I didn’t have time to rest, though. We were supposed to be out of here by nine, and it was already ten. I undid my sari and folded it on a dressing table. I replaced it with my jeans and a flowing top from the closet, and draped a scarf around my head.
There was a set of double doors leading from my room to a wide balcony, and while I was downstairs, someone had opened them and turned on low flute music that blended with the sound of the tinkling fountain in the courtyard below. The courtyard was lush and overgrown and perfect for hiding, and luckily, as much security as there was outside the palace, there weren’t many guards patrolling inside. I switched off the overhead light and peered over the balcony’s edge, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one guard I knew was there.
The air in India, at least as I’d experienced it so far, was heavy and oppressively hot and fragrant. Right now it still smelled like dinner—butter and spices and meat cooking. The streetlights in the distance were hazy.
I heard a crunch of gravel below me. The guard was passing beneath my room. He moved at a slow stroll—nothing here seemed to move faster than that. I wiped a bead of sweat that trickled down my neck. It had topped a hundred degrees today, and even after sunset, the air had barely cooled. I had to wear this scarf, though—Western faces attracted attention here, and attention was something we didn’t need.
The guard was humming to himself as he rounded a corner. I hesitated for only a second before climbing over the carved marble balcony.
CHAPTER 5
I had mostly gotten rid of my fear of heights—maybe too many other fears had crowded it out. Still, I held my breath as I inched along the balcony to a trellis that ran down into the courtyard. Jack had scouted earlier and told me this was the best way to get out of my room. The trellis was splintered but sturdy, and I was on the ground and ducking behind a fern as the flute music from above changed to string instruments.
I picked a sliver of wood from my palm and watched the guard’s shadow cross the exit from the courtyard, which led to a delivery entrance off the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight, I skirted the edge of the courtyard and stuck to the shadows as I snuck by the brightly lit kitchen door.
I was so keyed up, I almost screamed when I felt a hand on my elbow.
“Shh.”
I wondered briefly when I’d come to recognize Jack from just this tiny noise. He looked as handsome and serious as he had all day, but when I met his eyes, his face broke into a smile and he squeezed my arm. I could tell he was as glad to see me as I was to see him—we’d gotten so used to being together all the time that today had felt wrong. I almost threw my arms around him but stopped myself, and we stole off the property onto a bustling Kolkata street.
Jack pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt to hide his face. “Did you have any trouble getting out?”
I shook my head and glanced behind me. I didn’t think I’d been followed by anyone from the palace, but I couldn’t be sure. Plus, I had to assume the Order knew I was in India. I still didn’t think they’d come after me, but my father’s paranoia—and Jack’s—were rubbing off.
I touched the little knife in the side pocket of my purse. I’d kept it in there since Elodie, the Dauphins’ maid-slash-assistant-slash-secret-assassin, had given it to me at the failed wedding. I still wondered why she’d done it. Whatever her reason, the knife now felt like a good-luck charm in addition to being a weapon, and I kept it on me all the time, even though I’d never had to actually use it.
No one seemed to be following us, though, and I wasn’t sure they’d have been able to keep us in their sights if they had. There were just so many people. People lounging in doorways of closed shops, watching us walk by. A group of men bathing at a faucet off the side of the road, soaping up and using a bucket to pour water over their heads, the cloths wrapped around their waists getting wet along with the rest of them.
Jack flagged down a bright yellow three-wheeled rickshaw with a fringe of tinsel around its canopy, and we squeezed inside.
I collapsed back into the seat, finally letting myself relax, and rubbed at my face before realizing that the black eyeliner was coming off on my hands. I’d had time to change back into my brown contacts, but not to wash off the heavy kohl.
Jack pushed his hood back. We were pressed close in the tiny rickshaw. “Did Lydia do your makeup?”
I told him about getting ready.
Jack smiled. “I think Lydia rather likes having a sister.”
So did I. I wondered if there’d ever be a time when it would be me and Lydia sneaking out, hiding it from our dad like normal people.
“You don’t think they’re suspicious, do you?” I said.
Jack shook his head. “You’re playing your part perfectly. As long as we don’t get caught out here, we should be fine.”