“No, it is not that only. It is often the case at first in the house of the parents-in-law. It is your duty to serve them—to obey even their cruel caprices. But”—and he drew her into a warm embrace—“it will not be for long! Maybe a year—longer, if the gods decree it! You can bear it for a little while, can you not, for me?”
“And after that?” she persisted, with the clear-eyed innocence of a child.
“After that? Why, the gods are good!” he cried, joyously. “We will have our own home. The humblest daughter-in-law is elevated with the coming of an heir!”
Her eyes were very wide, and in their dark depths he saw a piteous look of terror there. She caught at his hand and clung to it.
“Gonji! Suppose—suppose it is not possible for me—to please the gods!” she gasped. “Ah!”—as he hastened to reassure her—“it is said by the wise ones that a geisha is but a fragile toy, for transient pleasure only, but with neither the body nor the heart to mother a race!”
CHAPTER X
LIFE for a young wife in the house of her parents-in-law in Japan is seldom a bed of roses. Of the entire family she is, up to a certain period, the most insignificant. Under the most galling circumstances the Japanese bride remains meek, dutiful, patient. She dare not even look too fondly for comfort from her husband, lest she arouse the jealousy of the august lady, for no woman can, with equanimity, endure the thought that her adored son prefers another to herself.
Moonlight’s lot was harder than that of most brides, for, besides the menial tasks assigned her, she was obliged to endure the veiled, insulting references to her former caste, and to carry always with her the knowledge that she was not alone despised but hated by her husband’s people.