“What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I heard a villager near the Jodhpur border mention something about the prince’s son marrying soon. The villager sounded disgusted that they would force a woman from Bikaner to live among their neighbors. The man wouldn’t marry a commoner, so that likely leaves Surat’s daughters. Something tells me it’s Vinita.” Theo had listened to the two men talk for as long as he could, but he never heard a woman’s name. He’d counted his blessings that they gossiped in English, or he would have been none the wiser. But ever since he’d eavesdropped six days ago, he’d been on edge. Intuition told him to race back to their camp and to the Maharaja to demand Vinita’s hand. But rationality won the day.
“If that’s the case, maybe Sarla and Suniti are betrothed. All three are of a marriageable age. It surprises me they aren’t already.” Will included his thanksgiving that Sarla was unattached in his prayers each night. But now he doubted himself. Perhaps he was wrong, and his prayers were pointless.
“We won’t know until we return. We need to write our reports and enter everything into the logs. Then we should meet with Surat and discuss what we learned. He won’t be pleased.”
Rob, Will, and Theo approached the Maharaja’s home and heard voices raised. They yelled in English. The three men broke into a sprint as they ran to the doorway, which stood open. They witnessed four Company men surrounding Surat, and three blocked Chandra and her daughters in a corner.
“What the devil is going on?” Rob roared. “Step away. Now.”
The command in his voice was absolute. He looked at Suniti, and their eyes locked. The fear in her hazel orbs alarmed him, which only made him angrier. He heard Will and Theo cock their pistols when the men were too slow moving away from the princely family.
“Maharaja, why are my men inside your home?” Rob glowered at the insubordinate men.
“They claim they are here to collect taxes.”
“You owe no taxes, and even if you did, none of these men would come to claim them. I would, or Rowe or Abbington. Thomlinson, explain yourselves. Choose your words wisely.”
“We—” The redheaded foot soldier had no explanation because there was none.
Theo stepped forward. “Did you threaten to take or assault the Raja and her daughters?” The rage that emanated from Theo was easy to interpret in his low, deep tone. When none of the men answered, Theo kept his pistol trained on Thomlinson, but walked to the women. He held out his hand to Vinita. Chandra didn’t want to move, but a quick glance from Theo convinced her.
“My lady, did these men threaten you?”
“Yes.” Vinita’s whisper was barely audible. It was little more than a puff of air across the open neckline of Theo’s shirt.
“Did they touch you?” When Vinita hesitated, he pulled her against his side. “Tell me who, Vinita. Now.”
“That one.” Vinita pointed to a blond man.
Theo released her and stalked toward the man. He leaned forward to whisper in the man’s ear. “You made a grave mistake going near any of them. But you dared touch my woman. I will make you pay in ways no one has since the Middle Ages. Be glad we don’t have a rack, but I may still draw and quarter you.”
The man trembled, and Theo snarled in his ear. He suspected the young soldier struggled not to piss himself. Theo walked back to Vinita’s side, but he didn’t touch her again. If he felt her quivering body again, he was likely to go on a killing spree. His murderous desire shocked him. It was a part of his nature he never knew existed until he saw Vinita in danger. He’d meant every word he’d said to the soldier.
“Maharaja, you have my sincerest apologies. It shames me to know my men would enter your home and threaten your family. You will never see them again.” Rob had shifted so he could see Surat and watch Suniti. The woman’s gaze followed him everywhere.
“All of you, out.” Will’s voice echoed against the walls. The Company men appeared reluctant. Not because they wished to continue their effort to extort the Maharaja, but because the three officers terrified them.
Theo, Will, and Rob nodded to Surat, Chandra, and the women before herding their men out of the palace and along the pathway to their camp. Once within the confines of the tent village, the three officers forced the offenders into the center.
“Strip to the waist.” Rob commanded before requesting three whips. “You stand accused of accosting the Maharaja and his family. You stand accused of stealing from the prince’s family. You stand accused of attempted assault on the Maharaja’s daughters. How do you plea?”
“Guilty.” All the voices chimed together. They’d all seen their lives flash before their eyes as the officers charged in, pistols at the ready. They’d believed the patrol wouldn’t return for another day. They’d planned to rob the Maharaja and desert on a ship that would depart that evening.
“Twenty lashes each,” Rob pronounced.
A crowd gathered to watch the punishment. It was brutal and seemed like it would never end. By the time it did, the whip’s floggers had shredded the men’s backs. They would be lucky to survive because an infection was nearly inevitable. However, the man who’d touched Vinita knew his death was imminent. The moment the crowd separated, Theo stalked toward him and wrapped his hand around the younger man’s throat. He squeezed until the man turned blue. He pushed him ahead of him to the river, then pushed him to his knees. It wasn’t long before the bubbles stopped gurgling around the man’s submerged head.
“If he tried to do it to a prince’s daughter, then he’s abused women before, or he’d try it again in the future.”
“Theo, you don’t have to justify it to us. We know you’re right. We’re going back. Are you coming?” Rob clapped his hand on Theo’s shoulder as his friend rose. Will signaled someone to take away the body.
“Yes. We all need to bathe and change first.” Theo looked down at his uniform, blood splattered on it. He felt filthy, and he needed time to cool his temper before he considered seeing Vinita. The men gathered fresh clothes and toiletries before coming back to the river and stripping.
“What if the Maharaja won’t allow us in the door? This could ruin everything for the Company here. We have the men to force Surat to comply, but that’s not what any of us want. And our closest regiment is a five-day ride from here. He could summon allies before we can.” Theo scrubbed soap through his hair before dunking under the water again.
“I don’t know. I hope he knows we’re honorable men and accepts the punishment we doled out. But between this and what we must report, we’ll be lucky to wake in the morning.” Rob exhaled as he sank until the water was to his shoulders. “It’s moments like this that make me wonder why I didn’t remain in London and become the wastrel second son my father accused me of being.”
