Letters from the Dead (Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery Book 7)

by Steve Robinson

  ‘Bella, darling!’

  It was Elspeth.

  ‘And Jane!’ Elspeth added as soon as she saw her. ‘I didn’t expect to find you here.’

  Arabella gave her mother a kiss, which seemed to surprise her. ‘We were just watching the sunset from my balcony.’

  ‘How lovely. Can I join you?’

  Arabella cast a quick, worried glance back at Jane, who was still standing by the balcony doors. ‘Of course,’ she said, walking ahead of her mother and pulling a face at Jane, silently asking whatever was she going to do now?

  As they all stood by the balustrade watching the sun dip ever lower in the hazy evening sky, Jane noticed that Arabella’s eyes were fixed on the stream, watching for Naresh’s signal. If it came now, she wondered what on earth Arabella would do. Jane had no doubt that Elspeth, should she discover her daughter’s plans to elope, would hold quite the opposite view to her own.

  Elspeth turned to her daughter. ‘It’s so beautiful, I almost forgot why I came to your room in the first place.’ She held out her hand to Arabella, opening it to reveal a square of bright cerise cloth. ‘I know your birthday is still a few weeks away, but as I’ve so little else to occupy myself with I’ve been making a few arrangements. I know your favourite colour is yellow, but I saw this at the cloth market the other day and thought it would brighten the place up a treat. What do you think?’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ Arabella said, running her fingers over the material.

  ‘I mean to make up for the meagre offerings of last year aboard that wretched ship,’ Elspeth said. ‘I’m putting a guest list together and sorting out the menus. I’ll run through it all with you nearer the time, of course. I just wanted to know what you thought of this colour before I commit to it.’

  ‘I think it will do very well.’

  ‘Oh dear. You don’t sound very excited about it. You’re going to be eighteen. That’s something to celebrate. I wish I was eighteen again.’

  Jane had also picked up on the melancholy in Arabella’s voice. Unlike her mother, she knew it was because there would be no birthday party. By the time Arabella turned eighteen, she and her prince would be long gone.

  Arabella gave no reply. She looked almost tearful as she turned her attention back to the stream. Jane knew she had to do something to get Elspeth out of the room. The sun was almost over the horizon, the sky darkening rapidly. It was still a little early for supper, but for now that was the only excuse she could think of.

  ‘Is anyone else hungry?’ she said. ‘I’m absolutely famished.’

  ‘To tell the truth,’ Elspeth said, ‘I’ve had little appetite since we arrived in India. How about you, dear?’ she added, turning to Arabella.

  ‘I’m not hungry either,’ Arabella said, clearly not wishing to leave her balcony until she saw Naresh’s signal.

  Jane gave her a gentle nudge to let her know she was up to something.

  ‘That is to say,’ Arabella quickly added, ‘I’ve not been feeling at all well. I don’t think I could eat anything just now.’

  ‘Really? You poor child. I know just how you mean. I have some pills that should soon sort you out.’

  ‘I think I just need to lie down and rest.’

  ‘A drink before supper then?’ Jane offered.

  A pre-supper drink was nothing Elspeth didn’t ordinarily practise every evening, but Jane rarely joined her and had never suggested it.

  Elspeth smiled at the idea. ‘That’s a splendid suggestion, Jane,’ she said, stepping back from the balcony as if suddenly keen to leave. To Arabella she said, ‘You get some rest, darling. I’ll pop in later to see how you’re feeling.’

  As her mother turned to leave, Arabella went to her and held her tightly in a show of affection Jane seldom saw between them. Elspeth slowly and somewhat awkwardly returned her embrace.

  ‘Very well, dear,’ Elspeth said, patting Arabella’s back as she waited for her daughter to let go.

  When she did, Jane offered her the warmest smile she could muster. Then she led her from the room, leaving Arabella to what she hoped would be a grand future with her young sowar-prince.

