Cloud of Sparrows (38 page)

She gently brought his arms back under the cover and closed the cocoon. He would be as warm above her as below. Blood dripped onto her breast from his chest wound. The binding on his back was wet as well. His exertions had torn open the wounds. If she tried to move him, he might awake and resume his struggle against the phantoms of delirium, and so do himself harm.

Their new position was somewhat awkward and disconcerting, however. As long as he slept, it was not a problem. When he was awake, even in his feverish state, she found herself experiencing embarrassment. There was no rational reason for it. Neither he nor she was doing anything wrong, and no sinful intentions whatsoever were manifest. Yet the fact that he was now atop her was necessarily disturbing. It created an appearance of wrongdoing, though of course there was no one to observe it, and so no one to draw an erroneous conclusion.

Moving him entailed too great a risk. Better the appearance of wrong than the actual doing of it, for it was surely wrong to cause him to injure himself.

She grew drowsy as dawn brightened the packed snow around them. Soon, she, too, was asleep.

Snow continued to fall well into the day.

“In another hour, they would have been dead,” Shigeru said. “She made a vent in the shelter, but snow covered it. They were slowly suffocating.”

Hidé looked toward the fire, where Lord Genji and Emily slept. He had dressed the lord’s wounds and fed them both. They would survive.

Shigeru showed Hidé the .32 revolver. “It holds four expended bullets and two fresh ones. I think she fought off whoever attacked Genji. Who knows? There may have been bodies nearby under the snow.” He said nothing about how he had found them, Genji and the woman nearly naked, wrapped together as one in a single sheath of their clothing. He didn’t know if the woman had fired the gun and saved Genji that way. He knew she had saved him with her body. With the wounds he had suffered, and the loss of blood, he would have frozen to death without her.

“Lord Shigeru,” Hidé said, eyes wide with astonishment. “Do you realize what has happened?”

“Yes. The prophecy has come true. An outsider met in the New Year has saved Lord Genji’s life.”

Saiki and Hidé knelt at the bedside. Genji lay on his left side as Dr. Ozawa tended to his wounds.

“You sailed through ocean storms, were attacked by whales, and held captive by traitors,” Genji said. “Those are what I would call perilous circumstances.”

Genji flinched as some dried blood came away with an old dressing. Both samurai inhaled audibly and leaned forward as if to lend assistance.

“I’m sorry, my lord,” Dr. Ozawa said. “That was clumsy of me.”

Genji waved off the apology. “I was taken completely off guard by a ragged gang of starving deserters, defended by Emily, and rescued by my uncle. Not exactly a tale we will want to recite at my next birthday festival.”

“You suffered grievous injuries that would have killed a lesser man,” Saiki said. “Your fighting spirit kept you alive. What is more important in a samurai than fighting spirit?”

“A modicum of ordinary alertness, perhaps.”

Hidé could restrain himself no longer. He pressed his forehead to the floor and kept it there, not deeming himself worthy to look up at his injured lord. He allowed himself to make no sound. His shuddering shoulders alone indicated the depth of his grief.

“What is it, Hidé?” Genji said. “Get up, please.”

“It is all my fault,” Hidé said. “You were almost killed because of my negligence.”

“You weren’t even there. How can you accuse yourself of negligence?”

“Because I should have been. I am your chief bodyguard. To permit you to face peril without me was unforgivable.”

“You made your point very forcefully at the time,” Genji said. “I ordered you to stay behind, over your protests, and Shigeru’s. You could do nothing else.”

“I could have followed you without your knowledge.”

“Hidé, get up and stop this nonsense. There is no one to blame but me. I have grown so used to having good and faithful men around me, I have lost the ability to protect myself. If anyone should be weeping in shame, it is I, not you.”

“I agree with Hidé,” Saiki said. “Your injuries are indeed due to his failure. He should have disregarded your order and continued to watch over you without your knowledge. For such disobedience, he would later be obliged to commit suicide, of course, but in the meantime, he would have guarded you, as his duty demanded.”

“And what if Kudo and his men had come to those crossroads? No one would have been there to stop them.”

“Lord Shigeru killed them all,” Saiki said. “There was no need for Hidé to keep watch.”

“We didn’t know that then,” Genji said. “And who is to say what would have happened if Hidé had done as you say he should have. Perhaps the prophecy would have been thwarted, and you would be viewing my corpse instead of teaching me the wisdom of disobedience.”

