Part Two
‘If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.’
– Rabindranath Tagore
12
Eliza had fallen asleep to the sensuous ringing of prayer bells, and in the morning woke with a stronger feeling of hope than she could ever have dared imagine. She gazed at the unbroken blue sky, watching as a dozen bright green parakeets took off from one tree for another, their fluttering wings revealing flashes of yellow under-feathers. Then, finding a staircase that led straight down to it, she went to walk under the scalloped archways and delicate columns in the courtyard below.
A little later Jay arrived to help familiarize her more fully with the castle.
‘I didn’t expect it to be you,’ she said.
He bowed. ‘I especially asked to be allowed the pleasure.’
He kept it on a formal basis and she was shown everything: thedurbarhalls, the rooms for weaponry, all manner of sitting rooms, the men’s living quarters, banqueting halls, interconnecting offices, vast libraries, endless workrooms, stables, store rooms, kitchens, even more walled gardens, and then back to thezenana. Eliza tried to map as much of it as she could in her memory, as he explained each part, though it was so monstrously vast she could only hope to retain a fraction. But if she could now walk unaccompanied, and with some sense of knowing where she was going, it might minimize the feeling of not belonging.
‘So,’ he said, when they had finished. ‘How are you now? Honestly?’
‘You mean after seeing …’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m getting over it, I suppose.’
‘A thing so terrible does not fade quickly. Don’t hesitate if you ever need to talk about it.’
‘Thank you.’
He smiled. ‘And now I have a little rooftop escape planned for us. A little distraction.’
She took a step back. ‘Really? Where?’
He tapped his nose. ‘Follow me.’
Jay led her through a doorway and into what seemed to be a dark, unused part of the fortress. Eliza shivered as they passed cracked plaster walls and climbed dingy narrow staircases. The windows were small and the maze of interconnecting corridors and dank rooms reeked with an air of desolation. Even the workrooms were more claustrophobic than the rest of the castle.
‘This is the oldest part of the fort and castle and, as you can see, we have abandoned it. Watch your feet, there are cracks in the floor just ahead.’
After climbing several more winding staircases, he eventually took out a key from his pocket and unlocked a large studded door. After the darkness the light hit Eliza with force and she gasped in surprise, stumbling for a moment. He reached out a hand to steady her and then led her on to the roof.
‘This is my private escape,’ he said. ‘Nobody comes here.’
Eliza gazed around her at the view, staggered by the opalescence of the endless pale blue sky. It felt glorious, like being on top of the world, with the wind blowing in her hair and the air so fresh she felt light-headed. ‘It’s truly beautiful.’
The town below glowed golden, and the wide plains with their hilly outcrops seemed misty and grey. Between these low hills and the town, huge flocks of sheep wandered freely. She glanced up at the sky and watched a buzzard fly across from one side of the ramparts to the other. They were at the very back of the castle, and when she went to the edge to look down she could see the layout of the building below, with its many walkways and courtyards. But the people seemed tiny, and that made her realize how high up they actually were. She stepped back, feeling giddy.
‘All right?’ he said.
‘Yes. It’s just the air. It feels so pure.’
‘Like the very best champagne.’
‘Better.’
‘Now I have something to show you.’
He walked over to a small round brick-built structure and opened the door. The next thing she knew, he was carrying an enormous kite across to her. Diamond-shaped, with simple cross-bars, the silk stretched over the frame was bright red and orange and painted with intricate patterns on the surface. Dozens of long yellow ribbons fluttered from the point at the base.
