The Seabird of Sanematsu (26 page)

“Have you taken to gossip, Uesugi-sama, the business of women?” Aderyn chided. “Do not hold store in those rumors, Tada-sama. May I call you that?”

Hamasaki had ridden ahead to keep watch, and the servant lagged behind, leaving no chance of their being overheard. Lost without Sachi to protect her from herself, Aderyn hoped Uesugi could help her. He had the same naive and unsophisticated air about him her friend did. It gave her confidence and self-assurance with him, different from the ease she had with their master. Plus, Sanematsu would not have trusted anyone he had not personally selected for this mission.

“I would prefer Tadakuni.” He blushed at the use of the pet name.

“You know, it is strange. I was walking through the garden last evening, and in the darkness, I saw two shadows. I heard a laugh, and someone said ‘Tada-sama.’ Then the shadows came together for an instant, and I heard a distinct rustle of silk,” she said with as much innocence as possible.

“I will admit I was in the garden,” he answered with force.

Though the young man did not carry himself like a full-fledged samurai, soon enough he would be able to assume the visage, as well as the voice, of a warrior. Now, however, his harsh tone did not fit with his pout.

“I do not accuse you of any wrongdoing, Tadakuni-sama. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Many a young man has fondled a serving maid in the dark.”

She could consider such ideas now without dying of embarrassment. Not long ago, she would have found it hard to ponder, much less speak openly of them.

“I–I…ah, well, I do agree. A young man has curiosity as well as the right.”

“I have seen you noticing our lord’s stepdaughter.”

“I have…noticed.” Uesugi gulped hard.

“You were not with a serving maid last night, were you, my friend?” Aderyn hoped the word
friend
would put him at ease. She chanced a direct look at the boy.

“No, I was not.” Uesugi looked ashamed, guilty and a little confused. “Please, for Aya-hime’s sake, do not let Lord Sanematsu know!”

“It was dark. How could I see who stood in the garden? Is it my place to spy on those who seek privacy?”

“I shall be in your debt, Tori,” Uesugi sighed.

“The rumor of your rendezvous with a girl is not unlike the rumor of Lord Sanematsu Yoshihide and a certain yabanjin.” She made her point. “I am sure Lord Sanematsu will pay no heed to rumors. And I can assure him Aya-hime was with me at the time you and your ‘maid’ were in the garden.”

“Thank you, Lady Tori,” he said.

Aderyn smiled.

For the next few miles, they rode in silence. Lush vegetation crept to the road on both sides. Vivid colors stood out where flowers of all kinds blossomed. Black pine trees rose to tower over the travelers, and the forest was full of sounds. A large buck dashed across the road, followed not long afterwards by a doe and her fawn. In a clear blue sky with wisps of vaporous streamers birds flew high overhead.

With relief, Aderyn agreed when Hamasaki suggested a stop by a creek to water the animals and rest. She had been afraid to ask to stop in case Hamasaki knew a reason for haste she did not. As he held the horse’s head, she slid from Koji, and then all four travelers went about personal business.

Aderyn had long since learned not to care about his presence, since Hamasaki turned his back to give her privacy; and he, in turn, was accustomed to her easing behind a bush without announcement. Now, she undid the hakama and squatted. In front of her, the bushes rustled and parted. A scream escaped her throat.

“My pardons, Lady Tori.” Uesugi drew up short. “I was seeing to your protection.”

“I do not need protection!” She stood with her hakama lowered around her knees. “Go away!”

Sword drawn, Hamasaki came running. “Tori, are you safe? What is wrong?”

“I am quite all right.” She pulled her clothing up around her bare hips while Uesugi stared, flustered and red-faced. “I merely have an over-enthusiastic samurai waving his sword at me!”

“Come!” Hamasaki seized the young man’s ear to remove him from Tori’s vicinity. “You will leave her safety to me! I will let you know when and how to see to her care!”

The sound of his tongue-lashing faded as Aderyn went on about her business. Moments later she emerged, her clothing righted. Uesugi knelt beside a pile of kindling, busy with the fire.

“Is this your penance?” she asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“Humph.” He stood and stomped away.

“Leave him alone.” Hamasaki worked at the saddle of her horse. “He has a task to perform. Let him do it.”

“Do not be so hard on him. He was only doing what Sachi-sama instructed him to do.”

“And your scream could have alerted every enemy within ten miles.”

“I am sorry. I will try not to scream so loud when I am startled.” Aderyn took a seat.

She helped with the meal, a simple dish of hot tea poured over rice. Hamasaki and Uesugi added salted cod roe to the top of their cha-zuke. Aderyn did not like the taste of tatako, so put a pickled plum in hers. After they had eaten, she washed and packed the dishes. They prepared to remount.

“Hamasaki-sama, what do you do when you leave me?”

