Hindal looked surprised. ‘Gulrukh’s dead.The bullock cart in which she was travelling from Kandahar to Kabul fell into a ravine. I thought you would have heard.’
‘No.’ Humayun digested the news. He could feel little sorrow for the woman who had tempted him with her potions of opium and wine to further her sons’ ambitions. ‘Even so, you would be putting yourself at great risk. Just assuming you succeeded, what would you want from me?’
‘Nothing. You have taken everything I wanted and you cannot give it back. . ’
For a moment they looked at one another in silence. Now that he was face to face with Hindal again, Humayun realised how much he wanted to say — about his guilt, his regret at having wounded him. But his half-brother wouldn’t believe him and anyway nothing could alter the facts — Humayun loved Hamida with a passion he’d never known for any other woman. If he had his time again, he would be just as ruthless in his determination to have her.
All the time Hindal’s eyes had never left Humayun’s face. ‘Well, what is your answer? I must know before I leave your camp — assuming you are prepared to let me go — and I must be gone before it gets light. There are enough men here who know me and there may be spies among them. If word of my presence reached Kamran any chances of my plan succeeding would be over. . ’
‘I need time to think. I will ask Zahid Beg to take you to his tent and to stay with you until I come. It is some three hours before dawn.You will have your answer in two.’
After Hindal had gone, Humayun paced up and down, oblivious of the cold. Hindal’s plan was bold and brave but if he agreed to it, he must take so much on trust. How many times had his faith in members of his own family been betrayed since he had become emperor?. . Yet every inflection of Hindal’s voice, every gesture, had carried conviction. Whatever his own views, he could not take the decision without talking to Hamida, who would be wondering why he had been gone so long.
He was right. When he returned to their tent he found that she had risen and was waiting for him, her dark hair, still dishevelled by sleep, tumbling around her shoulders and her expression anxious. ‘The man who rode into the camp during the night — it was Hindal,’ he said before she could speak.
‘Hindal?’
‘Yes. He offers us his help in rescuing Akbar. If I pretend to raise the siege and march away, he will ride to the citadel and offer Kamran an alliance. Once in Kamran’s confidence he will seek a way of smuggling Akbar out of Kabul.’
‘Could he really bring back our son to us. .?’
Humayun could see the hope beginning to take hold of her.‘Well, perhaps. . but the problem is can we trust Hindal?’
Hamida’s hopeful expression faltered. ‘Hindal took a big risk riding alone into your encampment in the dark. He might have been killed. And it would have taken courage to face you again too.’
‘True, but if he is playing a double game he might have reckoned the possible rewards worth the risk. Though he swears he is not in league with Kamran, this might be a trick either to induce me to abandon the siege or just to enable Hindal and his men to get into Kabul to join Kamran.’ The only sound was of the wind beating against the hide walls of the tent as Humayun and Hamida looked at one another. ‘If I make the wrong decision, Kamran’s position will be strengthened and our chances of defeating him and regaining our son will fade,’ Humayun said at last.
Hamida pushed her hair back from her face with a weary gesture. ‘You are right to be cautious. After all, why should Hindal want to help us?’
‘Exactly what I asked. He says that by threatening a child, Kamran has shamed our family. . ’
‘Does family honour really mean so much to him?’
‘Perhaps it does. But then he told me of another, perhaps more potent reason. It is you, not me, he wishes to help. He knows that you are suffering and wants to end your pain. . ’
As she took in the implication of Humayun’s words, Hamida coloured and looked down. She and Humayun had never spoken openly of Hindal’s feelings for her but of course she knew. For a few moments she paced about, just as Humayun had done in the cold night air, but then she turned to him, her face resolute. ‘I believe Hindal is sincere. After all, he has no reason to love Kamran who held him captive. . We should trust him. If he betrays us he would be as guilty as Kamran of exploiting our fears for the life of our child. I believe he is too honourable for that. Please, Humayun, let us seize this chance.’
Humayun took her in his arms and held her close against him, breathing in the familiar sandalwood scent of her. He must not be swayed either by his love for her or by her eagerness to believe in Hindal. This was one of the most important decisions he would ever make. But as he went over and over the arguments in his mind, something deeper, more instinctive than logic told him Hamida was right — Hindal meant what he said and they should trust him. That didn’t mean Hindal would succeed. His strategy was a dangerous one, but if everyone played their part it might, just might, work.
‘Very well,’ Humayun said at last. ‘I will tell Hindal we accept his offer — that you are placing the life of your child in his hands.’
‘Tell him to bring Maham Anga and her son too. They would be in terrible danger once Kamran found Akbar gone.’
Humayun nodded. ‘There are many things I must discuss with him — like how far I should take the army away from Kabul. He must know where to find us when the moment comes.’ He bent and kissed her. ‘Hamida, tell no one of this. If this plan is to work, our men must truly believe we are abandoning Kabul to Kamran.’
As Humayun stepped once more into the night, some words from his father’s memoirs came into his mind.
Caution is a fine and worthy thing in any monarch, but a truly great ruler must also know when to take risks.
Chapter 19
The winter sun was already low on the horizon when Humayun, well swathed in a sheepskin-lined coat against the bite of the cold wind blowing down the steep pass he and his army were descending on their march away from Kabul, saw Ahmed Khan ride towards him.
‘Majesty, my scouts have located a place just four miles ahead where we can camp. It’s in the lee of a high ridge that will protect us from the prevailing winds, and from the top of the ridge our sentries will have good warning of anyone approaching.’
‘Excellent, Ahmed Khan.’
Humayun watched his chief scout ride off ahead of the column again. He had not confided in any of his commanders about the reasons for his sudden withdrawal from Kabul, not because he doubted their loyalty but because even a stray remark by one of them might betray everything. Instead, he had told them he was losing patience with the siege — that he intended to ride east to the mountains of Bajaur where there were other, lesser fortresses garrisoned by Kamran’s men to capture and where he hoped to recruit more men. When the snows finally melted, he would return to Kabul to renew his siege.
Zahid Beg, Ahmed Khan and Nadim Khwaja had looked astounded. If Zahid Beg had wondered whether Humayun’s decision was connected with Hindal’s secret nocturnal visit, he’d not shown it but, like the others, immediately set about the cumbersome business of preparing to strike camp. Only in Bairam Khan’s keen-eyed gaze had Humayun thought he detected a hint of speculation as to his motives but, like the others, the Persian had said nothing. Humayun had told the truth to Gulbadan. As Hindal’s sister it was her right to know. Just like Hamida, she had been certain Hindal’s offer was genuine.
Suddenly behind him Humayun heard shouting and distant cries from the rear of his column. This narrow winding pass with its precipitous drops on one side down to a frozen river would make an ideal ambush spot. Humayun turned in his saddle but could not see round the zigzag bends to where the noise was coming from.What he could see was that some of his men were already turning their horses to head back towards the rearguard. At once the fear that was never far from his thoughts returned. Surely Hindal had not betrayed him and brought Kamran and his men down on him? He hadn’t been such a fool as to be deceived again by one of his half-brothers, had he? Humayun wrenched his black horse round and followed by his bodyguard pushed his way back up the pass through the mass of his troops.