“But she is not Japanese,” he burst out; “I never for a moment thought of her as such.”
His words staggered Aoi. In her zeal to protect the girl from the overtures of this foreigner she had forgotten the facts of the girl’s birth. She became agitated. Her hands fell helplessly to her knees as she bent brokenly forward. With her head bowed, she spoke in a plaintive voice:
“The humble one craves the pardon of the illustrious sir. But will he not condescend to depart?”
Somewhat irritated and provoked, rather sulkily he turned towards the path and slowly, unwillingly, left the garden.
XVIII
A month and a half had gone by since the American attorney had cabled to his client in Europe of the success of his mission. Richard Lorrimer’s immediate response had been that he was leaving at once for Japan. Any day now he might arrive in Sendai.
In the meanwhile, Aoi sought to comfort and strengthen the despairing Hyacinth. She contrived to break up their retirement, and sought to divert her mind by taking her out each day. The girl had acquired a peculiar loathing and horror for the “white people,” of whom the little town of Sendai had now quite a plague.