‘Choose for me,’ she urged. ‘It will be quicker.’
It seemed important to be away as soon as possible. In a few minutes, the street had completely emptied. It was as though someone had turned the page of a picture book, banishing the brightly coloured illustrations from sight and staring instead at a blank page. She had seen that blankness before; her recent walk through the Jasirapur bazaar was ingrained in her memory. Did the ruler of Sikaner hold sway here too? It would seem so.
Grayson made his choice: spinach pakoras, spicy crackers, potato skins and banana puris. The man behind the counter hardly raised his head and almost threw the items into brown paper bags. He thrust two large bottles of water at them then held out his hand for money. His eyes remained averted during the entire transaction.
‘Not too friendly a lot are they?’ Grayson remarked, as he scooped up the bags and led the way back to the jeep. ‘Definitely time to go.’
But, as they approached the vehicle, he came to an abrupt halt. ‘Now that’s a little unfortunate.’
Daisy followed his eyes and saw immediately what he was staring at. A line of something damp had trickled from beneath the jeep and was marking the dust of the road. He handed her the food and bent down to get a closer look. ‘That explains the petrol gauge. The fuel tank is leaking. We must have caught it on the rockfall and we’ve been losing fuel ever since.’
‘Can we drive like that?’ To her inexperienced eye, the trickle was beginning to look more like a flood.
‘It should just about get us to the nearest garage, that’s if they’ll serve us. Jump in and we’ll do a quick recce.’
He drove as slowly as he could, trying to conserve what fuel was left, while Daisy kept a lookout for any kind of garage. If they didn’t find one, she thought, she wouldn’t take bets on any of the townspeople helping, not even to hire them a donkey. The ruptured fuel tank might be an accident but the rockfall certainly wasn’t. The jeep limped along the main road, then turned into one of the side streets.
A child of about ten was playing with a battered football, kicking it in and out of the gutter. ‘Hey,’ Grayson shouted in Hindi, ‘is there a garage near here?’
At the sound of his voice, a woman came rushing out of a nearby house and dragged her son back indoors, but not before the boy had said, ‘In the next road.’
‘The next street,’ Grayson confirmed.
The child was right, though the garage was no more than a collection of tin huts with one forlorn petrol pump standing on the cracked concrete of what passed for a forecourt.
‘This is where money could be useful.’ He jumped down from the jeep and walked into the smallest of the huts, its door standing open to the world. She imagined the owners hadn’t yet heard there were strangers in the village.
After some minutes, Grayson reappeared bringing with him a highly reluctant mechanic. The man bent down to look at the damage and shook his head. She was sure Grayson had already bribed him to come out of his hut but now he proffered several more notes.
The man spoke in Hindi. ‘He says it will take at least two hours to mend the fuel tank,’ Grayson translated.
‘But will he do it?’
‘I think so, though he wants me to drive around to the back, out of sight of the road. We can wait in one of the huts, he says. Let’s take the food with us. We might as well eat while we wait.’
The hut had been constructed from sheets of corrugated iron, lashed together with copious amounts of rope. Beneath a throbbing sun, it was almost hotter inside than out. Daisy slid onto one of the wooden benches that lined the small space and wondered how long it would be before she blacked out. Within minutes, her hair was damp from the roots and sweat was trickling freely down her face. When Grayson came in from speaking to the mechanic, his shirt clung to him as though it were a second skin. He sat down beside her and opened the brown paper bags. Neither of them could summon much enthusiasm, but knowing they were unlikely to eat for some time, they dutifully ploughed through several of the pakoras and puris and drank the entire contents of one of the large bottles of water.
‘I’d like to throw the rest over me,’ he confessed, ‘but we’re bound to need it. That business on the mountain has delayed us badly and now this. We’ll be lucky to make Sikaner by nightfall.’
In fact, they were to face a full three hours in a crucible of heat. Daisy was sure that sooner or later she would simply melt and all that would be left would be a puddle on the mud floor.
