Page 79 of The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

“What fun!” I hear her say. It’s as if she’s treating this meeting as a Sunday outing. Chances are she hasn’t had many of those recently.

The maharanis and I lead the procession on the red carpet. Everyone else follows us into the lobby and then the theater itself. I hear Auntie-Boss exclaim in awe at the lobby’s grandeur, which has remained intact; the destruction was to the theater space inside.

I want to turn and say to Boss, “Isn’t it exactly as I described it to you in my letters?”

And, as I often have on other occasions, I think of how wide Nimmi’s eyes would grow taking in all this finery. But for the first time, I also think: Would she be comfortable amid all this glamour?

The engineers and foremen form a tunnel through which the maharanis travel. They’re directing us to the far entrance doors where the theater shows no signs of destruction. They all bow as the maharanis go past.

“My, my!” The dowager says when she sees the size of the cinema screen, the graceful fall of the theater curtains and how the orchestra seats angle down as we get closer to the stage so everyone has a good view of the movie. With her illness, I doubt she’s had a chance see the cinema house before today.

She glances at Ravi. “A touch of the Pantages, eh?”

He blushes, pleased that she recognized the architectural reference.

I push the wheelchair farther down the aisle to the stage and then turn it around so we can examine the ruined balcony. Everyone follows except Samir, Ravi and Sheela, who remain standing at the theater entrance.

Something’s wrong. Everything has been replaced. The balcony has been returned to its original state. The columns have been replastered. The mohair seats in the balcony and down below are in mint condition. So is the carpet. It’s as if the accident never happened.

Samir is running his thumb across his lips, his eyes downcast, as if in apology. “We weren’t aware that you would want to see the column in its original state. We’ve been following an aggressive reconstruction schedule. The final plaster went up yesterday.” He looks at the younger maharani. “Your Highness had instructed us to get the cinema house up and running as quickly as possible.”

He holds his arms out. “I’m sorry if there’s nothing to see.”

I leave the wheelchair and walk up to the column that had collapsed. I rub my palm on the cool plaster. Turning toward the group, I look at Auntie-Boss, who looks as surprised as I feel. Manu and Mr. Reddy also wear the same dumfounded expression. While we were still putting the damage estimates together at the facilities office, Singh-Sharma must have been working day and night to repair the damage. Or did they accomplish all this since yesterday evening, when they learned the maharanis were coming to inspect the premises?

It’s the dowager queen who speaks as if nothing is amiss. “What a marvelous job you’ve done, Samir. Every detail. So elegant. So appropriate. Don’t you think, Latika?” Her voice echoes in the empty theater.

The Maharani Latika nods her assent. She opens her mouth to speak but the dowager interrupts her. The older woman turns her gaze on Samir.

“Do you think, my dear, that you could tear down one of the other columns?”

Auntie-Boss and I exchange a look:What is the dowager up to?

“The other columns?” Samir frowns.

“Um. Just so we can see how they were constructed? I would assume they were all built the same way originally?”

I’ve never known the elder maharani to be agreeable (indeed, she always prided herself in being a contrarian), but she is speaking in such soft, sweet tones to Samir.

The Maharani Latika is looking at her as if she has lost her mind.

Samir is half smiling, half frowning, his glance alternating between the two maharanis. “You want us to tear down one of the other columns? The ones that are fine?”

“Oh, I know it’s a bother. But just so we can stop all this fussing.”

“I don’t wish to be petty, Your Highnesses, but who will pay for the time spent on the demolition and reconstruction of the column that has nothing wrong with it?”

He sounds incredulous. He looks to the younger queen for support. But her face is inscrutable. In private, the two queens may at times disagree, but in public, the queens show a united front.

The dowager smiles graciously, “We will, won’t we, Latika? You see, it’s the only way to solve this disagreement. And I don’t like disagreements, do you?”

Ravi steps forward. He clears his throat. “But, Your Highnesses, it will mean the cinema house won’t open for another week or two! That’s a lot of ticket sales the palace will lose. And the film’s been rented for only a month. The rental fee will also be lost.”

“Pity.” That’s all the dowager says.

An understanding passes between the queens. While the dowager is in residence at the palace, she controls the purse. Maharani Latika signals her acquiescence with a nod to Samir. He and Ravi exchange a look. They are not pleased.

“Let’s hope it’s all tickety-boo,” the older queen says. “If it’s not, we may have to take the whole building apart. And we really don’t want to have to do that, do we?”

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