CHAPTER XX
AN EVIL OMEN
“ARTIST, you cannot enter the hall!” said the Duchess Aoi, pulling the sleeve of Junzo’s hakama.
“I am a guest,” he said briefly.
“But you transgress the most stringent rules of the court. His Majesty commands that no one, save in evening dress, shall appear. The Crown Prince is the guest of honor to-night.”
Junzo looked with doubtful eyes at his dress, then stared at the black-coated, white-breasted garb of those within the room.
“It is the Prince of Nijo’s palace; I am well aware that customs are changed here,” he said.
“You think the Princess Sado-ko still sets the fashions at defiance. Oh, artist, she is a most abject devotee.”
“I do not understand.”
“Artist, for your own sake, do not look upon this new Sado-ko. Wait till the night is past, and see her in the morning. She will be then the princess you have known.”
Both Junzo and the duchess started at a familiar sound of low, mocking laughter.