The Samurai's Daughter Read Online Free

put it aside. It was obvious that he was far too proud to accept money.
    ‘Your name, young man?’ she asked gently.
    ‘Yoshida, Nobuyuki Yoshida. Glad I could be of service.’
    His skinny arms were like sticks poking out of his tattered sleeves. Taka could see her mother’s brows knit as she tried to sum him up. He was far too shabby to be of samurai or merchant class, but he didn’t carry himself like a servant either. He was impossible to place.
    ‘Wait,’ Fujino said, putting a serviette over the bloodstains on her skirts. ‘Master, take this boy to the kitchens and give him some food. And provide him with a decent set of clothes, too.’
    The restaurant owner’s round face was shiny with sweat. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at the boy then gave a sigh, put his hands on the ground and bowed deferentially. ‘Whatever you say, your ladyship. The young man certainly deserves a reward. We’ll make sure we send him off with a full belly and a good cotton robe.’
    ‘I’ll be on my way,’ the boy muttered again.
    ‘What house do you belong to?’ Fujino persisted.
    The boy stared at the ground. ‘I’ve only recently arrived in Tokyo, madam. I have relatives here but … er … I’ve been staying with a man called Shigehiro Iinuma, a middle-ranking official from the Omura domain in Hizen. I was in service there.’
    He hadn’t mentioned his family.
    ‘You were, you say. And now?’
    The boy’s tawny cheeks flushed. ‘I’m looking for work.’
    ‘What about your family?’
    Taka cringed. Her mother was a geisha. Where others would have hesitated, she was always shockingly direct.
    The boy hesitated. ‘I have a father and brothers, your honour. They’re far away.’
    ‘So you have no work?’ Fujino had the ability to prise information out of anybody, no matter how reluctant they were.
    ‘To be honest, madam, I’ve just been to see a man. I was hoping to get a job as an errand boy. Hiromichi Nagakura gave me a letter for him. But his house is full already and he says he can’t afford any more servants.’
    The words came out in a rush. Taka shivered, trying to imagine a world so harsh that people couldn’t even afford an extra errand boy. They had so much and he had so little and he’d saved their lives. Their house was full of people already. Surely one more wouldn’t make any difference? She spoke up. ‘Can’t we give him a job, Mother? I need a footman to carry my books when I’m going to school.’
    The room fell silent. As she squeaked out the words, everyone turned to look. Haru nudged her to tell her to be quiet but it was too late. The boy had been staring about him like a cornered bear but he too swung round.
    Taka felt heat rise to the tips of her ears and lowered her eyes. Fujino frowned, then her face softened and she smiled indulgently. When she turned back to the boy she was looking thoughtful.
    ‘Hiromichi Nagakura, you said, the ex-vice governor of Aomori? You carry a letter from him? Show me.’
    The boy scowled, as if to communicate that he had no need of anyone’s pity. Fujino held out her hand coaxingly. When she wanted something no one could deny her, Taka thought admiringly. The boy pulled a scroll out of his sleeve. Fujino unrolled and read it, frowning.
    As her mother scrutinized the scroll, Taka saw the boy staring at the ground, shoulders hunched, struggling to maintain his look of fierce indifference. His eyes widened and he squeezed his thin hands tightly together as if forbidding himself to hope.
    ‘Well, Nobu,’ Fujino said slowly, turning to him. ‘You’re obviously an honest, strong boy. We need someone like you. You’ll be better than these good-for-nothing grooms who abandon us to be attacked by madmen. We need an extra hand. Let me know who to speak to and we’ll give you a job.’
    Nobu looked at her and, for the first time, he smiled.

2
    IN THE ANTECHAMBER of the Black Peony darkness was closing in. Lanterns sputtered into life as lamplighters