"But are there calculations, or charts?"
"More than likely. But I told you they're in Persian."
"Then maybe you could translate."
"I could. But not today. I've told you, you have to leave.
Really you must." She pushed the door open wider and stood waiting.
"I'll be back." He paused in the doorway and turned. "Will you
be here tomorrow?"
"Possibly."
"Then I'll be back for sure."
She looked at him and shook her head resignedly. "You truly
don't realize how dangerous it is for you to come here."
"Are you afraid?"
"I'm always afraid. You should be too." She studied him in the
sunshine, examining his eyes, and for a moment her face softened
slightly. "But if you do come, will you bring your English sitar? I'd
like very much to hear it once more."
"And what will you do for me in return?"
She laughed. "I'll try to excavate some musty Persian books here
that might tell you something about the observatory. But remember. No
one must ever know. Now, please." She urged him out, then reached and
pulled the door tightly closed.
Hawksworth suddenly realized the heat had grown intense, and now the
sun cut a sharp line down the face of the red marble dial, telling that
midmorning approached. He examined the dial quickly and then turned to
look again at the stone hut.
With the door closed, the ramshackle hut again looked completely
deserted.
What in Christ's name can she be doing? No matter, she's astonishing.
And there's something in the way she handles herself. Little wonder she
was the favorite concubine, or whatever they call it, of the Moghul.
And it's easy to see why his queen married her off to Mukarrab Khan and
sent them both here to get her out of the way. A clever way to banish .
. .
Hawksworth froze.
That's the word the pilot Karim used! From the Quran. "As for women
from whom you fear rebellion, banish them to . . . beds apart."
Could this be the woman he meant? But what rebellion? Whatever's going
on, nobody's talking. All I see are armed guards. And fear. This palace
is like a jewel-set dagger-exquisite, and deadly.
He stared again at the moss-covered marble instruments.
But I'll be back. If she'll be here, absolutely nothing could stop me.