‘Frightened?’
‘Of what?’ she demanded. ‘There is much to choose from.’
That surprised a laugh from him. ‘Of the pursuers, of the journey, of where you are going. Of me.’
‘No,’ Anusha lied. She was afraid of all of those things, but she was not going to admit it. His faint snort of derision showed what he thought of that.
‘You appear to be competent, so I imagine you will evade pursuit,’ she said. It seemed important to convince him of her courage, her ability to undertake this journey. ‘I look forward to being able to look around me, to see things openly and not through the screens of a travelling palanquin. I will deal with my destination when I get there. And as for you, Major Herriard, you are a—’ She searched for the equivalent in Hindi and resorted to English. ‘Gentleman, are you not, if you are an officer? And my mother said that English gentlemen must behave honourably to ladies.’
‘That is the theory,’ he agreed, his voice dry. And then he laughed and spurred his horse into a canter, leaving her to follow, her body tight with apprehension.
Chapter Four
‘Why are we stopping?’ Anusha demanded. The horses had dropped into a trot and then a walk as Major Herriard turned off the road. Beneath their hooves the ground was stony and uneven. ‘This is a terrible surface, we cannot canter on this.’
‘Are you going to question every decision I make?’ he asked without turning his head.
‘Yes.’ Now she did not have to concentrate on keeping her aching body in the saddle the desire to slide off and simply go to sleep was overwhelming. Perhaps when she woke it would all have been a bad dream.
‘The moon will be down very soon and then it will be hard to see where we are going. There are trees over there, cover. We will make a temporary camp and sleep until sunrise. I turned off here because the ground will not show tracks.’
‘Very well,’ Anusha agreed.
‘That is very gracious of you, Miss Laurens, but your approval is not required, merely your obedience.’ Herriard was a dark shape now as he sat motionless on the horse and studied the small group of trees and thorn bushes in what was left of the moonlight. He spoke absently, as though she was peripheral to his interest.
‘Major Herriard!’
‘Call me Nick. Stay here. Your voice has probably scared off anything dangerous lurking in there, but I will check first.’
Nick. What sort of name was that? She translated to take her mind off the fact that she was suddenly alone and things were rustling in the bushes. Quite large things. Was nick not something to do with a small cut? Well, that hardly suited him—the man had the subtlety and brutal force of a sabre slash.
‘There is a small shrine in there, a stone platform we can sleep on and some firewood. We can light a fire and it will be shielded by the walls,’ he said as he rode back to her side. ‘There are water jars for the horses, which is good fortune.’
‘You would plunder a shrine?’ Anusha demanded, more out of antagonism than outrage as she guided her horse after him. Taking water was hardly plunder.
‘We will do no damage. We can leave an offering if you wish.’ He swung down as he spoke and came to hold up a hand to her.
‘I can manage. And what is a Christian doing leaving an offering at a Hindu shrine?’ Her feet hit the ground rather harder than she had been expecting and her knees buckled. Nick’s hand under her elbow was infuriatingly necessary. ‘I said I can manage.’
He ignored her and held on until she had her balance. It felt very strange to be touched by a man, a virtual stranger. It felt safe and dangerous all at the same time. ‘It would cause no offence, I imagine. And after twelve years in this country I am not at all sure what I am. A pragmatist, perhaps. What are you?’
It was a good question. She supposed she had better decide before she reached Calcutta. Her mother had converted to Christianity after she had lived with Sir George for five years. For ten years Anusha had gone with her to church. And in Kalatwah she had lived as a Hindu. ‘What am I? I do not know. Does it matter, so long as one lives a good life?’
‘A sound philosophy. At least that is something we do not have to fight over.’ He did not unsaddle the horses but loosened the girths and then dumped their kit on the stone platform.
‘We do not have to fight at all, provided you treat me with respect,’ Anusha retorted. And stop watching me like a hawk. She found a twiggy branch and began to sweep an area clear of the leaf litter that might harbour insects or a small snake.