Hidé looked up.

Saiki sat speechless.

Genji smiled. When all else failed, he could always fall back on prophecy. What a handy device.

Dr. Ozawa said, “Your wounds are clean, my lord. There is no sign of infection. Remarkably, you have not suffered from any serious frostbite, either. I am at a loss to explain how that is possible. Lord Shigeru said he found you buried in a mound of snow.”

“I was not alone,” Genji said. “My companion had knowledge of Eskimo lore. She was able to put that knowledge to good use.”

“What is ‘Eskimo’?” Dr. Ozawa asked. “An outsider medical technique?”

“A technique, certainly,” Genji said.

“With your permission, I would like to discuss Eskimo with her. Perhaps Lady Heiko would serve as translator?”

“I am sure you will find such a discussion enlightening,” Genji said. He wished he could be there. It would be very entertaining. Emily would tell the truth. She always did. Lying, she said, was a sin against Christ. How flustered and embarrassed she would be, how she would struggle to explain what she had done without revealing too much. He imagined the scene and laughed.

“My lord?”

“I’m just happy to be recovering so quickly. Thank you for your help, Dr. Ozawa.”

“Don’t overexert yourself too soon. A relapse would be dangerous.”

Genji rose from the bed. Normally, he would just stand there while attendants put his clothing on for him. Upset at himself for his incompetence in the woods, he insisted on dressing himself.

“I may not be much with a sword,” he said, “but I am a marvel with a sash.”

“It was your first real battle,” Saiki said. “You will do better the next time.”

“Could I do worse?”

“You are too hard on yourself, my lord,” Saiki said. “During the uprisings in the western part of the domain—this was before you were born—I saw blood spilled for the first time. I regret to say, I threw up and soiled my loincloth. Simultaneously.”

“No!” Genji said. “Not you?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Saiki said.

Genji laughed and Hidé joined him. Saiki laughed, too. He neglected to mention that he had been thirteen years old at the time, and the blood he had seen was that of the two heavily armed farmers he had just killed with his first full-sized katana. He was glad his story had lifted Genji’s spirits. A small sacrifice in dignity was inconsequential.

“Oh, excuse me. Am I interrupting a conference?” Emily stood at the doorway. Her dress was similar to the one she had worn before, but fashioned of silk instead of cotton. Her petticoats, her pantaloons, and her stockings, too, were silk. Her old clothes had been ruined in the wilderness. Seamstresses in the castle had used them as a pattern to make replacements. She would have preferred cotton, which was more properly humble. But to refuse these gifts of well-meant charity would be unkind. So for the first time in her life, she was dressed in silk from head to toe. Even the padded coat, as frumpy and oversized as the old one, was of the same fine material.

“We were just concluding,” Genji said. “Another minute or two. Please come in.”

“Lady Emily,” Saiki said. He and Hidé bowed deeply as she entered. “I am happy to see you well and about.”

Genji noticed the elevated level of politeness Saiki employed. She was now “Lady Emily” instead of “the outsider woman.” The fulfillment of the prophecy had worked a significant change in her status. Genji was glad. Almost entirely alone in a foreign land, widowed before she was even married, her life was hard enough. A little kindness would reduce her pain.

Genji said, “He expresses happiness at seeing you in good health.”

“Please thank Mr. Saiki for me. I am happy to see him safe as well.”

“She thanks you for your good wishes, Saiki, and is happy to see you safe. Do we have anything further to discuss?”

“No, my lord,” Saiki said. “The rebellion against you has been crushed. All that remains is to mete out punishment. Lord Shigeru has already carried out the most difficult actions. I will take one hundred men to Kageshima Village tomorrow morning. That will be that.”

“I think it will be sufficient if you execute the village elders,” Genji said. “Accompany it with a stern admonition to the others regarding the importance of loyalty, not merely to their immediate lord, but to the Great Lord of the domain.”

“That is not the usual procedure, my lord.”

“I know.”

“I wonder how wise it is to be kind at the present time. It may create the impression that you lack the will to do what is necessary.”

“I have precisely the will to do what is necessary, and that is what is necessary. There will be more than enough killing in the days ahead. If we must kill, then let us concentrate on our enemies and not our own peasants.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Saiki and Hidé withdrew. At the doorway, Hidé said, “I will wait with the horses.”

Genji was about to tell him his presence would not be required. They were not going far. Hidé’s determined facial expression stopped him. It was obvious he would not be riding anywhere alone for some time.

