“It’s Lord Rama’s bow,” Constance asserted confidently.
Tears gathered in Vijay’s eyes as he ran his fingers over the place where the wood had been darkened by use.His expression was firm with determination when he looked up again.“This will be kept secret and safe until the day when India can claim her own treasures once again.”
Ellie was washed with a warm sense of relief.
Adam regained his feet.He slid his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side.Ellie let herself lean against the warmth of his chest.
Vanika shouted down from the ridge above.Light glinted off the blade in her hand.“Mr.Bates!Can I keep your enormous knife?”
“Absolutely not!”Adam called back.“But if you bring it back, I’ll teach you how to throw it!”
Ellie stared at him.Subhas groaned.
Vanika’s approving whoop echoed off the ravine.
Vijay clapped his hands with delight.“Now that’s all settled—who needs a ride?
The elephants trumpeted again.
Adam gave Ellie a telling look as her leg continued to throb.
“Fiddlesticks,” Ellie cursed—and Adam laughed.
?
Forty
Constance stood amida noisy crowd of elegant silk-clad bodies in the Rani Salon of her uncle’s royal palace.The spacious room glittered with mirrors, crystal, and Maratha tile.
It had taken them three days to reach Nandapur, including a stop in Vanika’s village where they had joined a raucous celebration of the girl’s safe return.For most of the trip, Constance had been too exhausted to think.When they finally returned to the palace late the night before, she had collapsed into her bed and slept until two in the afternoon.That little lie-in had left her with just enough time to dress before her nephew’s birthday party.
The festivities were extravagant.The salon was packed with glittering dignitaries and extended family, all chatting and laughing.The men were decked out in gorgeous kurtas and silk trousers while the women wore brilliantly patterned saris or gem-studded shalwar kameez.Hues of peach and saffron mingled with peacock blue and emerald green.
Constance’s own gown was a new acquisition that her Aunt Parvati had secretly ordered for the party.The costume was cut like a fashionable British evening dress with capped sleeves and a structured bodice, but it had been made with a beautiful sambalpuri weave in royal purple and sunset gold—the royal family colors.
She might have teared up a bit when Parvati had presented it to her.
The guest of honor, the now-ten-year-old Arjuna, held court in his jeweled turban and gold slippers, receiving the cheerful well-wishes of his guests with the regal air of a future maharaja… until Vanika popped up from behind his chair to drop a lizard down his shirt.
Arjuna leaped up with a howl of righteous outrage, tearing after her as Vanika darted away, her dress tunic and trousers still giving her ample flexibility for a sprint.
Ellie squeezed through the crowd to join Constance by the window.She clutched a book to her chest and only slightly favored her wounded leg.Her bite wounds had calmed down during the rest provided by her three-day ride home—not that Ellie had been remotely happy about being stuck on top of an elephant.
“I don’t think I have ever been introduced to this many people at once in my life,” Ellie complained.
Her emerald dinner gown had been tidied and repaired since its romp through a bat-infested attic.The color drew out the earthy tones in her hazel eyes and the slightly mortified flush to her cheeks.
She and Adam had been relieved of their dog for the evening in the interest of keeping the Seluki off the tables of food that packed the adjacent chamber.The animal had been hauled away by a sighing servant as he sniffed the air for treats.
Constance took a sip from her flute of champagne.“I hear there’s going to be dancing later.”
Ellie frowned.“I didn’t go to finishing school, Constance.I don’t know how to dance.”
“You should try anyway.It works differently here in India.”
Ellie cast her a skeptical look.
Adam slipped up next to them.Even though he wore an ordinary jacket rather than a dinner one, he appeared perfectly dashing—if one ignored the bruises on his face and the eighteen-inch machete hanging from his belt.
