Page 68 of A Shimla Affair
When we were little girls, Khushilalji always told us—whenever we went out in the big streets on our own and when we defied our nosy aunts by playing with the neighbourhood boys—that we were brainless but brave. He didn’t realize back then, that these two always came together, but at least now he got to see it in action.
‘Let me be at the window,’ Charles spoke out across the room. ‘Let me see what’s happening.’
Before any of us could say anything, Noor answered. ‘No, Mr Nayler. It gives me no grief to admit that I don’t trust you in the slightest, irrespective of your feelings for my sister. I see no reason why you keeping an eye on us could in any way be good for us.’
I loved Noor and believed in her more than anything in the world. I held dear all the moments she had loved and protected me, did whatever it was in her power to do the best by me. My sisters, the two people in the world who would only ever look out for my true interests. But I had something to say for my own instinct, which despite all odds, all evidence, chose to believethe contrary. Even though I would not close my eyes in front of Charles, I wanted him to see what was going on—I wanted to see on his face what would happen next.
With a final squeeze of my hand, they went to the foyer doors and opened them.
‘Partially untie Mr Nayler and bring him over at the other window, Khushilalji,’ I ordered. He followed without hesitation, and that gave me more confidence.
‘You better behave,’ I told Charles, and in response, he gave me an unamused look.
Next to me, the Viceroy seemed exhausted. His feet were tied together tightly still, and he put all his weight on the window ledge. His shirt was completely rumpled, his dinner jacket strewn across the floor somewhere in the ballroom. Half his face was hidden by the gag we had put around his mouth and the other half dominated by his tired, haunted eyes. I wondered what he was thinking, and pulled the gag slightly down from his lips, an action that seemed to jolt him to life.
‘Are you all right, Sir?’ I asked hesitantly.
The Viceroy made an incomprehensible noise and blinked several times.
‘Can we bring you some food? Or something else?’
He shook his head absentmindedly.
Noor, Afreen and Ratan Babu were now seated on three chairs closer to the hotel building, Lord Ripon on a chair closer to the gate. An armed guard stood next to him. Outside the gates however, stood every man under Ripon’s command, ready to burn and raze us to the ground.
I grabbed the Viceroy from his arm and made him stand in full view right in front of me and thrust the gun in the small of his back strongly enough that he winced. Our audience outside would see that he was under gunpoint. I also stood directly behind him, shielding myself from any unexpected bullets theyplanned to send our way, while still trying to keep an eye out for what would pass.
I glanced briefly across at Charles, who was staring unblinking at the proceedings from the other window. His legs were tied but his arms hung free.
Some minutes passed and, from our perspective, nothing seemed to be happening. It was obvious they were talking but, from all the way over here, there was no way to find out what they said. My gaze rotated swiftly between the military that covered Lord Ripon from the back, the spots around my sisters and Ratan Babu that made them vulnerable, and Charles—whose face reflected not just intense concentration but a prediction of what he thought would happen next. I kept my grip on the Viceroy steady, knowing that all eyes would be on us.
‘So why do you think Ripon is playing us?’ I asked Charles.
There was a pause. ‘It’s too soon. Ripon is not allowed to negotiate a deal such as this on his own, and there is no way he’s heard back from London already. If he is acting on his own, I am not sure it means anything positive for you.’
I held the Viceroy even tighter and tried hard not to panic. Charles could be completely wrong, because what did Ripon have going on anyway? One wrong move against my sisters and I wouldn’t hesitate to blow out the Viceroy’s brains, that much I knew about myself. If my sisters would be under any kind of threat, vengeance and anger would easily take the place of humanity in my mind.
‘Then what is he saying?’ I asked.
Charles didn’t answer and stared ahead with more intensity.
Despite everything, the birds were chirping, the sky was blue and I could almost smell the pines from my position inside. Less than a day ago, the hotel was dressed up to play host to Shimla society; now it lay in shambles, with bits of concrete, wood and fine furniture blown apart. For years, it had been a siteof joviality and hospitality, dancing and merrymaking, but from here on it will only be remembered for death and destruction. Yet, I hoped that it could also be known as the place where the birth of a free India took place, where the flags were raised successfully to drive away those who had ruled us for centuries.
The two parties below seemed to have agreed on something, for Lord Ripon turned around and gestured. Following his command, another guard approached the group, a briefcase in hand. I saw Afreen hold on to her gun tightly, and Ratan Babu place his hand on Noor’s shoulder. My heart began to race as I saw this guard approach them. I couldn’t move my eyes away.
Upon seeing the guard, Charles began talking to himself. ‘No … no … walk away! Don’t take the briefcase!’
The guard arrived with the briefcase and Lord Ripon took it, handing it over to Noor. She nodded and opened it up, withdrawing papers from inside.
Before I could ask Charles what he meant, he turned to me. ‘Stop that! Now! Nalini, you must go out and stop them from walking away with that briefcase.’
‘But what—’
‘Take this,’ he took a file out from his dinner vest and thrust it into my hands. ‘It’s the minutes of the meeting you told me about, the one between Beeson and the rest. Go now, Nalini. Hold the file up with both your hands in the air when you go, and tell them a copy has been mailed to London. Do it, now!’
I opened my mouth to ask him more but he stopped me by grabbing hold of my arm. ‘There is no time. Leave your gun behind, and put the file up high up in the air so they know you are unarmed, okay?’
My heart was torn in two parts. It would be absolute madness to leave my gun, my post, my hold on the Viceroy, on the only leverage I had, entrusted to me by my sisters—leave everythingin the charge of only Khushilalji and a very hurt, confused and clever Charles, who could turn the situation around in a second.
