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

occurrence, one of the hazards of travel. One or two of them joked
with Shizuka that the bandits wanted her as a wife, and she
answered in the same vein, adding that the forest was full of such
desperate men, but even a bandit had more chance with her than
any of the escort.

“I would never have picked your defender,” Kaede said later. “In
fact, quite the opposite. He was the one I suspected would kill you
with those big hands of his.”

Shizuka laughed. “He’s quite a clever fellow, and a ruthless fighter.
It’s easy to misjudge or underestimate him. You were not the only
person surprised by him. Were you afraid at that moment?”

Kaede tried to remember. “No, mainly because there was no time.
I wished I had a sword.”

Shizuka said, “You have the gift of courage.”

“It’s not true. I am often afraid.”

“No one would ever guess,” Shizuka murmured. They had come to
an inn in a small town on the border of the Shirakawa domain.
Kaede had been able to bathe in the hot spring, and she was now
in her night attire, waiting for the evening meal to be brought. Her
welcome at the inn had been perfunctory, and the town itself made
her uneasy. There seemed to be little food, and the people were
sullen and dispirited.

She was bruised down one side from the fall, and she feared for
the child. She was also nervous about meeting her father. Would
he believe she had married Lord Otori? She could not imagine his
fury if he discovered the truth.

“I don’t feel very brave at the moment,” she confessed.

Shizuka said, “I’ll massage your head. You look exhausted.”

But even as she leaned back and enjoyed the feeling of the girl’s
fingers against her scalp Kaede’s misgivings increased. She
remembered what they had been talking about at the moment of
the attack.

“You will be home tomorrow,” Shizuka said, feeling her tension.
“The journey is nearly over.”

“Shizuka, answer me truthfully: What’s the real reason you stay with
me? Is it to spy on me? Who employs the Muto now?”

“No one employs us at the moment. Iida’s downfall has thrown the