The Seabird of Sanematsu (29 page)

The doctors scurried in, followed by Uesugi. Kono ordered them out so Sanematsu could be better attended.

Aderyn hesitated. What if the doctors were Matsumoto’s men?

“I shall be safe,” Sanematsu assured her. “My physicians can be trusted--they are samurai.”

Uesugi took her arm. “Come.”

She stood and backed away from the bedside.

“Before you return, wash your face,” Sanematsu requested. “Ko-tori-sama.” The title touched her ears like a caress. His eyes twinkled as he smiled at her.

“Yes, Yoshi.” She returned the show of affection by omitting his honorific. Their eyes met and held across the space. They were now equals, if only in private.

Under Uesugi’s guard, she entered her tent and removed the disguise. Seeming a little older for the adventure, Uesugi squatted on his heels inside the doorway, his sword on his knees.

“I suppose Matsumoto is planning his revenge.” She finished cleaning her face and pulled off the wig.

“I doubt it. He may worry for a while, but he will not have time to take action. The whole camp thinks Chiyo-sama is dying. They will be busy preparing to leave. Yet by now he is aware we have told Sanematsu-sama our suspicions. He will be on guard.”

“I hope you are right.”

“I will step out so you may change,” he offered.

As he left, Aderyn glimpsed people hurrying. Tents fell, and horses were saddled. She changed clothes, pulling on a pair of the black hakama and a white hitatare that she tied closed with a thin black belt. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Leaving the tent, she took a place beside Uesugi, squatting in like fashion. She tucked the knife into her belt.

“Lady Tori, I must ask for the aikuchi.”

“This?” Aderyn withdrew the dagger.

“Yes. It is the knife a lady samurai would use to defend herself or her husband, or to commit seppuku if she is unable to. Only samurai, men or women, may be permitted to carry weapons. I allowed it earlier, as it was necessary. No insult is intended. I must do my duty.”

“I take no insult, Tadakuni-sama.” Aderyn handed the weapon to him. “I do not think I could use it.”

Uesugi put the dagger in his sash with his short sword and silence settled on them. They waited, both anxious about the life of their master. They wondered if it had ended.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

My lord,” Kono said with finality after the other doctors had left the tent. “we have done all we can. It is in the hands of the gods. The wound remains open and seeps blood. You should not try to travel at this time.”

“I will take your advice…under consideration.” Sanematsu did not react to the doctor’s concern. “Would you have Tori-sama and Uesugi-sama return?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Sanematsu eased onto his bed; pillows propped him half-upright. The lapse in protocol had restored a tiny bit of his strength. In addition, the doctors had medicated him with a pain-relieving drug and potions to give him vitality. They only slowed death. He closed his eyes and dozed until he heard Tori and Uesugi enter.

Uesugi dropped to his knees at the entrance. He placed his swords on the rack and the dagger beneath it on the ground then prostrated himself before his daimyo. Tori followed suit.

“What are you two doing?” Sanematsu quizzed, his voice filled with affection. “You were not so timid an hour ago. Come closer.”

“My lord.” Uesugi came to his right. “I regret we have been disrespectful to you in our behavior. I felt it was the only way to prevent your murder. I acted, I assumed, in your best interest.”

“Yes, Uesugi-uji, you placed your lives in jeopardy. I am pleased by your actions. And you!” He took in Tori, who hung back at the foot of his bedding. “Your performance has reinforced my…regard for you.” He wished he could tell her he respected her, but his culture would not allow him to voice such feelings for a woman. Nor could he say he loved her, as he wished. “Come, sit beside me and tell me about this plot.”

She maneuvered nearer on his left, unharmed, side. She moved the bare sword. Uesugi was in reach of his and was more able to defend Sanematsu than the daimyo could himself. She and Uesugi sat cross-legged.

“I hesitated to say much,” she stated in beginning her tale. Would Uesugi challenge her for speaking on their behalf? “I am the only one who overheard the plot. It would be the word of a barbarian against that of a samurai.”

“Tori-sama, I place great store in your word. I trust you with my life. You have no motive to lie.”

“Matsumoto came to Uesugi-sama and I with word that you were convinced we were against you. He indicated we were to be kept under guard by your order. So…” She smiled, and he returned it. “…I escaped.”

“I would have expected that.”

