White Serpent Castle (16 page)

When Zenta didn't answer, she struck at a zither viciously, making harsh, jangling chords. Then she said in a low voice, “Are you afraid that Yoshiteru will hear about your part in his mother's death? You know that I will never tell him the truth. I plan to announce that my stepmother has retired to a nunnery for religious reasons. In due course her death from illness will be announced. My brother will not have any cause to hate you.”

“That's not the reason why I'm leaving,” said Zenta. For a moment he seemed about to add something, but he remained silent.

“My brother and I will need someone to protect us from evil men like the chamberlain,” Lady Tama pleaded. “You're forgetting that Yoshiteru is only nine years old. Until he becomes of age, I have to direct things alone. What if the daimyo really sends an envoy here, someone who might dispute the succession?”

“You know very well that the daimyo was fully prepared to recognize Yoshiteru as heir,” Zenta reminded her. “He never had any intention of sending an envoy. All the doubts about Yoshiteru were raised by the chamberlain and the false envoy.”

“But I need a new chamberlain, and I need someone to command the armed men if the daimyo should send for a levy,” said Lady Tama. “I'm planning to recall my father's old retainers from the outlying forts, and for these veterans I need a seasoned commander.”

“Yoshiteru will come of age in six years. Until then you have Saemon. He is both courageous and resourceful.”

“Saemon?” she said. “But he was Shigeteru's man. He might not want to serve Yoshiteru.”

Zenta gave a sigh of exasperation. “Lady Tama, Saemon was not Shigeteru's follower. He was a ronin, an adventurer whom your brother met on his travels. The two of them probably made their plans together. With matters turning out this way, Saemon would be glad to accept a job here.”

As Lady Tama still looked dubious, Zenta said, “I don't know what stories Ume has been telling you, but Shigeteru was not a young aristocrat traveling with a retinue of devoted followers. He was sent alone from the castle into exile, a punishment which he fully deserved.”

She sprang up in a fury. “How dare you talk about my brother like that!”

Ignoring her outburst Zenta went on. “Your brother, the only one left, is Yoshiteru. He has his mother's courage and his father's high sense of honor. He deserves all your love and support. Don't waste time sorrowing for Shigeteru. He wasn't worth it.”

Matsuzo held his breath. He himself had felt a certain dislike for the dead envoy, but he would never have risked Lady Tama's anger by speaking out like this. For a moment he expected her to summon guards and order their immediate punishment.

Instead of calling her guards, however, she broke into a storm of weeping. Perhaps she was remembering the help that Zenta had given—disinterested help, because he had asked for no reward.

Matsuzo glanced at Zenta and found his expression grave, with an undercurrent of sadness.

Finally Lady Tama raised her eyes, and in a voice choked with sobs she said, “Go, then. I don't ever want to see you again!”

She wiped her eyes and struck blindly at her zither. As the two men walked out of the room, the music, fast and furious, sounded in waves behind their backs.

On their way through the inner courtyard, Matsuzo looked around at the beautifully landscaped grounds, now peaceful and quiet. He sighed wistfully. “It's actually rather pleasant here.”

Zenta stopped. “Why don't you stay, then?” he asked. “Lady Tama would be glad to offer you a good position.”

“No, I don't really want to stay,” said Matsuzo. “It will be quiet and dull here when you're gone. I'd rather go with you and get into more adventures.”

“Get into more adventures? Into more trouble, you mean. I hope you realize that your chances of dying peacefully in bed will be poor if you go with me.”

Upon leaving the women's quarters, Zenta did not go to the main gate. Instead he went in the opposite direction.

Matsuzo was puzzled. “This is not the way out. We came in the other way.”

“I know. There's a little back gate where the inner moat branches out to join the outer moat. I want to go that way to avoid meeting a lot of people and having to answer questions.”

But there was no gate at the place Zenta described.

After staring blankly at the unbroken wall for a moment, he muttered, “I must have made a mistake. Come on, let's go out by the main gate, then.”

