Doctor Who_ The Room With No Doors - Kate Orman [38]
One of the servants bowed. ‘The daimyo would like to speak with you after you have eaten,’ he said. ‘Let us bring you some supper.’
‘No meat or fish for me, please,’ said the Doctor absently. He was pacing around the room in his socks, as though he was looking for something.
‘Er, thanks,’ said Joel. The servants bowed and went out.
The Doctor finally settled, kneeling on one of the straw mats. He folded his hands, suddenly looking totally serene. It was as though he’d drawn into himself, gathering strength for the confrontation with Gufuu.
‘What did happen to Liz Shaw?’
The Doctor didn’t stir for a moment, his eyes focused on nothing in particular. Joel had been hoping for a bit more of a reaction. The Time Lord murmured, ‘What did Chris tell you?’
‘He said he killed her.’
Now the Doctor looked up, catching Joel with his ancient eyes. ‘Good grief,’
he said. ‘Is that what he really believes?’
‘Uh,’ said Joel, ‘not exactly. He said she died because of him.’
‘Liz’s death wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was just a terrible set of circumstances.’
The Doctor shook his head. ‘She didn’t give him his life so he could spend it feeling guilty.’
76
They both looked up. One of the servants was back, carrying a large box.
‘Ah,’ said the Doctor, brightening up. ‘The clothes that make the man.’
‘It’s quiet,’ said Kame.
‘Too quiet,’ said Chris, and then, ‘Argh, I can’t believe I just said that.’
The ronin had insisted on Chris’s dining with him that evening. He had cooked a proper Japanese dinner for them rice, soup and three small main courses – and then spent so much time lecturing Chris on the correct way to eat it that both of their meals had gone cold.
Now they were sitting beside the firepit in Kame’s hut, drinking tea and listening to the night sounds. Penelope was in the house, tinkering with the engine of her time machine, while the village women giggled and watched.
‘Those samurai with the flower on their banners,’ said Chris. ‘Who are they working for?’
‘Those are Umemi’s men,’ said Kame. ‘He and Gufuu Kocho have been skirmishing through the valleys for the last ten years. Neither one ever gets enough of an advantage to destroy the other. One of these days there’s going to be an almighty massacre at one of the two castles. And then we’ll see.’
‘One of the samurai,’ persisted Chris, ‘said they were attacked by tengu. I thought those were the little demons that lived in the forests. Not much of a threat to a war party.’
‘Oh, you should never underestimate the tengu,’ said Kame. ‘They’re cun-ning little goblins, and clever with a sword. People who’ve tried tricking them have ended up falling out of trees or into cold rivers. If the samurai gave the tengu offence, they’d have known about it pretty quickly.’
‘So how will I know one of these guys if I see them?’
‘Well,’ said Kame, ‘if you see anything up a pine tree with hands and a beak, either be damned polite to it or give it a wide berth!’ He laughed.
‘Sonchou-san says you came from Doa-no-naiheya Monastery. Is that old dog Kadoguchiroshi still there?’
‘Yes,’ said Chris.
‘We called him old dog,’ added Kame, ‘because he would bite you with a riddle or a question, and he wouldn’t let go until you solved it.’
‘You were a monk?’
‘Yes. A very awful one. I got tired of trying to solve the same koan, day in, day out. And I missed sake!’
‘What koan was it?’ said Chris, hopefully.
‘Nansen’s Cat,’ said Kame. ‘Don’t tell me the old dog gave you one as well.’
‘It was a different one. Kosen’s student.’
‘What’s that one?’
77
‘Kosen the calligrapher keeps trying to write something, and every time he does it, his student says it’s rubbish. When his student steps outside for a moment, he dashes off the phrase – and the student says it’s a masterpiece.’
Kame nodded knowingly. ‘Well?’ said Chris. ‘Can’t you even give me a hint?
I’ve been going nuts trying to work it out!’
‘Don’t try so hard. It’ll come to you.’
Chris made a face. ‘You wouldn