guard-captain, alerted by a keen-eyed sentinel, recognised him with the
aid of a spyglass and rode out with two other samurai to meet him.
Captain Kamakura and Toshiro exchanged the usual salutations, but their
voices lent a warmth to the formal exchanges. They were old friends
despite the difference in their ages. Kamakura, the senior by some
fifteen years, had helped Toshiro to perfect his swordmanship and would
practise with him, or counsel him, whenever asked.
Over the last two years, Toshiro had been constantly on the move,
arriving with eagerly awaited information only to find himself
dispatched on some new errand with barely time to catch his breath. As
a consequence, the two men had seen less of each other than they would
have liked but their friendship remained undimmed.
Kamakura, a samurai cursed with five daughters, treated him like a
surrogate son. Whenever Toshiro came to Aron-giren, the captain and
his wife Yukio received him into their household with the utmost warmth
and generosity. Although Toshiro had never doubted his mentor's
sincerity, it was only natural to assume that at the back of this
charming couple's mind was the hope that one of their daughters might
find favour in his eyes. It was evidently a hope shared by their
offspring because, over the years, all but the youngest, who was not
yet thirteen, had taken it in turns to favour him with a more intimate
form of hospitality.
Their nocturnal visits which, by custom, one was not expected to
refuse, had been executed with an admirable discretion equal to that
practised by the ladies of the court. And their subsequent behaviour
gave not the slightest hint of what had occurred. Each one had
remained as courteous and respectful as before. Toshiro had said
nothing to their father. He preferred to think that the good captain
had no idea what was going on.
However, the expertise his daughters had displayed could not have been
achieved without some degree of parental guidance. Although it was
something that he and Kamakura had never discussed, Toshiro knew that
their mother had once been a courtesan. It was a well-known fact that
the warmth of their embrace was often fuelled by a burning ambition.
The two horsemen who had ridden out with Kamakura dismounted and
rejoined the guard as Kamakura and Toshiro trotted their ponies through
the arches of the outer and inner keeps and went on into the main
courtyard of the palace. Civilians - mainly tradesmen of low rank who
found themselves on the bridge fell to their knees and pressed their
faces to the close-fitting planks. The iron-shod feet of the ponies
sent thunderous echoes through their heads as the riders passed by.
As a member of the house of Hase-Gawa, Toshiro had his family home on
the seaward edge of the northern marches. Only two domains were
