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was young and give him a place in society when he was an adult—if Sano wasn’t there to do it. Reiko must find Masahiro a bride quickly, because Sano’s situation wasn’t getting any better. But she felt as if she was hurrying the end of his childhood. She wanted him to remain her baby for as long as possible.
    “Time goes fast,” Lady Wakasa warned. “The sooner your son is settled, the better, and your daughter, too. You can bet that Chamberlain Yanagisawa isn’t wasting any time getting his sons married. Have you heard the rumor? It seems that Yanagisawa is in marriage negotiations with Tokugawa Ienobu, to arrange a match between his daughter and Yoritomo.” She added, “Ienobu is the shogun’s nephew.”
    “I’ve heard that he’s the man most likely to succeed the shogun,” Reiko said, disturbed.
    “So have I,” Lady Wakasa said. “The shogun will die eventually. If Yoritomo marries into Ienobu’s family, then Yanagisawa has a chance to control the regime for another term.”
    And Sano would have to fight Yanagisawa at an even greater disadvantage. “In that case, it’s all the more important that we find the best possible match for—”
    Reiko stopped because she saw Masahiro standing in the doorway, holding a bamboo scroll container. She didn’t like to talk about his marriage prospects in front of him. She didn’t want him to hear himself discussed as if he were a commodity for sale, which buyers rejected. But he had a talent for sensing when something important was happening. He would appear on the scene before Reiko knew he was there.
    Lady Wakasa understood. “I’d better go.” She rose, grimacing as her stiff joints creaked. On her way out she told Reiko, “Remember what I said: Don’t wait too long.”
    Reiko extended her hand to Masahiro and drew him beside her. How tall he was! And how handsome in his white martial arts practice clothes. He didn’t look like her or Sano; he was a blend of their best features, her beauty toughened by Sano’s strength. Reiko beamed with pride and love. “Have you finished your practice?”
    “Yes, Mother.” Masahiro asked, “Can’t she find a bride for me?”
    Reiko sighed. Masahiro knew everything that went on in the household, despite her efforts to shield him. “Not yet.”
    He looked relieved. “I don’t think I’m ready to get married.”
    “It wouldn’t be until you’re at least fourteen.”
    “If I can marry a girl I like, I won’t mind.” Masahiro sounded hopeful.
    Reiko realized with surprise that he was becoming a young man, with a young man’s dreams of romance. “I promise I’ll do my best to find you a girl you’ll love.”
    Masahiro nodded, reassured. He seemed once more a child, who believed that the three years until his manhood would last forever. But he’d already taken on adult responsibilities. “I have to change my clothes and go to the palace.” This winter he’d begun his first job—as a page in Edo Castle, the position in which many boys from good samurai families started. He was inordinately proud of the fact. “The shogun will be wanting me.”
    His mention of the shogun made Reiko’s blood run cold.
    The shogun liked sex with young boys. He surrounded himself with male courtesans and actors, and every page, soldier, and servant in Edo Castle was at his disposal. Reiko didn’t want Masahiro to become the shogun’s concubine, not even to gain influence at court. It was too repulsive and degrading. The shogun’s favor could advance Masahiro in the world, but Reiko prayed that Masahiro would never attract the shogun’s lust.
    Noises outside the chamber interrupted her thoughts. She saw two servants lugging a trunk down the corridor. Her daughter, four-year-old Akiko, skipped after them, hand in hand with a woman in her mid-thirties, who wore a brown silk quilted coat. The woman had a pensive, pretty face, and her hair was arranged in a neat twist at the back of her head. Entering the room with