arm, and stomach had never closed properly, and all the rocking in the saddle had cracked the scabs open. Red spots seeped through his borrowed kimono. That was to say nothing of the eggplant-purple bruises coiled around most of his body, which she would only see later, once he disrobed. What she saw now was enough to stop her heart. “Get Yagyu!” Aki cried. “Daigoro, what happened to you?”
“I’ll be all right,” Daigoro said. His voice sounded weak even to his own ears. He tried to sound more like his father. “Yagyu should tend to Goemon first. I—”
“No,” Kenbei announced. “First you two will speak to me. I will not harbor fugitives, and I would have you tell me how many Toyotomi soldiers are on your heels.”
“None,” said Daigoro. “My quarrel with the regent is over. The peacock is dead. The pact we signed died with him, and that means my only remaining tie with Hideyoshi is the treaty he signed with my father.”
With a flick of the rein he urged his horse closer. “Do you remember it?” he asked. “It said the lords protector of Izu would maintain a united front, and would pose no threat to Hideyoshi’s expansion. In exchange for political stability, he promised us our independence. Do you understand, Kenbei-san?”
“Yasuda-dono,” Azami corrected. “We will also accept Yasuda-sama.”
“You’ll accept what I give you.”
Daigoro stepped out of his saddle, and hoped beyond hope that his right leg wouldn’t buckle when he hit the ground. It didn’t; Aki was there to support him. On any other day, he might have felt shame—a man was not supposed to need a woman’s help for anything—but a few nights ago he’d nearly been tortured to death, then nearly burned to death. Even the sword fights paled in comparison. If the embrace of his beloved was supposed to be shameful, then shame was the least of his injuries. The simple truth was that he thought he’d never feel her touch again. Now the smell of perfume in her hair nearly brought him to tears.
“Akiko, will you marry me?”
The question took her utterly by surprise—and not just her. Everyone else too. He supposed it should have, since this was the bluntest, clumsiest, most inept proposal ever uttered. A man did not ask such a thing of a woman; he asked it of her father. Even then, custom demanded a lengthy conversation, and usually a long bartering process as well. The last time Daigoro and Akiko were married, it was to cement a relationship between their houses. That was before they’d really known each other, and certainly before they’d fallen in love. This was something else entirely.
“You idiot,” she said. “I told you from the start: if you want to divorce me, you’ll have to grab hold of me and throw me out of the house. Otherwise, I don’t care what you sign with foreign lords. Here in Izu, you’re my husband and you always will be.”
Another couple might have kissed. Far more romantic for Daigoro and Akiko was for her to keep an arm around his waist, and for him to keep a hand on her shoulder, just so he would not collapse.
“There you have it,” Daigoro told Kenbei and Azami. “House Okuma does not recognize my divorce. In fact, there is no one left alive who does. That means I was very much mistaken when I entered here. I thought my name was Daigoro. In truth it is Okuma Izu-no-kami Daigoro. House Yasuda has loyally served my clan for generations. Now, Kenbei-san, will you serve or will you not?”
The furrows in Azami’s brow grew deeper. Kenbei’s eyes, the color of storm clouds, threatened lightning. “Daigoro or Okuma Daigoro, it makes no difference,” said Kenbei. “Your coffers are empty. Your clan is destitute. My brother’s pity for you outweighs his coin. Lord protector or no, you are in my debt.”
“Then I ask you to forgive the debt. As my loyal vassal. Will you obey?”
“What if we don’t?” Azami snapped. “We have heard from Lord Sora. He does not support you; he has only promised to stand clear of the fray. The same goes for Lord Mifune in the north and Lord Inoue in the south. What does it mean if your own father-in-law will not stand by you?”
“My father-in-law is not here. I will demand his fealty later. Today I demand yours.”
“No,” Kenbei said. “Izu is no longer your home, Bear Cub. You have no support here.”