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

“Who is it?”

“If my lady can guess, I’ll give her a present!” Shizuka said lightly.

“What happened to your broken heart?” Kaede asked, curious.

“I mended it with rage,” Shizuka replied. Then she spoke more
seriously. “I may never love a man as much again. But I have done
nothing shameful. I am not the one who has acted with dishonor.
Before, I was bound to him, a hostage to him. In cutting me off
from him, he has set me free.”

“You should leave me,” Kaede said again.

“How can I leave you now? You need me more than ever.”

Kaede lay still. “Why more than ever now?”

“Lady, you must know. Your bleeding is late, your face is softer,
your hair thicker. The sickness, followed by hunger…” Shizuka’s
voice was soft, filled with pity.

Kaede’s heart began to race. The knowledge lay beneath her skin,
but she could not bring herself to face it.

“What will I do?”

“Whose child is it? Not Iida’s?”

“I killed Iida before he could rape me. If it’s true there is a child, it
can only be Takeo’s.”

“When?” Shizuka whispered.

“The night Iida died. Takeo came to my room. We both expected
to die.”

Shizuka breathed out. “I sometimes think he is touched by
madness.”

“Not madness. Bewitchment, maybe,” Kaede said. “It’s as if we
were both under a spell ever since we met in Tsuwano.”

“Well, my uncle and I are partly to blame for that. We should never
have brought you together.”

“There was nothing you or anyone could have done to prevent it,”
Kaede said. Despite herself, a quiet intimation of joy stirred within
her.