Shinju

knew as well as he that the standard punishment for treason was death not only for the traitor, but for his entire family as well. The Nius, with their power and influence, might be able to get their sentence reduced-to confiscation of their fief, and lifelong exile. But they would prefer death’s lesser disgrace.

Lady Niu sat as still as a stone. Only her trembling lips betrayed her struggle for self-control. Then she said in a barely audible whisper, “It will do no good.”

“At least talk to him,” Sano coaxed. He wished he could put his hand on hers; touch might persuade where words couldn’t. Instead he leaned toward her until Eii-chan pulled him back. “Go to him. Now, while there’s still time.”

“No. He will not listen to me. And besides, I do not know where he is. He said he was meeting someone who is costuming himself as a princess from The Tale of Genji… they plan to celebrate Setsubun together. Masahito seemed very excited… ” Obviously dazed, Lady Niu was rambling as though unaware of the irrelevance of what she said.

“Then what about his father?” Sano asked. “If you tell the daimyo, surely he could-”

“No!”

Lady Niu’s composure shattered. Her eyes widened, darkening as if she beheld some horror visible only to her. Then she bowed her head. Tears dropped onto the scroll as she wept silently.

Sano felt an unexpected sympathy for her. How would his own mother feel upon learning that her son was doomed? As she soon might. He fought his sympathy by remembering Tsunehiko and that terrible night in Totsuka.

“Then you must report the conspiracy to the authorities,” he continued mercilessly. “For your own sake, and the sake of your husband and your family. You know you cannot cover up an attack on the shogun as you did the murders of Noriyoshi and Miss Yukiko. The truth will come out for everyone to see. And when it does, you won’t be able to shield your son from the consequences of his actions.”

A sudden stiffening of Lady Niu’s body told him that she’d been trying to think of a way to do exactly that. Her tremulous sigh marked her failure.

“We will go to the Council of Elders now, and show them the scroll. They will- ” Sano started to say “have your son arrested,” then rephrased it “-see that young Lord Niu hurts no one. Come. You know you have no other choice.”

She continued to weep. Sano waited. And waited. Would she agree? His own fate depended on her decision. He needed her company and that of her armed escorts to protect him from the police until he got to Edo Castle. Once there, he was almost sure he could make the devastated and distraught Lady Niu confess to the murders and exonerate him. Eii-chan’s hand tightened on the ropes, increasing both his physical distress and his impatience.

Then Lady Niu raised her head and blinked away her tears. She squared her shoulders and achieved a poor semblance of the proud daimyo’s lady she’d once been.

“You are right,” she said, her voice at once bleak and resolute. “I have no other choice. Eii- chan, untie our guest and give him back his weapons. Then come immediately to my chambers. Sano-san, please excuse me while I make myself ready.”

“Of course.” Sano heaved a huge breath of relief as Eii-chan cut the ropes from his wrists, and not just from the end to discomfort. Very soon he would deliver a murderer into the hands of the authorities, reaping his revenge and serving justice. He would be a free man. And soon Lord Niu and his coconspirators would be arrested; the shogun would be safe. Picturing himself vindicated, restored to his status as a yoriki, his father well again, Sano fought down a surge of premature joy.

“May I have the scroll?” he added. It had lost much importance now that he had Lady Niu’s cooperation. He’d known all along how little chance he’d have of convincing the authorities to revoke the charges against him-rather than arresting or killing him at once-and act against Lord Niu instead, scroll or no scroll. But he’d risked his life for it and still didn’t want to let it out of his sight.

Lady Niu rolled up the scroll and retied the cord. Rising, she proffered it to Sano with a bow, her tear-stained face tense with the effort of simulating its former serenity.

Sano found her behavior oddly formal at a moment when no amount of formality could minimize the seriousness of her situation. Maybe she found comfort in polite ritual. He gravely returned her bow and tucked the scroll inside his cloak with the rope and sandal he still carried.

Alone in Lord Niu’s room after Eii-chan left, Sano fastened his swords at his waist. The now-useless mask, which the manservant had also returned, he absently toyed with as he paced the floor. Time passed; still Lady Niu didn’t reappear. What was taking her so long? Had she changed her mind about going with him? What would he do if she had? He wondered how the knowledge that she’d killed to protect a son bent on self-destruction had really affected her. She deplored Lord Niu’s wrongdoing, but he was her flesh and blood, and she loved him. Would she really betray him, even if the alternative meant her own and her family’s downfall?

But she’d seemed so resigned, Sano argued to himself. As if she’d fully accepted the rightness of her decision…

Sano stopped pacing in mid-step. A sudden premonition stunned him.

“No,” he whispered as he realized what Lady Niu’s real choice had been.

Bolting through the door, he raced down the corridor. He sped across the dark garden and burst into the building that housed Lady Niu’s chambers. As he neared her sitting room, he heard a loud, anguished moan. He was too late. A shout burst from him as he halted in the doorway and saw exactly what he’d dreaded seeing.

“No!”

Lady Niu knelt on the mat, gripping the handle of the dagger that protruded from her throat. Blood gushed from the vertical gash in her pale flesh and onto her kimono. Her mouth was open. A thick gurgle issued from it, then a gout of blood. Her eyes rolled back to show their whites. Eii-chan stood beside her. Holding his long sword in both outstretched hands, he swung it upward, behind and high above the nape of her neck.

“No!” Sano shouted again. Rushing into the room, he fell to his knees before them.

Eii-chan’s sword flashed down in a swift arc, cleanly severing Lady Niu’s head, which hit the floor with a sickening thump, then rolled to land face up right in front of Sano. A great fountain of blood spouted from the neck of her slumped body, drenching walls, floor, and ceiling in red. Warm droplets pelted Sano’s face as he stared helplessly at the manservant who had helped Lady Niu commit jigai, the women’s version of ritual suicide.

Eii-chan had acted as her second, ending her misery by cutting off her head after she stabbed herself. To the end, he’d carried out his mistress’s orders with a complete and terrifying obedience. Sano couldn’t hate this man who stood contemplating his bloodstained sword with an expression of sorrow, pain, and disbelief that made him seem for once fully human. Eii-chan was in many ways a better samurai than he. What tremendous inner strength must it require to kill the person one had sworn to serve!

Sano looked down at the mutilated thing that had been Lady Niu. Her body had fallen onto its side; her hands still clutched the dagger. With something akin to pity, he saw that she’d tied her ankles together so that her body would be found modestly composed, whatever her death agonies. He felt no satisfaction at witnessing the destruction of the murderer of four people. Instead he experienced an overwhelming rush of sorrow for this woman whose loyalty and love had destroyed her. His appetite for vengeance dissipated, leaving him empty and shaken. He’d never imagined regretting the death of the killer he’d sought, but now he wished with all his heart that he could bring Lady Niu back to life. For a week, a day, or even an hour longer.

Because without her, how could he stop Lord Niu and exonerate himself?

Chapter 28

As Eii-chan watched the glistening rivulets of blood drip from his sword, an unbearable emptiness opened inside him. The room seemed to blur until he was barely conscious of his surroundings. He was alone now. Horribly, frighteningly alone, as he’d been before Lady Niu entered his life.