The Monsoon Rain (10 page)

Miranda stayed quiet.

The golf club was a big bungalow with a huge green golf course at the back. The club itself could be seen from miles around, and it was one of the landmarks of the area.

Miranda followed Derek inside the clubhouse. After getting hold of a caddy, they made their way toward the golf course. Many others were playing, and Miranda was introduced to many of them as Dolly’s
niece visiting from England. Many of them inquired after Tom and winked at Derek, and one or two took him aside to find out how he had managed to get such a beautiful girl so quickly as she had only just arrived! The air was full of good-natured banter and teasing.

There were other ladies there, and Miranda could feel that they were eying her up and down, sizing her up. Was it because of Derek? Women usually liked Derek, and many were supposedly in love with him. He seemed to have a knack with the ladies. She had gathered from her Uncle Tom’s little snippets at dinner the night before when Dolly had mentioned Derek having dropped by that morning. Uncle Tom then added in a good natured way that Derek was rather a ladies man and apparently had had a number of liaisons in the past. But recently he seemed to have simmered down and had been living like a hermit!

There was one particular lady who Miranda felt really fancied Derek, and she was very cold when she was introduced to Miranda. She was an attractive, tall, and a slim woman with rather a haughty disposition. She had a good figure, like a model, and flaunted it! She was visiting her brother and had been there for quite some time. Hannah her name was, and Miranda could feel her eyes boring into her, sizing her up. Was it a look of amusement? It was difficult to tell. But it was apparent that she knew Derek very well and was rather inclined to tag along with them, following them from a short distance and watching them. It was all very confusing and disconcerting. Was Hannah trying to tell her something? Miranda did not know. It seemed that way. But what a strange way to go about it!

Once she even managed to corner Miranda away from the others, but before she could utter a word Derek appeared from nowhere and steered Miranda away without a backward glance at Hannah.

After playing golf for a very short while, Derek suddenly suggested that they should leave. Miranda had a strong feeling that Derek was trying to avoid Hannah and to brush her off. Miranda followed Derek off the course as fast as she could; she was finding it rather difficult to keep up with his long strides!

The clubhouse was very quiet and deserted at that time of the morning as everybody was out on the golf course. Derek led her to
one of the card rooms and shut the door. He then faced Miranda. Without saying a word he took her in his arms and kissed her. She broke away.

“Don’t,” she said.

He let her go. Silently he led her to the parked Land Rover.

“Don’t leave me and run away again,” he said in a gruff voice as he turned the key to start the vehicle. “How I have missed you,” he carried on. “If you only knew.”

Miranda could feel the heat emanating from him, and she was limp and languid. She had not been kissed for six months or more. He was hungry for her and she for him! But she would not give in.

“Let me take you back,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

On the way back conversation veered toward London and Miranda’s mother. And of course the London weather.

She agreed to meet him that evening for dinner, and they parted as friends and very amicably. Miranda gave him a light kiss on his cheek and then was out of the vehicle.

She for the world could not understand why she had agreed to meet him! And she had also given him a kiss, albeit on the cheek. She was angry with herself, but she could not resist seeing him again. His presence was intoxicating. And there was another factor. She was very curious to see where and how he lived.

But something was nagging at the back of her mind. She was a little confused; who was Hannah? She seemed to be so possessive of Derek. Why? Was she an ex-girlfriend? With that thought in mind, Mira went in search of her aunt.

God, they had so many rooms! The bungalow was so large, Miranda was lost. It was like a maze with rooms within rooms. A liveried servant popped in from somewhere and salaamed her. She was not used to all this! What did she do? She smiled back at him. He seemed so friendly. In his broken English he informed Miranda that her aunt was in the coffee room and was waiting for her. He then proceeded to take her there. He had such a lovely smile that Miranda could not help observing how his face lit up. Was this an Indian attitude they had so little and yet they smiled? She supposed it was a somewhat fatalistic
attitude that helped them carry on, despite not having much. How wonderful it was, to so easily be happy! Or was it? Was it just a façade?

