‘I can’t be sure, there might be others. These fortresses were terribly perilous in the old days. Riddled with intrigue and murder because everyone was after the throne for themselves. I made it my business to learn the secrets of the castle while I was still a child. Everyone ignored me and I could hide easily, so it wasn’t too hard. When Laxmi realized what I was up to she asked me to keep an eye on Chatur. She doesn’t trust him.’
‘Where was Devdan talking just now?’
‘Jay has a small study just off the corridor leading to the men’s quarters.’
‘You should have told him about this.’
‘Why give away what little power I have?’
‘But you like him?’
Indi snorted. ‘I have to look out for myself.’
And as they walked to a low archway that led to one of several tunnels connecting to an exterior courtyard, Eliza could well believe that someone with Indi’s background would need to find ways to protect herself, whatever it took and whoever she might have to betray. Maybe Laxmi’s support alone just hadn’t been enough for Indi.
‘Have you thought any more about who told Chatur you were a widow?’ the girl said.
‘A little, but I don’t know yet.’
‘It might have been Dev, I suppose. Did he know?’
Eliza nodded and turned the idea over in her mind. Maybe it had been Dev who’d told Chatur or, far worse, might it even have been Jay? Had he let the truth slip? It was an awful thought that made her feel terribly at sea. Surely it couldn’t have been Jay? She had trusted him and he would not have gained anything by it. But the thought would not let her go as she followed Indi out to the courtyard, where water, tumbling from fountains in the shape of peacocks, glittered in the light from the windows beyond, and lamps of clay dotted along the pathways guided their feet.
‘So pretty,’ Indi said, ‘yet nobody comes here. Laxmi always has it kept perfectly. It’s where her youngest child and only daughter died.’
‘I didn’t know.’
‘Never speaks of it, but people whisper that it was Anish who pushed her when he was a boy. She cracked her head on one of the peacock fountains and never regained consciousness.’
‘How sad.’
‘She wanted a daughter so badly and then, long after the boys were born, she had her little girl. Sometimes I think she wishes I were the daughter she lost.’
As the night drew in they escaped the castle and melted into the streets, where the dark side of Indian life went on completely unaffected by the British. A world where mystical drumming sat cheek by jowl with opium dens in gullies just a couple of feet wide. When Eliza saw the half-lit nocturnal life in this hidden part of the city she was terrified for her life, but she kept her head down and followed Indi. The maze of streets was a necessary short cut that led to the British Residency on the other side of town. The other way round, avoiding these streets, would have taken them too long on foot.
As they approached the Residency a car drew up and Eliza stepped back when she saw Clifford get out, but he’d seen her through the window and frowned. Although she needed to speak to him she’d wanted to knock at his door, not be discovered lurking in the dark like a thief.
Someone else climbed out as the liveried driver held the door open, and Eliza saw the face of a well-known British woman. For a moment Eliza couldn’t place her, but then she realized it was the current Viceroy’s wife. She was followed by an important-looking silver-haired man. Of course Clifford would have connections at the maximum level and speak with the backing of a higher authority. And there would be many parties and social events just like this.
The woman’s voice was crisp and sharp as she spoke to Clifford. A butler came out and escorted her and the man indoors, while Clifford signalled to Eliza.
Eliza walked over to him but he was clearly not impressed.
‘Good grief, Eliza! What the devil do you think you’re doing, scampering about at night dressed like that?’
‘Indira helps me get out of the castle. I’ve brought you some prints and plates. They’ve restricted my movement, you see.’
‘Have they? We shall see about that. No doubt Anish’s doing or, more likely, that darn interfering wife of his. Washes her hands after touching an Englishman. Can you imagine! Damned effrontery. Anish will be doing it too if she has her way.’ He paused. ‘Actually, coming across you like this gives me an idea. I can’t talk now.’ He indicated the door through which the Viceroy’s wife had just vanished. ‘But you remember I suggested you might be able to help us?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I’ll pop up to have a word with the Maharajah, and we can discuss it then.’
16
The next day, soon after Eliza heard the morning temple bells, she was summoned to Jay’s study. Too nervous to attempt the secret passage alone, she threw her new cashmere shawl around her shoulders and took the normal corridors to find her way there. He smiled broadly when he opened the door and saw her standing there, but she took a step back.
‘What is it?’ he said. ‘Has something happened?’
