16

He told Yu~giri that he must be good to the girl.

“Not that I could have done very much,” Yu~giri said to her solemnly, “but I am the one you should have come to. I must apologize for not having been present to receive you.”

The situation was somewhat embarrassing to those who shared the secret.

The house in Kyushu had seemed the ultimate in luxury and elegance, but now she could see that it had been hopelessly provincial. Here every detail was in the latest fashion, and every member of the family (she was received as one of the family) was very prepossessing indeed. The woman Sanjo~ was now able to put the assistant viceroy in his place, and as for the hot-blooded person from Higo, the very thought of him repelled her. Tamakazura and Ukon knew how much they owed the nurse's son, the former vice-governor of Bungo. Genji chose Tamakazura's stewards with the greatest care, for he wanted no laxness in the management of her household. The nurse's son was among them. He would not in ordinary circumstances have had entree to so grand a mansion, and the change after all those years in the provinces was almost too sudden. Here he was among the great ones, coming and going, morning and night. It was a singular honor. Genji was almost too attentive to all the housekeeping details.