The Tiger Prince

“I’m going to buy a piece of property from the maharajah.”

  She stared at him incredulously. “You did all this for a piece of property?”

  “A very special piece of property. I want to see Kartauk tomorrow and ask him—”

  They had rounded the bend. The roar of the water racing through Lanpur Gorge drowned out the rest of his sentence.

  The water was running even faster here than in Sikor Gorge, she noticed anxiously. This branch of the Zastu received the drainoff from the hills, and yellow-brown water was exploding through the gorge past the flat rocks bordering the steep banks as if shot from a pistol.

  “They seem to be holding firm enough,” Ruel shouted over the roar, his gaze on the two steel posts supporting the bridge over the gorge. “You must have built strong foundations to resist this flood.”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Then why were you worried?”

  “I wasn’t worried. I just wanted to check to be sure. Patrick should reach the gorge and start laying the track on the bridge in the next two days.”

  “Then what happens?”

  “We join the track from Narinth ten miles beyond the gorge.”

  “And you’re finished?”

  “Patrick will ride horseback along the track from the gorge to Narinth, examining it for any damage. Then we do a trial run in the train to Narinth and back again. The next day we officially turn the train over to the maharajah.” Her lips tightened grimly. “And get our money at last.” She turned away and started back the way they had come.

  “Tomorrow?” Ruel asked as he fell into step with her. “I need to see Kartauk.”

  He was persistent as the devil and would probably continue to plague her until he got his way. Why was she wasting her strength resisting? she wondered impatiently. As he had said, it would be safer to assure his loyalty with self-interest. “Be at the bungalow tomorrow morning at nine.”

  “Am I mistaken, or have we been going around in circles since we left the city gates?” Ruel asked.

  “You’re not mistaken,” Jane said as she pushed aside the wet foliage overhanging the path. “Your friend, Pachtal, may still be watching me, and if we didn’t lose him in the bazaar, I want to make sure he won’t be able to follow us.”

  “Or that I would never be able to find my way back here,” Ruel added shrewdly. “Are we going to go through this maze again on the way back to the city?”

  “Of course.” She gave him a level glance. “I’m not a fool to take you at your word until you prove yourself. I have no intention of sacrificing Kartauk to your ambitions.”

  He suddenly chuckled. “Good for you. When you agreed to take me here yesterday, I was a little disappointed in you. It always pays to be cautious of Greeks bearing gifts.”

  “Or Scots,” she said dryly. She glanced hurriedly away from him and strode ahead into the underbrush at the side of the path. “The temple is just ahead.”

  “Temple?”

  “An abandoned Buddhist temple.” She added deliberately, “One of many in the area that were left deserted hundreds of years ago.”

  “You’re warning me that I couldn’t describe it accurately to Abdar if I chose?” He nodded solemnly. “Kind of you to save me the bother.”

  “You find this amusing?”

  His smile disappeared. “Actually, I’m taking all this with great gravity, but it never hurts to laugh at little things. You’ll find that out as you grow older.”

  “I’m not a child.”

  “That’s what I told Ian, but I find myself in a position of trying to relegate you to a status where you’ll be safe from me.”

  “I am safe from you,” she said defiantly.

  “No, you’re not.” He met her gaze. “Not if I choose to make it so. I’m very good at making the forbidden seem irresistible.” He glanced away from her and said lightly, “My experience as a running patterer, no doubt. I spent a great deal of time and effort learning that trade. At any rate, I refuse to rob you again, so I believe we’ll try to keep you in the realm of childhood.”

  “You have no—”

  “May I ask what you’re doing here?” Li Sung stepped out of the bushes and limped toward them. “Besides making so much noise, I was forced to tramp through this mud to find out who was approaching.”

  “This is Ruel MacClaren. He’s going to help us get Kartauk away from Kasanpore.” She handed Li Sung the knapsack she carried and turned to Ruel. “This is my friend, Li Sung. He’ll take you the rest of the way to the temple. I’ll join you later.”

