Laura Rowland - The Iris Fan

“Lady Yanagisawa. Kikuko.” The last people in the world Reiko wanted to see. The gate slammed shut. She was trapped in here with these two who’d tried to kill her and Masahiro. They’d all died and reunited in hell.

The war trumpet blared louder. The children covered their ears. Distant hoofbeats escalated to a rolling thunder. Their rhythm broke into splatters and stomps as the legion halted on the slushy road outside the estate. “It’s the Tokugawa army!” called a soldier in one of the fire-watch towers that rose from within the estate on wooden stilts. “They’re surrounding us!”

Reiko’s horror worsened as she realized that she had more to fear than Lady Yanagisawa, Kikuko, and the memories that the Mori estate harbored.

The soldier in the fire-watch tower yelled, “They’re surrounding other estates, too!”

Voices clamored outside as Lord Mori’s troops faced the army. A sentry at the gate shouted, “What do you want?”

“Yanagisawa, Yoshisato, and Sano,” replied the army’s spokesman. “We have orders to arrest them and their people.”

Reiko, Midori, and the children gathered fearfully around Sano, Masahiro, Marume, and Magistrate Ueda. Yanagisawa called, “We’re not coming out!”

A pause, then, “We have a message for Lord Mori.”

In the courtyard, the daimyo ’s troops muttered and agitated. Reiko supposed they didn’t know what to do; there had never been a situation like this in their lifetime.

Yanagisawa took charge. “Go get Lord Mori.”

Troops scrambled to obey. Reiko heard garbled commands from nearby estates-the same thing was happening there. The gate that led to the mansion opened. Into the courtyard marched guards with huge, fierce dogs on chains. The dogs bared sharp teeth as they barked. Akiko smiled at them. Chiyoko squealed in fright; Midori drew her and Tatsuo close. The guards accompanied Lord Mori Enju, daimyo of Suwo and Nagato provinces. He was much the same as when Reiko had last seen him eleven years ago. In his midthirties now, he still had a tall, lithe build and fine features. Cool and self-possessed, he seemed untroubled by the uproar. His gaze alit on Reiko. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her. She felt as naked and exposed as on that day eleven years ago. But Lord Mori looked right through her. If he remembered that he’d once accused her of murder, she couldn’t tell.

He acknowledged Sano and Yanagisawa with a curt nod, then called through the gate, “What is Lord Ienobu’s message?”

A dark, cylindrical object flew in over the wall and landed on the ground near Lord Mori. It was a black lacquer scroll container. He picked it up, opened it, read the scroll, and frowned. “Lord Ienobu is stripping me of my title. He’s taking over my province.” His cold anger reminded Reiko of a burn from touching ice. “The army is here to confiscate my property. He’s sent the same message to the other daimyo who don’t want him to become shogun.”

His men exclaimed in outrage. Lord Ienobu’s action would make them rōnin . Their protests were echoed by those from other estates where the message had been delivered.

Yoshisato said to Yanagisawa, “That was a great idea you had, seizing control of the provinces. Too bad it’s Lord Ienobu carrying it out.”

“Don’t surrender,” Yanagisawa said fiercely to Lord Mori.

“I have no intention of surrendering.” Lord Mori called out, “Here’s my reply to Lord Ienobu.” He hurled the scroll over the wall, then addressed his men in a loud voice that would carry to the soldiers in the fire-watch towers. “We’ll resist. So must everyone else. If we all do, Lord Ienobu can’t take us. Spread the word!”

“Resist! Resist!” The cry rang through the air, taken up by other soldiers in towers at other estates. Outside, yells arose as the army tried to force its way to gates and daimyo troops rallied to protect their masters. Lady Yanagisawa enfolded Kikuko in her arms. Magistrate Ueda clutched his bonsai. Taeko clung to Masahiro, whose eyes shone with excitement. Reiko, with Midori and the children, couldn’t believe this was happening. She wanted to shut her eyes, scream, dig her fingernails into her arms, and wake herself up from this insane nightmare.

“Fire!” Lord Mori shouted to the archers on his roofs.

They and the archers at other estates let loose a barrage of arrows. The army yelled, then the commotion outside quieted. Lord Mori said, “They’ll be sending messengers to tell Lord Ienobu what’s happening. They’ll wait for his orders.”

Yanagisawa smiled with satisfaction. “If he thought we would go down without a fight, he’s in for a surprise.”

Lord Mori nodded and turned to Sano. “Forgive my bad manners. I welcome you and your family to my humble home.” He didn’t mention the murder investigation during which he and Sano and Reiko had clashed.

Sano bowed. “Many thanks.”

Lord Mori’s cool gaze included Yanagisawa. “This may be a long standoff. You might as well get your people settled. I’m giving you guest quarters in the same wing of my house. It seems appropriate.”

This was no nightmare. It really was hell. Reiko looked at Sano, aghast that they would be living in close proximity to Yanagisawa and his family. And there was apparently even more to the situation than she’d thought. “What does he mean?”

Yanagisawa smiled with sardonic amusement at Sano. “I gather you haven’t told her yet. Now would be the time.”

* * *

“Told me what?” Reiko asked.

She and Sano were in the guest quarters, a series of rooms built around a garden and connected by covered corridors to the daimyo ’s mansion, a large, half-timbered structure with multiple wings and peaked tile roofs, mounted on a granite foundation. The space was as large as their whole house, furnished with clean, fresh-smelling tatami, elegant landscape murals, and well heated by charcoal braziers under the floor. Akiko, Tatsuo, and Chiyoko happily explored. Sano busied himself with stowing his clothes and swords in the cabinet.

His gut clenched.

The moment he’d been dreading was here. Just when he’d hoped things between him and Reiko were improving, now this.

He knew he’d done a terrible thing by bringing her here. The sick pallor of her face told him how terrible. This was exactly the wrong place and time to tell her about his deal with Yanagisawa.

Masahiro dumped his own baggage on the floor. “What did Yanagisawa mean?”

Sano faced his wife and son. His stomach felt sick, his heart heavy as lead. “Sit down.”

Reiko ran to him. “You’re scaring me. Out with it!”

This was the hardest thing Sano had ever had to do. He would rather disembowel himself. “Yanagisawa wanted assurance that I wouldn’t betray him. He demanded that we cement our alliance with-” Sano swallowed. He forced himself to go on. “A marriage between his daughter and Masahiro.”

Reiko and Masahiro smiled and frowned as if he’d made a bad joke. Their smiles vanished; their frowns deepened. “You didn’t agree?” Reiko asked. Sano swallowed again. Her eyes and Masahiro’s widened in alarm. “Did you?”

Sano wished that one of the many people who’d tried to kill him during the past twenty years had succeeded. “I agreed.” He watched his wife’s and son’s stricken faces. He forced himself not to run away like a coward. “After the wedding, Masahiro and Kikuko will live with Yanagisawa.”

Masahiro shouted, “No!”

“How could you?” Reiko turned from side to side, caught between puzzlement and horror. “You and Yanagisawa are enemies, and you know Kikuko tried to kill Masahiro when he was little.”

“I won’t do it!” Masahiro cried.