She laughed. ‘You didn’t ask me here to tell me that.’
He smiled. ‘No. I wanted to let you know that your freedom has been restored.’
‘Thank you. It means such a lot. But I need your help with something else now.’
‘Oh?’
‘Something odd happened this morning. I turned my back for just a few minutes and when I turned around I found my camera lens was broken. A crack right down the centre. It’s the one I need to use when I’m out and about.’
‘You must have knocked it without realizing.’
‘I really don’t think so, but where can I get a new lens? And I’m worried that the body of the Rolleiflex might have been damaged too.’
‘Do you have the camera with you?’
‘I left it on the hall table.’
‘I’ll get it sent to Delhi, but I have to warn you it won’t be speedy.’ He paused. ‘Now I want to explain my idea. Run it past you, if you like.’
‘Go on.’
He nodded. ‘Well, as you know I’m doing my best to ferret out funding for your Prince’s irrigation project.’
‘He isn’tmyPrince, Clifford.’
‘Just a figure of speech. What I mean is that if you could do a little something for me in return that would be absolutely spot on.’
‘Of course. Anything.’
‘We’d like you to keep your eyes peeled and report back to me if anything out of the ordinary happens. I think I told you that we believe Anish to be a weak, self-indulgent ruler, and we wouldn’t mind making a few changes, if you get my meaning.’
‘Are you asking me to spy for you?’ she said, unsure how to respond to his astonishing request and worrying that Chatur’s accusations might well have some basis in truth.
‘Of course not. Just keep your eyes open. If anything happens that you’re uncertain about, or that seems odd, let me know. You can always say you need to see me on the pretext of delivering your plates and marked-up prints.’
18
March
The second day of the Holi celebrations came round. Excited, but also nervous about going into the town at night with Jay, Eliza recalled her first journey with him. Part of her longed to be out in the wild forests of the Aravalli hills, watching the demoiselle cranes flying low over the desert, and the great white pelicans taking off from the water’s edge. Clifford’s request had unsettled her, and Jay remained the one person she did tentatively feel she could put her faith in.
That evening, when she joined the celebration taking place in one of the courtyards, she kept an eye out for him and soon spotted him with a young boy. She assumed the boy must be Jay’s younger brother, whom she’d heard about but had never seen. After an hour or so Jay came over, wrapped in a striped woollen blanket. He whispered in her ear, and they slipped out of the courtyard and through to another unfamiliar passageway. Immensely relieved to be leaving the cloying atmosphere of the castle behind, Eliza breathed more freely.
‘Was that your brother?’ she asked.
‘Yes. He’s at boarding school in England but he’s back for a short visit. It’s important he doesn’t become too English, but it’s a long journey here and back so he doesn’t come back as often as he should.’ He paused. ‘Now, nobody except the family knows of this exit. Take my hand. I’m afraid you’ll have to hold tight. It’s very dark.’
She laughed. ‘I feel honoured.’
They walked slowly, and something about being in the dark with him loosened her tongue. ‘You asked me once if I believed in destiny. Why?’
‘It’s a long story. I’ll tell you one day.’
‘Tell me now. Please.’
Where the tunnel was so narrow it allowed for only one person at a time, she smelt damp earth and foliage and heard the faint drip of water. ‘An underground stream,’ he said, and reached back for her other hand too, his fingers closing tightly around hers. They stopped walking.
‘You told me about your father and the bomb that was thrown that day in Delhi.’
