“Come now, Kirori Ji! Dheer wouldn’t have referred me to you if he wasn’t sure you’d help me.”
“Of course, I’ll help you,” he said crankily. “But if someone tries to kill me after this, you will answer to my wife, Hukum. And trust me, she is not a woman you want to cross.”
“I believe you, Kirori Ji.”
“Good! Now, why are you digging into matters that have nothing to do with you?”
“How do you know it has nothing to do with me?” I countered.
“Because none of those tunnels were anywhere near your land, Hukum.”
“So you do know a lot about the matter?”
“I make it my business to know everything that goes on around here, Hukum.”
“Kirori Ji, does the why of it matter?”
“The why always matters, Hukum,” he replied sombrely. “What do you plan to do with the knowledge?”
“I can’t tell you that. You’ll just have to trust me. All I want to know is which royals are allowing their lands to be used for smuggling.”
Kirori Ji gave me a bleak smile.
“All of them, Hukum.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Do you know how many royal families there are in these areas, Hukum? Too many to count! Every ten miles is a new thikana or jagir. And not all those people have palatial estates they could turn into luxury hotels. Some families did whatever they had to do to survive and keep whatever lands they had after the government gouged them. And a lot of them agreed to look the other way while their lands were used for nefarious purposes.”
“Do you mean to tell me that a lot of royal families here are involved in cross-border smuggling?” I demanded.
“Not at all, Hukum. They just choose not to know what is happening on their lands. A lot of them don’t even live here. So it’s easy to take the money that’s offered and stay away from the areas near the border.”
“Well, who’s offering the money?”
“That’s what nobody knows. I mean, I’m suresomepeople know, but those that do, aren’t talking,” Kirori Ji replied sadly.
“And do you have any ideas on how to get them talking?”
“They aren’t going to talk to an army man for sure,” he said, with a smile. “But they might talk to a fellow royal. Especially one who’s looking for a new source of income.”
When I returned to the palace that night, Hira Singh brought me a card on a salver. It was an invitation to the Mirpur Royal Gala. I turned the card over with my fingers a few times as I wondered if it was time to dip my toes into my social circle. At least, I’d have some friends at this party.
Just then, I got a text from Ranvijay, the Maharaja of Mirpur, and another of my old friends.
“Just heard that you got an invite to my mother’s party. Beware! It’s a trap. She’s out to find you a wife.”
CHAPTER 5
SAMRAT
Ibarked out a laugh at the dire warning. The Rani Ma of Mirpur was a die-hard matchmaker, but she must be out of her mind if she thought I was a willing victim in her schemes. Well, she’d find out soon enough, I thought, as I threw back my whiskey neat and slammed the glass on the table.
The next morning, I was surprised to see Nilanjana at the breakfast table.
“Good morning, Sam,” she cooed, and I gritted my teeth in irritation.
“What the hell do you want at this hour?” I growled, and her smile faltered a little before she steadied it.
