A Very Pukka Murder by Arjun Gaind

Author:Arjun Gaind
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Inc.
Published: 2016-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

In spite of Sikander’s best efforts to cheer her up, Jane’s mood remained persistently dolorous.

He tried in vain to convince her to accept another glass of champagne, hoping it might dispel the morbid humors that seemed to have her in their grip, but she declined, begging instead to be allowed to retire for the night. Ever the gentleman, Sikander found that, in spite of his fears for her well-being, he really had no choice but to oblige. However, he did insist on escorting her up to her suite personally, paying no heed to her objections.

Once he had ensured that she was settled in comfortably, he bid her good night, and returned to his study, where he helped himself to a fresh draught of absinthe. It had been his hope to try and rekindle that transcendent state of clarity to which had been so close before Jane had intruded upon his contemplations, but this time around, regrettably, the rhapsody proved elusive. One glass became two, and two four. Slowly, the level of spirit inside the bottle dwindled, but still the answers he so fervently desired continued to elude him.

Finally, Sikander could bear it no longer. His patience at an end, he staggered to his feet and tugged sharply at a nearby bell-pull to summon Charan Singh.

The Sikh took some time to appear, and when he did show up, his turban was in disarray, his beard sticking up in untidy clumps.

“It is the middle of the night, Sahib,” he said with weary indignation. “Why aren’t you in bed, like a normal person?”

“Stop complaining, you dozy old fool, and have a carriage made ready. Nothing ostentatious, just a one-horse calash, and I will not be requiring a driver. And before you insist, no honor guard either. I am going incognito,” he explained with a suggestive wink. “Today, I am not the Maharaja of Rajpore. I am just another punter looking for a bit of a good time, that’s all. No tamasha and no fuss, do you understand?”

“And pray tell, Sahib,” Charan Singh retorted with a scornful sneer, “where exactly is it you are intending to go at this ungodly hour?”

“As it happens, my good man,” Sikander replied, unfazed by the Sikh’s priggishness, “I have decided to pay a visit to Mrs. Ponsonby.”

Charan Singh let out a mortified gasp. Most everyone in Rajpore had heard of the infamous Mrs. Ponsonby, although the majority of well-mannered people preferred to pretend that they had not. She was, for lack of a better term, the city’s most renowned procuress, as much of a Rajpore institution as Ismail Chacha himself. Predictably, this announcement that Sikander intended to call upon such a notorious madam left Charan Singh, who was as straitlaced as a Brahmin, utterly perturbed, causing his bushy eyebrows to rise upwards so far that they seemed to disappear entirely, crawling under the hem of his turban in barely restrained shame.

“It is not proper for you to patronize an establishment of such low repute,” he said primly. “If it is female companionship you desire, I can make more discreet arrangements.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.