Shōgun полностью

"Part of it, Lady, was my plea to get back into his favor and out of that flea-sack inn, and to that he agreed. Now we're to have proper quarters within the castle, near the Anjin-san, in one of the guest houses and I may come and go as I wish. He asked Kiku-san to entertain him tonight and that's another improvement, though nothing will get him out of his melancholia. Neh?" Gyoko was watching Mariko speculatively. Mariko kept her face guileless, and merely nodded. The other woman sighed and continued, "Yes, he's very sad. Pity. Part of the time was spent on the three secrets. He asked me to repeat what I knew, what I'd told you."

Ah, Mariko thought, as another clue fell neatly into its slot. Ochiba? So that was Zataki's bait. And Toranaga's also got a cudgel over Omi's head if needed, and a weapon to use against Onoshi with Harima, or even Kiyama.

"You smile, Lady?"

Oh yes, Mariko wanted to say, wanting to share her elation with Gyoko. How valuable your information must have been to our Master, she wanted to tell Gyoko. How he should reward you! You should be made a daimyo yourself! And how fantastic Toranaga-sama is to have listened, apparently so unconcernedly. How marvelous he is!

But Toda Mariko-noh-Buntaro only shook her head and said calmly, "I'm sorry your information didn't cheer him up."

"Nothing I said improved his humor, which was dull and defeated. Sad, neh?"

"Yes, so sorry."

"Yes." Gyoko sniffed. "Another piece of information before I go, to interest you, Lady, to cement our friendship. It's very possible the Anjin-san is very fertile."

"What?"

"Kiku-sans with child."

"The Anjin-san?"

"Yes. Or Lord Toranaga. Possibly Omi-san. All were within the correct time span. Of course she took precautions after Omi-san as usual, but as you know, no method is perfect, nothing is ever guaranteed, mistakes happen, neh? She believes she forgot after the Anjin-san but she's not sure. That was the day the courier arrived at Anjiro, and in the excitement of leaving for Yokosé and of Lord Toranaga's buying her contract-it's understandable, neh?" Gyoko lifted her hands, greatly perturbed. "After Lord Toranaga, at my suggestion, she did the reverse. Also we both lit incense sticks and prayed for a boy."

Mariko studied the pattern on her fan. "Who? Who do you think?"

"That's the trouble, Lady. I don't know. I'd be grateful for your advice."

"This beginning must be stopped. Of course. There's no risk to her."

"I agree. Unfortunately, Kiku-san does not agree."

"What? I'm astonished, Gyoko-san! Of course she must. Or Lord Toranaga must be told. After all, it happened before he-"

"Perhaps it happened before him, Lady."

"Lord Toranaga will have to be told. Why is Kiku-san so disobedient and foolish?"

"Karma, Lady. She wants a child."

"Whose child?"

"She won't say. All she said was that any one of the three had advantages."

"She'd be wise to let this one go and be sure next time."

"I agree. I thought you should know in case… There are many, many days before anything shows or before a miscarriage would be a danger to her. Perhaps she will change her mind. In this I cannot force her. She's no longer my property, though for the time being I'm trying to look after her. It would be splendid if the child was Lord Toranaga's. But say it had blue eyes… A last piece of advice, Lady: Tell the Anjin-san to trust this Uraga-noh-Tadamasa only so far, and never in Nagasaki. Never there. That man's final allegiance will always be to his uncle, Lord Harima."

"How do you find out these things, Gyoko-san?"

"Men need to whisper secrets, Lady. That's what makes them different from us-they need to share secrets, but we women only reveal them to gain an advantage. With a little silver and a ready ear and I have both- it's all so easy. Yes. Men need to share secrets. That's why we're superior to them and they'll always be in our power."

In the darkness just before dawn, the portcullis of a side gate lifted noiselessly and ten men hurried out across the narrow drawbridge of the innermost moat. The iron grille closed after them. At the far side of the bridge the alert sentries deliberately turned their backs and allowed the men to pass unchallenged. All wore dark kimonos and conical hats and held their swords tightly: Naga, Yabu, Blackthorne, Uraga-noh-Tadamasa, and six samurai. Naga led, Yabu beside him, and he took them unerringly through a maze of side turnings, up and down staircases and along little-used passages. Whenever they met patrols or sentries-ever alert-Naga held up a silver cipher and the party was allowed to pass unhindered and unquestioned.