Ladies' Day

by Steve Turnbull

  The party set off across the stony landscape with the lake on their right.

  Qi and Mrs Ruane took the lead with the other three a short distance behind. Terry had suggested it would be best if they were to spread out. It would give them better firing lines and make it harder for someone to pick them off. Taking so many was also part of Qi’s plan since more targets meant less concentrated fire on each.

  Her breath steamed a little but was torn away by the cold wind flowing down from the mountains around them and along the valley floor.

  They had covered more than half of the distance. Qi checked her watch. She estimated Captain Reynolds would take at least three hours to breach the ridge. There was no question that he would pursue his mission.

  He was going to be very angry, so being finished before he arrived would be best.

  There was no sign of anyone. She checked her gun and glanced back at the others. She did not know whether Otto was a good shot but he had handled the weapon well enough when he took it. He wasn’t scared of it. She knew Dingbang could shoot, but it was not as if they had much practice when all they did was cut and haul ice.

  They were a dozen yards from the first bush when a bullet ricocheted from the rocks in front of them. Seconds later the sound of its firing echoed round the rocks. They froze.

  Though the temptation was strong Qi resisted her desire to try to find the sniper in the rocks. Terry had been right again. She kept her eyes on the undergrowth in front of them.

  There was movement and two figures emerged: a man and a woman. Qi and her party had counted five horses when they descended so there were at least two more men in the bushes, possibly more.

  Both were dressed in salwar kameez, though hers was both of better quality and in worse condition.

  “Dhavni,” said Mrs Ruane and started to move forward. Qi grabbed her arm. Dhavni did not move but her eyes were fixed on Mrs Ruane.

  “Sat Shri Akal,” said the man, and nodded his head.

  “You are Kehar Chabak?” said Qi.

  “At your service.” He gave an expansive and mocking bow. “And you are being?”

  “Captain Qi Zang of the Frozen Beauty,” she said. “And Mrs Ruane’s escort.”

  “I greet you, Captain Qi Zang.” He smiled. “You have my gift?”

  Mrs Ruane shifted the bag in her hands. “Five hundred pounds sterling.”

  “A princely gift. You are doing me great honour.”

  “You are a coward and a criminal,” shouted Mrs Ruane. Qi did not try to hush her; they needed to give Terry as much time as possible. “Dhavni, come to me.”

  The woman, perhaps five years younger than her brother, did not move. Her expression was pained.

  “Dhavni, why do you not come to me?”

  Kehal took a step forwards. “Because she is knowing her place as woman. She is thinking what I am telling her to think. She is doing what I tell her to do!”

  From the angry expression on the young woman’s face, now that her brother was in front of her instead of beside her, Qi deduced she did not agree with him. So, though she had run to him, she was not happy. Qi’s concern about how this would play out increased. She was glad they had prepared.

  “How shall we proceed?” asked Qi, attempting to defuse the immediate situation.

  “What are you meaning proceed?” he said.

  “With the exchange.”

  His laugh dripped condescension. “Exchange? There is no exchange. You are giving me money now.”

  xvi

  Mrs Ruane made a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a sob. Qi glanced at her to ensure she was not about to do something they all might regret, but she stood firm.

  A glance over her shoulder told her that the others remained where they were. Otto looked worried. It occurred to her that Ichiro had no idea what was happening. He wouldn’t hear any gunshots, she cursed herself for a moment for being so stupid. Still, he was paying attention.

  Her attention was caught by Kehar saying something to his sister. She refused whatever it was he had told her to do and he slapped her across the face.

  Mrs Ruane took a step forward.

  Barely had Qi had time to draw a breath than another bullet ricocheted in front of Mrs Ruane, followed by the report echoing through the rocks. Mrs Ruane froze. Qi sighed. Terry had not intercepted the sniper. This was not good.

  “What are you going to do with her?” demanded Mrs Ruane.

