Chapter 7
Cold, blustery winds swept fluffy clouds across the morning sky as Kyoko glumly waited for the coachman to climb to his seat. No one could deny she was travelling back to Mawbry in grand style. The large black coach was rather ancient in years but lacked neither comfort nor luxury. Dark green velvet lined the interior in subdues richness, and on the exterior of the doors was the same crest she had seen above the master's bed. It all made sense of the Hizuri family's heritage.
"Good bye, my Lady," Kanae called from the stone path that led to the tower entry. "Safe travels."
Kyoko leaned forward to wave a hand in farewell. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Kotonami. If I caused you any trouble, I am sorry."
"It was a pleasure, my Lady. You helped to brighten up this place, I hope that next time you visit, you will not be causing the Master any trouble now will you." Kanae said raising a teasing delicate eyebrow.
Kyoko laughed and the carriage slightly dipped with the weight of the driver on the front, and Kyoko leaned back against the velvet cushions, heaving a sigh. Her cloak, having been dried and cleaned, warmed her against the chill of the day, but it failed miserably to lessen the coldness of her heart.
…...
The sight of Socrates trailing behind the coach brought the townspeople of Mawbry running. the carriage itself raised curiosity, for the large, elegantly appointed carriage with its richly wrought crest was not entirely unknown to them, though it had been three and a half years since they had last seen it.
By the time the coach halted before the Mayor's cottage, a crowd had already gathered, and her father, hurrying from the inn, had to push his way through the gaping villagers to even get close to his front door. Shoji had stepped from the house in time to receive Socrates reins and stood somewhat in awe when the footman opened the carriage door and Kyoko emerged. Seeing his daughter, he made no attempt to soften his anger.
"So! You evil little twit! You have come back to me! And I am supposing you have a fine tale to tell about where you have been for the better part of a week."
Kyoko's manner was cool and distant. She resented being insulted in front of the villagers. Her father knew full well why she had left, and her answer to him was simple. "I took Socrates out for a long ride."
"Long ride! Five days you have been gone, and you tell me that! Ha! You ran off you did!" He peered at her suspiciously. "What I am wondering is why you came back. I never thought I would see you again, and here you are arriving in a grand coach, as if you are some bloody princess come to pay us commoners a call."
Kyoko's anger showed a little as she made her reply. "I wouldn't have come back at all if I had been given a choice. Lord Hizuri-" A gasp from the crowd made her pause, glancing about, she became aware that the villager were eagerly waiting for her to continue. "Lord Hizuri took matters into his own hands and had his servants bring me back." Meeting her father's gaze, she raised a delicately shaped eyebrow. "No doubt a friend of yours father."
"There hasn't been a Lord Hizuri since he burned to death," He blustered. "Your Lying, you are!"
"You are mistaken father, father. "Lord Hizuri is not dead, but alive."
"There are those who saw him at the windows with the fire eating at his back!" Hideki argued. "He can't be alive!"
"Undoubtedly, he is," Kyoko replied calmly. "He is living at Hizuri hall with a staff of servants..."
"Then it must be his ghost!" Her father scoffed. "Or someone playing tricks with you! What did he look like?"
"I never really saw him clearly. His face was in the shadows... or covered by something." A quick and fleeting vision of a dark shape silhouetted against the light, prompted her to add, "He seemed lame or deformed..." A murmur went through the crowd, and some crossed themselves in a sign to god. Kyoko hurried to explain. "I can't be sure about what I saw. I hit my head, and it was dark. I might have imagined it."
"You tell me for the better part of the week you couldn't see the man?" Hideki laughed in mockery. "You must think me dumb, girl, if you would have me believe that."
"I have no reason to lie," Kyoko argued.
The footman of the coach placed her bag and saddle near the front door of the cottage, then came back to close the carriage door.
"You there!" Hideki jabbed a finger at him and leered about the villagers, thinking he would put a quick death to the preposterous claim. "Can you tell me what your... ah... Master looks like?"
"I'm not rightly sure, sir."
Hideki was taken aback. "Eh?"
"I haven't seen him for three and a half years."
"How is it that you haven't seen him? You work for him, don't you?"
"I haven't had the opportunity to see Lord Hizuri for myself since I returned to Hizuri Hall."
"then how do you know it is Lord Hizuri your working for?"
"Miss Kotonami said as much, sir, and she saw him."
"Miss Kotonami?" Hideki frowned.
Kyoko supplied the information. "Lord Hizuri's head maid and housekeeper."
