Page 95 of A Modest Independence

A short while later they were all much more at their ease. It was still hot—beastly hot—but Jenny felt a little less like she was being cooked alive inside her own clothing.

As the train steamed ahead, they talked of their plans for what they would do in Delhi, where they would visit, and whom they would question. There was a logic to it, as far as Jenny was concerned. “I daresay it will feel as if we’re often retreading the same ground, but we must leave no stone unturned. Even if that means questioning the same people Mr. Thornhill’s inquiry agent has already written to.”

Tom agreed. “Even the smallest detail may later prove important.”

“I only hope there’s someone out there who remembers what happened to him,” Jenny said. “Or…or to his body.”

It was difficult to think of Giles in that way—as a body instead of a person. But she’d be foolish not to prepare herself. From the beginning, she’d understood that this journey might well end in disappointment. There was every likelihood that Giles was indeed dead. That he had been cut down at the siege of Jhansi just as had been reported.

“Ahmad can show the daguerreotype to Colonel Anstruther’s servants,” Tom said. “They may prove to be more forthcoming than their master.”

Ahmad looked doubtful but made no objection.

“Do you have reason to think that Colonel Anstruther won’t help us?” Jenny asked Tom.

“Only that he and Giles were rumored to have bad blood between them.”

“But surely that won’t matter now. Not in the present circumstances.”

Tom’s expression wasn’t encouraging. “Some men hold a grudge for a very long time.”

Jenny didn’t know what to say. It had never occurred to her that Colonel Anstruther might prove difficult. The very notion was enough to make her stomach twist with anxiety.

As if she hadn’t anxiety enough.

Her nerves showed no sign of relenting during the course of their journey. It was several days to Delhi by rail, with a few brief stops each day for passengers to dine and stretch their legs. At night, those in first-class compartments were able to convert their seats for sleeping. The seat itself made one berth and the padded back, when strapped up to the ceiling, made another. It was really rather efficient, though somewhat intimate in nature.

This posed no difficulty for the many compartments filled with gentlemen. Likewise for the few ladies Jenny had seen traveling in the company of their fathers, husbands, or brothers.

Had Tom truly been Jenny’s brother, the sleeping arrangements wouldn’t have been the least awkward. As it was, when night fell and the compartment went dark, she could scarcely relax on her upper berth for the thought of him sleeping beneath her.

Tom appeared to be facing a similar struggle. He didn’t lie down at all, choosing instead to remain seated on his lower berth, his arms folded over his midsection, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his head tipped back against the wall.

Ahmad and Mira, by contrast, didn’t seem uncomfortable at all. They were fast asleep in their berths on the opposite side of the compartment.

Jenny tossed and turned awhile longer before, finally, sitting up.

Tom’s hushed voice sounded in the darkness. “Can’t sleep?”

“No,” she whispered back. “Can’t you?”

“Not sitting bolt upright.”

“Why don’t you lie down?”

“Why do you think?”

Jenny sighed. “This is ridiculous. We’ve two more days to Allahabad. We’ll have to sleep at some point.” She moved to climb down from her berth. Tom rose to assist her, his hands closing firmly on her waist. When her stocking feet touched the floor, he didn’t release her.

His voice sounded softly against her ear. “Are you still wearing your corset?”

She blushed. “What a thing to ask.”

“No wonder you can’t sleep,” he chided.

He was right, of course. She should have changed into her nightgown and robe before retiring. The other ladies in the first-class carriage had done so. She’d seen them, emerging from the washroom, garbed in sensible nightcaps and dressing gowns with shawls draped round their shoulders.

“I’d feel indecent if I removed it,” she said.