Autumn Bridge (57 page)

She said, “That was yesterday. Today I hate Western clothing.”

“I see,” Genji said. “Come here for a moment. I want you to meet someone.”

The girl resembled Makoto’s sisters in her mixed lineage, but while they were merely pretty, she was astonishing. Her hair was light brown, with brilliant auburn highlights. Flecks of gold seemed to sparkle in her hazel eyes. Her face was as smooth as the finest ceramic without diminishing in any way the mobility and liveliness of her expressions. In the shape of her face, the size and angle of her eyes, the tilt of her nose, the rise of her cheekbones, a remarkable harmony between East and West was realized. Makoto also saw, especially in the shape of her mouth and the way it tended toward a constant, slight smile, a resemblance to her sire and to himself. She reminded him of his sisters because, quite obviously, she was one.

“Shizuka, this is Makoto,” Genji said in English. “Makoto, my daughter, Shizuka.”

Shizuka said in Japanese, “Why are you speaking English?”

“Your names are Japanese,” Genji said, “so there wasn’t much English in what I said.”

“Stop it, Father,” she said. “Your jokes are never very funny.”

Makoto said, “Your father is speaking English because he is polite. I am his guest, and English is my primary language.”

“You’re not Japanese?” Shizuka said in English. Makoto’s explanation had apparently been an acceptable one.

“I am Japanese by blood, but I was born in the United States and have lived my entire life there. This is my first trip to Japan.”

Shizuka looked at him thoughtfully. “Ah,” she said, “you’re
that
Makoto. I recognize you now. I’ve seen many pictures of you. We’re brother and sister.”

Makoto looked at Genji.

Genji said, “I probably tell her more than I should. One of the classic sins of an indulgent father.”

Shizuka said, “I guess we’re really half brother and half sister. We had different mothers. We’re half orphans, too. Our mothers both passed away in childbirth.”

“I’m sorry about your mother, Shizuka. Mine is still alive.”

“Heiko is still alive?” Shizuka looked thoroughly confused. She turned to her father.

So did Makoto.

“Who is Heiko?” he said.

Jiro and Shoji stood at the starboard railing of the
Star of Bethlehem
and looked across the water at San Francisco.

Jiro said, “Even from afar, it looks barbaric.”

“How else could it possibly look?” Shoji said. In truth, this place reminded him more than a little of his mother’s hometown of Kobe, in Western Japan, with the waters of the same ocean lapping at the very edge of the city, and green valleys visible in the near distance. He would never admit that to his friend, of course. And there were major differences. Here, buildings were built not only up to the hillsides but over and atop them. That would never happen in a civilized country like Japan, where everyone respected the mountaintops as the residence of the gods. “A land of barbarians will look like a land of barbarians.”

A soft, musical voice drifted toward them. “Perhaps the time has come to adjust your thinking.” The sound was pleasing, but the reprimand was clear.

Recognizing her voice, they said “Yes, Lady Heiko” before they saw her.

Her nearness caught them by surprise. Only moments ago, they had seen her on the other side of the ship, talking to Mr. Stark and the captain. Though her movements were always gentle, deliberate, and leisurely, it was obvious she could move very quickly, and very silently, when she chose to do so. The story of her ride through the mountains with Mr. Stark, her nighttime charge against the traitor Sohaku’s barrier guards, and her dauntless ferocity at the battle of Mushindo Monastery were already legendary, though the events had taken place only last year.

Heiko said, “Both Mr. Stark and Lady Emily lived in this city before they came to Japan. To insult the place is to insult them.”

“Yes, Lady Heiko.” They continued to bow deeply, eyes properly averted and locked to the deck of the ship.

Protect Lady Heiko with your lives, Lord Genji had said, and honor her as you would honor me.

Jiro and Shoji, on their hands and knees, their heads pressed into the mats on the floor of Quiet Crane Palace, had said, Yes, Lord Genji.

