Indi nodded.
‘What about Dev? Is he one of Jay’s friends who favours civil disobedience?’
‘Possibly. He has not been given licence to own a typewriter. That should tell you something. He believes ordinary people should be educated so they can speak with one voice.’ Indi shrugged. ‘Or something like that. You never know with Dev.’
Eliza let out her breath in a long sigh and decided to change the subject. ‘How did you learn to paint?’
‘I was taught by a Thakur at my village.’
‘A nobleman?’
‘Yes.’
‘You aren’t of high birth?’
Indi shook her head and looked at her feet. ‘No.’
Eliza hoped the girl would reveal more, but her face had closed so she decided not to pry about the past, instead asking what she liked about being at the castle.
Indi looked up, seeming relieved at the new direction the conversation was taking. ‘I love everything about it, of course. But I’m more interested to hear about you. Did you never want to marry?’
Eliza smiled internally. Did she seem so very old? As she gazed up at Indi’s beautiful miniatures she thought about how photography had come to take over her life. When they had been in Paris she’d met a woman who was on her way to becoming a photographer in her own right. It was then Eliza had realized that such a thing might be possible. And after one of her early amateur prints of a lone ragamuffin child had made it into an illustrated magazine, she was certain she too could become a competent photographer.
She hesitated but then decided to speak. She might need this girl’s friendship one day. ‘I was married, but my husband died in a traffic accident.’
Indira’s face wore an expression of shock and her mouth fell open. ‘You are a widow?’
Bewildered by such a response, Eliza experienced a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t fully grasped the gravity of telling anyone. Jay had said she should keep it quiet, but she had blurted out something about a husband in front of his friend Dev, and now Indi too. What had she been thinking?
6
One night soon after her meeting with Indi, Eliza glanced out of one of the corridor windows not screened byjaliand saw a courtyard dotted with utensils, the pale moon silvering the bowls, pots and all manner of cooking containers lying on the ground outside the kitchens. This nocturnal display amplified her feeling that she might never understand her new world or what it meant to be a Rajput.
And in the morning when she heard that Clifford had arrived at the castle, she couldn’t avoid thinking he was about to further upset her tender equilibrium. After she was shown into a small day room further along the corridor dividing the men’s and women’s quarters, he breezed in carrying a large flat box and in a most unprecedented way made himself immediately at home, with his feet up on the plush velvet day bed.
‘I’m here to help you prepare for the statedurbar,’ he said in his clipped manner of speaking, and pushed back the wire spectacles that had been sliding down his nose. It was clear he was a man inclined to sweat, especially when wearing a heavy linen suit, and his forehead was shining now. He took out a white handkerchief and wiped his skin. ‘It’s a rather showy spectacle in a couple of days’ time. A giddy affair really, with all the usual ceremonial trappings, and a high turnout.’
‘I have to go?’
‘I was under the impression you’d enjoy it. Dottie will be there.’
She took a breath and, feeling brave, decided to state her case. ‘Well, it would be nice to see her again, but actually I want to move out of the castle.’
‘Into the town?’
She nodded.
He shook his head, though it didn’t seem to be with much regret. ‘Sorry, no can do. Guest house is closed.’
She sighed deeply. This wasn’t going to be easy. ‘There’s no privacy. I feel as if I’m being watched the whole time.’
‘That’s because you are. It’s always an uphill battle with these types.’ He paused and lifted up the box. As he did, his trouser leg rolled up and Eliza saw that his skin was milky white and the hairs were ginger. He was clearly a man who would burn badly.
‘But you must always remember, it is we who are the Empire builders.’ He paused for a moment as if to let that sink in. ‘Anyway, I have something for you.’
‘I don’t understand. From whom?’
He smiled, looking pleased with himself. ‘Let’s just call it a little settling-in gift from me to you.’
