"This side is for food, Captain." Jadar gestured toward a
row of ornate tents that lined the inside of the chintz walls. "The first is for fruit and melons. No man can campaign without them, particularly if he has a hungry zenana. The tent over there is for making sharbat, and that one is for keeping betel leaves to make pan." Jadar smiled. "Try denying a woman her betel and you'll have nothing but squabbles." He led them on, pointing, as he walked. "The large tent there is the kitchen, the one beyond it the bakery, and the one past that for grinding spices."
Hawksworth found himself astonished. Who could lead an army amid such extravagance? The tents were all red satin, with gilded poles around the outside, giving them the appearance of luxurious pavilions. Some, like the one for fruits and melons, were raised on a platform above the ground, while others were two-story, with an interior stair. As he watched the servants scurry from tent to tent bearing silver trays, he found it difficult to remember a war was looming.
"You'll soon discover traveling with women is always burdensome, Captain. For example, on the other side of the gulal bar I've had to erect a special tent just for their perfumes, another for their tailors, another to hold their wardrobes. Then there's a tent for mattresses, one for basins, and one for lamps and oil. These women rule my life. The things I really need—workshops, guardhouses, my arsenal— I've had to situate back behind the zenana, near where the servingwomen stay." Jadar paused, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "Well, what do you think?"
"I think an army camp should have fewer women and more men."
Jadar laughed and looked pointedly at Shirin. "But what is life without women, Captain?"
"Wives don't travel with an army in Europe."
"Then Europe could learn something from India."
"About fighting or about women?"
"Before you're through you may learn a few thing about both." Jadar turned and started back down the row of tents. "War here is very different from wars on the seas, Captain. You should see my men fight before you judge them. But my question now is whether you know how to fight well enough to be of any help. Tell me, can you handle a bow?"