Read Online The Last Concubine by Lesley Downer - Free Book Online Page A

Let’s go and join the ladies.’
    They had barely returned to the main chamber when Haru, Sachi’s teacher, appeared, bowing at the door. Sachi was overjoyed to see her. She ran to greet her, tripping over her skirts in her haste. The ladies-in-waiting and their maids, filling the room like a flock of colourful birds, avoided looking at her. Only one cast a glance in her direction as she dashed by – whether of pity, envy or something else, she couldn’t tell.
    Haru greeted her with a deep bow, pressing her face tothe ground. ‘Profound congratulations,’ she said solemnly.
    She sat back on her heels and looked at her, then put her hand over her mouth and smiled hugely.
    ‘The whole palace is abuzz,’ she said, with a giggle of delight. Sachi gave her a wobbly smile in return.
    Haru had a round face that might once have been pretty though she had long since become rather plump. Her cheeks were full and pink and her cat-like eyes nearly disappeared when she smiled, which was often. Sachi called her Big Sister though she was close to her thirtieth year. Usually she was full of laughter and merry stories, but in unguarded moments her face crinkled into sadness. She had lived most of her life in the women’s quarters of Edo Castle, the most opulent palace in the land, she was accustomed to luxury unimaginable to those outside the precincts, yet she still wore the plain kimono of a lower-level maid and twisted her hair into a simple knot. While other women climbed through the ranks, she had remained a teacher. Perhaps because of her many accomplishments, or perhaps because she came from a part of the country not far from Sachi’s area and could make sense of the barbarous dialect the child had spoken when she arrived, Haru had been assigned to turn Sachi into a lady.
    They retired to their usual corner of the great room. For a while they made an effort to work at their lessons but Sachi’s mind was far away. There was so much she needed to learn; and the only person she dared ask was Haru. Eventually she plucked up courage.
    ‘Have you ever known a man?’ she murmured in the softest of whispers.
    Haru leaned forward. When she caught the words, she pressed her hands over her mouth, rocked back on her heels and exploded with laughter. The ladies who crowded the room glanced around, startled.
    ‘Everyone envies you,’ Haru said, smiling rather sadly. ‘It is an experience most of us will never have, certainly not me.’
    Even Sachi knew that very few of the three thousand palace women were ever likely to be chosen as concubines, yet they all had to remain pure throughout their lives.
    ‘That happiness is denied us,’ said Haru. ‘Though I knew one lady once who grabbed at it.’
    ‘What happened to her?’
    ‘She disappeared. Women are not permitted to make choices like that for themselves, particularly when they belong to the shogun. She was very beautiful. She looked a lot like you.’
    Sachi could think of only one thing.
    ‘What’s going to happen? What do I have to do?’
    ‘How on earth should I know?’ said Haru with another burst of laughter. ‘Be sure to shout out in pain so they know you have never been with a man. His Majesty is leaving tomorrow but he will be back soon, and then you can begin your career as his concubine in earnest. I can teach you the theory of what gives a man pleasure. I’ve studied plenty of pillow books. You are very young and you have a good chance of bearing a healthy son. The main thing is to ask no questions and do exactly as you are told. Never forget that you are a noblewoman now. Maintain your dignity at all costs. No matter what happens, never reveal your feelings, not for a moment.’
    ‘But will it hurt?’
    ‘Don’t ever let anyone hear you say such a thing! This is the greatest honour anyone could ever aspire to! You are in your fifteenth year, Little Sister. Most girls your age are married. It’s time you discovered what it means to sleep with a man.
    ‘It