Page 10 of A Shimla Affair
‘Ha ha, it’s just a stupid old tale. I, for one, have been told that nothing of the sort happened.’
He chuckled. ‘Sounds real enough to me. I suppose I would do the same if I was in love with a woman when it’s not allowed. If she wants to, as well, of course.’
I laughed, and he got up from the bench, extending his hand towards me. I hoped he couldn’t tell how fast my heart was beating when I took it. We began walking again, but before we could take the road uphill, Charles gasped at a troop of monkeys running across. One of the monkeys jumped on him from the back, sat on his shoulders, and snatched away his hat before either of us could do anything.
‘My hat!’ Charles yelled as I tried to chase the monkey. It was too quick, however, and dashed up a nearby tree with the hat. Charles ran to the tree, looking up at the branches in exasperation. I wanted to laugh but stopped myself and walked to the tree as well.
He looked at me as if I might have a solution. ‘I should have told you to be careful about your hat, I’m sorry!’ I said, afraid that I would start laughing and offend him. I looked up, trying to make noises to bring the monkey down.
Charles gazed at me, and up again, and I saw it as he made up his mind. He went to the tree trunk and, with a heave, pulled himself up further and further. I watched in astonishment as he climbed the tree, going towards the monkey.
With a start, the monkey dropped Charles’ hat, and I caught it with a flourish. I gave an excited round of applause as Charles climbed back down, jumping with a victorious thud.
‘Well done!’ I said, still in awe.
‘See, I can settle down well here, can I not?’ he asked, visibly delighted with himself.
I nodded, unable to stop laughing. ‘You could get a job as a monkey-shooer. It’s an actual, employable job.’
‘Oh, stop it!’
‘I am not joking! At the Viceregal Lodge, I heard, there used to be a whole bunch of staff who were there just to shoo away monkeys!’
On reaching the hotel, he looked at me with shining eyes, and I took a step back, also unable to stop smiling.
‘Thank you for such a nice time,’ I said politely.
He nodded. ‘Will we see each other again soon?’
‘Maybe. You are welcome at the hotel any time.’
He nodded, and I wasn’t sure if he wanted to say something more.
‘Then goodbye, Mr Nayler. Oh no, wait … Charles.’
He chuckled, took off his hat with a small bow and turned around, waving me goodbye and, watching his retreating figure, I felt a tug of longing.
4
‘There are around eight studios, and they decide everything,’ I said, following Noor around the hotel, ‘and all of the movies are made in these eight. All of them—Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Bringing Up Baby …and what was that one,Robinhood—’
‘I know, Nalini, you have told me before.’
‘But can you imagine the atmosphere there? I heard in Bombay, as well, a lot of movies are being made. What a world!’
‘Yes, what a world, but our world is here, in the hotel. So, would you go back to your desk now? Let me focus on answering this ridiculous letter.’
‘Why is it so ridiculous?’
‘I received an official letter asking me to describe the hotel in the greatest detail … how many rooms, how big it is, describing all the areas …’
‘Whatever for?’
‘I have no idea, perhaps it’s a bureaucratic issue and they need to file away all the details of the establishments in Shimla. Perhaps someone is writing a book!’
‘They should do something better than write about Royal Hotel Shimla … where is Afreen?’ I asked, looking around for her. I hadn’t told Noor about the gun I had found in the cupboard. I hadn’t even spoken to Afreen yet. Every time an opportunity was presented, I chickened out, afraid of what I would find or hear. I prayed for a quick wedding, so the gun would never come to Noor’s attention.
‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen her much since morning. Go look for her, please.’
