"He will tell you he was doing it all as a matter of duty ... obeying orders."
"The Company's orders?"
"The Company is only those who work for it. Shall we say, my orders. I am the one to whom you should show gratitude."
"Then if that is so, I thank you."
He inclined his head. "I might ask your help one day."
"I can't imagine my feeble efforts would be of any use to you."
"You underestimate yourself again. You mustn't, you know. There is a belief that people take you at your own valuation. You see, for all his faults, the discerning Monsieur Lasseur recognized your worth. Others might too ... if you let them."
"I think I should join the children. I am usually with them at this time."
"And spoil the tete-a-tete between Miss Philwright and Tom Keeping?"
"Perhaps I should take the children off her hands. They would be able to talk more easily then."
"Drusilla ..."
"Yes?"
"Are you a little grateful to me?"
I hesitated. I still found the story incredible.
"I ... I suppose so," I said.
"You suppose! That is a very hesitant comment from a young lady who is usually so determined."
"I am grateful to Mr. Keeping, of course. What did he do to the man?"
"He will tell you. There was a stop at one of those places."
"Yes. It was where he was taken ill."
"Helped by Tom, of course."
"It must have been something he put in the wine. I remember there was wine."
"Of course. He did tell me. He slipped it into the fellow's glass, knowing the effect would be quick. He went in with him to the men's rest room so that he was handy when Lasseur began to feel strange. He looked after him, called the manager of the place and arranged for him to stay there until he was fit to travel. By the time he had recovered, the ship would be sailing from Suez, with you out of harm's way."
"It was very cleverly done. What did he give him?"
"Something to get the desired effect. In the course of his business Tom has learned of such things."
"Perhaps it was datura," I said. "The thorn apple."
"Oh, that ... Dougal was talking about it, wasn't he?"
"Yes. He explained what it looked like. I could hardly recognize it from his description."
"You have seen it, then?"
I said, "It seems the Khansamah grows it in his garden."
Fabian dropped his bantering manner. "G.K.," he said. "In his garden. But ... the cultivation is forbidden ... except in certain cases."
"Perhaps he is one of the certain cases."
"I should not think so. How did you know of this?"
I told him how Louise had brought the sprig to me.
"Good God!" he said. "He is growing it in his garden!"
"Shall you speak to him? Ayah was very upset. You see, Louise crawled under the fence and thought she was bringing me a nice flower."
"The child took it ..." he murmured. "You have said nothing of this to the Khansamah?"
"No. You know how important he is."
"I do indeed," said Fabian grimly. "Did you tell anyone about this?"
"I told Dougal, but foolishly I had burned the thing, so I couldn't show him. I am sure he thought I had been mistaken and I think he felt it was not possible to question the Khansamah."
"H'm," said Fabian slowly. "That would be difficult, I admit. Perhaps it is one of those pieces of information best hidden ... for a while. I want to see Tom Keeping. Perhaps you could go out there and tell him I'm in my study. Would you do that?"
"Of course."
I could see that the possibility of the Khansamah's growing the thorn apple in his garden had driven all frivolous thoughts from his mind.
I sat on in the garden, talking to Alice. Tom Keeping had immediately gone in to Fabian when I had told him where he was.
Alice was different. There was a lilt in her voice. I thought to myself: This is Alice in love.
She said how strange it was that Tom Keeping had come to the house.
"It's not strange at all," I said. "He is the Company's servant, as they all are. Sir Fabian has just told me the strangest thing. I don't know whether to believe him or not."
I explained.
She stared at me in amazement. "It was all rather odd, wasn't it?" she said. "The way in which he was so suddenly taken ill."
"It fits," I agreed. "But it does seem a rather wild story to me."
"Well, we were in a wild country. Things are different there ... and here ... from what they are at home. It just seems improbable because you are putting it into an English setting. I think Tom acted splendidly—so quickly ... so efficiently."
"Yes, I shall have to thank him."
"What would have happened if he hadn't been there!" She shivered. "It is too awful to contemplate."
"Sir Fabian says that Tom was acting on his orders."
"He would, wouldn't he?"
"It sounds ... possible."
Alice lifted her shoulders. "I think Tom was wonderful," she said.
I could see that she was obsessed by Tom and I wondered what the outcome would be.
We chatted in the nursery together when the children had gone to bed. Alice was more talkative than usual.
"Tom is apparently a wonderful man," I said. "They all seem to think highly of him."
"His life is very adventurous. I don't suppose he'll stay here long. He is always on the move. He was delighted to see us."
"He was delighted to see you."
"He did say that he was. Then ... he said a strange thing ... how glad he was to have met us, but he did not think it was a good time for us to be here. I asked him what he meant by that, but he was rather noncommittal."
"I told Sir Fabian about the discovery of that plant in the Khansamah's garden. He was rather disturbed."
"There is a strange feeling in the air. This matter of the Thugs ... I think it is causing them a great deal of concern."
"Naturally it would. It's rebelling against the law."
"Tom says he expects to be here only a few days and he never knows where he will go next." She was silent for a while; then she went on, "It was really wonderful what he did in the desert."
She smiled proudly. I hoped everything would turn out well for her. She deserved some good fortune.
As soon as I saw Tom Keeping I told him I now knew what he had done and I thanked him.
"It was a pleasure," he said. "I only wish I could have had that man arrested. But it is not easy in such places. I recognized him at once, for he had tried the same tactics before. There was a young girl who was going out to be married. Lasseur was one of the party and they disappeared together on the journey across the desert. He had procured a small carriage at the stables, persuaded the girl that they would take the last stage of the journey in greater comfort and ... she was never seen again."
"I don't know what to say to you. It is so bewildering. When I try to think of what might have been ..."
He laid a hand on my arm. "Well, it didn't happen. Sir Fabian did not like the idea of you two ladies travelling unaccompanied and he told me to look out for you, as I was in the neighbourhood and would be making the last part of the journey back to India with you. I saw at once that he was trying the same trick again. I thoroughly enjoyed foiling the loathsome creature."
"He will probably do it again."
"Doubtless he will. I should have liked to expose him, but it is a tricky thing to do. His employer is, I believe, a man of great wealth and power. Heaven knows what the consequences would be if anyone interfered with one of his men. It could be an international incident! Discretion had to be the better part of valour on that occasion and I had to content myself with bringing you safely to your destination."
"Well, thank you."
"You should thank Sir Fabian. Your safe arrival was a matter of the utmost importance to him."