The Girl from Cobb Street (18 page)

She thought she knew exactly what he meant and would have liked to tell him, but struggled to find the words.

‘If you’ve finished your
chai
,’ he was saying, ‘I must be getting you back. Gerald will be home for lunch and you need some looking after.’

‘Not really,’ she protested, thinking it was unlikely Gerald would concern himself. She got up and followed him over the road to the shady tree where Gertie was lazily flicking her tail. ‘I’m fine now. I was being stupid. It was the heat as much as anything. It always is.’

‘So you make a habit of having large rocks nearly fall on your head?’

‘No, but I don’t make a habit of keeping a cobra in the bathroom either, and I seem to have survived that shock pretty well.’

She was watching his face for a reaction but he didn’t seem surprised. ‘They get everywhere,’ he said placidly. ‘But I can see it must have been frightening. I wonder you didn’t turn tail and run for the hills.’

‘I was tempted, but then Grayson took me to visit the temple and it was so beautiful and serene that I forgot how scared I’d been. I know Simla is part of India, too, and it’s true I’ve never seen the town, but somehow it’s this place that seems truer.’

‘That’s because it is. We are in a princely state, part of a proud and ancient land.’ He was looking at her curiously. ‘Have you travelled much, Daisy?’

‘Not at all. Until I came here, I’d never been beyond London.’

‘And you like being in India?’

‘It’s strange and wonderful but, yes, I like being here. It isn’t my home but in an odd way, it feels as though it is. I’m happy—but I’d be even happier if the weather weren’t so brutal.’

‘I agree, it’s a misery, even for Indians, but in a few weeks it will be gone. The monsoon will come and then you will see the land bloom again.’

Gertie turned her head and gave them an impatient look. ‘She’s ready to leave, I think,’ Daisy laughed, putting her left foot into Anish’s hand and allowing herself to be tossed into the saddle once more.

He gathered the reins into his hands. ‘I’m glad you like Rajputana,’ he said softly, ‘but I wish you’d gone to Simla.’

Gerald was standing on the veranda when they arrived looking irritated. ‘There you are. I was starting to worry. Rajiv had no idea where you’d gone.’

She felt a small pang of guilt, since this time she’d fled the house without leaving a clue to her whereabouts. Anish helped her down from the horse and thankfully she planted her feet on solid ground once more. At that moment, she chanced to look up and saw the two men exchange a look. It was no more than a glance but it signalled a private understanding to which she was not privy. She knew what they were thinking though: they’re worried I’m unstable, that I’m not coping well with the climate, that I’ve gone slightly mad.

‘There’s a bicycle to collect.’ Anish grimaced at his friend. ‘Daisy fell off.’ She was glad he didn’t mention the state he’d found her in. ‘I think we should encourage her to ride, but a horse not a bike.’

‘I’m not sure I could even stay in the saddle,’ Daisy intervened. That was no exaggeration. Her fingers were numb from frantically clutching at Gertie’s mane.

‘Don’t look so worried. A few practice rides and you’ll be fine. I’ll teach you.’

‘Thank you, Anish, but—’

‘We’ll start small, walking the horses the first few times we go out.’ He was not to be deterred. ‘And we’ve plenty of land to walk in. Then once you’re feeling more confident, we can venture further afield. Maybe head for the river. I’m sure you’d like it there and it makes for a good ride—as long as we leave first thing in the morning.’

‘But the horse …’ Daisy was looking for a way to escape.

‘Leave that to me. There are several in the regimental stables that will be fine. Nice docile ladies, happy enough to plod quietly along while you learn. What do you think, Gerald?’

‘It’s an excellent idea. Daisy will need to ride sooner or later. But it will have to wait until she gets back. She’s going up to Simla in a day or so.’

Anish looked across at his friend, clearly surprised. ‘That’s even better. Much easier to learn in the cool season. But don’t forget, Daisy, we have a date when you get back from the hills.’

Her mind was spinning from Gerald’s pronouncement, but Anish was about to remount and she must say goodbye. She held out her hand to him. ‘Thank you for rescuing me.’

