‘Chatur found out that I am a widow. It seems to have given him carte blanche to do whatever he wants. They think I’ll contaminate other women.’
His face clouded and he glanced away. ‘Doesn’t sound good. I’ll talk to Anish.’
‘Well, I’m not sure if it will help. If you speak to Anish, and he ticks off Chatur, the man will hate me even more than he does now. They’ve been following my every move. I thought at first it was my imagination but now I’m certain.’
‘I’ll get a locksmith to change the locks on your room. Chatur doesn’t have to know, and only you will have the key. Or if you feel that’s not enough, maybe you could stay at your friend Dottie’s house.’
Eliza pulled a face. ‘Dottie’s lovely, though I’m not sure I’d want to be so close to Clifford.’
‘Maybe a case of the devil you know?’
‘Maybe.’
‘We need to keep you safe. I’ll sort out the locks, but then I’ll be off to Jaipore later today. Only for a few days this time. If you feel in any danger while I’m gone, go to your friend. And see Clifford to get your restrictions reversed. He’s back now.’
That night, after she was satisfied that her new lock was in good working order, she waited for Indi. When the girl turned up with Indian clothing, Eliza changed and followed her to the lower corridors. She had decided to put her faith in Indi and hoped that she’d be able to slip around at least some parts of the castle undetected. While she would initiate the girl into the arts of photography, Indi was going to ensure she could exit the castle, either very early to take photographs or, as now, at dusk to deliver the prints.
When they heard someone cough further down the corridor, Eliza hung back, glancing around for an alcove while Indi walked on. If it was Chatur, or one of his loyal guards, she’d never get the prints to Clifford. Chatur would impound them and that would be that. Eliza suspected that, not far from the main store rooms, with the aroma of cardamom, chilli and coriander spicing the air, this long sloping corridor ran parallel to the kitchens. There was something else too; even down here the cloying scent of incense from evening prayers drifted through the dark spaces, which, along with the smell from the occasional oil lamps, made it hard to breathe freely.
She heard a laugh. Indi, she thought, and waited a little longer before deciding to risk moving. When she did, Indi was waiting for her.
‘Almost there,’ the girl whispered, and beckoned her on. ‘No problem.’
‘We seem to be going further down?’
‘I want to show you something before we leave the castle. It is not quite dark yet, so a few minutes longer won’t hurt.’
After a few more minutes Indi paused again. There was no oil lamp here, but in the gloom Eliza could make out a framed drawing of the castle hanging on the rough stone wall. Indi lifted it off and carefully placed it on the ground. Then, with the aid of a file she took from a pocket, she dislodged a small stone and put her ear to the hole in the wall.
‘Your turn. Listen.’
Eliza hesitated.
A broad grin spread across Indi’s face and Eliza couldn’t help liking the younger woman’s enthusiasm – the way she grasped at everything life offered and to hell with authority.
‘Go on.’
Eliza did as she was told. As she laid the side of her face against the icy cold stone wall, it wasn’t the cold that shocked her; it was the voices she could hear. She appeared to be listening to Jay’s friend, Devdan.
‘Don’t you see, we have to decide?’ he was saying.
‘I don’t see that it’s necessary,’ another man replied, thoughhisvoice wasn’t as loud or as clear. ‘Why should anything have to change?’
‘We will have to choose.’
‘You mean throw our lot in with a bunch of rebels?’ The voice was muffled, but Eliza was almost sure that was what he’d said and that it was Jay speaking. And yet she thought he had already left Juraipore.
‘It’s either that or put your faith in a crumbling Empire. Your treaties will be worth nothing when the British fail.’
‘Will they fail? Do you believe that?’
‘You have seen the widespread civil disobedience. The British Crown is finished.’
There was silence, then the sound of chairs being scraped back. Eliza shook her head and turned to Indira. ‘How many people know about this?’
‘It’s a listening shaft. A narrow tunnel or tube. I unblocked it one day when I was younger. It’s mentioned in an old book of castle records and I worked out where it might roughly be.’
‘Nobody else knows?’
