Tim and Amy

We arrived at the house, and quickly unloaded the truck, leaving the unpacking for later.

"We seem to have collected quite a crowd for lunch," Tim said, adding in Sita and Sujesh. "Will Jaya eat with us?"

"Well," I said, "it's not the custom, but I can ask."

I went over to the kitchen and spoke with Jaya. She was reluctant at first, but I took her hands in mine and spoke further. Eventually Jaya smiled and nodded, and disappeared back into the kitchen to begin fetching the food.

Sita got up to help, and I said, "Old habits die hard. Poor girl, she'll be working hard enough when she's married. She should take the chance to have a break."

"We should eat on the verandah," Tim said. "It's too nice to be inside, and we wouldn't all cram round that table anyway."

He fetched the table from the living room for Jaya and Sita to put the food on, and the girls brought chairs from the various rooms.

"Having people over to eat could become a habit," Tim said.

"You don't know the half of it," I grinned. "But usually if it's quite a few people, everyone will sit on the ground – there's a patch of ground just beyond the kitchen that'd be perfect. We can put up a sheet and show films too."

We started to eat, and Tim said, "Mm, this is good. I think Jaya can give Sita a run for her money in the cooking department."

When the meal was over, Sujesh left in his truck, taking Amrit and Anjali with him. Sita went into the kitchen, obviously where she felt most comfortable, to spend time with Jaya.

"Back to just the family, then," Tim said.

I nodded. "Well, we'd better get some of our things put away, at least."

We spent a couple of hours unpacking, making the beds up, even hanging one or two of the smaller pictures Laura had brought with her.

"It's really starting to look like home," Tim said.

"That reminds me," said Amy, "we left some stuff at Amrit's place – we'd better go and fetch it."

"Take your time," I said.

The girls walked off down the track towards the village, their arms linked.

"Well, Mrs Smith," Tim said. "Alone again. What shall we do?"

"Hmm," I said. "It seems a shame to mess the bed up after we've only just made it – we'll save that for tonight."

I thought for a moment. "I know where we can go."

I took Tim's hand, and led him along the track in the opposite direction to the way the girls had gone. Soon we were out of sight of the village, and the track led us through a sparsely-wooded area. Tim looked curiously at strangely symmetrical shapes and outlines half-hidden by the undergrowth, and there was the scent of exotic flowers.

"What is this place?" he asked.

I smiled. "The ruins of the Maharajah's palace and grounds. It was abandoned about a hundred years ago, and the forest has been reclaiming it ever since."

I led him off the track, and after a short distance, we saw intact walls and an archway with creepers climbing over it.

I stopped and turned to face Tim, smiling.

"This was the Maharajah's harem," I said. "I used to come here sometimes just for the quietness, but I always wondered what it would have been like to be one of the concubines, never sure if you would be chosen when the king visited."

Tim grinned. "Well, we can pretend if you like – I'll choose you every time!"

We went through the arch and into the enclosed area. There was no roof, but the leafy branches of a large tree reached over, giving shade. Grass had grown up, making a soft carpet on the floor.

"So, what would happen when the king arrived?" Tim asked.

"Well, the girls would all have been prepared, made up," I said. "Probably they would dance for the king one by one and he would pick the one that pleased him."

"So dance for me?" Tim said, his expression suddenly serious...

When we'd made love we lay in silence for a moment. Then Tim said, "Sarah, can I ask you a question?"

I nodded.

"Have you thought about us having children of our own? It's wonderful that Amy and Laura have 'adopted' us, but would you want a child that was really ours, flesh and blood?"

I was silent for a while, then I said, "I hadn't really thought about it, but somehow now you've mentioned it..."

"Think about it," Tim said. "There's already plenty going on, but maybe in a few months we can talk about it again."

He lifted himself onto one elbow. "Should we get back?" he said. "The girls should have brought their things from the village by now."

I nodded, my expression still thoughtful. We got up and picked our way through the ruined palace towards the track.

We reached the house, and Amy and Laura came out to meet us. "We've sorted all our stuff out," Laura said.

"Did you have a nice walk?" asked Amy with a knowing expression.

"Lovely," Tim said. "Sarah showed me some things of, ah, archaeological interest."

I dug him in the ribs with my elbow. "I hope you were talking about the Maharajah's ruins," I said, teasingly.

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," Tim said, "it must be time for dinner."

