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CHAPTER VI

ISABELLA IBEADA

For an extended amount of time, George and Boriato discussed what kind of wedding to have. It was a hard choice, as they were in Japan, but George was British to the bone; he also wondered what Louise, watching from the other world, would say to him allowing their daughter to marry a non-English man in a non-English way.

"Surely your wife would want Isabella to smile?" Boriato asked,

"Of course she bloody would." George said in an indignant tone, "I just don't know what she would say. When Louise was alive, she always admonished me for quote-quote 'poisoning our daughter's mind with unIadylike thoughts."

"Implying that she did not condone you putting it in your daughter's head that she should seek something beyond what was natural for a woman." Boriato guessed,

"Thou art correct." George said,

"What if we were to unite our customs? It would be the surest way to symbolize the union between a Japanese and an English." Boriato offered,

"I approve of this plan." George said before asking, "Describe for me a Japanese wedding if you please?"

"It would be held at a shinto temple. Your daughter would wear a kimono. As the wife of a Samurai, she would have the sign of her house. Perhaps we will use your King James' banner to accommodate that. The ceremony itself starts with an exchange of vows, during which husband and wife pledge to be loyal and do their duty to the family and the clan. Following that would be the sansankudo, the drinking of sake from three cups of different sizes. We would then make the offering of a sacred sakaki branch. To reflect the gratitude the couple felt to the spirits who blessed the union, the priest would lay an evergreen on the altar. The entire procession would be watched by prominent family members. Sadly, that would potentially imply that you alone would witness the marraige."

"James and Christ, that is a ship's load." George commented,

"Which is why I ask what English wedding customs are, Toles-san." Boriato said,

George smiled and said, "They are a sight. And they have their own intricacies as well. To start, the bride and groom, accompanied by musicians, will leave the house and go to the church. They are quite festive events; a feast would be held at one of the houses. Everything would be carefully planned…" George went on to list the dishes served at an English wedding, referencing that peacock was a dish at his wedding; "The traditional drink is ale, but wine is often available as well."

"What followed the feast?" Boriato asked,

"Gifts brought forth by couriers; tokens commonly."

"What purpose did the courier serve?" Boriato asked,

"The were also witnesses to the wedding. A spousal is even brought forth to ensure validity of the marriage. It would then be accompanied by a church ceremony."

"What is a spousal?" Boriato asked,

"In the event of a divorce, it splits the assets and possessions between the separating couple." George said,

"I assure you such a contract is of no need. I'd give everything, including my life." Boriato said with conviction,

"But 'tis our custom." George said,

"Perhaps we wed using your customs and our foods to display the union between our two peoples." Boriato suggested,

"Agreed." George responded.

The next several months were spent planning and planning and planning the setup of the wedding. Thankfully, George had a friend who was a priest, and thus was able to sway him to come to come and officiate the wedding. Also, he had at least two dozen friends amongst the crew of the Calliope after enlisting her for his travels and shipments. All in all, it seemed as though their Anglo-Japanese wedding would be a splendid event.

Oddly, Boriato decided to slightly switch things up and use his wealth to help George fund the wedding, declaring it to be a gift of gratitude for his allowing her to marry his daughter. Boriato even invited some of his own friends to the wedding as well, also some of the great houses as well, the Date and the Tokugawa chief amongst them. It was also agreed that there would not be one type of dress attire required and that Europeans could dress in their style and Japanese could dress in their style.

Finally, after three-and-a-half years of back and forth from England combined with arduous effort on the Japanese part of the setup, everything was at last set up and arranged. Isabella wore the finest dress she had brought with her on her journey to England, while Boriato wore a kimono adorned with his family's crest. Not having brought anything grand or particularly fancy, Isabella had a blue gown that she had made for herself after studying Japanese sewing methods with a grey ribbon and a garland of cherry blossoms in her hands.

George could only smile at the sight. Ever since she began telling him that she would have a memorable journey, George felt certain that God would soon grant her wish. He himself had been praying many times for Isabella to find a husband. In a way, both their wishes were granted.

So blinded by love was Isabella, the priest's words were little more than an enchanting melody, her response to each question simply an extra note in the chorus.

Deciding that George deserved to see where he lived, Boriato offered to host the celebrations at his house. Thankfully, none of the European guests had any complaints about the food and were satisfied that, although the wedding food was Japanese, the ceremony was English. One part of the celebrations that slightly irked Boriato was the moment when they broke a cake over Isabella's head in the belief that it would grant luck and fertility; in fact, it was only Isabella flinging a small bit of the cake on her head with a cheeky grin that prevented Boriato from ordering the arrest of the person who dropped cake on his wife's head. Fortunately, Boriato was willing to tolerate having wheat flinged at him and his new wife.

The Japanese aspects of the wedding came from the delicacies and entertainments at the wedding; dances, performances, poetry-reading. There was seaweed, fish, clams, octapai, and whale(the last of which, Isabella admitted to Boriato, she was not fond of, but agreed to have it served for the guests at least). There was even one moment when George challenged Boriato to see how much each of them were able to drink, though Boriato put a limit since he didn't want to be too drunk to enjoy his first night with his wife.

That night, just as Boriato was about to disrobe and remove his kimono, Isabella pushed his hands away.

As she began slowly and seductively undoing her new husband's kimono, she whispered, "No, husband. It is I, Isabella Ibeada, who will remove that."

In his mind, Boriato never understood the power of words, though he had given many a speech; now, with the hypnotic and alluring nature of his English wife's voice, he just couldn't help but stand motionless as Isabella slowly and torturously unwrapped the object of her desire before stripping herself bare and posing to give her Japanese husband a good look.

Finally, the psychological torture became too much for Boriato and all senses left him; the alluring sight of his wife completely bare and the moistening of Isabella's womanly center were too much for him; when her husband pounced on her, Isabella could only let out a girlish squeal as Boriato gave in.

Within moments, those girlish squeals turned to moan and mewls, Isabella's mind long absent as her husband claimed her fully.

The next morning, as the newlyweds woke up sore and satisfied, Isabella Ibeada knew that a few more nights like the one she had just enjoyed would see her stomach swelling with life in no time. As she stared out into the fields, she had just one thought in her mind: "I am Isabella Ibeada, wife of Ibeada Boriato, and this is my life's joy."