“I would never do that,” Yanagisawa said with a vehemence born of his horror at seeing the fabric of their relationship torn apart. “Believe me, because I’m telling you the truth.”
His thoughts flashed to the six thousand troops that Lord Kii commanded, and the vast fortune that would finance a coup. Yanagisawa must repair the damage to the alliance that was crucial to his bid for power and his defense against his enemies. He took a step toward Lord Kii, but the daimyo flung up his chain-mailed arms, repelling Yanagisawa’s advance.
“You’re a liar!” Lord Kii shouted as his hurt gave way to rage. “I knew your reputation when I accepted your favors. I should have known you would one day turn on me like a snake who bites the hand that feeds it. I was stupid to convince myself that allying with you would do me good. I was a disgraceful wretch to excuse your lover, who caused the death of my son, and to place my duty to you ahead of my own flesh and blood!”
Yanagisawa saw with fresh horror that he’d been wrong to think Lord Kii had forgiven his son’s death or spared Hoshina the blame. The offense Yanagisawa had unintentionally given Lord Kii had ignited a cauldron of bitterness within the daimyo. Yanagisawa was abashed to discover that he’d misjudged the man he’d thought his tamed, subservient creature. He realized that the accusation Lord Kii had perceived was a heavy onus placed atop the other ills Yanagisawa had caused him, and his tolerance for them had just snapped.
The old daimyo smote his gloved fists against his chest, punishing himself for his sins. “What a coward I was to bend to your will! How wrong I was to cast my lot with you, who’ve come to destroy me!”
“My only purpose is to clear you of suspicion and protect you from the sōsakan-sama,” Yanagisawa said, anxious to win back Lord Kii’s good will. “Please calm down, so you can recognize the truth.”
Lord Kii folded his arms. “I do recognize the truth.” Anger colored his face such a deep, purplish crimson that he looked ready to burst a vein. “You’ve got one eye on my troops, and the other on my treasury. You’ve used me and humiliated me. That you dare insult my honor has shown me the mistake I made in trusting you.”
A thrill of fear coursed through Yanagisawa.
“I’ll not be a fool or coward or disgrace any longer,” Lord Kii declared. “Our alliance is severed.”
Yanagisawa stood dumbfounded by shock as his mind absorbed the fact that he’d suddenly lost a major source of military backing. A new battle commenced on the training ground. This time the Blue Flag soldiers rallied. Their blades struck down Red Flag troops, who fell in the dust. As Yanagisawa experienced a sensation of the earth crumbling under his feet, outrage enflamed him. That his faithful dog should step out of line and deal him this blow! If reassurances wouldn’t put Lord Kii back in his place, then perhaps intimidation would.
“Don’t be so quick to break with me,” Yanagisawa said in the quiet, venomous tone that had subdued many a man braver than Lord Kii. “You’re in a dangerous situation. You have reason to want Hoshina-san dead. You had time to plan the ambush. Your men rode out on the Tōkaidō the same day as Lady Keisho-in. That makes you a primary suspect in the kidnapping. One word from me to the shogun, and you’ll be arrested and stripped of your title, your lands, and your wealth.”
A sharp intake of breath from Lord Kii, and a sudden fearful look on his face, gratified Yanagisawa.
“But if you uphold our alliance, I’ll protect you. I won’t let the sōsakan-sama persecute you, or the shogun think you kidnapped his mother.” Yanagisawa infused his voice with all the coercion he could manage. “Just tell me why you sent your men on that journey. Give me proof that you’re innocent, and everything will be the same as before.”
Lord Kii vacillated, his gaze shifting, his eyes agleam with his terror of Yanagisawa’s wrath. Yanagisawa waited, confident that he could overpower the daimyo. But although Lord Kii trembled like a tree cut at the base and ready to fall, he stood firm.
“ “I shouldn’t need to prove to you that I’m not the kidnapper,” he said, huffing with rage, fright, and wounded dignity. “My word should be good enough because I’ve never deceived you, and you should know I’m an honest man. If you don’t trust me after all I’ve endured for you, then whatever I say won’t convince you that I’m innocent. Go ahead and denounce me to the shogun, but first you’d better listen to this.”
Vengefulness radiated from the daimyo’s armor-clad bulk. On the battlefield, his Blue Flag soldiers scattered and chased their opponents; they whooped in glee. “Yesterday, Lord Matsudaira came to see me. He proposed a marriage between his second son and my granddaughter.” Lord Kii grinned in triumph at Yanagisawa. “I want you to be the first to know that I’ve just decided to accept Lord Matsudaira’s proposal.”
Terror thunderstruck Yanagisawa. That Lord Kii would agree to the marriage meant he was switching sides to the Matsudaira faction. The balance of power would tip away from Yanagisawa. When his other allies learned that Lord Kii had defected, other defections would follow. The odds that he could install his son as the next shogun had drastically diminished in a mere instant. So had his chances of surviving a change of regime. Yanagisawa recognized that his situation was desperate and called for extreme measures.
“Wait, Lord Kii,” he said. “Before you act on your decision, please accept my apologies for offending you.”
How the words rankled in his mouth! He rarely apologized to anyone; his rank exempted him from appeasing most other people. Lord Kii beheld Yanagisawa with obvious surprise that he would humble himself, but didn’t answer.
“Know that I respect your fine intelligence, courage, and honor,” Yanagisawa hastened to continue. “Your friendship is more precious to me than your army or treasury.”
The flattering lies that usually rolled off his tongue now stuck in his throat because he resented groveling to someone of inferior status. Lord Kii stood silent and unmoved, waiting to see how much lower he would stoop. Tasting a mortification that sickened his spirit, Yanagisawa dropped to his knees before Lord Kii. He never knelt to anyone except the shogun, and every muscle stiffened with resistance; humiliation galled his pride.
“Please let us remain allies.” Yanagisawa forced out the plea in a voice that he barely recognized as his own. Hot with shame and fury at his abasement, trembling in his terror, he gazed up at Lord Kii. “Please don’t desert me.”
Lord Kii only stared down at him with scorn. He uttered a laugh that expressed contempt toward Yanagisawa’s begging, and enjoyment of their reversed positions. He said, “Leave my estate at once. Never come here again.”
A sense of doom resounded through Yanagisawa. Before he could protest, Lord Kii called to his troops on the battlefield. They galloped over to him, primed for more combat.
“Training is over. Escort the honorable chamberlain off the premises,” Lord Kii told the troops.
Yanagisawa had no choice but to descend from the stands and slink across the battlefield like a whipped dog, while Lord Kii gloated. The troops followed him and his entourage until they exited the gate. As the gate swung shut behind them, a funeral procession of chanting priests, bearers carrying a coffin, and somber mourners filed down the street. Bells tingled; drums throbbed. Yanagisawa stood isolated and stunned, regretting how badly his scheme had backfired.
He’d lost the ally whose support he’d wanted to confirm. Even worse, he’d accomplished nothing to advance the search for the kidnapper. He’d not obtained proof of Lord Kii’s innocence and eliminated him as a suspect. Furthermore, the whole disastrous episode had shown Yanagisawa how seriously he’d misjudged the daimyo’s character, with disturbing consequences. It was now obvious that Lord Kii had nursed a grudge against Hoshina. Perhaps he’d also plotted revenge. If he had the nerve to repudiate Yanagisawa and the wits to understand that he could protect himself by joining the Matsudaira faction, then he wasn’t as dull or meek as Yanagisawa had thought. Perhaps he had arranged the kidnapping.