The majordomo stopped at the door to an office that was dominated by a heavy wooden desk and a pair of richly upholstered club chairs.
“Mr.Secretary, Dr.Fairfax has arrived with his party,” Sykes announced before stepping aside to admit them.
The secretary was a slight fellow, bald save for a fringe above his ears.He glanced up at Adam.“Dr.Fairfax?”
Neil stepped forward.“Ah—no.That would be me, actually.”
The secretary frowned at Neil’s youthful features.“You’re a doctor?”
“Yes,” Neil replied with a note of exasperation.
The man cleared his throat and recovered.“Apologies.”He checked through the notes on his desk distractedly.“Your solicitor has already provided your references and deposit.You are paid up through July.Dues are invoiced at the end of each month, and meal tabs are settled weekly.Overnight accommodations are…”
His voice trailed off as he finally looked over the rest of their party—noticeably halting on Constance as she studied the mediocre art on the office walls with a frown of disdain, not bothering to listen to his monologue.
“…available,” the secretary finished awkwardly.“But I do need to clarify that all overnight guests must be personally approved by the club council and are typically restricted to family members or business acquaintances visiting from another cantonment or overseas.”
“Sorry?”Neil blinked at the man, clearly not understanding.
Adam understood.
Back in San Francisco, many establishments had made matters clear by posting signs in their windows.
No Blacks.No Chinese.
But those rules weren’t always spelled out in big, bold letters.Sometimes the only sign readWelcome—but you weren’t, really.Not if you were a certain kind of person.
Adam should have known he’d find that again here in India, where the majority of the power lay with an unwelcome set of foreigners vastly outnumbered by the people they ruled over.An arrangement like that only held if everyone Indian was resolutely shut out of the places where ruling happened, digging the lines between races as deep as battle trenches.
Constance—with her ferocious courage, her adventurous spirit, and her Indian blood—was on the wrong side of the trench.
The secretary was still talking.The words had a nervous edge.The man must be wondering whether the circumstances were about to go from merely awkward to something that qualified asan incident.
Adam wanted to make it an incident.He couldn’t—not without sacrificing what they had come here for.And that wasn’t his call to make.
“Other guests may be entertained in our North Dining Room, but we ask that they are kept clear of the rest of the club facilities.”The secretary punctuated his speech with a look at Neil that was both hopeful and slightly belligerent.“Is all of that acceptable?”
It wasn’t—not even remotely.
Adam answered anyway.
“It’s fine.”
At his uncharacteristically clipped response, Ellie shot him another quietly concerned look.
Then understanding snapped into place, and her expression fell into one of shock—quickly replaced by a hot, rising fury.
Adam took her hand and squeezed it in warning.
“Will you be needing any rooms for the night, then?”the secretary prompted carefully.
Neil opened his mouth to answer.Adam cut in first.“We’re good.”
Constance’s brow furrowed as the unexpected tension in the exchange finally drew her attention.
It wouldn’t take her long to figure out what was happening.When she did, it was going to hurt.
Helpless rage flared up inside of Adam once again.He choked it back.