  “Where are you going?” Ruel asked.

  “I’m going to retrace my steps to be sure we weren’t being followed.”

  “After all that weaving to and fro? Aren’t you being a little too careful?”

  “No,” she said baldly.

  A flicker of indefinable emotion crossed his face. “I believe I may have to take measures to rid you of that distrust. It’s becoming tiresome and may get in the way.”

  “He’s not to be trusted?” Li Sung asked Jane.

  “Within limits. Take him to Kartauk.”

  She turned and walked away from them.

  “How far is it to this temple?” Ruel asked as he followed Li Sung through the jungle. “Not far.”

  “Why hide in a temple?”

  “Kartauk wanted it.”

  “Why?”

  Li Sung didn’t answer.

  “Why?” Ruel repeated.

  Li Sung glanced over his shoulder. “You ask many questions.”

  “Because your answers don’t reveal very much.”

  “They’re not supposed to. Jane doesn’t trust you.”

  “And is her judgment infallible?”

  “No, she has a loving nature and wants to believe in people. It has often caused her great hurt.”

  “Then, since she doesn’t believe in me, I’m no threat to her.”

  “Unless you’ve already hurt her.”

  “And what would you do if I had?”

  “Find a way to punish you.” Li Sung smiled coldly. “We Chinese are very good at causing pain. Do you think because I am a cripple I am less than a man?”

  “I would never make that mistake again.” Ruel grimaced. “I was once in a barroom brawl in Sydney and a sailor named Hollow Jack kicked me with his pegleg and nearly emasculated me. Then once he had me down he took the damn thing off and clubbed me on the head with it.”

  “How interesting.” Li Sung’s face was expressionless. “Perhaps I should trade this crushed limb for a more practical appendage. What did you do to the sailor?”

  “What could I do? When I woke up he had already hopped a ship for New Zealand.”

  Li Sung studied him. “You are lying to me,” he said flatly.

  “Why should I do that?”

  “You seek to win me over and think by glorifying this crippled sailor you will make me feel better about my own infirmity.”

  Ruel threw back his head and started to laugh. “You’re a clever lad.”

  “It will do you no more good to flatter my mind than my body. Though that last statement held far more truth than the tale about the sailor.”

  Ruel shook his head, his face still alive with laughter. “But that story was true.”

  Li Sung raised his brows.

  “Well, most of it,” Ruel amended. “I was a trifle irritated, so I followed the sailor to New Zealand.”

  “And?”

  “It’s enough to say that he won’t be using that pegleg to rob any other man of his virility.”

  “Yes, quite enough to say.” Li Sung’s lips twitched. “I believe you and Kartauk may get along very well.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You will see.” He increased his pace and a moment later they emerged from the jungle.

  Across the clearing Ruel glimpsed the ruins of a large, weather-stained stone temple. A tide of green vegetation flowed around the building, creeping halfway up the broken steps as if the jungle were
trying to devour the square, columned structure. At the apex of the steps was a statue of Buddha whose serenity was seriously compromised by a shattered head and a missing foot.

  “Quite a splendid domicile,” Ruel murmured.

  “It keeps the weather out,” Li Sung said. “Or it did before we were afflicted by the monsoons. Now these stones seem to breathe in the damp.” He shrugged. “But Kartauk likes it here. He says if he cannot live in a palace, a temple is almost as fitting an abode for him.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Watch your step. This place is teeming with snakes. There is a poisonous tree snake that is almost the color of the vegetation and moss growing on the steps.”

  Ruel stiffened. “Snakes?”

  Li Sung smiled. “You do not like them?”

  “I hate them.”

  “Kartauk!” Li Sung called as he negotiated the high temple steps with difficulty. “We have a visitor.”

  “Tell him to go away … unless it’s Abdar,” a deep voice boomed from within the temple.

