Empire of the Moghul: Brothers at War (43 page)

Hamida pushed her hair back from her face with a weary gesture. ‘You are right to be cautious. After all, why should Hindal want to help us?’

‘Exactly what I asked. He says that by threatening a child, Kamran has shamed our family . . . ’

‘Does family honour really mean so much to him?’

‘Perhaps it does. But then he told me of another, perhaps more potent reason. It is you, not me, he wishes to help. He knows that you are suffering and wants to end your pain . . . ’

As she took in the implication of Humayun’s words, Hamida coloured and looked down. She and Humayun had never spoken openly of Hindal’s feelings for her but of course she knew. For a few moments she paced about, just as Humayun had done in the cold night air, but then she turned to him, her face resolute. ‘I believe Hindal is sincere. After all, he has no reason to love Kamran who held him captive . . . We should trust him. If he betrays us he would be as guilty as Kamran of exploiting our fears for the life of our child. I believe he is too honourable for that. Please, Humayun, let us seize this chance.’

Humayun took her in his arms and held her close against him, breathing in the familiar sandalwood scent of her. He must not be swayed either by his love for her or by her eagerness to believe in Hindal. This was one of the most important decisions he would ever make. But as he went over and over the arguments in his mind, something deeper, more instinctive than logic told him Hamida was right – Hindal meant what he said and they should trust him. That didn’t mean Hindal would succeed. His strategy was a dangerous one, but if everyone played their part it might, just might, work.

‘Very well,’ Humayun said at last. ‘I will tell Hindal we accept his offer – that you are placing the life of your child in his hands.’

‘Tell him to bring Maham Anga and her son too. They would be in terrible danger once Kamran found Akbar gone.’

Humayun nodded. ‘There are many things I must discuss with him – like how far I should take the army away from Kabul. He must know where to find us when the moment comes.’ He bent and kissed her. ‘Hamida, tell no one of this. If this plan is to work, our men must truly believe we are abandoning Kabul to Kamran.’

As Humayun stepped once more into the night, some words from his father’s memoirs came into his mind.

T
he winter sun was already low on the horizon when Humayun, well swathed in a sheepskin-lined coat against the bite of the cold wind blowing down the steep pass he and his army were descending on their march away from Kabul, saw Ahmed Khan ride towards him.

‘Majesty, my scouts have located a place just four miles ahead where we can camp. It’s in the lee of a high ridge that will protect us from the prevailing winds, and from the top of the ridge our sentries will have good warning of anyone approaching.’

‘Excellent, Ahmed Khan.’

Humayun watched his chief scout ride off ahead of the column again. He had not confided in any of his commanders about the reasons for his sudden withdrawal from Kabul, not because he doubted their loyalty but because even a stray remark by one of them might betray everything. Instead, he had told them he was losing patience with the siege – that he intended to ride east to the mountains of Bajaur where there were other, lesser fortresses garrisoned by Kamran’s men to capture and where he hoped to recruit more men. When the snows finally melted, he would return to Kabul to renew his siege.

Zahid Beg, Ahmed Khan and Nadim Khwaja had looked astounded. If Zahid Beg had wondered whether Humayun’s decision was connected with Hindal’s secret nocturnal visit, he’d not shown it but, like the others, immediately set about the cumbersome business of preparing to strike camp. Only in Bairam Khan’s keen-eyed gaze had Humayun thought he detected a hint of speculation as to his motives but, like the others, the Persian had said nothing. Humayun had told the truth to Gulbadan. As Hindal’s sister it was her right to know. Just like Hamida, she had been certain Hindal’s offer was genuine.

Suddenly behind him Humayun heard shouting and distant cries from the rear of his column. This narrow winding pass with its precipitous drops on one side down to a frozen river would make an ideal ambush spot. Humayun turned in his saddle but could not see round the zigzag bends to where the noise was coming from.What he could see was that some of his men were already turning their horses to head back towards the rearguard. At once the fear that was never far from his thoughts returned. Surely Hindal had not betrayed him and brought Kamran and his men down on him? He hadn’t been such a fool as to be deceived again by one of his half-brothers, had he? Humayun wrenched his black horse round and followed by his bodyguard pushed his way back up the pass through the mass of his troops.

Even when he had rounded the first bend he could still see nothing, but the commotion to the rear was louder and increasing. Then, as heart pounding he turned the second corner, he saw the cause. It was not, God be praised, an ambush.Two bullock carts were stuck across the narrow track. One had slewed around entirely. Its back wheels were hanging out over nothingness, while some of his men were hauling at the bullocks’ heads, grabbing at the heavy wooden yokes and putting their own shoulders to the front wheels to drag the cart back on to solid ground.

But the greater problem was with the second cart which seemed to have been the originator of the accident. At least half of its bullock team had gone over the edge. Looking down into the gorge, Humayun could see the bodies of three of them lying among the sharp, jumbled rocks of the frozen riverbed, the blood oozing from them colouring the surrounding snow red. Another bullock was dangling, hooves flailing from the traces, over the drop and two of the drivers were leaning out, pulling at the harness in a futile attempt to recover it. Others were trying to stop the cart being dragged over the side by frantically piling rocks in front of its wheels. As Humayun watched, one of the two drivers slipped on the ice and overbalancing plunged headfirst from the pass. His body struck the rocky side of the gorge twice before hitting the ground by that of one of the oxen.

‘Cut the traces. Let the bullock fall,’ shouted Humayun. ‘It’s not worth losing more lives. Let the cart go too if you have to.’