Hideki's brows gathered together in an angry frown. He could make no sense of what they were saying, and he suspected they were seeking to play him for a fool. He waved his hand sharply, sending Kyoko into the cottage. As she went, he spoke again to the footman.
"I don't know your Master, and I don't know his reasons, but you can thank him, whoever he might be, for returning my daughter to me. He'll be welcomed here to my home whenever he comes Mawbry."
The coach pulled around and headed back north. The villagers drifted away, having a story to tell and enlarge upon. The burning of Hizuri Hall had dimmed in their memories. Details had been forgotten, but that would not stop them from recounting the tale as they now remembered it.
The mayor frowned at his son as he stood holding Socrates' reins. "You put that animal where your sister can't get her hands on it again, or else I'll see it fed to the dogs."
Hideki strode into the cottage and slammed the door behind him, and faced Kyoko, who waited by the stairs. Folding his arms across his chest, he demanded, "Now, my fine little lass, I'll be hearing whatever explanation you have for leaving here."
Kyoko turned away slightly, lifting her chin at his arrogance ad she answered him. "I had set my mind on not being bent to your will anymore and never coming back. I intended to seek out employment wherever I could find it and make my own way in the world. I would never have returned if Lord Hizuri hadn't sent me back."
Hideki's eyes grew piercing. "Well, girl, since you've chosen to disobey me, your own good father, you know I have no choice but to take my trust back from you. I had a worry, I did, what with the auction being only a couple of days away and half the town and all the men wondering if I am playing some game with them."
Kyoko answered him boldly. "Your worries are indeed great, father, but unlike mine they were what you brought on yourself. Mine are those which you have imposed on me."
"Imposed on you indeed!" Hideki snarled, red-faced and angry. "Why, here I have been looking after you and your brother these last few years since your mother died. Gave you the best I could, food to fill your belly and a roof over your head, and maybe a new gown now and again to make you happy." He ignored he light scoff, adding. "And I did my best to find you a fitting husband."
"Fitting husband? A frail bag of bones, or one to plump to count his toes? A drooling, slobbering mouse of a man with clammy hands? Or a spinster too ancient to seek a wife on his own? Fitting husband you say?" She laughed in hurt. "More like a fitting purse for a man with desperate need."
"Be that as it may," her father ground his teeth together and hissed, "but until you leave this house, you will find your bedroom door locked through the night. You will go no place at all tomorrow unless with either Shoji or myself... then come the auction, we will see what high price you will bring."
"I'll go to my room now." Kyoko spoke in a flat, emotionless tone. "I'll stay there whether you lock the door or not, and I'll go to the auction. But I warn you now to make all the arrangements beforehand. The marriage must take place the day following the auction, for I will stay in this house only one night after you've sold me, and when I leave, I will no longer recognize that you have any authority over me.
…...
Half an hour before the appointed time of the auction, Shoji stood outside the inn and called to any and all that passed, "The auction for the mayor's daughter, Kyoko is about to begin. Gather round one and all. It will be her hand in marriage you will be bidding for!"
Kyoko shuddered as her brother's uncaring call drifted in through the open window. In another few moments she will be on the platform with him, and there would be no choice for her but to endure the probing stares of the men. The crowd was growing steadily larger in front of the inn. No doubt many were coming out of curiosity rather than with plans to participate. After today it would be hard for the town to forget the Mogami's.
Kyoko closed the window and turned the latch. Today she would be sold, tomorrow married. she had settled herself to that fact. Whether she would be able to abide her husband or not was yet to be determined, but she feverently prayed that it would not be Abe Masanori or Hiro Takahashi.
Absently she smoother a stray wisp of a curl from her temple. In outright defiance of her father's command to let her hair fall freely, she had twisted the heavy black waves in her usual large knot at the back of her neck.
She left the room she was kept in at the inn and slowly made her way down the stairs to where her father waited.
"There you are," he snorted. "I thought I might have to go up and fetch you."
"There was no need to fret, father," she answered in a soft tone. "I told you I would attend the auction."
Hideki peered at her closely, confused by her calm manner. He had expected outright mutiny and had prepared himself to be firm. Seeing her quiet and submissive made him uneasy. He was reminded of her mother and knew she would not have tolerated the treatment of her daughter.
"Let's be off," he ordered gruffly. He drew out his pocket watch and took note of the time. "we have just enough time to let the gentlemen look you over before the bidding begins. Might raise the money a little bit. It isn't everyday there is an auction such as this with one as comely to be bartered off."