  Supper that evening was a sombre affair. By the time they had finished their soup and started on the cold meats and cheeses, Elspeth had had too little of the wine and brandy she was so fond of to bring about the loquacious, if often uncharacteristically poor, behaviour that so unsettled her husband. To the contrary, she had said little since Sir John had joined them, and even he did not seem his usual self. As for Jane, her mind was preoccupied with Arabella, imagining that, as the sun had now long since set, she was sitting on the back of Nilakantha with Naresh Bharat Singh, riding hard and fast towards their destiny.

  ‘No Captain Fraser?’ she asked Sir John. ‘I was sure to find him at supper again this evening.’

  ‘Sadly, Captain Fraser has had to leave us on important Company matters,’ Sir John said. ‘But never fear, he’ll be joining us again very soon.’

  Jane was far from overjoyed by the prospect. She supposed that life at the residency was going to be very dull in Arabella’s absence, although she did not expect that Captain Fraser would be as keen to keep up his attendance once he discovered that the object of his affections was no longer there, which was some blessing.

  ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you, Sir John, how is your son?’

  ‘Very well, last I heard, which was some months ago now. He’s studying at the East India College at Haileybury.’

  ‘That’s in Hertfordshire, isn’t it?’

  ‘Aye. He wants to be an administrator, of all things.’

  Jane helped herself to another slice of roast fowl. ‘You don’t approve?’

  ‘It was his mother’s idea,’ Sir John said, grimacing as he pulled something from his teeth. ‘It’s a decent profession, of course, and the East India Company certainly needs administrators. Personally, I’d have preferred it if he’d taken a more active role with the Company, as befits a healthy young man of his age. He could have become a captain, perhaps even a lieutenant, by now. That’s how I started.’

  ‘Or he could be dead,’ Elspeth cut in, her tone cold. ‘Could you please pass the Madeira, Jane?’

  Jane reached for the decanter, but she froze partway as the door opened. It was Arabella, her face fixed in a downcast expression.

  ‘Is there any supper left?’

  ‘Of course,’ Sir John said. ‘You know we keep a plentiful table.’

  ‘I’m glad to see you have your appetite back,’ Elspeth said. ‘You do look rather peaky, mind. Perhaps something to eat will do you good.’

  Arabella sat down, and Jane saw an almost imperceptible shake of her head as she did so, letting her know, as she already suspected, that her prince had not come for her. She wondered why, certain that the reason was not of Bharat Singh’s own volition.

  What, then, had happened?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jaipur, March 1823

  Four days passed without word from Naresh Bharat Singh. Until the end of the first day, Jane remained open to Arabella’s certainty that his family must have heard of his plan to elope with her in time to prevent it. As the days passed, however, Jane began to have her doubts. As she saw it, there were a number of possible reasons why Naresh had not come for Arabella. Had her servant, Pranil, somehow betrayed her after all? Jane thought not, or Arabella’s father would surely have locked her in her room. Had something else befallen Bharat Singh on his way to the stream? It was certainly possible, but the young sowar-prince knew the land well and had made the journey a great many times before.

  By the fifth day, an unsettling thought had occurred to Jane. It concerned the absence of Captain Fraser from the residency the evening Bharat Singh was supposed to have come for Arabella. He had been there all day, yet he was not at supper, having been called away on Company matters. Was it a lie? Was Bharat Singh the real reason? Jane shuddered to think of the implications, but how could Fraser have known? Jane’s mind cir
cled back to Pranil, supposing it possible that Arabella’s servant, if indeed he had betrayed her, could have done so in time for Fraser to intercept Bharat Singh that night. Or had Fraser simply overheard Arabella in the courtyard two days before she was due to leave, talking of her plan to elope? Jane couldn’t know, but if either of the latter scenarios were true, what then for Naresh Bharat Singh?

