“Because you’d be married to some insipid, frail woman you can’t stand. Your father is a worse matchmaker than any debutante’s mama.” Will’s lip curled in disgust.
Rob shared his father’s schemes when they met. The Earl incessantly tried to marry both his sons off to increase their holdings and fill their coffers. The women Rob’s father impressed upon his sons were frail ones who looked like a strong wind would knock them down. They never expressed an idea of their own, no matter how much the brothers encouraged them. Rob was the lucky one, since he wasn’t the heir and could run away. He’d gone about as far as he could go.
Once dressed, the three men made their way back to the Maharaja’s home. They waited to be admitted. Calm had returned to the household, but they knew it wouldn’t last long.
“I didn’t think you would return.” Surat glowered at the men, but it was for show. He’d been grateful when they arrived. His guards would have easily killed the Company men, but he didn’t want a massacre in front of his wife and children, nor did he want the servants to clean away the inevitable blood. He also didn’t need the Company investigating him and invariably finding him at fault.
“We dealt with the men.” Theo’s explanation was concise. He met Surat’s gaze, and the Maharaja nodded. He didn’t need Theo to share the details, but he knew Theo carried out whatever threat he’d made to the soldier who’d tried to grope Vinita.
“Twenty lashes each,” Rob stated. “If they survive, they will be on a ship for Australia. They can live out their lives in the penal colony.”
“That is harsher than any punishment I’ve seen a man receive. The lash, yes. Death, yes. But the lash and Australia seems?—”
“Fitting,” Will supplied. “No man under our command will be under the misconception that we tolerate abusing your family or any of your people.”
“May we talk privately? We were unaware of the situation when we arrived previously. We came to discuss something else.” Rob waited for Surat to gesture toward his library before he said anything else. “We have bad news to impart. I would prefer not to compound tonight’s events, but this cannot wait.”
“I gather there was an incident while on patrol.” Surat gestured for the men to sit in the x-shaped chairs with carved peacocks inlaid in the chair backs and carved jaguars on the ends of the armrests. Surat sat behind his desk in the peacock chair with its tall fan-shaped back and hourglass-like base.
“Unfortunately, more than one,” Rob admitted. “In the first village we visited, we learned the men stationed there killed a young boy. They claim it was an accident.”
“But you don’t believe that.” Surat watched the three men closely. He liked them, but he was still unsure whether he could fully trust them.
“One of the Company men spotted a tiger in a tree outside the village. The people we spoke to say the animal was disinterested in them and kept its distance. However, this man wanted to the reward. He went charging toward the tree and disregarded the group of children playing. He trampled two of them, and the boy died.” Robert waited for the news to register. Surat showed no reaction. Robert knew the older man had one, but he was an experienced and astute politician. He'd dealt with the East India Company as a princely leader for as long as Rob and his friends had been alive.
“What else?”
“We learned there has been more trouble along the Jodhpur border.” Theo spoke up since he was the one to discover the problem by listening to the conversation about a woman marrying into the royal family of Jodhpur. “The Company hasn’t been paying for their trade on either side of the border. They’ve instigated clashes, telling each side that they’d paid the other. Then telling them they refuse to pay for inferior quality and will go to the opposite province for trade.”
“They wish to save the day when we battle. They will swoop in and end the conflict, and in the meantime, exert more control over our politics and our people.” It didn’t surprise Surat.
It was an increasingly dangerous policy that the Company implemented more than a century earlier. It left the Indians indebted to the English and allowed the Company to take what they wanted by force. Surat had done his best to limit the Company’s influence beyond trade, but he feared he was fighting a losing battle. He couldn’t be everywhere, so he couldn’t control things that happened several days’ ride from his home. He had officials and representatives there, but the Company manipulated the locals, and when that didn’t work, they followed through on threats.
“Yes, there have been skirmishes along the border that the regiments squelched, but it’s emboldened the Company.” Will regretted his role in imparting the news.
“I’m sure it has. That’s why I’m negotiating an alliance with the Maharaja of Jodhpur. His son will marry one of my daughters.” Surat watched the three men. Their control impressed him, but he saw each jaw tick once. He wouldn’t change his plans for the whims of three Englishmen who would leave and forget about his daughters once they returned home and married Englishwomen.
“Which daughter?” Theo couldn’t help himself.
“Vinita.” Surat knew it would anger Theo, but the younger man swallowed and nodded. Resolve entered Theo’s eyes, and Surat nearly groaned in annoyance.
“We hanged the man responsible for murdering the children. However, the recourse for the men along the border is more limited. We docked them wages and sent them to stations away from the provincial borders. However, it won’t take long for men of their ilk to replace them.” Will spoke to Surat, but he watched Theo from the corner of his eye. They’d known each other for years, having gone to boarding school together and reconnecting a year earlier when they discovered they’d both joined the East India Company.
“Very well. Thank you for your report. I will consider what you’ve told me. My family and I are grateful for your intervention this evening.”
“I don’t doubt it would have been bloody if we hadn’t. We would not wish that violence in front of your daughters.” Rob rose and held out his hand. Surat shook it, squeezing a little harder than necessary. He’d learned the English custom and now understood the silent messages of strength and resistance it could convey.
“We did not wish for you to return and find yourselves short seven men. It was fortuitous timing for us all.”
“Goodnight, Maharaja.” Will shook Surat’s hand next, then Theo.
“Mr. Rowe, I am grateful for your defense of my daughter. I’m certain her future betrothed would appreciate it, too.”
Theo nodded. As far as he was concerned, Vinita’s only future betrothed was him.
Chapter Four
The next month passed with several not-so-accidental encounters between the three officers and three sisters. Vinita and Theo encountered one another nearly every day at the market. As an act of chivalry, Theo offered to carry Vinita’s baskets the first time. Normally, one of her servants would have done it if they became too heavy for her. After the second day, she slipped away with only her guards. They kept their distance, but she didn’t doubt they reported everything to her father. His disapproving frowns deepened by the day, but he said nothing. She knew he continued to negotiate her marriage contract, so he didn’t fear Vinita accepting any offers from Theo.
