When they arrived, even though it had been a joy to ride with Ian, Brucena was glad to be back.
Her own comfortable bedroom seemed very attractive after the austerity of the Dak bungalows and the maid who always attended her had everything ready, including a bath, which was a luxury that was not afforded to travellers.
Wearing one of her prettiest gowns, she went into the sitting room, excited at the thought of being with Ian having learnt that Amelie did not intend to join them at dinner but had retired to bed.
To her joy Ian was alone in the sitting room, looking extremely smart in the evening clothes of the Bengal Lancers and, when his eyes met hers, she could not stop herself from running towards him.
He put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm’s length, saying as he did so,
“You look very beautiful, my darling, but then you always do.”
“I hope you will always think so,” Brucena said. “And shall I tell you how handsome I think you are or will you grow conceited?”
“I am the most conceited man in the world because you love me,” Ian answered.
As he spoke, he pulled her close against him and she lifted her face to his, longing for the touch of his lips on hers.
He looked down at her for a long moment before he kissed her with long slow passionate kisses that made her heart beat tumultuously.
She wanted to be close to him and for him to go on kissing her, but to her surprise he took his arms from her and drew her to the sofa.
As they sat down, he began,
“I have something to tell you, my darling.”
“What is it?”
She knew by his tone that it was something serious and she felt some of the rapture that his kisses had evoked in her ebb away as if she had been touched by a cold wind.
“Early tomorrow morning,” Ian answered quietly, “your cousin and I have to leave.”
“To – leave?” Brucena repeated. “But you have only just – returned. You cannot go – away so soon!”
“We have to.”
“Why? Why? Surely Cousin William understands that you need rest?”
Ian looked away from her and she knew that he was choosing his words and wondering how much he could tell her.
Then, perceptively, because they were so close that she could almost read his thoughts, she said,
“It has something to do with the Thugs. Something you found out when you were in Gwalior.”
“I do not want you to ask me questions.”
“I have to know! That is the truth, is it not?” Brucena persisted. “You brought Cousin William some information that is valuable and he has to act on it at once.”
Ian smiled.
“You are not only beautiful but very intelligent, my darling, something that one day I may find of great use to me. But now I just want you to trust me.”
“Then trust me,” Brucena challenged him. “And tell me!”
“If I did that, I would be betraying secrets that are not mine alone,” Ian answered. “I can only tell you that it is of great importance that we should act at once and I must leave you to imagine the rest.”
With a superhuman effort Brucena bit back the protests that rose to her lips.
She was sure, without Ian filling in the details, that when in disguise in Gwalior he had discovered the whereabouts of a number of Thugs who were still in their own territory.
It was obvious that they must be caught before they could murder any more unsuspecting travellers and to delay might give them a chance to escape to Gwalior, where neither Ian nor Cousin William could follow them.
Because she loved Ian and wanted to please him, Brucena forced herself to say,
“I – understand.”
Ian’s expression was very tender as he replied,
“I knew I could rely on you and, when this is over and I come back, I promise you the first thing we are going to do, you and I, is to plan our Wedding. I do not intend to wait long for you to become my wife.”
He saw the light that came into Brucena’s eyes and thought that no woman could look more radiant or more glorious.
Then he kissed her until they heard footsteps outside the door and William Sleeman came in dressed for dinner.
*
Because they had said ‘goodbye’ the night before, Brucena, who was awake before dawn broke, did not leave her room when she heard Ian and Cousin William ride off the following morning.
She had known how serious their mission was when they took all the available mounted irregulars with them, leaving behind only four Sepoy infantrymen in the charge of a Corporal to guard the bungalow.
When her father in Scotland had told her about what he had called ‘Cousin William’s Private Army’, Brucena had thought that it must be a very adequate force.
On arrival in India, however, Brucena had learnt that the area under his jurisdiction was twice as large as England, Scotland and Wales combined.
Now she told herself miserably that he and Ian had not nearly enough men with them to destroy a hostile force.
Supposing the Thugs outnumbered them to such an extent that they were all killed in the conflict?
The mere idea of Ian being strangled by a yellow scarf and then disappearing never to be found or heard of again was a horror that seemed to impinge on Brucena so vividly that she wanted to scream and run from her bedroom and beg Ian not to leave her.
Yet she knew that he would be shocked by and contemptuous of such weakness, so instead she lay in bed listening for the sounds of his departure, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails hurt the palms of her hands.
There was the jingle of the harness, the sounds of fidgeting hoofs on the hard ground, and a number of low-voiced commands.
Then she guessed that the moment had come when Cousin William and Ian walked from the bungalow to mount their horses.
There was the first light of dawn on the Eastern horizon, while the last glimmer of the evening stars were fading into the sable darkness.
Then they were riding away and she listened until finally there was silence except for the crow of a cock as the day broke.