  Kehar ignored her and grabbed Dhavni by the wrist, twisting it. He gave his sister the same order as before, and pointed at Mrs Ruane. Qi guessed he was threatening to have her shot if Dhavni did not do as she was told.

  The woman said something in a tone that was oddly both angry and acquiescent. She shook her wrist free of his grip and walked across to Mrs Ruane.

  The two of them stood facing one another. Mrs Ruane towered over her, her red hair and pale skin contrasting with Dhavni’s dark features and black hair. Neither of them said anything.

  Mrs Ruane opened her bag and pulled out the envelope. As she passed it to Dhavni their fingers touched. For a moment they remained motionless as if life passed between them through this lightest of touches. Then Dhavni took the envelope and turned away. She walked back to her brother clutching the packet to her chest, one hand over the other.

  Two rifle shots in quick succession echoed around the cliffs. But no bullets struck home. Terry’s signal. It was a shame he had sworn off violence, as he was now in the perfect position to turn this to their advantage.

  If wishes were horses, Qi thought to herself as she pulled out her gun and fired into the bushes. There was a cry of pain and the sound of a gun clattering to the ground. Kehar stared at Qi in horror for a moment then drew his gun and pointed it at his sister’s stomach.

  “No!” cried Mrs Ruane.

  “Be staying back!” he shouted.

  There was the crack of another pistol. Qi threw herself at Mrs Ruane and dragged her to the ground. They had no cover. She saw a shape lumbering past them and realised the gunshot had not been aimed at her. Ichiro did not realise he was being shot at, which gave him the appearance of insane bravery.

  Qi jumped back to her feet. “Otto, Remy, get Mrs Ruane back to the Beauty, and the ship ready to lift.”

  “Oui, Capitaine.”

  Without waiting to see them comply Qi ran towards the bushes just as Ichiro disappeared into them. There was another gunshot. Qi pushed through the branches and almost tripped over the prone body of the man she had shot, which surprised her as much as it had probably surprised him.

  Her cheek blazed with pain as another shot went off. She saw Ichiro pick up a third man and pull him into a bear hug. She didn’t wait to see the result but ran past them and leapt the small smoky fire with a pan of vegetables nestled in the embers.

  She emerged from the copse just in time to see two horses kicking into a fast canter. Kehal urged on his horse and held tight to the reins of the other on which Dhavni was perched, clinging to the saddle.

  Qi hesitated. She was not a good rider and, if she gave chase, she would be alone. She could not fire on them because she might hit the woman. She sighed, and released the energy and tension that had built up in her. No.

  Quickly she headed back into the trees. Ichiro had dropped his opponent, who was now lying on the ground moaning. Qi smiled at Ichiro and patted him on the arm. She pointed at the man and gestured for Ichiro to pick him up and take him to the ship. Ichiro bent down, lifted him as if he weighed nothing and flung him across his shoulder.

  Qi went back out and untied two of the horses. She mounted one and headed along the lake shore towards the ridge. She saw Terry stand and wave, whereupon she cantered across to him and he mounted the spare.

  Together they headed back to the ship, collecting the last horse on the way. They would be able to sell the beasts, if nothing else.

  * * * * *

  They got the horses tied up and tightly hobbled on board to ensure they could not react b
adly when reduced gravity was engaged. Remy had Otto and Fanning on stoking. The steam pressure was up and the envelopes hot, so only the full weight of the Beauty held it on the ground.

  Qi ignored the questioning looks of Fanning and Mrs Cameron. She strode up to the bridge, gave a couple of blasts on the klaxon, paused for a moment, then engaged the Faraday.

  The Frozen Beauty leapt into the air.

  xvii

  Kehar Chabak suppressed the desire to flee as fast as possible. He could not risk the horses on such uneven and rocky terrain. He kept his body flat along his horse’s neck and maintained a firm grasp of the reins of the other.

  With luck they would not shoot for fear of hitting his rebellious sister. What had gone wrong? All his men dead or captured. He shook himself. It didn’t matter because he had enough money to buy an army. And he still had his sister to marry off to Opinder Jandoo, though time was short.

