no use trying to pretend it didnât. Weâwe survived, and itâs over now. IâIâll never be able to forget the things I saw, butâIâm made of pretty strong stuff, Dollie. Iâm not one of your wilting Victorian maidens. You neednât be afraid to mention Thugs around me. I imagine I shall be hearing quite a lot about them.â
âYouâre a brave, brave girl.â
âIâm sensible,â I said quietly. âSwooning and having hysterics arenât going to erase anything that happened. IâIâm not unfeeling, please donât think that. I just know I have toâto go on in spite of it.â
âOf course you do, dear. These dreadful Thugsââ Dollie stared across the garden, not really seeing it, her bright red mouth a tight line. She finally turned back to me with serious brown eyes.
âThis is their last stronghold, you see. The secret society of Thuggee was thriving all over India. Itâs been pretty well broken up everywhere elseâCaptain Sleeman and his men have done such a tremendous job of bringing those awful assassins to justiceâbut itâs still thriving in this area. No oneâs been able to break their cover. Someone very powerful is behind themâsome say it might even be a white man whoâs in league with them and helping to provide cover for a share of the spoils. Poor Reggie has done all he could, but heâs had no luck. Thatâs why they sent that terrible Robert Gordon out here.â
âGordon? I think Reggie mentioned him last night.â
Dollie puffed up like an angry robin, eyes snapping.
âThat manâs a thorn in all our sides!â she exclaimed. âSo arrogant and aloof, so independent! Heâs on Sleemanâs staff, and heâs sent out here with special papers giving him full authority to handle the Thuggee situation. He doesnât have to take orders from anyone, is free to do exactly as he pleases! He disappears for long periods of time, Gordon does, and heaven only knows what heâs up to while heâs away. Secret missions, âundercover work,â he calls it. He doesnât confide in anyone, not even Reg gie. Itâs scandalous!â
âIt does seem a bit unusual,â I agreed.
âHe has rooms here at the barracks, naturally, rooms filled with books and papers and outrageous native statues and a whole jumble of bizarre objects. When heâs not skulking around the countryside in disguise heâs making secret reports to Sleeman and telling him God knows what about us all!â Dolly paused, visibly fuming. âI never could abide spies!â
âSleeman must have a great deal of confidence in him.â
âOh, Gordonâs brilliant , Iâll have to hand him that. He speaks over ten languages and any number of dialects. The manâs not yet thirty, and heâs already had a number of books publishedâquite shocking anthropological studies about native tribes and some of theirâwell, more un civ ilized practices. Heâs done translations, too.â Dollie lowered her voice. âAncient marriage manuals,â she said, âand even worseâthe kind of books no Godfearing Englishman would allow in his home.â
âHow very unusual,â I remarked.
âHe simply doesnât Fit In,â she continued, verbally capitalizing the last two words. âI suppose youâd have to say the man is fascinatingâIâve never encountered anyone quite like himâbut, all the same, he gives me the shivers. That savage face, those eyes . Some women find that sort of thing attractive, of course. A number of the younger wives tried to shine up to him when he first arrived. Gordon wouldnât give them the time of day and didnât even try to hide how boring he found them. He doesnât have time for women , I can tell you that much!â
Despite Dollieâs vehement tirade
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