  It was late morning and Jane, having written to her brother after breakfast, as was her custom on a Monday, strolled quietly through the grounds of the residency beneath the shade of her parasol. At her mother’s insistence, Arabella had gone to the bazaar with Elspeth to pick out something that could be used as a table favour for her upcoming birthday party, and for obvious reasons Arabella had been reluctant to go. Jane supposed they would be back soon. Then she imagined Arabella would continue to beseech her to find a way to take her to Kishangarh in pursuit of the answers she was so desperate to find. If Kishangarh had been closer to Jaipur she would have gladly taken a fast gig there with Arabella days ago. But it was a journey that would take three or four days, across more than sixty miles of unfamiliar and potentially dangerous terrain for two women travelling without escort.

  At length she came to the main gate, having ambled thus far with no urgency in her step. When she saw the fine carriages and well-dressed Rajputs gathered in the quadrangle before the gate, however, her step increased with her curiosity. Someone of great importance was clearly visiting the Resident at Jaipur and she was eager to find out who it was. Sir John was always keen to say when anyone of importance was coming to see him, but she had heard nothing. This visit, then, had to be one of an impromptu nature. As Jane drew closer to the entourage, she recognised the finest of the carriages among them and caught her breath. She had seen this carriage at the residency before. It belonged to Bharat Singh’s brother, the Maharaja of Kishangarh.

  Jane did not proceed further. Instead, she backtracked briskly around the building, entering beneath a pillared terrace where she collapsed her parasol before going back inside the building via a side entrance. The maharaja’s visit could only be in connection with his brother, she supposed, and in light of what she knew, she was desperate to hear what he had to say. Having had no time to prepare for the visit, she imagined Sir John would receive him in his study, where he worked most mornings.

  She crossed the central courtyard where she and Arabella had previously met the maharaja, and then went through to the rear of the building to the west, where it was cooler in the mornings. Another door took her outside again, this time into a much smaller courtyard, where a bored-faced punkah wallah sat beneath the shade of a tiled canopy. That was a good sign. It meant that Sir John was indeed in his study, the room being fanned by the man sitting outside his lattice windows.

  The punkah wallah paid her no attention as she stepped cautiously closer to the latticework. As wrong as Jane knew it was to listen to the conversation taking place inside, she could not let such an opportunity pass. If not for her own satisfaction then she would do so for Arabella’s, whom she felt had every right to know what was being said if it concerned the man she intended to marry. At hearing Sir John speak, it was apparent that she had arrived in good time.

  ‘I was not expecting you, Your Highness, or I would have laid on a more befitting welcome. That said, I believe I know why you’re here.’

  ‘I am here because of my brother,’ Kalyan Singh said. ‘Several nights ago, he came to me with wild dreams of marrying your daughter.’

  ‘Aye,’ Sir John said, drawing out the word. ‘My daughter, Arabella, came to me with the same delusion. I, of course, told her that such a marriage was not possible.’

  ‘No, it is not. My young brother is promised to another, as is our way.’

  ‘I fully understand.’

  ‘Good. Then perhaps you can tell me where my brother is. He was seen riding out of our palace at Kishangarh alone five nights ago. No one has seen him since. It is my fear that he has fled with your daughter on a most foolish endeavour.’

  ‘I can assure you my daughter is here in Jaipur,’ Sir John said. ‘Your brother . . .’ His voice trailed off.

  Jane pressed her ear closer to the latticework window. Did Sir John know something of the whereabouts of Bharat Singh? From his hesitation to continue, she supposed he did.

  ‘Before I go on, Your Highness, I must stress that I knew nothing of the matter for two days, at which time, word was sent to you immediately. But of course you were not at Kishangarh to receive it. You were on your way to see me.’

  ‘What are you saying?’ the maharaja said. ‘To which matter do you refer? If you have something to say about my brother, then say it quickly.’

  ‘Very well. I regret to inform you that your brother is dead.’

  Outside the lattice window, Jane gasped so loudly she was sure someone other than the punkah wallah must have heard her. She clasped a hand to her mouth and felt it tremble as a tear fell on to her cheek. Inside the study, all was quiet. Several seconds passed before anyone spoke again. It was Sir John.

  ‘His body was found in the hills southwest of here. Perhaps he was travelling to see Arabella, or perhaps he was on some other business. I know nothing of his reason for being there.’

