Linley took his hand and led him over to where her father and their team sat, mouths agape.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Archie said.
“Look who’s here, Papa,” Linley said. “It’s Lord Kyre!”
Sir Bedford braced his own hands against the back of the worn wooden bench. “I can see that,” he said. “But why is he here?”
“He came to find us,” Linley explained, grinning from ear to ear. “Isn’t that wonderful of him?” A tense silence grew between the team as she waited for an answer. Of course it was wonderful of Patrick to come all the way to India on a whim, couldn’t they see that?
Archie, Reginald, and Schoville turned in their seats to see the look on Sir Bedford’s face. Something had to be done about this, and the sooner the better as far as they were concerned.
“We…” Linley’s father paused to clear his throat. “We were about to have luncheon…would you care to join us?”
Patrick smiled and nodded. At least the man didn’t try to bash his face in—which it looked like he might do there for a moment.
They walked out from under the shade of the lean-to and stepped onto the hard, dry dirt. Little clouds of orange dust mingled around their feet with each step as they found a cool, quiet spot to sit.
“We made some friends yesterday,” Linley told Patrick as they sat down. “They were kind enough to invite us to spend the night in their home, and they gave us luncheon to take on the train.”
She passed around the basket of sandwiches. Patrick took one and unwrapped it. He started to tell her how lucky she was to have found such thoughtful people, but Archie and Reginald’s grumbling stopped him.
“…You cannot possibly be serious…” Reginald whispered to Linley’s father.
“Bedford, this has gotten out of hand,” Archie added.
Linley’s father said nothing, and only waved them off.
Patrick tried not to listen to their conversation and turned his focus back to Linley. “My train is going to somewhere called Tinsukia…”
“Tinsukia!” Linley cried, nearly dropping her cucumber sandwich. “You can’t go to Tinsukia. We are going to Guahati!”
“Is there a difference?”
“A big difference,” Linley said. “We’ll have to figure out a way to get you onto our train. You certainly are lucky we ran into one another!”
Patrick smiled. “I took the first train to Assam on the advice of a blind man,” he explained. “You have no idea how lucky I am.”
***
Linley had a million things she wanted to talk with Patrick about, but he assured her that they would have plenty of time to do it. For the time being, however, he told her to board her own train like nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Don’t tell your father I’m switching trains,” he said before he snuck back to his own to retrieve his bags. “If nothing goes wrong, I’ll meet you in Guahati.”
After Linley and her team found their way back onto the train, Patrick jumped in line to board the last car. Hopefully, no one would notice that he hadn’t been there before. Pulling his hat down low, he slid into a dusty seat on the very last row.
The wheels of the train groaned and, inch by inch, began to lurch forward. A long blast of the whistle announced its departure as the little depot began to fade from view. Patrick shifted in his seat, gripping his ticket and the five pound note in his pocket.
The conductor made his way down the rows of seats, checking each passenger’s ticket.
As he drew closer, Patrick grew more nervous.
“Your ticket, Sahib?” the man asked.
Patrick looked up at him. It was now or never. He slipped the ticket and the fiver out of his pocket and handed it to the conductor.
The man looked confused for a moment, turning the money over in his hand. Patrick was certain he would kick him off, but the man only smiled and punched his ticket. “Thank you, Sahib,” he said, jamming the money in his trouser pocket.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Patrick took the ticket and settled back into his seat. He looked out the window as the lush green landscape flew by. India seemed to be a beautiful place, full of color and life. Tall grasslands gave way to thick jungles. Dozens of multicolored birds rested in the tops of trees, and as the train traveled further north, the flatlands rippled into rolling hills.
He could see farms dotting the land and assumed they were tea plantations. He opened his window to breathe in the earthy aroma, letting the heaviness of the air settle around him. It was not long before he found himself lulled to sleep by the rocking of the train as it sped across the countryside.
***
Linley nudged him. It had been a long walk from her car all the way to the back of the train, and she flopped down onto the seat beside him.
“Wake up,” she said, shaking him.
Patrick’s eyes shot open, and he looked over at her. For a split second, he forgot where he was, and wondered if she were another dream.