  There were no more shots fired. The path bent round a prominence made from an ancient avalanche of rocks. Within moments they were out of sight. The track followed the cliffs to the left and dropped away into the river valley on the right.

  He kept the horses at a canter but relaxed the pace a little. But he could not afford to be lazy; Jandoo was waiting for his bride.

  “I hate you, Kehar.”

  “Shut up or I will beat you.”

  “You will not escape the British.”

  “That is no concern.” He turned in the saddle and looked at his pathetic excuse for a sister. She was dirty but was otherwise pleasant enough to look at. Jandoo would be pleased with her, and especially with the dowry Kehar offered.

  Kehar turned back to watch the trail. He grinned to himself. Jandoo had agreed to take his sister as bride for just fifty of the British sterling. Only a tenth of Kehar’s new wealth.

  Connection through marriage to Jandoo would give Kehar the respect he deserved, and the remaining money would make him a place in the world. It had been a gift from the gods when Dhavni had come crying to him about her disagreement with the other woman.

  At first she had gone along with his plan to blackmail the woman into giving him some money because she wanted to teach the shameful Westerner a lesson.

  Now he had seen the female viper with his own eyes. Tall and ugly, even if she did have pale skin. And the colour of her hair was like the mud that bubbled up at the hot springs. He almost shuddered as he recalled her.

  The weather was dry and overcast and the wind a little chill but they were making good progress. He did not want to tire the horses, so he let them relax back into a trot and looped the reins of the other horse over his saddle’s pommel so he did not have to hold on.

  They descended into the next valley where the terrain became greener. The trees managed to retain their leaves, and the wind was less cold. The sound of the tumbling river grew in their ears.

  Kehar was not bored with the journey as it afforded him time to imagine what he would do with the money. A cold knife sliced through his heart as he realised he had not taken the opportunity to check that it was all there. He stopped and dismounted. His hands almost shook as he took down the bag and fiddled with the metal buckles.

  “Having difficulty, little brother?” she said. “Want your big sister to open that bag for you? What are you going to do if they cheated you the way you cheated them?”

  He glared at her. “The first thing I will do if they have cheated me is to kill you.” He was satisfied with the look of fear that flashed across her face. She sat back in the saddle and was silent.

  He got the bag open and rifled through the large printed sheets. He couldn’t read, but there were many, many sheets and the British king frowned at him from every one.

  “You see?” said Dhavni. “She cares for me, and she wants me back.”

  “Do not speak of shameful things. Or I will shut your mouth for you.”

  * * * * *

  The Frozen Beauty hung at a height of five thousand feet above the valley floor. Qi stood on the upper deck. The cold wind cut through her outer coat and leather jerkin, finding its way inside to bare skin and freezing it.

  She did not care. The heat of her anger was proof against the cold. That rat of a brother had never intended to give up his sister. Of course Kathleen had been a fool to even consider paying such an enormous sum to such a criminal.

  Dingbang had tried to persuade her to leave but Qi was personally offended by this Kehar Chabak. She was going to take him back to Captain Reynolds as a peace offering—it might assuage his hurt at being left behind and prevent him from issuing a warrant for her and her crew’s arrest.

  She looked down through the binoculars. The two were on the move again; they had stopped for something, though she had not been able to see what it was. The Beauty was in no danger of losing them since Kehar was simply following the trail that led along the valley.

  “I brought you a drink, Captain,” said Fanning.

  Qi let the binoculars hang loose on their strap around her neck and took the steaming tin mug. She smelled coffee, and felt it revive her as it slipped down her throat.

  The Beauty surged slightly as Dingbang engaged the thrusters to push them ahead against the wind.

  “Is that a village up ahead?” said Fanning. A slight haze of smoke hung over a patch of ground in the distance.

