Chapter 11 #2
She led them through soaring audience chambers and jewel-like gardens.
Constance drank it all in, tying the places she passed to the stories in her head.
There was the stone bridge where one of her great-great-grandfathers had declared his allegiance to the Sultan of Golconda.
The tower with the blue roof was where a long-dead maharaja had imprisoned his mad brother.
All of it was real, and she was here.
A high, clear voice called out to them from the top of a stairwell as they entered a more modern wing of the palace.
“What are you doing down there?”
The speaker was a boy of nine who glared down at them with his hands on his hips, elegantly dressed in a shimmering jacquard sherwani. Unlike their guide, he was completely free of dust.
Vanika skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs. “Who said it was any of your business?”
“You’re supposed to be in school,” the boy accused.
“I thought you didn’t want me to be in school with you,” Vanika shot back saucily.
“I don’t want you there! But you’re still supposed to.” The boy studied Constance and the others with undisguised curiosity. “Lady scholar. English archaeologist. Yankee surveyor. And that one must be my cousin.” His finger stopped on Constance.
“It’s rude to point!” Vanika cried out triumphantly, jabbing a finger at the boy.
“It’s rude to miss school!” the boy retorted.
“So you’re one of my cousins, then,” Constance pressed.
The boy straightened with an air of dignity. “I am Arjuna Krishna Devi, son of Balaram Hari Devi and nephew to His Highness Maharaja Vijayrama Chandra Devi.”
Constance could see a slight resemblance to her uncle in his high cheekbones and the firm set of his chin. The boy was clearly a self-important monster. She was delighted regardless. He was her self-important monster—a newly discovered part of her family.
Arjuna regally inclined his head, the bow just low enough to be polite without compromising his superior status. “Welcome to the Palace of Nandapur.”
“I already welcomed them,” Vanika retorted.
The boy’s dignity flew out the window. His eyes narrowed as he rattled off a stream of surly Odia.
“I’ll tell your uncle you said that,” Vanika shot back wickedly. She pointed, calling over her shoulder to Constance and the others. “The royal ladies are waiting for you in there! Have a nice day!”
Her skinny legs took the stairs two at a time. She dashed past Arjuna.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he protested.
“To school! You’re going to be late!”
“I’ll pinch your cheek so hard, it will turn red!” Arjuna shouted after her.
“I’ll push you so hard, you’ll land on the moon!” Vanika called back.
“Great kid,” Adam declared authoritatively as he watched the children chase each other around the corner.
“Did that girl just say there was more than one royal lady?” Neil sounded intimidated by the prospect.
Constance felt a quick thrum of excitement.
They passed into the room that Vanika had indicated, an expansive parlor furnished with soft cushions and thick carpets under walls of soft sea green. A barrier of elaborately carved stonework provided a filtered view over a garden punctuated by more elegant fountains.
Constance’s grandmother sat on the divan beside a lovely Indian lady in her forties with softly rounded cheeks. A red bindi accented the space between the stranger’s brows. She wore a rose-hued sari, gold sparkling at her wrists and ankles.
The round-cheeked woman rose from her seat, extending her hands. “You must be Constance! I’m your Auntie Parvati—your Uncle Balaram’s wife.”
“Uncle Balaram?” Constance echoed helplessly.
“Vijay’s younger brother,” Padma filled in from her regal perch on the cushions.
Constance stared at the lovely woman currently clasping her hands and smiling at her with generous affection. Giving in to the impulse, she pulled her into a hug. “I’m so terribly pleased to meet you!”
Parvati hugged her back with an easy laugh. “And we are so happy you are finally here with us!”
Her newly discovered aunt’s arms were soft and warm. She smelled like orange blossoms.
Constance quickly brushed a few tears from her face as she pulled back. “Goodness, look at me!”
Parvati cupped Constance’s cheek, her eyes warm with affection. “But someone should have told us that you were here! I meant to meet you at the door.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Adam yanked back on Kalb’s collar as the dog sniffed suspiciously at a plate of pastries on the table. “That cute kid showed us how to get here.”
“Who is Vanika, anyway?” Constance asked.
Her grandmother and her new aunt exchanged a look.
“She is an unofficial ward of His Highness’s.” Parvati’s succinct reply implied that there was more to the story.
