Lady Samurai

Chapter 15

Anna woke up, feeling refreshed and relaxed. Nothing and nobody disturbed her during the night and after a proper rest she was in a better mood.

Yesterday, after her return from the garden, she was met yet again by the doctor, who waited to change her dressing. He frowned at the wet clothes, but he left it without any comment. He bathed the wound in some type of herbal potion and put on a new bandage. After that he bowed and announced that his services would not be necessary anymore and, unless Anna aggravated it, the wound would heal soon.

After he left, Anna said also a good-bye to Reiko, begging her to return to her home. With some reluctance Reiko agreed and departed. Her own family taking precedence.

Finally, Anna was left alone, as the servants came and went, without disturbing her. She spent some time writing in her notebook, describing the latest events and trying to organise her conflicted thoughts with regards to Lord Takeda and... Commander Morrison.

Until recently, she hadn't had any real opinion about the soldier. He was rash and rude, so there were no chances for them to become friends, but now she felt a definite dislike. She agreed with the Lord and Reiko that he would take what he wanted without much regard for anybody. That was for anybody, who was not his superior. But he had never considered Anna as equal. To him she was just a lonely woman, unprotected by her family or the social convention. She was his for the taking, if he wanted. And he definitely wanted her. The look in his eyes was unequivocal.

But luckily, Anna wasn't a defenceless damsel in distress. Morrison probably had no previous experience with women who lived by their own rules and knew how to defend themselves.

He would soon learn that Anna... No! Not Anna... That Charlotte Ålverstrand, she corrected herself, for the first time in a long while using her real name, ... was not someone you could just disregard as a person...

So she had enjoyed the whole day by herself. Doing nothing, dozing and cleaning her guns.

But that was yesterday. Today she felt a little restless.

After the morning meal she decided to go out and visit Reiko in her shop.
From a servant she got the directions and set out without any delay. Thankfully, Lord Takeda had called away his samurai and she could walk without the 'entourage'.
The locals still gawped at the woman Gai-Jin, but that was to be expected. None of them had ever seen a white person. She just pulled the hat lower over her face and ignored them.

However, soon after leaving the inn she became conscious of a stare boring into her back, as if somebody was observing her with malice. Yet every time she turned around, the street seemed to be just full of locals, going about their business, and nobody stood out from the crowd. But this unpleasant feeling lingered. She tried to persuade herself that nobody had any reason to follow her and that she was most probably a little paranoid, but it certainly didn't feel right.

Anna found the shop that Reiko had told her about so much and went inside. She introduced herself and asked to see the owners.

Reiko didn't run the business, but notified immediately, she arrived after a short while and greeted her guest with a true pleasure. "Ana-San, what a pleasant surprise! Please, come in."

"Reiko-San, I wished to thank you for your company and your help during those first days." Anna bowed deeply, knowing that it would please Reiko.

"My Lady." Reiko also bowed. "It was an honour to assist you and get to know you. But now, please, let me take you to my house. I will be honoured to show you our modest garden and have a cup of tea with you."

"Thank you, Reiko-San. That will be a true pleasure."

They walked the short distance to Reiko's house. While the tea was being prepared, they had a pleasant stroll in the garden. After that they settled on the veranda and drank tea in a companionable silence.