The Temple Dancer (62 page)

"I'll go see about the nautch girl," Slipper announced. He staggered a
moment when he got to his feet, which made him laugh, and the others.
Then with exaggerated care, he set across the wooden bridge. It groaned
beneath his weight, and he turned and laughed some more as he proceeded.

"Why so nervous, Deoga?" Shahji asked.

"Done many settlements?" Da Gama answered. Shahji shrugged. "They
never turn out how you think. When there's goods and gold in proximity,
and men with different memories of the deal, there's trouble. At least this
time there are no weapons." He frowned. "There are no weapons, are
there?"

"Not even I have a weapon, Deoga," Shahji answered. "And I'm your
second-at-arms. Don't worry, if someone makes trouble I'll hit him on the
head with my wine cup." They all laughed.

But their mood changed quickly as Whisper limped toward them,
holding Geraldo's arm. Behind him came seven servants, each carrying a
small wooden chest bound with iron. "I forgot to arrange some way to
carry my gold back after the settlement," Wall Khan said softly.

"And it's lapses like that that make a settlement dangerous," Da Gama
said to Shahji.

The men made space as one by one the servants set the chests in a pile
in the center of the carpet near the table.

Whisper waved the servants off. "Where's the girl?"

"Slipper's gone for her. Have some refreshment, Senhor Whisper."

Whisper frowned and turned away from the others.

"I'll have some," Geraldo said enthusiastically. He moved next to Da
Gama. "I told you you should have made a claim. Look at me! I'm rich!" He knocked back his wine. "I suppose I must thank you. If you hadn't
kept quiet ..."

Da Gama glared at him. "Repay me by doing a good turn for someone
in the future."

Geraldo was about to answer when he caught sight of Slipper. Beside
him was Maya. The breeze pressed the dark veil against her face.

As they crossed it, the harem bridge groaned and listed. One corner of
the bridge bounced off the ground. "Look! It's not attached!" Geraldo
shouted. "Be careful, you two!"

"You're right, sir," Shahji said, getting to his feet. "Careful there!" he
shouted. "The bridgewallahs have removed its stakes!"

But Slipper and Maya crossed easily enough, though the bridge
lurched when Slipper stepped off its end. "Here she is," he announced.
"And I made her bring her things."

Maya made her way to a corner of the carpet, and stood quietly. Perhaps it was her veil, but she seemed almost to fade from view. The river
roared behind her, and no one noticed as she turned her back to the proceedings.

"I think everyone is here," Da Gama said. "Let the settlement begin."

"Should we have a prayer, Deoga?" Slipper laughed. "Or a cup of wine
at least?" The eunuch helped himself.

"Actually it's good that you are here, Geraldo. You can sign that certificate of custody. Based on the Sultana's decisions, I'd say you are now the
devadasi's owner."

Geraldo sat down to the paper with a chuckle. "Her owner. Think of
that." He plunged a feather pen into the inkwell and scrawled a signature.
"Short, but very sweet."

"And now, sir, if you'll sign that you've received the goods." Da Gama
nodded to Wall Khan.

The vizier looked at Maya, who stood at the carpet's edge, an amorphous shadow against the brightness of the sky. "I suppose I've received
her," he murmured, and placed his own signature beneath Geraldo's. His
was a complicated swirl of flourishes, impossible to decipher.

"At last," Slipper said.

Da Gama gave the eunuch a gracious smile. "I hope you get satisfaction, Senhor Eunuch. Senhor Vizier, by order of the Sultana, you must deliver to the Khaswajara either the girl, or any one of her possessions that
he may choose. For this right, the Khaswajara must give to you seven lakh
hun. Senhor Khaswajara, do you understand this? Senhor Vizier?"

"I've brought the money. What I want ..."

"Please, sir, we must go in order. The money is for the right for you to
choose and to receive. The vizier must receive your goods before you can
have your choice."

"What nonsense!" scowled Whisper. "Very well." He handed Da
Gama a ring of seven keys. Then, after standing ever since his arrival, he finally sat.

Da Gama picked a chest; the third key opened it. He swung back its
lid: inside were rows of cylinders wrapped in silk, tied with blue ribbons
and sealed with red wax. Da Gama chose one at random, and lifted it from
the box. The silk tore easily beneath his thumbnail to reveal a stack of
golden coins. He spilled the coins into his palm, examined a few, and began
to count. Everyone but Whisper stared.

"Never mind, Deoga. Let's get on with it."

"Senhor Vizier, do you not wish me to count the money for you?"

"It would take all day, and besides, the Khaswajara's not that kind of a
cheat."

"What kind of a cheat am I, then?" Whisper snapped back.

Da Gama stepped between them. "Sign here that you received your
gold." When Wall Khan was done, Da Gama said, "Which do you choose,
Senhor Whisper? The girl or one of her possessions?"

"Let me see her things."

"No!" Wall Khan shouted, pushing to his feet. "The queen agreed-no
examining! "

"Yes, yes," Da Gama said, soothing him. "Not to examine ... Just to
see, that's all. For seven lakh hun, he deserves the right to see, eh, senhor?"
Wall Khan let himself be gentled back to his seat. Slipper was already moving toward Maya, but Da Gama pushed ahead.

"No!" Maya shouted from beneath her veil. "They are all I have. The
few things that make me who I am. You shall not take them from me!"

Da Gama glanced at Shahji. They stood on either side of her. "De-
vadasi,"Shahji said. "You do yourself no honor this way." Maya bowed her
head.

"You must give me your things," Da Gama said as gently as he could.
But how gently can such words be said? She pushed her cloth shoulder bag
from beneath her veil.

"Why are we taking so long!" Slipper said shrilly. "He's got the money;
give me the bag!"

