24

Kaoru wrote asking after her health, for she had told him that she was not well. “I wish I could see you, but I am quite buried in trivial paperwork. We do not have much longer to wait—and the result is that waiting becomes more difficult each day.”

And another letter came from Niou. “What are you worried about this time? I wonder. I too am worried, indeed beside myself with worry. Might something have led the smoke'in a rather surprising direction'?” * This was far from all. His letters tended to be much longer than Kaoru's.

The two messengers had crossed paths that rainy day and today they met again. Kaoru's messenger, a guardsman, had occasionally seen the other, a groom, in the house of that accommodating secretary.

“And what brings your honorable self out into the country so often?” he asked.

“Well, you see, there's someone here I write little notes to.”

“Come, now. You deliver your own notes? I suspect you're not telling me everything.”

“Well, as a matter of fact, the governor,+ you see, is in touch with someone here.”

It all seemed very odd, very improbable. This was not, however, the time to press the matter, and they went their separate ways. Kaoru's man, who had a good head, turned to the boy with him.

“Trail him and see if he goes to the governor's house.”

“He went to Prince Niou's,” reported the lad, “and gave the letter to the vice-minister of rites.”

Niou's man, less intelligent, had not guessed that they would take the trouble to follow him, and in any case (sad but true) he did not really know what he had been up to.

The guardsman arrived back at Sanjo~ just as Kaoru, in casual court dress, was setting out for Rokujo~, where the empress was in residence. His retinue was modest.

“I'm a little late,” said the man, handing his note to someone in the retinue,” because I've been looking into something very odd.”

Kaoru overheard. “And what was it?” he asked, coming out.

But the man only bowed, not wanting the other to hear. Kaoru under-stood and started on his way.

The empress again being indisposed, though lightly, all her sons were with her, and the Rokujo~ house swarmed with high-ranking courtiers. The secretary, a very busy man (he was also vice-minister of rites, as we have seen), was late in making his appearance. Niou took Ukifune's note, along with several others, at the doorway to one of the withdrawing rooms. On his way from an interview with the empress, Kaoru sensed something furtive in the meeting and stopped to watch. Niou opened the most important letter first. It seemed to be in a delicate hand on fine red paper. Engrossed, Niou did not look Kaoru's way. Just then Yu~giri passed on his way from the royal bedchamber. Stepping from behind a door, Kaoru coughed to warn his friend. Niou shoved the letter out of sight as Yu~giri moved on, and, in confusion, redid his blouse strings.

“I think I will go too,” said Kaoru, bowing deeply* and hurrying after Yu~giri. “Itmakes you wonder, when she hasn't had one of these spells in such a long time. Maybe we should send off to Hiei for the abbot.”

It was late in the night when the last of the courtiers left the empress. Yu~giri, with Niou leading the way and his sons of various ranks trooped around him, went off to his own quarter. Kaoru started for home a few minutes later. Curious about the man who had been to Uji, he took advantage of a moment when his attendants were down in the garden readying torches.

“What were you talking about?”

“At Uji this morning there was a man who works for Lord Tokikata, the governor of Izumo. He had a very interesting letter, on purple tissue paper, tied to a cherry branch, and he gave it to a woman at the west door. When I asked him about it afterwards, his answers didn't make much sense. I was sure he was lying. I couldn't imagine why he would want to lie to me and so I had the boy trail him. He went to Prince Niou's and gave the answer from Uji to Lord Michisada.”

Very odd indeed. “What was the answer like, and who gave it to him?”

“It was handed out from another door and I didn't see it myself. But the boy said it was a very elegant note on red paper.”

Without doubt the note that had so enthralled Niou. Kaoru was much impressed with the man's perspicacity, but he was not as lavish with his praise as he would have wished to be. People might be listening.