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And then, he brought the matter up. He said that he came with the intention of taking her to his home that very night, if it was convenient for her--her luggage could be sent later. Yoshiko listened to what he had to say nodding her head. Without doubt she must have felt a sense of oppression in her heart but consciously in her mind, she did not feel any particular suffering in returning to his home--she trusted him absolutely, as he had shown whole-hearted sympathy for her in her recent love affair. To tell the truth, she had felt for some time discomforts in living with her landlady in this type of old-fashioned house, and she had been hoping if possible to return and live as previously in her mentor's house; she would have been overjoyed with his suggestion under different circumstances. . . .
Tokio was impatient to inquire about her lover. Where was he now? When would he return to Kyoto? These inquiries were indeed matters of great concern for Tokio. But, as he could not ask her frankly in front of his sister-in-law, who did not know anything about the situation, he could not say a word about these things that night. They talked about routine topics until late in the night.
Tokio wanted to go home that night but his sister-in-law suggested that as it was already midnight it would be better to take her home the following day. And, although he wanted to go home alone to Ushigome that night, feeling somewhat uneasy he decided to make an excuse of the late hour, and stay overnight at her house leaving with Yoshiko early the next morning.
