blamed me out loud. I was but a lad, and our family had always been associated with the fair folk.” He looked over at Isabel Alderton, who sat silently in the seat she had tipped into. “It happens to be how our family got its name, you know.”
“What was it? The accident, I mean?” She already knew he wouldn’t say it. Something in her pressed to see whether he was ready to answer or not, though.
ॐ
“T’isn’t anything that has any bearing on the here and now, my dear girl.” Abington intervened on the major’s behalf. The general did know what had happened, in point of fact, but only because he had made his own enquiries. He doubted that this was a moment to share such a story, even if the major was willing. “And so, now, Colonel, you have the major at your service, for something along the lines of ninety-six hours. After that, I’m afraid I shall require him at his duties.”
“Thank-you, General Abington, sir. Your help is appreciated, and will go some way to keeping suspicious eyes turned away from your redcoats. I would speak a word of caution, however.”
“You needn’t stand on formality, Arpan. You are on even footing with me.”
“Very well, Hugh. My advice is this: Do not relax into the belief that whatever evil has befallen my village will stay clear of your men. My people are fearful, but already they begin to look at one another differently. I have had to send my brother away, even, because talk was beginning to turn to blaming him for the other boy’s disappearance.”
With that, he stood from his own seat, and gave a sharp bow to Abington. “By your leave, sir, I return to my people.” He left, and a gloomy air descended over the remaining party.
Ranajit and Abington’s valet stood in the hallway through which Arpan had just departed, their pale faces telling all. They had heard everything; it was only natural in a household such as this.
“Roberts, Ranajit, come in.” Abington thought over carefully how to address the situation. “Vigilance is the word of the hour, and prudence its companion. I am confident that you both understand what I am saying to you.”
Both men nodded. Roberts was an extremely young sergeant, one whom Abington hoped to see pushed up the ranks further. He was competent, and intelligent, but more importantly, he was tenacious.
Ranajit, the head butler, was older, a grandfather even, but in younger days, he had been a fearsome soldier. In later years, he had become sanguine, a father figure for anyone working in the household.
Everyone knew not to oppose him; his past life was evidenced on his face by a long, thin scar, which ran from his eyebrow to his collarbone. It was thought locally that anyone who had survived such a terrible injury must surely have been touched by Shiva.
ॐ
Macconnach caught himself eyeing the scar on the older man, and had a sudden mental picture of Ranajit as a young man on horseback. Bengali lancers had a fearsome reputation, and suddenly, the long scar made more sense.
Ranajit turned his head and gazed evenly back at Macconnach, who felt a quick tremor. It was the same sort of disruption he’d sensed the previous night. He searched the older man’s eyes, but saw nothing to betray any sense of what he’d just felt.
ॐ
Roberts departed with Ranajit slowly bringing up his rear. The other staff called him ‘grandfather’, indeed he adored the growing brood of babies born to his children. Ranajit often thought himself to be a walking contradiction, though.
His former life, the one that had hinted itself to Macconnach, was something that never truly left a man. It was one thing to stand at fifty paces and fire a musket or a rifle at another human.
It was quite another to ride into a fray, and see a man’s eyes widen at an eight-foot spear bearing down on him. The lancers were so terrible in battle, purely because of the difficulty in repelling their attacks.
Ranajit himself was not so terrible, although he did enjoy the respect given him by others because of the scar, and of the reputation of the lancers. In his own household, it was his wife who was the tiger. If he had two dozen of her, the whole of the Bengal presidency would need no further defense.
It was a blessing to have a wife such as Jaya, even when she was angry, stamping up and down the length of their home. Even then, Ranajit would sit and stare at her in wonder. He always told her that they had been a destiny match.
Jaya laughed at him, but it was true; even though they had been arranged, it seemed to have been directed by another force outside their families. They had both felt it immediately.
Jaya had confessed to him years later that she had been tempted more than once to spirit over to his house in the middle of the night, before they were married. That was who she was.
