The Samurai's Daughter by Lesley Downer Read Free Book Online

his eyes. ‘Well, little Taka,’ he’d said. ‘Take care of your mother.’
    Then he was gone, along with all the young men, in a long line of rickshaws kicking up dust. Suddenly the house fell utterly silent.
    Taka wondered why her father hadn’t taken them with him. In the Satsuma capital, Kagoshima, down at the tip of Kyushu island, he had a wife and children, that was no secret, but he could perfectly easily have set Fujino and her children up in a house there too. Most people’s fathers kept several households. But he’d chosen not to, perhaps because he’d left in such a hurry. Besides, Fujino would have been bored to death in the countryside.
    Geishas were used to their men being absent. They all knew their lovers had wives and children, which made it all the more vital to obey the first rule of the demi-monde – never to forget that love was a game. Taka had had it drummed into her from a young age. Geishas twisted men around their little finger and made them fall hopelessly in love with them – that was their job – but they always took care never to be swept off their feet themselves. Most geishas juggled several men, who all thought they were their sole lover and supported them, and as a result the women enjoyed handsome livings.
    But Taka’s mother didn’t play-act as a geisha was supposed to do. She really was devoted to General Kitaoka. She relied on him to support her and her children. There was no second lover. She paid no attention to that most fundamental tenet. That made Taka afraid for her. It was all very well being a geisha, but only if you were careful never to lose your heart.
    The maids were packing away vases, kimonos and lengths of silk for Haru’s trousseau when the storehouse door slid open, letting in the darkness, along with a blast of icy air that whipped around the room. The lantern flames flickered and went out, loose kimono wrappers skittered across the floor and lacquer tea caddies rolled around, clattering. It was Eijiro, his kimono flapping. He brushed aside Okatsu and the other maids and stood over Fujino and the two girls, a triumphant grin on his large face.
    ‘I told you so!’ He paused dramatically. Taka groaned inwardly, wondering what trouble he was brewing up now. Ever since their father left he’d been strutting around the house, playing the lord and master, telling everyone what to do. ‘You know the sword with the gold inlay hilt that I brought back from Aizu, that I keep in the alcove in the men’s living quarters?’
    ‘The Matsudaira sword?’
    ‘I had my suspicions about that Nobu of yours from the very start. He does his best to hide his accent but I pick up the northern twang every now and then. You’re so fond of him I knew I’d need solid proof so I called him in and said, “I have something for you to polish.” Then I showed him the sword. You should have seen his face. He clenched his fists. He was shaking. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. He knew exactly what it was and where it came from and how I must have got it. I thought he was going to rip it out of its scabbard there and then and have a go at me, the way his eyes were flashing. I’d finally broken through that servile pretence of his. I knew then for sure.’ He put his hands on his hips. ‘I must say, I wasn’t surprised. I never liked him from the moment you brought him into the house. He’s a surly fellow. The way he swivels his eyes, taking it all in from under that heavy brow of his.’
    ‘So what happened?’ asked Haru. ‘Did he refuse to polish it?’
    ‘Of course not. He polished it so thoroughly I thought he was going to wear it down to nothing. He has to keep up the pretence. So there’s your proof. He’s an Aizu to the core. You brought an enemy into the house! What do you think Father would say? I’m going to throw him out right now.’
    Fujino lowered her head and stared at the kimonos in their wrappers piled on the floor. Taka wondered what she was