Dolly was impatiently waiting for Miranda, wanting to know what had taken place, how the morning had panned out. But one look at Miranda’s face, and she decided to hold her tongue and let the girl speak.

“Who is Hannah?” Mira asked her aunt, helping herself to coffee. There was no beating around the bush for her. She had decided to come straight to the point.

“Oh, Hannah?” Dolly answered, slightly taken aback at Miranda’s direct approach. “She was Derek’s girlfriend once upon a time.” She chose her words very carefully. “Why do you ask?”

“Just out of curiosity. We met her this morning, and Derek introduced us. He was sort of rude and tried brushing her off, but she was determined to tag along with us.”

“Hannah is history,” Dolly said very matter-of-fact. She tried to dismiss her niece’s probing questions. “She and Derek went out for some time, but as things sometime happen it all fizzled out.”

With that she rang the little bell calling one of the servants to come and clear the table.

Miranda got the message! there is to be no more talk on that subject! But she wanted to know. She mentioned in passing that Derek had invited her for dinner that evening.

Dolly immediately got down to work. It was decided that Tom’s driver would take her. Tom was willing to drive her himself, but Dolly would have none of it. Miranda should go on her own. Derek had offered to pick her up initially but that invitation was declined very politely by Miranda herself!

4

IT WAS STIFLINGLY
hot; every nook and cranny was hot! Take a cool bath and in no time you were drenched in sweat all over again. However, despite the heat and the humming mosquitoes, Miranda was looking forward to her evening visit with Derek. She was getting very impatient, and it was difficult to pass the time. Every now and then her eyes wandered to the little watch she wore on her left wrist. It was more of an ornament that she rarely used, but today the little watch had been very handy. She could not settle in one room; she moved from room to room, to the garden, to the front porch, and back into the bungalow.

Lunch came and went and then siesta time followed by tea. Finally it was nearly time to have another bath and dress and at last!

Nothing escaped Dolly’s attention. She watched Miranda surreptitiously all day. She didn’t say anything but only watched. God, how restless she was getting! Dolly stifled her laughter during lunch. Well, let the poor girl be, she told herself, and let’s see where it all leads.

She was hoping against hope that all this anticipation, all this preparation would come to something and she would be able to cheer Molly up with some good news. Her sister was becoming rather eager as to what was happening and was debating in her mind whether she had done the right thing by sending her only daughter overseas on a wild goose chase. Hopefully she had not made a mistake. The expense of it was another issue; Molly could ill afford such a hair-raising plan if it was not worthwhile.

However, they were all depending on this impending dinner unbeknown to one another. Tom was dissuaded from driving Miranda for her rendezvous by his wife, so the chauffeur had to work overtime to take her and bring her back. He was none too pleased about it, either, but an order was an order and he had to comply—with a smile.

Derek’s bungalow was set apart from the surrounding lowland area, perched on a little hillock. A few flickering lights lined the climbing road from the main road leading to his front gate. The tall Gold Mohur trees, or the flame of the forest; their branches laden with red and orange flowers, lined both sides of the winding driveway. It was a secluded property, far from prying eyes.

As if by magic the gate opened. Miranda could not see who it was who had opened the gate. It was too dark to see. As it was in the East the darkness descended suddenly and everything was almost instantly submerged in eerie darkness.

A light was flickering on the front porch, however, and Derek was there to greet her and lead her into a massive brightly lit front room.

Before she could say anything he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek. Was there another presence somewhere in the background? She distinctly felt she was being watched. There was someone there, watching.

She did not have to wait long to find out. An elderly man, his face lined with age, a liveried servant, came forward and gave her a salaam.

Derek introduced them

“Meet Radhu chacha,” Derek said, smiling.

“Radhu uncle, I call him uncle out of politeness”

Which was very unusual, Miranda thought fleetingly, as in this society the division between servant and master was usually very apparent; to introduce the two was rather strange. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and proceeded to enjoy the evening.

