‘Two, I am the most beautiful woman any of those men has ever seen, much less shared a bed with. So I only sleep with their officers. That makes every man in my army aspire to please me, and thus be rewarded with a commission.
‘But the third thing is most important. They are all afraid of me. Everyone in Agra is afraid of me. Everyone in Sardhana is afraid of me. Do you know, I believe everyone in India, perhaps the world, who has heard of me is afraid of me. No man can trust another in my presence, and no woman either, for they cannot tell who is wholly mine. What they do know is that I punish with terrible ferocity, terrible ruthlessness.’
She was stating nothing more than Peyraud had already told him.
‘And you enjoy it,’ he said.
She shrugged. ‘My philosophy is that all life is to be enjoyed, some aspects of it more than others.’
‘Will you enjoy death when it comes, as it probably will, in a terrible form?’
She smiled. ‘I will endeavour to, certainly. But it is your death we are here to discuss, my Richard. Or your life. Would you not like to live?’
‘What man would wish to die?’
‘At your age, none. How old are you? Twenty? That is too young. Yet die you must, as you have defied me in public. Unless…there is but one hope for you.’
He waited. He did not doubt that she would inform him of what she had in mind.
‘Merely to forgive you for your insolence would show weakness,’ Aljai mused. ‘I can only overlook your defiance by an act so grand, so majestic, that by it both you and I would soar beyond their puny comprehensions. Mark me well, Richard, if I do this thing, you will be the most hated man in Sardhana.’
‘I am not much liked at the moment, Highness.’ But his heart was pounding. Was he after all to be reprieved?
‘It will also lead them to suppose that you have some kind of hold over me,’ she said. ‘I do not object to that. I would only beg you not to believe it yourself. It may be true, in one way. I have never enjoyed a man so much. Thus I preserve you. But if you cross me again, Richard, I will give you to my girls, to be castrated, slowly, while I watch. Remember this.’
‘I am not likely to forget it, Highness,’
‘Do not, ever. Well, then…’ she got up, came to him, and released his bonds. ‘We will get you a new uniform. One befitting the general commanding the armies of the Begum of Sardhana.’
She had returned in front of him, and he stared at her open-mouthed.
‘General?’
‘It is that or the grave. Do you not wish to be my general?’
A general, at twenty! Had even Alexander accomplished so much? What matter that he had never actually been to war? The men he would command certainly had. He supposed there were few better troops in India, the Company’s forces not excepted.
‘I would very much wish to be a general, Highness. Your general,’ he hastily added.
‘Good.’ She kissed him on the cheek. ‘We will go outside together, and I will announce your fate. I say again, they will hate you for it. Peyraud most of all. He assumes the post will be his.’
‘I know that, and am sorry for it.’
‘But you will be general. My general.’
He understood her very well. As he had absolutely no support amongst the French and Indians, unlike either Marcel or Peyraud, he had only the Begum on whom to rely. She walked a very tight rope indeed, but she had been doing that since Renaud died. And she appeared to enjoy it.
Sombre would have been proud of her.
‘Your general, Highness.’
She squeezed his hands, and kissed him again. ‘Now I feel more secure than for a long time. But I would reward you even more. It may well be necessary for me to begin to share my favours again, if it will keep my officers happy. You will not be jealous, my Richard.’
He would be, he knew. ‘There is a better way to secure their loyalty, Aljai.’
‘How?’
‘Let me lead them on a campaign, a raid into Scindhia.’
‘Stir Scindhia into action against us?’ she cried vehemently. ‘That would be disastrous! We have been fortunate that de Boigne has not retaliated for Peyraud’s senseless adventure. I know he has troubles. A certain robber chieftain named Appa has revolted against him, close to our borders, and declared himself independent of Scindhia. This is good for Sardhana. It creates a buffer state between us and de Boigne. And it was this Appa’s lands that Peyraud raided earlier this year. But who can tell when de Boigne will crush him like a nut, and turn upon us? No, no, we shall not trouble Scindhia.’
