None of us on that lane had seen Nishida Sentarō in person, except for Oman, the maid at the Tomitaya. “Nishida-san attends the monthly poetry evenings at the inn, and now he is there several times a week to drink and dine with Herun-san,” she told us.

When you, Yakumo, came into contact with Oman at the inn and then at your birdcage, she was fifteen years old. I do not have to remind you that she saw the world through much older eyes. This happens to girls of beauty. They flower early.

“Nishida-san is very handsome,” Oman often said, with not a hint of color in her cheeks. She complimented his smooth pale skin and his high cheekbones, touching her own by way of example. She praised his deep voice. “Commanding but not harsh,” she said. “The maids would all listen at the edge of the room dividers whenever it is Nishida-san’s turn to recite his poems. He rarely stays afterward for the entertainment, the real reason for those poetry nights,” she added. “He rarely partakes unless his favorite maiko is there, and she is never there these days because she has a new patron. The postmaster, the other maids say.” As usual, Oman’s cheeks were the color of fresh snow. Modesty did not show itself upon them.

Oman would have been the New Foreign Teacher’s rashamen, but for me.

There is no need to feign ignorance, Yakumo. We are past the time when such truths can wound.

I knew the word for the mistress of a Westerner long before we met. Their stories, from the open port cities of Yokohama, Tokyo, Ōsaka, Kōbe, Nagasaki, Niigata, Hakodate, and Kanagawa, had reached us even here in “isolated” Matsue.

I also had eyes older than my years, though beauty was not the cause, and I saw Oman’s glow when she told us stories about Nishida-san. But when she spoke about Herun-san, she touched the neckline of her kimono, at the point where the left side of the garment crossed the right. When she shared with us that Herun-san had rented the merchant Orihara’s garden pavilion, foster Mother and I exchanged glances. Would it be a dwelling for one or two? we wondered. Upon describing to us the arrangement that Herun-san had made with the inn, Oman was proud to note the additional pay that she was now taking home to her household of seven.