第39节

s of such a fulsome

accolade, Noburo produced a wad of high-denomination notes and placed

them on the mat in front of the innkeeper. The man and his wife

exchanged a startled glance, then both stared openmouthed at what was

clearly a small fortune. Unable to believe his eyes, the innkeeper

reached out towards the notes with trembling hands, then jerked them

away. By the rules of etiquette he could not pick up the money until

Noburo gave him permission to do so.

After receiving solemn assurances that they would treat what he was

about to say with the utmost discretion, Noburo revealed that he was

acting on behalf of a young nobleman of high birth who greatly desired

to meet the masked lady - who they had only just received into their

house.

Warming to his tale, Noburo painted a tragic picture of a young man's

awakening love - in this case reciprocated by the lady in question.

But because of his family's exalted rank the liaison could not be

allowed to continue. Arrangements had been made for the young man to

marry a daughter from one of the many branches of the Toh-Yota family

the rulers of Ne-Issan.

they were caught up in such great events!

For this reason, continued Noburo, the lady had been banished from

court circles and was now on her way to become the chattel of some

common east-coast merchant. This meeting - assuming that the innkeeper

and his wife would graciously allow it to take place under their own

roof- was their last chance to be together.

The innkeeper's wife, a warm-hearted woman whose life had been entirely

devoid of such grand passions, listened avidly to the ronin's story.

Her husband only had one aim: to make a profit out of every

transaction.

His fingers, which could flutter with incredible grace and speed over

his abacus, no longer knew how to caress her body. As a consequence,

her romantic appetite fed vicariously off the details of other people's

love affairs.

The gift of money satisfied the husband, and the heart-rending tale

brought tears to the eyes of his wife.

On retiring to bed she would be able to close her eyes and project

herself into the role of the courtesan locked in a last desperate

embrace with her noble young lover.

Always providing, of course, that her dull lump of a husband did not

shatter the illusion by snoring his head off.

But, in the meantime, how could they help? The question was put

timidly to Noburo through her husband.

Noburo explained that the two women acting as her chaperones were in

the employ of the merchant. The fact that he had provided two

Vietnamese women was an insult in itself and showed what an uncouth

fellow he was.

The innkeeper and his wife, who were both of Chinese dscent and thus

superior to everybody except the Sons of Ne-Issan, were quick to

agree.

Having ascertained that he could rent the small pavilion he had used on

his previous visit, Noburo produced a small vial of powder - a potent

sleeping draught that was to be mixed in two cups of sake that the

innkeeper would generously offer the courtesan's servants with their

supper. When they were soundly asleep, and the other travellers had

retired for the night, he would, with their consent, introduce the lady

into the pavilion where her noble lover would be waiting in the hope

that she would receive him with a generous heart and a giving nature.

By morning he would be gone, never to see her again, the lady would be

back in her chamber and her chaperones would be none the wiser.

The innkeeper gazed misty-eyed at the money and agreed it was a most

excellent plan; his wife swore to guard the secret with her life and

managed to convey by a lingering sidelong glance that while the master