Not for the first time Richard was taken aback by the grasp she kept on affairs, no matter how she appeared to let herself be distracted by personal desires.
‘Anyway,’ she went on, ‘should you lead my armies on a campaign and meet with the slightest reverse, they would murder you out of hand. No, no, you will stay here, where your life will be my concern. You interrupted me. I will give you a wife, to warm your bed when I am otherwise engaged. You may have the little Scottish girl. Would you not like that?’
Richard opened his mouth and then closed it again. ‘I would not have her against her will.’
The Begum gave one of her delightful throaty laughs. ‘You may do what you will with her, as far as I am concerned. I am sure you will think of many things. I assure you that she is a woman, however young. Indeed, I suspect she will grow into a handsome one, properly cared for. Will you pretend the thought of having her does not please you?’ She seized the front of his breeches. ‘I can tell it does.’
‘Highness…’ he did not know what to say. Of course the idea of possessing Caty pleased him. But would the idea please her?
‘Let us appear before my people, and announce my decisions,’ Aljai said.
*
The Begun’s announcement left the French officers speechless. But there was nothing they could do. Before she made her appearance she had Richard’s sword and pistols restored to him, and he stood at her side, hands resting on the butts.
‘So cheer your new general,’ Aljai commanded.
There was a moment’s hesitation, then Peyraud said, ‘Three cheers for our new general! Hip, hip…’
They cheered loudly. But without enthusiasm.
When they were finished, Peyraud asked, Now that we have a new general, Highness, will we go to war?’
‘War?’ Aljai demanded. ‘Why should we go to war? My kingdom is prosperous. There is no reason for war.’
For the moment she was more interested in Richard’s marriage, if it could be called that. Neither Richard nor Caty was Catholic, and the Begum understood that their respective Anglican and Presbyterian upbringings left them more opposed to their sister religion than to outright atheism, so she decided to perform the ceremony herself. She summoned twelve of her officers, and twelve of her leading citizens, and had them brought to her reception chamber, where Richard waited. His emotions were considerably confused. On the one hand, he desired the Begum, and the thought that she again intended to share her favours was most disagreeable. Had he fallen in love with her? That would truly be to sell his soul to the devil.
At the same time, the thought of Caty, young, unhappy, innocent…but could any girl who had served the Begum he totally innocent? Had she not probably, at her mistress’s command, already shared in castrating a man, slowly? And if she had shared in bathing him, had she not equally shared in bathing others? Even Peyraud? He discovered that he was growing to dislike his erstwhile friend as much as Peyraud obviously disliked him.
He wore his new white uniform, with gold braid at the shoulders and across the chest. His hat was a hussar shako with a drooping liripipe.
He was unarmed, save for the gold-plated sword the Begum had given him from her late husband’s treasure room.
She stood in front of him, wearing a cloth-of-gold sari, gold earrings and a sapphire-and-diamond brooch at her breast.
When all were assembled, she clapped her hands. The drapes parted, and C
aty was brought in.
This was a Caty Richard had never seen before. She was totally concealed beneath a voluminous white sari which was also folded over her head and half across her face; her yellow hair was invisible. She wore gold sandals, and gold earrings, but no other jewellery. She looked watchful rather than happy—as well as she might, Richard supposed. After all, what did she know of him?
Aljai smiled, and went to greet her, taking her hand and leading her forward, to place the hand in Richard’s. Then she faced the assembly, and said, ‘I, the Begum of Sardhana, by the authority vested in me by His Excellency the Great Mughal, Shah Alam II, whom Allah preserve, give this slave girl, Catronia Paterson, to my faithful general and commander-in-chief of my armies, Richard Bryant, to be his wife and his handmaiden, for the rest of her life.’
It was the first time Richard had heard Caty’s real name.
*
There was an elaborate wedding feast. Aljai and her guests sat on cushions in the great hall, and outside the Begum’s army also feasted. All Agra feasted, by the order of the Begum.
