A Garland of Marigolds (15 page)

I nodded unhappily.
“
The trouble is the lining adds to the cost,
”
I explained.

He glanced down at my figures.
“
I think it would prove less costly in the end than persistent seepage.
”

I nodded. It sounded as though he was keen as well and that was what I wanted at that moment, more than anything else in the world.

“
What had you thought of using?
”
he asked me.

I pointed at yet another piece of paper.

“
Possibly butyl. It
’
s easy enough to lay. You just drag the sheets out flat and join them together.
”

“
Or?
”

“
Or P.V.C. The sun might affect it, but if it
’
s buried under six inches of soil, with the edges covered even more carefully and compacted, I think it should last a long while. It has the advantage of being about a third of the cost of the other and the labor costs shouldn
’
t be very great.
”

“
No,
”
he agreed.
“
We can pick up enough cheap labor to do the whole thing in a few days. The difficulty will be in getting the materials.
”

“
I
’
ll get them,
”
I assured him doggedly.
“
I
’
ll get them if it
’
s the last thing I do!
”

Gideon lay back, suddenly exhausted.

“
It may very well be!
”
he said.
“
You
’
d better take a trip to Delhi and see what you can do!
”

I sat very still, scarcely daring to breathe.

“
Do you mean I can go ahead?
”

He grinned.
“
I don
’
t see why not,
”
he said.

I couldn
’
t sleep that night. Every time I turned out the light, I thought of yet another point to do with the dam. By the gray light of dawn I had modified the whole project into a much more sensible unit that had the potential to water most of the research station and not just the two fields on either side of the turgid stream. A wretched bird that I had never heard before stopped just outside my window and mocked my restlessness. I buried my head in the pillow and within a few seconds I was fast asleep.

I awoke only because Camilla was pinching my ear. Resentfully, I struggled to free myself, but she was persistent, and slowly I pulled myself into full consciousness.

“
What do you want?
”
I asked grumpily.

Camilla laughed.
“
Considering it
’
s nearly lunchtime—
”

“
Lunchtime!
”
I sat up hastily and stared at her.
“
It can
’
t be!
”

“
Oh, but it is! And brother Gideon would like to see you when you can spare the time.
”

I gave an abashed glance at the plans of the dam that had fallen on the floor by my bed.

“
Did he say that?
”
I asked, thinking that I recognized Gideon
’
s touch in the words.

Camilla nodded vigorously. Her eyes were lit with laughter, and immediately I was suspicious.

“
What
’
s up?
”
I asked.

“
What should be up? Apart from the fact that you
’
re so late that it
’
s hardly worth your while beginning a day
’
s work!
”

I ignored that, feeling rather ashamed of myself. When I put my feet on the floor and stood up, I felt heavy and immobile as one does when one has slept too deeply after a restless night.

“
How is Gideon?
”
I asked quite grumpily. If it had not been for him I would have been in bed at a more reasonable time and I could have rounded up the
panchayat
by now and told them that I had his approval.

“
Like a bear with a sore head, only it
’
s his leg.
”
Camilla lost the happy note in her voice for an instant.
“
I do hope that doctor set it properly!
”

I hoped so, too. I dressed in a hurry, splashing cold water on my face to make sure I was properly awake. Then I gathered up my papers and put them into some sort of order.

“
Is Gideon waiting for me now?
”
I asked.

Camilla
’
s expression of delight came back.

“
Yes, he is. Now,
”
she said.
I hurried across to the other house with Camilla close behind me. Just outside Gideon
’
s room I took a deep breath and straightened my hair. Then I knocked on the door.

“
Who is it?
”

“
It
’
s me, Suki. May I come in?
”

He was in his dressing gown, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“
Good afternoon!
”
he greeted me wryly.

“
D-did you want me?
”
I asked.

He swung around to look at me, noting the sleepy look that still
showed in my eyes and the pile of papers I had hastily snatched up. And he smiled at Camilla over my shoulder.

“
Shall I tell her?
”
he asked.

Camilla giggled.
“
She wouldn
’
t believe it if anyone else did!
”
she said happily.

Mystified, I tried to read their minds without any success.

“
What is it?
”
I pleaded, half laughing myself.

Gideon balanced himself with some difficulty on his good leg.

