"She does not know your language," Sanat Ji Mani persisted. "You make a mute of her if you will not allow her to travel with me."
"She will be cared for," said the Rajput with finality. "If you should die on campaign, she will be kept as part of my household until her death. Surely you cannot expect more?"
Sanat Ji Mani bowed over his hands. "I am grateful, but I ask you to reconsider. She and I have traveled far together."
"She is to stay here, Sanat Ji Mani. That is the end of it." The Rajput turned on his heel and strode away toward his private quarters.
"Be relieved, foreigner," said Vayu Ede. "If the Rajput did not hold you in high regard, your companion would not be treated so well."
Knowing that Tulsi would not see it this way, Sanat Ji Mani said, "I am sure the Rajput does her and me honor."
"As well he might," said Vayu Ede with another of his cryptic smiles. "You have not yet shown yourself, and that is to be expected; you do not know whether the Rajput is worthy of such revelation. I have told him that you will know when he is ready to be proclaimed. After you see the elephants and you accompany the army on their first enterprise, you will know that he is a righteous heir."
"No doubt his father thought so while he lived," said Sanat Ji Mani, hoping to discover what Vayu Ede meant.
"His father died eleven years ago, taken by the Blood Fever. Many died then." Vayu Ede bowed to Sanat Ji Mani.
"It is always hard to lose a father," said Sanat Ji Mani, preparing to leave the old man and go to his own quarters; already he was anticipating Tulsi's outrage when he informed her of the Rajput's plans.
"It would have been harder still for Hasin Dahele's father to lose a son," said Vayu Ede. "The Rajput's grandfather lived many years and ruled wisely; his son was not so fortunate."
"How old was the Rajput's grandfather when he died?" Sanat Ji Mani wondered what Vayu Ede intended in telling him these things.
"He was fifty-six, older than I am by almost a decade. So his son had only three years to reign before Hasin Dahele came to rule." Vayu Ede pulled at one strand of his long, white hair. "The grandfather is remembered, the grandson will be remembered, the father is forgotten."
Sanat Ji Mani nodded to show he had heard. "Let us hope Hasin Dahele will rule many years and be remembered with pride."
"May it be so," said Vayu Ede, apparently satisfied with Sanat Ji Mani's remark. "Go make ready. I will come to your quarters when I have finished my evening meditation."
Accepting this dismissal readily, Sanat Ji Mani made his way along the corridors to the room he shared with Tulsi; as he walked, he pondered, and arrived at the door to the room with nothing resolved. He scratched at the door. "Tulsi."
She admitted him at once, her smile fading as she caught sight of his face. "What has happened?"
"The Rajput has ordered me to go with him on campaign," Sanat Ji Mani began.
"When?" She slammed the door.
"In a matter of days," he answered. "It has all been arranged."
"Then we can use that for our escape," she said, but without certainty.
"It would be possible, if the Rajput would agree to allowing you to come." He spoke as gently as he could. "I do not want to leave you here alone."
Tulsi took a step back. "Allow me to come?" She glared at him. "You mean I am to remain here?"
"Unless I can persuade him to change his mind," said Sanat Ji Mani.
"I am to be a hostage; is that not the way of it," she said. "The Rajput has decided that I will be a hostage."
"That is what I think," said Sanat Ji Mani. "I will try to speak to him, to change his mind, but I doubt—"
"How soon do you have to go?" she interrupted.
"Tomorrow there is another review, and then he intends a beginning thrust to secure all the land from here north to the Nar—"
"—manda," she finished for him. "So soon."
"He believes his gods have chosen him to be the conqueror of the world," said Sanat Ji Mani. "I gather Vayu Ede has had visions to that effect, and so the Rajput is eager to fulfill this grandiose dream."
"You sound disgusted," said Tulsi.
"That is the least of it," said Sanat Ji Mani, going to sit on the edge of the bed. "For some reason, both of them are convinced that I must be part of the venture."
"Then they are fools, both of them," said Tulsi, her voice catching in her throat. "How can you go with the army, in daylight? What will become of you?"
"The Rajput is ordering an umbrella made for me, to keep the sun off me," said Sanat Ji Mani sardonically. "He is aware that I burn in the sun."
"Oh, very good," Tulsi approved with heavy sarcasm. "You are provided an umbrella, and this is to help you? He gives his foes something to shoot at; the umbrella is large. The bowmen will aim at it. A good diversion." She flung up her hands. "You will be in pain
and
a target. What other honors does he plan for you?"
Sanat Ji Mani rose and went to her, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "I will manage, Tulsi. I have endured worse."
She shook him off. "Why are you not refusing? Why do you not tell him no?"
"Because I am afraid of what he might do," Sanat Ji Mani admitted.
"And so you let him do this?" She swung around to confront him. "You let him separate us to appease him?"
With a sigh Sanat Ji Mani dropped his hands. "I had not expected this. I did not know he planned that I should go on campaign with him. If I had thought he had such intentions, I would have approached the matter differently from the beginning. The whole plan is repugnant to me, in large part because I will not be with you. You say you are a hostage: I agree. I wish I did not. If I could spare you this, I would, but I cannot, not without chancing something far worse." He waited for her to speak; when she remained silent, her shoulders stiff,
and her head held at a defiant angle, he went on. "I admit it has been pleasant to live in comfort, and because of that I may not have assessed our danger for what it was. I still do not know why Hasin Dahele thinks his gods have appointed me to advise him. But he has determined that this is the case, apparently since we arrived here. I do not know that we could have avoided this at the first. Tulsi, I apologize for bringing you into this, and I give you my Word I will do my utmost to get you out."
"Do you think you can?" Her challenge stung.
