Daisy's Long Road Home. Merryn Allingham
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Daisy's Long Road Home - Merryn Allingham страница 14

Название: Daisy's Long Road Home

Автор: Merryn Allingham

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Контркультура

Серия: MIRA

isbn: 9781474030885

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ atmosphere. ‘Not an actual clue, at least. But I’ve been thinking about the conversations I’ve had these last few days. Nothing very specific, but I’m getting a feel for where I might start.’

      His colleague looked decidedly sceptical. ‘A feel? You mean you’ll point your compass and feel where the needle leads you?’

      ‘Not quite so haphazard. It’s just that certain comments, certain ideas have stuck in my mind. Almost as though they’ve been blown towards me in the breeze and then lodged deep in my consciousness.’

      ‘Very poetic, but pure fantasy, Gray, and hardly likely to get you very far. What comments by the way?’

      ‘I can’t be certain and I shouldn’t say too much for the moment. But the idea of a princely state is beginning to ring bells.’

      ‘But surely they don’t exist any longer? I thought they’d been incorporated into India.’

      ‘Most of them. Mountbatten managed to persuade nearly all of them to sign the Act of Accession but some held out. Some are still holding out—the larger states particularly.’

      ‘But not Rajasthan?’

      ‘Rajasthan has always been a collection of princely states. Some large, some very small. Most have signed up, but a few haven’t, and they’re the ones I should be looking at, I think. It’s the smaller ones to the north where there’s trouble. And one or two of the ICS officers are convinced that Javinder travelled northwards.’

      Mike’s expression made it clear that he wasn’t equally convinced. ‘Have you thought that the problems you’re talking about might have nothing to do with Javinder’s journey? They might be nothing more than the usual disputes.’

      ‘How is that?’

      ‘From what I gather, tension between the different communities is long standing. If there is aggression, it could be the same old trouble rearing its head. Why should it be anything new?’

      ‘Because disaffected people cause trouble. And that’s what we’ve got. There are rulers who refuse to accept the new dispensation. For them the fifteenth of August last year was a day of mourning. That was when they lost their privileges, lost the world of pomp and splendour they’d expected to inhabit for the rest of their lives.’

      ‘You’re saying these chaps might be responsible for the violence? That they’re deliberately organising it? That seems pretty far-fetched to me. What on earth would they gain? In any case, there must still be pockets of unrest around the country. The odd disturbance is still happening elsewhere in India, isn’t it, so why not in the north of Rajasthan?’

      ‘It is happening,’ Grayson conceded wearily. ‘And you could well be right. I don’t honestly know what to make of the reports. At the moment I’m just going on a hunch.’ He swung his legs off the desk and got to his feet. ‘I think I’ll miss the tea break. I’ve had enough chai today to float me to the Indian Ocean. I’d feel better if I went back to the bungalow and stood under a shower.’

      Mike walked with him to the door. He laid his hands on either side of Grayson’s shoulders and shook him gently. ‘You can’t plunge through Rajasthan on a hunch. You have to have more to go on than that. The country isn’t properly stabilised yet and God knows what kind of mishap you could meet with. That’s if you’re lucky and it’s not outright danger that you face.’

      ‘I appreciate your concern, Mike, but I’ve been asking questions for two whole days and I’m still none the wiser. A hunch, I fear, is all I’m going to get.’

      ‘So the answer is don’t go.’

      Grayson’s expression was mulish. It said quite plainly that Mike was making needless difficulties and he wished that he wouldn’t.

      ‘Your place is in the town,’ his companion ploughed on, undeterred. ‘Send scouts to wherever you think best, but stay in Jasirapur and manage the search from here. Think man, you’ve brought Daisy with us. I’m not saying she’s a problem, at least not at the moment. And I like her well enough. But she’s here against my advice, I’d remind you. And you need to keep a closer watch on her.’

      Grayson’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. ‘Whatever do you mean?’

      ‘Let me ask you this. Do you know what she’s doing right now?’

      He felt mystified. Of course, he didn’t know exactly. And did it matter that he didn’t?