“
I
’
ve booked your passage to Delhi,
”
he told me.
“
While you
’
re there you can get all the supplies we need and incidentally, the things you
’
ll need for the dam.
”

CHAPTER EIGHT

It was more a halt than a railway station, with the gleaming curves of the rails running through the two plain platforms that stretched out into the hot sunshine from the narrow strips of shade. Children played all along the lengths of slatted wood, apparently oblivious of the searing rays of the sun; their elders vied with one another for standing room in the shade, waving handmade fans before their faces, completely composed and self-contained even though their neighbor could hardly help treading on their toes.

I found a very small spot of shade for myself and took up as impregnable a position as I could manage.

“
You are lucky!
”
Camilla said for the umpteenth time.
“
I wish I were going with you!
”

“
Why don
’
t you?
”
I asked gently.

She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand.
“
Gideon said no,
”
she answered bitterly.

I judged it wiser to say nothing in reply to that. Gideon probably had a very good reason for not allowing Camilla to go with me to Delhi.

“
How many days will you be away?
”
she asked again.

“
Oh, hardly any time at all. I want to get started on that dam as soon as I can.
”
My eyes caught hers and my own disappointment in her not coming was for the moment as vivid as hers.
“
I wish the train would come!
”
I said moodily.

Almost as if it were to order, the train came into sight, puffing and blowing in the distance, with a swarm of adolescent children running along beside it, almost as if they were willing it to come to a stop the moment it reached the long platform.

Camilla opened one of the doors and wrinkled up her nose at the stuffy atmosphere.

“
You can
’
t travel in this!
”
she exclaimed.

I followed her into the train.
“
It isn
’
t too bad,
”
I comforted myself more than her.
“
And I shall get a seat. It looks even more crowded farther up.
”

I pushed my suitcase up onto the rack and went back to the platform with Camilla.

“
Where
’
s Joseph?
”
she asked, looking about her expectantly. She quite plainly was getting all ready to worry about me traveling on the train alone.
“
You have got that list of addresses that Gideon gave you, haven
’
t you?
”

To oblige her I searched in my ha
n
dbag and produced it triumphantly. Camilla glanced at it with warm approval.

“
There! You can hardly go far wrong with those directions in your pocket. You
’
ve certainly sold Gideon that dam, haven
’
t you?
”

“
I hope so,
”
I agreed. I looked at the list myself, written in Gideon
’
s neat, careful hand, and my eyes filled with sudden tears and for the moment I didn
’
t want to go because Gideon wouldn
’
t be in Delhi. I tried to put him out of my mind—to think of anything else, but the picture of him as I had last seen him, trying to hide the fact that he was in pain and concerned because he was sending a woman on her own into a foreign city, persisted despite my best efforts. I turned my face away from Camilla because I could feel myself blushing and I knew it was not beyond her to discover the reason why.

“
It
’
s terribly hot!
”
I murmured.

Camilla gave me a sympathetic grin.
“
Terribly!
”

A peddler, selling copper and brass and a few silver bracelets, came hurrying over to us.

“
The
memsahibs
would like to buy?
”
he whined.

Camilla brushed him away impatiently, but I was curious to see his goods. The silver in the bangles was not pure, but they were pretty and intricately designed. I asked how much they were, but I never heard the answer. The engine suddenly whistled with all its might and Joseph came running down the platform and practically threw me into the train.

“
It
’
s leaving!
”
he shouted.
“
Good luck!
”

I waved to them both, the tears stinging my eyes again. A multitude of hangers-on grasped the outside of the train so that I could hardly see the vanishing platforms. In a moment I could see nothing at all and settled a little unhappily into my seat, trying not to think about Gideon.

“
Forgive me for interrupting you,
”
my neighbor said after a while.
“
There is someone in the corridor who is trying to attract your attention.
”

I looked first at my neighbor, a gentleman in a turban. His smile was charmingly decorated with a variety of gold-filled teeth and his fingers were bedecked with a number of rings. He smiled and nodded out to the corridor. Standing there, looking in at me and grinning all over his face, stood Joseph.

I stood up hastily and struggled with the door into the corridor.
“
What are you doing here?
”
I demanded when it at last gave way to the insistent pressure of my hand.
“
What have you done with Camilla?
”

His grin grew broader.

“
She stayed behind to look after Gideon, but we agreed that somebody had to go with you, so I was elected.
”

“
Does Gideon know?
”
I asked with grim foreboding.