"Easy, Slipper," Shahji said.

"One item! One item only!" Wall Khan said at the same time, rising to
his feet.

"Let us remember ourselves, senhors," Da Gama said. "This will soon
be over," he whispered to Maya, but she did not turn. Then Da Gama
knelt, and slowly spread the contents of her bag upon the carpet, next to
the chests of golden hun.

Everyone had realized by now that the eunuchs had no desire for the
girl. What did she own that was worth seven lakh hun?

Slipper watched Da Gama's actions with his small eyes glowing,
scarcely able to contain himself. At last he saw the sack that held the headdress. "That's it! That's what we want!"

"Careful," Whisper murmured. "Let's be sure. Let's see the rest."

Da Gama slid the contents of the bag out to the carpet. It didn't take
long.

When all was displayed, Slipper pointed again at the small sack. He
could not stand still. "That's it, that's it! That's what we want!"

"Do you agree, Senhor Whisper? It's your decision, not his."

Whisper bit his lip, glanced at the seven chests of gold, and then back
to the pitiful, small sack. "Brother, tell one you are certain." Slipper was
now too agitated to reply, but he nodded so hard his jowls wiggled. "All
right," Whisper sighed.

Da Gama scooped the sack from the carpet, and put the last settlement
document on the table with a flourish. "Sign that you have received the
item that you chose."

Whisper knelt to the table and was about to sign when Wall Khan
stood over him. "No."

"What do you mean, sir?" Whisper spat.

"I mean that's two items. The sack and its contents."

"I take the contents, obviously," Whisper said. Watching Wall Khan
warily the entire time, he wrote his emphatic, precise signature at the bot
tom of the document. "Now, Deoga, I think that it is mine."

"I agree." Da Gama swept up the signed papers. "The settlement is at
an end. Senhor Vizier, the girl and gold are yours. Senhor Khaswajara, this
is yours." With that, he opened the end of Maya's sack, and spilled out the
headdress into Whisper's palm.

"Give it me! Give it me!" Slipper cried. He snatched the headdress from
Whisper's hand and waved it above his head. "The Web of Ruci! Mine at
last!" Slipper wiggled his body in a kind of dance. In his fat hands the bits
of gilt and glass sparkled in the sun.

"The Web of Ruci?" Wall Khan exploded. "It can't be!" He turned to
Shahji. "Could it be?" He grabbed Da Gama. "It can't be the Web of Ruci!"
Wall Khan began to chase after Slipper as he danced away.

Whisper brought his thin cold body close to Maya. He sniffed at her as
if she were a piece of meat that might be rotten. "You've been more trouble
than you're worth. I don't like you, and I will see to it that others dislike
you, too. Beware the brothers in Murad's court."

Shahji stared after Whisper with disgust. "To think I must make a deal
with that ruin." He moved about the carpet, picking up Maya's possessions
and putting them in her bag, all except for the empty headdress sack, which
seemed to him too pitiful to be included. He handed the bag to her. "I myself will tell Chitra about the boy. You have done me a good turn, devadasi.
I will not forget it."

Maya turned her veiled head, and her small hand slipped from underneath the cloth. She took the bag, but made no reply. This Da Gama
watched from the other side of the carpet.

"Now I see your game, sir!"

Da Gama looked up to see Geraldo coming toward him. He'd all but
forgotten about him. "What game is that?"

"Isn't that the trinket that she gave you when you left Belgaum?"

Da Gama eyed Geraldo carefully. "Maybe." But at that very moment,
near the river's edge Wall Khan had managed to snatch the headdress from
Slipper.

"Give it back to me!" the eunuch cried.

Wall Khan shoved Slipper's grasping hand aside and peered at the headdress. "Why, this is a fake! This is nothing but cheap glass!" he
crowed.

"What! What's that?" Whisper cried. He limped quickly to Wall Khan's
side.

"No," Slipper gasped. "No, it can't be!"

Now Whisper seized the headdress. Wall Khan put up no fight. The
old eunuch held it close to his eyes and squinted. "Shahji! General!" he
called, hurrying toward him. "Which is it? Real or fake?" He held it up
inches from Shahji's face.

"I couldn't say. It's very pretty. I suppose it's real."

"It's a damned fake," Geraldo said loudly. "I can see it from here."

"A fake!" Whisper wheeled on Slipper. "What do you say to this?"

Slipper took the headdress. "It can't be! It's heavy! It glitters!" He hurried to Maya and screamed at her dark veil. "Tell me that it's real!"

Da Gama reached past Maya's side, and pushed the eunuch away. He
was about to give him a talking-to when something caught his eye. A few
yards from where they stood, Wall Khan was doubled over with laughter,
but Whisper hobbled toward him, in his hand a silver blade. "Shahji, help
me! Come quick!" Da Gama cried as he raced for Whisper.

Shahji followed, with Geraldo at his heels. By the time they reached
him, Da Gama had pinned Whisper's thin arms behind hs back. The blade
lay in the grass. Whisper's tiny chest stuck out; under his silk shirt his ribs
looked as fragile as a bird's.

"He cheated me, burak!" Whisper spat out in his rasping treble.

"I never did," Wall Khan snorted.

"He knew it was a fake! He knew!"

Wall Khan held up his hands. "By the Prophet's beard I swear I did not
know. Is that not enough for you?"

But at that moment, Maya screamed.

The men turned to see her sprawled on the grass near the river's edge. Slipper had knocked her down, and she scrambled to get away. They could see
now by his walk that he had drunk too much; he staggered, and stumbled
often. But despite his size he was fast, and when Maya struggled to her feet and began to run, he raced toward her and slapped her twice across the
head until she fell again.