Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Will scowled as three of his men fought to lift the dead tiger’s body onto a wagon.
There were four others already in the bed.
He disagreed with the practice, not because the magnificent animals should be allowed to roam free and kill people, but because the Company would pay these men for killing the animals on sight.
There was no way to know if these beasts harmed anyone or had been innocent victims. He could justify killing one during an attack, but hunting them for sport sickened him.
“There’s nothing we can do.” Rob came to stand beside Will. “They’ll take them back and claim their reward, then look for the next opportunity to do it again.”
“And in the meantime, someone will soon buy an animal pelt to walk across with filthy shoes.” Theo shared the other two men’s repugnance at the practice.
While they were in charge of the regiment of men, they could do nothing to prevent the others from hunting for the bounties.
It was a companywide policy, so they couldn’t disallow the practice.
They, however, limited the number they would allow, and they insisted none of the men hunt until the last day of their patrol.
No one wanted a rotting carcass following them for a fortnight.
“I came for a sense of adventure, and I wish to stay because I love the land and the people. But I would gladly escape the Company.” Rob patted his horse’s neck as it bobbed its head in supposed agreement.
“I would stay on to ensure the Company does less harm. If we leave and others, like our predecessors, arrive, the people of Bikaner will suffer. I don’t wish that on my conscience.” Will shook his head as he mounted his steed.
“And Sarla has nothing to do with it?” Rob waggled his eyebrows.
Will looked around before shooting daggers at his friend.
They’d talked about the women every day since they left for their mission.
But he didn’t want anyone to overhear his interest. He didn’t want gossip spreading about her, and he didn’t want to hear the insulting suggestions the men would make.
“Shut up, Rob,” Theo warned as more of their men mounted around them.
The three young men nudged their horses into the lead as the procession headed back to their camp.
It was more like an adjacent village to the one in which the Company stationed them.
The Company was building permanent structures that Rob, Will, and Theo would move into within the month.
But the wait was excruciating in the heat.
The only consolation was that they would be inside before the most insufferable heat arrived.
People warned them that the Devil ran away from the heat in Thar Desert.
It had done little to encourage them to travel north to Bikaner, but now none of them regretted it.
As the son of an earl, Rob spoke fluent French.
As lesser nobles but living along the southern coast of England, Will and Theo were fluent, too.
They came from long lines of smugglers who traded with the French.
Most of their men would only recognize the language but couldn’t speak it.
They switched to it when they wished to converse privately.
“What’re you going to do, Rob?
“Honestly, Will, I have no clue. I can’t wait around the market, hoping to stumble upon her. I can’t neglect my duties, and I can’t draw attention to myself. But I want to know whether she shares my interest and what might come of it.”
“I feel the same about Sarla. I think she does from the brief glances I caught of her at dinner. But she might have already lost interest. Do you think they’re already betrothed?”
“I don’t want to think about that.” Theo sighed. “It’s pains me and enrages me. I know Vinita isn’t mine to claim, but I would. The thought of another man calling her his wife pushes me to the brink of violence.”
“Theo, you’re the calmest of all three of us. You are not a violent man by nature.” Theo’s confession shocked Rob. The vehemence in his friend’s voice left no room to wonder about his sincerity.
“I know. I don’t know why, but I just have this dreadful feeling that Surat has, or is betrothing her to someone horrid. Someone who would hurt her. I can’t tolerate the thought.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I heard a villager near the Jodhpur border mention something about the prince’s son marrying soon.
The villager sounded disgusted that they would force a woman from Bikaner to live among their neighbors.
The man wouldn’t marry a commoner, so that likely leaves Surat’s daughters.
Something tells me it’s Vinita.” Theo had listened to the two men talk for as long as he could, but he never heard a woman’s name.
He’d counted his blessings that they gossiped in English, or he would have been none the wiser.
But ever since he’d eavesdropped six days ago, he’d been on edge.
Intuition told him to race back to their camp and to the Maharaja to demand Vinita’s hand. But rationality won the day.
“If that’s the case, maybe Sarla and Suniti are betrothed. All three are of a marriageable age. It surprises me they aren’t already.” Will included his thanksgiving that Sarla was unattached in his prayers each night. But now he doubted himself. Perhaps he was wrong, and his prayers were pointless.
“We won’t know until we return. We need to write our reports and enter everything into the logs. Then we should meet with Surat and discuss what we learned. He won’t be pleased.”
Rob, Will, and Theo approached the Maharaja’s home and heard voices raised. They yelled in English. The three men broke into a sprint as they ran to the doorway, which stood open. They witnessed four Company men surrounding Surat, and three blocked Chandra and her daughters in a corner.
“What the devil is going on?” Rob roared. “Step away. Now.”
The command in his voice was absolute. He looked at Suniti, and their eyes locked. The fear in her hazel orbs alarmed him, which only made him angrier. He heard Will and Theo cock their pistols when the men were too slow moving away from the princely family.
“Maharaja, why are my men inside your home?” Rob glowered at the insubordinate men.
“They claim they are here to collect taxes.”
“You owe no taxes, and even if you did, none of these men would come to claim them. I would, or Rowe or Abbington. Thomlinson, explain yourselves. Choose your words wisely.”
“We—” The redheaded foot soldier had no explanation because there was none.
Theo stepped forward. “Did you threaten to take or assault the Raja and her daughters?” The rage that emanated from Theo was easy to interpret in his low, deep tone.
When none of the men answered, Theo kept his pistol trained on Thomlinson, but walked to the women.
He held out his hand to Vinita. Chandra didn’t want to move, but a quick glance from Theo convinced her.
“My lady, did these men threaten you?”
“Yes.” Vinita’s whisper was barely audible. It was little more than a puff of air across the open neckline of Theo’s shirt.
“Did they touch you?” When Vinita hesitated, he pulled her against his side. “Tell me who, Vinita. Now.”
“That one.” Vinita pointed to a blond man.
Theo released her and stalked toward the man.
He leaned forward to whisper in the man’s ear.
“You made a grave mistake going near any of them. But you dared touch my woman. I will make you pay in ways no one has since the Middle Ages. Be glad we don’t have a rack, but I may still draw and quarter you. ”
The man trembled, and Theo snarled in his ear.
He suspected the young soldier struggled not to piss himself.
Theo walked back to Vinita’s side, but he didn’t touch her again.
If he felt her quivering body again, he was likely to go on a killing spree.
His murderous desire shocked him. It was a part of his nature he never knew existed until he saw Vinita in danger.
He’d meant every word he’d said to the soldier.
“Maharaja, you have my sincerest apologies. It shames me to know my men would enter your home and threaten your family. You will never see them again.” Rob had shifted so he could see Surat and watch Suniti. The woman’s gaze followed him everywhere.
“All of you, out.” Will’s voice echoed against the walls. The Company men appeared reluctant. Not because they wished to continue their effort to extort the Maharaja, but because the three officers terrified them.
Theo, Will, and Rob nodded to Surat, Chandra, and the women before herding their men out of the palace and along the pathway to their camp. Once within the confines of the tent village, the three officers forced the offenders into the center.
“Strip to the waist.” Rob commanded before requesting three whips. “You stand accused of accosting the Maharaja and his family. You stand accused of stealing from the prince’s family. You stand accused of attempted assault on the Maharaja’s daughters. How do you plea?”
“Guilty.” All the voices chimed together. They’d all seen their lives flash before their eyes as the officers charged in, pistols at the ready. They’d believed the patrol wouldn’t return for another day. They’d planned to rob the Maharaja and desert on a ship that would depart that evening.
“Twenty lashes each,” Rob pronounced.