By the afternoon Anna felt ravenous.
"My Lord, if you don't feed me this instant, I might start nibbling on your ear." She laughed, demonstrating the possible ramifications.
He laughed at that. For the first time in a very long time he felt absolutely happy and carefree.
"We can't have that." He got up, put on his kimono and left the room to give orders.
"There is one thing that surprises me." She said, on his return. "You have disappeared for many hours and nobody thought to check if you were all right. I could have murdered you!"
"I assure you, My Lady, that what they could hear didn't bring to mind the sounds made by a murdered man." He stated with a very serious expression.
Unexpectedly, she blushed deeply, which amused him even more.
"You are so beautiful!" He was going to kiss her again, but at that moment there was a discreet knock at the door.
Lord Takeda collected the tray with food and served Anna himself.
He requested that they speak in English and asked her about her life in America. He didn't insist on learning her secrets, but was genuinely curious, how she learned to use her guns so efficiently.
She told him then about her uncle who took her in, when she had nobody else to turn to, and who taught her many useful skills. She also revealed the reason which forced her to come to Japan.
"If I didn't leave America, they would have hung me for killing my uncle. Like I could had ever done that. He was the only family I had left..."
"How about your father's family?"
"I have never met them. From what I gather they were unhappy with his chosen lifestyle. He was supposed to take over the family estates, but he decided to travel instead. And they didn't approve of my mother..."
He listened, without interrupting, marvelling at the strength she would have had to summon to overcome so many tragedies in her life. But he let it drop for the moment...
After their meal he ordered the bathing house to be prepared.
"Will you deem it very inappropriate, if I suggest taking a bath together? Your body still dazzles me."
She just smiled with pleasure and nodded her assent.
Nobody dared to interrupt them.
They were both satisfied and pleasurably tired, so they only enjoyed this shared experience and continued talking. The Lord was telling her about his life in the north and about plans for his son's future.
"Do you have any more children, My Lord?"
"I have two older daughters, who also live with my wife's family. I don't see them very often... But please, don't address me so officially. I have asked you to call me Hikaru."
"Yes, but it is not so easy." She whispered with sudden shyness.
"I like the sound of my name from your lips." He smiled warmly.
"I will try." She promised.
"Where are your parents now?" He asked, realising then that she had not mentioned them even once so far.
"They are both dead... They are all dead... I am now completely alone." Her eyes started to fill with tears again.
"You are not alone!" He took her face in both his hands and lifted it, forcing her to look up. He kissed away the fresh tears. "No matter what will happen in the future, you can always rely on me. I will do anything you ask for."
"Anything?" Her eyebrow shot up in a mocking surprise. "After one shared morning?"
"No!" He answered with passion. "After you saved my life and made me happy... even if it can only be for a short time. I will never forget either."
"Thank you, My Lord." She inclined her head. "Hikaru..." She added quietly.
He embraced her then for the last time and left, promising to send the servants for her comfort.
Naturally, everybody already knew what had happened between their Lord and his unusual guest, but Anna did not betray her feelings with a single expression and kept an inscrutable face.
After the bath, a massage and wearing a new kimono, thoughtfully sent by Lord Takeda, Anna decided to return to her rooms. She was very tired now. But halfway there she thought she heard raised voices coming from the outside. She stepped onto the veranda, because she thought she recognised the voices in English.
She saw her companions, surrounded by samurai, who, undeterred by the half-drawn swords, were demanding to be admitted.
"Yameru!" She shouted for the guards to stop.
One of the samurai ran towards her and bowed.
"My Lady?"
"What is going on?"
"These Gai-Jin are demanding to be allowed to speak you, My Lady. They have been trying to gain access since this morning."
She suddenly felt guilty. They were only trying to make sure she was all right, while she spent the whole day in the arms of a handsome man.
"Have you notified Lord Takeda?"
"Yes, My Lady."
She looked up and saw the Lord approaching.
"My Lord." She bowed with due respect, not betraying the closeness they had shared.
"Ana-San." He nodded. "I was informed about your companions. What do you wish to do with them?"
"I should talk to them and reassure them about my wellbeing. Would you like to be present, My Lord?"
"It would be very rude not to... now that I have been notified of their presence." He murmured quietly, but with a smile.
She blushed again. She knew very well why nobody dared to disturb their Lord until now.
He gave orders to bring the foreigners to the veranda, where he also ordered tea to be served. They both sat in silence, with expressionless faces, waiting for the Americans to be brought in. When they approached, the Lord spoke with dignity, inviting them to sit down. Anna translated the greetings without adding anything from herself.
The guests sat down and accepted the tea, looking at Anna the whole time with curiosity.
After the tea was drunk, Lord Takeda spoke to Anna and rose to leave. Anna bowed to him and then turned to her companions with annoyance.
"What, in the Heaven's name, compelled you to try and force your way into the residence of Lord Takeda?!"
"Anna, we were really worried about your safety." Norton, as always, tried to calm down the excitement. "All of this is very unusual."
"I am perfectly safe here. In fact, safer than staying with you at the inn. Since the attempt on the Lord's life the guards were at least doubled and I am sure nobody will dare to try again..."
"But why are you here?!" Morrison cut her off.
"I don't understand." She looked at him with a cold stare, which made him visibly uncomfortable.
"Why did he invite you?" He demanded.
"Lord Takeda wished to express his gratitude. I told you before, here there are strict rules governing people's behaviour. His position requires him to be so hospitable. Nothing unusual in that."
"But why wouldn't they let us in for such a long time?" Mr Trent was obviously offended.
"It seems Lord Takeda was busy elsewhere..." She shrugged, trying not to smile to her own thoughts. "Do not make such a big deal out of it! For them we are as insignificant as leaves blown away on the breeze."
"How long are you going to stay here?!" Morrison didn't even try to hide his displeasure.
"As long as I wish!" She barked at him, because his arrogance had started to infuriate her. "Do not forget that I am your translator, not your nanny and until the negotiations start, I can do whatever I want. And if I decide that I want to be an honoured guest of a powerful DaimyÅ and have the whole of his household at my service, that is precisely what I will do!"
"Ms Mitchell." Mr Johnston obviously also noticed Morrison's rudeness. "We are only worried about you."
She breathed deeply a few times. She needed to control herself better. Recently her balance was very off...
"As you can see, I am perfectly fine." She said with less annoyance. "Was there anything else?"
"I don't like that!" Morrison couldn't let go. "What if it was him you needed to be careful about?! What if he was to assault you?"
She flushed red with a suppressed anger and forced herself to speak calmly, but her voice was as cold as ice.
"Do not make the mistake of judging others by your own measure." She drawled with contempt. "I think you need to leave now." She motioned to a servant, who waited nearby. He approached immediately and waited to escort Gai-Jin to the gate. "I will see you when the ShÅgun's negotiators arrive."
With no other options, they went away.
Anna stayed on her cushion, trying to regain her composure. She correctly assumed that the Lord would join her in a moment.
He sat down and without any preamble voiced his opinion.
"I agree with Reiko. The soldier is a rash man. I would never trust him. He looks at you like his own property and he is very annoyed that he can't control you."
"My Lord, the last ten years of my life have been spent among men like him. I know how to deal with them." She dismissed his misgivings.
"Ana-San, never underestimate a scorned man." He said thoughtfully. "He might turn out to be dangerous."
She left it without a comment...