"As you wish." Arangbar was watching a eunuch bring in a box of opium.
When Nadir Sharif moved toward the doorway, Father Pinheiro rose unobtrusively and slipped out behind him. As the Jesuit moved into the hallway, he appeared not to hurry, but his brisk walk brought him alongside the prime minister midway down the corridor.
"Have you told Her Majesty, as we agreed?"
"Told her what?" Nadir Sharif did not break his pace or remove his eyes from Hawksworth, still being led by the guards several yards ahead.
"About the ship that would be seized."
Nadir Sharif stopped as though hit by an arrow. "But surely you'll not take the vessel now! Didn't you see that the Englishman has been ordered out of Agra? He's finished. There'll certainly be no trading firman for him now, or ever."
"But the warships were dispatched from Surat day before yesterday, just before the pigeons arrived from Goa with the word of the hoax. His Excellency, Miguel Vaijantes', message revoking their order to sail arrived a day too late. They were already at sea. The Indian ship may have already been seized."
Nadir Sharif inspected him with astonishment. "Your Viceroy must be mad. To take the vessel now? There's no purpose in it. His Majesty will be most annoyed."
"But you were the one who suggested it!" The Jesuit's voice rose, quivering in dismay. "You said that bold measures were for bold men. Those were your words. His Excellency agreed it would be a decisive stroke of firmness."
"And what does Father Sarmento think of this folly?"