The India Fan (40 page)

ine?

onsieur Lasseur is what is known in certain quarters as a procurer for a very wealthy employer, an oriental gentleman who has his own country traditional ideas about the uses of women with which a young lady such as yourself would never agree. In other words, Monsieur Lasseur had selected you as an interesting addition to his master harem.

I felt myself blushing scarlet and I could see this amused him very much.

don believe it,I said.

evertheless, he is known to some of us. English young ladies are very desirable in certain circumstances. First, they belong to that proud country which sees itself as master of the world. They have had a different upbringing from the women of eastern countries. They have had more independence; they have not all been brought up to believe that their mission in life is to serve men in any way in which they are called on to do so. I am sorry if this conversation shocks you, but you see, if you are going adventuring through the world you must be made aware of the facts of life. Lasseur travelled with the ship from England. He was there on his master more legitimate business; but if he could find someone delectable enough to titillate his master somewhat jaded palate and bring her back in triumph he would win the great man approval and gratitude. He would have done more than merely complete his master business, which he had been sent to England to do. Well, he saw you.

really don believe a word of this.

ou can ask Keeping. He saw what was happening. It would not have been exactly the first time a young woman had disappeared in the desert with him and been heard of no more. By the way, you owe a little gratitude to me. I sent word to him to look out for you when you left the ship at Alexandria. He did. He made you his concern, for he knew that was what I would wish. You look stunned.

I was. I was remembering it all. The meeting with Monsieur Lasseur the conversations the coming of Tom Keeping. And Monsieur Lasseur had intended to arrange that we travel without the rest of the party. Good heavens! I thought. It is feasible.

Fabian was smiling, reading my thoughts.

hope you are not disappointed to have been snatched from a sultan harem.

am sure the sultan would have been, but I would have thought I was hardly worth the trouble.

ou underestimate yourself,he said. believe that you are worth a great deal of trouble.

He rose from his chair and came over to me. I rose too. He put his hands on my shoulders.

glad Keeping rescued you and brought you safely to us,he said seriously.

hank you.

ou still look bewildered.

have been astonished by what you have told me. I really find it hard to believe.

hat is because you have lived most of your life in a rectory where cunning eastern gentlemen are unheard of.

here are predatory creatures the whole world over, I suppose.

es,he said with a smile, ut their methods would be different.

must tell Mr. Keeping how grateful I am to him.

e will tell you he was doing it all as a matter of duty obeying orders.

he Company orders?

he Company is only those who work for it. Shall we say, my orders. I am the one to whom you should show gratitude.

hen if that is so, I thank you.

He inclined his head. might ask your help one day.

can imagine my feeble efforts would be of any use to you.

ou underestimate yourself again. You mustn, you know. There is a belief that people take you at your own valuation. You see, for all his faults, the discerning Monsieur Lasseur recognized your worth. Others might too if you let them.

think I should join the children. I am usually with them at this time.

nd spoil the tete-a-tete between Miss Philwright and Tom Keeping?

erhaps I should take the children off her hands. They would be able to talk more easily then.

rusilla

es?

re you a little grateful to me?

I hesitated. I still found the story incredible.

I suppose so,I said.

ou suppose! That is a very hesitant comment from a young lady who is usually so determined.

am grateful to Mr. Keeping, of course. What did he do to the man?

e will tell you. There was a stop at one of those places.

es. It was where he was taken ill.

elped by Tom, of course.

t must have been something he put in the wine. I remember there was wine.

f course. He did tell me. He slipped it into the fellow glass, knowing the effect would be quick. He went in with him to the men rest room so that he was handy when Lasseur began to feel strange. He looked after him, called the manager of the place and arranged for him to stay there until he was fit to travel. By the time he had recovered, the ship would be sailing from Suez, with you out of harm way.

t was very cleverly done. What did he give him?

omething to get the desired effect. In the course of his business Tom has learned of such things.

erhaps it was datura,I said. he thorn apple.

h, that Dougal was talking about it, wasn he?

es. He explained what it looked like. I could hardly recognize it from his description.

ou have seen it, then?

I said, t seems the Khansamah grows it in his garden.

Fabian dropped his bantering manner. .K.,he said. n his garden. But the cultivation is forbidden except in certain cases.

erhaps he is one of the certain cases.

should not think so. How did you know of this?

I told him how Louise had brought the sprig to me.

ood God!he said. e is growing it in his garden!

hall you speak to him? Ayah was very upset. You see, Louise crawled under the fence and thought she was bringing me a nice flower.

he child took it he murmured. ou have said nothing of this to the Khansamah?

o. You know how important he is.

do indeed,said Fabian grimly. id you tell anyone about this?

told Dougal, but foolishly I had burned the thing, so I couldn show him. I am sure he thought I had been mistaken and I think he felt it was not possible to question the Khansamah.

,said Fabian slowly. hat would be difficult, I admit. Perhaps it is one of those pieces of information best hidden for a while. I want to see Tom Keeping. Perhaps you could go out there and tell him I in my study. Would you do that?

f course.

I could see that the possibility of the Khansamah growing the thorn apple in his garden had driven all frivolous thoughts from his mind.

I sat on in the garden, talking to Alice. Tom Keeping had immediately gone in to Fabian when I had told him where he was.

Alice was different. There was a lilt in her voice. I thought to myself: This is Alice in love.

She said how strange it was that Tom Keeping had come to the house.

t not strange at all,I said. e is the Company servant, as they all are. Sir Fabian has just told me the strangest thing. I don know whether to believe him or not.

I explained.

