"I doubt very much he will march anywhere." Nadir Sharif cut her off without seeming to do so. "Until he receives a response to the terms he has demanded."
"Repeat them to me." Arangbar was having difficulty focusing on the wine cup and he shifted his gaze into the courtyard.
"They are very explicit. Majesty." Nadir Sharif rolled the document and replaced it in the bamboo sleeve. "Jadar has refused to march to defend Qandahar unless his horse rank is raised to thirty thousand, and unless the jagirs in Dholpur, those that were granted to Prince Allaudin, are returned. What will you do?"
"There can be no bargaining with an Imperial order," Queen Janahara interjected. "How many times will you be intimidated? Remember he refused to undertake this campaign—which, I should add, he has apparently bungled—until his suwar rank was elevated, and his elder brother Khusrav was sent out of Agra. When will his demands end?" Her voice rose. "Even now we do not know what has happened. All we know for sure is that two months ago he marched south from Burhanpur. And four days ago he was there again. Was he driven back when he tried to recapture Ahmadnagar from Malik Ambar? Does the Deccan still belong to the Abyssinian? Prince Jadar has much to answer."
"But the dispatch was sent from Burhanpur. At least he hasn't abandoned the city entirely, as some of the rumors said," Nadir Sharif continued evenly. "And I don't believe he has abandoned the south, either. He would not permit it to remain in rebel hands. Whatever else he is, he's a soldier first."
"For all we know he is now isolated at the fortress in Burhanpur." Janahara studied the empty courtyard. "If he has not already lost the city."
"So what do you propose be done?" Arangbar's voice was slurred as he sipped from his cup.
"There's only one choice remaining, if you ever hope to control Jadar." She spoke directly to Arangbar. "Order Inayat Latif to mobilize the Imperial army and march south, now. We have to know what's happening there. Inayat Latif is a far abler general than Jadar. He, at least, can ensure the Deccan is secure. Then we can handle the matter of Jadar's demands."
"But that could also give the appearance the Imperial army is marching against Jadar." Nadir Sharif shifted uncomfortably. "He will see it as an ultimatum. Do you really think he will respond to threats? You must know him better than that."
"I know him all too well." Janahara's voice was hard.