“I am sorry, Tori, I do not understand.” Hamasaki became nervous, always apprehensive when she looked at him with intent curiosity.

“When you are not guarding me, where do you go?” she asked as she remounted.

“Oh. My home is among the samurai estates in Nishikata.” He mounted, and they moved off. Uesugi took the point.

“Do you live with your parents or do you have a wife?” His parents would live with him if he were the eldest son. And, since he was a retainer of Sanematsu’s, his father should have been, also.

“I have a wife and daughter. My wife carries my son, if the gods permit.” His face glowed with pride. It was the first time he had ever showed her any emotion.

“Congratulations. Please tell me when the baby is born so I may visit your wife. I would have thought you older than a man with infant children. How old are you, Hamasaki-sama?”

“You have many questions. I have seen nineteen New Years.”

Age and maturity came quickly in Nihon. At close to sixteen years of age, Aderyn was but a child when compared to these men’s experience. Sanematsu ruled Satsuma Province by the time he was fifteen. Uesugi was a warrior at sixteen. Would she catch up with them in a fourth of a year?

The group made excellent time. They passed small villages preceded by vast barley fields and rice paddies. The tall and lush rice plants swayed in the wind. Ripples ran over the flat water that gave the rice sustenance. Farmers and their wives tended the fields. The smallest children rode their mothers’ backs, tied on with her sash.

Closer to the village, women tended garden plots and children. Toddlers played outside the houses, while older children worked beside their parents. Aderyn drank in the homey scenes.

Life for the least person here was so simple and quiet. Their daimyo, like a kind father, provided a pleasant existence for them. He carried their concerns on his back, his brow knitted when disaster befell them, his stomach gnawed when they were hungry. Lord Sanematsu buried their dead and rejoiced in their births. Did they realize the gift and sacrifice of his happiness Sanematsu gave them?

The day of the picnic, Sanematsu had exposed a new side for her to see. On the night before he left for Kamaga, he had come to her room, alone and open, and they had revealed what they felt for one another. Could she count on seeing him like that ever again?

She could never have him as a woman in love did a man. He was not hers and never would be. He belonged to these serfs, and he would do what benefited them.

“Tadakuni-sama, how is our lord? Is he well?” Uesugi had taken Hamasaki’s place at her side.

“When I left him he was. But he was miserable. He was very irritable and unable to attend to military matters. Perhaps I should not give such information to you.”

“It is right for you to. Lord Sanematsu speaks to me of matters different from those he shares with his warriors.”

So, that is why he sent for me.
Her heart beat louder. Blood rushed to her ears, and a chill raced up her spine.
He had no such difficulty before I came! What if…?

Overcome with foreboding, she urged Koji into a gallop. She could not have said how she knew, but she had to reach Sanematsu as soon as possible or never see him again.

Hamasaki and Uesugi kept up only with difficulty.

“Tori,” the older samurai shouted over the thundering hooves. “we should make camp.”

“No. Lord Sanematsu expects us tomorrow afternoon. He will be pleased if we arrive early.” It was difficult to shout over her shoulder, but she had to convince him.

“I do not know…” Hamasaki had brought his horse alongside hers.

“The horses are sturdy and can endure the pace. Uesugi-sama made the journey in a day and a night.”

“Very well.”

Aderyn’s heart rested in her throat. Would Sanematsu be alive when they arrived at Kamaga?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A few hours after dawn, they reached the camp. Lather dripped from the horses, and their lungs sounded like forge bellows. The camp bustled with activity, the battle having come and gone. Shroud-wrappeed warriors lay to the left and right in neat rows. The sun glinted off their swords arranged across their stilled chests.

Bile filled Aderyn’s throat, and she fought the scream threatening to erupt from within. Was she too late? If Sanematsu had met his death, would she and the others have been allowed to ride in unobstructed?

“Tadakuni-sama! Where?” She did not have to explain.

“There.” Uesugi gestured toward the center of the camp. The bivouac was a neat arrangement of tents housing two to six men, lined in rows except for the very center. There, two large tents stood with wide spaces around them. A large rectangular flag, its kamon exposed clear and prominent, snapped on a pole outside one tent.

She spurred the mare toward it then slid without regard for dignity from the saddle and rushed to the flap. A samurai came out and stopped her.

“You may not enter,” he grunted.

The arms that pushed her back were Matsumoto’s. He turned his attention to Hamasaki and Uesugi as they came to her side, but he refused to release Aderyn’s arms.

Hamasaki broke the silence. “What is the news, Lord Matsumoto? We arrived as soon as possible.”

“Our master lies within, gravely injured.” Matsumoto indicated the tent with a nod. “His physicians are in attendance.”

