‘Naturally. But a commander, well-born and educated, arrives at the front door able to speak de couronne en couronne to His Grace or whoever is suspected of some dastardly wheeze. .’ said Lois with a flash of insight and enthusiasm.
‘Exactly! I have a department chosen by me and a wandering brief from the Commissioner, Sir Nevil Macready — who, by the way, is a close friend of Sir George and very like him in style.’
‘I see it all,’ smiled Lois. ‘But what on earth are you doing in India? I’m sure you are much needed in London. How can they spare you?’
‘I was lent to Sir George for six months to advise and train the Calcutta Police,’ said Joe. ‘A two-way process as it turned out! I learned as much from them as they learned from me. But my secondment seems to have stretched beyond the original spell. Sir George keeps finding me cases to clear up.’
‘And is that what you’re doing here?’ asked Lois with a sweet smile. ‘May we expect you to drag one of us away in manacles?’
‘No. I’m off duty. Sir George has granted me a week’s leave to watch a tiger being bagged.’
‘Oh, I think you’re planning on doing more than watch, Sandilands,’ came Claude’s voice from the door. ‘I’ve seen your gun! You could shoot the eye out of the Man in the Moon with that! Don’t be deceived, Lois, by this chap’s modesty. I had someone check his file for me — I’m a careful man, Commander! — and he’s quite a fire-eater. Watch out, Lois! If you’ve been cheating at bridge, he’ll find you out!’
This was the first time Joe had seen the Vyvyans reacting with each other and he was intrigued to note the sudden gentleness in Lois’s tone as she enquired about her husband’s morning. Her expressive face could not hide an unspoken question underlying the words and Claude responded to this with a reassuring smile and an imperceptible nod. He answered succinctly and lightly, involving their guest in his replies, and his eyes, Joe noticed, followed his wife as she moved about the room. He would have said their relationship was one of respect and affection.
With Claude’s sunny presence, the conversation, which had been limping along, took on a lighter tone and a faster pace. After a while Claude said hesitantly, ‘I don’t believe you’ll mind, Sandilands, if I tell Lois the news of our little ceremony with the ruler earlier? So much to do as a consequence of all that, I haven’t yet had time to inform her of his decision! My dear — it’s Bahadur!’
‘Well, of course it’s Bahadur! But how good to know that officially at last!’ was Lois’s delighted reply. ‘And. .?’
‘And yours truly is to be co-regent. I must say I look forward to working with that clever young man! Quite the best thing that could have happened for Ranipur and for India. Why don’t I have a glass of that hock to celebrate, my love? I don’t often indulge in the middle of the day but this is a special occasion — I’m sure you’ll understand, Sandilands? A lot of hard work and planning has gone on behind the scenes to get to where we are at this moment!’
His comment fell with an almost audible clunk between them, a comment wide open to misinterpretation by anyone with a devious mind and quite obviously that was exactly what Lois Vyvyan had. Surprisingly, she chortled into her glass and looked at Joe with merriment. ‘Gracious, Claude! Do have a care! The Commander is reaching for his notebook! He’ll be asking you for a confession to two murders if you’re not more circumspect!’
Joe grinned affably back and Lois went on in the same light tone, ‘But who’s your partner-in-crime, Claude? You said co-regent? My money’s always been on Zalim. .’
‘No. Rather a surprise, I have to say. It’s Third Her Highness. Shubhada. The lad’s stepmother.’
Lois’s amusement died. ‘Ah. Not such good news. Now why on earth would Udai go and do that?’
‘Makes a certain sense when you think about it,’ said Claude. ‘The girl’s intelligent and ambitious. I think she’ll take the position seriously. And don’t lose sight of the real reason for naming her. Udai’s very much in love with her and very much under her thumb, you’d say. He knows that his death will strip her of all official position in the state. She will be reduced to an insignificant and very dull existence indeed when he pops off. By making her coregent he enhances her power in princely India.’
‘Power, you say? Just how much power are we considering, sir?’ Joe asked.
‘It depends on Bahadur himself,’ said Claude. ‘He may want to get his hands on the reins of government as soon as possible, which would be at the age of sixteen — eighteen if he’s not so keen. The intervening years, the years of his minority, will be vital for us. We’ll send him to Mayo College or, better still, to England if that’s what he would prefer, and run the show while he’s off playing cricket and learning French and geography. Tricky times, as you’re aware, Sandilands. Politically, we’re walking through a minefield. No one is sure what the role of the princely states ought to be in the larger context of the continent — many different opinions. All we can do here is keep the lid on until further orders are issued.’
‘And the day-to-day running of the state?’ Joe pressed further. ‘Will you and Her Highness have a hands-on role to play or will the authority be in name only?’
‘Oh, very much hands on the reins,’ said Claude. ‘We’ll have to supervise the organization of the state, the finances, the taxation. We’ll be the literal keepers of the treasury! What about that, Lois! There’s a sort of ceremonial handing over of the keys to the khajina. . I suppose they’ve got a spare set. . Should check on that. .’ he murmured.
Joe smiled to see the civil servant so near the surface. The excitement of his new situation was not going to override the meticulous attention to detail that kept Claude’s ship afloat.
‘Khajina?’
‘Very mysterious and romantic,’ Lois joined in. ‘Oh, Claude, do you think they’d let me in — just for a quick peek? It’s a little stronghold in the hills, Commander, a mile or so to the west. And — can you believe? — it’s where the rulers of Ranipur have always kept their treasure. Gold, precious stones. . worth goodness knows how much! They say the loot is stacked deep in the stone coffers that line the room. . You can plunge your arm in up to the armpit and encounter nothing but jewels!’
‘They all have them, you know. The princes. Banking and Western methods of storing and moving money around are quite unknown to most of them and certainly not encouraged by HM Government. Hyderabad could buy out the whole of Europe probably and still have change. And heaven knows how much there is stashed away in the Ranipur treasury,’ Claude said with an air of intrigue.
‘Isn’t it, er, vulnerable, up there in the hills?’ asked Joe. ‘Looks like bandit country to me — I flew over it this morning.’
‘Nothing’s ever disappeared from the treasure house, I’m told. It’s guarded by a family of indigenous hill people. They will only let in the keeper of the keys. Udai says they let him in occasionally to run his fingers through his goodies but they don’t exactly encourage visits. It’s not like viewing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London at tuppence a go!’ he said, shaking his head in mock warning at Lois.
A servant arrived to announce that luncheon was served and they made their way through to an airy dining room facing on to a northern verandah aired by a slight breeze blowing in from the lake. Joe paused, admiring the view framed by the open stone arches.
‘Wonderful, isn’t it?’ said Lois, following his gaze. ‘I never tire of looking at the lake. You must come in the evening, Commander, and see the animals. The strangest creatures come down to drink. All kinds of deer, some predators even and wild camel. And the flocks of birds are quite magical! When the duck fly in, they’re so thick you can’t see the opposite bank!’
‘I see your neighbour over there has an even better view. Is that pretty little pavilion inhabited — the one that seems to be growing out of the water? The white, Moghulesque house with the fretted windows?