“Very good, Hidé.”

Emily said, “Are you sure you are well enough to ride, my lord?”

“We will saunter,” Genji said. “We will do no galloping. I’ll be fine.”

“Perhaps we should just take a walk instead. I have yet to see much of the castle. What I have seen is very beautiful.”

“And you will see it. But today, we must ride. There is something I want to show you.”

“What is it?”

“Come with me and find out.”

Emily laughed. “A surprise? I used to love surprises, when I was a child. Oh. Do you think Matthew would like to come with us?”

Genji said, “He’s busy practicing. Listen.”

The muffled sound of gunfire came from the distance.

“Anyway, this is something I want to show you, not him.”

“It grows ever more mysterious,” Emily said.

“But not for long,” Genji said.

The final head was that of an infant not yet one year of age. Shigeru stuck it on a spear at the end of the row of heads outside the front gate of the castle. Winters in Akaoka Domain were warmer than they were in the mountains of the main island of Honshu. Kudo’s face was already rotten beyond recognition. The others were fresh, their recent agonies still alive in their expressions. Kudo’s wife, two concubines, five children, widowed mother, brother, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, and nieces. Fifty-nine heads in all.

Kudo’s family was now extinct.

Heiko bowed and approached him. “A most gruesome task, Lord Shigeru.”

“And a necessary one.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Heiko said. “The river of karma flows inexorably.”

“May I be of some assistance to you, Lady Heiko?”

“That is my hope,” Heiko said. “Shortly, Lord Genji will be going for a brief excursion. Lady Emily will accompany him. They will, of course, pass this way.”

“Of course. The lord always uses the front gate of the castle, no matter where he goes.”

“This display will horrify Lady Emily beyond measure.”

“It will?” Shigeru looked at the neat row lining the south side of the road. “Why? It appears that everything is in proper order.”

“She is of a particularly tender nature,” Heiko said, choosing her words with great care. “Also, being an outsider, she doesn’t understand the workings of karma. The presence of children, especially, will cause her much sorrow. I am afraid she will be unable to continue the outing with our lord.”

“And you suggest I do what?”

“Remove the heads.”

“I don’t see how I can do that. It has been a tradition since time immemorial to show the fate of traitors at the main gate of the castle, and to keep them there until the flesh rots from the skulls and the carrion eaters have picked them clean.”

“A tradition worthy of perpetuation,” Heiko said. “Might you not consider modifying it slightly, just for now? Could the display not be moved temporarily to Lord Kudo’s residence?”

“The traitor is no lord, and no longer has a name.”

“Excuse me,” Heiko said, bowing. “I meant to say, the traitor’s former residence.”

“I was on my way there to burn it to the ground.”

Heiko blanched. “Not with the servants inside?”

Shigeru smiled grimly. “That was my intention. Our lord, being the supremely compassionate and excessively forgiving master that he is, ordered that they be sold into bondage instead.”

Heiko took a relieved breath. “Then may I make a suggestion?”

“I was under the impression that you have been doing so all along.”

“With your permission only, Lord Shigeru. May I suggest that you burn the residence as you have planned, and then place these reminders upon the ruins. Would that not be an effective alternative?”

Shigeru imagined how it would look. Fifty-nine heads on the ends of spears protruding from the smoking wreckage of treason. “Very well, Lady Heiko. It will be done.”

“Thank you, Lord Shigeru.”

She did not stay to watch him accomplish the task.

On their way from the castle, Genji, Emily, and Hidé met Stark and Taro on their way back.

“Do you never run out of bullets, Matthew?” Emily sat astride the horse instead of sidesaddle. Genji had talked her into wearing pants like his, flowing wide-legged trousers called “hakama.” It was, he said, entirely appropriate for ladies. She remembered Zephaniah’s advice to follow the customs of Japan so far as they did not violate the dictates of Christian morality. Hakama seemed benign enough. They were so loose, they seemed more like a skirt than pants in the Western sense.

“I’ve made a mold to cast new bullets,” Stark said, “and our hosts have powder aplenty.” He held out spent cartridges in his hand. “These I can reuse several times.”

“You will be a most Christian soldier, I hope,” Emily said, “and fight only for righteousness’ sake.”

“My mission is righteous,” Stark said. “That’s a certainty.”

Taro said to Hidé, “Where are you going?”

“Not far. If you are free, come with us.”