forest; their branches laden with red and orange flowers, lined both sides of the winding driveway. It was a secluded property, far from prying eyes.
As if by magic the gate opened. Miranda could not see who it was who had opened the gate. It was too dark to see. As it was in the East the darkness descended suddenly and everything was almost instantly submerged in eerie darkness.
A light was flickering on the front porch, however, and Derek was there to greet her and lead her into a massive brightly lit front room.
Before she could say anything he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. Was there another presence somewhere in the background? She distinctly felt she was being watched. There was someone there, watching.
She did not have to wait long to find out. An elderly man, his face lined with age, a liveried servant, came forward and gave her a salaam.
Derek introduced them
“Meet Radhu chacha,” Derek said, smiling.
“Radhu uncle, I call him uncle out of politeness”
Which was very unusual, Miranda thought fleetingly, as in this society the division between servant and master was usually very apparent; to introduce the two was rather strange. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and proceeded to enjoy the evening.
The servant, Radhu, did not make eye contact with her, which was quite common. But though he looked subservient and meek, the perfect servant, she could feel the hostile feeling emanating from him. Miranda was very uncomfortable. Who was he? Why was he so very hostile? She had never met him. He did not know her, so why this reaction from him?
Radhu Chacha wheeled in the drinks trolley. Radhu had desperately tried to dissuade Derek from inviting Miranda this evening. He did not want another fiasco, another liaison, another scandal. After all, memsahib, Derek’s mother, would hold him responsible. Let the evening be over quickly, and then chota would turn to him for advice.
How little the new memsahib knew about the East. This made him think how little she knew that everything went according to what he Radhu, decided, Derek was just a small peg in big wheel Let her have a good meal and a drink or for that matter many drinks, but this would not go far! Another scandal, God forbid, had to be averted at any cost!
Radhu served the drinks, gin and tonic for her and beer for Derek. They were making small talk, exchanging pleasantries. Derek seemed a little distant, but Miranda decided to ignore it. They were not left alone. The old man always seemed to appear from nowhere to give her a refill. She found it most annoying.
Derek, however, seemed oblivious to his presence and did not in the least object to him being there. A threesome, Miranda mused bitterly. What a date.
Dinner consisted of chicken curry and rice with some vegetables as a side dish. It was good—not too hot and not too spicy.
Radhu Chacha, Derek told her, had personally supervised the cooking so that the khansamah would not get carried away with his spices and oil since memsahib was not used to the hot curries.
Derek was extremely quiet that evening. He was very amiable and friendly, but there was something missing. Miranda could not put her finger on what that something was, however.
During dinner it suddenly dawned upon Miranda that this old mild and meek servant was the real captain of this ship. And she was not wrong.
He was the person who really ran Derek’s bungalow, who looked after him, who watched him like a hawk. Nothing escaped his eyes. Hehad been with the family for years and had watched Derek grow up. Now he was duty bound to keep tabs on him. His job was to sail this ship without any turmoil, to make sure all was smooth and flowing freely. Another scandal would wreak complete havoc within the Chowdhury family.
Chota sahib had always had an eye for beautiful girls. But Radhu would never forget the Rukmini incident. Memsahib Derek’s mother came to him practically weeping. Memsahib weeping—he could
As if by magic the gate opened. Miranda could not see who it was who had opened the gate. It was too dark to see. As it was in the East the darkness descended suddenly and everything was almost instantly submerged in eerie darkness.
A light was flickering on the front porch, however, and Derek was there to greet her and lead her into a massive brightly lit front room.
Before she could say anything he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. Was there another presence somewhere in the background? She distinctly felt she was being watched. There was someone there, watching.
She did not have to wait long to find out. An elderly man, his face lined with age, a liveried servant, came forward and gave her a salaam.
Derek introduced them
“Meet Radhu chacha,” Derek said, smiling.
“Radhu uncle, I call him uncle out of politeness”
Which was very unusual, Miranda thought fleetingly, as in this society the division between servant and master was usually very apparent; to introduce the two was rather strange. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and proceeded to enjoy the evening.
The servant, Radhu, did not make eye contact with her, which was quite common. But though he looked subservient and meek, the perfect servant, she could feel the hostile feeling emanating from him. Miranda was very uncomfortable. Who was he? Why was he so very hostile? She had never met him. He did not know her, so why this reaction from him?
Radhu Chacha wheeled in the drinks trolley. Radhu had desperately tried to dissuade Derek from inviting Miranda this evening. He did not want another fiasco, another liaison, another scandal. After all, memsahib, Derek’s mother, would hold him responsible. Let the evening be over quickly, and then chota would turn to him for advice.
How little the new memsahib knew about the East. This made him think how little she knew that everything went according to what he Radhu, decided, Derek was just a small peg in big wheel Let her have a good meal and a drink or for that matter many drinks, but this would not go far! Another scandal, God forbid, had to be averted at any cost!
Radhu served the drinks, gin and tonic for her and beer for Derek. They were making small talk, exchanging pleasantries. Derek seemed a little distant, but Miranda decided to ignore it. They were not left alone. The old man always seemed to appear from nowhere to give her a refill. She found it most annoying.
Derek, however, seemed oblivious to his presence and did not in the least object to him being there. A threesome, Miranda mused bitterly. What a date.
Dinner consisted of chicken curry and rice with some vegetables as a side dish. It was good—not too hot and not too spicy.
Radhu Chacha, Derek told her, had personally supervised the cooking so that the khansamah would not get carried away with his spices and oil since memsahib was not used to the hot curries.
Derek was extremely quiet that evening. He was very amiable and friendly, but there was something missing. Miranda could not put her finger on what that something was, however.
During dinner it suddenly dawned upon Miranda that this old mild and meek servant was the real captain of this ship. And she was not wrong.
He was the person who really ran Derek’s bungalow, who looked after him, who watched him like a hawk. Nothing escaped his eyes. Hehad been with the family for years and had watched Derek grow up. Now he was duty bound to keep tabs on him. His job was to sail this ship without any turmoil, to make sure all was smooth and flowing freely. Another scandal would wreak complete havoc within the Chowdhury family.
Chota sahib had always had an eye for beautiful girls. But Radhu would never forget the Rukmini incident. Memsahib Derek’s mother came to him practically weeping. Memsahib weeping—he could
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