"No. It's rare indeed that a father sells his daughter," Kyoko responded, unable to resist the sarcasm.
Hideki chuckled. "I have you to thank, miss, for giving me the idea."
Resolutely Kyoko drew on her woollen cloak and lifted the hood to cover her head, choosing to protect herself as much as possible from the curious stares. Her pride ached, but the fear of what lay in store for her was reducing her to a trembling, shaking coward. She had given her word she would go to the auction and marry the man who bought her, yet the promise did not eliminate her anxieties and fears.
Lord Fuwa's carriage was pulled to the side of the road a short distance from the inn, and when Hideki stretched his neck to see within, Mimori leaned close to the window. She looked over Kyoko with a condescending grin.
"My dear Kyoko, I do wish you good fortune with finding a husband among the gathering of wayward men. You seem to have stirred the attention of all the wealthy wretches in our society. I'm just glad it is not me."
Without word or reply, Kyoko continued on her way. The woman's chiding laughter stiffened her resolve to accept what was being done to her with as much dignity as she could muster. What else could she do when she knew that no amount of pleading would have an effect?
Shoji had made a small platform before the inn, and as the crowd parted for her, she fastened her eyes on the structure rather than recognize the faces that she feared would be there.
Almost in a daze, she moved to go up the stairs, and in her narrowed vision she found a hand ready to assist her. It was strong, lean, well-manicured, showing darkly tanned against the crisp white cuff of his sleeve. The sight of it set her heart fluttering, and she knew even before she even glanced up that she would find Ren Tsuruga standing beside her. She was right, and he looked so handsome he nearly took her breath away.
Hideki thrust his way rudely between them. "If you have read the notice, Mr Tsuruga, you should know you won't be allowed to bid."
With a mocking smile lightly curving his lips, Ren nodded his head briefly to indicate his acknowledgment. "You have made yourself abundantly clear, sir."
"Then what are you here for?"
Ren laughed as if amused. "Why, I have a financial interest in the proceedings. If you will remember, there is a matter of a gambling debt you promised to pay."
"I told you!" Hideki barked. "You will get your money!"
Ren reached inside his coat and withdrew a light bundle of neatly stacked paper. "If your memory serves you with this also, Mayor, you should recognize these as the debts left in London without paying.
Hideki stared at him in shock, unable to voice a reply or denial.
Ren casually unfolded the parchments and drew his attention to the name carefully penned across them. "Your signature, I believe."
After a quick, hesitant glance, Hideki grew red and outraged. "And what if it is? What concern is it of yours."
"The debts are very much my concern," Ren replied pleasantly. "I have redeemed them from London merchants and increased your indebtedness to me."
Hideki was clearly confused. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"Oh, I realise that you are unable to reimburse me at the current moment, but I am prepared to be generous. I am not usually a man of hasty decision when it concerns a lasting relationship, but you have forced my hand. In exchange for your daughter's hand in marriage, I will give you a certificate of payment for these debts."
"Never!" Shoji yelled, drowning out Kyoko's surprised gasp. He had come to stand on the platform near the top of the steps and now shook his fist at Ren. "I won't have a sister of mine married to the likes of you!"
Ren raised his gaze to consider the younger man in open mockery. "Why not ask your sister what she would like to do."
"I'll kill you myself before I'd let her marry you!" Shoji growled. "So take the warning, Mr Tsuruga."
Ren gave a derisive laugh. "You should be careful with your threats, sir. I don't think you could bear the loss of your other arm."
"You were lucky then. You won't be again," Shoji snarled savagely.
"With your record, I really don't have much to worry about."
Ren turned back to Hideki, dismissing her brother. "Think on my offer carefully, Mayor. You'll either have to turn a fair profit from the sale of your daughter today, or give her over to me in full payment of your debts."
"She'll take her chances on the block," Hideki snarled. "There are those here that might be willing to pay the bride price for such a comely lass. Besides, I'd have a fight on my hands if I disappointed any of these here lads by giving her over to you before they get a chance at her. Seeing as some of them are my friends, that would be hard for me to do. I can't rightly do that to my friends."
Ren put the papers back into his coat. "You have made your decision, and I will await the outcome. Be assured that I will expect full reimbursement of my money before I will consider the matter settled." He touched the brim of his hat. "until later then."
