‘I assure you I will not,’ replied Khusrau, looking directly at his grandfather. Salim realised he had neither possessed nor received any encouragement from Akbar to develop such outward assurance and confidence when he was Khusrau’s age.
‘You did indeed ride well, Khusrau. I too congratulate you,’ Salim spoke for the first time.
‘Thank you, Father. It is a skill I’ve much improved in the time you’ve been away.’
‘Khusrau and Khurram, would you like to accompany me to view my war elephants?’ asked Akbar. ‘I’ve some fine beasts and I know you, Khusrau, have been building up an excellent stable of your own of young elephants collected from across the empire. Perhaps you’ll learn something from the training methods my mahouts use.’
Both Salim’s sons nodded enthusiastically and followed their grandfather, who had already turned on his heel and was heading for the stables. Resisting the childish temptation to shout that he had better beasts than any of them, Salim watched three of his four closest male relations walk away from him. His father, he was almost sure, had deliberately excluded him. But had his sons, and in particular Khusrau, realised what Akbar was about and colluded with him?
‘What? Are you sure you are correct about what you overheard?’ Salim almost shouted at Suleiman Beg in his apartments two months later.
‘Yes. I’d just finished bathing in one of the hammans reserved for commanders to use after parade ground exercises. I was dressing in one of the side rooms when I heard two officers come in. I couldn’t see them from where I was, nor, obviously, could they see me. But despite the splashing of the water in the channels as they bathed, I heard their words clearly enough. The first asked, “Have you heard that some of His Majesty’s courtiers are urging him to appoint Khusrau as his heir instead of either Daniyal or Salim?” and the second replied, “No, but I can see merits in the idea. Daniyal’s a useless drunk and Salim lacks the self-discipline not to relapse at any moment.”’
Salim’s face stiffened with anger but he said nothing as Suleiman Beg continued. ‘The first spoke again. “True. In any case, Salim will seek to install his own favourites in positions of power. He is bound to prefer those who followed him in his traitorous rebellion to those of us who remained faithful to his father. We may be lucky if we escape the fate of Abul Fazl.” Then some more officers entered and the two speakers broke off their conversation to talk of other matters. But I am certain I’ve given you the gist of their words.’
Salim still did not speak for some moments as he tried, not entirely successfully, to compose his emotions. Among his worst fears while he was at Allahabad had been that his father might promote one of his grandsons as his successor rather than himself, but such thoughts had centred around Khurram, so clearly Akbar’s favourite, and he had been able to dismiss them on the grounds of Khurram’s youth. Khusrau might now be a different proposition. He was older and, since his return, Salim himself had noticed that his eldest son was gathering a band of confederates around him only a little older than himself. Finally he asked, ‘Is this the first time you’ve heard traitorous idiots speak about such a prospect?’
‘In such direct terms, yes.’ Suleiman Beg looked uneasy as he continued, ‘But I’ve heard others express doubts about their own fate should you succeed. It’s only natural that they should worry about the length and depth of your rift with your father and the newness of its healing. It’s only a short step from that to thinking about alternatives.’
‘I will not allow this,’ Salim yelled, rage welling within him as he seized a jewelled dish from the low table beside him and threw it hard against the wall, dislodging some turquoise and ruby stones and denting the dish itself.
‘Calm down,’ said Suleiman Beg. ‘You can’t stop people talking or thinking about what’s best for them. It’s human nature. You need to exert influence yourself. Convince more people of your own virtues and suitability to rule.’
‘Perhaps you’re right,’ said Salim, his anger subsiding a little. ‘But how, after the time I’ve spent away?’
‘Try to show you will let bygones be.’
‘Maybe one way might be by offering some of the sons of my father’s advisers appointments among my own counsellors.’
‘Wouldn’t that run the risk of introducing spies and discord amongst us?’
‘Perhaps, but in truth we have little to hide. What have I done since my return? Nothing other than wait patiently again and respond willingly to every trivial request my father’s made of me. I’ve bottled up my emotions, speaking only to you of my regret that the emperor will still not grant me more powers or give me some military command.’
‘Your father might be forgiven for not wishing to put you in charge of large armies until he is more certain of your intentions.’
‘I suppose I can understand that from his point of view,’ Salim responded, almost smiling. After a pause his brows knitted once more. ‘You don’t really think my father would ever contemplate disinheriting me in favour of my son, do you?’
‘To be truthful, I don’t know. . Even though he’s over sixty he remains a clever and complex man well attuned to understanding the motives and concerns of those around him without ever disclosing his own. Possibly he might have considered giving a little tacit encouragement to the idea of Khusrau succeeding him, knowing that you would come to hear of it. In this way he might seek to increase the pressure on you to continue to conform to his wishes and indeed to your reformed way of life.’
‘That would be typical of him and his cold machinations,’ Salim shouted again, grinding his heel into one of the thick rugs covering the floor before adding more quietly, ‘My father still has no regard for my feelings. Nor perhaps for those of any other of his relations. When Khusrau comes to hear of suggestions that he might succeed, it will only raise unrealistic expectations in him.’
‘So what do you intend to do?’
‘On the surface to ignore the rumours and continue to act the dutiful son, but privately to draw more followers to me with promises of rewards when I come to power, and to ensure I have enough officers and well-armed men to call on should the need arise. I’ll want your help with this. You can talk more freely than I.’
‘You will have it, Highness.’
‘Meanwhile I will try to find opportunities to probe Khusrau’s attitudes and ambitions. .’
Salim lost no time in arranging a meeting with Khusrau and it was only thirty-six hours later when father and son met at the archery butts. ‘I’m so pleased that you could join me today,’ said Salim as he put his arrow to the string of his double-curved bow and squinting along the shaft took careful aim at the straw-stuffed target, which was shaped and roughly dressed as a man. Moments later, the arrow hissed through the air to thud into the target’s torso.
‘Good shot, Father,’ said Khusrau as he fitted his own arrow and fired, striking the target within an inch of Salim’s shaft. Lowering his bow, he added, ‘I am always pleased to spend time with you.’
‘Good. We have been apart too long. I would not wish you to think you were absent from my mind while I was in Allahabad all those months.’
‘I did not.’
‘What I did I did for the good of the dynasty, for those who come to rule after me.’
Khusrau gave a wry smile. ‘But my grandfather rules now. God willing it will be a long time before he is called to his reward in Paradise. Who can tell what may happen to any of us in the meantime.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Salim, his tone sharper than he meant it to be as he raised his bow again and fired.
‘Simply that none of us can know what may happen during the years he continues to rule. All of us are mortal. Even if we live, the passage of time changes us and others’ perception of us.’ Khusrau shot another arrow. This time it split Salim’s last shaft as it embedded itself deep in the straw man. Was that shot simply a trick of fortune or an omen? wondered Salim, involuntarily recalling the Sikri mystic’s warning to beware his sons. He fitted another arrow and fired, striking the straw man in the throat.