As if on cue, Jaya appeared with tea for us. Amy spoke to her, and she replied, nodding.

"She and Sita have really cooked up a storm for us for our first real family dinner," Amy said.

"Great, then let's go through."

The table had been returned to the living room while we were out, and the four of us sat around it. Jaya and Sita brought steaming dishes one after another, and tried each one in turn.

"Well, Sita's husband is a very lucky man, and we'd better try and keep Jaya's skills a bit of a secret if we're not to lose her in short order," Tim grinned.

When we'd finished the meal, we sat on the verandah enjoying the breeze and watching the fireflies.

Laura yawned. "Well, think it's time we called it a day," she said.

Amy nodded. "Hope our new mattress is nice and soft," she grinned.

The girls went to their room, and we heard giggling as they bounced on their new bed, then the murmur of their voices.

"I see what you mean about privacy," I said. "This place isn't built for soundproofing."

"I'm sure we can manage," Tim grinned. "We'll just have to be a little quieter..."

***

I woke in the morning, the sun through the window already warm on my skin. Tim had rolled over onto his back, sprawling out on the spacious bed, and I watched him sleeping for a while.

He stirred, and opened his eyes, seeing me looking at him.

He smiled. "I love it when I wake up and you're just looking at me."

I leaned over to kiss him. "Trust me, you're worth looking at."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," he said, "but I think we should get up."

"Mm," I said. "Sita's wedding is the day after tomorrow. Perhaps we can help with getting things ready."

We got out of bed, putting on our dressing gowns and walking onto the verandah. The girls were already there, and Jaya brought breakfast as we sat down.

"Must be some wild animals round here," grinned Amy, her eyes twinkling. "We heard some strange noises last night."

Tim nodded, not taking the bait. "We thought we'd go down to the village today to see how the preparations are going for Sita's big day."

We finished eating, and the girls went off to wash and dress while Tim and I sat and enjoyed our coffee. The girls came back, their hair damp, and Tim said, "Must be our turn."

We went into the shower room and washed, then wrapped ourselves in towels, and went back to the bedroom to dress.

When we were ready, all four of us walked down the track to the village. Again a scene of busy activity met us, with the added diversion of several pigs tied to the trunks of palm trees and rooting with their snouts.

We saw Anjali, and I went over and spoke to her, then went back to explain to Tim.

"I asked what we can do, and Anjali says the most useful thing would be for us to go into town and arrange to withdraw Sita's money. I brought the paperwork from the base, and you can use your passport as identification. It saves one of the villagers having to make the trip."

"Great," Tim said. "We can look around the town a little. How about transport?"

"We can take Sujesh's truck," I said. "I think I'd better drive – the etiquette is quite different over here."

We walked over to Sujesh's house, and I waved at him as we got into the truck. The keys were in the ignition, and I started the engine. We bumped off down the track and soon met the main road.

For the first few minutes Tim kept flinching as I wove my way through the traffic. Then he obviously began to understand what I meant about the driving – I would pull over to the other side of the road to pass slower vehicles, sounding the horn loudly. Sounding the horn wasn't as a rebuke to the other driver, but simply to inform them – and any other drivers – that we were coming past.

We reached the town, and parked the truck.

"This way," I said. I led Tim and the girls to an anonymous-looking doorway at the side of a sari shop.

"What is this place?" Tim asked.

"A lot of financial transactions in India take place outside of the formal banking system," I explained. "Perhaps you've heard of the hawala network?"

Tim shook his head.

"Well, the important thing is that we can present Sita's papers, and some identification, and this chap will redeem the investment for cash."

We went in, and I spoke to the man behind the desk, showing him the papers Amrit had given me.

"Give him your passport, Tim," I said.

Tim reached into his jacket pocket and produced the document. The man examined it carefully, comparing the photograph to his face, and wrote down the number. Then he spoke to me again.

"That's fine," I said. I returned Tim's passport to him, and the man went to the back of the office and opened his safe. Tim watched fascinated as he took out bundles of rupee notes.

He handed the cash to me, and I signed the receipt he gave me. I thrust the notes deep into the bottom of my bag, and pressed my palms together in the sign of respect. The man returned the gesture, and we left the office.

"Time for some shopping now?" said Amy.

I grinned. "Definitely. What do you want to look at?"

"Think we need some more local clothes. And definitely some jewellery."