‘You rescued yourself, but I was glad to be on the road.’

She walked back into the house, trying not to feel angry but hating Gerald’s high handedness. He’d had no right to tell Anish that she was leaving Jasirapur. She had been wavering on the brink of agreeing but she’d made no decision. At the bathroom door, she scanned the floor before going in. She could never enter this room without her heart giving a small lurch. She splashed her face with water and patted it dry on the thin, cotton towel. Raising her head, she saw her face in the mirror. Her eyes still had a hunted look. She was not easily going to forget today’s fright. The more she thought of it, the more she was sure that someone was trying to scare her. And succeeding, it seemed.

She walked back into the bedroom, thinking she might change into one of her new dresses. She wanted to look as pleasing as she could since lunch was likely to be a difficult meal, but in the end she simply smoothed out the creases of her old cotton frock and steadied herself for what was to come. A determination was forming in her mind; she might be scared but she was not going to be scared away. Whoever was doing this, she intended to confront them. And she had a pretty good idea who it might be. She couldn’t work out what Grayson Harte had been doing near the temple or whether he might have a connection to Rajiv. That seemed far-fetched. But she was almost certain that the servant had been behind the attack. He had been hostile since the moment she arrived. He was jealous of her, possessive of the house and of his master. He wanted her gone, and he was doing all he could to make her leave.

It seemed unlikely he could have got to the temple before her, but it was possible he had an accomplice—that man she’d seen in the garden—the man Rajiv had sworn didn’t exist. Ever since she’d arrived, she’d felt herself being watched but had shrugged it off as imagination. Now she was beginning to think that she hadn’t been mistaken. If the man had been watching her and followed, he might know the temple site well enough to climb onto its roof without showing himself. It was improbable but not impossible. And there had to be some explanation for the unpleasant incidents that had begun to dog her, incidents that were gradually becoming more serious in the attempt to dislodge her. But she wasn’t going to be dislodged. She was going to stay and find Rajiv out. She was going to show Gerald just what kind of servant he employed. He refused to believe any wrong of the man, but she was determined to prove that false.

‘I’ve got your ticket,’ Gerald waved a slip of paper at her as she came to the table. ‘Only just though. I was lucky.’

She sat down and ate a first mouthful. Then true to her resolve, took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice, ‘I never promised I’d definitely be leaving, Gerald. I said I would think about it.’

‘There’s nothing to think about. And after this morning’s mishap, you’re surely glad to be going.’

It was this morning’s mishap, as he termed it, that had decided her finally against going but that was something she couldn’t say. She took another deep breath. ‘I’ve decided to stay.’

‘You can’t.’

She looked astonished.

‘I mean,’ he amended, ‘I’ve got the ticket now.’

‘I’m sorry you’ve gone to that expense but I did say I would decide later,’ she reminded him, ‘and now I have. I’m staying.’

For a moment, he stared unbelievingly at her across the table. Then he thrust back his chair and stomped to his feet. His face was a mottled red, the same angry colour she had seen when she’d told him about the baby. ‘You’re impossible! This—’ he waved his arm to indicate the house, their life together, she imagined, ‘—this is impossible! I’m going to work and then on to the Mess. Don’t wait up for me.’

He pushed past the table, sending his cutlery clattering to the floor. Without bothering to retrieve it, he stormed out of the house and yelled at the driver who’d been waiting patiently for his passenger to finish lunch. A last rev of the car engine fading into the distance and silence fell across the bungalow. Daisy remained at the table but managed little more of the meal. Her head was throbbing badly and, pushing her plate aside, she went to her room and flung herself down on the bed. A half-sewn summer bag, which she’d begun to fashion from the remnants of material left behind by the
durzi
, was thrown to one side. A book followed. She lay sweltering. She was too hot to sew, too hot to read. Too hot, too hurt to do anything.

