‘I wanted to talk to you,’ she said. ‘My mind is running wild and I hardly know how to think or feel.’ She felt a lump in her throat as she spoke and took a deep shuddering breath. Could she even speak of it? Words seemed an imperfect match against the reality of such a death.
‘Of course.’
Eliza glanced at Dottie’s kind face. ‘If I tell you, I’m not sure who should actually know.’
Dottie looked puzzled.
‘I …’ Eliza paused. ‘I saw something.’
‘Yes?’
‘A woman burned to death.’
Dottie bit her lip. ‘How awful. An accident?’
‘No. You don’t …’ She took a breath. ‘It was … a widow-burning.’
Dottie’s hand went straight to her mouth and the colour drained from her cheeks. ‘Dear God! I don’t know what to say. You must be in a terrible state of shock.’
‘I think I must be. I thought I was all right but I keep smelling her burning flesh. I can’t get it out of my mind. Dottie, it was the most heart-breaking thing I’ve ever seen.’
‘Oh, darling.’
A sob burst from Eliza.
Dottie stood up and began to pace the room. ‘Well, it’s against the law, so first of all we must tell Clifford and then –’
‘No,’ Eliza interjected. ‘No. Please let Jay do it. He says it still happens and the authorities do absolutely nothing. I’m wondering if he might just deal with it within the state and leave the British out of it.’
Now Dottie looked shocked and stood to stare at Eliza. ‘He surely didn’t take you to see it!’
‘No. We were on our way somewhere and he tried to get it stopped.’
‘And?’
‘He was very brave, even burned his hand, but …’ Another sob erupted. ‘We were too late to stop it.’
Dottie walked over to the drinks cabinet and turned the key. ‘I think you need something stronger than tea. I know I do.’ She held up a bottle. ‘Brandy do you?’
Eliza nodded, and Dottie brought over two tumblers of the amber liquid, downing hers in one as soon as she sat down on the sofa next to Eliza.
‘Christ, these people,’ she said. ‘I don’t care about their belief system; this is an absolute abomination. Utterly barbaric.’ She shook her head. ‘Just when you begin to feel at home, something like this happens.’
‘But there really isn’t anythinglikethis, is there … I don’t know what to do. It was the most awful thing I’ve ever seen.’ Eliza hung her head and felt the tears burning her eyes.
‘I’m sure it was.’
‘I just feel so sickened.’ Eliza bent forward and buried her face in her hands.
Dottie patted her on the back. ‘You poor, poor girl.’
Eliza twisted her head to glance up at Dottie. ‘Jay says suttee has gone underground and that for a while it happened even more frequently after we made it illegal. It must be Jay who reports. It’s better coming from him.’
‘Did he tell you to say that?’
Eliza glanced up. ‘No! Of course not.’
‘Because it’s murder, Eliza. They can’t be allowed to get away with it.’
