Lady Samurai

Chapter 21

The sight of Anna getting out of the palanquin at the Lord Matsuda's residence simply took everybody's breath away. She was dressed in an exquisite and richly decorated burgundy kimono and she looked dazzlingly beautiful.

"Ms Mitchell," Norton couldn't find any appropriate words to express his admiration. "You look simply stunning!... Regal!"

"Thank you." She bowed and smiled, happy with their appreciation. But then she met the gaze of Lt. Commander Morrison and her face clouded.

Because he was simply devouring her with his eyes. Before he managed to bring himself under control and hide it behind a mask of polite indifference, his face expressed a pure desire to own this beautiful woman. The woman who for some reason resisted him...

The foreigners gathered talking on the veranda for a while, to pass the time.
"I have been told that the Shōgun's people should be here tomorrow or perhaps the day after that." Anna was saying. "Finally, something will be happening. I have to admit I have been looking forward to it. There is nothing worse than just sitting in one place and being bored to tears."

"Ms Mitchell," Mr West suddenly cut her off. "Why is this guard paying us so much attention?" He was unnerved by the samurai's unflinching gaze.

She looked around to see who was there. "This is Harada-San. He is the commander of my guard." She explained with indifference.

"Does he speak English?"

"I don't think so. But even so, we have nothing to hide, do we?" She shrugged.

Soon the screen door slid open and they were taken to the great hall. They entered and the men bowed, while Anna knelt on the floor and greeted the Lord according to the Japanese etiquette.

"Ana-San, please, come closer." Lord Matsuda spoke first. "Invite your companions to sit down and convey to them our welcome."

"Arigatō, Matsuda-Sama." She bowed again and rose, walking forward with all the elegance she could muster. Her companions followed. Alas, with much less grace. They all sat down on the prepared cushions.

Immediately after entering the hall, Anna noticed that Lord Takeda sat in the place of honour, next to the host. She hadn't had a chance to see him before they set out and now his appearance surprised her. For this occasion he had abandoned his usual austere style of clothing. Tonight he was wearing an elaborately decorated dark-green kimono, which, she thought, greatly emphasised his handsome face. A belt held his two exquisite samurai swords and nobody could deny that Lord Takeda looked truly impressive.

Under his intense gaze, Anna felt she was blushing. She quickly composed her face, but for that brief moment the Lord noticed in her eyes admiration, pride and... desire. He smiled discreetly, because that was exactly the impression he wished to elicit from her.

Anna bowed again and officially thanked the host for the hospitality they had received in his domain. "My Lord, your generosity will always stay in our memories as the first impression from the Country of the Rising Sun." She concluded gracefully.

Lord Matsuda was greatly impressed with her rapidly improving language skills. Evidently, even these past few days had been enough to make a significant change. Her pronunciation had improved and she had lost some of her accent.