"Very good," said Tulsi, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "After tonight, I will tell you what I have decided."
"If you wish," said Sanat Ji Mani. "You need not hurry your decision on my account."
"I will not," she said a little louder.
"Then I will welcome your decision, even if it is to postpone it," he said. "I would rather you be sure of your answer than that you feel duty-bound to give me one at a specific time."
"More of your foreign gallantry," she complained with mock severity.
"Hardly that," said Sanat Ji Mani.
"Whatever it may be, I enjoy it." She took his hand in hers and guided it down the front of her body. "How soon can we be gone?"
"As soon as it appears we may get away without harm." He paused while something nudged in the back of his thoughts. "If Hasin Dahele is going on a preparatory campaign, then we should be able to slip away in the general confusion. I doubt anyone will notice we have gone until nightfall."
"Does that mean tomorrow?" She made no effort to conceal her excitement.
"I would think so; tomorrow," he said, "if the Rajput keeps on with his plans."
"Then I will continue my provisioning. I have some food already, but I will get more, and I will take as many of the garments we have been given as I can. We need not be beggars at once." She cocked her chin. "I have coins, too."
"Each very useful," said Sanat Ji Mani, fighting the niggling sensation that he was not aware of all he needed to be. "I wish I had more to bring to this venture."
"You have knowledge and your knives. For the time being, it will be enough," she said, then stared down at her feet. "I should tell you: I have never ridden a horse before." In response to his startled expression she said, "I have often watched the soldiers ride and train, so I know the way of it, but entertainers were not allowed on horses in Timur-i's army, for fear they would go to the enemy. So all I know is how to drive mules. I can handle the reins, I think, but the saddle will be strange to me."
Sanat Ji Mani chided himself inwardly for assuming that Tulsi would know how to ride; it was an inconvenience to them now, but he said, "You are a most capable woman, and you do not let yourself be ruled by ignorance. I will try to find a smooth-gaited horse for you"— no easy thing in the Rajput's stables, he added to himself— "and I will rely on your skills as an athlete to be able to maintain your balance. Balance is the heart of it."
"So I think— about balance." she said. "Timur-i's soldiers all clung to their horses like monkeys when they crossed hard ground."
"Yes," said Sanat Ji Mani, thinking of his fine Turkish saddles lost at Delhi, his flexible Persian saddles, still in Rojire's care, and the old Spanish saddle at Villa Ragoczy in Rome, all of which he wished he had with him now. He was unfamiliar with the saddles of this region and hoped they would not be difficult to ride. "But consider this, Tulsi: if we are to escape from men on horseback, we, too, must be on horseback, or we will not succeed; it does not matter who recalls our passage if we can stay ahead of our pursuers. If that means that you have to ride as best you can, then you must. Otherwise we will be caught."
"All right," said Tulsi. "I should have told you before now, but I did not think we would be able to escape on horseback; I thought we would go on foot."
"Well," said Sanat Ji Mani, the kindness of his tone reassuring her, "I am glad you did not wait until we were in the stalls to tell me."
"I would not do that," she said, still embarrassed by this lapse.
He gazed at her, his care for her lighting his dark eyes. "I am not angry with you, Tulsi. I would not be angry with you if you had done something much worse than omitting to mention that you cannot ride."
Slowly she raised her eyes to his. "All right." She turned away. "Does this make the escape more difficult?"
"It does not make it easier," said Sanat Ji Mani. "But I will keep this in mind."
"So long as you do not say we cannot go because of it." She sounded like a chastened child.
"No; I would not do that," he said, wondering why she was so upset.
"Because I would go if you had to tie me across the horse like a dead sheep," she declared. "I would not mind traveling that way."
"You say that because you have never had to do it," said Sanat Ji Mani, thinking back to the long trek from Rome to Ravenna traveling in just that manner.
"All right, I never have." She came and stood in front of him. "But if it would help us disappear, I would do it."
"I would not ask that of you," he said, hoping to ease her anxiety.
"If you must, you must," she insisted.
Sanat Ji Mani saw the worry in her eyes and said, "If it is necessary, I will do it, but only if all else fails."
She grinned at him, her mercurial shift in mood as troubling to him as her dejection. "Then we will get away for sure."
* * *
Text of a letter from Rustam Iniattir at Al Myah Suways to Zal Iniattir at Asirgarh; carried by sea-captain and caravan leader and delivered by hand.
* * *
To my most worthy nephew, the greetings of Rustam Iniattir from the port of Al Myah Suways where I have just purchased the Evening Star and the Glory of Medina, both good merchant ships, to add to our House and our commerce; both are fitted for the crossing of the Arabian Sea and have size and weight enough to ride the storm winds if that is necessary. They are made of teak and bear three sails each and have been tested on two previous crossings from the southern port of Manjurur to Al Myah Suways and back.
If you would consider sending one of your sons to me, I will establish him as my clerk here, provide him a house and enough to live on in reasonable comfort while the family's expansion is made secure. In addition to these ships, I have the agency for Sanat Ji Mani's ships as well, which means that there is opportunity for us to do more than gamble with wind, wave, and tide. We have already proven our worth in managing Sanat Ji Mani's business, and this gives us a reputation that goes before us. I am not asking you to risk a child on an enterprise that could bring the boy to grief, you see. I ask you to consider this offer carefully. If I do not hear from you by mid-summer, I will next approach Azizi about one of his sons.
The seasons here in Egypt have been uniformly hot. Even when the Nile floods, there is little cooling from its waters, for although the water brings life to the fields, it does not stop the might of the sun. I have made arrangements in Fustat to reinforce the cellars of my house there, so that it is not flooded when the Inundation comes again. There is not the season of heavy rains such as one had in Delhi, although there are squalls in winter
.
