I heard another door open. It wasn't hard to guess, he had entered the opposite room. He hadn't hesitated in the slightest to tell me it was his own room. At that moment, I felt more like a shamed woman than a married one. He was done and gone. I stood up, ignoring my pain. I picked up the sheet. My mother-in-law would expect to see it in the morning. Unfortunately, these customs still lingered. Not everyone followed them, but it depended somewhat on the husband, and I didn't have a husband who would stand by me. He wasn't even worthy of being called a husband. I folded the sheet neatly. Where would I put it? No one had told me anything. My nursemaid would have told me, but Botan hadn't allowed it. A tear rolled down my cheek, then another. I cried for my loneliness. For being as alone in