We set off down the street, the girls stopping to finger fabrics hanging from the front of stalls. Occasionally they would yield to the offers of the shopkeepers to try the garments, draping the fabric across each other to see the effect. Amy bought a sari at one shop, and Laura a salwar kameez further down the street.

We came across a jeweller's with a glittering display of gold, and Tim grinned.

"My turn," he said. He caught the shopkeeper's eye, and pointed at a tray of gold bracelets. He put one on my wrist, then selected one each for Amy and Laura. He handed his credit card to the jeweller, who swiped it and handed it back.

"Thanks, Tim," said Amy. She kissed him, and Laura followed suit.

"I'll show you how grateful I am later," I said. The girls rolled their eyes and grinned.

"How about some lunch?" I said. "I know a good place."

I led us along the street and up a flight of steps into the restaurant. We found a table, and I leafed through the menu, which was printed in both Hindi and English.

Tim looked too, and pointed to an item in the dessert section. "I've heard of that one."

I looked where he was pointing. "Hmm, gulab jamun. We can have that for afters – I'm sure you'll like it. What about main course?"

"I think you'd better order for us," said Amy.

I waved the waiter over and spoke to him in a stream of Hindi. He nodded, and vanished in the direction of the kitchen.

He reappeared after a while with a steaming dish, which he set down on the table with four plates. Then he fetched a jug and glasses.

Laura poured a little of the creamy liquid into her glass and sipped.

"Mm," she said. "It's that yogurt drink we had before."

Amy took a fork and sampled the contents of the dish. "Wow, that's really tasty. What is it?"

I grinned. "I know this will sound odd, but it's actually a Chinese dish – fine noodles and shredded chicken, but with some quite hot spices."

We all heaped our plates and ate with relish. When we'd finished, I waved to the waiter again, and Tim grinned, picking up that I was ordering the dessert we'd talked about.

The sticky confection soon arrived, and we ate, licking the syrup from our fingers.

"That was great," Tim said. "Good call, Sarah."

We paid, and walked back down into the street, avoiding a curious cow that had stopped at the bottom of the steps and was looking up.

We went back to the truck, and I drove us back to the village. I stopped at Amrit's, and gave him the money we'd brought for Sita. He nodded, and went inside to put it in a secure place.

We dropped the truck back at Sujesh's, and walked slowly back to the house.

"So, girls, are you going to try on your new outfits? I take it you bought them for the wedding," Tim said.

Amy nodded. "I think we're going to need your help with the sari, though, Sarah."

Tim sat down on the verandah to wait while the girls and I went into their bedroom.

After a few minutes, we returned. Amy looked stunning in her new dark green sari, and she had kept her gold bracelet on. The cream salwar kameez suited Laura's slim figure. Tim said, "I think I'll fetch the camera."

When he returned, I was sitting on a chair, with Laura standing on one side of me, Amy on the other. Behind us a rhododendron bush was in bloom. Tim took several photos, and showed them to us.

"Wow," I said. "You two look amazing. You should get some attention at the wedding."

"We're counting on it," grinned Amy.

"What shall we do this afternoon?" I asked.

"I'd like to do some sketching," said Laura. "I have an idea for a picture, and when Sita's married, I'll be able to set up my easel in the end room."

"Think I'll just read a book in the sun," said Amy.

They went off to change out of their new clothes.

"So just you and me again," I said.

"What are you going to wear for the wedding?" Tim asked.

I smiled. "Let me show you," I said.

We went into our room and I opened my suitcase, taking out a garment bag.

"You know me, I always try to be different," I said. "I dress in Indian clothes in England when I can, and I know that my Indian friends like it when I wear Western clothes for formal occasions."

I unzipped the bag, and took out the garment it contained, holding it up against me so that Tim could see it.

Tim held hiss breath, then breathed out slowly. "Wow," he said simply. The dress was silk, a pale turquoise, with hand-stitched beading all over.

"Want to see it on?" I asked.

He nodded, still not speaking. I slipped out of my clothes, and put on the dress, smoothing it over my stomach.

"You look beautiful," he said.

I smiled, turning around so that the hem of the dress swirled around my ankles. Then I reluctantly removed the dress again and hung it carefully on a rail.

"I haven't thanked you properly for my bracelet yet," I said. "But thinking about our visit to the Maharajah's palace the other day gave me an idea."

