“Yes. We have come on behalf of Rani Lakshmibai,” I said, “who is looking to have the throne of Jhansi restored.”
The queen nodded heavily. “Tell me about her. What does she look like? How many children does she have?”
I found it difficult to believe that the Queen of all of England didn’t know these things, since we had learned nearly all there was to learn about her, from her birthday in May to her third child’s name.
But Arjun began, “The rani is extremely beautiful. She had one child, who died before his first birthday, and has adopted another.”
This interested the queen. “Why? Was her husband incapable of more children?”
I glanced at Arjun, and we were both struck dumb.
“I’ve heard rumors he dressed in women’s clothes.”
So she had heard about Jhansi. “Yes,” I admitted.
She gave a triumphant look to the prince.
“The people of Jhansi fear living under Company rule,” I said, guiding the conversation back to the rani. “They wish to keep their customs and way of life. If Her Majesty would agree to help another queen in need, it would mean a great deal to our people.”
The queen said, “Come to dinner tonight. All of you. And after, you will have an answer.”
We bowed and prepared ourselves to leave, when suddenly she said, “Wait! I have something I want to show you.” She was smiling like a child. Next to her, the prince frowned. “Bout,” she said.
Then he smiled, too, and a servant was summoned and instructed to bring Bout.
Arjun and I exchanged a quick glance. Was it a type of food? But when the man returned, he was leading a massive canine by a leash.
“Bout!” the prince called, and the enormous dog went bounding toward him. The queen laughed as the canine made its way up the dais. I believed this was a very good sign.
“A Tibetan mastiff. A gift from Lord Harding, my governor-general of India,” the queen said. “Are all dogs this giant in India?” she asked. “Lord Harding tells me tales that are difficult to believe; that everything in India is abundant—the spices, the palaces, the gods.”
“I’m afraid he is exaggerating, Your Majesty.”
Prince Albert buried his face in the dog’s coat and patted its back.
“Well then, we look forward to seeing you tonight,” the queen said, and it was clear we were dismissed. She was cooing the mastiff’s name as we left.
We left the Presence Chamber and each hall we passed through was more lavish than the last. Great stone fireplaces burned rich cedar wood that perfumed the halls, but no smoke was filling the rooms, as would have happened back home. Somehow, it was sucked up into the air. The mirrors we passed were hung with garlands of fresh evergreen, and everywhere, there were bright sprigs of holly, part of their Christmas traditions.
At last we rejoined the others in a large hall. Yet another great fire was burning and everyone was warming themselves next to the smokeless flames. “What happened?” Jhalkari asked.
“She said we must all come for dinner and that an answer would be given afterward.”
“Is this good or bad news?”
“I don’t know.” What would be expected of us at dinner? Only two of us spoke English, and most of the guardsmen had yet to master the use of a knife and fork.
A man in a handsome black suit arrived to announce that our rooms were ready.
“We have no rooms here,” Arjun explained. “We are staying at Brown’s Hotel.”
“That may be, but the queen is allowing you to stay the afternoon, and expects you will want to change for dinner.”
“We haven’t brought any changes of clothes,” Arjun said. “They’re all at the hotel.”
The man looked down his long nose at us and sighed. “Your trunks will be fetched, then brought back to the hotel when you’re finished with them.”
“Do the cooks understand that Indians never eat meat?” Arjun asked.
“They have been appraised of all possible situations,” the black-suit answered. “Including the possibility that our guests have never dined at a table on chairs.”
I passed an angry look at Arjun, who said in Marathi, “Not now. We’re so close.”
We followed black-suit through another series of halls into a wing of the palace reserved for guests. We passed a large window and saw white flakes falling from the sky. Jhalkari was the first to rush to the window, then the rest of us followed.
“What is it?” Jhalkari exclaimed.
Black-suit gave a second heavy sigh, as if this day was turning out to be the most trying of his career. “Snow. It’s what happens when it’s very, very cold.”