White Serpent Castle (15 page)

She reddened, pointed out the direction to them and fled. In her confusion she didn't ask herself why a man looking for the privy should go completely armed.

They were able to find their way to the envoy's room without further encounters.

The guards in front of the envoy's room were surprised to see the two men, but they bowed with extreme respect. They had witnessed Zenta's duel with Jihei, and they knew he was high in Saemon's esteem. When he asked to enter the envoy's room to pay his respects privately to the dead man, they didn't think of questioning him. Opening the door, they bowed once more and stood back to let the two men enter.

When the door closed, Zenta's eyes went to the envoy's body. It was carefully arranged on a mattress and covered by a quilt. Instead of approaching the body, however, he went to the stained patch on the tatami mat where the body had been discovered. Some attempt had been made to wipe the blood, but it had soaked deeply into the reed cover and the stain was still visible.

Zenta bent down to lift the corner of one mat. He winced and said, “Help me with this.” Matsuzo took another corner and together they lifted the tatami mat and then another one and a third. A path was opened from the site of the body to the emergency exit in the corner of the room.

Clearly printed on the bare wooden floor under the mats was a series of footprints. The blood had dried, and the prints were now dark brown.

They stared in silence. Finally Matsuzo spoke. “So that was how the murderer escaped from the room without leaving another visible footprint! He simply lifted each tatami mat, stood it on its side and walked on the bare floor. Then he replaced the mat behind him! How did you guess that this was the trick?”

“I remembered the ghost hunt, when Jihei's men broke into Lady Tama's rooms and lifted the mats one by one, trying to find hidden equipment for the ghost. I realized that the tatami could hide footprints as well.”

After a moment Matsuzo said, “I still don't see why the murderer didn't just walk normally to the escape hole. Why did he go to the trouble of hiding his footprints?”

Even as the words left his mouth, Matsuzo saw the answer. “I see. These prints are those of a woman. The murderess wanted the blame to fall on us or on one of Jihei's men. Who is she?” Zenta didn't answer, but the torment on his face was plain to see. He turned slowly to the door and said, “I am going to talk to her.” Matsuzo made a move to follow, but Zenta said sharply, “No! I am going alone.”

 

As Zenta made his way to Lady Kaede's apartments, he had no premonition of danger. He wanted desperately to find frankness, not treachery. He remembered Yoshiteru's laughing face at their first meeting, and hoped that the boy was still asleep.

A group of terrified ladies met him at the entrance to Lady Kaede's rooms. They had already suffered two invasions in the last two days. The invasion of the ghost hunters had been annoying, but there had been amusing moments. The second invasion had been harrowing. The women fighters had been slaughtered and Yoshiteru dragged out screaming. Now, the mere sight of an armed man was enough to start them twittering with fear.

They quieted at last when they recognized him as their young master's rescuer. Even his request for a private interview with their mistress caused only a mild ripple of shock.

Lady Kaede was in the same reception room as before, but this time she was arranging flowers. Her incredibly small and slender hands were more beautiful than the blossoms they held.

“It seems that once more I am to thank you for saving the life of my son,” she murmured.

Without any preamble Zenta said, “I was in the envoy's room, and I saw the footprints under the tatami mats.”

For five hundred years the women in Lady Kaede's family had been trained to hide their feelings. With absolute calm she said, “I don't understand. Why are you telling me about the footprints?”

“Those footprints were incriminating because it's obvious that they were made by a woman. That was why they were hidden under the tatami mats.”

The flowers fell from her hands, but her beautiful eyes regarded him steadily. “What you are saying, then, is that the murder of the envoy was committed by a woman. There are many women in this castle working for the chamberlain. One of them could have done the deed.”

“The chamberlain hated the envoy, but he knew better than to try to murder him. The chamberlain would be blamed for the murder, and that would be the end of his hopes for succeeding Lord Okudaira.”

Her glance did not falter, but she shifted her tactics. “Tama is a girl of strong emotions. Perhaps she was in love with the envoy, and he repulsed her advances.”

