Reiko turned to face Lord Mori. “But you are.” Her voice turned husky and seductive; her hand fondled his genitals.
Flattered, he laughed. “Yes, I am virile, with you.”
Lady Mori had longed to bear him a child and believed that the fact that she’d been unable was his fault, that he was sterile. After all, she had Enju. But he’d impregnated Reiko. That proved he was potent and Lady Mori was to blame for failing to conceive, for years of regret. Now Reiko would bear him the child that Lady Mori couldn’t. Lady Mori wanted to scream, fall on the ground, and claw herself to bloody shreds.
“I think the baby is a boy,” Reiko said.
“Good,” said Lord Mori. “I’ve always wanted a son.”
New revelation horrified Lady Mori. She’d believed he thought of Enju as his son. Now it was obvious that he cared more for his unborn flesh and blood than for the stepson who’d loved him these sixteen years. Reiko’s child was a betrayal of Enju as well as Lady Mori herself.
Lord Mori pulled Reiko on top of him. She sat upright with his body between her knees, his hands on her middle. He said, “Imagine, a son of mine growing up inside Edo Castle. If Chamberlain Sano manages to hold onto his power long enough, my son will become a top official in the regime.”
“What an honor for you.” Reiko laughed. “And what a fine joke on my husband!”
Lady Mori was forced to acknowledge that her perfect marriage had been an illusion. Yet she still loved her husband; she still wanted him back. She could no longer tolerate the pain of his infidelity, and she couldn’t just wait passively for his affair to run its course. She must take action.
Her first thought was to tell Chamberlain Sano about the affair between Lord Mori and Reiko. Surely Chamberlain Sano would put a stop to the affair and punish his adulterous wife. But he would also punish Lord Mori, strip him of his fief, or even put him to death. Lady Mori devised a better plan.
The next day, she walked into Lord Mori’s office, where he was poring over account books. Trembling with nerves and fright, she said, “I-I have something to tell you.”
“Very well,” he said grudgingly. “Be quick about it.”
“You must stop this affair with Lady Reiko,” she burst out. Tears welled in her eyes. “You must honor your vow to be a faithful husband to me.”
He gazed at her in contempt and scorn. “I will not. I’m in love with Reiko. I don’t care about you. And how dare you tell me what to do?”
“If you don’t give her up, I’ll tell my brother how badly you’re treating me.” Lady Mori’s brother was the daimyo of a fief near Lord Mori’s. He and she had been very fond of each other since childhood.
He’d arranged her marriage to Lord Mori, uniting their clans, sealing a treaty of peace and mutual support between them, but he would take personally any offense to her. He would retaliate against the offender, and no treaty would stand in his way.
Lord Mori blenched. “You wouldn’t tell him.”
“Do right by me, or I will,” Lady Mori said, emboldened by the fear in his eyes. “And my brother will declare war on you. His army will invade your provinces. He’ll have your head as a battle trophy.”
Staring at her with amazement, he shook his head. “You would instigate a war to separate me from Reiko? You’re mad!”
“Make your choice,” Lady Mori said.
“This is just a foolish woman’s bluff. No matter how much your brother cares about you, he’s too smart to risk everything he has to avenge you!”
“We shall see.” Lady Mori walked toward the door.
Before she reached it, Lord Mori called, “Wait.”
Lady Mori turned. Her husband sat behind his desk, shrunken by cowardice. “All right,” he said with bitter resentment. “I will end the affair.”
Lady Mori experienced a sad triumph. “You’ll never see Lady Reiko again? You’ll tell her it’s over?”
He expelled his breath. “Yes.” Heartache etched his face. “I’ll tell her.”
“Tonight,” Lady Mori specified.
When night came, Lady Mori was stationed at her spy-post outside her husband’s bedchamber. Storms had beset Edo all day; faint thunder heralded another. Smoke from a fire shrouded Lady Mori as she knelt on the veranda beneath the window. Inside the room, Lord Mori and Reiko sat drinking sake together.
“My, but you’re quiet,” Reiko said. “What’s the matter?” Glum and haggard, Lord Mori wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I can’t see you anymore.” His voice quavered. “This is the last time.”
“What are you talking about?” Reiko demanded. Disbelief marked her beautiful features. “We’re in love. You said you can’t live without me. How can you just cast me off?”
Satisfaction filled Lady Mori. Let Reiko feel the pain of rejection. Let her suffer instead.
“I don’t want to,” Lord Mori hastened to assure her. “I love you more than my life. To lose you will break my heart. But my wife is jealous. She told me that unless I give you up, her clan will declare war on mine.”
“Idle threats!” Reiko scoffed. “You don’t believe her?”
Lord Mori hung his head. “I can’t take the chance that she can make good on them.”
Reiko surged to her feet in outrage. “You mean you won’t stand up to her. You think I’m not worth the danger!”
“That’s not true!” Lord Mori rose and embraced her. “You’re worth the world to me!”
She pushed him away. “Then go tell your wife that you won’t bow to her wishes. Tell her that if she’s stupid enough to start a war, you’ll fight it, for the sake of our love.”
His posture sagged. “I can’t,” he mumbled.
Reiko’s eyes flashed sparks of indignation. “Then it’s over between us? Even though I’m carrying your child?”
He nodded. Lady Mori had never seen him look so miserable.
“Oh, no, it isn’t,” Reiko fumed. “No man has ever rejected me. I won’t let you go.” She sounded like a spoiled, petulant girl on the verge of a tantrum. “I’ll show you that you’re mine until I decide we’re finished!”
She yanked the pins from her hair, which tumbled to her waist. She untied her sash.
“No!” Lord Mori was breathless with alarm.
Reiko dropped her robes to the floor and stood naked. Her pregnant belly protruded round and ripe beneath her breasts.
“Don’t. I beg you,” Lord Mori whispered. Desire engorged his face.
“You want me.” Reiko’s smile was tantalizing. “You know you do.” She snatched at his clothes, undressing him.
“Stop!” Lord Mori tried to push her away, but she tore open his kimono; she tugged down his trousers and pulled off his loincloth. His manhood sprang erect.
Reiko caught hold of it. “This belongs to me.” She fondled him while he moaned. “I never give up anything that’s mine.”
Lord Mori seized Reiko’s hands in an attempt to wrench them off him. “Leave me alone,” he ordered.
Yet his voice and his actions lacked force. Reiko knelt. She put her mouth on him. As she licked and teased, he collapsed to the floor. She laughed with triumph as she positioned herself on top of him. “You can’t resist me. You’ll do what I want.”
She spread her legs, took him inside her, and moved up and down. “We’ll be together always. Never mind your wife.”
Although Lord Mori said, “No! Stop. Please!” he heaved and thrust at her. Lady Mori wept because her husband was so enthralled by Reiko that not even the threat of war could break her hold on him.
“You’ll be the ruin of me!” he cried. His hand fumbled under the bed near them; he pulled out the sword that he kept there in case an intruder should attack him in his sleep. He brandished it at Reiko. “Go away, or I’ll kill you!”
Reiko stayed. She moved faster, her body pumping, her breasts bouncing. Her expression turned murderous. She grabbed the sword from Lord Mori and held it to his throat. “If you leave me, I’ll kill you!” she shouted. “If I can’t have you, no one will!”