“Masahiro!”
The sound of his name, called in a high, girlish voice, startled him so much that he jumped and yelped. He turned and saw Taeko.
“Don’t ever sneak up on me like that!” he hissed.
Her smile faded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”
“Never mind,” Masahiro whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” Taeko said. “And why were you tiptoeing?”
“It’s none of your business. Go away.”
Taeko’s lip quivered. She turned and fled.
Masahiro felt bad because he’d hurt her, which he hadn’t meant to do. Then he heard someone singing quietly. The voice was feminine and off-key but sweet. Masahiro followed the singing to the bath chamber. Steam scented with a floral fragrance seeped from the open door. Okaru sang, missing the high notes. Masahiro heard scrubbing and splashing. He knew it was rude to spy on people while they bathed, but he cautiously peeked.
Okaru crouched naked on the slatted wooden floor, half turned away from him. Her long hair was pinned up in a knot. She scrubbed her arms with a cloth bag of perfumed rice-bran soap. Her skin gleamed wetly. Her bottom was slim but rounded. When she raised her arm to wash under it, Masahiro saw the curve of her small breast, and the nipple like a pink bud.
He’d seen naked women before-the housemaids who opened their robes to fan themselves on hot days, the peasant girls who dived for shellfish at the beach-and he’d never thought anything of it. But the excitement that had been growing inside him ever since he’d met Okaru now surged with a force like thunder. Such a strong, strange desire gripped him that he could hardly breathe.
Oblivious to him, Okaru soaped her chest and stomach; she twisted around to scrub her back. When she washed between her legs, her singing lapsed into a little purr of pleasure. His body’s quickening need dizzied Masahiro. Bewildered by what was happening to him, he was terrified that Okaru would catch him spying on her, but he couldn’t stop.
Okaru rose, lifting a bucket of water. As she poured the water over herself, she turned. Masahiro stood open-mouthed, watching the water cascade down her breasts. His gaze followed its spill. Her pubis was shaved, the cleft between her legs clearly visible.
Masahiro’s excitement soared. Still unaware of his presence, Okaru stepped into the sunken bathtub. Masahiro heard footsteps. Cousin Chiyo came walking around the corner. She saw him, smiled, and started to speak. He sprang away from the bath chamber. Guilty shame flushed his face. Chiyo stopped, puzzled. Her glance moved from him to the bath chamber. She saw Okaru and said sharply, “Okaru-san. When you take a bath, please close the door.”
Masahiro heard Okaru say “Oh, I’m sorry” and Chiyo slide the door shut. He ran like a burglar caught in the act.
21
When Reiko arrived home from her trip to the convent, Chiyo met her on the veranda and said, “May I speak to you?”
“Of course,” Reiko said. “You can come with me to take Okaru to see Oishi. We can talk on the way there.”
Chiyo seemed to search for words. “I must talk to you alone. Now, if you don’t mind.”
“Well, then, let’s go inside,” Reiko said, “so you don’t catch cold.”
“Out here is better.”
“All right, now I’m curious,” Reiko said. “What is it?”
Chiyo said haltingly, “It’s about Okaru.”
“Has she done something to upset you?” Reiko wasn’t pleased to think that her friend’s dislike of her guest had worsened. She shouldn’t have left them alone together.
“This isn’t in regard to me.” Chiyo sounded unusually formal, constrained. “I don’t think Okaru is good to have around the children.”
“Because of her station in life?” Reiko couldn’t help being offended by Chiyo’s prejudice.
“That’s not what I mean,” Chiyo hastened to say, then faltered. “It’s her manners.”
“Even if Okaru’s manners aren’t perfect, I don’t think they’ll rub off on Masahiro or Akiko.”
“I’m afraid she’ll be harmful to them … in other ways.”
Reiko began to lose her patience. “She wouldn’t hurt them. Why, I saw her playing with Akiko yesterday, and she was so gentle and kind.”
“It’s not Akiko that I’m most worried about.”
“You’re worried about Masahiro?” Reiko was confused. “He can take care of himself.”
“Perhaps not as well as you think,” Chiyo murmured.
Before Reiko could ask Chiyo to say exactly what she meant, Okaru came out the door. Her lovely young face was bright with eagerness. “Oh, good, you’re back!” she said to Reiko. “Can we go and see Oishi now?”
Hirata walked up to the house, followed by Sano. Sano greeted everyone, then said to Reiko and Hirata, “The supreme court convenes in a few moments, and I have to testify. If you’ve got any new information for me, tell me now.”
Reiko cast a mystified glance at Chiyo, who gazed helplessly back at her. Whatever Chiyo was trying to tell her would have to wait.
* * *
Sano arrived in the palace to find the supreme court already seated. Once again Inspector General Nakae headed the row of Chamberlain Yanagisawa’s seven cronies, who included Lord Nabeshima and Colonel Hitomi. Magistrate Ueda headed the row of seven men facing them, with old Minister Motoori and Finance Superintendent Ogiwara. They had already begun to discuss the case, and Sano could see that the acrimony had grown.
“Greetings, Sano-san,” Magistrate Ueda said. “Have you anything new to report?”
Sano knelt at the end of the rows and bowed. “Quite a bit.”
“May it help us settle our differences before something regrettable happens,” said Inspector General Nakae, the squattest, surliest pumpkin in his patch.
Chamberlain Yanagisawa sauntered into the room. Sano felt a quick, hot leap of anger. The judges looked surprised. Magistrate Ueda addressed Yanagisawa in a voice that cloaked displeasure and hostility in politeness. “My apologies, but I must ask you to leave, Honorable Chamberlain. The supreme court’s proceedings are private and no outsiders can be present unless asked to testify.”
Yanagisawa smiled. “You shall make an exception for me.” His tone said that he outranked the judges, and anyone who objected to his behavior would pay. He seated himself at the head of the two rows. Magistrate Ueda compressed his mouth in exasperation. Yanagisawa said with mocking courtesy, “Proceed with your report, Sano-san. I’m all ears.”
Sano thought that Yanagisawa couldn’t resist interfering with his work for the supreme court. Or perhaps Yanagisawa wanted to influence the verdict. But he might just be curious about how the court was progressing. At any rate, Sano couldn’t disobey an order from the shogun’s second-in-command.
Fortified with the information that he and Hirata and Reiko had collected and shared earlier, Sano began his testimony with the story that Kajikawa had told him about Lord Asano’s botched attempt to kill Kira.
“I’ll allow open discussion,” Magistrate Ueda said.
“So Kajikawa changed the statement he gave during the investigation into the attack,” Superintendent Ogiwara said in his theatrical voice. “Back then, he said Lord Asano gave no indication of why he attacked Kira. Now he says that Lord Asano called Kira corrupt.”
The inspector general grimaced as he scribbled notes. “But did he really? If so, Kajikawa should have said so back then.”
Sano could tell that Magistrate Ueda and Superintendent Ogiwara welcomed the news that Lord Asano’s attack might have been justified, but Inspector General Nakae and his side didn’t. Sano glanced at Yanagisawa. The chamberlain wore his smoothest countenance, but Sano knew he was displeased because Sano had unearthed new evidence.
Lord Nabeshima, seated beside the inspector general, scornfully discredited the castle keeper’s evidence. “There’s nothing to support the theory that Kira did anything wrong.”