Before the Rains

by Dinah Jefferies

  ‘So pretty,’ Indi said, ‘yet nobody comes here. Laxmi always has it kept perfectly. It’s where her youngest child and only daughter died.’

  ‘I didn’t know.’

  ‘Never speaks of it, but people whisper that it was Anish who pushed her when he was a boy. She cracked her head on one of the peacock fountains and never regained consciousness.’

  ‘How sad.’

  ‘She wanted a daughter so badly and then, long after the boys were born, she had her little girl. Sometimes I think she wishes I were the daughter she lost.’

  As the night drew in they escaped the castle and melted into the streets, where the dark side of Indian life went on completely unaffected by the British. A world where mystical drumming sat cheek by jowl with opium dens in gullies just a couple of feet wide. When Eliza saw the half-lit nocturnal life in this hidden part of the city she was terrified for her life, but she kept her head down and followed Indi. The maze of streets was a necessary short cut that led to the British Residency on the other side of town. The other way round, avoiding these streets, would have taken them too long on foot.

  As they approached the Residency a car drew up and Eliza stepped back when she saw Clifford get out, but he’d seen her through the window and frowned. Although she needed to speak to him she’d wanted to knock at his door, not be discovered lurking in the dark like a thief.

  Someone else climbed out as the liveried driver held the door open, and Eliza saw the face of a well-known British woman. For a moment Eliza couldn’t place her, but then she realized it was the current Viceroy’s wife. She was followed by an important-looking silver-haired man. Of course Clifford would have connections at the maximum level and speak with the backing of a higher authority. And there would be many parties and social events just like this.

  The woman’s voice was crisp and sharp as she spoke to Clifford. A butler came out and escorted her and the man indoors, while Clifford signalled to Eliza.

  Eliza walked over to him but he was clearly not impressed.

  ‘Good grief, Eliza! What the devil do you think you’re doing, scampering about at night dressed like that?’

  ‘Indira helps me get out of the castle. I’ve brought you some prints and plates. They’ve restricted my movement, you see.’

  ‘Have they? We shall see about that. No doubt Anish’s doing or, more likely, that darn interfering wife of his. Washes her hands after touching an Englishman. Can you imagine! Damned effrontery. Anish will be doing it too if she has her way.’ He paused. ‘Actually, coming across you like this gives me an idea. I can’t talk now.’ He indicated the door through which the Viceroy’s wife had just vanished. ‘But you remember I suggested you might be able to help us?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Well, I’ll pop up to have a word with the Maharajah, and we can discuss it then.’

  16

  The next day, soon after Eliza heard the morning temple bells, she was summoned to Jay’s study. Too nervous to attempt the secret passage alone, she threw her new cashmere shawl around her shoulders and took the normal corridors to find her way there. He smiled broadly when he opened the door and saw her standing there, but she took a step back.

  ‘What is it?’ he said. ‘Has something happened?’

  She stared at him, not really knowing how to feel. He had stubble on his chin, but his amber eyes sparkled and his skin glowed with health and vitality. Her fears over who might have told Chatur had continued to prey on her mind, and now she had no option but to question Jay.

  ‘Eliza, come in. Let us not talk in the corridor.’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Tell me what the matter is?’

  She opened her mouth but her voice caught, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze for a moment or two.

  He frowned. ‘So?’

  She hesitated, but then the words tumbled out. ‘I need to ask you something.’

  He smiled. ‘Fire away.’

  ‘Was it you who told Chatur I’m a widow?’ she said, feeling sick inside, and now fully returning his gaze.

  ‘Of course not. Why would you think that?’

  ‘Indi swore it wasn’t her. She suggested it might be your friend Dev. He did know about me, but the thing is he hasn’t even been here, until yesterday that is.’

  He frowned. ‘Devdan was here yesterday?’

  ‘You know he was.’

  ‘This is sounding most odd. To my knowledge Dev hasn’t been here during my absence.’