‘He seems to be taking a very long time,’ she said at one point.
‘His tools are pretty primitive and the tank isn’t easy to get to.’
‘I thought he might be working deliberately slowly.’
‘It’s possible but at least he’s mending the tank. I’ll make sure to check it as best I can before we leave.’
The mechanic was finished at last. He came into the hut, wiping greasy hands on overalls that were already more grease than cloth.
‘Ready,’ he said abruptly in English. More notes passed hands and Grayson went to inspect the man’s handiwork.
‘I’m not sure which is worse,’ Daisy remarked as she clambered back into the vehicle, ‘the hut or the jeep.’
‘At least the jeep moves. Let’s get out of this place.’
They regained the main street and were forced to drive its entire length before they could escape into the countryside again. It was an unpleasant experience. Not one face had been raised to welcome them to the village, and now not one watched them go. If that was the treatment they could expect in Sikaner, she couldn’t see how it was possible for either of them to find what they’d come for.
‘How much further do you think we have to go?’ she asked, once they’d been driving for a while.
‘Far enough to make things difficult.’
‘In what way?’
‘It’s nearly dusk. After that rockfall, the last thing I want is to be driving on a lethal road with only the dimmest of headlights to guide us.’
‘Are you saying we have to camp again?’ For hours she’d been looking forward to sleeping in a comfortable bed.
‘I’m afraid we will. But look on the bright side. We’ll be driving into Sikaner first thing in the morning, before most people are up.’
‘And that’s good for some reason?’
‘It’s far better than getting there at dusk. We can get a sense of the place before we fetch up at the palace.’
Once out of the village, the road had continued to snake downwards, looping its way around wide swinging bends. She’d hoped they had finished with mountain driving but Grayson had to keep his foot on the brake almost the entire time. The terrain, though, was growing noticeably less steep and he was able to push the complaining jeep a little harder. Despite the growing gloom, the view was magnificent. The plain stretched below them and now she could see distinctly the ditches and fields, animals and vegetation that made the world below. The blobs dotted rash-like across the plain’s surface she took to be small huts and houses. Around them the night air was bisected by wisps of smoke as fires were built to cook the evening meal. Every so often, the road widened and grassy spaces appeared on the near side. It was almost dark now and she wasn’t surprised when Grayson slowed the jeep and swung it to one side. The enclave he’d chosen was open to the road but wide and deep. One corner was overhung by trees.
‘We won’t be as well hidden as last night but at least we should hear anyone who intends us mischief.’
‘Do you think they’ll keep trying?’
‘I’m hoping they’ve fired their last shot. But who knows? They’ve already managed to delay us hugely.’
She felt a rush of tiredness. It had been an exhausting day, in many ways a terrifying day, and reaction was setting in. She slid down from the jeep and went to help him set up camp, but he stopped her.
‘You look bushed. Take the sleeping bag and lie down. Unless you fancy some chai? I can get the primus going in no time.’
�
��We should probably keep what tea we have for the morning.’
Their supplies were at rock bottom and it was fortunate they’d eaten in the village, though in the crushing heat every mouthful had been torture.
She lay down on the sleeping bag and pulled the rug to her chin, while she watched him unpack what was left in the jeep and lock it for the night. He came over to where she lay and kicked his shoes off. Then settled down beside her.
They lay on their backs, gazing up at the spangled sky. ‘Do you think Javinder discovered something big?’ she murmured.
‘It looks likely. But if he did, he wasn’t able to tell anyone.’
‘You must have an idea what it was.’
‘Yes,’ he said guardedly, ‘but until we get to Sikaner, it’s all guesswork.’
‘I only hope we do—get to Sikaner, I mean. After today, I’m not so sure.’
‘Whoever has been messing with us must be running out of ideas by now.’
‘Unless he or they come out of hiding and attack us directly.’ After today, it was more than possible, she thought. ‘They seem to be getting more dangerous.’
