She got to her feet and went over to glance into one. Inside it was heaped high with satin cushions, and three musicians had now set up beside it. The air smelt fresh and surprisingly cool and Eliza longed to relax a little, and yet all she could think about was Jay. What had happened the night of Holi had shaken her and left her feeling taut. She had not come looking for love, and of course it had not been love. But what had it been? Lust? Surely there had been something deeper that connected the two of them? She stood immobile, thinking this and facing the lake, staring but not seeing. Hadn’t he once said that heartbreak united them, though when he’d said it he’d included Indi too.
‘So,’ Clifford was saying, ‘what do you think?’
‘Pardon?’
‘Haven’t you been listening?’
‘Sorry, miles away.’ She waved vaguely at the view. ‘It’s all so beautiful.’
‘I was saying we should visit the palace on the lake at Udaipore. It’s the most romantic place in the entire world, especially in the rainy season.’
‘A place to fall in love, eh, Clifford,’ one of the men joked, and nudged the other.
The other two men who were part of the small gathering were army, stationed down south, but the wife of one of them, who had accompanied them today, had known Clifford when she was a girl, so they’d come to visit on their way to her sister’s wedding in the Punjab.
‘Must be nice for you to be with your own kind again, Miss Fraser,’ the younger of the two men said.
Annoyed at the assumption, Eliza just nodded.
The woman, who was called Gloria Whitstable, spoke up. ‘I don’t know how you stand it. I couldn’t sleep a single night in one of those ghastly castles. I’m sure I’d be murdered in my bed.’
‘Actually,’ Eliza said, feeling a growing prickle of irritation, ‘I’ve rather enjoyed it. And I’ve not finished my year yet.’
‘I’m sure it’s fascinating,’ Dottie interjected, and Eliza shot her a smile.
‘I have news,’ Clifford suddenly said.
‘Oh?’
‘I’ve been asked if you’d consider going up to Shimla to undertake a short project. It’s a good offer and you wouldn’t survive in the heat out here. To be honest, Shimla is the only place to be. You wouldn’t have to live with the Indians either. It’s to be a visual record of the British at play. You know – the summer parties, the amateur dramatics, the club, all that sort of thing.’
Even though she had been considering asking Clifford if she could wind up her current project a little early, now it had come to this Eliza’s heart plummeted.
‘Oh, we’ll miss you,’ Dottie was saying. ‘Though of course Shimla is wonderful. I’m rather envious.’
Eliza felt even more guilt as she recalled how lonely Dottie had seemed. When she didn’t speak, Clifford looked a little hurt. ‘A thank you will do, Eliza. You wouldn’t be so alone and I’d get up if I could spare the time.’
She still didn’t know what to say. Of course it would be a means to escape her current predicament, but she wouldn’t see Jay, and the depth of her feeling shook her. It was easy to think of leaving in a casual kind of way; much harder to face a concrete prospect.
‘Eliza?’
‘Sorry. I was just thinking.’
‘Wouldn’t have thought there was much to think about. It’s a terrific opportunity.’
‘But I haven’t finished my year here.’
He shrugged.
‘Did you ever intend it to be a year, Clifford?’
‘Of course. It’s just that this came up.’
‘Well, do you mind terribly if I sleep on it? You know, my camera isn’t back from Delhi and I wouldn’t want to miss out on something crucial for the archive.’
‘I’m sure you won’t, but be aware they want an answer by the end of the week, or they’ll go elsewhere. You can always come back here in September.’
‘You’ll have your answer. Sorry to be difficult.’