I removed the bracelet from my wrist, and held it out to him. "I think the girls in the harem would have worn their bracelets somewhere else than on their wrists. Want to try it?"

I stretched out my leg, flexing my ankle so that he could slip the bracelet over it. When the bracelet was in place, he held my foot in his hands, stroking it gently. He bent to kiss my foot, then my ankle...

***

"That was a very generous thank-you," Tim said. I smiled.

"Now," I said, "shall we round the girls up for dinner?"

We found Amy sprawled on her front on the grass behind the house, reading her book. She got gracefully to her feet when she saw us.

"Having a nice afternoon?" she asked, with an innocent smile.

I nodded. "Do you know where Laura went?" I asked.

"Only a little way down the track away from the village," Amy replied.

We walked together down the track, and soon spotted Laura sitting with her sketchbook. She closed the book as we reached her, and stood up.

"Time for dinner already?" she asked.

Tim chuckled, remembering Laura's ability to immerse herself in creativity, to the extent of losing track of time and missing meals.

"Come on," he said. We walked back to the house, the thread of smoke rising from the kitchen a reassuring sign that Jaya was preparing dinner for us.

We sat down on the verandah and Jaya brought our meal.

We talked as we ate. "I hope Sita has some time tomorrow to get ready," Tim said. "I know she's enjoyed spending time with Jaya, it's a familiar setting for her."

I grinned. "Don't worry," I said. "Anyway, I'm for bed – you coming?"

Tim nodded. "You ready for sleep, girls?" I asked.

"Think we'll go for a bit of a walk," said Amy. "We won't go far."

Tim and I went to our room. We undressed, and got into bed. I kissed him and said, "Sleep, or something else?"

He yawned. "I'm tempted, but I'm actually quite tired. In the morning?"

I smiled, and kissed him again. "I'm looking forward to it already. Goodnight, darling."

"Goodnight, my love."

***

"I have an idea," Tim said when we woke the next morning. "This is the last day of our second honeymoon, really. Why don't we just stay in bed for a while? I'm sure I can hunt up some breakfast from Jaya."

"Great idea," I replied. Tim got out of bed to put on his dressing gown, and went out onto the verandah. I heard him talking to Amy.

"I have a great idea what would do for your breakfast," Amy said.

She went over to the kitchen door and spoke to Jaya, and a few moments later Tim returned to me carrying a plate of fruit – freshly-chopped pineapple, grapes, and some other things.

"Close your eyes," Tim instructed. I did so, and he took a grape and pushed it gently between my lips.

"Mm," I said, "nice."

He picked up a piece of pineapple and dribbled the juice onto my lips before feeding it to me.

"Now I'm all sticky," I said, smiling.

He leaned over and gently licked the juice from my lips, tasting the sweetness, then kissed me.

"Another piece?" I said...

***

"I think a wash is the only way we're going to really get un-sticky," I grinned.

"Amy said she'd ask Jaya to go to the market this morning," Tim said, "but she'll have left hot water for us. The girls went off somewhere too."

"So there's no-one else in?" I smiled. He shook his head.

She stood, and walked out of the bedroom onto the verandah, still unclothed. Tim joined me, and we held hands as we looked out onto the lush vegetation.

"I feel like Eve in the garden of Eden," I said.

"I know what you mean," Tim replied, squeezing my hand.

We walked to the bathroom, and washed, making sure all the stickiness was gone, then went back to our bedroom.

"I enjoyed our breakfast, but it feels good to be clean again," I said.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Tim asked.

I thought for a moment. "Let's go for a walk, enjoy the sun for a bit."

We dressed, and set off down the track away from the village. We passed the ruined palace – "We'll go there again soon," I promised – and continued on.

"Where does this lead?" Tim asked.

"You'll see," I smiled.

After a while, the ground rose slightly, and there was a glint of water. We approached a deep pool, cut out of the rock, surrounded by a stone pavement.

"This is one of the Maharajah's reservoirs," I explained. "It supplied water to the palace."

I slipped out of my clothes and walked over to the water. "Come on," I said. "This beats the pool at the club any day."

Tim undressed, and joined me in the water, the sun sparkling on the ripples.

We relaxed for a while, then I said, "Follow me." I swam to the other end of the pool and got out. Just beyond the edge of the paved area was a low, grassy hill.