Swiftly, a large, red-turbaned man drew a long dagger from his belt and ran over to the stricken bullock. Within less than two minutes, he had cut through the leather traces and the bullock, bellowing and kicking wildly, had crashed to the rocks with a sickening thud. The cart, which Humayun now saw contained several large copper cauldrons and other cooking equipment, had stayed on the path. Good, thought Humayun; his army needed hot food in this weather. Eventually, too, the men pushing and straining at the other cart, hot breath rising in the winter air, were succeeding in getting its rear wheels on to the track again by dint of lightening its load of tents and piling them on to the icy ground.

Humayun sighed with relief. It could have been much worse. He could have lost more men or some of his few precious baggage elephants. It was time he and his men stopped and he awaited developments, evidence one way or the other of Hindal’s sincerity. Tonight, he would announce to his men that, having travelled over forty miles from Kabul and found a good site, they would make camp for some days to rest and overhaul their weapons and equipment. The men should be glad of it, even though their general mood was sombre, sullen even. Some from the clans around Kabul had already drifted away, convinced their hopes of booty were gone, but Humayun had been prepared for that. If Hindal’s plan succeeded it wouldn’t be long before he returned to Kabul to unleash his full might against the citadel. As his cannon again crashed and boomed, those who had deserted would be quick to return . . .

He had agreed with Hindal in which direction he would take his men and roughly how far. Once they had set up camp he would order Ahmed Khan to ensure his scouts kept watch day and night. They would believe they were watching for signs of pursuit by Kamran’s forces. Of course, if Hindal’s plan failed, or if Hindal betrayed him, that could still be the case . . .

Humayun moved restlessly beneath the thick pile of furs and sheepskins, his thoughts and anxieties making sleep impossible. ‘We can trust Hindal, can’t we?’ he asked. ‘It’s been more than a month and we’ve heard nothing.’

Hamida was tossing and turning equally sleepless at his side. ‘I really do believe so. Everything my father said about him when he served as his counsellor makes me think it. So too does Gulbadan’s love and regard for her brother. My worry is not that he will betray us but that he will be betrayed or somehow fail to rescue Akbar. What will Kamran do then? He wouldn’t kill Akbar, would he . . . ?’

It was the first time Hamida had asked that question. ‘No,’ he said with more confidence than he felt. ‘He will be even more convinced of Akbar’s value as a hostage – though it might go hard with Hindal.’

‘You are right,’ Hamida said after a moment. ‘And there’s no reason to think anything has gone wrong yet. Hindal will need time to ingratiate himself sufficiently with Kamran to gain a position of trust so he can rescue our son. We must be patient.’

‘Patience and uncertainty have always come hard to me. I long for an end to this gnawing suspense so I can compose myself to the outcome and act.’

‘Uncertainty and anxiety are part of all mortal lives. After all, the spotted fever could carry us off at any moment, destroying all our hopes and dreams, but we don’t think about it every day. We must learn to accept that sometimes events are beyond our control.’

‘I know, but as a leader as well as Akbar’s father I have a duty to make things turn out as I would wish and I cannot influence what is happening in Kabul however much I worry.’

‘Then you must try not to worry . . . it does no good. We must have faith.’ Hamida enfolded Humayun in her arms and at last, clinging to each other in their cocoon of furs, they slept.

This was not the last such conversation Humayun had with Hamida during the long nights when sleep eluded them. Nevertheless, sometimes he could not restrain himself from leaving his tent to stare into the cold stars to see if they held any message for him, but he found no response. Even when he summoned old Sharaf, whose thin mottled hands protruded like gnarled claws from the sleeves of his sheepskin coat, he could find none.

As the days passed little moved over the frozen landscape except trotting foxes and a few rabbits that Humayun’s men hunted for the pot. Humayun tried to lose himself in physical activity. Bairam Khan taught him some useful tricks of Persian swordplay including how, by catching the tip of his blade in his opponent’s hand guard, he could twist his enemy’s wrist and force him to drop his weapon. He also practised his archery, firing at straw targets set up on poles driven into the snowy ground. It was good to find his eye as sharp and his hand as steady as ever, though it made him long for the real action that could only follow news from Hindal. But at last, one afternoon while Humayun was out hawking, watching his bird arcing in light blue skies that hinted at the approach of spring, he saw Ahmed Khan galloping towards him from the direction of the ridge.

‘Majesty, my men have seen riders approaching.’

‘How many?’

‘Just a few, mostly mounted on mules – probably a small caravan of merchants. They are still about two miles away but seem to be heading in this direction.’

‘Take me to them.’

Humayun’s heart was thumping as, ten minutes later, he galloped out at Ahmed Khan’s side. It was probably nothing – just a few merchants as Ahmed Khan had said – yet he couldn’t prevent a wild hope from welling up inside him. He strained his eyes into the hazy far distance, impatient for any sign of movement out there on the drear, seemingly empty white landscape. At first there was nothing but then he gasped.What looked like a string of black dots was moving slowly but unmistakably towards them from the west – the direction of Kabul.

Bending low over its neck, Humayun urged his horse on and was soon outstripping Ahmed Khan. All the time the dots were becoming bigger and more distinct – starting to take substance. As he drew yet closer – only some four or five hundred yards away now – he thought he could make out about eight or nine riders; a small party to be out alone in such uncertain times.

They had halted and the foremost had risen in his stirrups and, shading his eyes with one hand, was looking in his direction. Even from this distance, there seemed something achingly familiar about that large figure . . . He wasn’t deceiving himself, was he? It could be Hindal, couldn’t it? Humayun wheeled his own mount to a halt as he too stared intently ahead. Moments later Ahmed Khan and his guards came galloping up, their horses’ hooves flinging up puffs of powdery snow.