  A ripple of shock went through Ruel. He called, “You want to see Abdar?”

  “Of course, it is my dearest wish. I want to see Abdar … dead.” Laughter boomed again. “I suppose you may come in. You’ve disturbed my concentration anyway. Who is he, Li Sung?”

  “Ruel MacClaren. Jane says he is going to help you leave Kasanpore,” Li Sung said as they entered the temple.

  “Ah, what a noble soul.”

  In the center of the temple a wood fire burned in a huge bronze brazier. Other than the brazier, the chamber appeared barren of furniture except for two cots set against the far wall and a long trestle table by a window facing toward the north.

  “You come to save my glorious gift for posterity?” John Kartauk stood at the table, his hands deftly molding clay around a form before him. He appeared to be in his late thirties, a man whose size was as big as his laugh, dressed in loose trousers, long white cotton tunic, and sandals. As Ruel drew closer, he seemed to grow even larger in dimension as he noticed the bulging biceps of Kartauk’s arms and massive shoulders. His dark brown hair flowed free to his shoulders, and an equally silky brown beard accented the goldsmith’s strong jawline, but his other features were undistinguished except perhaps for deepset brown eyes and slashing black brows.

  “Are you a priest or a saint that you—” Kartauk looked up from his form and stiffened, his eyes widening as he looked at Ruel. “Good God, what a face. Come here in the light, where I can see you.”

  Ruel moved forward to stand next to the window. “Is this good enough?”

  Kartauk nodded and took a step nearer. “Turn your head to the right.”

  Ruel obediently turned his head.

  “Magnificent,” Kartauk murmured. “The symmetry is nearly perfect.”

  “May I move now?” Ruel asked politely. “The rain is coming in the window and I’d like to get rid of this slicker and dry off.”

  “I suppose so.” Kartauk reluctantly stepped back and watched Ruel step away from the window. “Superb …”

  “It warms my heart to be appreciated.”

  “Are you a sodomite?” Kartauk asked suddenly.

  Ruel blinked. “No, I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere for your pleasure.”

  “Oh, I’m not of that persuasion.” Kartauk made a face. “God knows how many times I’ve wished I were, stuck out here in the jungle all these weeks.” He cast a sly smile at Li Sung. “However, Li Sung is no doubt grateful. The poor crippled rascal couldn’t have gotten away if I’d seen fit to vent my lust on him.”

  “I’d have managed,” Li Sung said calmly as he sat down by the brazier and held his hands out to the fire.

  Kartauk’s gaze shifted back to Ruel. “The reason I thought you might be a sodomite is that most men don’t accept their own physical beauty so readily.”

  “A pleasing face is only a tool to be used, like a strong back or a keen mind.” Ruel shrugged. “Sometimes it works to my advantage, sometimes to my detriment.”

  “But you still use those tools?”

  “Of course, that’s what they’re here for.” He smiled as his gaze went to an ivory-handled chisel on the table beside the clay model. “Would you keep a useful tool like that in a cabinet just because it was fashioned to please the eye as well as the hand?”

  Kartauk’s laugh boomed out. “I like him, Li Sung.”

  “Jane said we must use care with him.”

  “But of course, anyone interesting can always be a threat. I knew that the moment I saw him and I will learn more as time goes on. I have the keen eye of a great artist and can rip aside the outer trappings and bare your very soul.”

  “It sounds a trifle chilly,” Ruel said mildly.

  “I want to model a head of you.” He frowned. “Unfortunately, I have no proper medium. I’ve been using wood and clay, and you deserve better.”

  “Are you asking me to pose for you?”

  Kartauk nodded briskly. “I’m going mad here with nothing to do.”

  Ruel’s gaze went to the objects on the table. “You appear to be keeping yourself busy. That monkey is very fine.”

  “You have a good eye. I like it myself.” He reached under the table and brought out another wooden bust. “You might appreciate this.”

