Star of the East: A Lady Emily Christmas Story Read Online Free PDF

upset,” she said.
    “Has either of you noticed anything strange since you arrived in England?” Colin asked. “A person who seemed to be watching you, perhaps, or someone trying to contact you for reasons you couldn’t understand?”
    “No,” the maharini said. “Everything has been lovely since we arrived. If anything, we are treated with more kindness by the British here than we are in India.”
    My father pulled a face. “Wretched business that some imbeciles don’t know how to behave when they are abroad. It is a frequent problem in colonial governments, I am afraid, and I apologize on behalf of my ill-mannered countrymen.”
    “You are most gracious,” the maharini said and turned back to Colin. “I cannot recall anyone or anything that has made me uneasy during the course of our trip.”
    “I do remember a young man catching my attention,” the maharaja began, tugging at his beard and looking out the window as he spoke. “It was when we arrived in Southampton. We were greeted by a friendly crowd that included a small band playing a song of welcome.”
    “Yes, I do remember a man there, now that you mention it,” the maharini said. “He was standing near the band, wasn’t he?”
    “Behind the drummer,” the maharaja said. “He was British, of that I am sure, with pale skin—”
    “Almost translucent,” the maharini added.
    “And a long beard. His hair was extremely blond.”
    “Why did you notice him in particular?” I asked.
    “Because he was wearing a spectacular saffron-colored turban,” the maharaja said. “At the time, I thought nothing of it other than that he was getting into the spirit of things as young men are wont to do. It is not uncommon to see Englishmen in Simla adopting the turban as a means of adding a flair of the exotic to their dress.”
    “Be that as it may, it is hardly a common sight,” the maharini said, “and I have seen no one else dressed in such a manner here.”
    “Have you seen him on any other occasion?” Colin asked. “Or only at the dock?”
    “He was also at Victoria when we were preparing to board the train to come here,” the maharaja said. “We have been greeted warmly wherever we have gone.”
    Even though the queen’s Diamond Jubilee year was winding to a close, the newspapers continued to cover the stream of honored guests from throughout the Empire whom Her Majesty had chosen to fête in conjunction with the ongoing celebrations. The maharaja, who had been named a Knight Companion of the Order of the Star of India, had proven a popular figure in the press, who reported his every move. I did not doubt that the beauty of his wife and his daughter influenced their coverage as well.
    “I do not believe the young man meant us any harm,” the maharini said, “but he was the only person of English descent I have seen since we arrived to dress in such a way.”
    Colin shot me a puzzled look. Having not the slightest idea what he might be thinking, I gave a little shrug and subtly shook my head. Before he could clarify his meaning, my mother entered the room.
    “Oh dear, I do hope my daughter has not done something to cause you undue distress,” she said. “Emily, why don’t you go sit with Sunita? She is all alone in the music room.”
    “Right now, Lady Bromley, we need to search the rest of the house, and I am afraid that I shall require my wife’s assistance,” Colin said. He took me firmly by the arm and steered me out of the room before my mother could object. At least, that had been his intention. My mother, however, was not so easily thwarted.
    “Mr. Hargreaves!”
    He stopped, astonished, no doubt to hear her address him so formally.
    “I do believe I still have some say in what occurs in my own house,” she said, calling from her seat in my father’s study. “My daughter will go sit with Sunita. There is nothing further to say.”
    I felt like a naughty child. We had taken only two steps from the room and were still in