“But the wench blew hot and cold. One minute she was for striking her husband dead and the next she was tame as a pet lamb.”
“There you have me. I am only sorry that a brave man like Sher Afghán should be enamored of such a siren.”
“By the cross of Osmotherly, Walter, I came to think I ken more than you of the ways of women. Now, mark me, she is a hoyden of some spirit. When the Prince would have reaved her she was willing enough, and tempted to aid him withal. But when the fight started, she hung back, like a doe watching two contending stags. Her husband was the better man and the greater gentleman, and he did more to win her by a five minutes’ contention than by a month’s wooing.”
“You are right, Roger, but you had most to say in that respect. Now, let us rest. Jahangir was no mean antagonist. He struggled like a bull when I had him on the ground. I am weary.”
They slept late, and, when they had dressed and eaten, were at a loss whether to go or stay, as the Diwán had hastened to the palace soon after daybreak. But their doubts were quickly resolved. A mounted messenger from the Diwán bade them bring their packs with all speed to the fort. The Emperor had laughed when told that his heir was lying abed with sore bones, and gave imperative orders that the bazaar should take place as arranged.
The man told them that the fair was the Khus-roz, or “Day of Pleasure,” and the scene in the garden of the zenana, when Mowbray and Sainton had hurried their train thither, showed that the festival was not misnamed. Not only the ladies of the court, but the wives and daughters of the chief nobles, occupied the stalls, and, while Walter was busily superintending the unpacking of his bales, he heard the Emperor himself chaffering like an old wife about the value of a penny.
He was bargaining shrewdly with a beautiful Kashmiri, and receiving as good as he gave.
“What do you know of merchandise?” she cried. “You may be a good king, but certainly you are a poor trader.”
“And you are selling inferior silk by your pretty face, just as a fine rind may cover a bad apple,” he retorted.