  “More than a village,” said Qi, studying it through the binoculars. “A small town.”

  xviii

  Kehar and Dhavni trotted over the last ridge and headed down into the town. Many of the buildings were stone, and there was a mosque with a minaret. It had a market most days. But this had one feature that set it apart from other towns of a similar size. There were no British.

  Perhaps the fact the place could not easily be reached from the coast side of the mountains, and one had to seek it out if coming from the other side, had caused it to be missed. Whatever the reason, it was a sample of what life could be like without the British controlling every action.

  Kehar headed for a money-changer he knew on the banking street and converted one of the notes into something he could use. He did not trust anyone enough to leave the money anywhere. He would carry it where he could feel it next to his skin.

  Next he spent some of it on better quality clothes for both himself and Dhavni. Not too ostentatious since he did not want to attract attention. He hired a couple of men to carry their baggage, and a girl not only to attend his sister but also to keep an eye on her.

  He made it clear to the girl that Dhavni was a reluctant bride and that if she disappeared the girl would pay with her life. Just to be sure, he hobbled Dhavni as if she were a horse.

  Kehar smiled to himself. The ability to take what he wanted invigorated him. He even felt magnanimous towards his sister and allowed her some time to clean herself up—under the watchful eye of the maid.

  Jandoo’s astrologer had declared that the best time for their wedding was at sunset. That suited Jandoo, who never rose before the midday meal, and it had meant Kehar was able to get Dhavni ready in time.

  * * * * *

  The town was in shadow as the evening drew in. The sun had passed down behind the mountains. Kehar rubbed his hands together, trying to wipe the sweat from them.

  “The hands of a liar are never dry,” said Dhavni.

  “Perhaps Jandoo will cut your tongue from your mouth.”

  “I will not wed Jandoo.”

  “You have no choice, sister,” he said. “As our parents are no longer here it is my responsibility to see you are disposed of appropriately. And I can think of nothing more fitting.”

  “The gods will strike you down for the evil you do.”

  “The gods do not care.”

  On the other side of the room the two guards were playing cards. The maid sat by Dhavni.

  The call to prayer echoed across the town.

  “Let us go.”

  Dhavni climbed to her feet without enthusiasm. The maid prodded her to make her go faster.
r />   “Gag her,” said Kehar.

  “Don’t you dare!”

  Kehar pulled out his gun.

  “You would not dare harm me. What value would I be then?”

  Kehar pointed the gun at the maid who squealed in terror. “You always had a soft heart, Dhavni. If you do not accept a gag I will shoot her.” Then he added as an afterthought, “I can always buy another maid. How many would we need to go through?”

  Dhavni allowed the girl to tie a strip of cloth around her mouth.

  “You see?” said Kehar. “Why must you argue every time? You never win.”

  * * * * *

  The Beauty had settled in a small valley a mile from the town. And, after careful consideration of the options, Qi set off with Fanning, Otto and Mrs Ruane, leaving the rest on board. She had not wanted to take Kathleen but the woman had insisted.

  Qi had hoped they might be relatively inconspicuous, but Mrs Ruane proved incapable of it.

  They had reached the outskirts of the town and waited in a stable while Fanning, with the judicious application of money to specific palms, had determined that one Opinder Jandoo was to wed Dhavni Chabak, who was reputed to have a handsome dowry, this very evening.

  “I’ll tear his heart from his chest,” growled Mrs Ruane. “Using my money to sell his sister. She’d sooner kill herself than let a man touch her.”

  “She wouldn’t be the first,” said Fanning. “Seems his wives often die by their own hand. Except when they die by his.”

  Qi frowned at Fanning. Providing more fuel for Mrs Ruane’s anger was unhelpful. She changed the subject. “Did you find out anything about this Opinder Jandoo?”

  “Local bigwig hoodlum,” said Fanning. Their confused faces prompted further explanation. “Criminal boss. Owns the town. Likes to make out he’s sophisticated or something.”

  “So how do we get into this wedding?”

  “Oh, easy, it’s always a public show. Likes to keep his people happy.”