They ate channa dhal, or curried chick peas; wengyachen bharit, or curried aubergines; pakoras, or vegetable fritters; sambar, or lentils cooked with spices; khichri, or rice with lentils; and ekuri, or scrambled eggs with chilli. For meat there was first of all poultry, murghi biryani, or chicken with rice; and murg massalam, or baked spiced chicken. Then the meats themselves, turkari molee, or lamb and coconut curry; kabab massalam, or lamb kebabs; sag gosht, or lamb and spinach curry; and raan, legs of lamb marinated in spiced yogurt and roasted.
This was accompanied by tali machee, or deep fried spiced fish; adrak chatni, or ginger chutney; tamatar chatni, or tomato chutney; raita, or yogurt salad; sambal, or egg salad; parathas, or fried wholewheat bread; and chappatis, or unleavened bread.
To finish there was gulab jamun, or deep-fried dough balls, and kulfi, or ice-cream.
They drank water, rice beer and fermented coconut water, and finished up with rum manufactured from the sugar cane grown outside the city.
The meal went on for hours. Richard sat between Aljai and Caty, and while Aljai chatted constantly, with both him and with Peyraud on her right, all the while expertly rolling rice and curry into balls between her fingers to pop into her mouth, Caty never said a word.
Richard himself had little to say. He was too aware of the small, anxious figure beside him, and equally of the voluptuous confidence of the Begum on his other side.
But at last, when it was growing dark and the lanterns had been lit, Aljai clapped her hands.
‘Do not disturb yourselves, my friends, my officers,’ she said, as the whole assembly would have risen. ‘I will return to you. I need to see my general and his bride safely bedded.’
They gave a roar of approbation; certainly there were no signs of disaffection this night.
Caty was already standing, and Richard rose also. He felt called upon to say something, and so he stammered, ‘I thank you. I thank you all,’ although he knew it was only Aljai that needed to be thanked.
*
She escorted them to his apartment.
‘Dismiss your servant,’ she said. ‘I will attend you this night.’
Richard realised that she regarded them as two toys, with whom she was playing. But he sent Hanif away.
‘Now let us unveil your bride, Richard,’ Aljai said.
Caty stood rigidly while the Begum unwound her sari. It was a slow process, and Aljai made it even slower, uncovering the girl’s pale flesh inch by inch.
‘She will be a worthy wife for a famous warrior,’ Aljai said. ‘In time.’
Richard had always in the past been afraid to look at her with the boldness of desire. Now he could do so, take in the smooth pale skin, the pointed girlish breasts, the narrow thighs and small buttocks, the well-formed, straight legs.
‘She is a virgin,’ Aljai reminded him. ‘She will know no man but you, Richard. As I knew no man but Sombre,’ she mused, ‘until this last year.’
Since when you have made up for it a hundred-fold, Richard thought.
‘Now let us attend to your lord and master,’ Aljai said.
It was all part of a game she wished to play. Richard stood still while they removed his sword and then undressed him in turn. Caty was doing nothing she had not done already, for her mistress’s pleasure, and she approached her duty with the serious expression he had grown to love. Aljai bubbled with good humour, as she uncovered him, and gave him a playful pull.
‘Not ready? You are a droll fellow, my Richard.’
‘I have eaten and drunk far too much. I will be ready, Highness.’
‘But it must be now.’
He realised to his dismay that she intended to remain for the consummation.
‘Oh, indeed,’ she said, reading his expression. ‘I know you, my Richard. You feel sorry for little Caty. I have no doubt that if she were to utter the slightest protest you would spare her for as long as she wished. And she is afraid, aren’t you, my pet?’
Caty licked her lips. She certainly looked nervous, but whether she was more afraid of her mistress or her husband was difficult to decide.
‘So I will stay and help you over any difficulties that may arise,’ Aljai announced. ‘Even your own.’ She pulled him again. ‘Now the divan.’
Richard looked at Caty, and Caty looked back. Her blue eyes were enormous, and her body was trembling.
He held out his hand, and she took it. He led her to the divan, and after a moment’s hesitation she lay down. Her legs were close together, but after another hesitation she opened them, as no doubt she had seen her mistress do often enough.
