‘Pyrogallol, I think. Something like that was on the label. I wondered if it was poisonous.’
Eliza could feel the blood draining from her face. The silver pyro crystals were terribly dangerous and could have long-term degenerative effects on the nervous system. It was a poison that could be ingested or could get into the system via the skin, which was why she kept the bottles under lock and key in her darkroom. Although Indi had also worked in there, she had always been supervised and didn’t have a key of her own, so it couldn’t have been her. Then, with a feeling of horror, Eliza recalled the day she’d come back and found her darkroom door unlocked. She had thought she’d accidentally left the padlock open, but perhaps she hadn’t after all, and if she hadn’t left it unlocked herself, then somebody else must have a key.
After she had told the two brothers about it, Jay got to his feet and swung his arms. ‘So there you are, problem solved. Anish only wanted to know how the pyro had got out of your darkroom and whether you’d given it to anybody.’
‘No. Of course I didn’t. But why would anyone steal it?’
‘Need you ask?’
‘But surely nobody would hurt the Maharajah?’
Anish laughed, but it was a short, sharp, mirthless sound. ‘I constantly fear for my life. This may be the twentieth century, but old habits die hard. I have a stream of poisoned ancestors stretching back in time. If I didn’t know my brother has no designs on the throne I would be suspecting him.’
Jay rolled his eyes.
‘Where is the bottle now?’
‘I had it disposed of.’
‘And was it full?’
‘To the brim.’
She let out a sigh of relief. ‘Well, I hope you are feeling better now, sir?’
‘Better, though something still is not quite right. This is just between us, you understand, but I shall ask Mr Salter to recommend a good chest doctor. I don’t want the castle unduly concerned.’
She got to her feet. ‘There’s a doctor living right next door to Clifford Salter. He will know.’
‘Indeed. Now, just in case somebody else does have a key,’ Anish added, ‘count the bottles and make sure you change the padlock on your door. Do it today. Jay will help you.’
As she and Jay left Anish’s chambers and walked down the corridor, Jay paused and looked into her eyes.
She smiled up at him. ‘Did you know I went to see the project with Dev?’
‘Yes.’ He took hold of her hand. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re staying.’
How this man touched her soul. He made her feel more real, as if she had a place where she fitted in. She thought but didn’t say that she had grown tired of running away: from school, from her mother – by marrying Oliver at just seventeen – and, if she was honest, from her mother again by coming to Rajputana. Her mother’s pale pinched features came to mind.
‘Penny for them,’ Jay said.
She shook her head. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘So,’ he said, ‘tell me more about this poison. Are you safe using it?’
‘Pyro can cause convulsions and terrible gastro-intestinal effects over the long term. It can even kill.’
‘In the short term?’
‘Irritating to the skin and eyes. I always use gloves or it turns my fingers black. And I use a face mask too. I dread to think of what might have happened.’
‘Show me your fingers.’
She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers.
He smiled. ‘I don’t know who might have taken it, but let’s get a new padlock from the castle stores.’
‘Have you had any success?’ she said, in an effort to dismiss the lingering worry about pyro, and smiled at him.
