CHAPTER XXVII—Son by Adoption
Dawn of the following day found the Prince of Owari at the palace, to make complaint against the dastardly attack of the Mito men. He returned shortly after noon, and within the hour sent word that he would come to see me in my apartments. Fujimaro, who brought the message, knew nothing as to the result of the visit to the Shogun.
The mingled dread and half-hearted hope with which I awaited the Prince may well be imagined. Was I to be sentenced to a horrible death, or merely sent out of the country? Had Yoritomo’s sacrifice won against suspicion and reaction, or were Owari and the cause of progress to go down to ruin and destruction with myself? Since I had lost my little Princess, I could think of my own fate with a degree of indifference. But that the cause for which my dear friend had given his life should fail—what bitterness!
The Prince entered with austere stateliness, only to drop from the formal to the familiar at the first view of my bandaged arm. He waved all our attendants to leave, and sank down beside me, with a look of kindly concern. “You are in pain! Your arm—did Yuki say whether the arrow had a poisoned head?”
“No, no, my lord. The wound is already healing. I feel no pain from that. The Shogun! Tell me!—Does the House of Owari still stand unshaken?”
“As firmly as Fuji-yama.”
“And the schemes of Mito?”
He smiled and stroked his slender white beard. “Rekko continues to dwell in his Inferior Yashiki. Keiki has paid a heavy price for the pierced arm of my guest. An attack with deadly weapons within the bounds of Yedo is an outrage upon the dignity of the Shogun.”
“His Highness once more inclines to your counsel?”
“The offering of him who has gone from us has not been without avail, and Keiki’s false move has forced the last bar of the gate for us. Your offence is pardoned.”