“Not that awful East Indian woman, I hope?” Dick raised himself suddenly.
“No; the Eye-of-the-Begum, with a very secret message from the Amir. He wants you to join with him to get rid of the Commissioner.”
“He does, does he? I thought Burgrave’s last reprimand would wake him up a bit. He made it pretty clear that Bahram Khan was to be recognised as heir, and admitted to all the privileges of the post. It’s funny, isn’t it, that our respected superior doesn’t seem to see what a creepy sort of thing it is to welcome into your bosom a snake that’s tried to bite you already? Oh, Georgie, it is calculated to make a man swear when he sees a fellow like Burgrave, who has far less knowledge of district work than young Anstruther, and that so long ago that he’s forgotten all about it, sent to upset a province where he doesn’t even know the languages, simply because he can write nice reports and is a favourite at Simla. I can’t make pretty speeches to exalted personages, but I can keep this frontier quiet, and they won’t let me do it.”
“I know; it’s perfectly shameful. But, Dick, I have something else to tell you that will make you laugh, though you won’t like it. Bahram Khan is anxious to marry Mab.”
Dick bounced out of his chair. “The dirty hound! It’s like his impudence to dare to dream of such a thing. He had better look out for the next time he comes across me. Why hadn’t he the pluck to bring his precious message himself?”
“I think his mother fancied he would be safer at a distance. He is good enough to offer his friendship as a bait.”
“Thanks, I’d rather be without it. The whole thing is a plot, Georgie—a palpable plot to try and get me into trouble with Burgrave. There was no hint of this atrocious idea when Mab was at Dera Gul the other day, or we should have heard of it.” Georgia felt uncomfortable, but her promise to Mabel kept her silent. “It’s a clumsy trick devised on the spur of the moment. If I pretended to nibble at it, the next thing would be that Burgrave would be informed I was intriguing against him, and had offered my sister to Bahram Khan to attract him to my side. We are on the down-grade, Georgie. I didn’t know they had got so far as inventing false accusations against me yet. Bah! it makes a man sick of the whole thing.”
“I fancy Bahram Khan has had the idea in his mind longer than you imagine,” Georgia ventured to say.
“Oh, you’re a match-maker, as I’ve told you before. Please keep your planning to pleasanter subjects in future. But I say, it’s rather fine that the Commissioner should have Bahram Khan for a rival! I should really like to tell him so.”
“Then you still think Mr Burgrave is in love with Mab?”