Page 140 of A Modest Independence

“I don’t know about Hossein,” Jenny said, “but Ahmad and Mira will be glad to leave India. They haven’t enjoyed it here as much as I’d hoped they might. It’s not at all the way they remember it being when they were children.”

Giles glanced up at her from his plate. “They’re from Delhi, aren’t they? They’d feel differently if they’d lived here.”

“Is life so much better in Darjeeling?” Tom asked.

“On the ridge it is. One rarely encounters the tension one feels in the cities.”

Jenny helped herself to more curry. “It seems to me that one rarely encounters anything here. It’s all trees and mountains and empty fields.”

“One of its many benefits.” Giles refilled his glass. He looked to Jenny, brows lifted in question, as he held the bottle of wine. She gave him a short nod. He tipped the bottle over her glass, filling it to the brim. “The new location in the valley is less isolated. It will be better for the tea. Less so for my own peace of mind. I’d prefer to remain up here.”

“It’s not very convenient,” Tom said.

“For whom? For visitors to Senchal? That’s never been a pressing concern. You’re the first I’ve had since I arrived here. No one has called since the cholera outbreak. They’ve no reason to.”

Tom didn’t wonder. “A Khansama at one of the stations told us that the isolation was unhealthy. That many of the soldiers brought to the convalescent depot after the uprising didn’t recover.”

Giles resumed eating. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

Jenny exchanged a worried look with Tom.

Catering to Giles was taking its toll on her. He wasn’t the easiest of gentlemen to interact with. He was subject to moods and prone to sharp words and cold silences.

Was this how he’d been when he was younger? When Jenny had first come to work as Lady Helena’s companion? If so, Tom could understand why she’d been so desirous to get away.

“You’ve lived alone here far too long with only Hossein for company,” Jenny said. “It won’t be easy to come back into society, but in time—”

“I won’t be staying in England for any length of time,” Giles replied. “And I’ve certainly no intention of going about in society.”

“You plan to come back here?” Tom asked. “To the ridge?”

“I do. It will be enough to see my sister. To satisfy myself that she’s well settled with this husband of hers. As for my uncle…” Giles’s fingers tightened on his wineglass. “He and I must have words, obviously.”

A long silence hung between the three of them.

When conversation at last resumed, it was nothing of the personal. They spoke of the food and the weather, discussing India in general terms until the candles burned down and the room drifted into darkness.

Jenny moved to rise. “Shall we go into the parlor for tea? Or would the two of you prefer I leave you to a glass of port?”

Tom and Giles both stood. Tom expected they’d join Jenny. There was no reason to stand on ceremony.

But Giles had other ideas. “Yes, let’s share a bottle, by all means, Finchley.”

Jenny exchanged another wary glance with Tom. “Well, I’ll leave the pair of you to it.”

When she’d gone, Giles summoned Hossein to clear the table and bring them a bottle of port and two glasses. “You don’t smoke, do you, Finchley?” he asked when the servant had withdrawn.

“I don’t.” Tom regarded Giles over the sputtering candles. He had no illusions about the man wishing to bond with him over tobacco and port. “Is there something you’d like to say to me?”

“There is.” Giles filled both glasses, pushing one across the table to Tom with the tip of his finger. “Miss Holloway appears to be rather fond of you.”

“I count her as a friend.”

“A dear friend, she says.”

Had she? The knowledge sent a frisson of warmth through Tom’s veins. “We’ve been traveling together for some time. It’s only natural that we’ve become close.”

“I trust that nothing untoward has happened between the two of you?” Giles gave a thin smile. “I’m not blind, Finchley, whatever my failings. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. It’s all very romantic, I’m sure, but I’m afraid I must put a stop to it. You see, despite the intervening years, I still consider Miss Holloway my responsibility.”