She had crossed Gerald again and his reaction had once more been violent. She was to do what he said or else. Last evening, they had begun to build a bridge of understanding and now she had broken it. Should she try to mend the pieces, agree after all to go to Simla? She couldn’t, she was too far into this horrible chain of events to turn tail. If she was in any doubt, she had only to think of the madness that had overtaken her just a few hours ago. Something or somebody was sabotaging her life and she had to get to the bottom of it. She’d been tempted to think there was something wrong with her, but there was nothing wrong with her, she thought fiercely. What was wrong was the life she was forced to lead, cooped up in this solitary house with a malicious servant living just feet away. Even if she went to Simla, he would still be here when she returned. If she were to prosper in this new life, she had to uncover what Rajiv was plotting.

CHAPTER NINE

T
hat night, she didn’t wait up for Gerald. There was little point since she had no idea what time the Mess bar closed, and that was where she guessed he’d be. And she was so weary from doing battle with the rising temperature that, despite the discomfort of a sticky room, she fell asleep almost immediately. She must have slept for several hours when she heard stumbling footsteps in the sitting room. A chair scraped across the floor as though someone had bumped into it and there was the sound of something falling off one of the small tables. Gerald had returned and had evidently not stopped at one
chota peg.
A loud curse and a clunk of leather against the hard floor. Boots, she supposed. She hoped he wouldn’t be too long finding his bed; she felt desperately tired and wanted nothing but to sleep.

Her bedroom door banged open and, alarmed by the noise, she jerked her head up from the pillows. Between half-closed eyes, she saw the dim outline of a swaying figure. He staggered a few feet into the room and stood, legs splayed, unsure it seemed of where he was going or if he was going to get there. She wondered whether she should go to him and help him to bed. Rajiv would be the right person to do that, but Gerald had not called for his servant and might not wish to be seen so thoroughly intoxicated. She would have to do her best. But before she could slide out of bed, he had begun to unzip trousers and unbutton his jacket and shirt.

‘Are you awake, Daisy?’ he shouted. ‘Better be awake, girl.’

‘Yes, Gerald. I am awake. You woke me,’ she said pointedly.

‘Good, good. That’s what a wife’s for, eh. I’ve got myself a wife, might as well use her.’

She was no longer shocked by the sight of his drinking and her practical nature took over. ‘Tell me how I can help you.’

‘Help me! You think I don’t know what to do. Should know better than that, Daise—you of all people. Knew what to do last time, eh?’

So this is what his intrusion meant. How stupid she was not to have realised from the outset. She thought of the times she’d longed to lie close to him, night after night of longing, but not like this. He was wretchedly drunk, even worse than when he’d stood by her side at the altar. It seemed to be the only way he could face any form of intimacy.

‘You’re beautiful,’ he slurred. ‘Just as well—least I get something out of it.’ She quailed as his glazed eyes scanned her body.

He saw her shudder of revulsion. ‘Wassa matter? Gone coy all of a sudden? No problem in London, was there?’ The jeers shrank her soul and she found herself hating him, hating where she was, hating what she’d done in marrying him.

She bunched the sheet, trying to make a shell in which to hide. Gerald slumped back against the doorframe, watching her with the exaggerated intensity of the drunk.

‘Don’ worry,’ he slurred again. ‘Go back to sleep. You may not be a lady but I’m a gennleman. And don’t you forget it!’

She heard him banging his way along the passage, then the crash of his body as it met the bed. The sound of loud snoring was almost immediate. She listened for several minutes as the snores continued to vibrate through the bedroom’s thin walls, then swung her legs out of the hot, crumpled bed and tiptoed into the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water and stood for a long time looking at the drawn face in the mirror.

Once again, Gerald had been someone she hardly recognised. She had used to think him tender and kind but there had been little kindness on show tonight. Quite the opposite. It was part of a recurring pattern, she thought miserably. Since she’d arrived in India, he’d shunned all attempts to rekindle the love they’d once shared. He’d pushed her away in the most brutal fashion. Left her solitary, hour after hour, a girl thousands of miles from home and cut off from familiar surroundings. And now he’d threatened her with assault when he was too drunk to know what he was doing. She felt hopeless and defeated. And the love she’d nurtured so diligently began its slow seep away.