Monsoon Mists (20 page)

He jumped, as if he hadn’t noticed them there, and turned his steps towards them. ‘Kinross.’ He nodded curtly to the visitor. ‘Didn’t expect to find you here.’

‘Mr Kinross just came to enquire about my health,’ Zar hurriedly explained.

‘Your health? Why, are you ill?’

‘No, I …’ Zar’s brain seemed frozen and she couldn’t think what to say, but fortunately Jamie came to her rescue.

‘I took Mrs Miller and her
ayah
on an outing the other day and I was afraid the heat may have been too much for them,’ he interjected smoothly. ‘Happily, that was not the case.’

William’s scowl told them he found this suspicious, but whatever was preoccupying him obviously took precedence. ‘It’s the damnedest thing,’ he burst out, starting to pace in front of them. ‘A merchant friend of mine has just been found murdered. His throat slit from ear to ear.’ He must have heard Zar’s gasp as he added, ‘Beg pardon, but really, it’s the outside of enough.’

‘Wh-what merchant?’ Zar asked, although she was afraid she knew all too well who it would be.

‘Name of Feroz,’ William confirmed. ‘He was here only last night, discussing a, er … business proposal. I can’t believe it!’ He raked his fingers through his fair hair, making it stand on end at the front where perspiration had made it limp and wet.

Jamie had remained silent throughout this exchange, but he and Zar shared a glance. He shook his head at her, the gesture so slight she doubted William noticed. ‘That is indeed unfortunate for the poor man,’ Jamie said. ‘And for you, of course. I do hope this won’t cause you any problems.’

‘What do you mean?’ William scowled at him. ‘Why should the death of Feroz cause
me
problems?’

Jamie held up his hands in a placating gesture. ‘I only meant it might be an inconvenience to you to have to change your plans. You did say you were negotiating a business deal with the man, didn’t you?’

‘Oh, that.’ William looked relieved. ‘Yes, yes a bloody nuisance.’

‘Well, I shall take my leave,’ Jamie said. ‘This is obviously not the time for a visit. I shall see you tomorrow, Mrs Miller, when I will bring my ward as agreed. She is looking forward to seeing you.’

‘Ward? I didn’t know you had one.’ William sent him a look of disbelief.

‘Yes, but it’s a long story and I won’t bore you with it now. Good day to you both.’

As Jamie bowed and left, Zar watched William who seemed restless and nervous. What would happen now, she wondered? Who had murdered Feroz? It could only be someone connected with Mansukh, unless the other merchant had enemies she knew nothing about. If she’d been right, and there really was another spy in the courtyard the previous evening, he’d reported to his master. Feroz’s death was the result.

She shivered. This whole business was becoming much too serious.

William slumped down at his desk and with an angry curse, swiped his hand across the surface, dislodging various papers and quills. These fluttered to the floor, spreading out around him, but he didn’t care. He’d have liked to throw something heavy at the wall, just to take his frustration out somehow, but there wasn’t anything to hand other than the ink stand. He wasn’t stupid enough to throw that, as the contents would completely ruin the walls and floor.

‘Devil take it!’ He slapped his palms down onto the now empty desk. How could Feroz be dead?

He’d seen the man only last night and he’d seemed like someone who could take care of himself. From the rumours William had heard, Feroz had been setting himself up in opposition to Mansukh for quite some time, so he’d thought he was more than capable of looking after himself. That obviously wasn’t the case.

More worrying though was that if his death was a result of his deal with William, then William himself was in danger. How had Mansukh got wind of his plans? He’d not mentioned it to a soul, other than Feroz and his broker. And he’d been so careful, not even selling any of his assets yet. Instead he’d agreed with the broker that everything would be sold after his departure and the funds brought to Persia by the man personally. William would await him there and he trusted him implicitly. He’d been in his father’s employ for years.

Mansukh had spied on him. Spies were everywhere and he shouldn’t have assumed he was safe from them in his own home.

He shivered. He’d thought it would be easy to escape with the talisman and the rest of his fortune without Mansukh being any the wiser. But the man must have eyes and ears everywhere. How was he to extricate himself from this mess?

Perhaps he could blame Kinross? Say that it was his idea and he’d forced William into an agreement?

