“It cannot be!” Akane replied, wanting to slap her for her stupidity. “What did he say?”

“He asked to see you.”

“Where is he now?”

“I asked him to wait in the entrance hall. But, Lady Akane, if it is him, how insulting of me! What should I do?”

“You had better show him in at once,” Akane said. “And bring some more wine. Let him come in alone. If he brought anyone else with him, make them wait outside. You also must stay outside, but come at once if I call you.”

As soon as the visitor stepped into the room, despite the informality of his robes and the lack of crest, she knew at once that it was Masahiro. He was a short man, much shorter than Shigeru, and already showing signs of the corpulence of middle age. Her first thought was, He thinks he will sleep with me, and she felt a rush of terror, for she knew that if that happened, Shigeru would never forgive it.

She bowed deeply to him, then sat, trying to arm herself with steel and coldness.

“Lord Otori, this is far too great an honor.”

“Your letter said you wanted to speak with me. And I have long wanted to meet you. It seemed like a golden opportunity, especially as my nephew is away.”

She poured wine and made a comment about the heat of the night and the strange beauty of the moonlit clouds. He drank, staring at her in an appraising way, while she, less openly, was trying to assess him. She already knew of his constant pursuit of sexual novelty, which led him not only to Haruna’s establishment but also, gossip said, to far seedier places and far more unusual pleasures. His skin was sallow in color and marked by several large moles.

She thought she should make her request directly, before any misunderstandings arose between them.

“I feel a certain responsibility for the sad event that took place last night,” she said softly.

“You mean, the intolerable insult to the Otori lords?”

I mean the death of a good man, she thought but did not say. “I wanted to apologize to you in person.”

“I accept your apology, but I don’t think you can be blamed if men fall in love with you,” he replied. “I am told that is why Hayato acted as he did. Apparently he was infatuated with you. I’ve heard my nephew is too.”

There was a slight question in his voice. She said, “Forgive me, Lord Otori, I cannot discuss Lord Shigeru with you.”

He raised his eyebrows slightly and drank again. “And was that all you wanted? To apologize?”

He will never agree. I am merely humiliating myself, Akane thought, but then she felt the dead man’s exhalation against her neck, as though he knelt behind her and would at any moment wrap his cold arms around her. She took a deep breath.

“Lord Hayato’s sons are very young. His family have always served the Otori faithfully. I am asking you to be merciful and to spare their lives.”

“Their father insulted Shigeru: I am only protecting his name.”

“I am sure if Lord Shigeru were here, he would also plead for them,” she said quietly.

“Yes, he’s a kindhearted boy, so people say. I, on the other hand, do not have that reputation.” His voice was scornful, but she thought she also heard envy in it, and her suspicions were confirmed when he went on. “My nephew is very popular, isn’t he? I hear reports from every corner of the Middle Country praising him.”

“It’s true,” she replied. “People love him.”

She saw him flinch under the lash of his jealousy.

“More than his father?”

“Lord Shigemori is also very popular.”

Masahiro laughed. “I would be surprised if that were true.” His upper teeth were slightly protruding, giving his lower jaw a look of weakness. “Where is Shigeru now?”

“Lord Otori must know-he is in Chigawa.”

“Do you hear from him?”

“He occasionally writes a letter.”

“And when he is here-and I must tell you, the house is superb, elegant, comfortable; I congratulate you-does he tell you everything?”

She made a slight movement with her shoulders and looked away.

“Of course he does,” Masahiro said. “You are an experienced woman, and my nephew, for all his admirable qualities, is still very young.”

He leaned forward. “Let us deal frankly with each other, Akane. You want something from me, and I want something from you.”

She looked quickly at him then, and to hide her alarm she allowed an expression of scorn to form slowly on her face.

“I’m not going to suggest we sleep together. It’s certainly what I want, but even I concede that it would be indelicate. And I’m sure it’s asking you to pay too high a price for the lives of your old lover’s children.”

She continued to stare at him, making no attempt to mask her dislike and contempt. He laughed again. “But I would like to know what Shigeru’s up to. You can surely assist me in that.”

“You are asking me to spy on Lord Shigeru?”

“Spy is rather a blunt word,” he returned. “I am merely asking you to keep me informed.”

Akane was thinking rapidly. It was so much less than she had feared. She would never betray Shigeru’s secrets, but she could easily make something up, enough to satisfy Masahiro.

“And in return you will spare the boys’ lives and allow the family to remain in the house?”

“It would be very merciful of me, wouldn’t it? Maybe I also will gain a reputation for compassion and share in Shigeru’s popularity.”

“Lord Masahiro is indeed compassionate,” she replied. “I will make sure it is widely known.”

She felt Hayato’s hand on the nape of her neck, a slight pressure, almost a caress. Then he was gone.

Farewell, she said in her heart. Be at peace now. She prayed he would find peace, and an auspicious rebirth, and would not come back to haunt her.

After Masahiro’s departure, Akane tried to tell herself she was not displeased with the outcome of the encounter. Haruna would be overjoyed and would almost certainly shower her with gifts; she had fulfilled her obligations to the dead, and she was sure that the agreement would not force her to betray Shigeru. She did not have any great opinion of Masahiro, and she felt quite confident of her ability to give him snippets of unimportant information. But as the days passed and she had time to reflect, she became less and less happy about what she had done, almost as if she knew unconsciously that she had taken the first step on a path that would deliver her into the power of a corrupt and cruel man.

Her greatest concern was that reports of Hayato’s death and her intercession on the family’s behalf would reach Shigeru in some distorted form and anger him. His absence and Masahiro’s visit had combined to produce a sense of insecurity in her. Her role as the mistress to the heir to the clan gave her great pleasure; she could not bear the thought of losing it. And apart from that ignominy, she suffered from an unfamiliar anxiety-that Shigeru would think less of her, that she would disappoint him, that he would turn away from her.

He will only love a woman who wins his respect, she realized clearly. He will not overlook or forgive any failing of character, any disloyalty. The idea that Masahiro might somehow inform him of their agreement unsettled her. Nothing could calm her unease. She wrote several letters and burned them, finding their tone falsely innocent, thinking her suggestions and suppressions, her embroidery of the truth, were blatant and would be easily discerned by him.

Her house, its exquisite objects, the garden, the pine trees, the sea, had all lost their power to charm her. Her appetite waned; she began to sleep badly and was short-tempered with the maids. The sight of the moon on the water, the dew on the first buds of the chrysanthemums and on the webs of the gold-orb spiders, moved her first to tears and then to despair. She longed for Shigeru to return from the East, yet dreaded his arrival; longed for winter, which would keep him in Hagi; dreaded what his uncle might tell him through spite or intrigue and what she in turn would have to report to Masahiro.