  ‘What time did you arrive yesterday?’

  ‘About midnight.’

  She lowered her voice. ‘I thought I heard you talking to him.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Just before nightfall.’

  He shook his head. ‘Not guilty.’

  She thought quickly. If it hadn’t been Jay talking to Devdan, then who? The voice had been a little indistinct and so maybe she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Perhaps it had been Anish?

  ‘Where did you hear this?’

  ‘We can’t talk here. Can we go out to one of the courtyards?’

  ‘Of course. But you must admit this is sounding a little bizarre.’

  In the courtyard they sat together on a bench beside one of the fountains. She gazed up at the luminous blue sky and watched the parakeets as they fluttered away from one dusty silvery tree to alight on another. The sight of flashes of yellow under-feathers usually filled her with joy. Today it did not.

  ‘It’ll be getting warmer soon, almost spring,’ he said. ‘And after that it’ll be unbearably hot.’

  Eliza didn’t feel a bit warm, and that same self-consciousness once again rose in his presence, especially now that they were completely overlooked by the zenana.

  ‘Just act naturally,’ he said, as if he understood the reason for her reluctance. ‘Smile, and don’t twist your hands in your lap.’

  She felt herself redden. ‘I didn’t realize I was.’

  He paused and looked at the ground for a few seconds before turning to her.

  ‘I do admit I told my mother about you.’

  She turned to look at him. ‘You knew how much it mattered. I trusted you.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘I went to Clifford for you.’

  ‘And that was terrific. The engineer is coming tomorrow with the first plans. You’ll be impressed. Though the permission for the damming of the river might have to wait.’

  ‘Don’t you see what you’ve done?’

  He frowned. ‘Look, it just slipped out. My mother is a great admirer of yours and she understands, Eliza, truly. She has not judged you and would never tell anybody else, and I certainly have not.’

  A surge of anger swept through her: that he could have thought it was acceptable to tell Laxmi! She’d so wanted to be honest with Laxmi herself and now that could never happen. His mother would consider her deceitful at best and a liar at worst. She bent her head and covered her face with her hands.

  ‘Take your hands from your face. We are being watched.’ He was behaving as if everything was normal, but Eliza had seen the worry in his eyes.

  She rose to her feet, ignoring the fixed smile on his face. ‘No, you may be able to dissemble but I cannot.’

  ‘Please stay.’

  She turned her back on him. He’d known Chatur would object if the truth about her came out. It was Jay who’d said things had a way of getting out. Now he’d spoiled everything for her, so why should she help him by telling him about the listening shaft? He deserved to be overheard.

  She marched back to her room, where she lay on her bed feeling fragmented. Although she was fuming, worse was the crushing pain of having been foolish enough to trust Jay. She scolded herself for caring about another man who had managed to let her down, but she couldn’t prevent herself hearing his voice and couldn’t stop seeing the worry in his eyes.

  Alone with her anxiety, Eliza watched the gold of the morning sun painting the town a pale rosy pink. Then, a little la
ter, she heard the sound of a car’s horn and hurried to the large hall overlooking the main entrance, from where she saw Clifford climbing out of a large black vehicle. A smaller car pulled up behind him. A youngish man carefully slid out feet first, then, as he straightened up, she saw he was carrying a large roll of papers under his arm. He was dressed in western clothing but looked as if he might have some Indian blood. An Anglo-Indian perhaps? Eliza reckoned he must be the engineer Jay had hired. Really she longed to see the plans, but although a messenger had been sent to request her presence in Jay’s study, she couldn’t allow herself to go. Still smarting over his thoughtless betrayal, she sent a message saying she was indisposed, then marched back and forth in her room, righteous indignation stiffening her jaw and leaving her hot and feeling ruffled. It was only when she remembered that his plans might be overheard that she knew she could not let that happen. Despite his indiscretion, the irrigation project would improve so many people’s lives and she could not be the one to ruin that possibility if the plans were to get into the wrong person’s hands. Once she had decided to go, she plucked up courage and ran along the secret passage Indi had shown her, past the astonished guards, and, arriving out of breath, tapped on Jay’s door.