‘Or more desperate.’ He reached out for her hand. ‘Try not to worry. We’ve come through so far and we’ll get there—in one piece.’
She was silent for a while, her eyes closed with fatigue, but her mind too busy to sleep. ‘But when we do, it won’t be easy. If Kamghar is anything to go by, people will be hostile. How do we begin to ask questions? How do I begin to ask the Rajah about his dead son?’
‘I’ll leave that to you. My time will be taken up sounding out others.’
‘Who exactly?’
‘The palace servants to begin with. Then the townspeople.’
‘And that won’t be easy.’
‘No, it won’t, but then I never expected it to be.’
She felt herself rebuked and said nothing more. But then he leaned towards her and touched her cheek with the crook of his finger. ‘You could always cut and run, you know, even at this late stage. I did warn you it wouldn’t be worth your coming.’
She roused herself to answer. ‘If I hadn’t, you’d be at the bottom of this mountain right now.’
‘True but—’
‘No buts, Grayson. I’m here, and this is where I’m staying.
‘Now how did I know that’s what you’d say?’
His finger uncurled and she felt its warmth travelling down the side of her cheek. He tipped her chin upwards and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. ‘Sleep well, sweet Daisy.’
She drew the tenderness of his touch into herself and raised her lips to his, kissing him gently back. His lips found hers again and this time the kiss demanded more. She should stop now, she thought, before they sowed the seeds of another disaster between them, but his lips were lingering on hers, his tongue gradually teasing her mouth open. She felt the pressure of his body lying half across her, his leg straddling hers. His mouth hardened, his body hardened, and here was the familiar slow melt as she accommodated her form to his.
‘I guess we shouldn’t be doing this,’ he whispered, while his hands fumbled with the buttons of her dress.
‘I guess we shouldn’t,’ she said, slipping the light cotton over her head.
His fingers traced the curve of her bosom, then cupped one soft breast after another, lifting each to his mouth and kissing her slowly into a state of the deepest pleasure. His breath was a little ragged but he still had sufficient control to ask, ‘Are you sure about this?’
It was madness, she realised, but to feel him again, to feel his lips, his hands, the solidity of his body, was a kind of liberation. She ought not to go on, but she knew she would. ‘I’m sure,’ she said, and in that moment she was.
It took a second for her to unbutton his shirt and reach out to stroke the firm, warm flesh. A few seconds more and their clothes lay abandoned by their side. ‘Naked to the world,’ she murmured.
‘Not while I’m here. Let me cover you.’
And he did. A tumbling of emotion, the satisfying of a passion that for so many months had gone unsatisfied.
For most of the night he hardly slept, falling into a deep slumber an hour before dawn. The loud call of two grey francolins engaged in their morning duet woke him. He was startled and for a moment utterly confused. He knew where he was and he knew where he was going, but the girl who lay naked in his arms was unexpected. Then memory flooded back and he felt suffused with a heat that defeated the temporary coolness of the day. For some while he lay listening to her quiet breathing, aware of the fine dark hair tickling his chest, and aware, too, of the smallness of her body, its softness, its vulnerability. He loved her. What was new about that? He’d loved her from the first moment he’d seen her and through the years had continued to love her despite … despite her turning away from him, despite the hurt she’d inflicted. He understood the damage life had done to her. In a way he wished he didn’t. He might not feel so bereft then each time she dealt a blow to his heart. If only she could learn to trust him, not just for a day, for a week, for a month, but for a lifetime together. He would do well by her. If he could only make her see that. Last night, she’d allowed him to trample the barrier she’d erected, but how long would it be before she rebuilt it?
She was lying against his left arm, blocking the sight of his watch. He looked around, trying to estimate the time. The sky was swaddled in bands of grey and gold, peach and deepest pink, which spread skywards from a horizon where the faintest outline of a rising sun wavered into view. He wanted to be in Sikaner as early as possible and the sooner they were up and away, the better. Gently, he extricated himself from her embrace and shrugged on his clothes. The sun was still little more than a golden blur and would make for comfortable travelling.
