Constance’s aunt hadn’t greeted Mr.Chowdhury like a solicitor.The comfortable familiarity with which she’d spoken his forename felt more like the way one would welcome family.
Vijay swept into the room, dressed in purple trousers and a gold-embroidered white kurta.His turban was held in place by a jeweled pin, making him look very much the part of a royal prince.“Hello, everyone!What a journey, eh?Glad we all made it.Thankfully, it’s no easier for the Raj to get here, which generally keeps them out of our hair.I don’t think any of us mind that too dearly—do we, Nawaz?And as for you four…”
He clapped a hand on Neil’s shoulder.Neil jumped at the impact, tearing his attention from the ornamental stonework.
“I hear you had quite an adventure at the club,” Vijay teased.“I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you acquired that transcription.It’s exactly what we needed.Very well done, the lot of you.”
Neil’s ears turned pink at the unexpected praise.He made an instinctive adjustment to his spectacles, clearing his throat awkwardly.“Yes, well… It was nothing really.Just a bit of luck.”
Vijay met Neil’s gaze significantly.“I think it might have been a bit more than that.”
Constance recalled how Neil had withstood the subtle threat of Borthwick’s interrogation in the study of the Lal Bagh.He must have been terrified, but he’d managed to parry Borthwick’s thrusts and make his transcription of Tulsidas’s secret chapter right under the colonel’s nose.
Ithadbeen rather well done, she thought with a warm tingle in her chest.
Vijay shifted his attention to the table.“Is that coconut pitha?”
He plucked a pastry from the tray between his aunt and sister-in-law, then threw himself down on the sofa, popping the treat into his mouth.
Kalb watched with dangerously fixed attention.
Vijay turned to Parvati, his eyes twinkling.“Well, Bhauni—now that you’ve finally met our English cousin, what do you think of her?”
“I think she is far more lovely than her photographs give her credit for.”Parvati smiled at Constance with warm affection.“We are going to have to hide her away, or all of the princes of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh will be battering at our gates for the chance to court her!”
“Maybe we should let them come.She might fall in love with one of them, and then we could keep her here with us in India.”Vijay gave Constance a wink.
“As I recall, the Maharaja of Sonepur has a very eligible young nephew,” Padma added smoothly.
There was nothing teasing in her grandmother’s tone.Alarm rang through Constance’s brain.
“Oh yes—Chandrabhanu Naru!”Parvati exclaimed brightly.“He is quite dashing.But what about Narayan Goinda of Mayurbhanj?He is second in line for the throne after his brother and was recently widowed.He has established no less than three schools for girls, and I believe he also writes poetry.”
“You are throwing a birthday party for Arjuna in four days.Why don’t you invite them both to attend?”Padma’s expression was bland as she sipped her tea.
Constance stared at her.
Invite them both.
Her Aai wasn’t just prodding her about being overly picky with her suitors.Now she was inviting them over.
There was no more room for uncertainty about the matter.Aai had chosen sides in the debate over Constance’s marriage prospects… which meant that Constance was in trouble.
She could feel the trap closing over her.She had to find a way out of it—and quickly.
“Don’t these stone carvings remind you of Cairo’s Fatimid architecture?”Neil exclaimed excitedly as he studied the ornamental wall.
“Splendid idea!”Vijay asserted happily.
“Fiddlesticks,” Ellie muttered under her breath.
Vijay turned his attention back to his sister-in-law.“Bhauni, will you see Constance and her friends settled in?I’d best get right on this translation.Feel free to explore the palace in the meantime—it is entirely at your disposal.Nawaz, you’ll join me?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Mr.Chowdhury replied with a decorous nod.
“Your Highness.” Vijay rolled his eyes.“He knows I hate it when he does that while we’re at home.”
Even through her lingering shock, Constance registered the oddity of Vijay’s words.Whilewe’reat home…
