“I have no faith. I fear treachery.”
“Your fear is surely a groundless one, then. The capitulation has been put into black and white; and however bad the Nana Sahib may be, he is bound to recognise those usages of war common to every civilisation.”
“I tell you I have strange forebodings of evil. I believe the man’s nature to be cruel enough for anything.”
“Hush! Haidee! Do not let your words reach the ears of our fellow-sufferers, or they will only cause unnecessary alarm.”
“I have no desire to be a prophet of evil, but I believe it would have been better to have held out until every ounce of powder had gone rather than have trusted to the mercy of the Nana Sahib. However, your people shall go, and as they depart I will waft my good wishes after them.”
“Waft your good wishes after them! Really, Haidee, you are talking strangely, and as if you did not intend to go.”
“I do not intend to go.”
“Why?” he asked, quite unable to conceal his astonishment.
“Because for me to go would be to go to certain death. Even if I escaped recognition by the Nana—which would be almost impossible, for he knows me well, having often seen me at the Palace—my nationality would condemn me; there would scarcely be a native whose arm would not be raised to strike me down.”
“But the protection which Nana Sahib is bound to afford to us, in accordance with the terms of treaty, must likewise be extended to you.”