Page 33 of A Shimla Affair
Charles smiled at me, waiting for them to finish their conversation. Finding an appropriate opening, he introduced me to the others. Some weeks ago, I wouldn’t dare dream about such a moment but now my imagination ran wild, eager for snippets of information I could pick up and report back.
‘Miss Mistry,’ the Viceroy said in acknowledgment as the group turned their eyes on me; among them were women, some wives, and some perhaps hoping to be wives. None of them smiled.
I made a small curtsy, hoping it appeared respectful. ‘It’s an honour to meet you, Your Excellency.’
‘How is that hotel of yours?’ he replied between a puff of his cigar, his voice loud and booming. ‘It does have the best views of Shimla, I have to say …’
It did, and he failed to acknowledge that they wanted to take away those views and the hotel from us. That was the only thing he had to say to me, and he moved on to asking Charles about the status of a report. Lord Commander Ripon and Lord Beeson, however, held their attention.
‘Nasty business, the other day, at the hotel,’ Lord Ripon said, handing me a glass of champagne. I was grateful for it. I needed to do something with my hands.
‘Yes, indeed,’ I said, ‘And also a few days ago, the riots around town—very nasty business.’
‘In some things, we can’t interfere,’ Lord Beeson said briskly, tapping the ash from his cigar into a dish held by a server. ‘Religion has its own place everywhere in the world. Besides, the Hindu girl who was taken, she got back to her family, didn’t she?’
I hadn’t known that and made a mental note to ask Ratan Babu when the girl had been returned, the one the Hindu rioters claimed was kidnapped by Muslims.
‘You’re lucky though, Miss Mistry, to find yourself here,’ Lord Ripon said, brandishing his finger around. ‘This is an English club. Mr Nayler fought hard for your invitation. The committee decided to make compromises; it’s the War, after all—’
At his name, Charles joined us again with an adorable, wide smile and I knew, at the bottom of my heart, that he wasn’t like them; he was warm and good-hearted and full of sparkle and life, that he was a person who loves and cares and lives. A person who is more than just himself, because he shines his light everywhere he goes.
‘At the risk of you turning me down again,’ he said, looking at me, ‘could I ask you for a dance?’
I smiled and agreed. He took away my glass and led me to the middle of the room where others danced. We stood in front of each other, him waiting for me to make the first move. I stepped towards him, he put his arm around my waist, and I put mine around his neck. He held my other hand in his and we started moving—he was much taller, but I could still look over his shoulder. The gazes directed towards us turned more and more hostile, and for a second, I stiffened up. But then, I just closed my eyes and turned them off.
‘Why have we never done this before?’ Charles asked in a low voice.
I gave a soft laugh. ‘Because I might be the first local woman to dance on this floor with an Englishman.’
He gave a small shrug, as small as he could manage while still dancing, ‘I don’t know about that, but you’re the most stunning. The most intelligent. The most unique. Should I go on?’
I laughed. ‘Depends, what do you want from me?’
‘Just to watch you laugh. Honestly, it’s like a big burst of sunshine.’
‘Flatterer.’
‘You don’t believe me, do you? What do I have to do to make you believe me?’
We danced a bit more and then went to a corner of the room to get some air. The party got more raucous, as did the dances: women shrieked and giggled as they were lifted in the air and swung around, their dresses flying provocatively. I saw a crowd of them gathered around the Viceroy as he stood tall in the centre. But then he turned around and made for the exit.
‘Oh no,’ I remarked, ‘the Viceroy’s leaving already and disappointing all those women.’
‘He likes to take a break at this time of the evening,’ Charles answered.
‘But the party’s just begun,’ I pressed further.
‘He has other interests sometimes … don’t repeat it, but he likes his attention, likes to enjoy himself. Smoking the good stuff with the ladies. You should bring him some of your premium opium! I think he would enjoy it a lot.’
‘Really? The Viceroy would like it?’
‘He has always had a weakness for the good stuff.’
‘And is it normal for the Viceroy to be surrounded by a bunch of simpering—I mean so many women? Aren’t there … security concerns?’ I had seen a couple of guards outside.
‘In social events like these, it’s not a problem,’ Charles said, now getting out his own cigarette holder. ‘He also needs a break sometimes. There are always guards around, of course, but this is just the club. And anyway, he has his man Wagner always on his sleeve. Haven’t you seen him? Formidable man. At the moment, he’s in the next room. But may I ask you a question?’
I cursed myself. I had asked too much and already made him suspicious. I shouldn’t have been so greedy about gleaning information on the Viceroy’s security detail. ‘Sure, what is it?’
