A Division Of The Spoils (Raj Quartet 4) (77 page)

The first thing he noticed as he pushed the door open and looked up at her was a little pad of flesh beneath her chin.

‘Hello, Guy.’ She offered her hand. He took it and could not tell whether a warmer embrace had been expected, or would be welcome. Free, she folded her arms again and led the way on to the verandah which at this central point was deep, set out with tables and lounging chairs. There was a dusty uncared-for look about it. Whether this was Laura’s fault or one of the reasons why Laura wasn’t living here were questions whose answers might become clearer.

The interior hall was dark, sombre. You could smell damp. Sarah moved through it unaffected, he felt, by the oppressive
weight of masonry, the brooding pressure of the thick square pillars that rose from the tiled floor up, up, into a remote raftered roof. She opened a door and the scale diminished to one that was more accommodating to the human ego. But this room was long, too narrow for its length. Here, he sensed the presence of hidden fungus, a sweet heavy smell which, mixed with the light dry scent of some kind of antiseptic, immediately depressed him. A white mosquito-net shrouded a narrow little bed. The main source of light was from the open bathroom door. It was probably from the bathroom that the smell of antiseptic came.

‘It’s rather spartan,’ she said. ‘Nigel asked me to apologize. But I probably don’t need to. I expect Laura warned you they’ve not been here long and won’t be staying.’

Perron let that go. He said, ‘What date do you think? 1830? 1850?’

‘I don’t know. Shut up too long anyway. Watch out for scorpions. And I don’t want to alarm you but there was a snake not long ago, on the verandah at the back. They had a good hunt after it was killed so I don’t think you need worry, in any case Nigel says snakes are very misunderstood creatures and that the thing to do if you meet one is bow politely and ask it to go its way in peace.’

‘I shall probably just yell the place down.’

She laughed, standing there, in front of him, arms still folded. He moved forward, put one arm lightly round her. She didn’t move but in a moment briefly leant her head so that her hair brushed his chin.

‘It’s nice to see you again, Guy. You always made me laugh.’

She moved away. The servants were bringing in his suitcase and holdall. She said, ‘I don’t think Nigel will be back for lunch, but it’s all organized for you to have directly you want it. So let’s have a drink. Then I’ll leave you to settle in.’

‘Do you have to leave?’

‘Yes. But I’ve got time for a drink.’

They returned to the verandah. She called out to the driver that she’d be ready in fifteen minutes. He went away, round the side of the bungalow. A servant had already placed a tray and bottles and glasses on a side-table. She told him to go and then asked Perron what he’d have.

‘Out here I still like the gin.’

She poured, added ice and fizz and brought the glasses over. She said, ‘I’d ask you to lunch at the guest house in ordinary circumstances but today I think you’d be happier eating here alone.’

‘If you think so.’

He offered her a cigarette. She hesitated then took one. ‘I’ve been trying to cut down, which means I’ve joined that boring gang of cadging non-smokers who never have their own. Thank you.’ Bending forward to give her a light he noticed that the hand holding the cigarette was a bit unsteady; and that her hair, once so smooth and gleaming, looked less well cared-for. He felt this suited her rather better. She seemed more marked by experience. He said, ‘I’ve come at rather a bad moment, haven’t I?’

‘Up to a week ago we’d certainly thought of your arrival rather differently.’

‘How differently?’

‘Nigel and I and Ahmed were going to meet you at the station. It was Dmitri’s idea. I expect he’d have come too, because he likes surprising people. That’s why when he got your letter from home he didn’t answer but waited until there was just time to send you a welcoming telegram in Bombay. He thought he couldn’t very well write a letter without mentioning the fact that Nigel and I were here. And Ronald of course.’

‘You were here when my letter arrived then? I thought you’d probably come down just now. From Pankot.’

‘No, I’ve been here for quite a time. It was Susan who had to come down. With father and Aunt Fenny. Father went back this morning. Did you come in on the night train?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then you must have been on the station at roughly the same time as father.’

‘There was quite a crowd. Were you there, seeing him off?’

‘No, but Aunt Fenny was. He has to get back to Pankot to go on handing over his command at the depot. He wanted us to go with him but at the last moment Susan wouldn’t. So Fenny felt she had to stay too.’

‘What about your mother?’

‘Oh, mother went home last month to start house-hunting.’