It was the only plan he could come up with for now. In the meantime, he’d try and find another way of leaving, and quickly.

Chapter Sixteen

‘How kind of you to bring Roshani to visit me this afternoon, Mr Kinross.’ Once again Zar met her guests in the courtyard, hoping to keep them there so she could discuss the previous day’s happenings with Jamie. First she had to greet her younger guest though. ‘How are you, my dear?’ Zar smiled at the little girl, who grinned back, mischief lurking in her eyes. She reminded Zar very much of Jamie himself, who’d taken the tiny thief under his wing. Perhaps he saw a kindred spirit in Roshani and that was why he’d agreed to let her stay?

‘We were very pleased to be invited,’ Jamie said, replying for them both she noticed.

‘Shall we stay outdoors?’ Zar gestured to the courtyard. ‘Roshani may wish to run around for a while.’

‘Yes, she certainly has a lot of energy.’ Jamie smiled and for a moment Zar almost forgot the serious purpose of his visit.

She pulled herself together and ordered refreshments, just like the day before. Roshani chatted to her hostess for a while. Then, having gulped her
sharbat
, she began to explore and set off along the paths. Zar turned to Jamie and whispered, ‘Ali never came yesterday so I am none the wiser. Have you any news?’

He shook his head. ‘Not much, no. I sent Kamal out to try and glean what information he could, but there was nothing but the bare facts. Feroz the merchant was found with his throat cut and no one had seen or heard a thing.’

‘It must have been Mansukh, right? I mean, no one else had a motive.’

‘We don’t know that. Feroz could have been a cheat and a liar, disliked by others.’

‘No, his death fits in too well with the rest of what we know.’ Zar unconsciously grabbed his forearm and almost shook it. ‘What are we to do? If Mansukh is angry, he might murder William next, and then you …’ She trailed off, unable to bear the thought of Jamie hurt or worse.

His mouth quirked and he put a hand over hers where it still rested on his arm. ‘Are you worried about me, Zarmina? I’m touched.’

She pulled her fingers away and made an impatient noise. ‘I’m worried about all of us. This is too dangerous. We have no idea what we’re up against.’

‘True. So what do you suggest?’

Zar tried to order her thoughts. She watched Roshani, who was now skipping around the perimeter of the courtyard on one leg in some game of her own. How she wished she was as young and carefree as the little girl. Life had seemed so simple at that age. She sighed. ‘I don’t know, but I suppose our only option is to do as the thief or thieves wish.’ She looked up at Jamie. ‘You’ll have to give William the talisman.’

‘I can’t. Not yet. You know that.’ Jamie’s mouth tightened. ‘Not until Sanjiv arrives with news of Akash and his family.’

‘But—’

A scream rent the air, interrupting Zar in mid-sentence, and Priya came rushing into the sunlight, her face a mask of terror. Right behind her swarmed a group of men armed with daggers and curved swords. They spread out to cover all the exits from the courtyard, searching each room in turn. Two of the men came out of a side room dragging a swearing William between them just as one more person came in through the entrance – Mansukh.

‘Oh, no,’ Zar whispered, her heart practically jumping into her throat. Their discussion had been too late.

‘Shield me for a moment,’ Jamie hissed and ducked behind Zar.

‘What?’ She frowned, but did as he asked, while William started shouting for his
sepoys
. Anyone of standing had hired soldiers to guard them whenever they ventured out. They came cheap and it was a sign of status, as well as protection. The household employed four such men, but none of them answered the summons. Zar tried not to think what might have happened to them, but feared they could have shared Feroz’s fate.

She took a deep breath and tried not to give in to the panic rising inside her.

Jamie turned and took his place beside her again. Zar looked up at him, wondering what he’d been doing, but his expression gave nothing away.

The portly
bania
made his way towards them, his black eyes glittering with barely suppressed anger. Priya continued to wail and he flapped a hand at one of his henchmen. ‘Get her out of here. And her child. This is nothing to do with them.’ Zar realised Mansukh thought Roshani was Priya’s daughter, as the girl happened to be standing near her. She watched as the merchant’s men ushered the two into the house and shut the door on them.
Good, at least they’ll be safe.
She knew Priya would look after the little girl.

