Laura Rowland - The Ronin’s Mistress

“They helped me even though they were risking their own lives.” Masahiro paused. “I think about them sometimes. And I-well, that’s why I want to help Okaru.”

Reiko was so moved that tears stung her eyes. She said to Chiyo, “How can I refuse to come to Okaru’s aid now?”

Chiyo relented with good grace. “Masahiro is right. A promise is a promise.”

Still Reiko felt uncomfortable. Chiyo’s misgivings about Okaru had rubbed off on her. And there was a new distance between her and Chiyo, a little coolness.

The procession arrived inside Sano’s estate. Masahiro and the guards gave their horses over to the stable boys. The late-afternoon sunshine had mellowed to a golden glow that tinted the snow atop the mansion and the pine trees. The sky was a brilliant blue, striped by thin white clouds and crisscrossed by dark tree branches, like a winter quilt. Reiko smiled as she and Chiyo stepped out of their palanquin. On a cold, beautiful winter day like this, home seemed especially inviting.

Akiko ran out of the house to meet them. She hugged Reiko’s legs, then Chiyo’s.

“Then it’s settled,” Reiko said. “I’ll tell my husband about Okaru and her story. He can decide whether to get involved.”

* * *

“Get involved with what?” Sano walked toward the mansion.

He smiled at Reiko, who smiled back. Masahiro and Akiko hurried to greet him. “Hello, Father,” Masahiro said, while Akiko cried, “Papa, Papa!”

Sano picked up Akiko. He clapped Masahiro on the shoulder and beamed at his son. He loved both his children passionately, but he felt a special pride in Masahiro. Masahiro was not only his firstborn, his only boy, and his heir, who would carry on their clan’s bloodline; he was a fine, intelligent, talented, and good-natured child. One of Sano’s biggest fears was that something would happen to Masahiro.

Chiyo bowed. “Greetings, Honorable Cousin.” She addressed him formally but with affection.

After everyone went into the house, Reiko answered his question: “The forty-seven ronin and their vendetta.”

“So you’ve heard about that,” Sano said, setting Akiko on her feet and hanging his swords in the entryway.

“Yes.” Reiko helped him remove his hat and cloak.

He could tell that she had something on her mind, but she waited while he said, “I suppose the news is everywhere now. But there’s something you apparently haven’t heard yet: I’m already involved with the forty-seven ronin. ”

Surprise halted Reiko in the act of hanging up her cloak. “You are? How?”

“The shogun ordered me to investigate Kira’s murder,” Sano said.

Eager for news, Reiko said, “Did you? What happened? Come inside. We’ll talk there.”

Akiko towed Chiyo off to play. Sano, Reiko, and Masahiro went to the private chambers, where they sat around the kosatsu and warmed themselves at the fire underneath. Sano explained how he’d tracked down the forty-seven ronin and described the strange confrontation at Lord Asano’s grave.

“So they’re already under arrest,” Reiko said.

“So it’s over,” Masahiro said. They both seemed disappointed.

“Not quite.” Sano watched Reiko’s and Masahiro’s faces brighten. “There’s a controversy about whether the forty-seven ronin are honorable samurai who rightfully avenged their master and should be applauded or criminals who broke the law and should be sentenced to death.” Sano explained about the supreme court. “I’ve just finished notifying the fourteen men who are to serve as judges. One of them is Magistrate Ueda.”

“I’m glad,” Reiko said. “My father is the one man who can absolutely be trusted to be honest and fair. How did he take the news?”

“With more enthusiasm than the other judges,” Sano said. “I ruined their day. But he’s intrigued by the legal issues in the case and he’s excited about convening the court tomorrow.” Although in his sixties, Magistrate Ueda still had a passion for the law.

“Now that there’s a supreme court to decide about the forty-seven ronin, doesn’t that release you from involvement?” Reiko asked.

“Not exactly.” Sano described how he’d been assigned to investigate the case for the supreme court.

“Chamberlain Yanagisawa again! Can’t he leave us alone?”

Sano answered with a wry smile and an eloquent silence.

“But that’s good!” Masahiro exclaimed. “You can save the forty-seven ronin !”

Sano frowned. He wasn’t pleased that his son had taken the ronin ’s side so quickly. But then he was partial to them, too, and it was he who’d taught Masahiro the principles of Bushido. “I’m not sure whether they should be saved.”

“But you are going to investigate, aren’t you?” Masahiro said.

“I don’t have much choice,” Sano said. “But I’m glad of the opportunity to see that justice is done.”

He hesitated to mention the threat that came with his opportunity to regain the shogun’s favor. He didn’t want to worry Reiko. He wanted to shield Masahiro from adult problems.

“Maybe I can help.” Reiko told Sano about the letter she’d received and her visit to Okaru.

“Well, you’ve been busy.” It was Sano’s turn to be surprised. “I can always trust you to turn up clues for my investigations, but this time you’ve done it before the investigation has really started.” Drinking his tea, he pondered. “So Oishi’s mistress says Oishi claims that the vendetta isn’t what it seems.”

“I know that’s a vague clue,” Reiko said apologetically.

“But it confirms my own feelings about the vendetta,” Sano said. “The whole business is peculiar.”

“Then you’ll investigate Okaru’s story?” Reiko asked eagerly.

“Yes,” Sano said. “At this point I’m thankful for any clues at all.”

“I’m glad. I’d like to help that poor girl.”

Concern sobered Sano. “What I find out may not be good for her or Oishi. If it isn’t, I can’t protect them because she’s someone you’ve befriended.”

“I know.” Yet it was obvious that Reiko couldn’t help hoping the investigation would turn out well for Okaru. “Can I at least tell Okaru what’s happened to Oishi and let her know you’re looking into the matter?”

Sano nodded.

“Isn’t there anything else we can do?” Masahiro jiggled his legs under the table.

Sano smiled at his restlessness. His son didn’t like to sit idle any more than Reiko did. He’d inherited her impatience, her urge to take action.

“Let’s wait and see.” Sano glanced at Reiko, remembering times when she had taken part in his investigations, with near-disastrous results.

She must have seen something in his eyes besides misgivings based on past experience, because her brow furrowed. “What is it?”

“Masahiro, go play with your sister and Cousin Chiyo for a while,” Sano said.

When he and Reiko were alone, there was no use trying to minimize the bad news. “The shogun decreed that if I don’t lead the supreme court to a satisfactory decision, I’ll be permanently assigned to a post in Kyushu. You and the children will be kept in Edo, to make sure I don’t misbehave.” Sano added, “You can guess who was responsible for that.”

Reiko was so shocked that she sputtered. “Kyushu! That’s the end of the earth!”

Sano couldn’t disagree. Kyushu was the island of Japan farthest to the southwest, some two months’ journey from Edo.

Reiko clasped her hands to her chest in horror as she absorbed the full implications of the shogun’s threat. “We would never see you again!” Her fists clenched; bewilderment mixed with the anger that lit her eyes. “I know Yanagisawa is out to get you, but why did he do this?”