"Hearn,.Lian.-.Otori.02.-.Grass.For.His.Pillow.v1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hearn Lian)

Arai called to Niwa to make arrangements for the following day,
and Kaede bade him good night, speaking with great deference.
She felt she had come out of the encounter well; she could afford
to pretend that all power lay on his side.

She returned to the women’s rooms with Shizuka, both of them
silent. The old woman had already spread out the beds, and now
she brought sleeping garments for them before helping Shizuka
undress Kaede. Wishing them good night, she retired to the
adjoining room.

Shizuka’s face was pale and her demeanor more subdued than
Kaede had ever known it. She touched Kaede’s hand and
whispered, “Thank you,” but said nothing else. When they were
both lying beneath the cotton quilts, as mosquitoes whined around
their heads and moths fluttered against the lamps, Kaede could
feel the other woman’s body rigid next to hers, and knew Shizuka
was struggling with grief. Yet, she did not cry.

Kaede reached out and put her arms around Shizuka, holding her
closely without speaking. She shared the same deep sorrow but
no tears came to her eyes. She would allow nothing to weaken the
power that was coming to life within her.

The next morning palanquins and an escort had been prepared for
the women. They left as soon as the sun was up. Remembering
the advice of her kinswoman Lady Maruyama, Kaede stepped
delicately into the palanquin as though she were as frail and
powerless as most women, but she made sure the grooms
brought Takeo’s horse from the stable and, once they were on the
road, she opened the waxed paper curtains so she could look out.

The swaying movement was intolerable to her, and even being
able to see did not prevent sickness from coming over her. At the
first rest stop, at Yamagata, she was so dizzy she could hardly
walk. She could not bear to look at food, and when she drank a little
tea it made her vomit immediately. Her body’s weakness infuriated
her, seeming to undermine her newly discovered feeling of power.
Shizuka led her to a small room in the rest house, bathed her face
with cold water, and made her lie down for a while. The sickness
passed as quickly as it had come, and she was able to drink some
red-bean soup and a bowl of tea.

The sight of the black palanquin, however, made her feel queasy
again. “Bring me the horse,” she said. “I will ride.”

The groom lifted her onto Raku’s back, and Shizuka mounted
nimbly behind her, and so they rode for the rest of the morning,
saying little, each wrapped in her own thoughts but taking comfort
from the others closeness.