Lady Samurai

Chapter 14

Back in her room, Anna sat down heavily and closed her eyes for a moment. She was really tired and truly needed a rest. 'As the good doctor ordered.' She thought with a grin.

However, after only a few minutes she heard a discreet knock and Reiko entered with a tray. "Ana-San." She bowed. "Lord Takeda sent his retainer, asking about your wellbeing." She poured tea with the elegance Anna could never hope to match.

"His doctor didn't report to him?!" Anna's exclamation was an expression of her frustration and impatience.

"I am sure, he did." Reiko's answer was calm and dignified, making Anna feel embarrassed by her outburst. "But the Lord would prefer to hear it from your own lips. He wishes you to join him for tea in Lord Matsuda's gardens."

Anna was so stunned that at first she didn't even know what to say. But soon enough her independent nature bristled against blindly following the will of another person. He might be a great Daimyō, but she wasn't going to let him control her.

"To be honest... I don't feel very well." She adopted a sad face. "And probably should rest. Would you be so kind and convey my answer to the Lord?"

"Ana-San," Reiko's face displayed pure shock. "You can't refuse an invitation from a powerful Daimyō!"

"Well, I am sure Lord Takeda will take into consideration that I have been wounded and now just follow the recommendation of the Lord's own physician. Please add that his attention honours me, but I must refuse."

Anna's expression and her tone told Reiko that she wouldn't change her mind under any circumstances and so she didn't press the matter any further. She excused herself and left the room.

Seeing her chance to get everybody the slip, Anna used the back entrance to the inn's garden and quickly disappeared behind trees.

Falling rain didn't deter her. During her years in America she got used to all kinds of weather. Besides, the rain gave her a peace of mind that nobody would follow her here. Anna felt tired of the constant company of people. Her years of travelling taught her to appreciate the value of solitude. Now she missed it.

She closed her eyes and lifted her face up, delighting in a feeling of tiny raindrops on her skin. However, after a while she decided that getting her clothes and her wound dressing wet wouldn't be the best idea and she found asylum under the branches of a huge tree. She sat down, resting her back against the trunk and considered everything that had happened in the last few days.

Truth to be told, there were many things to ponder on...

Firstly, why Lord Takeda paid her so much attention? It definitely wasn't the customary behaviour in a lord of his position. Why would he want to acquaint himself with her: a woman, Gai-Jin, who wears men's clothing and demands respect for herself?

Secondly, she still had not revealed her true motives for coming to Japan. And in all honesty, she would prefer never to have to reveal it. But how was she to separate from her companions?

And thirdly, who would want to kill Lord Takeda? By strange workings of the mind, her thoughts returned to the Japanese Lord.

He was, without a doubt, a very attractive man. A man who knew how to treat a woman with courtesy. Even a woman who stood socially so much lower than himself. But he behaved as he was planning to seduce her... Because it didn't even cross her mind that he might have had some darker designs on her. But he surely couldn't contemplate any relationship with Gai-Jin!

Thinking about it, Anna smiled to herself. She had always known that her golden hair, blue eyes and independent spirit intrigued men. But she had never deluded herself that it was anything more than purely physical attraction. She was too intelligent not to see that no man would accept a woman... a wife, who was his equal and who would want to make her own decisions. Besides, living alone had suited her so far.