‘Then who?’ Eliza prompted. This was a closed society, rife with whispers and rumours, and secrets would find a way of slipping out. She knew that.
‘I don’t know,’ the girl finally said.
‘Well, the truth is out and I’m constantly under observation. I don’t know what they think I’ll do.’
Indi sighed. ‘Contaminate the other women, probably. Look, let me help you. I know all the hidden places in this castle, better even than the guards. I can get you out without them knowing.’
‘They want to veto the contact prints.’
‘I can smuggle them out too.’
‘You’d really help?’
Indi nodded, and Eliza hoped she was being genuine. ‘And I can also show you the secret passage between thezenanaand themardanaor men’s quarters. It’s great for overhearing what’s going on.’
‘What can I do for you in exchange?’
Indi smiled. ‘I’ve been thinking about that. I’m sorry I was mean. You offered to show me how photography works. Not just the technical detail but the artistry. Would you still be prepared to do that?’
This glimmer of hope delighted Eliza and, coaxed into believing all was well, she took the girl’s hand. ‘I’d be happy to. Truly. We can learn to see the world together. Let’s help each other.’
In the darkest of times just one friend might be enough, Eliza thought as she got to her feet. And as they walked up the narrow staircase to her rooms, she questioned Indi about her early life.
The girl paused and stood still. ‘I loved my grandmother.’
‘I met her. Did you know that?’
Indira nodded. ‘I heard.’
‘Jay told me a little about what happened. Your grandmother thought you might be in danger.’
‘I wore a necklace round my neck all the time. Most children did. Then one day it was missing. I swore I hadn’t lost it myself and when a suspected witch was found dead with an axe in her back, my grandmother knew my necklace had been taken while I slept and I would be in danger too. It is a backward sort of a place and the villagers are peasants. I had no mother, no father, and ideas above my station.’
Eliza recalled the softly rounded lines of the ochre-painted huts and their surrounding wall. ‘It seemed peaceful.’
‘Peaceful enough, but I was not submissive and they thought I should have been buried in an earthenware pot.’
‘What?’
‘It’s what they used to do with unwanted girl babies. Many newborn girls were put in clay pots and buried in the desert. Ask your Resident. The British dug up some of them.’
Horrified, Eliza gasped. ‘You mean buried alive?’
‘I don’t know. Probably, yes, so they didn’t have to actually kill them. In a way it’s understandable. The people are poor and girls are costly. The parents get no return on their investment and then, when the girls have to leave to live with their husband’s family, there is nobody to look after them in their old age. They are left with broken hearts, because of course they grow to love their daughters. It is said a mother cries when a girl is born but weeps when she must leave. Boys stay, you see.’
‘It doesn’t still go on? The infanticide?’
Indi shrugged. ‘It’s surprising how many girl babies are said to have been taken by wolves.’
15
February
Eliza felt a moment of dread when she came face to face with Chatur the very next day, but she knew that no matter how frightened she was, she had to stand up to the man and, as she drew back her shoulders, she resolved to give voice to her anger and frustration.
‘Why are you having me followed?’ she demanded, fighting to control the tremor in her voice but feeling the flush in her cheeks. ‘The truth. I know it is one of your guards.’
He frowned and drew himself up tall, then took a step towards her. ‘I warned you that you would be accompanied at all times.’