“Lady Kaede,” said Zenta softly, “let us stop pretending. The envoy was Lady Tama's brother in disguise, and you knew this perfectly well. You and I were the only two people in the dining hall who knew that the envoy had made a slip. The castle samurai who were present did not go to the daimyo's capital because they were the chamberlain's men, hired to serve him here. But you knew about the poetry party and the archery contest because you had accompanied Lord Okudaira.”

She lifted a hand to brush a flower petal from her lap, but otherwise she sat motionless. Her perfume, which had intoxicated him earlier, now nauseated him.

Dropping his voice to a whisper, Zenta continued. “Those footprints were made by very small feet. Not only were they too small to be a man's, but only centuries of inbreeding could produce the fine bones which made those prints.” He suddenly reached over and plucked her dagger from her sash, the dagger which all women of her class wore. She did not even flinch from his touch.

“Washed clean, of course,” he murmured. “But you are not an expert at cleaning weapons, and you have left some minute traces of blood in the ornamental work.”

He was hoping she would claim that she had acted in a panic, that she had killed the envoy to protect her son. But she retained a cold control which seemed monstrous when compared to Lady Tama's hot-blooded impulsiveness.

Now that denial was useless, she talked about the murder quite willingly. “Shigeteru had to die, of course. I killed him secretly so that the chamberlain wouldn't know. If he found out that Shigeteru was no longer a threat, he would feel free to kill my son and marry Tama.”

“But why were you so ready to regard Shigeteru as an enemy?” he cried. “He and Yoshiteru were brothers, and they might have come to love each other!”

“Never!” she said, and her enmity was completely unyielding. “Shigeteru and Yoshiteru were only half brothers. They could never be friends. Shigeteru was an enemy, and Tama will always be an enemy.”

A wave of hopelessness swept over him. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and she was a murderess. He knew with certainty that if she were allowed to rule the castle in Yoshiteru's name, Lady Tama's life would not be safe.

She looked at him contemptuously. “Why do I have to listen to you? You are only a penniless ronin, and you have no right to meddle in the affairs of this castle.”

“You are wrong,” he said slowly. “I have earned the right to protect Lady Tama from assassination and the right to insure that Yoshiteru grows up to be a true samurai, not something crooked and warped that murders in secret.”

She stared at him wordlessly. Then slowly she grew very pale. With a great effort she found her voice. “What do you want me to do?” Despite everything Zenta was filled with admiration for her courage. But he had to harden himself. “There is only one thing for you to do: Cut off your hair and enter a nunnery,” he said, handing her the dagger.

Slowly, as if in a trance, she reached for the dagger. “But what about my son?” she asked. “Tama will take her revenge on him if she learns that I killed the envoy.”

“I promise not to tell her the truth if you leave for the nunnery immediately.”

She gazed at the dagger and was silent. Then she raised her head and looked at him proudly. “Very well, I will leave now. You alone shall accompany me. I know of a nunnery a few miles from here.”

“Don't you want to see Yoshiteru and say good-bye to him?”

“No, I don't think I can face his tears,” she replied with a bitter smile. “It's much better to leave like this. You and Tama can tell him whatever you wish when I am gone.”

Zenta nodded assent. He could understand her feelings. A farewell scene between mother and son would be unbearable.

She summoned an attendant. “Bring me traveling sandals and a veil. I am going to the family temple to pray in front of my husband's tomb.”

The attendant obeyed this sudden order without question. The recent shocking events had left her no room for further surprise.

As Zenta followed Lady Kaede down the wooden walk and across the courtyard, he felt like an executioner walking behind his victim. Passing through the fortress on their way out, they met some men who recognized Zenta. They glanced curiously at his veiled female companion. One or two of the men started to call out friendly greetings, but faltered when they saw his expression. It did not encourage conversation.

They walked along the moat until they were out of sight of the guards at the gate. Suddenly Lady Kaede seemed to stumble. “Please stop,” she gasped. “I feel a little faint.”