  Her insides were somersaulting as he opened it and she saw several pairs of staring eyes.

  ‘I thought you were ill,’ he said, giving her just the ghost of a smile.

  ‘I have to speak to you. But first tell them to take the plans to Laxmi’s rooms. It’s really important.’

  ‘Very well.’ He went back into the room.

  She heard the murmur of voices but then he came out to her again. ‘They’ve agreed, though my brother looks furious.’

  ‘It’s your project. You need to safeguard it. Your study isn’t safe.’

  ‘Eliza –’

  She interrupted as they walked out of earshot of the room and kept her voice low. ‘Where did you tell your mother I was a widow? In which room?’

  ‘Where? What difference does that make?’

  ‘Tell me.’

  ‘She came to my study one afternoon.’

  Eliza shook her head. ‘Jay, I promise you that room isn’t safe.’

  She explained about the secret listening tube and told him that when she’d put her ear to the hole in the wall she had heard voices coming from his study.

  ‘Good grief. So that’s why you didn’t want me to reveal the plans in there?’

  ‘I didn’t know if the plans needed to be kept private at this early stage …’ She paused. ‘So who do you think Devdan could have been talking to?’

  ‘It was definitely a man?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Perhaps my brother, then?’

  ‘It sounded a bit as if they were planning something against the British.’

  ‘Sounds like Dev. Though I thought he’d given up pushing.’

  ‘Pushing?’

  ‘For a way to change the minds of the people.’

  ‘I sometimes think it would be better if the people did rise up against the British.’

  He smiled. ‘Well! That’s rather unpatriotic, isn’t it?’

  She shrugged. ‘I just don’t like the way Clifford and his kind talk.’

  Eliza followed Jay to Laxmi’s apartment and, as they passed through the sandalwood doors and entered the jasmine-scented room, the gleaming mirrored space took her breath away, as it had before. She saw Anish, Priya, Laxmi, Clifford and another man, the one she’d spotted earlier with the roll of papers. These were now spread out on a large table.

  Laxmi smiled. ‘I’m so glad you could join us, Eliza.’

  Eliza smiled back, though she did not enjoy feeling so exposed now that Laxmi and the others knew about her, but she was glad Chatur had not been included.

  ‘So why the sudden move?’ Anish demanded, clearly irritated by the change of room. ‘What is the mystery?’

  ‘No mystery,’ Jay said. ‘I spotted that the table in my study wasn’t wide enough for all the drawings.’

  ‘And why is the Englishwoman here?’ Priya asked, displaying her usual arrogant attitude.

  ‘It was her idea in the first place,’ Laxmi said, smiling warmly at Eliza.

  ‘You’re allowing an English widow to dictate what we do?’ Priya snorted dismissively, and then a stream of words followed, far too rapidly for Eliza to follow, though she managed to pick up the gist of Priya’s disapproval.

  ‘As I recall, you are capable of a vigorous amount of dictating yourself,’ Laxmi replied. And this Eliza did understand.

  She smiled inwardly, sensing that there were unsettled scores between the two women, but that Laxmi would always have the upper hand. She wondered about the source of the woman’s inner strength.

  ‘Mother. Priya,’ Anish said. ‘Let us put our personal differences aside and discuss the plans.’

  The engineer stepped forward. ‘My name is Andrew Sharma. I was trained in London and have worked on several irrigation projects across the Indian Empire.’

  ‘Rajputana isn’t like anywhere else,’ Anish said, his voice expressionless.

  The young man bowed. ‘Indeed it is not, sir, but I’ve taken everything into account.’

  Anish smiled indulgently. ‘As you know, many projects have already failed. Why should yours be any different?’

  As a gust of wind blew in the fragrance from the gardens and something more, Eliza thought she caught the scents from the desert and tried smiling at Priya. The woman only raised her brow and smirked before turning away.

