Part 14 (2/2)

”Oh, I wish that the English doctor had arrived before,” thought Reginald. ”He might have saved his life.”

At that moment he was aroused by the voice of Burnett, who, approaching, exclaimed, ”I trust the rajah is not worse. Dr Graham has ridden hard to come to him.”

”I have arrived too late,” said the doctor, as he took the old man's hand, and looked into his countenance. ”But not too late to form an opinion of the disease which has carried him off. He has been poisoned; and a further examination will confirm what I say.”

Reginald was horrified; but the doctor a.s.serted that he was right.

”Let me advise your highness to be careful of what food you partake and what beverages you drink. The same hand which mixed the potion for your grandfather may be ready to administer a similar one to you,” added the doctor.

CHAPTER NINE.

REGINALD RAJAH OF ALLAHAPOOR--ARRIVAL OF CAPTAIN HAWKESFORD--VISIT TO BUXSOO'S FAMILY--THE CAPTAIN TAKEN BY SURPRISE--A BANQUET--REGINALD ESCORTS NUNA TO THE RESIDENCY--MEETING OF NUNA AND VIOLET.

The late rajah had been carried to the tomb of his ancestors in state, and Reginald had been duly installed as his successor amid the acclamations of the people. But remembering the warning he had received, he was very far from enjoying his new position. Willingly would he have left the country, and the Oriental magnificence in which he lived, had he not felt that it was his duty to remain and endeavour to ameliorate the condition of his subjects.

Nuna had been much grieved at the loss of her grandfather, and had hitherto been unwilling to appear in public; though she could not help looking forward with satisfaction to the greater liberty she would be able to enjoy. Reginald had had a long conversation with her about his friend Burnett; and she had confessed that she would rather become his wife than that of the most wealthy and powerful prince in the country.

So Reginald, knowing his friend's sentiments, considered the matter settled.

He took an early opportunity of telling Burnett, who thanked him heartily for having undertaken his cause with the ranee.

”You will ever find me, I trust, my dear Reginald, faithful and devoted to your interests,” he added.

”That I am very sure you will be,” said Reginald. ”But, charming as my sister is, I suspect her education is not quite up to what a young English lady's should be. We must get her better instructed in certain female accomplishments. I contemplate asking Colonel Ross to allow her to reside with his daughter in the cantonments, where she cannot fail to benefit by Violet's example, and such instruction as she is able to impart. I wish that the colonel would get over his visit of state, that I might return it, and have the opportunity of seeing Violet, when I would broach the subject. It is tantalising to have her so near, and yet not to be able to go and see her.”

Burnett thought Reginald's plan a very good one, and was sure that Nuna would be delighted with it.

So occupied had Reginald been since the death of the rajah, that he had been unable to write to Colonel Ross, who might possibly be still ignorant of who he was. For the same reason he had not as yet written to Violet. Managing at length to withdraw himself for a short interval from the crowd of courtiers and n.o.bles who had arrived to pay their respects--of suppliants who came with pet.i.tions or complaints--and of officers of various grades who waited to receive orders--he had retired to the only room in which he could enjoy that privacy which he so much required. Near it was one occupied by Burnett; and on the other side was a chamber which he intended for the use of any European guest who might visit the palace.

He quickly wrote the letter to Colonel Ross, telling him of the wonderful change in his circ.u.mstances. He a.s.sured him that he now possessed the doc.u.ments of which he had been in search, and which enabled him to claim a handsome estate and t.i.tle in England; and he expressed a hope that Colonel Ross would not refuse to allow him to look forward to the possession of his daughter's hand. It was, it must be stated, a very humble and moderate letter, considering the position the writer enjoyed.

He then began one to Violet, giving a brief account of all his adventures; a.s.suring her that his love was unaltered, that the splendour of his court had no attractions for him, and that he would abandon it as soon as he had performed his duty to the people by placing them under the English Government, and return with her to her native land. He had still much more to say--indeed, he was not altogether satisfied with what he had said--when an attendant entered and informed him that an English officer had arrived with despatches from the cantonments, and desired to deliver them in person.

