The eunuch bowed again and disappeared without a word. As Nadir Sharif watched his skirt vanish past the doorway tapestry, he tried to clear his mind and decide quickly what now must be done. Instinctively he turned once more to monitor the darshan balcony. Still nothing. Then he smiled fleetingly, realizing that the fate of the Englishman would depend very much on what happened at darshan this very morning.
The visitor appeared, in freshly brushed red turban and jeweled earrings, and wordlessly strode past the eunuch at the doorway, pushing the partially opened tapestry aside as though a foe in battle. There was about the man the haughty carriage and contemptuous eyes always encountered among Rajputs in high places, and Nadir Sharif recognized him immediately. The prime minister also knew this particular Rajput had never trusted him, and never would.
"Nimaste, Sharif Sahib." Vasant Rao's salaam was correct but cold. "It's always a pleasure to see you."
"When did you arrive?"
"Last evening."
"Have you arranged lodgings for the English feringhi? Even before informing me you were here?"
"He has no lodgings yet, Sharif Sahib, only rooms at a guest house. The feringhi insisted no one be informed of his arrival. He did not say why." Vasant Rao returned Nadir Sharifs expressionless stare. "The prince's orders were to honor the feringhi’s requests whenever possible."
Nadir Sharifs face betrayed none of his anger as he turned again toward the darshan balcony. A flock of vagrant pigeons darted overhead, following the line of palaces along the river.
"How is the child?"
"He is well formed, Sharif Sahib. Your daughter, Her Highness, was also well when I left Burhanpur. She gave me this dispatch for you."