A Garland of Marigolds (19 page)

“
I
’
ll think about it!
”
I said lightly.

“
Yes, do,
”
he said.
“
The sooner you
’
re free of that entanglement the better!
”

But I wasn
’
t sure that I saw it that way. Timothy, after
all,
was a form of defense. He wasn
’
t a very good one, but he was the only one I had. And at that moment I needed a defense very badly against the charms of Gideon Wait.

“
I
’
m not sure I want to be free,
”
I said stubbornly.

Gideon looked exasperated.
“
Muddleheaded and ridiculous!
”
he commented.

“
I
’
m very fond of Timothy,
”
I insisted.

Gideon blew up like a geyser. It was fascinating
to
see. Whoever would have thought that he held
his
temper
on
so
light
a rein?
“
Have it your own way,
”
he said at last.
“
But don
’
t
be
surprised if someone takes the trouble
to wring your neck!
”

From somewhere I
found the audacity to laugh.

“
Oh really!
”
I protested
weakly.

“
Yes, really!
”
he told me.

Dinner passed in a whirl. I puzzled over Gideon
’
s comments, but
I
couldn
’
t
see
any good reason why he should care whether I wrote
to
Timothy or not. At last, when it was all over, I escaped to my room and sat on the edge of my bed and tried to pull myself together. Outside the crowd was becoming noisier. The celebrations had officially begun.

The village
was
indeed
en
fete.
I had only the haziest notion of what
was going
on, because the myths and legends of India must
be almost as numerous
as her extensive population. So who the two giants
were,
stuffed with fireworks and explosive bangs,
remained a mystery, though
I cheered as hard as any when they
went up in smoke, in one
uproarious spectacle of flare and color,
finally bursting into flames.

I recognized the King
of the Monkeys, very much the noble ally,
with his breast flapping
in
the
breeze to reveal Rama
’
s name
written on his heart. But this
demigod, this humanized ape, bore
little resemblance to
the mischievous monkeys that had
frightened me in the
forest.
I
was disappointed when he, too,
didn
’
t burst into flames,
but contented himself with throwing
colored water at all the pretty
girls instead. Lakshmi was soaked
in a glowing scarlet and
I, to my annoyance, ended up
multi-colored like a patchwork
quilt. It was all great fun, though,
for the villagers.

Some time during the
evening Hanuman, the King of the
Monkeys, lost the head of his
disguise and I saw Lakshmi clinging
to his arm as they
ran through the crowd. So that was the way the
land lay, I thought, and
I hoped that her family were thinking
along the same lines.

I was standing
in
the
middle of the street, watching her, when
Gideon came up
behind me.

“
All alone?
”
he asked.

I turned quickly.
“
Why, yes,
”
I admitted.
“
But I don
’
t mind. It
’
s
so colorful that one
would almost spoil it by talking.
”

“
Is that a hint?
”

I
was afraid
I had hurt his feelings.

“
Of course
not!
Are
you all alone,
too?
”

“
At the moment, but
not
for
very long!
”
He could scarcely hide
his contented grin.

I
waited
for him
to tell me what was happening but he didn
’
t. He
stood there,
propped up on his crutches, and grinned straight into
my face.

“
You look
very pleased about it, anyway,
”
I said crossly.

“
I am,
”
he
chortled.
“
Julie is coming to stay at the end of the
week!
”

I could feel my
face tightening into a social smile and my eyes
went blank.
The last
thing
I wanted was for him to know what I
was really
feeling. That would have been disastrous!

“
Coming
here?
”
I said hollowly.

He
looked quite pleased with himself.

“
At my express invitation!
”
he announced proudly.

“
She
’
ll have
to
stay with you and Camilla in the small house, but she
’
s very adaptable.
”

“
There isn
’
t any room. There only are two bedrooms.
”

His grin appeared again, not one whit put out.

“
Yes, I know,
”
he said,
“
but Camilla says she doesn
’
t mind doubling up with you for a week or so—
”

“
Or so?
”
I repeated faintly.

His eyes twinkled mercilessly.

“
Oh, come now,
”
he said,
“
I know you two girls blame the whole Burnett family for my accident, but it really had nothing at all to do with Julie—
”

“
Even if her father did trip you?
”
I put in pugnaciously.

“
It still wasn
’
t her fault,
”
he went on reasonably.
“
She was very upset and wept on my shoulder to show just how sorry she was. It will do her a
lot of
good to see exactly how and where I work. It
isn
’
t
the same when she comes over for the day, because nobody does anything very much on those days, we
’
re all so busy entertaining
her.
”

“
Exactly!
”
I said bleakly.
“
Now nobody will do anything for a week or so!
”

He laughed out loud.

“
Don
’
t be silly!
”
he said.
“
With the monsoons only a month away we
’
ll all be working flat out. Julie quite understands that. She won
’
t get in your way at all, so don
’
t look so worried!
”

I gave him a look that was meant to put him in his place, but it seemed that nothing was going to wipe that smile off his face.
“
I
’
ll bet Camilla was pleased!
”
I said viciously.

“
As a matter of fact she was
...
quite,
”
he retorted.

But I didn
’
t believe him! For who in his right mind would welcome
Julie
Burnett into his house? It just didn
’
t seem possible!

The feverish pleasure of the evening was beginning to die down. The old men had gathered beside the well, smoking and yarning to each other. Even the oldest of them was able to squat for hours without the slightest fatigue. In India people queued for buses that way, had their hair cut, mended their fishing nets, and they found it quite natural. But somehow the presence of the old men put a restraint on the younger villagers. The young men dropped the hands of veiled young girls and returned to the pretense that they didn
’
t know them. I looked around for Lakshmi, but she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was tired and happy and they smiled as Gideon and I went slowly up the street.

“
Well, your dam has been well and truly sent off,
”
Gideon observed.
“
I hope we can live up to their expectations.
”

“
If they
’
ll dig—
”
I began.

“
They
’
ll dig if you get out among them and keep them going,
”
he said.

I nodded seriously.
“
That
’
s what I intend to do,
”
I said.

The old men called Gideon over to join them. He hitched himself on to the edge of the well and put his crutches down on the ground. Then he patted the ledge, inviting me to sit down beside him, but I shook my head. The old men were well launched on their stories and they wouldn
’
t want a woman sitting among them. Instead, I walked back down the street and gathered some of the colored streamers into my hands as memento of the evening. The whole air smelt of joss-sticks and gunpowder. If
Julie
hadn
’
t been coming for a visit, it would have been the end of a perfect evening.

Camilla was undressing when I got back.

“
Have you seen Lakshmi?
”
she called out to me.

“
Not recently,
”
I replied.

Camilla appeared in the doorway, clad in a light chiffon robe.
“
That
’
s the trouble with this country,
”
she said.
“
One can
’
t do anything by oneself. I thought I
’
d have a bath, but if Lakshmi isn
’
t here who will scrub my back for me?
”

I laughed.

“
I will if you like,
”
I offered, knowing that it involved a great deal more than that. It was a question of finding the bath and heating the water.

“
Do you have the time?
”
Camilla asked me.
“
It
’
s terribly late!
”

“
Never mind. It will be soothing after all those hectic crowds,
”
I said.

She giggled and padded back into her room, leaving the door open for me to follow.