Page 46 of A Shimla Affair
‘Has it been formulated?’
‘The Accession of India Act. Owing to civil unrest, and the general instability in the world due to the War, Britain takes full charge of the subcontinent indefinitely. India remains under direct control of the Crown, and all political organizations demanding to contest elections are to be banned, in the interests of the minority communities.’
‘The Indian Congress won’t swallow it easily,’ said the Viceroy.
‘We will have to manage that.’
I was dying to talk to Afreen about what we had just heard. What did all this mean?
The sound of a scribbling pen against paper went on for a few minutes, and finally they shook hands to end the meeting. They moved on to talk about Shimla’s season, and how Hastings could use his time to acquaint himself with Shimla’s society. We heard the documents being filed away, and then they got up, leaving the room. But just when we thought the meeting was over, and Afreen and I were about to ease up and find a way out, the doors were thrown open again, and this time even more people entered the room, offering greetings.
We attempted to make ourselves even smaller but felt tired and stuck. How long would these people stay here? What if some of them moved to the sofa on the upper floor? The thought of all these men finding out we had been spying on them made me freeze in terror.
And then I heard him, his voice loud and clear, full of energy and spirit, bubbliness that was infectious yet deep and reassuring.
‘One shouldn’t be so quick to write Shimla away,’ Charles was saying, ‘It has its own charms, some that you can definitely not find in England.’
‘You, Nayler, have certainly chanced upon these rare charms, haven’t you?’ somebody commented.
‘I wouldn’t deny it,’ Charles replied cheerfully.
‘Is it your intent to marry her then?’
‘I would hope for it. If she would have me, of course … I suppose I will soon have to ask her.’
Somebody interrupted the conversation, and my heart sank, replacing all my earlier thoughts. So, Charles was going to marry Eliza May. I imagined them as a couple and knew that they complimented each other in every way: tall, handsome, successful and most importantly, English. They would attendparties and balls together, dividing their time between India and England, have beautiful children and gain an important position in society.
From the moment I had met him, I had known it would end like this. After all, I couldn’t expect him to give up his life just because we couldn’t be together. I may have dedicated my life to my fight for freedom, but he still had his own to live out—to get married, raise children, grow old and die a happy man … for who was he to me, and who was I to him?
These thoughts so overtook my mind that I barely even noticed that the group below had finally left the room. Afreen gave me a look of terror that baffled me, until I too heard footsteps getting closer and the feeling of somebody nearby.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll get it, must be right upstairs!’
I realized with a jolt that Charles was coming to where we were hiding! Before I could even think about it, let alone plan out a reaction, his arm bent over our heads, going through the shelves behind us. For a moment, it seemed he hadn’t noticed us, but when he leant forward to take a book, he got a glimpse.
‘Aaargh!’ Startled, the book he held fell with a clatter, and the world came crashing around me. Time seemed to stop, and in that heartbeat, there was only Charles, shocked to his core, staring down at us. Afreen, who was so baffled by the turn of events that her mouth hung wide open, frozen. I, from our low position, extended a hand towards him, my fear turning into a look of pleading.
‘Something wrong, Nayler?’ a voice called out, footsteps approaching.
He stared at me, still amazed, as I kept a finger on my mouth, begging him not to react, to save us. Afreen folded her hands and mirrored my own expression. I could hardly tell what Charles made of the two of us hiding behind the sofa, the last place in the world where we should be. His shock turned to confusion,and he was too nonplussed to make any further move until he realized the other person was right behind him.
‘No, um, I thought I saw a monkey … outside the window.’
The other man asked Charles if he was coming down, and that shook him out of his reverie, for he murmured a yes, and gave us one last look. He walked away slowly, perhaps wondering if we were going to leave, and if so, how.
Relief set in, just as another fear enveloped my insides. Charles knew. He had had the grace to give us a chance, but Iknewthat he had only let us be for the moment.
We didn’t have time to delve on this, however. Once the servants came in to clean the room, they would also approach the bookshelves to set them right. We had to get out before they saw us too, and decided to climb out the window—being seen on the grounds was still less risky than lurking in the office where a confidential meeting had just happened.
Getting out was easier than coming in had been. Once we got over the fence, which involved laborious pulls from Begum Jaan, who was determined to show us her strength, Noor assaulted us with kisses.
‘Charles knows,’ I said once we got away from the chalet. Noor’s eyes grew as round as the plums growing on the trees around us.
‘Tell me you’re joking.’
‘He saw us hiding but decided not to reveal us at that moment. But, he knows, and I know him, he will not let this go. He will come back and demand answers, and if he’s not satisfied—he will have us arrested!’
I realized I was shaking.
