17

The daughter of that Prince Shikibu who had died in the spring was meanwhile having difficulties with her stepmother. The stepmother's brother, an undistinguished cavalry captain, had for some time had his eye on her, and it had been decided (for the stepmother wasted no affection upon the girl) that he should be her husband.

The empress had heard of it all. “What a pity, and what a waste. Her father was so fond of her.”

The girl's brother, a chamberlain, had taken the empress at her kind word, and so the princess, known as Miyanokimi,* had recently come into the royal service. She was singled out for special favors, since she was, after all, the granddaughter of an emperor. She remained a lady-in-waiting all the same, and one was touched and saddened to see her wearing the train which the royal presence required, although she was granted a dispensation in certain other matters of ceremony.

Niou was greatly excited. Might she resemble Ukifune? Quite possi-bly, since their fathers were brothers. It will be seen that volatility continued to be among his more striking traits: one moment he would be lost in thoughts of his dead love, and the next he would be desperately impatient to meet her cousin.

Kaoru thought it all very sad. Until yesterday Miyanokimi's father had considered marrying her to the crown prince, and he had hinted that Kaoru himself might be an acceptable son-in-law. How very uncertain were the destinies of even a princess. One could understand why Ukifune had thrown herself into the river. Kaoru more than anyone sensed what Miyanokimi would be going through.

The empress had more spacious and comfortable apartments at Rokujo~ than in the palace, and the people who tended to be somewhat lazy about waiting upon her were with her now. Indeed, the wings and galleries that wandered over the wide grounds were packed with them. Yu~giri was as lavish in seeing to their needs and whims as his father would have been —more so, it might almost have been said, for the house was if anything more prosperous. The fun Niou might have had if he had been more his usual self rather defies the imagination. He was so subdued and withdrawn that people began to suspect an unlikely regeneration. But he was returning to form, and had dedicated himself to the pursuit of Miyanokimi.