Hideki prodded his stunned daughter, urging her up the steps. It was a difficult moment for Kyoko. She wanted to maintain an air of cool disdain, to face them all in calm defiance, but her mauled pride and an aching distrust of the future assailed her senses. Momentarily blinded by a rush of tears, she stumbled on the hem of her gown. Once again, she found a supportive hand coming to her aid. Long fingers grasped her elbow and held her firmly as she regained her footing. Furious with herself the she should display such weakness. Kyoko lifted her chin and found the bright green eyes resting on her with something similar to pity or compassion. It was too much for her to bear.
"Please... don't...don't touch me," she whispered.
His hand slipped away, and he gave her a short, scornful laugh. "When you say that to your husband, my dear, remember to be more commanding. Perhaps you'll be more effective."
He strode away and Kyoko watched through welling tears as the Fuwa's carriage pulled up beside him and Mimori's face again appeared in the window.
"Why, Ren, what are you doing here?" Mimori presented an injured façade as he stepped up to the carriage. "Don't tell me you're going to bid for a wife. Surely a man of your wealth and stature can do better than Kyoko Mogami."
Ren could well guess who she had in mind. "I am here to collect a debt."
Mimori laughed in relief. "Well, that I can understand. It was the other option I was worried about. I thought surely you had taken leave of your senses."
A bland smile touched his lips. "Not quite."
"Come now gentleman," Hideki shouted. "Gather around now and feast your eyes on this lovely. You won't see another to compare to her after she is taken. Come and look. The auction will be starting a mere moment from now!"
Hideki took hold of Kyoko's cloak, and when she tried to resist the removal, laughed and with a mocking bow, swept it from her. A loud roar of approval came from the audience as the men feasted their eyes on the prize. Spurred on, Hideki caught his fingers in the thick knot of hair and spilled it free from the tie, draping it over Kyoko's shoulder and chest.
"See for yourselves gentlemen. Is she not worth a fortune!?"
Kyoko's jaw was clamped tight as she stared down into a sea of gaping leers. She felt her skin crawl and had to steady herself against a moment of panic. She raised her head, and her breath halted as she found Ren's attention fully upon her. All of a sudden, she wished she had not been so proud and foolish to dismiss his offer, for she had seen none in the crowd who did not cause a cold feeling of dread in her stomach.
Mimori's eyes narrowed as she also noticed where Ren's gaze was directed. She cleared her throat and smiled prettily as he turned back. "I'd like to invite you for a ride about the countryside, Ren, but you seem unusually interested in the proceedings. Perhaps you would rather stay here?" Her eyes were bright as she awaited a denial.
"Forgive me Miss Fuwa." A brief smile touched his lips. "The debt is for a considerable sum, and it may be my only chance to collect it."
"Oh, I see." She was annoyed by his refusal but managed to disguise the fact. "I shall leave you to your business, then." She couldn't resist a hopeful question. "Will I be seeing you later?"
"I'll be leaving Mawbry this evening. My business will be finished here, and I don't know when I will be coming back."
"Oh, but you have to!" She exclaimed. "When will I see you again if you don't."
Ren hid his amusement at the woman's lack of tact. "I'll be keeping my room at the inn. It shouldn't be too long before I return."
Mimori sighed in relief. "Do let me know when you come, Ren. We shall be having a ball during the winter season, and I wouldn't want you to miss it." Her lips tightened at the corners as he glanced over his shoulder without answering. She was beginning to suspect that his business centered around the Mayor's daughter.
"I must be off, Ren, but should you need a change of plans for tonight, I'll be home alone all evening." A faint smile curved her lips. "Brother is still in London, and is likely to be for some time yet."
"I shall remember," Ren replied and tipped his hat. "Good day."
Mimori nodded her head briefly in farewell, irritated that he made no effort to delay her. She consoled herself with the thought that if he did have some interest in Kyoko, it was a wasted effort. At least after the auction she would be someone else's wife and well out of reach.
The carriage swung onto the road, and Ren gave his full attention to the proceedings, casually leaning against a post while his eyes rested on Kyoko.
"Gentlemen, You have all come here in hopes of finding yourself a wife, and a wife she shall be... to one of you!" Hideki laughed, directing a finger toward those who were pressing in for a closer look. He took on a serious face as he caught hold of the lapels of his coat. "Now, I gave her my word that it is marriage you gentlemen have in mind, nothing less, and I'll be expecting you to follow through accordingly. I'll be witness to the wedding myself and will not tolerate and contact with her before marriage. Do I make myself clear?"
For the most part, the men seemed a wayward lot, having no obvious redeemable qualities. She had their full attention, all except a dark-haired, middle-aged, wealthily garbed individual who had brought along a small collapsible wooden seat on which he sat busily reading the book carefully set out on his knee. From all outward appearances, he was totally absorbed with the words of the book.