He fired up the primus for a last time, then a final rummage in the depths of the haversack. The promised biscuits came into view. Not quite up to the standard of the Ritz, he thought wryly, but then their night at that hotel hadn’t been the luxury they might have expected. The Blitz had seen to that, and now the rigours of rough travel were doing the same. If relationships thrived on shared discomfort, theirs must be doing extraordinarily well.
He bent down to kiss her forehead, smoothing her hair back from her face as he did so. ‘Breakfast is served, memsahib.’
She opened her eyes instantly but he could see from her unfocused gaze that she was as puzzled as he had been. She sat bolt upright, then realising her nakedness, grasped the folds of the blanket and clutched it against her breasts. He made a neat pile of her clothes and left them beside her, turning back to the jeep and spreading the map wide. He would give her sufficient time to collect herself.
When she joined him, her face was rosy in the dawn light. She looked rested. She looked satisfied, and he dared to think that he had had a part in that. ‘It’s another cold water sloosh, I’m afraid.’
‘I can cope.’ She was smiling a little shyly. ‘The chai will be hot.’
‘It will. It is,’ he said, handing her a plastic beaker of steaming liquid. ‘But what can I say about the biscuits?’
She laughed and the sound was happy and free. He hadn’t heard her laugh like that for a very long time. ‘The less the better, I think.’ She chewed down on one of the digestives but refused a second.
‘When you’re ready, we should go.’
The primus was extinguished and the rest of their scanty equipment loaded. Within a quarter of an hour, they were on the road again. Their route stretched ahead, still looping in and around the mountainside but descending now at a far gentler rate. Judged against its usual performance, the jeep was fairly bowling along, and he thought they should reach Sikaner before the sun was riding too high. Neither of them spoke but it didn’t seem to matter. They were at peace, he thought, at peace with themselves and with each other. He wished it would last.
It was a wish that wasn’t to be granted and he wondered how many more times he could be wrong; it was getting to be a bad habit. As they
rounded the last long, wide bend, the vehicle’s engine spluttered and died. Their speed dwindled to nothing and they came to a halt at the apex of the bend.
‘Whatever’s happened?’ Her face was creased with worry, as well it might be. They couldn’t have broken down in a worse place.
‘No idea. Until now, the engine has been going great guns.’ He reached forward to the dashboard and tapped one of the dials. ‘This isn’t too reliable, but it should show plenty of fuel.’ Together they peered at the small glass circle. The petrol gauge showed empty.
‘There we have it. No fuel.’
‘But you filled the tank.’ Alarm had crept into her voice.
‘I did. I filled it to the maximum before we left that inferno at Kamghar.’
‘So how—? Has someone siphoned off the petrol?’
‘I don’t think so. We would have heard any visitors in the night. And they wouldn’t just have robbed us of fuel. They would surely have found a way to finish us off for good this time.’
‘So how has it disappeared?’
‘I imagine we have our greasy garage owner to thank.’
‘But he mended the tank. You saw it.’
‘I saw as much of it as I could. But it’s always possible that he deliberately left a hairline fracture unrepaired. I wouldn’t have seen that. We’ve got this far after all, and the petrol must have been leaking since we left the village.’
She sat staring blindly through the windscreen. They had come to a stop in full sunlight and he could feel the heat crashing through the glass, but she hardly seemed aware of it.
‘After all that effort,’ she said in a crushed voice. ‘After the lucky escapes we’ve had. All for nothing. We’re stranded in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Not necessarily,’ he threw over his shoulder, jumping down and unrolling the canvas cover at the rear of the jeep. ‘I just happen to have—’ he delved into the vehicle and tore up a section of the floor ‘—two very large jerry cans full of petrol.’
‘You hid them,’ she said almost accusingly.
‘Just as well, wouldn’t you say?’
Daisy's Long Road Home Page 17