The next morning, I woke up very late.
When Tsubasa came in to help me dress, I asked him about Takumi's whereabouts.
"He left at daybreak, master," replied the servant. "He said you'd sent him on a very important assignment."
I smiled to myself. Soon, Hana was going to be mine!
"So I did," I said.
I had a late meal and anxiously waited for Takumi's return.
"How did everything go?" I asked when he was finally back.
"Everything has been arranged, master," he replied. "No doubts about the young lady's health, and her family has a good reputation. The father happily accepted the money gift and will agree to any wedding date that would suit your lordship."
"The sooner the better!" I exclaimed.
"Perhaps the last day of the month?" Takumi offered. "As for the ceremony, may I propose holding it at the Sakaigawa shrine?"
"Yes, that's fine," I said, a little impatiently. I couldn't care less where the ceremony was going to take place. Or even who was going to attend it. As long as Hana and I were there…
Speaking of Hana!
"Did you see the bride?" I asked, suddenly in doubt. "How did she take the news?"
"She seemed happy, master," Takumi said, shaking his head. "It just took her a long time to accept that it was all true. She'd never expected that the swimmer she tried to save from the lake would turn out to be a samurai."
I smiled. Mission accomplished. Hana was mine and happy. I couldn't wait to have sex with her.
"Takumi," I said, suddenly realizing that my future wife must be a virgin. "You're going to have to find her a chujo."
"Of course, master," he said, bowing.
"Someone experienced… who could help prepare her for…" I scratched my chin thinking of the right way to put it.
"I understand." Takumi nodded slowly. "You don't need to worry about such insignificant details, master. I'll find the best chujo your new wife will ever need."
I sighed. Soon, the beautiful long-legged stranger would share a bed with me. I had a sense she'd be more uninhibited than Yukiko.
"One other thing," I said. "Could you get 100 ryo from Matsuo for me?"
Takumi bowed. "Certainly, master. May I ask what they are for?"
I smiled. "These are for you, Takumi."
He bowed even deeper and remained bent for a considerable time.
"Come, come, Takumi," I told him. "If you keep bowing like that, I won't be able to reward you again for a very long time. And I'd like to avoid that."
He slowly straightened, a very subtle hint of a smile on his lips. "Master, you're more gracious to me than I deserve," he said softly.
"Well, you're wrong there," I replied. "You deserve every little bit of my gratitude. And I'm sure you'll continue to deserve it in the future."
He turned away, but after taking a couple of steps, paused.
"Master, would it be out of line if I assumed that you intend to take good care of Madam Kazuko?"
I shrugged. "No, that would probably be fair. My father's wife deserves no less."
"Indeed, master. You have a kind heart." He sort of sighed. "I'm a little worried, however, that rumors might spread in the household about her—shall we say—proclivities."
He had my full attention. "Spill it, Takumi," I said.
"Well," he paused, looking uncertain. "Maybe it'd be better for you to see for yourself what I mean. I wouldn't want to be known for having a loose tongue."
"When?" I asked.
"As it happens, right now might be a good time."
We went outside and around the house, toward the side facing the little forest. There was no footpath along that wall, so we had to tread carefully in the tall grass.
"You might want to step lightly and speak softly," whispered Takumi. Soon, he stopped, letting me go ahead of him, and pointed at one of the windows.
The paper shoji on the window were down, but there was a small gap between the edge of the shoji and the window frame. Through the gap I could see enough of the room, lit by several candles.
In the middle of the room, shielded from view by the thick screen from all sides except for the window, lay a tatami mat with a soft blanket spread over the top.
A naked woman stood on all fours on the blanket, the top of her head almost touching the mat. Behind her, was another woman, wearing nothing but a strap-on belt with a harigata dildo attached to it. The harigata was inserted into the first woman's ass, and the woman with the strap-on was thrusting slowly, but with intensity. The woman wearing the strap-on was Madam Kazuko, my father's second wife.
I observed the scene with increasing curiosity. Madam Kazuko was holding onto the other woman's hips just like a man would during sex. She arched her back, her head tilting back and her strap-on forward, so that she could pound the woman at the best angle. The woman's buttocks bounced up and down with a bumpy, fleshy motion and her head in turns fell lower and jerked higher with each of Madam Kazuko's thrusts.
The more I looked the more arousing Madam Kazuko seemed to me, sodomizing the other woman with confidence and style. She even slapped the woman's ass a few times, eliciting additional convulsions and a couple of audible moans.
At length, with a rough motion Madam Kazuko yanked the harigata out of the woman's ass and ordered her to turn. After quickly taking the harigata off, Madam Kazuko lowered herself onto the woman's face and rode her ferociously, her head tilting further and further back until she seemingly climaxed, squeezing the woman's face between her legs.
After which, she gracefully collapsed onto the mat, leaving the other woman to kiss and massage her legs and lower body.
I motioned for Takumi to head back.
"Do you think the servants know?" I asked him as we rounded the house.
"Not yet, master," he shook his head thoughtfully. "But people peek through the screens and then talk."
"And you want me to have a word with her?"
Takumi lowered his head. "It's not for me to guide my master's will."
I chuckled. "Let's just say, you think it would be prudent."
"I do, your lordship," he nodded.
Well, somehow I felt that Madam Kazuko and prudence didn't mix well.