She stared at me in amazement. t was all rather odd, wasn it?she said. he way in which he was so suddenly taken ill.

t fits,I agreed. ut it does seem a rather wild story to me.

ell, we were in a wild country. Things are different there and here from what they are at home. It just seems improbable because you are putting it into an English setting. I think Tom acted splendidlyo quickly so efficiently.

es, I shall have to thank him.

hat would have happened if he hadn been there!She shivered. t is too awful to contemplate.

ir Fabian says that Tom was acting on his orders.

e would, wouldn he?

t sounds possible.

Alice lifted her shoulders. think Tom was wonderful,she said.

I could see that she was obsessed by Tom and I wondered what the outcome would be.

We chatted in the nursery together when the children had gone to bed. Alice was more talkative than usual.

om is apparently a wonderful man,I said. hey all seem to think highly of him.

is life is very adventurous. I don suppose hel stay here long. He is always on the move. He was delighted to see us.

e was delighted to see you.

e did say that he was. Then he said a strange thing how glad he was to have met us, but he did not think it was a good time for us to be here. I asked him what he meant by that, but he was rather noncommittal.

told Sir Fabian about the discovery of that plant in the Khansamah garden. He was rather disturbed.

here is a strange feeling in the air. This matter of the Thugs I think it is causing them a great deal of concern.

aturally it would. It rebelling against the law.

om says he expects to be here only a few days and he never knows where he will go next.She was silent for a while; then she went on, t was really wonderful what he did in the desert.

She smiled proudly. I hoped everything would turn out well for her. She deserved some good fortune.

As soon as I saw Tom Keeping I told him I now knew what he had done and I thanked him.

t was a pleasure,he said. only wish I could have had that man arrested. But it is not easy in such places. I recognized him at once, for he had tried the same tactics before. There was a young girl who was going out to be married. Lasseur was one of the party and they disappeared together on the journey across the desert. He had procured a small carriage at the stables, persuaded the girl that they would take the last stage of the journey in greater comfort and she was never seen again.

don know what to say to you. It is so bewildering. When I try to think of what might have been

He laid a hand on my arm. ell, it didn happen. Sir Fabian did not like the idea of you two ladies travelling unaccompanied and he told me to look out for you, as I was in the neighbourhood and would be making the last part of the journey back to India with you. I saw at once that he was trying the same trick again. I thoroughly enjoyed foiling the loathsome creature.

e will probably do it again.

oubtless he will. I should have liked to expose him, but it is a tricky thing to do. His employer is, I believe, a man of great wealth and power. Heaven knows what the consequences would be if anyone interfered with one of his men. It could be an international incident! Discretion had to be the better part of valour on that occasion and I had to content myself with bringing you safely to your destination.

ell, thank you.

ou should thank Sir Fabian. Your safe arrival was a matter of the utmost importance to him.

I felt a glow of pleasure which, ridiculously, seemed to make the dangers through which I had passed worthwhile.

Then something disturbing did occur. It was afternoon, that time when the day was at its hottest and the household was quiet.

Lavinia had asked me to go to her. She wanted to chat and ask my opinion about a new dress she was having made up. Not that she would take my advice on such a matter; but she wanted to talk.

I thought this would be a good time. She usually rested at this hour, though she did not sleep, so I guessed I would find her alone.

As I approached her door I heard the sound of voices. Lavinia was high pitched. She sounded alarmed.

I ran to the door and opened it. For a few seconds I stared in blank amazement. She was standing by the bed; her peignoir had fallen from her shoulders. She looked startled and afraidand with her was the Great Khansamah. He was there beside her, his puggaree awry his face distorted. It seemed to me that he was attacking Lavinia. His eyes were glazed and there was something odd about him.

As for Lavinia, her hair was loose about her bare shoulders. She was very flushed. When she looked at me I saw the fear fade from her face and an almost smug expression cross her features.

think,she said to the Khansamah, hat it would be better if you left now.

I could see that he was desperately trying to recover his dignity. His hand went to his half-opened shirt. He looked at me and said haltingly, issie come to see Memsahib Countess. I will go.

es, Khansamah,said Lavinia, a trifle imperiously. ou should go now.

He bowed and throwing a look of dislike in my direction, he departed.

I said, hat was that all about?

y dear Drusilla, I was most surprised. The fellow thought I might allow him to make love to me.

avinia!

on look so surprised. He thinks he is better than any of us.

ow could you allow it!

didn allow it. I protested vigorously.

hy should he have thought it would be possible?

tell you, he has a high opinion of himself.

ou must have given him some encouragement.

She pouted. hat right. Blame me as you always do.

on you see how dangerous this is?

angerous? I could have handled him.

ou looked rather alarmed when I came in.

n the nick of time!she said dramatically.

ou should never have received him the way you have. You should have seen him downstairs for your daily consultations.

hat nonsense! I was only doing what all the women do. They see their khansamahs every morning.

his one is different. You have behaved foolishly. You have flirted with him. You must have made him think that he might be successful with you. It would never have entered his mind if you had behaved with decorum as the others do. Who else would dream of encouraging the servants to have such ideas?

did nothing of the sort.

ou did. I have seen you. Receiving him in your negligee smiling at him, accepting his compliments. Naturally he thought he was making headway with you.

ut he is a servant here. He should remember that.

ot when you behave like a slut.

e careful, Drusilla.

t is you who have to be careful. If you do not want plain speaking there is no point in our going on talking.

thought you would be sympathetic.

avinia, don you realize the situation here? Tom Keeping is here because of it. There is unease unrest and you create this situation with that man!

didn make it. He did. I didn ask him to come to my room.

o. But you have implied your interest in him.