13

The problem now was where to put her. There was no room in the several wings of Murasaki's southeast quarter. It was the grandest part of the house and all its apartments were in use, and it was so much frequented that a new presence would very probably be noticed. Akikonomu's southwest quarter was quiet and in many ways suitable, but Genji would not have wished Tamakazura to be taken for one of the empress's attendants. Though a little gloomy and remote, there was the west wing of the northeast quarter, now being used as a library. Genji ordered the books and papers moved. The lady of the orange blossoms had already been assigned the northeast quarter, but she was a gentle, amiable person who would be good company for the new lady.

He had told Murasaki the whole ancient story. She chided him for having kept it so long a secret.

“Please, my dear—why should I have offered it to you all gratui-tously? I would have been reluctant to tell such a story even if it had been about someone you know. I am telling you now because you mean so very much to me.” He was in a reminiscent mood. “I have seen and heard of so many cases in which I have not myself been involved. I have seen and heard how strong a woman's feelings can be in the most casual affair, and I have not wanted that sort of thing in my own life. But one's wishes are not always consulted in these matters. I have had numbers of affairs that might be called illicit, but I doubt that any of them has had quite that gentle sort of pull on me. I think that if she were still living I would be doing at least as much for her as for the lady in the northwest quarter. No one in this world is quite like anyone else. She may not have been the most intelligent and accomplished person, but she did have a way about her, and she was pretty.”

“I doubt very much indeed that she would be a rival of the lady in the northwest quarter.” Evidently there was still resentment.

But here was the little Akashi girl, listening to the conversation with such charming unconcern. Murasaki thought she could see why he had a high regard for the mother.