‘Yes, yes, I’m sure. As for my son, you’ll find that once he’s cleansed the desert dust from his clothing he is not as forbidding as he looks at present.’ She laughed. ‘Admit it. You thought he was a gypsy?’
Eliza could feel the blush creep up her neck at her own dust-coated appearance, and though it wasn’t the hottest season she felt the heat.
‘Don’t worry, when he’s been out in the desert for days on end, everyone thinks that.’ She sniffed. ‘Thirty years old, addicted to danger and prefers the wild to us civilized folk. Hardly any wonder he’s not married yet.’
‘Mother,’ he said, and Eliza picked up a warning note in his voice. After that he went to pull aside the curtain and lean against the window with a look of indolent disinterest on his face.
Laxmi’s frustration with her son showed in the quiver of her chin, but she recovered herself quickly and turned to Eliza. ‘Now, your equipment?’
‘This is some of it. The rest is following in a cart.’ Eliza waved vaguely in the direction where she assumed the cart might be.
‘I’ll have it taken to your rooms. You’ll be staying here where we can keep an eye on you.’
Suddenly daunted, Eliza must have shown her anxiety, for the woman laughed again. ‘I’m teasing you, my dear. You shall be free to come and go within the castle just as you please. We have followed the Resident’s requests to the letter.’
‘That’s very kind.’
‘It is nothing to do with kindness. It’s in our own interests to try to oblige the British Government when we can. Relationships have been tricky in the past, I admit, but I am trying to bring my influence to bear on certain factions within the castle. Anyway, enough of us. You have your own darkened workroom with access to water as requested, and you’ll find your personal rooms are most comfortable and overlook a pretty courtyard full of potted palms.’
‘Thank you. Clifford told me he had made the arrangements with you. But I was expecting … well, a small place of my own.’
‘That wouldn’t do at all. In any case, our guest house in the town is undergoing renovation. And not only that; we may have removed purdah here in Juraipore, but there are many who still believe women should remain behind the veil. We can’t have you scampering about in the wild on your own.’
‘I’m sure I’d be all right,’ Eliza said, though she was not sure at all.
‘No, my dear. The British think they alone are responsible for bringing us women into the light but, to be perfectly frank, I only ever paid lip service to the custom of purdah and, after his mother died, my husband readily acquiesced to my requests for its removal. The submission and ignorance of women suited most men. Luckily for me my husband was not one of them.’
‘What will I do outside the castle walls?’
‘Be accompanied at all times, of course. And that brings me to your first assignment. Now that we are well into the month of Kartik, Jayant here has kindly offered to accompany you on a trip to the Chandrabhaga camel fair. The day after tomorrow. You will be accompanied by servants following behind. I’m sure my son will enjoy using his English and you’ll enjoy the fair. I understand there will be camels of many colours and many interesting faces to record. And tomorrow you will accompany Mr Salter to a polo match.’
Eliza’s nerves got the better of her. She wasn’t keen on the polo match or the camel fair. She wanted to get settled and find her feet before dashing off anywhere else and especially accompanied by this Prince, if that was what he really was. She attempted a smile but her mouth tightened. ‘I was hoping to see more of the castle first,’ she said, noticing that the Prince was watching with a curious expression, the hawk still on his arm.
‘Mother, I think you might have met your match,’ he said.
While he was speaking Eliza thought she heard something new in his voice. Was he teasing her? Or was he teasing his mother?
Laxmi made a ladylike sort of a splutter and Eliza had the distinct impression that she considered meeting her match to be highly unlikely. ‘Plenty of time to see the castle. The fair is not to be missed, you will see something of the countryside and you will meet Indira there. I’ll get the maidservant, Kiri, to show you to your quarters.’
‘You allowed Indira to go on ahead, mother? That’s trouble in the making.’
‘I’ve sent a reliable man and a handmaiden with her, and in any case the girl knows her camels.’
The sun must have moved, because now long rays of light had fallen across the floor. Laxmi had been open and amicable but Eliza could sense you wouldn’t want to cross her. When she left the room, every inch a queen, the man bowed quite formally. And now that Eliza was the one observinghim, she took in a strong face, defined by high cheekbones, much like his mother’s, but much more masculine, an intelligent brow, the eyes as before, wide set and amber, plus a moustache. When he glanced her way with a stern expression she dropped her gaze.
‘We didn’t invite you,’ he said quite calmly. ‘We acquiesced to an order that we must allow you access to the castle and escort you to other locations. There are many such orders from the British.’
‘Ordered by Clifford Salter?’
‘Indeed.’
‘And you always accede to his orders?’
‘I …’ He paused, then changed the subject, but she’d had the distinct impression he’d been on the verge of saying more. ‘My mother wants a chocolate-coloured camel.’
‘There are chocolate-coloured camels?’
‘Mainly at Chandrabhaga. You’ll like it. Few British go. And with your camel-coloured hair you’ll fit in nicely.’
