Monsoon Mists (27 page)

‘Shhh, just stay really still and hopefully it will tire of following us.’

Zar tried to keep the panic at bay as she watched the massive shark begin to circle their little boat. Was it curious? Investigating? Or just plain hungry? She could see it clearly as it was so near the surface – grey back, white underside, enormous mouth and large bulging eyes on either side of its head. A monster. The fin cut through the water, occasionally joined by a flip of the tail, but there was no urgency about it as if the fish knew it had all day. Jamie and Zar had nowhere to hide from it. Slowly, Zar inched her way down to sit in the bottom of the boat so that only her head would be visible to the shark, although how that would help she wasn’t sure.

Jamie continued to row, keeping his movements smooth and deliberate Zar noticed, and the big fish stayed away from the oars. After a little while, however, she nearly jumped out of her skin as the shark appeared behind them and nudged the back of the boat, as if testing what it was made of. They heard the thump as the shark’s nose connected with the hull and felt a juddering movement. Zar put a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream of pure terror, while Jamie stopped rowing.

‘Wh-what should we do?’ she whispered.

‘Let’s just wait a moment. If it doesn’t desist, I’m going to have to try and bash it over the head with one of the oars.’ Jamie still sounded calm, but she could see that he was on full alert. ‘Or maybe poke it in the eye.’

It sounded like a good plan to Zar, but she had no idea if it would work. Presumably the shark could overturn their craft if it wanted to before Jamie had time to hurt it much. It didn’t bear thinking about. What else could they do though? They were trapped.

They sat quietly, waiting for what seemed like hours, until finally the monster seemed to tire of the game and the fin disappeared into the distance.

‘It’s gone,’ Jamie said and started rowing again. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come back.’

Zar let out a shaky sigh of relief. ‘Amen to that.’

Thankfully, the shark didn’t return. Towards late afternoon on the third day Jamie was so thirsty he thought his tongue would soon shrivel up, and his stomach was tied in knots with hunger. Zar must be in the same state, he thought, but she sat stoically in the stern apart from the few times she insisted on having a go at rowing. Whenever she did, he could see the effort it cost her to propel the boat even short distances, but she had a tenacity he couldn’t but admire and he’d left her to it while he slept for a while.

‘Just keep the sun behind us and you should be all right,’ he’d told her.

Now the sea was beginning to turn rough again, the water churning around them as the sky darkened. Jamie frowned at the thought of another possible storm or even the main monsoon and pushed his tired muscles ever harder. They must reach shore before this storm hit or they’d never make it. But he said nothing to Zar. He didn’t want to worry her more than she probably was already.

‘Look, seagulls,’ she exclaimed and pointed behind him.

Jamie turned to see and a wave of relief washed over him. Despite the increasing wind there was indeed a large flock of birds circling not far away. That could only mean one thing – land. ‘Thank the Lord,’ he muttered. Now if only he could row fast enough.

The currents began to help them and they sighted the coast faster than Jamie could have hoped for. A long strip of empty beach appeared, backed by palm trees and other vegetation and Jamie redoubled his efforts. Finally he was able to just steer with the oars as the waves carried them towards the sandy shore. Jamie had long ago pulled off his shoes and stockings, as had Zar. He jumped into the shallow water, pulling the boat behind him onto the sand at the water’s edge, where the waves were lapping furiously.

‘Throw our shoes up onto the beach, please,’ he ordered Zar, and when she’d done as he asked, he reached out his arms to help her onto dry land. So as not to get her skirts wet again, he simply put his hands on her waist and lifted her out of the boat, carrying her as far as was necessary.

‘Thank you,’ she said, sounding a little breathless.

‘You’re welcome. Now we need to drag the boat as far up as we can. I think there’s a storm coming.’

She put a hand up to shield her eyes and scanned the horizon. Heavy black and pewter coloured clouds were rolling in towards them, moving as if a giant was blowing his horrible breath landwards in a rush. They looked angry and threatening and Zar shivered. ‘You’re right. We must find shelter, but where?’

There were no dwellings in sight in either direction. In fact, it might be a deserted island or even just a sandbar for all they knew and not the Indian coast at all. Jamie decided not to think about that now. He was just happy he didn’t have to do any more rowing for the moment.

