Lady Samurai

Chapter 23

Lord Takeda woke up early. Very gently, avoiding disturbing Anna, he rose and left the room, letting her sleep. The things he had to attend to were not for women's eyes. He dressed in a simple kimono and briskly walked to the very back of his residence, where he had ordered the prisoners to be kept overnight. His people undoubtedly had interrogated them already and the Lord expected some results.

Seeing him approach, Nabutada, his chief retainer, came out to meet him and bowed low with respect. "My Lord."

"Have they said anything?" Takeda demanded.

"No, My Lord. We tried everything, but they simply laughed in our faces!" Nabutada's own face twitched with suppressed anger.

"Somebody must have hired them!" The Lord was displeased. Not with his own people, though. But with these unknown conspirators, who had now attempted to kill him twice.

"What would you have us do with them, My Lord?" Nabutada didn't like it any more than his Lord.

"Have they any markings?"

"Nothing. Whoever pays them, didn't want to be identified. But..." He hesitated.

"Yes?" Lord Takeda trusted his samurai's instincts.

"My Lord, these are not some hired bandits. I think they are samurai. Or Ronin, at least."

"This could only mean one thing. That the Shōgun, or somebody on his behalf, wants to get rid of me."

"They wouldn't dare!" Nabutada was indignant. "Not with Gai-Jin present."

"What better than to show who wields the real power?" Takeda was serious. "The sooner we leave the better. Dispatch a messenger to Lord Matsuda, informing him about the prisoners. Let him deal with that, as it is a local matter. Any other news?"

"Kazuki returned a short while ago." Nabutada didn't hide his disapproval, regarding the unorthodox arrangement with the man. "I told him to refresh himself first. He was filthy."

"Tell him to meet me immediately in the garden pavilion."

"Hai, My Lord." Nabutada bowed and hastened to follow his orders, while the Lord returned towards the main house and went to the garden.

The pavilion was situated in a perfect spot, designed to give the occupants maximum privacy, preventing any eavesdropping. It was standing at the centre of a clearing, giving straight lines of sight in all directions, but was also surrounded in a wide circle by the beautiful flowers, that lent the whole place a feeling of tranquillity.

Kazuki arrived a few moments later. He was still dirty and smelled horrible, but the Lord had no time for useless sensitivity. He wrinkled his nose slightly, but was intent on ignoring any distractions. "Have you found anything?" He asked to the point.

"My Lord." Kazuki was careful to position himself down the wind from his master, in a way that the morning breeze took away most of the smell. "You were right. There was a plot to kill. I have managed to uncover the spy and to intercept the messages to his master..."

Takeda looked at him with anticipation. Yet Kazuki hesitated for a brief moment.

"What is it?!" The Lord demanded impatiently.

"My Lord, the orders came indirectly from Saitō Matsuishi. We have no concrete proof, but he was behind it from the beginning. Yet... you were not the intended target."

"What?!" Takeda was startled by these news. "Explain!"

"My Lord, the messages were very clear that both assassination attempts were directed against... the Gai-Jin woman."