Mr. Chowdhury strode into the room with an air of efficiency and purpose that Constance realized must be routine for him. “Ah—here you all are.”
Parvati warmly clasped his hands in greeting. “Nawaz! When did you and Vijay arrive?”
“Three hours ago,” Mr. Chowdhury replied. “But His Highness had to proceed directly to a meeting.”
Constance’s aunt hadn’t greeted Mr. Chowdhury like a solicitor. The comfortable familiarity with which she’d spoken his forename felt more like the way one would welcome family.
Vijay swept into the room, dressed in purple trousers and a gold-embroidered white kurta.
His turban was held in place by a jeweled pin, making him look very much the part of a royal prince.
“Hello, everyone! What a journey, eh? Glad we all made it. Thankfully, it’s no easier for the Raj to get here, which generally keeps them out of our hair.
I don’t think any of us mind that too dearly—do we, Nawaz? And as for you four…”
He clapped a hand on Neil’s shoulder. Neil jumped at the impact, tearing his attention from the ornamental stonework.
“I hear you had quite an adventure at the club,” Vijay teased. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you acquired that transcription. It’s exactly what we needed. Very well done, the lot of you.”
Neil’s ears turned pink at the unexpected praise. He made an instinctive adjustment to his spectacles, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Yes, well… It was nothing really. Just a bit of luck.”
Vijay met Neil’s gaze significantly. “I think it might have been a bit more than that.”
Constance recalled how Neil had withstood the subtle threat of Borthwick’s interrogation in the study of the Lal Bagh. He must have been terrified, but he’d managed to parry Borthwick’s thrusts and make his transcription of Tulsidas’s secret chapter right under the colonel’s nose.
It had been rather well done, she thought with a warm tingle in her chest.
Vijay shifted his attention to the table. “Is that coconut pitha?”
He plucked a pastry from the tray between his aunt and sister-in-law, then threw himself down on the sofa, popping the treat into his mouth.
Kalb watched with dangerously fixed attention.
Vijay turned to Parvati, his eyes twinkling. “Well, Bhauni—now that you’ve finally met our English cousin, what do you think of her?”
“I think she is far more lovely than her photographs give her credit for.” Parvati smiled at Constance with warm affection. “We are going to have to hide her away, or all of the princes of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh will be battering at our gates for the chance to court her!”
“Maybe we should let them come. She might fall in love with one of them, and then we could keep her here with us in India.” Vijay gave Constance a wink.
“As I recall, the Maharaja of Sonepur has a very eligible young nephew,” Padma added smoothly.
There was nothing teasing in her grandmother’s tone. Alarm rang through Constance’s brain.
“Oh yes—Chandrabhanu Naru!” Parvati exclaimed brightly. “He is quite dashing. But what about Narayan Goinda of Mayurbhanj? He is second in line for the throne after his brother and was recently widowed. He has established no less than three schools for girls, and I believe he also writes poetry.”
“You are throwing a birthday party for Arjuna in four days. Why don’t you invite them both to attend?” Padma’s expression was bland as she sipped her tea.
Constance stared at her.
Invite them both.
Her Aai wasn’t just prodding her about being overly picky with her suitors. Now she was inviting them over.
There was no more room for uncertainty about the matter. Aai had chosen sides in the debate over Constance’s marriage prospects… which meant that Constance was in trouble.
She could feel the trap closing over her. She had to find a way out of it—and quickly.
“Don’t these stone carvings remind you of Cairo’s Fatimid architecture?” Neil exclaimed excitedly as he studied the ornamental wall.
“Splendid idea!” Vijay asserted happily.
“Fiddlesticks,” Ellie muttered under her breath.
Vijay turned his attention back to his sister-in-law. “Bhauni, will you see Constance and her friends settled in? I’d best get right on this translation. Feel free to explore the palace in the meantime—it is entirely at your disposal. Nawaz, you’ll join me?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Mr. Chowdhury replied with a decorous nod.
“Your Highness.” Vijay rolled his eyes. “He knows I hate it when he does that while we’re at home.”
Even through her lingering shock, Constance registered the oddity of Vijay’s words. While we’re at home…
Did her uncle’s solicitor live in the palace?
“Well, then,” Parvati offered cheerfully. “Shall we get you settled in?”