Aderyn gasped and struggled to get passed him. Unable to break his loathsome grip, she was sure he enjoyed applying the restraint. The pain of his tightening grasp caused her to wince and grimace.

“Matsumoto-uji, you do not need to restrain her,” Hamasaki commented.

Matsumoto glared at the guard. Did he regret assigning him to her? Hamasaki had become a companion to her instead of a controller.

As if aware it was better not to allow Hamasaki a reason to protect her, Matsumoto dropped his hands.

Once she was free, Aderyn started inside the tent. Matsumoto shot out a hand to stop her.

“I said you are not permitted. Hamasaki-uji, you should put a rope on this one to remind her of her place,” the karou snapped. “His distraction with her has already cost him.” He spoke as if she were not present. “Take her away. It may be hours before he is able to see her. Then, he may not wish to do so.”

He re-entered the tent.

Aderyn stood numb. Sanematsu needed her! If she had arrived sooner, she could have told him of her premonition, perhaps stopped him from entering the battle. Now, Matsumoto denied her access to him. What was she to do?

Hamasaki put a gentle hand on her arm. Uesugi stepped to her other side, touching her sleeve.

“My lady,” he leaned in to her ear and afforded her the undeserved title. “I will keep you informed of what our lord wishes of you.”

“Thank you.” Aderyn wiped a tear from her eye. She would not shed tears, even in frustration. Permitting Hamasaki to lead her, she turned in slow motion and went in the direction Matsumoto had indicated.

“Tori,” Hamasaki said as she started into her tent. She paused and turned to him. “Our lord will see you. He called you to his side. I see no reason for him to change his mind.”

Aderyn wanted to embrace her guardian in gratitude, but such a gesture would not be acceptable. She smiled as best she could and entered the tent.

In the cold, dim interior, she took advantage of the open futon, dozing fitfully. The ride had left her tired, but Sanematsu’s condition would not let her sleep. She gave up and left the bedding. After she washed her face and hands and redid her braid, she began a long, agonizing wait.

The tent was too small, so she paced outside in front. Hamasaki sat by the corner on a campstool; there was no consolation in his sober face. Across the way, Sanematsu’s physicians came and went from his tent carrying trays. What were they doing? Was he dead? What would happen if he died?

Without his protection, Matsumoto and the others would not allow her to live. But she could not fathom her life without Sanematsu anyway, and would not want to live without him. What she feared was the method of her death.

She went back inside and sat down on the futon. She had no more than put her head down when Hamasaki and Uesugi burst in, excitement overcoming their usual placid demeanor. Uesugi was so keyed up he could not stand still.

“My lady, come quickly! He has awakened and demands to see you.”

Aderyn rose, and the three left the tent.

“I have discovered what has occurred over the last few days,” Uesugi said. “Lord Sanematsu led the army into an attack at daybreak, falling upon Lord Amemiya’s troops while they slept. The causalities were considerable, with Sanematsu-sama being wounded near the end of the battle. My friend told me how, although weakened by the loss of large amounts of blood, he fought on.

“Amemiya-sama surrendered after Sanematsu had personally taken his eldest son’s head. Only then did our master lead his men off the field. When he reached the camp, he collapsed and Hikita-uji carried him to his tent. Hikita-uji was wounded also. Sanematsu-sama has drifted in and out of consciousness since.

“He has now awakened and demands you be brought to him. Matsumoto-sama has counseled against it, but when Sanematsu-sama threatened to go to you if you were not in his presence at once, his doctors became afraid he would hurt himself further. That was when Matsumoto-sama consented and sent me to bring you.” He
 
snickered. “Matsumoto-sama is angry because Sanematsu-sama is so adamant.”

“It would not do to have Matsumoto-sama further irritated,” Hamasaki warned her.

“I will try not to,” Aderyn assured him. Her very breathing irritated her enemy enough.

At the command post, they entered the tent of Lord Sanematsu Yoshihide. Darting glances about the interior, Aderyn sought him. Three older men, the physicians, sat against the far side of the tent. A young boy rested in the near corner. At last, she located the still form prostrate on a futon.

Sanematsu Yoshihide lay eerily quiet, slow, ragged breathing the only evidence of life. Matsumoto, puffed up with self-importance, stood near him. Fighting the urge to rush, she approached his bedside. Her emotions were almost beyond control. Needing to touch him to assure herself he was alive, she could not. Too many people who did not understand her closeness to their daimyo watched her, hoping for a slip in decorum.

Sanematsu turned his head her direction. His brown eyes burned with intensity.

“Tori,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

Aderyn knelt beside the futon. “Sire.”

“Everyone, out!” His forceful shout resulted in a coughing fit. The crowd thinned. Uesugi paused at the inside flap to stand as sentinel, since Hikita was incapacitated. Hamasaki took up position outside.