Hideki held up his arms for silence and attention from the crowd. "Now, gentlemen, as you have no doubt heard, I am sorely chased by my creditors, or I would have never considered this action. But they press on me at every turn, and even this one," he gestured briefly in the direction of Ren Tsuruga. "Came to my very home to demand payment. Have pity on a man and on this young woman who has never known a man. She's been a fair good blessing to Shoji and myself these past years since her poor mother died, but she's reached the time when she should be married and get away from this worrisome labor of caring for her kin. So, I urge you gentlemen, to loosen your purse strings. Come forward those of you who have come to seriously bid for a wife. Come forward. Gather close."
He consulted his turnip sized pocket watch and held it high before his audience. "The auction will now begin. What do I here now? Is it a thousand pounds I hear? A thousand pounds?"
It was Hiro Takahashi that who first responded to the prompting by tentatively raising his hand. In a rather hesitant tone he replied, "Yes...Yes, one thousand pounds."
Standing in the background, Ren unfolded the packet of papers, and took out two bills. He waved them to gain Hideki's attention and silently mouthed the words, "A mere pittance."
Hideki reddened and redoubled his efforts. "Ah, Gentlemen, take a look at the prize you will be winning. My own fair daughter, beautiful to a fault. Intelligent. Able to read and write. A good head with numbers. A credit to any man she goes to."
"Fifteen hundred," came a crude voice from the gathering. "Fifteen hundred for the wench."
"A wench it be now." Hideki grew a trifle ruffled. "Do you understand that this sale is final upon conclusion of marriage only? And it will be marriage, I vow. So, do not go thinking that you'll buy my daughter to add to some unseemly harem. It's marriage only. There will be no hanky-panky, and I will make sure of that. Now come on gentlemen. Loosen the purse strings, I beg you. You see the man there waiting and gloating. She is certainly worth more than fifteen hundred pounds.
The man sitting on the collapsible seat raised a hand and spoke in a disinterested voice. "Two thousand."
Hideki brightened at the bid. "Two thousand! Two thousand to this gentleman. Do I hear twenty-five? Do I hear twenty-five?"
"Twenty-one hundred pounds," Hiro Takahashi lightly called. "Twenty-one. Yes, twenty-one I'll go."
"Twenty-one! Do I hear twenty-two?"
"Twenty-three a fat middle-aged man in the front said, dabbing his thick lips with a handkerchief, "Twenty-three!"
"Twenty-three it is then! Twenty-three hundred! Come, fella's. You are not even close to my debts, and I would see a bit for myself and for me crippled son too. Dig deep into your pockets. Dig out the last bit of coin. Twenty-three it is now."
In a worried frenzy Hiro hastened to reaffirm his own position. "Twenty-five! Twenty-five hundred pounds!"
"Twenty-five hundred it is!" Hideki chimed out. "Twenty-five! Ah, gentlemen, I implore you. Be king to an old man and his crippled son. Here we have a fine example of womanhood. Indeed, I've said it before and I'll say it again, a credit to any man. A helpmate as it were to ease your burdens and see you kindly through life and bear you many children."
Kyoko turned away slightly from her father at his last comment. She was aware of Ren's unrelenting stare, and when she lifted her gaze she saw he had now removed perhaps half the bills from the bulk and stood casually dangling them from his fingers, as if he too was imploring the others to bid more to make his time worthwhile. An ache grew in her chest and tightened until it restricted her breathing. He amazed her with his offer of marriage, but now he had completely dismissed the idea, as if his first consideration had only been compensation for the debts he held."
"Three thousand!" Abe Masenori chimed in.
A murmur went through the crowd, and Kyoko's knees began to tremble beneath her. Hiro Takahashi quickly took out his purse and began to count his money. Hideki's smile broadened slightly until Ren shook out another bill and added it to the rest.
"Three thousand!" Hideki called and lifted a hand. "Who will make it more? Thirty-five? Thirty-five? Who will say thirty-five?"
Silence answered his plea as Hiro continued to count, and others conversed among themselves. The gleam in Masenori's eyes grew brighter.
"Thirty-one? Before it is too late, gentlemen, I beg you consider the prize."
The man on the folding stool slammed his book closed, placed the book firmly in his case, and rose from the rather questionably comfortable seat. "Five thousand pounds!" He said bluntly and coldly. "Five thousand, I say."
