Princess of the dawn

Chapter 76

"Maid, bring Negin here!"

"Mohtarma, what can I do for you?"

"Take this to Abdul Khan." She pressed a folded, sealed document into her maid's hand. "Wait for his reply! It is important!"

Negin bowed and hurriedly left the chamber.

Bakshi went to the small courtyard in front of her chamber. Here it was pleasantly cool. She sat down on the soft cushions of a bench by the fountain. The soft splashing of the water soothed her tensed nerves a little. Absently, she reached into the bowl of sweets that a maid had provided. She sighed and waited impatiently for Negin's return.

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Anger

"Ammijaan!"

Furious, Adham Khan stomped into Maham Anga's chamber.

"Adham! I hope you have a valid reason for your unseemly appearance!"

"Atgah Khan was in the dungeon and questioned Sharif ud-Din!"

"Kya?" Maham Anga froze. "Hopefully the opium intoxicated him so much that he was not in his right mind!" she thougt. "Do you have informations?" she asked sharply.

"I followed Jalal's bootlicker!"

"And?"

"Sharif-ud-Din, that weakling, blabbered! He mentioned my name in connection with the archer!"

"Ya Allah! What are you saying?" Maham Anga gasped in horror.

"Ji, ammijaan! Jalal will draw his conclusions and...!" He left the sentence unfinished.

"We must be careful, Adham. He has no evidence! But every further step must be well thought out now!" Her mind raced and she gritted her teeth. "Sharif-ud-Din is a problem! And problems must be solved!" she murmured absently.

"What are you going to do?"

"Let me think about it, Adham! Go now!"

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Memories

Jalal had resumed his duties. Every morning he showed up at the jharokha to attend the durbar in Diwan-i-aam afterwards. The negotiations often lasted into the night. Despite intensive efforts, there were still no clues as to whether Maham Anga had a hand in the conspiracies. Atgah Khan was worried that another assassination attempt could be made on Jalal.

"Jahanpanah, we are inconsolable that we still have not found any evidence of the masterminds of the assassinations and the poison murder. Until the culprits are apprehended, we fear that more assassinations may be committed. We also fear that Jodha Begum may be a target for the criminals."

"You are right, Atgah Khan. That is why we have strengthened the guards in the harem, especially at our and Jodha Begum's chambers, and have impressed upon the Urdu Begi extremely to be on the alert! Ask Bibi Fatima to look for more suitable women to guard the harem! She will know where to find some!"

"Ji, Jahanpanah! She has already started looking after the incidents."

"Bahut khub! This is good news. You can withdraw now, Atgah Khan! Khuda hafiz."

Jalal decided to visit the pigeon houses. After his recovery, he again regularly inspected the royal stables to look after his favourite animals. The enforced stay in his chambers due to his wound had made him almost crushed and restless. Now he especially wanted to look after his khaas pigeons.