It was true that Miya’s death had lightened Tomo’s burden by bringing to a natural end the illicit relationship between father and daughter-in-law that had caused her such constant trepidation lest it come to light, but her determination was all the stronger that the third bride should be an utterly serious-minded woman with none of Miya’s jezebel qualities.

However deficient Michimasa might be as a man there were plenty of go-betweens to suggest potential partners with an eye to the Shirakawa fortune. From amongst these Tomo chose a middle-aged spinster who taught household management at a school for girls. Tomoe by name, she was broad-shouldered and had a narrow forehead but her complexion, at least, was fair. Michimasa did not care for the name Tomoe and as soon as she was installed in the house changed it to the more elegant ‘Fujie.’ Fujie was strict with the children and served Michimasa with the deference due to a lord and master.

When she paid her first visit to the house at Gotenyama following the wedding ceremony, Yukitomo treated Fujie with great affability and tact, but it was clear at a glance not only to Tomo but to Suga as well that she was not the kind of woman to replace Miya.

‘The new wife seems to be a steady kind of person, doesn’t she?’ Suga remarked casually one day as she was sitting facing Tomo across the brazier. Despite herself an equivocal smile flickered on one side of her face.

‘Yes – I suppose she does,’ Tomo replied with equal composure as she lit the tobacco in her long pipe. She knew only too well from past experience that if she let herself be tempted into speaking too freely her words would be flung back at her from Yukitomo’s with a weight of significance she had never intended.

‘But if she’s a teacher of household management, she should be good at tightening up the household finances. They’ll be finding it quite hard going from now on, I expect,’ Suga said, tapping out a similar long pipe against the edge of the brazier.

Tomo was left to infer from Suga’s roundabout way of putting it that she referred to the considerable sums of money Yukitomo had privately been giving to Miya. Michimasa had never dreamed that all kinds of extravagances over and above the routine household expenditure were being paid for in exchange for his wife’s body, but now that Fujie had replaced Miya it was unlikely that the money would flow so freely from Yukitomo’s side.