Treat Matthew Stark as you would any lord in my service, and remember that he is my friend until we are parted by death.

Yes, lord.

In America, Mr. Stark and Lady Heiko will carry out plans designed to strengthen the clan. See that you do not fail to obey both of them without hesitation.

Yes, lord.

“Were you not sent here to provide protection for us?” Heiko said.

“Yes, Lady Heiko.”

“And how can you accomplish that if you spend so much time staring at the ground?”

They looked up to see Heiko smiling at them. Despite the fact that they were being chastised, her smile was so beautiful and so warm, both men felt their spirits brightening.

“From now on, consider yourselves on a battlefield at all times, and shorten your bows accordingly. We do not know the conventions of this country. We must be cautious in the extreme.”

“Yes, Lady Heiko.”

Stark joined them at the starboard railing.

“Well, there it is. Jiro, Shoji, how do you like it? Your first American city.”

“Very nice, sir,” Jiro said.

“I believe it’s grown considerably since I’ve been away. So much bigger in just a year.”

“It mind me Kobe,” Shoji said. “Same hills, same city at ocean.”

Stark was impressed. Neither man had a particular facility with English, but both had studied hard during the past year. No matter how long he had stayed in Japan, he knew he would never have been able to master their language as these men had mastered his. Like the samurai that they were, they had approached the learning of English in the same way they learned swordsmanship, archery, and hand-to-hand combat — as a matter of life and death.

“Yes,” Stark said to Shoji, “I can see the resemblance, now that you mention it. Except in Kobe, there are no buildings on the hilltops.”

“Ah,” Shoji said, “very right, Mr. Stark. Your observance acute.”

“Until your usage is better, use simpler words,” Heiko said in Japanese, “or you will seem pretentious and shame us all.”

“Yes, Lady Heiko.”

Within the hour, they were at the docks. Jiro and Shoji watched from the deck as groups of Chinese coolies, along with other groups of American laborers, unloaded the ship.

Jiro said, “The Chinese and the Americans don’t seem to like each other.”

“We don’t like either of them,” Shoji said, “and they don’t like us. Of course they also don’t like each other.”

There seemed something illogical about what Shoji said. Before Jiro had time to reason it out sufficiently to reply, they were joined by Lady Heiko’s maid, Sachiko. She had been busy below with the luggage. It was her first look at San Francisco.

“Why, it is more of a wilderness than a city,” Sachiko said. “I thought this was an important seaport.”

“It is,” Shoji said. He had noticed before that Sachiko was very pretty. She seemed even more so now that she was the only Japanese woman he knew besides Lady Heiko within seven thousand miles.

Jiro was having much the same thoughts.

“It’s nothing like Nagasaki or Yokohama,” Sachiko said. “I expected more buildings, more people, more of everything. Isn’t America a very powerful country?”

“Very powerful,” Jiro said, “and very large. Twenty times the size of all Japan. Most of the population is far to the east.”

“Is it as big as China?”

Sachiko was the same age as Lady Heiko, which would make her twenty. She should marry soon, while she was still young. Jiro wondered what Lord Genji had in mind when he’d sent the three of them here. There was Sachiko, and there was himself and Shoji. Someone would be left out. Unless Lord Genji did not intend for them to remain away from Japan for long.

“Bigger,” Shoji said.

“Really? Bigger than China. How amazing.”

Jiro struggled to remember more facts about America. He should have paid more attention to his studies. While it was likely that they would be returning to Japan after helping Mr. Stark establish an enterprise for Lord Genji, it was possible that their stay would be of longer duration. In that case, it would be good for him if he made a better impression on Sachiko than Shoji did. What else was notable?

Sachiko looked toward the gangplank, where Mr. Stark and Lady Heiko were preparing to disembark. “I must go now. Later you will tell me more.” She hurried away to help Lady Heiko.

Shoji said, “Look at the way Lady Heiko leans on Mr. Stark.”