‘So no retirement to Rose Cottage?’

‘No. Actually we moved down to Commandant House quite a while ago and rented the cottage to people called Smalley. We can’t sell it, except to the army, but that’s what will happen now. I expect the Smalleys will stay there a while because they’re staying on under contract with the Indian Government. At least for a year or two. He’s a bit too young to retire. A bit too old to fancy his chances at home. Father of course would have retired next year anyway. Neither of them wants to stay out here, though.’

‘So back home for you too?’

‘I don’t know about me. Aunt Fenny and I went back for a month or two last year, after Uncle Arthur died. You never met them, did you?’

‘No, but I know about Colonel Grace dying. I called at Queen’s Road the other day and saw Mr Hapgood.’

‘Hapgood?’

‘The people upstairs. Captain Purvis’s billet.’

‘Oh.’ She leant back, shutting her eyes. ‘How long ago all that seems.’

‘You never got in touch with me.’

‘What?’

‘When you were in England last year, with your Aunt Fenny.’

‘No.’

‘Nor answered my second letter.’

‘No, I’m sorry. But that was a long time ago too.’

‘Was the visit home a disappointment?’

‘I don’t suppose I gave it a proper chance. It might have been different if Aunt Fenny had gone home for good. But she had her return passage booked. And when the time came I felt I had to come back too.’

‘You told me once that India wasn’t a place you felt you could be happy in.’

‘Did I? Yes, I remember thinking that.’ She looked at him. ‘I’ve been very happy since.’

‘Has Susan been happy?’

Sarah didn’t answer at once. Then she said, ‘At the moment
she’s in rather a bad way, probably worse than the family realizes. I can’t remember what you knew about her history, but she’s never been what is called really stable.’

‘Didn’t Ronald Merrick give her stability?’

Again she didn’t answer at once.

‘He’s provided it now. You’ll see what I mean if she talks to you about him, which is fairly likely. He’s all she talks about.’

‘It was a successful marriage, then?’

‘I expected it to be disastrous. Of course, he adored the boy, and the boy adored him. Edward doesn’t know Ronnie’s dead, by the way. I ought to warn you.’

‘Is the boy here?’

‘Yes.’ Sarah stubbed her cigarette. ‘Su wouldn’t leave him in Pankot, which is partly why Fenny had to come. Anyway, it’s no bad thing for her to have him with her, but it’s had its awkward side. I looked after him while the others went to the funeral. It was difficult explaining to him why mummy kept crying and why they’d come all the way back to daddy’s house and not seen daddy. He said daddy had promised he’d still be here when their holiday in the hills was over and he’d made everything safe again. So of course I said that things were quite safe now but that daddy had had to go away for a while to make them safe somewhere else.’

‘Ronald sent them back to Pankot because of trouble here?’

‘Partly that, but to get them into the hills for the hot weather as well. Su wanted just to go up to Nanoora, but Ronald said if there was any more trouble Nanoora would be just as bad.’

‘Has there been much trouble?’

‘Off and on, yes. Quite a lot. That’s why he was sent here in the first place. They were up in Rajputana. He’d become temporarily attached to the States Police. You know? The reserve pool that sends officers and men to states where the rulers’ own police forces need helping out? He packed Su and Edward back to Pankot and came down here alone. They say he did a marvellous job. The Nawab’s own police are practically all Muslims, and that was part of the problem, because they took sides in communal disturbances, lashing out at Hindu crowds and mobs and turning a blind eye if the Muslims were having a go. Ronnie stopped all that. He
pretended it was easy. He said all he’d had to do was make the Muslim Chief of Police see he had a duty to the whole community, but it can’t have been as simple as that.’

‘When was all this?’

‘Last December. He didn’t expect the job to last long. But Dmitri was so impressed by the way he handled it he persuaded the States Police to let him stay on and help overhaul the whole Mirat Police Department and devise a new training and recruiting programme. It suited Ronnie very well. At one time there was an idea he might retire officially from the service and make a contract with the Nawab. Su and he set up house early last March. Then in May when the hot weather was really cooking up he sent her and Edward back to Pankot. As I said, partly because of the heat and partly because there was another outbreak of communal riots.’

