The family guests arrived three nights in advance of the wedding date. Guests filled and then overwhelmed the house and its extensive eaves. I thought we might excuse ourselves and return to the inn, but Madame argued our hosts would take offense if we declined their hospitality. Madame always had her own objectives. We stayed, joining a queue of futon beds, lining most of the great room. In the numbers, I took refuge.

Master Nobu introduced Madame and myself to his younger brother Ishiro and his wife, but not directly to his children. I noticed Madame repeatedly paired off with him in quiet conversation on the very first day of their arrival. His wife, Rina, seemed to take no interest in the discussion. She wore her years more noticeably than her husband, and wandered about the house as quiet as the shadows she retreated to.

The Nobu heir was young, short, and possibly as thin as myself. We were never in conversation, but I sensed him to be as passive as his mother, and took courage. Madame showed no indication of having come to any agreement with Master Nobu’s brother, and eager though she may have been to choose a husband for me, I thought she would wait. I did not like to think of the rift that would inevitably follow. For now, there seemed little risk of danger, and for the first time in many weeks, I began to relax.

Music and feasting filled every corner of the great Nobu estate. By mid-morning, a few already staggered around drunken rice wine. Wives huddled together to admire the bride’s trousseau, or gossip about the expense of the wedding. Children chased heedlessly through the peonies in the garden. Musicians clashed about on the veranda. Through all this, I felt little call for vigilance, and watching became tedious.

I would not have gone off alone, day or night, had I felt any risk of danger, but I was slowly suffocating within doors, and the risk seemed so slight.

* * *

Even 100 jou from the house, the clash of cymbals jarred my nerves. The sun had long set, but the earth still retained much of the day’s heat. Guests would be unable to sleep well for hours yet, and so I lingered on the edge of the grounds, well out of sight of the house.

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The wedding procession would begin the following day, and I was eager to have it behind me. As Ansei had bid me, I had volunteered to perform Kiyo’s kitsuke and she had consented. It would be the last service I would ever give her. Though she talked of inviting me to her new home, I would never go there.

I wondered what Ansei had meant when he had said an invitation would come. How could he know? I wondered, but I did not doubt that he did know.

The scuffing of feet crushing dry brush startled me out of my thoughts. I went rigid and breathed a sharp gasp when I recognized Master Nobu’s younger brother Ishiro approaching. Surely, he had not followed me out here to make his son’s case to me! To do so was beyond improper.

“Shouldn’t a young lady have an escort so far from the house, and so late at night?”

I bowed low. “Yes. I am returning to the house now.”

“It is a nice, quiet evening. And formalities can be so stilting. I understand why you prefer to escape the crowded house. I am feeling rather overwhelmed by the numbers, myself.”

“The wedding is early tomorrow and I am tired,” I said, implying my wish to leave.

“Yes, it will all be over so soon. We must seize the moments before they flee,” he said, casting me a doleful glance.

“I perform the bride’s kitsuke early,” I said, and would have passed by him, but he grasped my wrist and sighed.

“Weddings are such nostalgic occasions. They always remind me how happy I might have been, had I been the first born.”

“Excuse me,” I tore my hand away, but not without scraping it first between his long fingernails. “I am wanted at the house,” I said, wincing and almost falling forward.

“Don’t be alarmed. I wish to discuss business,” he said, taking hold of the back edge of my kimono. “Let me tell you how I will help you—what I will give to you.”

“You need not give me anything, but distance,” I said, struggling to maintain calm.

“My brother can’t pay you for your work. You will find out the truth soon enough. He is suffocating in debt. No one knows but me.”

“This is a matter for my mother to discuss with him.”

“I can see to it that she finds a way to make him pay.”

“Let go of me now,” My voice quavered, and my gaze fled to the lights of the house in the distance.

“Come. If you will not run away, I will let go and we can discuss this strategically. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” I said immediately, though I had no intention of staying to discuss a power alliance on his terms.

Slowly, he loosened his grip. I wouldn’t run, but my promise not to had nothing to do with it. I could not outdistance him in my heavy robes, but I could face him, even if it came to a fight.