The Final Storm

18. Welcome to Delhi!

She just hoped she would be in time.

***

The trip across India turned out to be much smoother than I had expected. Whenever we met any locals armed with pitchforks and sickles, all we needed to do was mention that we were heading north to join the rebels, and we received cheers and praise from everyone, along with plenty of good food and helpful suggestions on the most painful execution methods for Britons—some of which were quite inventive, such as cooking alive in a vat of boiling tea. Never in my life had I been so glad for a beard on my face. I was starting to see why Karim insisted on his fashion statement.

Not that I was going to tell my husband that, though. This might just be my imagination, but he probably preferred his wife beardless.

"What are you thinking about, Mrs Ambrose?" a familiar, cool voice entered my ear.

"Ehem, me? Nothing, nothing." Glancing to the side, I gave my dear husband a beautiful smile. "I was just thinking about how long it will take till we reach the edge of this jungle?"

"I am not completely clear about that myself. Wait a moment." My husband turned around in the saddle and shouted to his bodyguard, "Dilī kinī dūra?"

For a moment, Karim conferred with his countrymen, then turned back to his employer. "Tina dina hōra!"

"What did he say?" Adaira quickly urged her horse to my side. "Come on, what did he say?" So far, she had kept quiet for most of the journey. Maybe this was partially due to anxiety, but a big part of the reason was probably that she still didn't speak a single Indian language. Now, however, she clearly no longer intended to keep silent. That look in her eyes...it almost looked like panic. Did she know something I didn't?

"Three days," I quietly translated.

My husband nodded. "And after that, it should still be a week's journey till we reach Delhi."

"A week!" My sister-in-law's face sank and her hands tightened into fists. "Can't we go faster?"

Mr Rikkard Ambrose cocked his head and sent his sister a look. "Are you asking me if I am wasting time?"

Adaira opened her mouth—only to close it again a moment later. Apparently, she did not have the guts to utter such horrible blasphemy. Or at least that's what I thought until a fire sparked to life in her eyes, and she raised her chin. "Can't we just hurry up a little bit? We—"

"No," came his customarily diplomatic answer.

"Not without exhausting the horses." I explained with a shake of my head. "And at that point..."

"...we'd just end up taking even longer to get to our goal." Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Lilly. I understand. It's just..."

"I know." In a hopefully comforting manner, I patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure that, once we reach Delhi, we'll find your man in no time and he'll be perfectly all right."

In retrospect, I should have probably known better than to jinx myself.

Our journey through the jungle continued. Karim's estimation turned out to be correct. It only took a few days for us to leave the steaming green sauna that was the jungle and step onto open land. After that, our travel speed increased, and we raced through the countryside, only pausing long enough to catch our breath and eat a few crumbs of dried food. After nearly ten days, we received the first signs that our long voyage was finally coming to an end. In the distance, a ridge slowly came into view, on top of which stood several ramshackle buildings.

Bringing my horse to a halt, I pointed forward and leaned over to Mr Ambrose. "Is that..."

"The Delhi Ridge." He nodded. "And the buildings up there are the barracks of the defence troops outside the city."