More trumpets sounded as Arangbar himself entered, Queen Janahara striding imperiously behind him. Hawksworth examined her hard features with curiosity for a moment before the significance of the scene registered. She was not wearing a veil.
He looked about him and realized that the other guests had noticed as well.
Nadir Sharif trailed behind the royal couple, and after him came a few select officials of the court, including the qazi who would perform the ceremony and officially record the marriage.
As Arangbar and Janahara seated themselves on the cushioned platform, the guests all performed the teslim. Arangbar motioned for the crowd to be seated, and Hawksworth was already halfway to the carpet before he noticed that no one else had moved. Only after Arangbar had demanded three times that the guests seat themselves did those around Hawksworth accede to his request.
More trays of rolled betel leaves and sharbat were circulated, and the guests settled to listen to a lively raga performed on sitar and tabla drums by musicians who were seated on a small dais at the opposite end of the hall. The time was approaching eight o'clock when the musicians brought the music to a rousing finish.
Hawksworth found himself beginning to wonder where the bride and groom were. They were nowhere to be seen.
No sooner had the last notes of the raga melted into the tapestried walls than there came a knocking at the closed doors of the hall. There were sounds of a raucous, but not rancorous, argument. Everyone around Hawksworth fell silent to listen. There were more words, and he managed to grasp that the family of the bride was demanding a payment for entry, apparently a mock ritual. Finally there was the jingle of coins dropping into a cup. The money seemed to settle the dispute, for the doors of the hall suddenly burst open, to the sounds of a trumpet fanfare.
Hawksworth looked through the doorway to see a horse and rider, surrounded by a milling crowd.
In the lamplight he could see the horse was covered with a fine brocade tapestry, into which fresh flowers had been woven. Its legs, tail, and mane had been dyed red with henna, and all its body outside the tapestry was covered with glistening spangles. The rider's cloak and turban were heavy with gold thread, and his face was hidden behind a thick veil of silver cloth attached to the top of this turban and hanging to his waist. On either side of the horse two young men stood, each carrying a large paper umbrella, which they held over the rider's head. Behind them clustered singers, dancers, musicians, and a mob of tipsy young men in extravagant finery.
The crowd cheered the veiled rider and he saluted them. From the chatter of the guests, Hawksworth gathered that the horse had led a procession through the streets of Agra for the past two hours in preparation for this grand entrance.