The Last Concubine by Lesley Downer Read Free Book Online Page B

forgot for a moment that she had given up the gracious life she had enjoyed at the imperial court in Kyoto to descend to the level of these low-class commoners. Yet, far from behaving with proper respect and showing her appreciation for the princess’s sacrifice, the Retired One took every opportunity to assert her own pre-eminence. As the widow of the previous shogun and adoptive mother of the present one, the Retired One had been the undisputed power in the palace before the princess arrived and was determined to maintain her authority.
    In the privacy of the princess’s apartments the aristocratic ladies who had accompanied Princess Kazu from the capital had nothing but contempt for the Retired One and her handwomen. They were unpolished, not to say downright vulgar, they whispered. How dared they treat the princess with such disrespect? And as for their samurai way of dressing and speaking and comporting themselves – well, it would be pitiable if it wasn’t so laughable. When the princess’s ladies met the Retired One’s in the corridors, they would sweep past, barely bothering with a disdainful nod of the head. But among their maids there was frequent bickering. Voices were raised and they had evenbeen known to start scratching, pinching, biting and tearing at each other’s hair and clothes.
    The two great ladies did their best to steer clear of each other. Nevertheless sometimes matters came to a head. The princess was far too proud and gently bred to stand up for herself, but Sachi knew what pain these encounters caused her.
    When she had first arrived at the castle, the princess had insisted on speaking the archaic dialect of the imperial court. That was the idiom that Sachi had first been taught. Indeed, the princess had expected that everyone in the women’s palace would adopt the Kyoto language and customs; that had been one of the conditions of her marriage. But in that as in much else she had been disappointed.
    Now, instead of saying ‘I thank thee for thy kindness’ in her Kyoto drawl, as she would once have done, she whispered, ‘I am indebted to you, Honourable Retired One.’ She had a high-pitched, breathy little voice, like a bird.
    For several minutes they traded compliments, each outdoing the other in the floweriness of their language and the extravagance of their flattery. Then the Retired One drew herself up.
    ‘Once again I offer you my most sincere thanks, Your Imperial Highness, for taking such good care of His Majesty, my adopted son,’ she said, looking straight at the princess and drawing her lips back in the sweetest, most poisonous of smiles. ‘But I am embarrassed to see that the ushers have made their usual mistake. As always they have erroneously seated you in my position. You appreciate that, as your mother-in-law and the first lady of this household, I must be the first to welcome my son into his home. I’m sure you will be eager to join me in rectifying the error.’
    There was silence. Everyone held their breath. Princess Kazu kept her eyes on the ground, chewing her lip.
    ‘On the contrary, I should express my gratitude to you, My Lady Tensho-in,’ she murmured with icy politeness. ‘I am delighted to see you. But you know rather well that as the representative of the Son of Heaven and His Majesty’s humble consort, I am obliged, unworthy though I am, to take precedence. I hope you would be so kind as to allow me to remain in my proper place, at least this one time.’
    ‘We have had this discussion many times before, Daughter-in-Law,’ said the Retired One smoothly, her black eyes sparking fire. ‘You speak of tradition and of established ways of doing things. But you forget that we are in Edo Castle. Here in Edo we have our own traditions and our own ways of doing things, which were established by the first shogun, His Revered Majesty Lord Ieyasu, and which have held good for centuries. You know very well that I am the widow of His Majesty the thirteenth shogun,