Her father would have beaten her if she had ever done it, but she hadn’t been worried so much about that as about ruining the match before it was finalized.
Some twenty-five years, three sons, and one daughter later, they had settled into a peaceful life, aside from Jaya’s temper. That, Ranajit reasoned, was merely the chilli seasoning to life.
Besides which, fat little grandbabies had begun to moderate her fits of pique lately. He could only hope that these rumors from the nearby village would not reach her ears. Or worse, of what he and Sergeant Roberts had heard from the general’s study.
The head man and the general had seemed to be talking of demons. This was most unsettling to Ranajit. He had been at a British fortress, many years past, when it had been attacked by such forces. He had never seen anything like it before in his life, and not since.
He thought back to those days, and recalled his youthful terror. The horses had certainly been the first to sense that which was coming. Eyes rolling in abject fear, several had broken from their stalls; a stable boy had been trampled to death in the process.
Dark clouds had then rolled in with terrifying speed, seething and crackling with lightning. The British officers had ignored the warnings, only to watch helplessly as unseen hands had plucked and flung men over the ramparts.
From then until now, Ranajit never had truly known what had finally driven off the demons, for that was what they had been. There were offerings, naturally, and men had cried out for Lord Shiva’s intervention. After listening to this new major, and hearing what he had said, Ranajit thought back more clearly.
The colonel in charge of that fortress had had a man with him, very much like this Major Macconnach, a man whose eyes were so dark as to seem black.
In the midst of the onslaught, as dozens of men had writhed on the ground with ears bleeding, the end of the world seeming very near; Ranajit had seen that man of the colonel’s, up on the highest tower.
It all seemed to fall into place and make sense. Whatever this Major Macconnach was, he was most likely the same kind of weapon used by the colonel all those years ago. His skin crawled at the memory. He would not be discussing this at home, that much was certain.
ॐ
“I do hope you have no intentions of trying to keep me behind, Father, Major.”
Abington silently sighed. Here again was his tenacious creature, but in this, he only had himself to blame.
“Isabel, my dear, even if we planned to, I hardly think we could outwit you. I do wish you to agree to one stipulation.”
“What might that be?”
“I would ask you to defer to the major. Having taught you a great deal in your life, there were certain subjects I was disallowed to prevail upon, as you well know. Please, follow his lead if he feels you are riding into some sort of danger.”
Isabel seemed on the point of anger for a moment. Then, her face softened, and she gave her assent.
“Very well. I would imagine you have seen your share of war, whereas I have not. And as to all this talk of dominion over death, well, suffice to say I find it very strange indeed. It will take some time for me to come to accept it all, I think.”
Macconnach stiffened, and removed himself from where he had been leant up against a window. Isabel hardly had time to react t
o the shock of seeing the major with actual anger in his eyes before he spoke.
“Pray, take all the time you need, Miss Alderton. I have no need of your acceptance in order to do my work.” He bowed curtly, and took his leave of the general and daughter. Abington sighed, and took hold of Isabel by her shoulders, that she might not hide her reaction.
“Why are you so adversarial with our Major Macconnach? Normally, when you can’t stand the sight of one of my officers, you barely speak a word to him.”
Abington was gratified to see that he’d struck a nerve with his words. Isabel flushed readily, though she scowled at her father.
“That is neither here nor there, Papa. If you must know, the major irritates me more than the others do, that is all.”
“Ah, I see. Shall we consult your mother’s books on this subject? I find my memory failing me….”
“You are teasing me.”
“And you are decidedly in denial, my dear girl.”
It was unfashionable to roll one’s eyes, not to mention impolite, but she did so anyhow.
“And here I thought you had no wish to marry me off.”
“Ha-ha! More like keeping you in the household to prevent you from becoming a brigand! Your mother would haunt me if I ever let you live on your own, unwed, in scandal.”
“Some time or another, young ladies will do so. I see no shame in the idea. I could hire myself a large, surly bodyguard, or have one of those mastiff dogs to protect myself