"I do not understand," said Asako, afraid of this wild talk.
"Do you know why the Englishman went away?" said her cousin brutally.
It was Asako's turn to cry.
"Oh, I wish I had gone with him. He was so good to me, always so kind and so gentle!"
"When he married you," said Sadako, "he did not know that you had the curse. He ought not to have come to Japan with you. Now he knows you have the curse. So he went away. He was wise."
"What do you mean by the curse?" asked Asako.
"You do not know how the Fujinami have made so much money?"
"No," said Asako. "It used to come for me from Mr. Ito. He had shares or something."
"Yes. But a share that means a share of a business. Do you not know what is our business?"
"No," said Asako again.