Read Online The Seabird of Sanematsu by Kei Swanson - Free Book Online
Authors: Kei Swanson
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and were allowed to fulfill them in their own, solitary ways.
Matsumoto had by then joined with Nami and was fathering sons, legitimate or otherwise.
Sanematsu wished he could have managed a similar contentment with Suye, the council’s second political choice. How he hated her…and she, him! He would have given his permission for Matsumoto to have a chance with her--they were suited for one another.
Confronting him at every turn, she lashed out with an acid tongue that no amount of punishment would quell. It was as if she knew he did not have the heart to put her aside or have her killed, as was his right. He finally took action to bring harmony to his house by sending her away, out of his sight. She had died a year later of a fever epidemic in the North.
Suye had given Sanematsu his second daughter Miyo, now six, and, his third and last wife, Masa had given birth to Chiyo three years ago to increase his delight. Seen as unfavorable, the birth of girl children softened Sanematsu’s heart. Surrounded by vile and sordid death, his girls were his only joy. He delighted in their laughter, their grace and their beauty, reveling in their femininity. When they were toddlers, he sang songs and told them stories; when they became children, he played silly games with them. With the older two, he was teaching them to write poetry and practice calligraphy.
There was but one drawback--his girls could not govern Satsuma Province when he died. Only a male child could do that, and Nene had given him his only son. The frail boy had died, taking Sanematsu’s first wife with him into the Void minutes after birth.
Like any person, Sanematsu wanted to live a long time, but the life of a warrior tended to be brief. He must have a son to have any hope of peace in Satsuma Province’s future. The political and military plans he established could not be completed in one lifetime. All his hopes to achieve his goals rested in karma--and in the nest of a woman’s body. The future of the ryo-chi and his son were tied together.
And every female who came to his bed knew this. Each courtesan hoped to find her body quickened with Lord Sanematsu’s heir. His repulsion at facing such a dilemma with each pillowing made his life all the more stressful.
Tsuta was his defense. He had first seen her during a visit to a teahouse in Miyazaki on Kyushu’s east coast when she had been a thirteen-year-old virgin. At fourteen, when she was destined to become a Courtesan of the First Rank, Sanematsu called her to his bed. He had had few mistresses before her, and since, none. Several concubines did reside in the castle, but they were seldom called upon, as Tsuta tended every need with accomplished skill. This, as he’d planned, kept him from being confronted with more than one baby a year whose fate he must decide. After two years, Tsuta had not been fruitful, and he was content.
His last wife had known how much her husband dreaded such predicaments. When Masa’s belly swelled from an infant that was not his, she had chosen death, fulfilling her duty to him.
It had taken little effort to know who fathered the child. He had spent one year in Kyoto and, from there, gone to the battlefield without a visit to his yashiki. Returning to Nishikata three months later, he found his wife heavy with child. During his absence, the closest man to Lady Masa had been the commander-in-chief of the garrison--Matsumoto.
Why she had waited until his return to fulfill her giri was something he could never figure out. She should have corrected her mistake before it became so obvious, before the whole of Nishikata could see. A wife should do all she could to prevent dishonor to her husband, even if it meant death. Perhaps Matsumoto had made a plan to destroy him before his return. Or maybe she had hoped he would allow her to live in disgrace because of his gentle nature. She failed to grasp how well he had been trained as a warrior.
Sanematsu shivered now,
Matsumoto had by then joined with Nami and was fathering sons, legitimate or otherwise.
Sanematsu wished he could have managed a similar contentment with Suye, the council’s second political choice. How he hated her…and she, him! He would have given his permission for Matsumoto to have a chance with her--they were suited for one another.
Confronting him at every turn, she lashed out with an acid tongue that no amount of punishment would quell. It was as if she knew he did not have the heart to put her aside or have her killed, as was his right. He finally took action to bring harmony to his house by sending her away, out of his sight. She had died a year later of a fever epidemic in the North.
Suye had given Sanematsu his second daughter Miyo, now six, and, his third and last wife, Masa had given birth to Chiyo three years ago to increase his delight. Seen as unfavorable, the birth of girl children softened Sanematsu’s heart. Surrounded by vile and sordid death, his girls were his only joy. He delighted in their laughter, their grace and their beauty, reveling in their femininity. When they were toddlers, he sang songs and told them stories; when they became children, he played silly games with them. With the older two, he was teaching them to write poetry and practice calligraphy.
There was but one drawback--his girls could not govern Satsuma Province when he died. Only a male child could do that, and Nene had given him his only son. The frail boy had died, taking Sanematsu’s first wife with him into the Void minutes after birth.
Like any person, Sanematsu wanted to live a long time, but the life of a warrior tended to be brief. He must have a son to have any hope of peace in Satsuma Province’s future. The political and military plans he established could not be completed in one lifetime. All his hopes to achieve his goals rested in karma--and in the nest of a woman’s body. The future of the ryo-chi and his son were tied together.
And every female who came to his bed knew this. Each courtesan hoped to find her body quickened with Lord Sanematsu’s heir. His repulsion at facing such a dilemma with each pillowing made his life all the more stressful.
Tsuta was his defense. He had first seen her during a visit to a teahouse in Miyazaki on Kyushu’s east coast when she had been a thirteen-year-old virgin. At fourteen, when she was destined to become a Courtesan of the First Rank, Sanematsu called her to his bed. He had had few mistresses before her, and since, none. Several concubines did reside in the castle, but they were seldom called upon, as Tsuta tended every need with accomplished skill. This, as he’d planned, kept him from being confronted with more than one baby a year whose fate he must decide. After two years, Tsuta had not been fruitful, and he was content.
His last wife had known how much her husband dreaded such predicaments. When Masa’s belly swelled from an infant that was not his, she had chosen death, fulfilling her duty to him.
It had taken little effort to know who fathered the child. He had spent one year in Kyoto and, from there, gone to the battlefield without a visit to his yashiki. Returning to Nishikata three months later, he found his wife heavy with child. During his absence, the closest man to Lady Masa had been the commander-in-chief of the garrison--Matsumoto.
Why she had waited until his return to fulfill her giri was something he could never figure out. She should have corrected her mistake before it became so obvious, before the whole of Nishikata could see. A wife should do all she could to prevent dishonor to her husband, even if it meant death. Perhaps Matsumoto had made a plan to destroy him before his return. Or maybe she had hoped he would allow her to live in disgrace because of his gentle nature. She failed to grasp how well he had been trained as a warrior.
Sanematsu shivered now,
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