*
“Don’t look so worried, ma chérie,” Amelie admonished Brucena later in the morning.
The sun was beginning to grow strong and the gardeners were spraying the grass and flowers with water.
“How can you be so calm – and unperturbed?” Brucena asked resentfully.
“My William is a very clever man,” Amelie replied in French, “and Ian Hadleigh is clever too. They have already outwitted, arrested or exterminated hundreds of Thugs and I cannot believe that this expedition will be any different from the others.”
Brucena gave a little laugh.
“The only difference is that I am involved in it now and that, as far as I am concerned, makes it more terrifying and – perhaps more important them any expeditions they have taken in the past.”
“You will grow used to it,” Amelie promised her.
“I – hope so.”
But Brucena’s tone of voice was not optimistic.
It took her thoughts off what might be happening to Ian when Azim came from the servants’ quarters to bring her some flowers. .
He handed them to her politely with a little bow that his new foster parents must have taught him and, when she knelt down to put her arms round him, he smiled at her with the same entrancing expression that had attracted her on the first day they had met.
“You are happy?” she asked him in Urdu.
He nodded and brought out from some part of his new clothes the little ball of pink silk that she had given him and a wooden whistle, which Indians often carved for their children.
He was obviously delighted with his possessions and showed them off, blowing the whistle at least a dozen times. Then, seeing one of the gardeners working below them, he ran from the verandah` to show him his toys.
“He is a dear little boy,” Brucena enthused.
“Having him h
ere has made the cook’s wife a very happy woman,” Amelie replied. “She came to me in tears of joy this morning to tell me that, because they now have Azim, her husband no longer wishes to take another wife.”
“I should have thought that with the sons and daughters he has already, he has quite enough,” Brucena remarked.
“A large family is a sign of prosperity,” Amelie told her, “and our cook is very conscious of his importance in being in William’s employment.”
Brucena laughed.
“Now I know that when I count the number of children my staff have, I shall be able to gauge Ian’s social standing!”
“Perhaps one day you will have a Government House to administer and that means hundreds of servants at your command.’
“Are you still ambitious for me?” Brucena asked. “There is no need, Amelie. I am so happy that I could not be any happier if Ian was made Governor-General.”
“I still hope that you will be ‘my Lady’ one way or another,” Amelie said, as if she was determined to stick to her convictions.
Even as she spoke there was a sound of approaching horses and, as Brucena looked at Amelie, almost simultaneously their lips formed the same words,
“Lord Rawthorne!”
Brucena had completely forgotten him and his promise to visit them.
In her anxiety over Ian and the joy of his safe return the previous evening, Lord Rawthorne, or anyone else for that matter, had ceased to exist.
Now round the corner of the drive came a carriage with a familiar figure inside it and behind was an escort of Gwalior Cavalry.
‘What a nuisance,’ Brucena thought. ‘Why does he have to turn up now? Especially with Cousin William away.’
She knew that he would be difficult and she wondered quickly whether it would be possible for both her and Amelie to retire to bed and have the servants tell him that they were indisposed.
Before she could come to any decision, it was far too late.
Lord Rawthorne had joined them on the verandah and was making himself what he believed to be agreeable with his usual self-confidence combined with a touch of arrogance.
“I deeply regret, my Lord, that my husband has been called away and therefore cannot receive you,” Amelie told him.
“I am sorry to miss him,” Lord Rawthorne replied, “but I am quite content to find that you and Miss Nairn are still here.”
As he spoke, his eyes were on Brucena and it was quite obvious, without his saying so, that he was interested only in her presence.
She had feared that he would be difficult and now she found that she was not mistaken.
He paid her fulsome compliments, regardless of the fact that Amelie was listening and, when they retired to dress for dinner, Brucena urged her,
“For Goodness sake don’t leave me alone with him!”
“I think you would be wise to tell him that you are engaged,” Amelie suggested. “That should at least dampen his ardour a little.”
“I doubt it, but I have every intention of doing so the moment the opportunity arises.”
She did not add that she was rather dreading the moment because she was not certain how Lord Rawthorne would react.
All through dinner he never took his eyes off her and it was with the greatest difficulty that she managed to keep the conversation going between the three of them.
“We will leave you to your port, my Lord,” Amelie declared as the meal finished and she rose from the table.
However Lord Rawthorne replied,
“I have no wish to be left alone. I will join you ladies in the sitting room and drink my port there, although actually a glass of brandy would be more to my liking.”
The Head Servant, who spoke and understood English, followed them into the sitting room, carrying a decanter of brandy, which he set down beside Lord Rawthorne’s chair.
Brucena glanced at the clock wondering for how long they must make desultory conversation before she could claim that she wished to go to bed.
Then to Brucena’s relief, Amelie decided, from the expression in Lord Rawthorne’s eyes as he looked at Brucena, that the time had come to say something.