      Mike looked satisfied at having startled him. ‘I thought not. You have no idea what she’s up to and neither have I. But I’d bet a pound to a penny, it’s something you wouldn’t approve of.’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcU FhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgo KCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAoABlsDASIA AhEBAxEB/8QAHwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtRAAAgEDAwIEAwUFBAQA AAF9AQIDAAQRBRIhMUEGE1FhByJxFDKBkaEII0KxwRVS0fAkM2JyggkKFhcYGRolJicoKSo0NTY3 ODk6Q0RFRkdISUpTVFVWV1hZWmNkZWZnaGlqc3R1dnd4eXqDhIWGh4iJipKTlJWWl5iZmqKjpKWm p6ipqrKztLW2t7i5usLDxMXGx8jJytLT1NXW19jZ2uHi4+Tl5ufo6erx8vP09fb3+Pn6/8QAHwEA AwEBAQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtREAAgECBAQDBAcFBAQAAQJ3AAECAxEEBSEx BhJBUQdhcRMiMoEIFEKRobHBCSMzUvAVYnLRChYkNOEl8RcYGRomJygpKjU2Nzg5OkNERUZHSElK U1RVVldYWVpjZGVmZ2hpanN0dXZ3eHl6goOEhYaHiImKkpOUlZaXmJmaoqOkpaanqKmqsrO0tba3 uLm6wsPExcbHyMnK0tPU1dbX2Nna4uPk5ebn6Onq8vP09fb3+Pn6/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDno2xn B5zUmRmohwM0vc19AmeTYlwDQARSAYHXmnAk9aAFGd3FPbr7UzPPWlyRTAcRzxQSMfWm/NSNk9aL iGsBkk0xgM05icHIpmD6UrlIQinIo3CkxSjhhU3KCUAPxUZAqZwd3NMIouKxCw4oHFSbAaXyxjrz RcZGBzSlTUqp0x2oYfnVCIlGDT8AmjPNKAc9KYDQuG9qXBLZxT8HNSbQR700K5Fs3DNNI5qdU568 Ujx7WHfNMVzLYFJmZOOasowkGQMHuKc0WSc9c0ixlDmmW9QxQRmpOo460FaaJ1I8UYOM4qTZxmjZ QGpCaMGptgNBXjigCHaaNpqRhikxzQMZt4ppQjvUp6UhGaB3ISvFIR6VMy0gUYOKVxkWKTbmpdvF IR2pgRFD26Um2pSCBSbc0ARYNLinYpSOaAIj1pCDUuOaQrzmgZFSgU4DmlK0AMIpMU8qaTBp3ASk xT9po280hjNtJjFS7felxTuBDikAOalIzRtouIjxzS1IVpAtMYwDJpxWngYpwGaLhYh25oCmpwlO 284oTEyELS4xUrLjpSBc9adxMZjil9acV5oxVCG44NJinAe9LigCPbRtOakxShcigCLac0oXHNOI xQBSHYb3pD14p23mlxTuFhFB70/YMUKKfzUtsZEyYpMVOwz1puyhMLDFqVQOtNxzjFTIuSKUmNDQ KayknirIT0p3l1lzFWKLIQehoC85q/5I/GkMI9KXOUolHb6DmnLGc5Iq4UAppQYPFHNcLEW3ilAN PC04Lii4rEZjGc0qgYqYKD1pdozxUtlWIsDtSYwan2gDpTdvOam47DdvfvQVyKl7ZpOfSi4rEDIc 03Z61YI9aaRVJiZCE9RSlKmI+UUhXiquIqyqc0xRVh/1pijmruTYQICKNuKmRcg04LmpuOxDikC8 1Pt5pQvPNK47DUXvUwHFJgCnDNZtlITaaMU+nkA0iisQf1oIJNSjAYigjng8GlcaIiOMU5FBznrT zFjnNLxjnrSuMYUyeDR5ZHNOAwc1IRk0DK2CT70vOOakIINHBouKw0qCtRlefepnHy1Hj5qdxWGA cE0zntUrjHFRkc0xDQMnikxT8YPFJg59qAG96DTyKQLk0xDTTaldcGm4oAiIoqQj1pCtUhERzngU 5QOpp2OM0w0xCFec0o60pJIpVXI5oAaRg0tPxxSAc+1ACrz1o+WnDGK СКАЧАТЬ