“As do you,” Jhalkari complimented him.
I gave him a brief smile, but I still couldn’t forget what he’d told Jhalkari on the ship. It had hurt more than I imagined it could, and there was no reason for it. He had never made me any promises of love. We shared books. That was all. I was the one who had daydreamed about something more, something lasting.
When Major Wilkes appeared, he frowned at our attire but held his tongue, and we were taken to the carriages. Our second view of Buckingham Palace was no less impressive than the first. We rolled up to the gates, and I tried to quiet my nerves as the major spoke with the guards. Their accents were difficult to understand, but they all seemed to be laughing, which seemed to be a good sign. Then the gates were thrown open to us and suddenly, we were inside.
Servants opened our carriage doors, and faces pressed against the tall windows of the palace, their owners straining to get a better view. And as we entered the plush halls of the queen’s residence, everyone stopped to stare. The servants and the courtiers watched us as we went. We were all too busy looking at the furnishings to take much notice. We passed beneath endless chandeliers into an empty drawing room where a servant instructed us to have seats on the plush velvet chairs. Everywhere we looked were rich carpets, carved banisters, and gilded wall hangings.
“We wait here until we’re formally summoned into Her Majesty’s Presence Chamber,” Major Wilkes said.
We’d arrived more than an hour early. Finally, at twelve in the afternoon, a very tall man who looked tremendously grave announced to the room, “Her Majesty, The Queen invites you to meet with her in Her Majesty’s Presence Chamber.”
All of us rose, feeling as nervous as convicts about to be summoned before a judge. I squeezed Jhalkari’s hand and she squeezed back. I made a small prayer to Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. “Please just let this go smoothly,” I begged him.
Chapter Twenty-One
We approached the throne just as we would approach the rani’s in Jhansi, and when we reached the dais, we bowed our heads and folded our hands in respectful gestures of namaste. We were standing in pairs, Jhalkari and I first, followed by Arjun and a guard named Manoj, then the rest of the guards. And I can only imagine how we looked to Queen Victoria at that moment: barefooted and dressed in elaborate silks in the dead of winter, wearing nose rings and adorned with peacock feathers.
“I have never seen the like,” Queen Victoria said as she rose from her throne, descending three velvet steps to stand before us. She was a small woman, with round cheeks and a very plump figure. Her husband remained seated.
“You are one of the queen’s female warriors?” she asked me.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
She was staring at me, as if she found this hard to believe. “You are able to protect her as well as these men standing behind you?”
“I believe so.”
“How?”
“By using my weapons. And if necessary, my words. Today, my words are all that I have, and I am here to ask that you protect the rani’s kingdom.”
The queen turned to her husband, then back to me. “You speak English quite well.”
“I learned from my father, who was a soldier in Burma with the Company.”
She looked at Jhalkari, then back at the men who stood behind us. I knew they were averting their gazes, on account of her very low dress. “I want to speak with you and this other woman alone,” she said.
“I’m afraid she does not speak English, Your Majesty. The man behind me is the captain of the rani’s guards, and he speaks English as well as I do.”
“Everyone else, then, is dismissed,” she announced.
I explained her command to Jhalkari, who led the guards back out the way they’d come.
The queen called for two chairs, and Arjun and I waited side by side while they were fetched. He looked at me, and there was a deep respect in his eyes. When the chairs arrived, we were seated beneath Their Majesties. They both took several moments to look us over. Then the queen shook her head again and said, “Extraordinary. Do all the women in India dress as you are?”
“Yes. But with fewer jewels,” I said.
“And the men?” Prince Albert wanted to know. His voice was thickly accented; I knew his first language was German.
“I am wearing a traditional kurta,” Arjun said. “This is what we wear on great occasions.”
“You are also well spoken. I’m exceptionally pleased that the rani has sent you. How did you like the journey to London?”
I glanced at Arjun to see which one of us should speak first. He nodded toward me, and I said, “Your Majesty has a beautiful country, particularly the churches.”
“And what did you like best?” she asked Arjun.
“The rolling hills spotted with sheep.”
The queen smiled. “And now you have come to see me.”