“I crept along the back of the camp to get to your tent. I stopped between two others and heard Lord Matsumoto telling a girl to kill you.” She paused, waiting for a reaction.

“Do you know the girl?” he asked.

“Yes,” Uesugi answered. “She is one of the pleasure women.”

“Bring her.”

He dashed away.

“I am telling the truth,” Tori stated.

“I know,” he reassured her. “I desired us to be alone. It is time I told you more about Matsumoto-sama.

“I am fully aware of my danger from him. He covets everything I own.” He paused for a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath. “Once, we were as close as brothers,” he continued, his eyes open again. “We suckled from the same wet nurse, trained at the same monastery. Yet he has always been a mean, evil element next to me that I could not put away. I cannot expect you to understand why, but I cannot punish Katsura-dono.”

“You are right, I do not understand. Things are different here. You base decisions on things I cannot fathom.”

“In time you will. You have learned much in nine moons.”

“Do you forgive him, my lord?”

“No. Nor do I forget. He is simply too powerful for me to move against at this time. Should I be suspected of harming him, I must answer to higher authorities, as he is my karou. Let us say that now he will be wary and will not harm me or you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I have known since the day your ship arrived that Matsumoto-sama was your enemy. You are my prisoner, a unique captive he covets. If he cannot have you, then you are his enemy.” He reached to touch her face. “And your eyes tell me the things you do not want me to know. He put these scars on you.” He traced the faint line of the scar on her cheek with one fingertip. “Did he violate you further?”

She shook her head as tears flowed freely and silently down her face.

“You are not to blame. Besides being my friend, you have done nothing to cause his actions. He has made you ill-at-ease within my yashiki.”

Tori did not respond, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

“Do not cry, Ko-tori-sama. When the time is right, I will have revenge for the both of us.” He wiped the tears away. Anger boiled up--he wanted to drive his katana deep into Matsumoto’s chest. He would relish the moment Matsumoto erred and he was allowed to destroy him.

“He killed Hamasaki-sama.” Tori controlled her tears. “When he came to tell me about your supposed orders, Hamasaki-sama came to my defense.”

“He served me well,” Sanematsu reflected. He was too tired to concern himself with Matsumoto or anyone else. From the corner, Death stared at him. Had it taken a few steps closer? “I will see that his family is well cared for. He had an old mother, wife and young child, if I remember correctly.”

“And another child on the way.”

He studied her. “Matsumoto-sama has done one thing in our favor. He is responsible for bringing us together.”

“How is that?”

“He ordered the attack on your father’s ship. I came too late to stop his slaughter.”

“I wish you had been sooner. I miss my family,” she confessed for the first time.

“We are your family now.” He pulled on her arm until she leaned down and he could embrace her. His protective wings could only cover one insignificant yabanjin female, not a ship full of foreigners. “I am your family,” he whispered into her hair.

Footsteps approached. Tori rose from his embrace and knelt at his side as Uesugi returned.

“Well?” He settled back onto his pillows. Tori wiped his face with a cool cloth from a basin at his bedside. She was so near; his hand came to rest on her thigh.

“So sorry, sire.” Uesugi knelt away from the sickbed. “The girl is dead.”

“You two have done your duty.” Matsumoto had covered his traces once again. “I must now act to save myself and those around me. We must be ready. Have Lord Matsumoto come to me, Uesugi-uji. Then instruct Nakata-sama to follow when I have dismissed him.”

“Yes, my lord.” Uesugi bowed and left again.

**
*

Aderyn began to rise. “I shall await your call.”

“No.” Sanematsu took her hand. “I know your fear. Matsumoto-sama knows this, too, but you cannot allow him to see it. You first start to conquer your enemies by showing strength and fearlessness. When you stand instead of fleeing, your enemy loses his key advantage. You are safe. And I want you at my side for as long as possible.”

“Yes, Yoshi,” she whispered and gazed at their joined hands. The darker skin of his long fingers wrapped hers in comfort and security.

“They removed your gift after I fell. It lies in that drawer.” He pointed to the travel unit in the corner. “Bring it to me.”

As she had the night he left for battle, she placed the needlework amulet around his neck. Her fingers once more brushed his chest; the heat was great, a combination of her passion and his fever. She let her hand travel up his face to feel his neck, cheek and forehead as her mother had hers when she was ill. Beneath the not-so-much a lover’s caress, his skin seared her fingers like a flame. His eyes, cloudy and sunken, watched her, appearing to enjoy the touch no matter what the intent.