“Yes. She took ill almost as soon as the ship left Japan.”

“She does not seem to be improving.”

“Now that we have arrived at our destination, perhaps she will benefit from medical attention. They do have an understanding of medicine, do they not?”

“Yes,” Shoji said. “I believe they learned the art from the Dutch, as we did.”

In silence, they watched Stark, Heiko, and Sachiko depart from the ship. They moved slowly across the port toward a waiting carriage.

“Sachiko is very charming,” Jiro said.

Shoji said, “Be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have heard rumors that she is a ninja.”

“I have heard those rumors about Lady Heiko, but not about Sachiko.”

“Don’t be dull,” Shoji said. “If Lady Heiko is a ninja, then wouldn’t Sachiko also be a ninja?”

“I don’t see how that necessarily follows,” Jiro said.

“Look at us,” Shoji said.

“What about us? We’re certainly not ninjas.”

“No, no, of course not. What I mean is, Lord Genji is a samurai, so his trusted servants are samurai, too. Would not Lady Heiko’s situation be the same?”

They watched the three board the carriage, which then traveled in the direction of the city.

“She doesn’t seem the violent type,” Jiro said, a bit more hopefully than he felt.

“Does Lady Heiko?” Shoji asked.

“She doesn’t, and that’s why I doubt those rumors about her, too,” Jiro said. “Remember, Lord Hidé overheard some of the men talking about it. He chastised them severely, and assigned them to a month’s stable duty for talking nonsense.”

“If the rumors were false, wouldn’t he have just laughed it off,” Shoji said, “and ridiculed them instead?”

Jiro wondered if Shoji really believed it, or was just saying it to discourage any romantic notions he might have about Sachiko, so that he would have a clear path himself. It was difficult to say. The best outcome for all concerned was a timely return to the homeland.

“Here, lie down,” Stark said, guiding Heiko to the nearest couch. Before they left Japan, he had arranged for the house to be built on a wooded hill outside the city. In the year he’d been gone, the city had come to it, though the hill itself was largely unoccupied.

“I’m not an invalid,” she said.

“Indeed you are not. But there are no emergencies for you to deal with, and there are no battles to be fought at the moment. You should rest while you can.”

“All I did aboard ship was rest.”

“If I remember aright, you also did a fair amount of throwing up.”

Heiko laughed. “I did, didn’t I?”

“That seems to have passed.”

“Three months,” Heiko said. “About the usual time.”

“When Lord Genji learns of this—”

“He will not learn of it,” Heiko said. “Not yet.”

“Why put it off? The sooner he knows, the better.”

“There is no use bringing anything to his attention before we are sure.”

“Sure of what? There is no doubt about your condition.”

Heiko smiled. “We cannot be sure that the child will survive. Why bother him with something that may prove to be nothing at all?”

“I think he will want to know, Heiko, and I think he will want to know right away.”

“We will wait until the child is born. If we tell him now, he may not be pleased. He may order an end to it.”

Stark was shocked. “He would do that? Why?”

“He is a Great Lord,” Heiko said. “Who knows what he would do? The circumstances are unusual, so it is difficult to predict what his feelings will be. What is certain is that the chances for the child are better once it is born. It is less likely that Lord Genji will order an execution than a termination of the pregnancy.”

“I don’t pretend to understand Japan any better now than I did a year ago,” Stark said, “but I can’t believe he would do something so barbarous, so completely without reason.” Stark fought to bring his breathing back under control. “In any case, we are in America now. Even if he did order it, there is no one here to do such a horrific deed.”

“Jiro and Shoji,” she said.

“I’d kill them first.”

Heiko smiled at Stark. As it always did, that soft and gentle expression made his breath catch in his throat.

“Would you kill
me
, Matthew?”

Stark looked at her for a long time without speaking. When he did, his voice was a harsh whisper, and his question one to which he already knew the answer.