"Certainly not. If Abdar finds out what you're trying to do, he'll undoubtedly cut your throat, and then where would I be?" Kartauk turned to Jane. "So you must bring him here for the next four days so I may capture his likeness while his neck's still intact."
"Unless you'd care to give me directions on how to get here," Ruel added.
"I'll bring you."
"I thought that would be your choice," Ruel said. "You'd be much more comfortable out of the rain in your cozy little bungalow."
"No, I wouldn't." She shivered and drew closer to the brazier. "Though it's much chillier in here than out in that warm rain. This fire is dying down. We need more wood, Li Sung."
"Soon. First you need to dry off." Li Sung got up and limped toward the cot in the corner. "I'll get a towel."
"I don't have time. I've wasted half a day already," she said. "And when I get back to Kasanpore, I need to go to the site and—"
"Make sure Patrick is doing his job," Li Sung finished for her as he grabbed a towel and came back toward her. "Do you intend to spy on him every day?"
"I'm not going to spy on him. I want only to make sure the job is going smoothly and he knows everything I've been doing."
"And that he is truly working and not sitting under a tree guzzling whiskey." He knelt beside her and brusquely wiped her face before shifting to a position behind her. He lifted her heavy braid and closed it between folds of the towel to dry it. "It's a wasted effort. You can do little if he chooses that course."
"It's different this time." She started to turn her head to look at him. "He really is—"
"Sit still. How can I dry this ugly hair if you keep swiveling your head about?"
"I didn't ask you to dry my hair." She looked forward again. "And this is foolish. It will only get wet again when I leave."
"That is true, but it will make you feel better and I will know I did the proper thing." He continued to dry her hair. "Now be quiet and let me behave foolishly if I wish."
Ruel felt a queer pang as he gazed at them across the fire. The bond of affection between them could not be mistaken. Affection . . . and trust. Christ, what was wrong with him? For some reason the sight of them together filled him with anger and rejection. What did he care if she gave the Chinese boy the trust he had forfeited? Yet, he did care.
"No, you're no sodomite." Kartauk dropped down next to him.
Ruel turned to see the sculptor studying him again and was immediately on guard. "I told you that."
Kartauk spoke softly so the two across the fire would not hear. "You did not tell me you lusted after my friend Jane."
He felt a ripple of shock. "And if I had told you?"
"I would have warned you to take care. She has done much for me and I will not have her destroyed."
"I have no desire to destroy her."
"Desire and carelessness are two different things." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "But she is on her guard with you. Perhaps I will not have to act."
"Thank you," Ruel said dryly. His gaze returned to Jane and Li Sung across the fire. That nagging dissatisfaction was growing within him with every passing minute.
"They are very close," Kartauk commented. "It's natural that they take care of each other."
"So I see."
"It disturbs you."
"Why should it disturb me? God knows, she needs someone to look after her. Reilly appears to make a poor job of it." He changed the subject. "Why do you enjoy working in gold?"
"It's the metal of the gods, the only one fit for a great artist. That's why I stayed so long at the palace. Not many patrons can afford to furnish such rare materials."
"Then why did you leave?"
"I thought where my work was concerned the end always justified the means." He shrugged. "I was mistaken. To my infinite horror I found I possessed a conscience."
"What do you mean?"
"Abdar wished me to perform certain tasks I found distasteful. I refused him."
"And he was angry?"
"Extremely. He threatened to cut off my hands if I did not obey him. Naturally, I could not permit such sacrilege. When I left, he persuaded my weasel of an apprentice, Benares, to do what he wished, but Abdar knows there is no comparison." He raised his voice and called across the flames in the brazier. "I hope you brought something in that knapsack other than rice, Jane. I've eaten so much rice my eyes are starting to slant like Li Sung's."
"What a fortunate miracle," Li Sung murmured. "That is how all eyes should be shaped."
"I brought beef and beans." Jane smiled at Kartauk. "I hope by the time they're gone, you will be too."
"But where?" Kartauk grimaced. "Great artists must have patrons, and patrons enjoy displaying their treasures. Inevitably, Abdar will hear of one of my magnificent creations and find me."
"Yes, where?" Jane turned and challenged Ruel. "You said you'd find a safe haven for him."
"Which now includes a patron who keeps his work secret," Ruel said testily.
"You're the one who said you'd give me anything I wanted."
His lips tightened. "And I will." He turned to Kartauk. "What about returning to your home in Turkey?"
"I left only jealousy behind when I left. It's no safer than anywhere else for me."
Ruel frowned. "Then I'll have to think about it."
"Think first about how to get him out of here," Jane said.
"I've already decided about that."
Her eyes widened. "You have?"
"The trial run to Narinth the night before you officially turn the railroad over to the maharajah. We station Kartauk on the line somewhere outside Kasanpore, pick him up when we're out of the city, and hide him on the train. We deboard him before we reach Narinth and from there he can make his way to the coast."
Kartauk chuckled. "Very clever. I can see why you decided to let him help us, Jane."
"It might work," she said slowly. "If Abdar doesn't suspect anything."
"Oh, he probably will suspect. It's our job to misdirect those suspicions."
"How?"
"I'll think of something. I'll have plenty of time to meditate while Kartauk is baring my soul." He stood up and reached for his slicker. "In the meantime, I think we'd better start on our way back to Kasanpore." Ruel smiled. "And not so I can rush immediately to the palace and reveal our friend Kartauk's whereabouts to Abdar. I thought I'd go see if Patrick is tending to duty."
"But I was going to—"
"And now I'm going instead." He picked up her slicker and put it over her head. "Call it a penance. Don't you think I deserve a penance?"
"Oh, yes, I'm sure you deserve anything anyone could think of to—"
He interrupted. "Then send me out in the rain after our charming Patrick." He picked up her wide-brimmed hat and put it on her head, carefully tying the cords beneath her chin. The service gave him an odd, deep, primitive sense of satisfaction, soothing the abrasive unrest he had known. Suddenly he realized Kartauk was not as perceptive as he believed himself to be. It hadn't been lust ripping at him this time. This was what he wanted when he had watched her with Li Sung. He had been fiercely resentful of the bond of affection and trust that allowed Li Sung to perform those services instead of him. He quickly turned away and said gruffly, "Besides, I'll get a chance to look over the terrain and decide on the best place to hide Kartauk while waiting for the train."