It has been a most instructive time; I can hardly imagine that it is just a year since I arrived in Egypt, in the Mameluke Empire, with more hope than gold to sustain me. Yet so it is, and the House of Iniattir has much to be proud of, including the triumph we have achieved in spite of all Timur-i could do. I have thanked the Forces of Light many times for all that has been salvaged for us, and I am grateful that Darkness has not yet spread itself over our family. So many others have been devastated by Timur-i and his army, but we have not had to suffer the catastrophic losses visited upon so many. Is it a failure of gods, or is it something more encompassing, a rise of Light, as Zarathustra promised? I can only pray it is the latter, for then good fortune will be found throughout the world and ignorance be ended, along with the power of Darkness.
Through the good offices of Rojire, Sanat Ji Mani's manservant, I have been able to participate in several trading ventures that have extended our market-place well beyond the ones we have now. Our first ship has returned to Alexandria from England and the Low Countries, bringing woollens and honey and salted fish. This may not seem very impressive to you, but I am keenly aware that for a first round of trading we have done very well. In another year, we will expand our goods in these markets to include muslins from you and Azizi, which we will exchange for hemp and other textiles as well as preserved fruits. One day I may even take the journey to these distant, fabled lands to see where our trade stock has ended up. Rojire has said that there are merchant-houses in England that do business abroad often, and seek to trade with the Turks. If that is their wish, why should we not make the most of their desires? I shall inform youof my plans as I approach the time I have set aside for this venture. If your son is here, he will be able to handle the shipments from these distant places, and make a name for himself in what is already a distinguished family.
I have put forty pieces of gold aside toward the purchase of another ship, with the intention of adding to the amount with every success we achieve. As soon as I have enough, I will make the purchase and add another ship to what I intend will one day be a mighty fleet of merchant vessels plying all the waters of the world, from this port to
China, and from Fustat to England and the lands of the Danes. I am told that the Danes have yellow hair and blue eyes, but I doubt it is so. Blue eyes I have seen before, but yellow hair? I know there was a Chinese pilgrim who stayed with Sanat Ji Mani whose hair was the color of rust, but that is not what I have been told the Danes have— their hair is like brass or parched grain. I will believe it when I see it. For now, I am content to arrange to trade with them, whatever the color of their hair may be.
I will hand this letter to Jumma Shamahdi, who is Captain of the
Evening Star
with instructions that it be given into the care of our factor in Chaul. From there, it will reach you as soon as a caravan leaves for Asirgarh. It is my hope that this be in your hands no more than two full moons after the dark of the year.
Rustam Iniattir
Merchant of Fustat and Al Myah Suways
5
Rajput Hasin Dahele sat on a showy dark-bay with a long head and narrow chest, horse and rider gaudily arrayed in gold and jewels, both of them far more suited to ceremony than battle. Even the curved shimtare that hung from the Rajput's fringed belt was designed for display rather than use, having a dozen jewels in its quillons and a pearl in the hilt. Before him rode his mounted troops, all in fine clothes with a full complement of weapons: bows, quivers filled with arrows, lances, shimtares, spears, and rings of caltrops. The setting sun blazed on their shining brass and brilliant silks, adding its own gilding to their already flamboyant display. The smell of leather and horses was strong on the still, warm air.
"What do you think, Sanat Ji Mani?" asked the Rajput of the man standing beside his horse. "Are they not formidable."
"They are quite splendid," said Sanat Ji Mani, not quite answering the question. He had concealed his disappointment at this full review
readily enough, for there were too many eyes on him for him to do otherwise.
"Tomorrow evening, we shall see the elephants in review, along with asses and wagons for provisions, and then I will announce my plans." Hasin Dahele smiled broadly, giving his attention to Vayu Ede, who sat on his mule on the side opposite Sanat Ji Mani. "You see? They are the finest army ever assembled."
"They are most remarkable," said Vayu Ede, his expression oddly hungry as he watched the troops clatter by.
"I know this is going to be a most worthwhile venture. Once we have secured the north as far as the Godavari, we will be able to establish fortresses to further the larger campaign; without the fortresses, we will not be capable of holding onto any territory we seize. I have already made plans to garrison the fortress with men skilled in using defensive weapons, so that I may keep my others ready to go forth on my orders." His smile widened. "What do you think of my planning, Sanat Ji Mani?"
"I think that if you must go to war, preparation is crucial." He paused. "But no matter how you plan, no campaign will go as you expect, and you will never achieve your goals in the manner you planned."
"Sensible words," said Hasin Dahele, his smile becoming a smirk. "I thank you for giving me the benefit of your experience."
"More observation than experience," said Sanat Ji Mani, his brows arched to show his degree of skepticism.
Hasin Dahele laughed. "You would say that, would you not?" He gestured to a company of spearmen. "I am going to be sure each of them has fifteen spears to carry. Do you think that is sufficient?"
Sanat Ji Mani shrugged. "It may be, but that will depend upon the battles, and they are unpredictable."
"But fifteen is a prudent number, is it not?" Hasin Dahele persisted.
"Better than ten, and less cumbersome than twenty," Sanat Ji Mani replied, trying to take his tone from the Rajput.
"My notion exactly," Hasin Dahele exclaimed. "I knew I would do well to ask you."
Vayu Ede regarded Sanat Ji Mani with an air of satisfaction. "You are prepared to say that this army is ready for war?"
Sanat Ji Mani shrugged. "I have no knowledge of your foes, their armies, their defenses, their preparedness, their strength, or any other aspect, and so I can only say that this army is well-equipped; if it is also well-supported, then, if there is to be war, they are as ready as any army is." He looked up at the Rajput. "Your land is in good heart, your people are not deprived of their holdings and their families. You have sought to be a wise leader. Why do you want to go to war?"