William now stood silent, as if petrified, staring at Mansukh with the wide-eyed gaze of someone trapped by a tiger or other wild animal. Jamie seemed made of stouter stuff. ‘What is the meaning of this?’ he asked, glaring at the merchant. ‘You dare threaten a lady in her own house?’

Mansukh came to a halt in front of their little group and pursed his lips. ‘I’m sure you know exactly why I am here, foreigner. I do not like being cheated.’ His English was good, if heavily accented, and Zar remembered he had been doing business with the English factors for some time.

‘No one has cheated you,’ Jamie said, and added under his breath, ‘Yet.’ Zar hoped she was the only one who heard him.

But Mansukh fixed his gaze on William, who squirmed visibly and turned a nasty shade of pale. ‘Yes, they have. Or planned to. So you thought you could go behind my back, eh? That is not how I do business. Now where is it?’

‘I don’t have it.’ William’s tone was both sulky and defiant, yet with a quaver of terror in it, like a small but frightened boy.

‘You lie.’ Mansukh gestured to his men. ‘Take them away for questioning. I’m tired of this game now.’

He repeated his order in Gujarati and his men rushed to do his bidding. Mansukh himself turned and walked away without a backward glance. He ignored the sounds of the scuffle when Jamie tried to resist, laying about him with his fists like a prize fighter, to Zar’s surprise. But although he fought well, he was but one man against a dozen and with no help from William, who still stood like a statue, he had no chance. Zar herself could do very little, as her arms were quickly pinioned behind her and tied with a rope around the wrists.

For the sake of modesty, middle-class Mohammedan women of the town always covered themselves with a white enveloping garment called a
burqa
when they went out. It had a small white net over the eyes so they could see. Such coverings were now thrown over their heads before they were led out of the house and into three palanquins. As the conveyances started to move, each borne swiftly by six servants, Zar swallowed hard and tried not to give way to tears.

Jamie’s plans had all gone spectacularly wrong.

Rich merchants lived in fine brick houses and Jamie already knew Mansukh’s was situated next to the city wall facing the river. He’d been to reconnoitre after Zar mentioned the man and recognised the four storey building as they approached it. Most of the ones around it were lower, with two or three floors at the most, but Jamie reckoned Mansukh wanted to show off his wealth by having the extra space.

All such houses had thick, sturdy walls and this particular one had upper floors that overhung the lower levels and were supported by carved wooden pillars. The three prisoners were quickly hustled in through the main entrance and frog-marched towards a staircase that led down into arched cellars. These appeared to be as extensive as the floor above and Jamie tried to memorise the layout. Zar and Jamie ended up in a large room which had to be very close to the river, judging by the amount of moisture that covered the walls.

The
burqas
were pulled off and they were shoved to the floor. Jamie rolled in order to avoid being hurt, since his hands were tied behind him, but he heard Zar give a muffled cry and guessed she hadn’t known to do the same. ‘Bastards,’ he snarled, but the men who’d brought them took no notice. Instead they dragged their captives over towards the wall and clamped iron cuffs round their wrists. These were attached to a chain each which had only enough slack for them to sit with their backs against the wall.

‘Wasn’t the rope enough?’ Jamie taunted, but again, he was ignored.

The guards went off with William, who was obviously to be taken somewhere on his own, and his shouted protests echoed round vaulted ceilings.

‘Sounds like he’s found his voice again,’ Jamie muttered. ‘Shame.’

‘Wh-what are they going to do to him?’ Zar whispered, sounding breathless as if she was battling to keep her emotions under control. Jamie was pleased she hadn’t started weeping at least. He couldn’t bear women who cried for the slightest thing. He’d had enough of that with Elisabet …

He turned to look at Zar. There was a small amount of light coming in from a grille set high in the wall, enough for him to be able to make out the fact that she was keeping fairly calm. He leaned back and studied her face. The lovely peridot eyes were huge, but he couldn’t allay her fears. ‘I think we can guess,’ he said, bluntly. There was no point shielding her from the obvious. She wasn’t stupid. ‘We’ll be next, once they realise William really doesn’t know anything.’

‘So will you give them the talisman?’

‘I don’t see that I have a choice.’ He sighed. ‘If only Sanjiv had arrived, but he must have been delayed. You know I couldn’t really do anything until he got here.’