  ‘If he was found so close to Jaipur, then he was surely travelling to be with your daughter,’ the maharaja said, his voice full of grief and at the same time tinged with anger.

  ‘Who can know with any certainty?’ Sir John said. ‘The only thing we can be sure of is who was responsible.’

  ‘You know who did this terrible thing?’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘Then tell me so that I may cut his heart out!’

  ‘There’ll be no need for that,’ Sir John said. ‘The matter has already been taken care of. Your brother was attacked by dacoits.’

  ‘How can you say that with such confidence?’

  ‘Because I’ve spoken with the man who was tasked to go after them. His name is Captain Fraser. At my recommendation, the Governor-General of Rajputana has placed him in charge of a company of men to stamp out these wretched villains. Following the discovery of your brother’s body, Captain Fraser was quick to act. It was he and his men who came upon an encampment of these dacoits the very next day. His judgement was both swift and decisive, I can tell you. Not a man, woman or child was left alive.’

  ‘And you know these people were responsible for my brother’s death? How?’

  ‘We know they were responsible because your brother was robbed blind. They left him to die with little more than the clothes on his back. His horse was found among the wretched villains.’

  ‘Nilakantha.’

  ‘I don’t know the beast’s name, but Captain Fraser told me he’d seen it before. He knew it at once. Among other items that were seized after the attack was this.’

  The conversation fell silent again, and Jane thought she heard a drawer being opened and closed.

  ‘It is my brother’s ring, identical to my own,’ the maharaja said a moment later, his voice trembling with emotion. ‘There is no doubt then. Justice is done.’

  ‘As I said, Your Highness, Captain Fraser’s response was both swift and decisive.’

  Beyond the lattice windows, Jane slowly sank into a crouch, sliding down the wall until she was able to wrap her arms around her knees. The fact that Arabella’s young sowar-prince was dead took time to sink in. She wondered how on earth she would be able to break the terrible news to Arabella when her own father clearly could not.

  ‘What other items were recovered?’ she heard the maharaja ask. ‘My brother left Kishangarh with gold and many jewels that night. One jewel is most precious to me—a large ruby that has come to represent the blood of many fallen Rajput warriors. I believe he took it purely to spite me for refusing his marriage to your daughter. Where is it?’

  ‘You have to understand that anything of value seized in such a manner becomes a spoil of war, subject to British law. This ring of your brother’s w
as recognised, and so I’ve returned it to you as a gesture of good will. All else has become the property of the Honourable East India Company and His Majesty King George.’

  ‘This is an outrage! The jewels my brother was carrying belong to me.’

  ‘Can you prove it?’

  ‘I do not need to prove ownership of what I know to be mine!’

  ‘I’m afraid you do,’ Sir John said. ‘I’m sorry for your loss, but you’ll have to take the matter up with the governor-general. I’m afraid I can’t help you more than I already have.’

  The room fell silent again, and Jane could imagine the maharaja’s anger and frustration, intermingled with his grief. When he spoke again his voice was surprisingly calm, perhaps because his thoughts had returned to the loss of his brother.

  ‘I wish to see my brother’s body.’

  ‘It was a most savage attack,’ Sir John said. ‘I would caution against it.’

  ‘Let me see him!’ Kalyan Singh said, this time with such assertiveness that Sir John made no further attempt to dissuade him.

  ‘Very well. I’ll make the arrangements.’

  With that, Jane had heard all she needed to hear. She rose unsteadily to her feet and made her way back the way she had come, wondering whether Arabella was home from the bazaar, and whether or not she should tell her what she knew without delay, knowing that to do so would break her heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Present day

  On the morning after Jefferson Tayte had read the latest of Jane Hardwick’s letters, he wolfed down his breakfast of tattie scones and square sausage, taking only as much time as was necessary to eat his meal and to discuss the letter with Sinclair, before going outside for a stroll in the grounds. His reason on this occasion, however, was more exploratory than recreational, having decided overnight that he must satisfy his curiosity as to whether or not there was another way into Drumarthen.