‘I want you to reconsider my proposal of marriage. I am very fond of you, Eliza.’
Eliza examined her nails, wishing she were somewhere else, but Clifford was looking at her steadily, expecting an answer. She wondered if it might be best to pretend a little interest.
‘And if I agree, this potential investor –’
‘Will definitely be on the cards. But he not only wants to see detailed evidence of how his investment will be repaid, but also how he will make money.’
‘Then I agree to reconsider. But that’s all.’
Clifford sprang to his feet and held out both hands to her. She got up and let him take her hands, and then he kissed her.
23
April
Shubharambh Bagh
Jay and Eliza were now staying at his palace. He had been working solidly from the moment he arrived, ensconced behind a huge desk in his office from seven in the morning until late at night. Various files and drafts of letters were spread out around him and he had been sifting through the irrigation plans. The second stage was drawn out now, along with the plans for damming the river, but still no permission had come through to be able to do it. It seemed as if the British were prevaricating.
People frequently called on him: ragged petitioners from the villages, but stiff-looking Englishmen too, and also wealthy Indian merchants from other states and from British India. He treated them all with the same effortless good manners, and Eliza saw a determination in him she hadn’t witnessed before. It endeared him to her. Not wanting to intrude, she was happy helping with the paperwork, and sometimes caught him gazing at her with burning eyes that said so much, even though no words were exchanged. Then he would see her looking and lower his head. When she passed him papers he would accidentally brush her hand, and a jolt ran through her every time. She longed for him to kiss her again and could have sworn he longed for it too, especially when he caught her staring and gave her one of his slow, beguiling smiles. Each day that passed was a torment, and she felt nervous that he might be regretting what had happened between them. Helpless with desire, she floundered in the near-unbearable pleasure of being near him and waited for something more.
One early evening, when it was cooler, and as the temple bells began to ring, they walked out to look at the project. He put an arm around her, holding her close as they gazed at the pit, and she knew this was the moment. He turned her towards him and kissed her very gently.
‘I’ve been wanting to do that again,’ he said, as he pulled away and put a palm against his heart. ‘I’m so happy that you’re here. I hope to have a little more time now.’
‘It’s all right.’
‘No, it isn’t. You deserve more.’
He held her close and ran his fingers through her hair. ‘Sorry I’ve been distracted. Sometimes I feel as if all this is in the lap of the gods.’
‘You don’t pray though, do you?’ she said, catching hold of his hand and bringing it to her lips. She kissed his fingertips and then let his hand fall.
‘I leave praying to the women. The strength of our society has always been in our courage and resilience.’
‘And your beliefs? Karma, for instance?’
They walked on a little further, arm in arm now.
‘Karma plays a central role in life for every living being. We believe we are born not just once, but have been here for eternity. Lord Krishna says in the sacred books – there was never a time when I wasn’t here and there will never be a time when I will cease to be!’
‘I think I understand.’
‘But karma has a past and a future. We can affect what happens. And now it’s time to change things in India,’ he said.
‘You’re helping them to change.’
‘I don’t just mean improving the lot of the farmers and peasants. I mean with regard to the British. Even in our own palaces andhaveliswe are separated from the very Europeans who are our guests. They take the best chairs and the highest placements at table and we are relegated to the side-lines. It’s a game of one-upmanship. But have you any idea how that feels?’
He stopped walking and his penetrating stare unsettled her. And while she wanted him to kiss her again, she could feel the pent-up energy inside him and had the distinct feeling he really needed to talk.
‘It must be very demeaning,’ she eventually said.
‘We feel like puppets in the hands of the government representatives. We’re just a small part of the theatre that is the British Empire. The British accepted our demand for dominion status in 1929, but that only raised the thorny issue of giving equal rights to both Hindus and Muslims, so there’s been no progress.’
‘What needs to happen?’
‘We need freedom untainted by religious difference. And we really need British withdrawal, irrevocable and complete, and then let us be judged by what we do.’