A sudden silence fell over the crowd. Hiro Takahashi stopped counting, he could not muster up another bid. Masenori's face fell in disappointed defeat. Five thousand pounds was not a sum that was easily challenged.
Ren's expression was one of disbelief. He looked Kyoko over carefully, as if to judge her for her worth, and appeared dubious as he crinkled his brows. At that precise moment Kyoko was certain that if he had been close enough for her to reach, she would have tried clawing his eyes out.
"Five thousand it is then!" Hideki declared cheerily. "Five thousand! I say it once. Your last chance gentlemen. Five thousand going twice!" He glanced around but found no takers. "Five thousand it is then! To this gentleman here." He clapped his hands together and pointed to the well-dressed man. "You have purchased a fine prize for yourself, sir."
"Oh, I am not buying her for myself," the man explained.
Hideki's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You were bidding for another?" At the man's stilted nod, he queried, "And who might that be, sir?"
"Why Lord Hizuri."
Kyoko gasped and stared at the man, in surprise. Beyond a nightmarish form that flitted like a shapeless ghost through her memory, she had no face, no shape to give the man who had looked after her through her illness.
Hideki was not completely convinced. "do you have some proof that you came in his name? I did hear at one stage his Lordship was dead."
The man withdrew a letter marked with a wax seal and handed it up to Hideki for his inspection. "I am Takenori Sawara," he explained. "As the letter will say, I have been the barrister for the Hizuri family for a number of years. If you have any doubts, I am sure there are those here who can confirm the seal is authentic."
A buzz of voices rose up from the crowd and quickly became a confused mush of gossip, conjectures, and some truths indistinguishable one from another. Kyoko caught the words, "burned," "scarred," and "hideous," among the many conversations and a slow feeling of horror began to send cold shivers of apprehension through her. She fought to remain calm as the barrister came up the steps. The man dropped a bag of money onto the small table that served as a desk and began scratching his name across the bottom of the contract, identifying himself as agent of Lord Hizuri.
Ren pushed his way through the crowd and climbed to the platform. He waggled the packet of bills beneath Hideki's nose. "I claim all but fifty pounds, and that I leave for your own convenience. Four thousand nine hundred and fifty pounds is my price for these. Any objections."
Hideki gaped at the man who towered over him, wishing there was a way to keep a larger part of the fortune for himself, but he knew with what he had left unpaid in London and the settlement of the gambling debt he had with Ren, it added up to well over five thousand. It was at the very least a fair deal, and he could do nothing but nod and give his mute consent on the matter.
Ren Picked up the pouch, quickly counted out the fifty pounds, and dropped it on the table. He tucked the remainder inside his coat and thumped a finger against the bundle of debts. "I never thought you would come close to matching these, but you have, and I am satisfied. From this day forth we are finished with the debts between us, Mayor."
His blatant dismissal of the affair provoked her anger beyond that of what she felt for her father. Before anyone could stop her, she jerked the packet from his hand and grabbed up several of the coins. She fled from their presence, never wanting to see any of them again.
Hideki made to follow her but was delayed as he had to sidestep Ren several times. "Get out of my way! The twit's taken my money!"
Ren Stepped aside, and Hideki ran after Kyoko with haste, Shoji grabbed Ren's sleeve and angrily accused, "You did that on purpose! I saw you!"
The Yankee lifted his shoulders in a casual manner. "Your sister had a right to whatever she took and more. I only made sure she had a head start."
The younger man could find no further argument in the face of reality. He picked up the rest of the coins and put them in his coat pocket, then holding his lame arm, sneered, "At least we will be free of you."
Ren looked at him with the same tolerant smile until Shoji's gaze dropped. Brushing rudely past, Shoji descended the steps and hurried after his family.
Hideki chased Kyoko with coattails flying, anxious to get back the coins she had taken. By the time he reached the cottage he was sweating and gasping for breath. Slamming the door, he found her in front of the hearth, staring into the growing flames that licked greedily around the packet of bills.
"Hey, girl! What do you think your doing?" He demanded. "Those papers are important. They are the only proof I have paid the rascal. And what have you done with my money?"
"It's mine now," Kyoko stated coldly. "My dowry! My share of the bride money! A small pittance of worth that I am taking from here. You would do well to see that all matters are arranged for tomorrow, because this will be the last night I spend in this house. Do you understand, father?" She stressed the title with an acid like smile of contempt. "I will never be back."
…...
And chapter 7 is completed xD YAY! Chapter 8 is already in the works 😀 So look forward to it 😊3