‘That was their bungalow next door, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. It’s not nearly as dilapidated as this. In fact he made it very comfortable. I stayed with them for a while after I helped Su move down from Pankot. But since April I’ve been living either at Dmitri’s or the palace. Now, of course, I’ll have to go back with Su. Fenny can’t cope with the journey alone. And I don’t know how badly Su’ll take it when the reaction sets in.’

‘I see there was a post-mortem.’

‘Yes.’ She got up. ‘I really must go.’

Perron, getting up too, said, ‘How long has Nigel been in Mirat?’

‘About six weeks. The Political Department sent him down to try and sort things out. Actually Dmitri asked for him. Mirat comes under the Resident at Gopalakand and things got rather difficult. Nigel will tell you all about it. I’ll be in touch, Guy. Probably this evening.’

The driver had come back. But just as she began to go down the steps another car came into the compound. ‘You’re in luck,’ she said. ‘Here’s Nigel now.’

She went down to meet him. Perron stayed on the verandah. The car stopped several yards away from the one already parked. The driver got out and opened the door. A man emerged. If it was Rowan then he had lost even more weight. This man’s skin was pale yellow and looked almost translucent, stretched over the cheek-bones. The man raised a
welcoming hand to Perron, then said something to Sarah. They came towards the steps. Only now was the man’s face recognizable as Rowan’s.

‘Hello, Guy,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry but I’m afraid I’m only here to pack a case.’ They clasped hands.

‘I’ll see to the case,’ Sarah said. ‘How many nights?’

‘Two at the most. I ought to be back tomorrow evening. And don’t bother. Tippoo can do it.’

‘Does it include black tie?’

‘I’ve got all that in Gopalakand. Just one other suit. Isn’t Tippoo here?’

‘Yes, but I’ll see he gets it right.’ She went inside calling for someone named Tippoo. From the far end of one of the narrow wings of the verandah a middle-aged Indian in European clothes came out of a casement doorway: a clerk, not a servant. Rowan said, ‘Just a second, Guy,’ and went to meet him. They talked for a while. Then Nigel came back.

‘Have you got a drink?’

Perron indicated his glass.

‘Let me freshen it for you. I really do apologize. We’re in the middle of what I suppose you’d call a flap. I’ve got to go up to Gopalakand.’ He handed Perron the refilled glass. ‘You’re looking very fit. I’ll be back in a moment.’

He went inside. Perron heard him calling Tippoo and Sarah calling something back. The clerk came out again, with a couple of files, but seeing Perron alone he went back inside, presumably to look for Rowan indoors. A telephone rang and was quickly answered. The two drivers were gossiping. Perron sat down and composed himself, to let the tide of India flow over him; presently it would ebb and leave him revealed: a visitor who was excluded from the mystery, the vital secret. I have been happy since, Sarah had said; as a woman might say if she were in love. In love with whom? Nigel? But he had been in Mirat only six weeks and she had been here since March, obviously content. Merrick? No, that was impossible. And Merrick’s death didn’t seem to have disturbed her in the way she would have been disturbed by the death of a man she had loved. The only answer seemed to be: in love with the land itself, after all; yes, in love with that, and content to be here
whatever happened. A strange but perhaps logical reversal of her old attitude.

‘I won’t apologize again,’ Rowan said, coming back and sitting opposite, glancing at his watch. ‘But I have to be off in five or ten minutes, so let’s work out what’s best for you. There are three possibilities. You’re more than welcome to stay here, and you could rely on Tippoo to look after you. Dmitri asked me to tell you you’re equally welcome to move into the Dewani Bhavan, but he’s unlikely to be around much if at all in the next day or two. We’ve got a couple of States Department people over at the palace –’

‘Waving the standstill agreement and the instrument of accession to Congress India, and asking for the Nawab’s signature before August fifteen?’

‘Good, you know about that. That cuts out a lot of tedious explanation. The other alternative for you while I’m away is the Gymkhana Club if you’d prefer that sort of atmosphere. If you opt for the club I could take you there now, as my guest it goes without saying. I’ve got to collect Laura. Sarah would keep in touch with you of course and there’d always be a car available to take you anywhere you want to go. But don’t feel I’m pushing you out. My clerk will be here too most of the time and he’d help you in any way he can. Otherwise you can just forget about him. He has his own domestic arrangements. So, Guy, I leave it to you and in spite of what I said about not apologizing again, I do.’