‘We’ll just have to use the boat. Come on, help me pull this please.’

Together they dragged the boat as far as the line of coconut trees and then they heaved it upside down behind a row of thick trunks, leaning the side that faced inland on top of a fallen tree. To make sure the boat stayed put, even in high winds, they scooped sand around it to shore it up.

‘There,’ Jamie said, ‘we’ll have to crawl in, but we have shelter. Now let’s go in search of coconuts, but quickly. The wind is picking up and I think I felt a raindrop just now.’ As if to confirm his words, a flash of lightning split the sky just then and thunder reverberated above them.

There was an abundance of coconuts, with more falling as gusts of wind shook the tree tops, and they helped themselves to as many as they could carry and brought them back to the boat. ‘Would you mind if we used your petticoat to sit on?’ Jamie asked. ‘I know it’s immodest, but it’s better than lying directly onto the sand.’ He shrugged. The situation wasn’t exactly normal. ‘Besides, I’ve already seen your legs. We can use my waistcoat too.’

He saw Zar flush, but she nodded and fumbled with the ties at her waist before pulling it off. That left her with only her gown, which was open from the waist down where the petticoat had been displayed, and the chemise that reached her knees as she’d torn a strip off it on the first day. Jamie tried not to look as the latter was rather see-through. He’d done more than enough staring in the boat and her shape was already seared into his memory.

They crawled in underneath the boat and settled on the clothing. If he sat crosslegged, Jamie could almost remain upright. As long as he bent over a little, his head didn’t touch what was now the ceiling – the bottom of the boat. Not perfect, but better than nothing and they were drier than they’d been for days.

‘How are we going to open the coconuts? We need a rock or something.’ Zar shook hers and just the sound of the liquid inside made Jamie swallow in anticipation.

‘I’ve got one. Here, this should do the trick.’

He banged the stone along the middle part of the coconut, rotating it until a crack appeared. The milky water inside began to trickle out and they took turns drinking. For a while they were occupied with slaking their thirst and chewing contentedly on bits of coconut, which Jamie pried loose with the help of the rock.

‘Ah, that’s heavenly,’ Zar murmured. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything so good.’

Jamie chuckled. ‘I agree. But we’d better eat slowly or we’ll get a belly ache after so long without sustenance. Let’s save some for later.’ He put the other coconuts to one side. ‘Listen, the rain is coming down in earnest now. Let’s build up a wall of sand on this side too so there’s only a small opening. Maybe that way we won’t get drenched or flooded.’

The boat wasn’t huge, but it was solid and although the rain and wind were soon lashing against it, the hull was watertight. They could see the lightning and felt as though the thunder shook the very ground they were sitting on. Fat raindrops fell, increasing in number and velocity until it sounded like someone was throwing nails or pebbles onto the ground and at the outside of the boat. Their little shelter stayed put though and they remained dry and warm underneath. Darkness fell and soon they could see nothing but vague outlines of each other. Jamie felt his eyelids droop as exhaustion finally claimed him.

‘I need to sleep. Let’s rest for a while. Do you mind lying next to me? There’s not much space on this clothing.’

‘No, you’re right.’

As Jamie lay down and closed his eyes he heard Zar yawn and then felt her stretch out beside him. She managed to keep a small distance between them, which made him want to smile, but he was too tired to even think about it.

Within moments, he was asleep.

Chapter Twenty-One

Bijal looked back along the long line of elephants, wagons and men on horseback and on foot that constituted the Rajah’s cavalcade. It was a small miracle that he’d managed to gather them all together so quickly, but as the Rajah had said, he was good at his job. It helped that he’d been able to delay his master by two days, calming him down and assuring him they would travel faster if they packed properly.

‘After all, Highness, you wouldn’t want to stop at a common inn, now would you? We need all the tents, cooks and provisions to see to your comfort.’

Not that he gave a fig whether the man was comfortable or not, but he still had to keep up the pretence. For now.

He leaned back inside his
hathi howdah
, a precarious construction that looked like a small carriage without wheels, set on top of an elephant’s back. His was almost as luxurious as the Rajah’s, which was covered in gold leaf and precious stones. Bijal’s was silver with semi-precious jewels, but personally he thought this combination was more aesthetically pleasing as it went well with the elephant’s colouring.

