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"Hai," he heard Blackthorne say firmly.

"Good," he replied crisply. "Since the Anjin-san's so generous, I'll accept his offer. One thousand koku. That will help some other needy samurai. Tell him his men will be waiting for him in Yedo. I'll see you at dawn tomorrow, Anjin-san."

"Yes. Thank you, Toranaga-sama."

"Mariko-san, consult with the Lady Kasigi at once. Since you approved the amount I imagine she'll agree to your arrangement however hideous it seems, though I'd suppose she'll need until dawn tomorrow to give such a ridiculous sum her full consideration. Send some menial to order the Gyoko woman here at sunset. She can bring the courtesan with her. Kiku-san can sing while we talk, neh?"

He dismissed them, delighted to have saved fifteen hundred koku. People are so extravagant, he thought benignly.

"Will that leave me enough to get a crew?" Blackthorne asked.

"Oh, yes, Anjin-san. But he hasn't agreed to allow you to go to Nagasaki yet," Mariko said. "Five hundred koku would be more than enough to live on for a year, and the other five hundred will give you about one hundred and eighty koban in gold to buy seamen. That's a very great deal of money."

Fujiko lifted herself painfully and spoke to Mariko.

"Your consort says that you shouldn't worry, Anjin-san. She can give you letters of credit to certain moneylenders who will advance you all that you'll need. She'll arrange everything."

"Yes, but haven't I got to pay all my retainers? How do I pay for a house, Fujiko-san, my household?"

Mariko was shocked. "Please, so sorry, but this is of course not your worry. Your consort has told you that she will take care of everything. She - Fujiko interrupted and the two women spoke together for a moment.

"Ah so desu, Fujiko-san!" Mariko turned back to Blackthorne. "She says you must not waste time thinking about it. She begs you please to spend your time worrying only about Lord Toranaga's problems. She has money of her own which she can draw upon, should it be necessary."

Blackthorne blinked. "She'll lend me her own money?"

"Oh, no, Anjin-san, of course she'll give it to you, if you need it, Anjin-san. Don't forget your problem's only this year," Mariko explained. "Next year you're rich, Anjin-san. As to your retainers, for one year they'll get two koku each. Don't forget Toranaga-sama's giving you all their arms and horses, and two koku's enough to feed them and their horses and families. And don't forget, too, you gave Lord Toranaga half your year's income to ensure that they would be chosen by him personally. That's a tremendous honor, Anjin-san."

"You think so?"

"Oh certainly. Fujiko-san agrees wholeheartedly. You were most shrewd to think of that."

"Thank you." Blackthorne allowed a little of his pleasure to show. You're getting your wits back again and you're beginning to think like them, he told himself happily. Yes, that was clever to co-opt Toranaga. Now you'll get the best men possible, and you could never have done it alone. What's a thousand koku against the Black Ship? So yet another of the things Mariko had said was true: that one of Toranaga's weaknesses was that he was a miser. Of course, she had not said so directly, only that Toranaga made all his incredible wealth go further than any daimyo in the kingdom. This clue, added to his own observations - that Toranaga's clothes were as simple as his food, and his style of living little different from that of an ordinary samurai - had given him another key to unlock Toranaga.

Thank God for Mariko and old Friar Domingo!

Blackthorne's memory took him back to the jail and he thought how close he had been to death then, and how close he was to death now, even with all his honors. What Toranaga gives, he can take away. You think he's your friend, but if he'll assassinate a wife and murder a favorite son, how would you value his friendship or your life? I don't, Blackthorne told himself, renewing his pledge. That's karma. I can do nothing about karma and I've been living near death all my life, so nothing's new. I yield to karma in all its beauty. I accept karma in all its majesty. I trust karma to get me through the next six months. Then, by this time next year, I'll be scudding through Magellan's Pass, bound for London Town, out of his reach....

Fujiko was talking. He watched her. The bandages were still discolored. She was lying painfully on the futons, a maid fanning her.

"She'll arrange everything for you by dawn, Anjin-san," Mariko said. "Your consort suggests you take two horses and a baggage horse. One man servant and one maid"

"A man servant'll be enough."

"So sorry, the maid servant must go to serve you. And of course a cook and a cook helper."

"Won't there be kitchens that we - I can use?"

"Oh, yes. But you still have to have your own cooks, Anjin-san. You're a hatamoto."

He knew there was no point in arguing. "I'll leave everything to you."