The rani shook her head and her small silver earrings caught the light, reminding me of a pair of fish dangling from two hooks. “Explain clearly what you mean,” she said bluntly.
“I mean the governor-general may no longer have the power to hear your appeals. You may need to appeal directly to the Queen of England and her Parliament.” He paused. “Also, the governor-general has transferred me to the state of Panna, effective June first.”
“That’s in seven days!” Moropant said.
“Yes. The man who’s coming to replace me is Major Erskine. I have already spoken with him. He understands your situation. He is coming tomorrow.”
“To my kingdom? Without my knowledge?” But it wasn’t her kingdom anymore.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry. If I could change it, I hope you know that I would.”
The rani began to smooth her sari. “Tell me what I should do.”
“When Major Erskine comes, don’t let one of the sepoys take him on a tour of Jhansi; assign the job to one of your guards. Let him see the kingdom through your people’s eyes.”
The rani assigned Arjun the task of showing Major Erskine the city of Jhansi. She could have done it herself, but imagine the heartache of that. Here is the library where I read my books, here is the temple where my late son was blessed, and there is the lake where I erected a necropolis in honor of my husband. . . .
So Arjun introduced Major Erskine to Jhansi, and when they returned that evening to the Durbar Hall, the chamber was lit with heavy bronze lamps and the rani was dressed in her most beautiful sari. Blue silk fell in waves around her feet, and the pearls around her neck were luminous.
“Well?” she said in English when the major arrived.
He bowed very low, and made the gesture of namaste first to her, then to her father, who was next to her on a thick red cushion.
“Jhansi is truly the jewel of India, Your Highness.”
The rani sat back against her throne, and I could see she was satisfied with his answer.
“And what did you like best in Jhansi?” she asked.
He thought, and while he did, I studied his features. He was not at all like Major Ellis. His eyes and hair were dark. His face was also long and thin, like the sharp faces you see carved out above church doors. “I would say that of all the sights in Jhansi, Your Highness, I was most impressed when I visited your temples. I asked Captain Arjun about your elephant-headed god, and he explained to me that you believe there is only one god.”
The rani raised her brows.
“Hindus represent god using many faces to remind worshipers that there is divinity in all things: rivers, trees, elephants, monkeys.” The major smiled. “Inspiring.”
“Will it inspire the Queen of England to restore my kingdom?”
Erskine’s smile vanished. He quickly recovered himself. “I don’t know, Your Highness.”
She sat forward. “The governor-general claims that my son will only inherit my husband’s property when he ‘comes of age.’ I want this property. And I want to be relieved of Jhansi’s debts. The governor-general says I owe thirty-six thousand rupees to him for debts this kingdom had when he took over. That is grossly unfair. What should I do?”
“Send a lawyer to England,” he said immediately.
“To England?” I could see that this wasn’t the answer she’d expected.
“Yes. Send a lawyer to the queen herself, and appeal this annexation.”
“Send Umesh Chandra,” Kahini suggested. “He’s Bengali.”
Bengalis are known for being worldly and well educated. If anyone could make an impression on the queen, it would be a Bengali. The rani agreed.
But sixty thousand rupees and two months later, word came from across the seas that Umesh Chandra had failed. Everyone was gathered in the Durbar Hall, from the rani’s advisers to her father, Moropant, and as the rani read the letter aloud, her father’s face changed from hopeful to enraged.
I have done everything I can, Your Highness, but the Queen of England has not agreed to give me an audience. I’m afraid this trip has been for naught. We are beneath her consideration.
“Beneath her consideration?” Moropant shouted. “Beneath her consideration?”
“Your Highness,” Major Erskine said. “The queen rarely acknowledges a first attempt.”
The rani nodded for him to continue.
“I am a foreigner to this country, but it seems that the women of your Durga Dal are highly educated and extremely independent. Send two of them to England. The queen won’t refuse to see such an unusual delegation.”