Page 77 of The Girl from the Tea Garden
‘Part of the enjoyment of being on shikar,’ Kishan said smiling, ‘is to get away from all the pomp of the palace.’
Adela remembered the Raja from early childhood and liked him enormously. He was kind and patient and good-looking, though she thought how he had aged since last seeing him: his brow was scored with worry lines.
‘The shikaris have been out looking for tracks,’ he told them as they ate a dinner of curried vegetables, roast fowl and saffron rice. ‘Two days ago they spotted pugmarks in the sand further upriver. They’re certain the pair have retreated into the ravine– a boar was found half-eaten up there.’
Rafi said, ‘We can go so far by elephant, but not if they’re in a narrow side ravine– we’ll just have to tempt them out with bait.’
‘Not with humans,’ joked the Raja, ‘so don’t look so worried, Miss Robson.’
They got up before dawn and hadchota hazriof tea and toast. Just as they were about to set off on the elephants, the noise of a car engine disturbed the quiet, and lights came flooding over the hill.
‘Ah, this will be Stourton,’ said Kishan, ‘in the nick of time.’
In the light of the kerosene lamps, two men climbed from the Resident’s car: Stourton and another more familiar figure. Adela tensed as the second man strolled towards them.
‘Sanjay!’ the Raja cried.
‘Uncle,’ Jay greeted him respectfully. ‘It’s a good job Stourton told me about the hunt. Wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for anything.’
‘I assumed Rafi had,’ said Kishan, turning to his ADC.
Rafi apologised. ‘Your Highness, I thought Prince Sanjay was keeping to the palace for the time being.’
‘No need for that, Khan,’ said the Resident gruffly. ‘Who is going to cause a fuss in such a remote part of Gulgat?’
Jay smiled. ‘Quite so.’
Wesley, sensing a slight tension, came forward and greeted Stourton and then the prince. ‘Sir, I believe you know my daughter, Adela. She tells me you’ve acted on stage together.’
Jay bowed. ‘Indeed we have. Not only acted but ridden together. Miss Robson is an accomplished horsewoman. How is dear MrsHogg?’
Adela’s heart hammered. It was too dark to read the expression on his face.
‘Very well, thank you.’ Her voice sounded squeaky and nervous in her ears.
‘Your Highness,’ Rafi intervened, ‘the elephants are ready, and we should get started if we are to pick up the fresh tracks.’
Adela was thankful for the diversion of the trip getting underway. With her rifle, she clambered on to an elephant called Rose, and Wesley climbed into the howdah beside her. One of the Raja’s most experienced mahouts straddled Rose’s neck, and they set off behind the Raja and Rafi, with the others following on behind.
‘Darling, you’re shaking,’ Wesley said in concern. ‘Are you feeling all right?’
‘Yes.’ Adela breathed in hard. ‘Just a little nervous now it’s happening.’
‘Don’t be,’ he said, smiling and patting her shoulder.
They followed the sandy left bank of the largely dried-up river, where the shikaris had found the tiger footprints, and then moved on into the jungle. As dawn broke over the trees, flocks of green parakeets rose noisily, and monkeys screeched and swung overhead as the elephants advanced. Adela was soon enjoying the rhythmic swaying of the huge animal, amazed at how silent and footsure it was for its size. The dewy freshness of the forest and the apricot light filtering through the leaves and creepers were magical; she would be happy just exploring the jungle all day.
They emerged into open grassland and some cultivated terraces of peppers and orange trees. Bamboo huts with thatched roofs were dotted about the slope, tall spikes of ginger plants growing around them. A small girl was tending half a dozen goats by the stream. They disembarked for something to eat, making for the awnings that were being erected in the shade of some sal trees.
‘This is the village the grass cutter disappeared from,’ Rafi told them.
‘Have they found him yet?’ Adela asked.
Rafi shook his head. ‘He’s unlikely to be found alive now, not if the tigress got him.’
‘Poor man.’ She shuddered.
Jay held court around the table with anecdotes about various hunts he had been on in the hill states around Simla. He spoke to Adela with an easy grace, as if they were friends who shared similar interests, but as if their intimacy had never been. It was astonishing to remember that her last sight of him had been from the warmth of his bed and that since then he had run for his life, leaving her not knowing what had happened to him. She answered him with polite indifference; she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he had hurt her.
