The man's jeweled turban and rows of finger rings sparkled in the torchlight. As he moved directly toward Jadar, Hawksworth suddenly recognized the walk and caught his breath.
It was Nadir Sharif.
The prime minister paused a few feet from Jadar and salaamed lightly. He did not teslim, nor did he speak. As he stood waiting, from out of the darkness of the gulal bar the figure of a woman emerged. She was veiled, surrounded by her women, and accompanied by a line of eunuchs wearing sheathed scimitars in their waist sash. She stopped and performed the teslim to Jadar. Then she turned to Nadir Sharif.
He stared at her for a long moment, then said something in Persian. Without a word she lifted her veil and threw it back. Next she turned and gestured to one of the servants standing behind her. The servant stepped forward with a bundle wrapped in a brocade satin blanket and carried it directly to Nadir Sharif.
The prime minister stood for a moment as though unsure whether to take it. Finally he reached out and lifted the blanket from the servant and cradled it against one arm. He stared down for a long moment, his eyes seeming to cloud, and then he pushed back part of the blanket to examine its contents more closely. With a withered finger, he reached in and stroked something inside the blanket. Then he looked up and smiled and said something to Jadar in Persian. The prince laughed and strolled to his side, taking the blanket in his own smoke-smeared hands and peering down into it with Nadir Sharif. They exchanged more words in Persian, laughed again, and then Nadir Sharif walked to the waiting woman, whose dark eyes now brimmed with joy. He stood looking at her for a long moment, then spoke to her in Persian and enfolded her in his arms.
A cheer went up again from the onlookers, as they pushed forward to watch. Hawksworth turned to Shirin.
"Is that who I think it is?"
Shirin nodded, her eyes misting. "It's Mumtaz, the first wife of Prince Jadar and the only daughter of Nadir Sharif. He told Prince Jadar he decided today he wanted to see his grandson, since he wanted to see the face of the child who would be Moghul himself one day. Then he told Mumtaz he will die in peace now, knowing that his blood will someday flow in the veins of the Moghul of India." Shirin's voice started to choke. "I can't tell you what this moment means. It's the beginning of just rule for India. Nadir Sharif knew that if Prince Jadar was defeated today, the child would be murdered by Janahara. By defecting with his Rajputs, he saved Prince Jadar, and he saved his grandson." She paused again. "And he saved us too."
"When do you think he decided to do this?"
"I don't know. I still can't believe it's true."