Still under the spell of her beauty, Zenta forgot caution. He reached over to support her swaying figure. Her dagger flashed out, faster than a striking serpent.

There was a sudden sound of running. Her hand hesitated for a fraction of a second, and that saved his life. He flung up his arm to ward off the blow, and the dagger ripped harmlessly into his sleeve.

Lady Tama was running towards them, her eyes blazing with fury. “You murderess!” she screamed. “You're trying to kill again!”

Faced with her most implacable enemy, Lady Kaede realized at last that there was no hope. She dropped the dagger and began to retreat. Lady Tama continued to advance. Her face had the inhuman look of an avenging deity. Step by step Lady Kaede moved back until she was at the very edge of the moat.

Then without a word she suddenly turned and flung herself into the moat. The impact of her body parted the water so that it resembled the mouth of a monster swallowing its prey.

Zenta rushed to the edge and leaned over the moat. But Lady Tama held him back, digging her fingers into his wounded shoulder until he gasped with pain.

“No!” she cried. “Stand back. It's better this way.”

After a minute they turned away, unable to watch the struggles in the dark water below.

Zenta finally looked at Lady Tama's white face beside him. “You saved my life. How did you get here at just the right moment?”

“Ume was bringing food to the guards at Shigeteru's room and they told her about the footprints. As soon as she saw the prints, she was struck by their small size. She came and told me. I rushed over to Kaede's rooms, and the servants told me you had come this way.”

Zenta drew a shaky breath. “Now I understand how she managed to catch the envoy off guard and kill him.” He looked back briefly at the now quiet moat. “You knew her much better than I did. I was a blind fool.” Generosity was Lady Tama's most endearing trait. She could have said, “You thought I hated my stepmother solely because of jealousy.” But instead she said, “She deceived my father, too. She was a very beautiful woman.”

They turned away from the moat and started back for the inner courtyard. “I shall have to break the news to Yoshiteru,” Zenta said heavily.

“It's really my job, too,” said Lady Tama. “I'll come with you.”

When Yoshiteru's tousled head appeared, the first thing he asked was, “Where is my mother?”

Then he caught sight of his sister and he broke into a wide grin. “Tama! What a pleasant surprise! You don't come here very often.”

When he saw Zenta, too, his delight was complete. The two people he admired most had come to visit him. “Since we have company, we ought to have refreshments,” he said gleefully. “I even remember which kind of confection you like best.”

Zenta was watching Lady Tama, his heart in his mouth. She stared at her brother silently, and her expression was impossible to read. The silence seemed to drag on and on.

Yoshiteru glanced from one to the other, looking very puzzled. Finally he said in an uncertain tone, “I'd like to have refreshments brought for our party, but I don't know whom to call. Everyone seems to be gone.”

Suddenly Lady Tama ran over to her young brother and caught him fiercely to her. He squealed a little in protest at her tight embrace, but then resigned himself. After all, women were such emotional creatures!

“Yoshiteru, your mother is very ill,” Lady Tama said huskily. “But don't worry, I'm here to take care of you.”

Chapter 16

 

 

Lady Tama's feelings were deeply hurt. She was in her music room, where the mellow afternoon light shone on various instruments and books lying about. The clutter had not been improved by the ransacking of the ghost hunters. She looked reproachfully at Zenta and Matsuzo, who were seated before her. They had come to say farewell.

“I don't understand you!” Lady Tama said to Zenta. “Why do you insist on leaving now? Can't you at least wait until your shoulder has healed?”

Zenta looked stubborn. “This kind of settled life doesn't suit me. I would soon get restless.”

“But there is work for you here,” she insisted. “Just think of all the vacancies that you've created in our staff.”

“You don't need me. There are plenty of good men here.” Zenta's voice was expressionless, and it made him sound cold.

Matsuzo was surprised at Zenta's coldness. He could see that Lady Tama was swallowing her pride and almost begging them to stay.

She made an obvious effort to control her temper. “You came looking for a job, and I can offer you any position you wish. Then why do you wish to leave?”