned north. But after that there were so many turns that I got confused. I knew it was going to be a very long trip and started dozing.’

Akitada said, ‘Could they have circled the same block ten times to confuse you and make you think they were going to Uji?’

‘Yes.’

‘Close your eyes, and think for a moment about what you heard, or smelled.’ Hanae closed her eyes. ‘We passed the market, one of the markets. I smelled fried rice cakes and heard hawkers crying their wares. And later I heard the great temple bells, but they were faint.’ She sighed and looked at Akitada. ‘That’s all, I’m afraid. The rest was silence or just the noise of other people walking or riding.’

Akitada sighed. ‘Now when you finally halted, you left the sedan chair. What did you see?’

‘We were inside a small courtyard. The house had a thatched roof. There were two tall pine trees and a high fence. I couldn’t see anything outside the courtyard.’ She thought. ‘There were more trees, not pines, and another roof on one side of the courtyard. And I saw a well and a shed or bath house. The gravel had been raked recently.’ She looked at Akitada anxiously. ‘Does that help? I don’t know what the house looks like from the street.’

‘You’re doing well. What sort of fence and gate was it?’

‘Boards and woven bamboo segments. Nothing elegant. The gate was just a single one, but as tall as the fence and made of solid wood. You could not see in or out.’

‘And the house was a gentleman’s private home?’

‘Yes, but small. I got the feeling it was close to other houses on a street. It’s not anything I really know, though. I was becoming very worried by then because it didn’t seem the sort of place I expected.’

Hanae was either a very good liar or her story was true. If it was true … Well, Akitada had been wrong about people before. On the whole, he wanted to believe her for Tora’s sake and for the sake of their friendship. He said, ‘You must have been very frightened. Did anyone come out to greet you?’

‘No. The bearers put me down at the door and told me to go inside. I thought of leaving, but they barred my way and so I did as I was told. The old woman was waiting inside for me. She called me by name and was so friendly that I was relieved. She said there had been a change in plans and she was to talk to me instead – to save me the long journey to Uji. I’m afraid I wanted to believe her. And then she served me wine.’

There were some large problems with Hanae’s tale, but Akitada said, ‘A very clever plot and, but for your determination, it would have succeeded.’

Some of the tension left Hanae. She blushed a little at the compliment.

‘You never saw anyone except the two bearers and the old woman?’

‘That’s all. It was night when I left. I wish I’d taken a good look around, but I was afraid they’d catch me.’ She paused. ‘I thought I heard the cry of a crane once or twice.’

‘Possibly there was a lake nearby. Or the river. Describe the interior.’

She sat up a little straighter. ‘I was in only one room, but it was very luxurious. I’d never seen so many costly things in one place. There were five or six beautiful painted screens and a lacquered curtain stand with mother-of pearl inlay. We sat on a thick grass mat on cushions of red silk. The wine flask and cups on a small red-and-gilt stand were of porcelain. It looked like a room for an empress. I saw a large silver mirror and make-up cases and lovely lacquered and painted trunks. On the shelves were books and games and musical instruments. I kept expecting the lady of the house to appear. That’s when I asked where I was, and the old one said it was “Peony’s house”. The way she said it was … secretive. She kept looking at me and smiling.’ Hanae gave a dainty shudder.

‘Would you say,’ Akitada asked, ‘that it was the sort of place where a very rich man might keep his favorite concubine?’

‘She would have to be very special.’

‘Was there a garden? Could you see outside?’

‘The shades were down and the outer shutters closed. We sat by candlelight.’

‘Hmm. Describe the old woman.’

‘She was about fifty years old, I think. A little taller than I. Broad in the hips, but not fat. She had small hands and feet, and a round face. Her hair was getting thin and gray.’

‘Any recognizable features? Scars, moles, a limp?’

‘No. She looked … respectable.’

Tora muttered something under his breath. Akitada ignored him. ‘So you drank the wine she offered. Did you talk about anything?’

‘I was nervous and chattered about being a nursemaid and how I liked children very much and that I was so happy I was to have one of my own. She just nodded and smiled. Then I got dizzy. I remember that her teeth were blackened and thought that strange for a servant, but then she could have been a relative. I’m afraid I don’t remember anything after that.’

Akitada cleared his throat. It was a convenient tale. ‘When you woke up, you were alone?’

‘Yes. It was completely dark. I was lying on the floor. My arms were tied behind my back and my ankles were tied. I was wearing the silk robe.’

Tora moved angrily and muttered again.

‘Be quiet,’ said his master. ‘Go on, Hanae.’

‘My head hurt. I felt quite sick for a while. But then I began to work on the rope. I thought the woman had gone to sleep and if I was as quiet as a mouse, I might get away. I managed to get the ropes off and felt my way out of the room and down a hallway. The outside door wasn’t locked, but the gate was, so I climbed over the fence and started running. After a while I heard the bell of the East Temple and found my way home just before you came.’