  The young man glanced at Clifford, who nodded. ‘With respect, they failed mainly through ignoring the knowledge of local people. In sounding out the locals I’ve discovered exactly where the lakes should be dug, how deep they should be and how to deal with the slope of the Prince’s land. Eventually we’ll be able to move on to the damming of a river, but for now we’re keeping it simple. These people know so much about the weaknesses in the land and where there need to be walls to prevent seepage. My plans take all of that into account.’

  ‘Why waste all this time and money on a few peasants?’ Priya said. ‘I don’t see the point.’

  Eliza laced her fingers behind her back as Anish turned to Jay. ‘And you are prepared to assume total responsibility for the project?’

  Jay nodded. ‘I am.’

  ‘And if it fails?’

  ‘I don’t believe it will.’

  ‘And the British are willing to back this with their money?’ Anish asked Clifford.

  ‘To some extent.’

  When they had all examined the detailed plans, Clifford wanted to speak with the Maharajah privately and Eliza hoped it was to insist that Anish’s orders about her must be overturned. Then the others left and only Jay and Eliza remained with Laxmi. Jay told her that even though Anish had not seen the plans until today, he had gambled on his brother’s agreement.

  ‘At the moment I’m using old steam-powered shovels, great for excavating and moving rock and earth. But they are heavy, complex machines needing three men to operate them, so I plan to get hold of some cheaper, simpler, diesel-powered shovels as soon as I can afford them. At least the men have arrived and the digging is already well under way.’

  ‘I tried to convince him to wait,’ Laxmi said, ‘but he needs the first lake finished before the rains come in July.’

  ‘There should be time as long as there are no unforeseen problems,’ Jay added.

  Laxmi immediately held out her hands to Eliza. ‘Come here, my dear.’

  Eliza took a step forward but hung her head, feeling terribly embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry …’

  ‘No need for apologies. I understand.’

  Eliza glanced up and tried for a smile. ‘Really?’

  ‘Let us forget it. I will do what I can to persuade people to allow you to photograph them. Many of them are simple souls with little or no education beyond these walls, but if I explain that it is quite a different thing to be a widow in your culture they may understand
. I heard you were enjoying taking pictures of the concubines?’

  ‘I was. They are so warm and funny.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  Jay looked at her appraisingly and with slightly flaring nostrils. ‘So am I forgiven?’

  ‘I suppose. Though I still don’t know who told Chatur.’

  He held out a hand. ‘He must have heard through the listening tube. Now it’s time to leave my mother, for she must go to her pujas.’

  As Jay and Eliza left his mother’s room they took one of the main staircases down to the large hall where the huge durbar had taken place. She asked him about the relationship between Priya and Laxmi.

  ‘Indian mothers-in-law can be very cruel,’ he said.

  ‘Surely Laxmi isn’t?’

  ‘No, but she was treated badly by my grandmother, her mother-in-law. My grandmother would lock her alone in a room for days to keep her from my father.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘So that my mother couldn’t influence my father. My mother was always ahead of her time. But in our culture the parents’ will must always be obeyed.’

  ‘Even when they are wrong?’

  ‘Indeed,’ he said, somewhat gravely.

  ‘And your father could do nothing?’

  ‘Our etiquette expects a husband’s silence. Laxmi tried to please her mother-in-law, but it was hopeless. Luckily the old crow died young and my mother was able to blossom.’

  ‘But that doesn’t explain how things are between Laxmi and Priya.’

  ‘No, it doesn’t. I think my mother simply doesn’t like my brother’s wife.’

  ‘And maybe doesn’t trust her.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  They walked slowly, and Eliza felt uncertain about what to say. ‘The new lock works well,’ was all she managed.

  He smiled. ‘I’m sure it does … Look, by way of an apology will you allow me to take you to the second night of the Holi celebrations in the oldest part of the town early next month?’