He knelt between, hoping he was hard enough now; his only ambition was to get it over with, and then Aljai would leave them…and they could perhaps begin their life together.
‘Oh, no,’ Aljai remarked. ‘Oh, no, no, no. Have I taught you nothing, my Richard? Will you go at her like a bull elephant? Softly, softly, my dear boy. Make love to her. Do not rape her.’ She kissed the back of his neck. ‘Would you like me to remind you?’ Her arms went round him, and she rubbed her breasts up and down his shoulders.
He realised that she had undressed herself, with great speed.
He lay on Caty, and kissed her mouth. It was closed, but then opened, and he possessed her tongue. He lay beside her and fondled her, playing with the small breasts and between her legs. Aljai did the same, playing with him as well. Time ceased, as the three bodies twined together. Caty began to gasp, and her flesh became covered in a fine layer of sweat.
‘Now,’ Aljai said. ‘Now, Richard.’
He parted the girl’s legs and thrust between. She gasped and shuddered, and he felt her tense beneath him. But Aljai had done her work well. Caty was ready for him, and he was ready for her. He climaxed very quickly, and Aljai clapped her hands in pleasure.
‘She will do so, in time,’ she promised. ‘She is just afraid. But you will bring her to joy, as you have so often brought me to joy, my Richard. Oh, indeed. Now I will leave you.’ She wrapped herself in her sari, staring at the naked bodies on the bed. ‘I have much to do.’
*
She was in such an aroused state that Richard thought she might bed the entire army. But suddenly he no longer cared. He raised himself on his elbow, and looked down at his wife.
‘Catriona Paterson,’ he said. ‘What happened to your parents?’
Her eyes had been shut. Now they opened, and she looked from right to left.
‘She has gone,’ Richard assured her.
Breath rushed from her nostrils in relief.
‘Are you that afraid of her?’
‘Are you not afraid of the Begum, my lord?’
‘Well…I suppose I am. But she is my friend. And therefore she is your friend, too, now. I am sorry about what she made me do.’
‘I am glad of it,’ Caty said, and blushed. ‘I would belong to no man but you, my lord.’
‘You do not belong to me, Caty.
We belong to each other.’
‘My father was killed when Patna fell,’ she told him.
‘How old were you?’
‘Five.’
My God, he thought; I have been married to a fourteen-year-old girl.
‘And you remember?’
She shuddered. ‘I remember, my lord. They cut off his head.’
‘In the privacy of our bedchamber, I am Richard, not your lord. And the moment it is possible, I will have our union blessed in a church.’ He kissed her, softly, on the mouth, and her hand sought his. ‘Does it hurt you to speak of your parents?’
‘A little, my lord.’
‘Richard,’ he reminded her. ‘Say it.’
Her eyes were enormous. ‘Richard.’
‘And your mother?’
‘My mother was very beautiful. The Lord Sombre took her for one of his concubines. But she died, three years ago.’
‘What was her name?’
‘Mary, my lord.’
‘Mary Paterson,’ he mused. ‘And for three years you have been alone. But you will be alone no longer, Caty.’
‘No…Richard.’ Her eyes were watchful.
‘I am your husband,’ he reminded her. ‘I will strive to make you happy, if you will do the same for me.’
‘Yes, Richard.’
Clearly she did not believe him. In her life, men had not sought to make their women happy.
He kissed her, again softly. ‘It will happen,’ he promised.
*
He began to realise that he was totally happy. And the mainspring of his happiness lay in making Caty as happy as himself. He watched her bloom and brighten as she understood that he was not going to whip her, or use her unnaturally, or even curse and swear at her, that he genuinely wanted to please her.
When, two months later, it became apparent that she was pregnant, they both wept for joy.
Aljai was pleased too. She wanted no children of her own, since she had no plans for Sardhana after she was dead, and treated Renaud’s daughters by his other wives as servants, but she was pleased to have proof of the virility of one of her lovers.
She summoned Richard to her bed once a week. Of course he knew that the previous night it would have been Peyraud, and that the following night it would be someone else, but that no longer mattered.
Sword of Fortune Page 13