"I know I will do all that I can to bring it about," he said.
She stared into his eyes, her face set. "Then you will go with him."
"I think I must. Perhaps if I do not endure the rigors of the maneuvers he has planned, he will not insist I remain with him." Sanat Ji Mani looked away from her toward the window. "I can probably get you out of the palace before I go tomorrow, but I cannot guarantee that you will not be hunted if I do, nor can I be certain of what may happen to you if you are caught." He turned toward her again.
"I have been poisoned here," she reminded him. "How am I to feel safe?"
"I have no answer for you," he admitted. "But if you allow me to speak to the Rajput again, then something may—"
She waved him to silence. "No. It is probably best that we obey him for now. I know how Timur-i's soldiers behaved to run-away captives and I would rather drown in urine than have that happen to me." Folding her arms, she said, "You will have to go tomorrow without sustenance. I will not lie with you tonight."
"I would not want you to, not with so much disruption around us," he told her. "You have enough to dwell upon without that."
She studied him intently. "Are you being compassionate or am I unacceptable in my current state of mind?"
"Do you want to open your soul to me just now?" Sanat Ji Mani asked kindly.
"No." She glared at him.
"Then you have answered your own question. Tulsi Kil, I do not go where I am unwelcome; you should know this by now." He touched her arm lightly.
"I know," she said, and began to weep. "And I am torn. I want two things and cannot have both. Will I curse myself for refusing what I may decide I want, or do I prefer to stay as I am, and never change to one of your blood? Which shall I do? What will be the right answer for me? Which will I regret the most if I do not do it?" She took a step back from him, dashing tears from her eyes with the flat of her hands. "You: say nothing." It was a command. "Do not speak to me. This is for me to decide, not you."
Sanat Ji Mani nodded, feeling her ambivalence as if it were a solid presence in the room. He stood still, knowing he could not comfort her, and chagrined that he could not.
Finally she composed herself, coming up to him, her demeanor cool. "Tomorrow night, I will know what I want of you," she said, and turned away before he responded.
* * *
Text of a letter from Lonpah ST'amlontohr, merchant of T'u-Bo-T'eh, to Azizi Iniattir of Sirpur, carried by caravan leader, written in Tibetean, Hindi, Gond, and Sanscrit.
* * *
To the most well-reputed Azizi Iniattir, the greetings of Lonpah ST'amlontohr, merchant of Lhasa; my clerk has sworn to write this in four tongues in the hope that you yourself will be able to read one of them, or will have a clerk, as I have, who can read one of the tongues here.
Now that the first caravans of spring are departing, I have ordered this be prepared for you, as the merchant most likely to have interest in this proposition, and the wherewithal to act upon what I am going to suggest to you.
I have recently purchased some textiles from a merchant who had them from one of your caravans. The textiles are of excellent quality and have provided me with quick profit, which is why I have taken it upon myself to write to you. I will give this to my caravan leader with instructions that he pass it to one of your caravan leaders to bring to you, in the hope that I might encourage you to consider sending a caravan to T'u-Bo-T'eh with the textiles so that both of us may enjoy a higher profit and the direct access to the markets each of us represents.
For my part, I can offer several sorts of goods, including religious scrolls that are much admired in the lowlands. Also, there are high-quality gems that I can secure for the right price, and these will be welcome in any market. I have access to skins, as well, particularly the mountain leopard, bears, and several kinds of goats. Many of these are highly sought. I have dealt with a number of hunters whose families make the skins ready for selling, and if I can assure them of wider markets, they will increase their hunting with the intention of sending the extra skins to you, in the lowlands. There are fine copper horns made here, and although some of the lamas do not approve of selling these sacred instruments, the makers are more than willing to provide them to me. I do not think you have had much like them to sell before. I am also able to supply gongs and bells, but these are heavy items and not readily transported down the mountains, and so I should not want to trade too many, for they would not allow for other loads on any beast carrying these gongs and bells, which would make them very costly to anyone who wished to purchase one.
I have fourteen Spiti ponies and nine yaks to bear my merchandise down to the markets your caravans have reached, and if you have need for more goods, I can acquire more animals to carry them. My brothers have herds of ponies and yaks, so my access to them is readily had, and I will not put myself at any disadvantage in paying more to carry the goods than I can hope to gain from trade. I tell you this to assure you that I am ready to undertake any amount of trade you require.
If such an arrangement is satisfactory to you, inform me of it and I will provide a guide to lead your caravan to Lhasa so that we may begin what I trust will be an association that is useful and profitable to us both. With the Sultans gone from Delhi, merchants like you and me can enjoy the trade that has so long been impossible
.
Lonpah ST'amlontohr
merchant of Lhasa
6
From his vantage-place at the crest of the hill, Rajput Hasin Dahele stopped and pointed to the town below them; the streets were busy, the market crowded, and the fields beyond the walls were filled with activity. "There. You see?" The air around them smelled of green things and fertile fields as well as the richer, more pungent odor of the forest at their backs.
"I see," said Sanat Ji Mani, his head aching from the morning's exposure to the sun; the huge silken parasol provided some relief, but not enough to eliminate the discomfort of being in daylight without the protection of his native earth in the soles of his shoes. Beside him, the young officer assigned to hold the umbrella did his best to keep Sanat Ji Mani in shadow.
"How would you deploy your men to take the town with as few losses as possible?" Hasin Dahele was enjoying himself hugely, thrilling to his panoply and all the accouterments of battle.
"I would set up my companies on the hills around the town and then send in an envoy to ask for surrender," said Sanat Ji Mani as quietly as he could, for the army was tremendously noisy. "They know you are coming."
