“What happened?”

“Apparently she threw herself off a cliff near the villa. He found her the next morning. It’s this that has deranged him.”

Akitada frowned. “If he stopped speaking to you, how did you find out?”

Kosehira gave him a fond look. “I was in the capital on provincial business that week. We spent some hours together the very evening it happened and chatted long over wine. That was what made him late that night. I’d never seen him so happy, so excited to see her. The next day, he was a changed man, wild-eyed and shaking, frantic because he didn’t know what to do. I didn’t either, and you were out of town. In the end I went to Kobe. A good man! He handled everything most discreetly.”

This time, astonishment left Akitada speechless. He sat staring at Kosehira, trying to comprehend how a police investigation had been managed without a word getting out.

Kosehira seemed to find nothing remarkable in it, for he continued after tossing down another cup of wine. “Before you get suspicious again, there was never any doubt about it being suicide. She was alone. The old couple, who look after the villa during the winter months, were asleep in their own house, and the prince thinks she was distraught. He told me about her state of mind because I asked him how he found her. She had written him that they could not meet again, and that she could not live without him. They searched for her all night, he and the caretaker. It snowed that night, so it wasn’t until the following morning that he found her. He went to the cliff, half afraid, and looked over. That’s when he saw an odd pile of snow in the creek below and a bit of her blue robe showing. Some animal had disturbed it.” Kosehira shuddered and rubbed a hand over his face. “Horrible! Can you imagine what the poor man must’ve felt? Filled with happiness one day, and losing her the next. What a night he must have spent. And to find her at the bottom of the cliff, all broken.” Kosehira’s voice shook.

Akitada was silent. Yes, it was unimaginable. He thought of Tamako and how he would feel if she killed herself like that, leaving him to find her broken body. No, she would never do that to him. This couple had not been happy lovers before this happened. There must have been a reason for her sudden decision.

He asked, “Is her suicide in some way connected with this charge of conspiracy against His Majesty?”

Kosehira looked surprised. “I don’t see how it could be. She died almost four months ago, long before the present troubles.”

“Perhaps the charges were trumped up in order to punish the prince for seducing one of the emperor’s women and causing her to take her life.”

“Masako wasn’t one of the emperor’s women. His Majesty did not care for her at all. Her reputation of mannishness repelled him.”

“I see.” Akitada pondered this. The story seemed unsatisfactory. “And because the prince is distraught over his lover’s suicide, he refuses to defend himself, and that puts you and others in danger of arrest and punishment?”

Kosehira squirmed uncomfortably. “Well, it may seem that way but, Akitada, you must feel for the man. What an absolutely horrible thing to have happen! It was all I could do to convince him that he wasn’t responsible for her death.”

“Oh? Why did she jump off the cliff?”

Kosehira bit his lip. “Well, umm, she was expecting their child. It would have made a fine scandal for both of them. Maybe someone found out.”

“It’s a shocking story, but I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself and your family because your good nature keeps you from speaking out. I’ll go see Atsuhira and get him to face the situation. Once we have a clearer account of what the charges are, we can surely clear you.”

“You can’t see him. I tried early this morning. He’s under guard in his palace.”

Akitada grimaced. “You forget that I work in the Ministry of Justice. I’ll get in somehow.”

“No, I won’t let you do that. You’ll lose your position.”

Akitada gave Kosehira a smile. “I owe my career to you. You have interceded for me many times, so you have nothing to say in the matter.” He got to his feet.

Kosehira rose also, looking miserable. “I shouldn’t have told you. You mustn’t, Akitada. Think of Tamako and the children.”

“Tamako would agree with me, and the children, I’m convinced, would do so if they were old enough. I’ll be back when I’ve learned more.”

Genba’s Sweetheart

Tora and Saburo were amusing themselves throwing coppers at an old target when Genba left his quarters in the stables and strode quickly across the courtyard.

Saburo whistled.

Tora paused in mid-toss, narrowed his eyes, and called out, “Off to see the girlfriend again? And in a new jacket? How fine you’ve become, brother!” He burst into laughter.

Genba flushed and sent him an angry glance, hurrying toward the gate.

“When may we expect you back?” Tora called. “Or will you spend the whole night in her arms?”

The shouting attracted the attention of the cook and Tamako’s maid, who stood chatting outside the kitchen. Both laughed. Genba dashed the last few steps and slammed the small gate behind him.

Laughter and assorted ribald shouts followed him.

Genba’s resentment faded quickly. He knew he made a ridiculous figure, a man his age, his hair already gray, and his body fat and ungainly. He had never given them occasion to laugh at him before, having conducted himself with the greatest circumspection on his rare forays into the city for the services of a prostitute.

But this was different. This was Ohiro. He thought he must really be in love this time. It was a strange emotion, as unfamiliar and uncomfortable as it was exhilarating. All he knew was that he needed to see her and protect her, that lying with her arms around him was a bliss he had never felt with other women. He wondered what she saw in him. It made him humble.

Ohiro was pretty. She had a wonderful smile that caused dimples in her cheeks. Her eyes were the softest brown he had ever seen. And her body! Oh, she was shapely, with curves that invited exploring. A tiny waist, but oh, such hips. He got warm just thinking about them.

His sweetheart shared a room with another of Tokuzo’s girls. They lived in a poor area on the opposite side of the capital and almost as far south from the Sugawara residence as you could go. Genba walked fast. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ohiro. It was her day off. He hoped she would like his new jacket. A passing comment by the master about his threadbare clothing had caused Genba to purchase it. He had begrudged every copper.

In the western market, he passed a stand selling sweets and stopped to buy a honey-filled rice cake. Ohiro was very fond of them. He liked them too, but seeing her pleasure was much better than tasting the sweet himself. Besides, he must save his money.

The tenement where Ohiro and Shokichi roomed was poorly built and worse maintained even though the rents were very high. It belonged to Tokuzo’s mother, and all of Tokuzo’s women were expected to live there. Genba looked around, saw no one, then knocked three times softly on one of the doors.

She opened immediately and pulled him inside, closing the door very quickly. The girls were not supposed to have male visitors without passing the fees on to Tokuzo.

Genba knew right away that something was wrong. Ohiro kept her face averted.

“What happened, love?” he asked.

She walked away from him and mumbled, “It’s nothing. Please don’t make a fuss.”

He frowned. “Ohiro, turn around.”

When she did not respond, he went after her and took her gently by the shoulders to turn her around. “Amida!” He dropped his hands and stared in shock at her swollen face. One eye was closed and surrounded by red and black bruises, there were traces of blood in her nostrils, and she had a badly cut lip. “He did that to you?” he asked hoarsely. “I’ll kill him!”