Akitada said nothing for a few moments. Then he asked, ‘Do you mean to say you were unconscious for more than a whole day and night?’

‘I must have been.’

She had looked quite sick, but her story was still hard to believe. What drug would leave a woman unconscious that long? And if Sadanori had ordered her abduction, he had had plenty of time to take his pleasure. Why had he not done so? And how had she escaped so easily? But he said nothing of his doubts and thanked Hanae.

‘Get your sword and saddle two horses, Tora,’ he said, getting up. ‘We’ll look for the house and have a talk with that old woman.’

*   *   *

Akitada doubted the house or the old woman existed, but for Tora’s sake, they had to look. On horseback, they covered more ground in less time, but the sun was setting before they trotted down a quiet residential street just north of the Willow Quarter. They had covered the areas south of both markets without seeing likely houses. This was a quiet area of small but well-kept homes.

And then Tora pointed. He had been scanning the skyline for pine trees and now he said, ‘Look over there, in the next street. See the two pines, and one has a large bird’s nest in it. I bet that’s where a couple of cranes are roosting. Remember Hanae said she heard cranes?’ He spurred his horse, and Akitada followed. In the next street was indeed a house behind a high fence, a fence that was part wood and part woven bamboo.

‘Possibly,’ Akitada said, grudgingly. ‘It looks empty. No smoke.’

They pounded on the gate. Nobody came. Tora kicked at the gate with his foot and it flew back, crashing against the fence inside. A couple of mourning doves flew up with a clatter of wings; otherwise all remained silent. They rode into a small courtyard that looked exactly as Hanae had described it.

Tora dismounted, gave a couple of lusty shouts for servants, then tried the door of the house. ‘It’s open, sir. Let’s have a look.’

The house was empty, and that meant they had lost the old woman, their only witness to Hanae’s story. She would have been likely to run when she found that her prisoner had escaped.

They checked all the rooms quickly. There were five and a kitchen. The house was small, but well appointed. Even the kitchen was equipped to furnish elaborate meals at a moment’s notice. It was exactly the sort of place a very rich nobleman would furnish for a treasured female who was not acceptable in his household. But this house had not been in use for a long time before Hanae’s abduction. A great deal of dust lay everywhere, and cobwebs hung from all the ceilings. Only the main room had been cleaned. And strangely, while the furnishings were not new, they had seen little use, and that suggested that the house had stood empty for years. Was it Sadanori’s? Had he built it for the courtesan Peony, who had ended her life in another man’s secret hideaway in Otsu?

Akitada inspected the main room. The pieces of rope still lay next to a bundle of plain clothing, proof of Hanae’s tale and of the abrupt flight of the old woman. Tora pounced on the bundle and unrolled it. It consisted of a plain dark blue gown, a pair of matching trousers, and a white-and-blue figured sash. ‘Hanae’s,’ he said.

Akitada nodded and raised the heavy reed blinds, bound in green brocade and tied with silk. Then he threw open the wooden shutters, looking out on a small, overgrown garden. More birds flew up. He turned and, in the remaining daylight, he saw the beautiful screens. Shimmering with gold dust and brilliant colors, they were painted with landscape scenes: a pond with a pair of ducks, a mountain gorge under a full moon, a garden scene with a pair of rabbits, and an assortment of baskets and birdcages suspended from a veranda roof. There were peonies on all of them, and colored paper squares covered with calligraphy were pasted into the design. The peonies’ colors were white, pink, and deep red; there were doubles and singles, heavily fringed or plain; they grew from the ground, leaned over water, or filled baskets. The paper squares contained love poems.

‘Peony’s house,’ Akitada muttered and went to read the poems.

Tora came to look. ‘Oh, I see what you mean.’

‘Peonies and love poems,’ said Akitada.

‘That sick bastard didn’t look like a poet to me.’

‘Oh, they’re not Sadanori’s.’

They looked briefly at the musical instruments and feminine possessions – the trunks were filled with exquisite robes – then closed the shutters again and left the house.

‘Let’s talk to the neighbors,’ Akitada said.

They split up to knock on the gates of all the houses on this block. When they met again, they had little enough information. The property belonged to some noble family and had been closed up for years. A caretaker checked it from time to time, but nobody lived there.

‘It’s a miracle thieves haven’t made off with everything the way they did in the villa in Otsu,’ Akitada said.

‘Sadanori keeps a watch on it.’

‘Nobody mentioned his name. Too bad that old woman took to her heels. She would have known. I wonder where she went.’

‘To report to him that another one got away,’ said Tora grimly.

‘Let’s go home. Tomorrow we’ll go back to Otsu to see if that Peony and this one are the same woman.’