Chidori Learns about Loyalty

2: Wisteria

 The very next morning, a series of three post riders arrived at the gates of the palace. Whether the messages they bore for Lord Amari came from Edo or Kyoto, Chidori never knew. But she knew that, either way, the messages must have come via the Tokaido. The last and youngest of the messengers, dressed in a dark kimono, his straw travelling hat askew on his head, was her cousin, Jiro. He was posted to the nearest station on the Tokaido; therefore, Chidori knew, the messages must have come by way of that road.

 Chidori smiled in happy surprise when her cousin lead his horse into the garden. Jiro was the second son of Chidori's father's youngest brother, and he was Chidori's favourite amongst her cousins.

 “Good morning, older sister,” Jiro said to her, with a bow and a smile. The term of address – older sister – was polite, but the smile was cheeky. Chidori blushed.

 Lord Amari looked up from where he was dealing with the other two riders. “Who is your young friend?” He curiously asked.

 Jiro had come to the wedding, but apparently he had not made an impression on Amari. Chidori introduced her cousin to her husband, and they all went through the rigmarole of bowing and polite set phrases that a formal introduction involved. Looking mildly amused, Amari left his wife and her cousin to their own devices, focussing instead on the correspondence he had received from the other riders.

 Jiro pointed to the wisteria climbing the wall by the gate. It was blooming, a waterfall of pale purple blossoms cascading down like so many chains of butterflies.

 “My, the wisteria is lovely this year,” he commented.

 Jiro walked over to the vine, tugging on the flowers. Chidori frowned, and glanced back towards her husband at the opposite end of the courtyard. Her cousin, noticing the frown, smiled conspiratorially and pulled a folded letter out of the breast of his kimono. He held it out to her.

 Chidori took the sheet of paper gingerly, looking inquiringly at her cousin.

 “It is a private sort of letter,” Jiro said quietly. Then he purposefully strode over towards the door to the house, where Lord Amari and the others were still making polite small-talk.

 As soon as the post riders were gone, bearing Lord Amari's replies to his masters, Chidori secreted herself in her chambers. She sent away even her maidservants, knowing she had to be alone to read the letter Jiro had carried. Fortunately, she had never been the sort of person who could carry out private business in front of the servants, and sent them away often. She hoped that her behaviour today would not arouse too much suspicion.

 Chidori unfolded the thing sheet of paper, her eyes immediately tracking to the upper right corner, where the first character appeared. She was not surprised that there was no salutation, none of the standard opening phases – the handwriting was her father's, and he had never been one to worry about behaving decorously towards his children. There was not even any mention of the health of Chidori's mother, or her younger siblings. The message, in her father's spidery hand, was concerned entirely with matters of business. Specifically, the letter listed the information that, through marrying Lord Amari, Chidori had been sent to collect.

 How many troops did Amari have, her father wanted to know. How many horses, guns, stones in the outer wall?

 Chidori was incensed. As though her father could not have observed those things for himself when he visited Amari during the negotiations for the wedding! Then again, he had been incapable of observing something as important as the presence of a child.

 The letter continued. Who were Amari Katsushiro's closest associates? Whom he he favour amongst his retainers? Whom did he distrust?

 Chidori crumpled the note up in disgust. She hated being her father's spy. She thrust the note into the brazier by her side. For a moment, it refused to burn. Chidori poked at the charcoal, blowing on the red, freshly exposed surfaces. The paper blazed up. In a moment, there was nothing more than a pile of light, fluffy ash to show that Chidori's father's letter had ever existed. Chidori sighed, and went to go find her maidservant.