Reginald, with somewhat of a sailor's carelessness, left his papers on the table at which he had been writing, with the casket and the precious doc.u.ment it contained. Remembering that he ought to a.s.sume the state and dignity in which his grandfather always appeared in public, he habited himself in his rajah's costume, and, with the chief officers of his household, entered the reception-hall; at one end of which he took his seat on a raised ottoman, which served as a throne, his grim bodyguard in full armour lining either side of the hall, while the late rajah's scimitar and s.h.i.+eld hung above his head. All being arranged, he directed that the officer should be admitted.

On the curtain being drawn aside for the entrance of his visitor, Reginald's eyes fell on Captain Hawkesford, who was advancing towards him. He kept his countenance, wondering whether he should be recognised; but it was evident from the captain's manner that he did not suspect into whose presence he had been admitted. Speaking Hindostanee with tolerable fluency, he did not require an interpreter; and having gone through the usual ceremony, he delivered his dispatches, which Reginald eagerly read. The captain then gave a verbal message he had been directed to deliver. It was to the effect that the resident hoped to be allowed, in the course of a day or two, to pay his respects to his highness, to congratulate him on his accession to the dignity of Rajah of Allahapoor, and to express his sympathy at the loss he had sustained by the death of his father, of which he had only just heard. The resident had been led to suppose that the ranee would have succeeded; and he was rejoiced at the thought that the government of the country was in the hands of one who, he doubted not, would be well able to rule the people, while he begged to a.s.sure him of the cordial support of the British Government.

Reginald--who had his reasons for not wis.h.i.+ng Captain Hawkesford to discover who he was--naturally fearing that his p.r.o.nunciation might betray him, answered with due caution, and kept his eyes fixed on the captain's countenance. The result of his scrutiny convinced him that his guest was still under the impression that he was in the presence of a native prince. He was still further a.s.sured of this when Captain Hawkesford asked if his highness could inform him what had become of the young Englishman who was said to have been at the court of the rajah, and to have accompanied him in his disastrous expedition against the hill tribes. It was his duty, he observed, to warn his highness against that young man, whose objects were open to suspicion; for although he was accompanied by an English officer, he had come up the country without any authority from the Government at Calcutta. It was considered more than probable that he was a Russian spy, whose aim was to create a disturbance, and either to set the people against their rulers, or, by instigating the rulers to conspire against the English, to allow the easy access of a Russian army into the country.

”Does the British resident send this as a message to me?” asked Reginald, restraining his indignation.

”I was not directed to deliver it,” answered Captain Hawkesford; ”but I considered that it would be advisable to warn your highness,--and I mentioned the subject merely, as it were, in the course of conversation.”

”I will follow your advice, and watch the proceedings of the young man-- who is, I have every reason to believe, still in the city,” answered Reginald. ”The late rajah held him in high esteem, and from what I know of him I should not have supposed that he was a Russian spy, or a person likely to be engaged in plots against the English Government.”

”Your highness should be aware that conspirators find it necessary to a.s.sume all sorts of characters and disguises, and that, plausible as the person in question may have appeared, he is not the less likely to be an arrant rogue.”

”We will suppose him, then, to be a rogue, till he has been proved to be an honest man, and narrowly watch his proceedings,” said Reginald in a tone which made Captain Hawkesford start, and look earnestly at Reginald. The latter, however, kept his countenance, and after some further conversation directed that the English officer should be conducted to the guest-room, where he might rest till the time appointed for a banquet, at which several n.o.bles, as well as Captain Burnett, were to be present. Reginald, after having received a few pet.i.tions, and transacted some other public business, retired to his room, where he threw off his robes of state, and a.s.sumed his light seaman's dress, which he infinitely preferred to wear. He had an object, however, on this occasion, in doing so. He wished to visit his Christian friend Dhunna Singh privately, whose sons, including Buxsoo, were busily employed in gaining information for him; for he was well aware that he could not trust any of his n.o.bles, or any other person about the court.

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