The domed silk canopy above his head kept the sun off him and matched the large embroidered covering that hung down the elephant’s sides beneath the
howdah
. Both were a brilliant scarlet hue that gleamed in the light. The soft cushions inside were a similar, but lighter, red. Bijal chewed slowly on a handful of dried fruit and contemplated the next step of his plan, while the animal’s lumbering gait lulled him into a drowsy state. The
mahout
,
the man who rode just behind the elephant’s ears, was guiding him along at a steady pace. They weren’t moving quickly, but that suited Bijal just fine. The longer it took, the better. Although naturally he’d prefer to arrive before the monsoon began. It was as well not to spend time in a tent in pouring rain.

The talisman must be almost in Persia by now, he mused. It should fetch a staggering sum, money that would be put to good use.

Oh yes, very good use indeed.

In the meantime, his thoughts turned to the lovely Indira, who must be waiting for her bridegroom by now. She may be in for a surprise, but hopefully she wouldn’t mind marrying a slightly more mature man instead of the Rajah. Bijal had had his eye on her for some time. A connoisseur of women, he’d spotted her potential years ago and fostered the connection with Indira’s father. Now, the long planning stage of his campaign was coming to an end at last and soon she would be his.

He would enjoy her charms all the more, knowing she should have been the Rajah’s.

When Jamie woke, he had no idea how long he’d been asleep. It was still dark outside so either they’d slept a night and a day, or morning hadn’t arrived yet. He felt Zar shiver next to him and guessed she was awake. ‘Are you cold?’ Jamie whispered, keeping his voice down just in case he was wrong.

‘No. Yes. Maybe a little.’ She sat up. ‘How are your hands?’

‘I’ll live. I rinsed them off in the sea and the salt water will help them heal. I’ll do that again later.’ He laughed. ‘I might not be able to move my arms for a few days though, so you’ll have to feed me then.’

‘Your muscles are sore? Would you like me to, er … massage them for a while?’

Jamie sat up straight with surprise and banged his head on the boat. ‘Ow!’ She was asking to touch him of her own free will? That was a step in the right direction. ‘Yes, please, if you’re sure you don’t mind?’

‘No, it’s the least I can do after you’ve done all the work these past days. Turn around.’

‘Well, you did some rowing too, but if you insist …’

Jamie did as she’d asked and when her hands began to knead his aching shoulders and biceps he had to clamp his mouth shut so he wouldn’t groan out loud.
God, that feels good!
But he didn’t want to scare her off. He decided the best thing would be to make a joke of it for now, so he said, ‘Please, don’t ever stop, woman! Can I employ you to do this for the rest of my life?’

He waited to see what her response would be.

Zar knew Jamie wasn’t serious about that, but in truth, she didn’t
want
to stop. Ever. It was sheer bliss touching him like this at last, feeling the knotted muscles under warm skin relaxing slightly because of her ministrations. He was so altogether perfect – wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist, arms beautifully defined and hard from all the rowing, his long hair, as soft as goose down, loose across his neck and upper back. Even though she couldn’t really see him, the shape of him became imprinted on her brain, bit by delicious bit. It was as though her fingertips were making a mental map of him.

‘No, thanks. You can find someone else to be your slave,’ she replied, but she had come very close to saying she’d love to fulfil such a position. The sun must have addled her brain. Or maybe it was the shock of nearly drowning and then being scared witless by the shark.

‘You’re good at this. You must have done it before,’ Jamie said, his voice sounding drowsy and content.

‘No, never.’

‘Not even with your husband?’ He half turned and Zar was grateful he couldn’t see the blush she felt staining her cheeks.

‘Especially not with him,’ she muttered.

‘Can you tell me about it?’ He sounded gentle now, non-threatening, and the darkness invited confidences as if it would swallow them up as soon as they were out in the open. It was tempting. Very tempting.

Zar hesitated. ‘It’s difficult,’ she managed at last. ‘It’s something I’d rather forget, but my brain won’t let me.’ She moved her fingers further down and massaged the base of his back, hoping to distract him. A small groan made her think she’d succeeded, but then he spoke again.