A suspicion began to grow in Matsuzo. He suddenly remembered other inconsistencies in his friend's behavior. For example, there was Zenta's attitude toward Lady Tama. Although he seemed to feel a deep affection for her, he showed none of the awe that was due to a lady of beauty, spirit, and high rank.

At the gate, just as expected, they were surrounded by curious guards. The castle men did not presume to detain the two ronin against their will, but they wanted to know the reason for their sudden departure.

While Zenta dealt curtly with the questions, Matsuzo drew one of the guards aside and asked quietly, “Was there formerly a back gate at the place where the inner moat branches out?”

“I don't believe so,” answered the man.

“Yes, there was one,” said a second man who had overheard them. “But Lord Okudaira ordered it taken out so that there would be fewer exits to defend. That happened eight years ago.” Eventually Zenta managed to brush aside the rest of the questions, and they were free to go. They passed silently through the last gate and across the bridge over the outer moat. As the gate clanged shut behind them, Matsuzo couldn't contain himself any longer. “You couldn't possibly have known about the back gate unless you used to live here,” he said at last.

Zenta became still. He made no reply.

“This would also explain how you knew the castle so well,” Matsuzo went on. “When we were running around during the ghost hunt and afterwards during our escape, you never had trouble finding your way in those mazelike corridors.”

Zenta looked at Matsuzo's face and realized that denial was useless. “I gave myself away when I mentioned the back gate, didn't I? It's fortunate that I didn't make that slip while Jihei was around.”

Matsuzo shook his head in bewilderment. “I still don't see why Ume didn't recognize you.” “Why should she? She was so convinced that the false envoy was the long lost son that she was blind to anyone else.”

Matsuzo nodded. He remembered the old woman saying that when Shigeteru left the castle, he was still an immature youth. In the last ten years he had grown much taller. His face had lost the fullness of youth and grown thin with hardships. But the chief factor must have been psychological. Ume found it easy to believe that her aristocratic young master would return in the guise of a well-dressed envoy at the head of forty men. She would never believe that he could appear in the form of a half-starved ronin wearing a torn kimono. “When did you decide to come back to the castle?” asked Matsuzo.

“I had heard rumors about Shigeteru's return, and I suspected that someone was planning to impersonate me. He was a clever man, whoever he was. By secretly telling Tama that he was not a real envoy, he appealed to her romantic nature. He knew she would be only too eager to believe that he was her long lost brother. I couldn't let an impostor take control here, especially since he might harm Yoshiteru.”

“Now that the false envoy and the chamberlain are both dead, why didn't you take command?” asked Matsuzo, feeling a keen regret. “What made you change your mind about claiming the succession? Lady Tama and the castle men would be overjoyed if you came forward.”

“But I never had any intention of claiming the succession!” cried the other man. He was silent for a moment, and then said in a low voice, “Ten years ago, I accused my father of cowardice. I was talking wildly, but he was too hurt and too proud to defend his action. After I had already left the castle, I learned that my father had retreated because he was obeying the daimyo's battle orders.” The set of his bloodless lips revealed how much pain the admission was costing him.

“I received news this May that my father was seriously ill. I went to the daimyo's capital during the archery contest in order to steal a look at him. He looked so old and frail! I knew then that I had broken my father's heart when I accused him of cowardice.”

“But your error was a perfectly natural one!” “No! It was unforgivable! I lost my right to the succession forever. Now that my job here is finished, I have no reason to stay any longer.”

Almost to himself he added softly, “By helping Yoshiteru and Tama when they were in danger, I lightened the burden of guilt that I have been carrying for the last ten years. Perhaps I can make something of my life from now on.”

The restlessness that had driven him from one job to another had been the result of guilt. There was a new look of peace about him as he faced the road ahead. Matsuzo had to hurry to catch up.

They entered the pine grove, which gave out a dry tangy smell of autumn. Behind them, the serpentine walls of the castle loomed dazzling white in the sun.

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