"Tell me what you propose to do about Roshanara."

"I shall have to give the matter some thought, but at the moment it seems to me that what we must do is smuggle her out of the city."

"The Great Khansamah would never allow that."

"I will do it without his knowledge, of course."

"Is it possible?"

"We must make it possible. The Company owns several houses in various places. There it is possible for people to live in secret for a little while. I do believe this is the best way to act. We must be very, very careful, though. Tom should return tonight. He comes and goes with frequency, so it will not arouse much comment if he leaves again. When is the funeral to be?"

"Very soon, I believe. I think in two days' time."

"Then prompt action is necessary. Be ready. I may need your help. And remember, not a word to anyone."

"I'll remember," I said.

He smiled at me and leaned towards me. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he did not. I think he must have seen the alarm leap into my eyes. I must disguise my feelings. Alice had noticed something. I must be sure no one else did ... especially Fabian.

The events of that day stay clearly in my mind.

As soon as I could I saw the ayah, which happened almost immediately, because she was as eager to see me as I was to see her.

I said to her, "It is all right. It is going to be stopped, but we have to be careful. There must be no betrayal of what we are going to do."

She nodded gravely.

"Sir Fabian is going to see that it is all right. You must do exactly what you are told and not whisper a word to anyone."

She nodded again. "Now?" she asked.

"When we are ready I will tell you. In the meantime you must behave as though nothing has happened."

I knew she would. She was terrified of what would happen to her if the Great Khansamah ever discovered she had been involved in a plot to undermine his authority.

Later that day Tom Keeping arrived.

Fabian summoned Dougal and me to the study and said that Miss Philwright must come, too, for her help might be needed and now that she was engaged to Tom she would work with us.

It was obvious that Tom already knew that Alice had accepted him. His look of contentment mingled with one of apprehension, for which the situation was responsible.

"Sit down," said Fabian. "You too, Miss Philwright. You have heard what is happening?" He looked questioningly at Alice.

Alice said she did know.

"Well, we have to get this girl out of the house. Tom is seeing to that. There are several small houses owned by the Company to which many of its members can go if ever there is the need to hide. They are run as little inns in the country. There anyone who has to hide for a while can pass as a traveller and little notice is taken of them. Tom, tell your plan."

"We are going to get the Indian girl out of danger," said Tom. "We could, of course, forbid the ceremony and call in the law. That is what I would suggest normally. But we think that would not be wise in view of the explosive state of affairs at present."                         

Fabian said, "I believe that both Miss Delany and Miss Philwright are aware of the growing tension among the people here. Our enemies are spreading rumours among the sepoys that the bullets they use have been greased with the fat of beef and pork, which they consider unclean. They think that we are trying to suppress their old customs by treating them with contempt. Several fires have been started in Barrackpur. I'm sorry, Tom. I digress, but I do think it is important for the young ladies to understand the gravity of the situation and why we have to act in this devious manner. There have been outbursts of rebellion which we have suppressed, but rumours are running through Oudh and Bundelkhand, which are undermining our prestige. Now, carry on, Tom."

"We're highly suspicious of the Khansamah. He is a man who seems able to lead people. It is because of his presence in this household that we have to proceed with the greatest caution, and Sir Fabian and I have come to the conclusion that until we are more sure of his intentions, we must concentrate —for the moment—more on saving the life of this girl than on seeing justice done. Our plan, therefore, is to get Roshanara out of harm's way."

"How?" asked Dougal.

"By taking her away from here."

"You will be seen leaving," said Dougal.

"Not if we do it this way. She will not leave until after dark."

"She will be missed from the Khansamah's house," I said.

"We hope that she is supposed to remain alone in her room, prostrate with grief for the loss of her husband. According to tradition, she should be spending what they believe will be her last night on Earth in meditation and prayer. They will leave her in solitude to do this. What she must do is slip out of his house, but not come into this one. She will go to the gazebo."

"The grass around it is infested with snakes," said Dougal. "I can tell you that some of them are ... lethal."

"I know how interested you are in the various species, Dougal," said Fabian impatiently, "but there is not time to discuss them now."

"I merely thought the approach to the place is dangerous."

"The danger is minor compared with what we would have to face if we did not take this action. Go on, Tom."

"Well," said Tom, "we must disguise Roshanara. This is where you ladies will help. I have a wig here, which will transform her appearance." He opened a small bag and brought out the wig. It was made of human hair and looked quite realistic. It was light brown in colour.

"It will make a good deal of difference to her appearance," I commented.

"A little face powder might lighten her skin," said Alice.

"I am sure it would," I said. "Lavinia has lots of pots and bottles on her dressing table. I'll ask her."

"No," said Fabian. "Don't ask her. Take what you want."

"She may miss them."

"You must make sure that she does not. You will only need them briefly and they can be replaced before she notices they have been taken away. So you really think you could alter her appearance ... make her look ... European?"

"I think we might," I said. "We can try."

"But you must not tell Lavinia a word."

"It will mean purloining these things."

"Then purloin."

"The plan is," went on Tom, "to get Roshanara here at midnight. She must in no circumstances come into this house. Servants have sharp ears and eyes and are always on the alert, but particularly so now. She should make her way to the gazebo."

"In spite of possible snakes," added Fabian, throwing a glance at Dougal.

"There," went on Tom, "she will be dressed in some garments which you will find for her ... European style. Her appearance should be entirely changed. She and I will leave at once. I shall get her to a house on the fringe of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldrake will arrive. Sheldrake is one of the Company's men. His wife will be a help. Roshanara will pose as their daughter. Mrs. Sheldrake and the girl can travel in a palanquin ... the girl being ill, we shall say. That will insure against too many questions being asked, for no one will want to go too near her for fear of catching some infectious disease. Thus we will get her to a house of safety, where she will remain until we can review the situation."

Fabian looked at me. "You are thinking this a little melodramatic. Why do we not simply stop the proceedings? Believe me, it is what I should prefer to do."

"I do understand," I assured him. "It must be done as you have arranged. Alice and I will do our best to disguise her."

"The thing is to find something to fit her," said Alice. "She is so young and slight."

"Any garment will do," said Fabian. "She will be in the palanquin most of the time ... except at first, of course."

"And that, I should imagine, is the most dangerous part," I said. I turned to Alice. "Where shall we find the clothes?"

Alice studied me for a few seconds. "You are very slim, though much taller than the girl. We could cut off the bottom of one of your dresses."

"That's the answer," said Tom, looking proudly at Alice, who had produced it.

"And don't forget," said Fabian, "my sister must not be in the secret. She would be unable to stop herself blurting out something about it."

"We must first get the message to Roshanara," said Tom.

"I will speak to the ayah at once," I told him.

"I don't like a native being involved," said Fabian.

I looked at him with exasperation. "Don't you see, Ayah wants this to succeed as much as any of us. She is her aunt. She brought her up. She will do everything she can to save her. I know."

"It doesn't do to get emotionally involved," said Fabian. "It leads to misjudgement. Impress on the ayah ..."

"Of course I will, but she will understand that without telling. We can trust her discretion absolutely."

"It is a mistake to trust absolutely."

Why was it, I asked myself, that I could never be with him without this argumentative mood overtaking me? This was no time for it. We had to concentrate all our efforts on making the plan work.

As soon as I left the house I saw the ayah. I suggested she go to the gazebo, where we could talk. Fabian was right. One should not be too trusting, and although I was sure there must be many of the servants who would be sad to see Roshanara burned to death, they would never know where the wrath of the Khansamah would end, and some might feel a patriotic desire to drive the British out of India and defy their laws.