"I'm not teasing," he insisted. "I'm serious. My wedding has been cancelled, and now my father talks of arranging another. The realm still needs heirs. Why shouldn't wemake them? We are in love."
Tomoe squirmed out of his embrace and sat up. "You are still angry at your father. You just want to spite him by marrying your warrior doxy. Tomorrow you will see more clearly."
"Then marry me tonight," Theodore said, before she could marshal further arguments. "It is not proper."
"We are in love. What could be more proper?"
Tomoe's only response was silence. Feeling that he had found a chink in the armor of her resistance, he went on. "It's not just to spite him. If it were, I'd want to throw the marriage in his face, wouldn't I? We can keep it a secret; he won't know."
"Ever?" she questioned incredulously.
"Well ..." he stalled, caught out in an obviously ridiculous scheme. "Indrahar will help us keep the secret for awhile. He'll keep my father from becoming a matchmaker again. We could let Takashi know when our children are old enough. By then, it will be too late for him to do anything about it. The dynasty will have its heirs, legitimate ones. He'll probably say that the secrecy was his own plan all along. It makes for a better appearance that way."
Tomoe said nothing, but reached out to lay a hand on his leg.
"Say yes, To-chan."
She ran her hand along his side while Theodore tried to reinforce his arguments. Finally, seeing that she was not paying attention, he too lapsed into silence. With her mind on other things, he knew that his arguments, however rational or forceful, would have no effect. He watched as she caressed the scar on his left hip, the one from the night that Indrahar had inducted him into the Sons of the Dragon. "You wouldn't have that scar had you not fought again so soon afterward," she said in a soft voice, distant with old memories.
"I never told you how I got that," he said, suddenly wary. "But I know."
"How? How could you know?”
“I gave it to you," Tomoe said.
Theodore sat upright. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to face him. She was unresisting in his grip.
"On the night Indrahar tested you," she continued. "I was there. I was the one who cut you."
"What?" He could not believe what he was hearing. How could she have been there?
"I am a jukurenshaof the O5P. Trained in ninjutsuas well as battle technology."
Theodore blinked in surprise. A Pillarine? An adept?He would never have considered the possibility.
"That night was my own test. I was to intercept you and retrieve some item from you. I took your pouch, but cut you in the attempt. Your own mastery of the Yagyu forms was too great for me to strike cleanly. I thought that I had failed but the JokanFlorimel said that I had passed. I did not understand, but I bowed to her wisdom. She gave me a new assignment; I was to get close to you, to protect you.
"I have failed in this assignment worse than in the last, because I became so close that I fell in love with you. I no longer have the detachment to maintain clarity of mind and fulfill my assignment."
Theodore was stunned. He had known Tomoe for four years at the Wisdom school. He had battled with and against her in the mock combats. She had been cold and distant, but he had seen nothing of the training of a Pillarine monk. She was a warrior, even if the gossips said otherwise.
Then he remembered her sudden thaw on graduation day and where it had led.
"Besides," she continued, oblivious to his thoughts, "I have no lineage. What is in my military record is a lie. I am not the daughter of a lesser house on the edge of the Pesht District. My father was a trade agent on the planet Volders in the Rasalhague District. He worked for Isesaki Shipping. When I was three, my parents were killed in a Steiner raid. The Pillarines took me in and raised me. They had me trained as a Mech Warrior, among other things. They falsified my history to place me in the DCMS. When I showed promise, they arranged for me to advance, ultimately to the Wisdom of the Dragon school. I am insufficiently exalted to be the wife of the future Coordinator."
Theodore released his grip on her arms. She slumped a little but otherwise seemed not to notice. She was a wonder. He thought he had known all about her, yet he was not angry at her revelation, only surprised. He hated intriguers and deceivers, but could not find it in himself to hate Tomoe. Her essence was pure and honest, fiercely loyal. Gently, he caressed her hair.
"I am not a slave to appearances like my father. I don't care if your parents were leatherworkers or gamblers. The O5P may have gotten you into Wisdom, but you were good enough to make your way through. We both know that old Leather Face Zangi would never accept a bribe to alter a student's scores.
"You are strong and capable, beautiful and loving," he said. "I want you as my wife."
Tomoe turned her dark eyes on his. He could feel her searching him, testing the strength of his emotions. Seeming finally satisfied with what she found, she bowed her head. Though she tried to mask her smile with the fall of her hair, Theodore caught it.
"I would be honored to be your wife, Theodore-sama,"she said demurely.
He tossed her over onto her back, revealing her radiant smile, and saw his own wide grin reflected in her eyes. They made love to seal their pact, not once but twice, before stealing out of the barracks to rouse a sleepy Buddhist monk from his cell and cajole him into legalizing their vows.
15
Unity Palace, Imperial City, Luthien
Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine
22 December 3024
Constance Kurita tugged at her formal obi,straightening it until the proper smooth line of her kimono was achieved. She looked over her shoulder into one of the full-length mirrors scattered around the hall to see if the large and elaborate knot had been disturbed by her fussing. In so doing, she saw that an ornament had become caught on one of the pearl strands looping her formally coiffured wig. Reaching back to untangle it, she pulled her obiout of line again. Sighing, Constance straightened it once more.
Surely Great-Aunt Florimel never has so much trouble with traditional dress,Constance thought. She is always in control of herself and her environment. May the blessed Buddhas someday grant me such aplomb. I do not want to disappoint her.
Two months had passed since Florimel had stepped down as Keeper of the House Honor, naming Constance in her stead. Two long and hectic months in which Constance had learned how many duties Florimel had handled as Keeper. Even her six years as Florimel's aide had not fully prepared Constance for the demands and pressure. Thank the Buddhas that Florimel was still there when Constance needed counseling. The grand old lady was a rock, a shield. Sometimes Constance suspected that she was a sword as well, secretly helping from behind the scenes.
In the dark of earliest morning, Constance fretted at that help, worried about her own ability. Yet Florimel had turned over the office to her, pronouncing Constance a fit and able successor. Despite Constance's great faith in Florimel's judgment and despite her great-aunt's encouragement, she felt inadequate for the job.
Even her recent successes in negotiations with the Coordinator had not raised her confidence. The Coordinator had granted the charter for the new academies and approved the ivory trade plan, while she had made no concessions. Both items meant substantial gains in power and prestige for the Order of the Five Pillars, especially on certain key prefecture capital worlds and trade-route planets. It seemed too easy a victory. She suspected that Takashi was humoring her, allowing the little girl her harmless toys.