“You need to take some juice or water.” The last thing she wanted to do was move her hand from his body, but it was important that he have fluids. She reached for the flask at his side, and poured clear water into a small bowl and held it to his dry lips. With effort, he managed to swallow several mouthfuls.

After she placed the bowl back beside the flask, she asked, “Did you actually wear it during the battle?”

“I told you it would keep us close.” He sank farther into the bed. “It was what caused me to remember our conversation about a Roman general.”

“Julius Caesar.” Aderyn re-settled cross-legged at his side. No matter where she moved, his hand touched her leg or thigh.

“Yes. I used his plan you spoke of. It seems to have worked,” he said in a soft voice.

“I am glad to see the Jesuit fathers did not waste their time teaching us to translate Caesar’s
Gallic Wars
from Latin to Portuguese. Of course, they used it as a language lesson, not military strategy.” Her laugh was soft, and then she sobered. “You almost died, Yoshi. You still could,” she whispered. Her fingers lay on the bandage.

**
*

Before he could respond, the intimate moment was interrupted. With all the arrogance of his character, Matsumoto clamored in. If he were surprised to see Tori at Sanematsu’s side, he hid it well, as he had almost everything. The prostitute had obviously died by his hand, so he knew his plot was foiled. Yet they would all play the game as usual, each taking on the role assigned to them.

“You called for me, my lord?” He bent at the waist.

“I was just telling Tori-sama about Amemiya-sama’s surrender.” He used her name with the honorific so Matsumoto would know how to address her. He then gave orders. “You will take the garrison and return immediately to Nishikata.”

“What of Tori-sama?” The title stuck on his tongue.

“Do not concern yourself with her. She is my concern.” His tone was commanding. “From now on, you are to have no dealings with her. Do you understand?”

**
*

“Yes, sire.”

Matsumoto regarded Tori for an instant: a shiver flowing through her as she suffered the glare of his hard, cold eyes. Sanematsu’s rage against his karou increased and the frustration of his inability to act only fueled it.

“You may go and prepare to depart.”

Tori gave him a sip from the bowl of the doctors’ herb tea. Matsumoto bowed, turned on his heels and departed. Nakata entered, passing so close to the general their armor brushed.

“Yes, Lord Sanematsu?” The old warrior bowed.

Since the first day he had strapped the pole flying the banner to his back as a foot soldier, Nakata had served the Sanematsu clan. That had been fifty of his sixty-five years ago, yet his battle-hardened body stood straight and tall, able to carry the sashimono again if necessary. In the field, he was second-in-command after Matsumoto and had earned Sanematsu’s unconditional trust.

“Become more comfortable, old friend.”

He paused to allow the man to sit cross-legged on the tatami. The warrior cast a curious gaze on Tori.

“I have a very important task for you. The garrison is to leave for Nishikata. You and twelve men of your choosing, the most trustworthy, plus Hikita-sama, Uesugi-sama and Tori-sama, will remain with me. The doctors are to leave, also.”

Worry crossed the old man’s face.

“But your daughter…?” A gentle giant of a man, Nakata had played with the young Sanematsu and now amused the daughters of the daimyo with the same stories and games.

“Do not worry. Chiyo is well. On the morrow, you and eight of those men will leave with Tori-sama and Uesugi-sama to return to Nishikata. Once there, guard her as one of my family, as if she were my wi--daughter. Counsel her, Nakata-uji. She is still a stranger in the Land of the Gods. Anything Sachi-sama tells you in regards to Tori-sama is to be respected. Uesugi-sama will replace Hamasaki as her guard.”

“Yes, sire.” Nakata addressed her. “I will allow no harm to come to you, Tori-sama.”

“Thank you, Nakata-sama.” Tori bowed.

“May I respectfully ask where you will be, my master? And for how long?” Nakata was bold to inquire, but loyal attention to duty for so long brought respect even from one’s lord.

“I do not know how long, and where must be kept secret for a while. Go see to your men. Lord Matsumoto should be getting ready to leave.” Sanematsu dismissed the elderly soldier and his concern.

When they were alone, Tori asked, “May I know where you are going?”

“It is safer for you if you do not ask. Rest assured, I will return.”