Sanematsu recovered with a sip of water she helped him take from the small bowl she found on a table next to his bedding. Pale, his narrow face was an ashen mask. Dark circles underlined his sunken eyes, and a shadow covered his jaws. Strands of dark hair fell down his neck, around his ears and across his forehead. When he swallowed the mouthful, his breath came in shallow, labored movements, as if the act of breathing hurt.

He lay back, and she put the bowl aside.

“You have arrived at last, my seabird.” His trembling hand reached. She squeezed it between hers. “I feared I would be with my ancestors before I saw you once more.”

“Do not think that way.” She fought to steady her voice. A sob welled up in her throat to see him so near death, and her heart ached.

The nut-brown skin of Sanematsu’s bare torso stood out on the white cotton matting. She wanted to stroke the muscles firm and solid beneath the smooth, satiny skin. A red blotch spread on the thick, wide band that encircled him below his ribcage and across his stomach.

“I am told I have lost a great amount of blood.” His eyes did not leave hers for an instant, a faint sparkle there still. “I am glad you have come.” He had to force each word out of his mouth with a great effort.

“Do not talk more, sire.”

His fingers were cold when she brought his hand to her lips. He struggled to keep the pain off his face. Why did he try? She was the only one present to witness it. Did he not know she would understand his agony?

But she knew from watching them practice that injured samurai were stoic and iron-faced. To show pain was not honorable.

“You must save your strength.” She lowered his hand to her lap, continuing to hold it tight.

“So they tell me.” He squeezed her hand as a spasm of pain clouded his eyes. “I can rest if you remain at my side.”

“I will, great lord.” She smoothed his hair back from his hot, dry forehead. “Rest and save your strength.” Tears choked her.

“Your presence gives me strength.” He drowsed, fighting to keep his eyes on hers.

“Ssssh.” She placed her finger to his lips as she laid his hand on the quilt next to his side. “Be still, my lord.”

“Only if you cease to address me so.” Sanematsu forced his eyes open and his voice to be strong. “Call me…Yoshi. At birth, I was named so. When it was changed to Yoshihide after my gempuku, my boy’s name became a nickname.”

As always, he taught her, even though it took all the breath he had.

“Yes, Yoshi-sama.”

Aderyn pulled the covering over his bare chest to his shoulders. He was asleep by the time she finished.

As pleased as she had been when he allowed her to call him Yoshihide, to allow her Yoshi was an even greater honor. It meant she was closer and dearer--and a greater danger--to him.

The hours dragged. He slept fitfully. She bathed his face with tepid water, removed the cord binding his hair and combed it. As she laid it down around his neck and just over his shoulders, the heat of his fever clung to the strands. She could not resist a timid touch to the satiny skin on his broad shoulders. Was it the fever, or a unique fire that seared her fingertips?

The physicians returned to maintain their own vigil. Not speaking to her, they worked around her and glared their disapproval for her peering over their shoulders. When she viewed his wound, Aderyn gasped.

The sword slice on his left side extended from front to back, and was deep. Miraculously, the invading blade had touched no vital organ as it cut underneath his ribs and above his waist. If the blow had been stronger, or on the right, he would have died on the battlefield. Still, he could linger for days before the relief of dying. Aderyn prayed she would not have to relinquish him to death, but how could he survive?

“Why do you not sew the wound closed?” she asked the elder physician. The sailors of her father’s ship used thread and needle to help wounds heal.

“Sword cuts this deep do not heal well if closed on the outside,” Kono explained. “It must be allowed to mend from the inside out. Now, please excuse me, I must tend our master.”

“Yes, of course,” she replied, but did not move.

The doctors placed fresh dressings on the wound and departed. Aderyn wiped away the sweat droplets popping out along Sanematsu’s brow and upper lip. Her fingers traced his soft lips and recalled his smile and laughter, rare though they were. Would he ever wake and laugh with her again?

How could Sachi and other Nihonese women send their men to war with seeming ease? And why did men rush to battle? Did they not feel the anxiety of their women? Did the female suffering not touch them? A woman’s job was to tend the wounds and bury the dead.

So, as women of warriors had done for centuries, Aderyn sat at Sanematsu’s side. As night fell, Hamasaki was relieved of duty to sleep, and Uesugi napped in the corner near the entrance, awakened by the doctors when they entered.

The longer she sat in the fading light, the more tired she became. As her eyelids drooped, she never took her eyes off Sanematsu. Then, exhaustion won, and she curled up at his side.

She must have slept a fair amount, since she was a bit refreshed when she woke to Uesugi’s touch. Panicking that he woke her because something was wrong, she put her hand on Sanematsu’s motionless form. His chest moved, but he did not otherwise stir.

“You should go to your tent, Tori,” Uesugi advised.

“I must stay.” Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she fussed with the covering Sanematsu had tossed off.