Amelie then said,
“It is at the moment a secret, my Lord, but I feel that as you are a friend you would like to give Brucena your good wishes as she is engaged to be married!”
If Amelie had intended to startle Lord Rawthorne, she certainly succeeded.
He stiffened and there was an almost ferocious note in his voice as he demanded,
“Engaged to be married? To whom?”
“To Major Hadleigh,” Amelie replied. “My husband is delighted that she should have found someone we are both very fond of.”
“You are to marry Hadleigh?”
The question was directed at Brucena and, feeling that his tone was impertinent, she raised her chin as she replied,
“As Mrs. Sleeman says, for the moment it is a secret, but we shall announce it as soon as I have written to my father and Ian has informed his relatives.”
“When was this arrangement made? Why did I not know?”
The questions were sharp and seemed almost to echo round the room.
Brucena contrived to look surprised as she replied,
“As you have just been informed – it is a secret.”
There was no doubt that Lord Rawthorne was furious and Brucena was thinking that this would be a good time to retire when a servant came into the room to speak in a low voice to Amelie.
She rose from her chair, saying,
“I will not be a moment, but there is a man who wishes to see William and in his absence I have to take a message.”
She went from the room before Brucena had a chance to follow her.
The moment they were alone Lord Rawthorne started again,
“It’s intolerable! I have no intention of allowing you to marry Hadleigh!”
“I don’t understand – what you are saying,” Brucena replied.
“You understand perfectly well,” he answered. “You know that I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. It was only because you left Gwalior in such a hurry that I was not able to talk to you as I had intended to do.”
“It is too late now to say anything that – you might regret,” Brucena murmured.
“I should certainly not regret anything I said to you,” Lord Rawthorne said. “I understand now why you were keeping me at arm’s length, but nothing has happened that is not irrevocable.”
“Again I don’t understand what you are trying to say.”
“Then let me spell it out to you,” Lord Rawthorne said. “I want you and you will marry me!”
“That is certainly something you should not have said,” Brucena replied. “I am engaged to Ian Hadleigh – and I intend to marry him.”
“And I tell you I will do everything to prevent it! Good God, can you really prefer that obscure unimportant Thug-catcher to me?”
If he had not spoken so seriously and so violently, it might have been amusing, but, as it was, it flashed through Brucena’s mind that he might in some way be able to hurt Ian.
If he was resentful, he might disparage him to his superior Officers and complaints from distinguished personages had in the past often been instrumental in ruining a man’s career and her father had told her that.
It suddenly struck her that she must be very tactful in order to protect Ian and she wished that Amelie had said nothing but had left Lord Rawthorne to find out later that she was not free.
However the damage, if it was damage, was done and she must now be astute enough to prevent his Lordship from taking revenge on the man she loved.
“I-I feel I should – say,” she said in a quiet, hesitating little voice, “how very – honoured I am that – your Lordship should have thought of me in the – manner you are indicating – but it never struck me for – one moment that that might be the case.”
“You must have been aware of my intentions,” he carried on.
; Brucena smiled.
“Your Lordship has a reputation, which you must know well, of being very successful as a – ladies’ man.’ I could not guess for one moment that where I was concerned you were in any way – serious.”
As she spoke, she knew that the flattery had to some extent alleviated his anger and, after a moment’s pause, he said,
“I admit that there has been a little gossip about me in the past, but I knew from the moment I saw you that you were different.”
“How could I be?” Brucena asked, spreading out her hands in a helpless gesture.
“I would like to know the answer to that question myself,” Lord Rawthorne countered. “I only know that you attract me in a manner that is different from anything I have felt before. The more I see you, the more I fall in love with you.”
He paused before he added,
“I meant to tell you the moment you came to Gwalior. I thought it would be very romantic there, perhaps in the exotic setting of His Highness’s Palace. But you left with such precipitate haste that I had no chance to do anything but follow you.”
“I am sorry – so very sorry,” Brucena muttered.
“Are you sorry?”
There was a meaning that she had not intended behind his question and so she responded quickly,
“I am sorry that you should have gone to so much trouble on my behalf – I would not wish you in any way to be unhappy.”
“That is something I do not intend to be,” he said with a sudden resolute note in his voice that frightened her.
Then to her relief Amelie came back into the room.
“It was nothing very important,” she said. “Just a message that I have to convey to my husband on his return.”
She glanced from Brucena to Lord Rawthorne as she spoke and she sensed a feeling of tension in the air.
“I am sure, my Lord,” she suggested, “that you would like to retire early tonight. Tomorrow, if you are still with us, I would be glad to give a dinner party for you. We have various neighbours, who I am sure would be very honoured to meet you.”
“That would be delightful, Mrs. Sleeman,” Lord Rawthorne replied.
But his eyes were still on Brucena as he spoke and both she and Amelie knew that his thoughts were elsewhere.
Terror in the Sun Page 12
