Nobody was in the great hall and nobody was in the first courtyard. In fact the castle was strangely silent. She sat on one of the huge swings, sniffing the strongly scented jasmine growing close by, and kept an ear open for voices. The scents of cooking were already in the air: ginger, cardamom and coriander. With no desire to leave Rajputana, she had grown accustomed to spicy air and scented flowers.
She and Jay had not spoken of the future beyond making sure the first stage of the project was finished on time, and it looked as if that would happen the moment the papers were signed. Jay had also promised that once the first stage was finished he would take her to Udaipore, the best place to see the sky turn violet and the clouds appear before the heavens opened. While she was imagining that, she closed her eyes and opened them only just in time to see Jay walking between the two army officers towards the exit. He twisted back to her and mouthed the wordsdon’t worry. She froze. Of course she would worry. Jay held his back very straight and his chin up, every inch a royal, while the officers gripped him by the elbows. It was extremely upsetting to see and very clear to Eliza that Jay had been arrested. She turned round and saw Laxmi looking desolate but standing beside a triumphant Priya. Eliza ran to Laxmi.
‘Can’t we do anything?’
‘We can put our faith in the gods.’
Eliza stared at her. ‘This is insane. There must be something. I’ll talk to Clifford Salter. I’m sure he will help.’
‘It is your Mr Salter who has arrested my son.’
‘But Anish said he would wait until the papers were signed. Jay has to go to Delhi tomorrow to sign them. How can he do that if he’s under arrest? Why didn’t Anish wait?’
Laxmi chewed her lip. ‘This has nothing to do with the mortgage or the jewels. My son has been charged with attempted sabotage, writing incendiary papers against the British, and inciting rebellion, also against the British.’
Eliza stared at her. ‘But that’s utterly ridiculous. Of course Jay wouldn’t do that. And sabotaging what exactly?’
‘His own irrigation project.’
Eliza almost laughed. ‘These are nonsense charges. You must see that. I’m going to help.’ And with that she took a step away, intending to run after the soldiers and Jay.
Priya smirked, but Laxmi caught her by the sleeve. ‘Do not make a show of yourself and us.’
Eliza was fuming. ‘That’s all you care about? You’re not going to react to this?’
‘Not like this. If you run after them you are playing right into their hands. Behave with dignity and buy yourself time to think. You have much to learn. Now come with me.’
Eliza left Priya standing and followed Laxmi. When they arrived at thezenana, Laxmi indicated that Eliza should follow her into her sitting room. Unusually, Laxmi did not sit but rang the bell and then paced back and forth. Eliza had a million questions but out of respect for Laxmi held her tongue. It was extremely unusual for a royal to be arrested and Jay’s mother must be feeling terribly worried. Either that or livid. Maybe both. So Eliza waited for Laxmi to speak. After about ten minutes, tea arrived and Laxmi finally sat down.
‘I thought you would be a good influence on my son and now look at what has happened!’
Eliza was astonished. ‘You blame me for this?’
‘You recall what I said about Mr Salter being a suitable husband for you?’
‘That was never on the cards.’
Laxmi ignored what Eliza had said and carried on with her train of thought. ‘You will also recall me telling you I’d found a perfect marriage partner for my son?’
Eliza stared open-mouthed. ‘You really want to talk about marriage while Jay has been dragged off like a common thief?’
‘He was not dragged. Let us stick to the facts.’
And once again Eliza received the lecture about Jay’s marriage prospects and how things would go for him if he married beneath him.
‘Do you not care for Jay’s happiness?’ she said when Laxmi had finished.
Laxmi smiled. ‘Romantic love passes as quickly as the life of a dragonfly. It is similarities of background that make a marriage solid. Too many differences will wreck it.’
‘I am not so different from Jay.’
‘Different enough. My son may think he loves you …’
‘He said that?’
Laxmi did not reply. ‘As I was saying, whatever he thinks he feels now is a result of lust, not of love.’
‘How can you say that?’
