(eng) Lian Hearn - Tales of The Otori 04 by The Harsh Cry of the Heron

Author:The Harsh Cry of the Heron [Heron, The Harsh Cry of the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

31

The scars left by the claw marks on his face had almost faded when Takeo returned to Hagi at the end of the third month. The snows had barely melted: the winter had been long and harsh. With all the passes closed between the cities of the Three Countries he had not even been able to receive letters, and his anxiety for Kaede had been extreme. He was glad Ishida had stayed with her during her pregnancy, yet regretted the physician’s absence as the bitter weather set all his old wounds aching, and the soothing draught was soon finished. He had spent the long hours of his enforced stay mainly with Miyoshi Kahei, discussing the strategy for the coming spring and the visit to the capital, and going through the records of the administration of the Three Countries. Both lifted his spirits: he felt he was well prepared for whatever might happen on the visit. He would go peacefully, but he would not leave his country undefended. And the administration records confirmed once again how strong the country was, right down to village level, where the system of elders and headmen chosen by the peasants themselves to represent them could be mobilized to defend themselves and their land.

The spring weather, the prospect of returning home, the joy of riding through the awakening countryside all added to his sense of well-being. Tenba had wintered well, hardly losing any weight or condition. His winter coat had been brushed away by the horse boys, who treasured him as much as Takeo did, and his black body gleamed like lacquer. His joy to be out on the road, heading in the direction of his birthplace, made him prance and cavort, nostrils flared, mane and tail streaming.

‘But what happened to your face?’ Kaede asked when they were alone, tracing the faint marks with her fingers.

Takeo had arrived that morning. The air was still cool, the wind fresh; the roads had been muddy, often flooded. He had gone straight to the old house, where Chiyo and Haruka had greeted him with delight, had bathed and eaten with Kaede, Ishida and the little boys. Now he and Kaede sat in the upstairs room, the shutters open, the sound of the river in their ears, and everywhere the smells of spring.

How can I tell her? He looked at her with concern. She was so close to her time, no more than three or four weeks away. He recalled what Shigeko had said: You should tell Mother. You should have no secrets from her. Tell her everything.

He said, ‘I rode into a branch. It’s nothing.’

‘It looks like a scratch from an animal. I know, you grew lonely in Yamagata and found a passionate woman!’ She was teasing him in her pleasure at having him home.

‘No,’ he replied, more seriously. ‘You know I have told you many times, I will never lie with anyone but you.’

‘For the rest of your life?’

‘For the rest of my life.’

‘Even if I die before you?’

He laid his hand gently over her mouth.

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