White Serpent Castle by Lensey Namioka Read Free Book Online

hysteria?” asked Zenta gently.
    â€œOf course, I didn’t mean you,” said Jihei impatiently. “I was referring to those women who said they saw a long white thing and heard ghostly music.”
    â€œSome of the samurai here say that they have heard the ghostly music, too,” said Saemon.
    â€œOne of the women could be deliberately playing a trick on us,” growled Jihei. “But if it’s just a woman’s trick, why can’t you find out how she did it and stop her?” asked Zenta.
    â€œIt’s not as easy as you think!” said Jihei angrily. “Most of the disturbances took place in the women’s quarters, and we’re not supposed to go there. But the next time there is an outcry about the ghost, I promise that we will make a very thorough search into every corner of the castle, even if it does take us into the women’s quarters!”
    â€œAre you saying that some woman in this castle is pretending to be the ghost?” asked the envoy. “What can be her reason for doing this?” The chamberlain said hurriedly, “Jihei only means that he is a realist and is not ready to believe in anything without solid proof.” Turning to Jihei he said, “But by its very nature, it’s impossible to get solid proof of a ghost. These old legends are never completely without foundation, you know. We shouldn’t offend the spirits by too much skepticism.”
    â€œNevertheless we should search carefully for traces of human handiwork behind the ghost,” insisted Jihei.
    As the trays for the first course were removed and the second course brought in, a serving woman came in, bowed and spoke to the chamberlain in a low voice.
    The chamberlain gave a start of surprise and smiled happily. “We are indeed fortunate tonight,” he announced. “Lady Kaede wishes to honor our distinguished guests, and she is having some of the castle’s prized saké brought out to be served.”
    A double sliding door opened and Lady Kaede, Lord Okudaira’s widow, entered the room. She was followed by a procession of serving girls holding trays with heated bottles of saké.
    Lady Kaede looked so young that Matsuzo found it hard to believe she had a nine-year-old son. He remembered Ume saying that Lady Kaede was from one of the noble families of Miyako, and he could imagine the generations of inbreeding that went into producing her fine bones. Transplanted from the milder Miyako air, she looked almost too frail to support the harsh northern climate.
    With a bow to the guest of honor, she said, “This wine is of poor quality, but it is the best that we have in this backward region. Therefore please accept it as a mark of our respect.” She spoke with a marked Western accent that sounded soft and musical compared to the staccato speech of the northern warriors. Acknowledging the envoy’s thanks, she retreated outside the square of diners and sat down to direct her women in serving the wine. Matsuzo suspected that curiosity about the guests had prompted her appearance at the party, for she looked at the envoy and his retainer Saemon with keen interest. He even found her thoughtful gaze on himself and Zenta. Without joining the conversation of the diners, she examined in turn each of the visitors to the castle.
    Conversation in the room was losing its struggle for survival. The usual coarse jests heard in a drinking party did not flourish in the envoy’s hearing, and with Lady Kaede’s added presence, even milder attempts at humor died down.
    The chamberlain began to look desperate as the stretches of silence grew longer and longer. Made bold by the saké, he finally turned to the envoy and said, “Have you attended many drinking parties at the daimyo’s castle together with Lord Okudaira?”
    â€œNo,” replied the envoy curtly. “I’ve had very few opportunities to do so.”
    At this point Zenta looked