The servant, Radhu, did not make eye contact with her, which was quite common. But though he looked subservient and meek, the perfect servant, she could feel the hostile feeling emanating from him. Miranda was very uncomfortable. Who was he? Why was he so very hostile? She had never met him. He did not know her, so why this reaction from him?

Radhu Chacha wheeled in the drinks trolley. Radhu had desperately tried to dissuade Derek from inviting Miranda this evening. He did not want another fiasco, another liaison, another scandal. After all, memsahib, Derek’s mother, would hold him responsible. Let the evening be over quickly, and then chota would turn to him for advice.

How little the new memsahib knew about the East. This made him think how little she knew that everything went according to what he Radhu, decided, Derek was just a small peg in big wheel Let her have a good meal and a drink or for that matter many drinks, but this would not go far! Another scandal, God forbid, had to be averted at any cost!

Radhu served the drinks, gin and tonic for her and beer for Derek. They were making small talk, exchanging pleasantries. Derek seemed a little distant, but Miranda decided to ignore it. They were not left alone. The old man always seemed to appear from nowhere to give her a refill. She found it most annoying.

Derek, however, seemed oblivious to his presence and did not in the least object to him being there. A threesome, Miranda mused bitterly. What a date.

Dinner consisted of chicken curry and rice with some vegetables as a side dish. It was good—not too hot and not too spicy.

Radhu Chacha, Derek told her, had personally supervised the cooking so that the khansamah would not get carried away with his spices and oil since memsahib was not used to the hot curries.

Derek was extremely quiet that evening. He was very amiable and friendly, but there was something missing. Miranda could not put her finger on what that something was, however.

During dinner it suddenly dawned upon Miranda that this old mild and meek servant was the real captain of this ship. And she was not wrong.

He was the person who really ran Derek’s bungalow, who looked after him, who watched him like a hawk. Nothing escaped his eyes. He
had been with the family for years and had watched Derek grow up. Now he was duty bound to keep tabs on him. His job was to sail this ship without any turmoil, to make sure all was smooth and flowing freely. Another scandal would wreak complete havoc within the Chowdhury family.

Chota sahib had always had an eye for beautiful girls. But Radhu would never forget the Rukmini incident. Memsahib Derek’s mother came to him practically weeping. Memsahib weeping—he could not tolerate that.

She asked him to help her and the Barra sahib, who was extremely distraught. Memsahib asked Radhu to accompany the girl and the girl’s mother to Calcutta to sahib’s flat and stay in the flat with them until memsahib arrived. He was there when memsahib arrived. The crying of the mother and the girl he could not forget. Nor would he forget how much money had changed hands.

Radhu was there all through the childbirth and the signing of the official document by the girl. After all, they could not take any chances could they? She had to sign the paper relinquishing all rights over the child. Radhu then saw them off at Howrah Station. They were threatened with death if they ever set foot in these parts again. Radhu and memsahib soon left Calcutta with the baby.

He would never forget that day. Memsahib’s plan had worked and scandal had been averted somehow.

Chota sahib had not been told any of it, and probably would not care anyway. But Radhu would always remain the family’s faithful servant. He would look after chota sahib and report to memsahib all that was happening. Next time he saw the memsahib he would have a heart-to-heart with her. Chota sahib needed to get married and soon!

Once dinner was over, Derek and Miranda sauntered over to the big drawing room. Derek tried to pull Miranda to him, but she pushed him away very gently and good thing she did! Just at that moment Radhu silently entered the room with coffee. He had a knack, this man, and Miranda was quite amused. He seemed to always come in on cue.

Derek went and sat in his armchair and lit his pipe. Was he a bit sulky? That was the impression Miranda got.

The coffee was good, piping-hot coffee served in lovely coffee cups. Derek did live in style! The bungalow was lovely she had to
admit that, albeit reluctantly. After hasty good-byes, under Radhu’s watchful eye, she was on her way home. What a hilarious evening, Miranda mused. That Radhu was something!