“
Good heavens, no! He
’
ll probably sack me when I get back!
”
Or me, I reflected bitterly. It would be far more likely to be me. He would never believe that I had never been a party to this mad, stupid idea! Never, never! For I had to admit that I could hardly believe it myself, that they would play such a stupid trick without my consent. And I didn
’
t want Joe with me. There was nothing for him to do in Delhi and I was more than capable of looking after myself.

“
I don
’
t know where you
’
re going to sit,
”
I said coldly.
“
All the seats in my compartment are taken.
”

He looked at me, astonishment slowly taking the place of his pleasure.

“
Aren
’
t you pleased?
”
he demanded.

“
No, I am not!
”
I snapped.
“
Gideon is going to be furious. What did you think you could gain by such idiotic behavior?
”

He shrugged uncomfortably.

“
It didn
’
t seem right to let you go on your own—and besides,
”
he went on dolefully,
“
I thought you
’
d want me to be with you.
”
And in a way I did, I supposed. I was glad that I had someone to help me find my way around. I suppose, too, I was glad to have Joseph
’
s company. He was my friend and in a way he reminded me of Timothy, and anyone who could do that was welcome at the moment. No, the only problem was Gideon
’
s fury. Our only hope was that he would have expended most of it on Camilla before we returned. But that
was
a forlorn hope, because his sense
of
justice would soon know that
it
had very little to do with her—
that
Joseph and I were old enough to make our own decisions. And
the
truth was that this wasn
’
t very well managed at all! There would be gossip and I wouldn
’
t be able to prevent it. And Joseph would be away from his work for no reason at all, and that was unforgivable.

“
Oh, yes,
”
I said tartly,
“
I shall love having you with me when I think of Gideon struggling to manage on his own with a broken leg! I shall love it still more when he sacks the two of us ... and we shall have deserved it!
”
I went back to my seat and sat down, uncomfortably aware that I hadn
’
t been particularly kind when all Joseph had been trying to do was make things easier for me.

He followed me into the compartment, frowning at my companions as if he were hoping to frighten them out of their seats.

“
Surely you aren
’
t afraid of Gideon?
”
he asked me resentfully when nobody stirred.

“
I
respect him,
”
I
said tightly.
“
Joseph, do go and find yourself a
seat!
”

He went, but I was no happier left alone. My neighbor tried to engage me in conversation, but somehow I didn
’
t have much to say. I was obsessed by my own emotions. Nothing that Gideon could ever say to me was worse than my own imaginings during the first half of that journey. How could Joseph have been so stupid?

I was still downright sulky when Joseph came to tell me that we could have lunch on the train.

“
I thought there wasn
’
t a restaurant car?
”
I said, surprised.

“
There isn
’
t exactly,
”
he admitted.
“
I bought some things from one of the station vendors at the last stop.
”

I must say I was very glad that I hadn
’
t known about it. To have Joseph on the train at all was bad enough, but to lose him somewhere in India would have been too much altogether.

“
There
’
s more room where I am,
”
Joseph persuaded me.
“
I
’
ll carry your things and then we can be together.
”

It seemed churlish to refuse, so I spent the rest of the journey sitting beside him and chatting. On the whole it was very much better than being on my own, and as his compartment was air-conditioned while mine had not been, my temper began to improve and I started to enjoy myself. When we arrived at Delhi I was astonished at how quickly the journey had been made and the feeling of nervous excitement came back again with a rush.

“
Suppose my figures are wrong!
”
I wailed to Joseph.

He grinned.
“
Well, suppose they are?
”

I grabbed my suitcase and followed him down onto the platform.

“
You
’
ll have to check them for me before we do any ordering,
”
I said.

His grin was positively triumphant.
“
Okay, I will,
”
he said.

If there be a paradise on earth,

‘
Tis here!
‘
Tis here!
‘
Tis here!

Joseph found the famous Persian quotation on the walls of the Hall of Private Audience in the Red Fort, the room that had once held the famous Peacock Throne, in its more glamorous days, when the ceiling, too, had been of solid silver. He quoted the words softly, with a touch of magic, as though he had only just discovered their meaning. I gazed up at the flowing script that spelled out the original words and tried to remember that it was only because time was at a standstill that I was so confused.

Joseph took my hand and led me toward the Florentine panels, one of which depicted Orpheus playing for the birds.

“
You are enjoying this, aren
’
t you?
”
he asked.
“
You would never have come here on your own, would you?
”