  Jane, her hair loose and flowing, not tightly braided as he was accustomed to seeing it. She was smiling, vibrantly alive, and looked younger than he had ever seen her. He reached out and gently traced the curve of her cheek with his index finger. “I’m surprised she consented to pose for you.”

  “Oh, she didn’t. She said she was much too busy. I did this from memory … and imagination. It was a great challenge. All that strength and yet no one is more vulnerable than Jane.”

  Ruel’s finger moved down to trace the line of the statue’s lips. “You must know her very well.” Kartauk didn’t answer, and when Ruel raised his eyes from the statue, it was to see the sculptor’s gaze fixed intently on his face. His finger dropped quickly from the statue. “Of course, your statue of Kali is a good deal more powerful.”

  Kartauk shrugged. “Abdar liked it.”

  “But I prefer the serpent on the golden door.”

  He chuckled. “A tiny jest I couldn’t resist. Our Jane was not pleased.”

  “She knew it would cause her great trouble,” Li Sung said.

  “Yes, I know, and I was properly repentant … for almost a quarter of an hour.” He shrugged. “There was little danger. I knew the maharajah wouldn’t care even if he noticed the resemblance.”

  “But Abdar noticed,” Ruel said. “He called it an exquisite abomination.”

  “Truly? I can’t tell you what pleasure that brings me. You know Abdar?”

  “I’ve met him.”

  Kartauk’s smile faded. “He is an abomination, you know. He claims he worships artistry but twists it to his own purposes.”

  “Like the Kali statue?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant.” He was suddenly grinning. “But he also has an excellent eye. I imagine he told you that you’d be a splendid addition to his collection.”

  “He did mention something to that effect.”

  “A statue?”

  “A mask.”

  “How … interesting. What do you think of him?”

  “Not much. He found me equally unpleasant. I can’t imagine why.”

  Kartauk slapped his thigh. “By God, I do like him.”

  “I knew you would,” Li Sung said. “I recognized several deplorable similarities in your characters.”

  Kartauk’s glance shifted back to Ruel. “Well, will you pose for me?”

  “Can’t you do me from memory as well?”

  He shook his head. “Too many layers. Will you do it?”

  “Perhaps.” Ruel took off his slicker and strolled over to seat himself on a large square stone across the huge brazier from Li Sung. “If we can come to an agreement.”

  “He is here to rid me of the burden of
your presence, not to pose for you,” Li Sung said.

  “It will take only a day or so,” Kartauk said. “Time doesn’t matter.”

  “Jane would disagree. She wants you safe.”

  “I’ll be safe,” he said abstractedly, his gaze dissecting Ruel’s features. “What do you say?”

  “If you pay my price.”

  “And that is?”

  “How well do you know the maharajah?”

  “I created a statue of him when I first came to the court. No one knows him better.”

  “Ah yes, you stripped him bare also?”

  “To the bone. It wasn’t difficult. There wasn’t much there beyond what you see.”

  “I need something from him.”

  “And you want to know the key to getting it?”

  “Yes, can you help me?”

  “Oh yes, I can help you. I can tell you the way to get anything you want from the maharajah.”

  Ruel felt a leap of hope. “How?”

  “After I get my statue.” Kartauk smiled. “How do I know you won’t flit away?”

  “How do I know you can really help me?”

  “We’ll just have to trust each other, won’t we?”

  “I seem to be the only one required to trust,” Ruel said dryly.

  “Which is only fitting. My work is worth more than any prize you can hope to win from the maharajah.” “How do you know?”

  “Because my art is worth more than anything in heaven or hell,” Kartauk said simply.

  “I see.” Ruel gazed at him a moment before nodding. “Three days?”

  “Four.” Kartauk smiled. “Come early tomorrow morning and be prepared to spend all day.”

  At that moment Jane entered the chamber and moved toward them. “No sign of Pachtal. I went back two miles and I think I would have seen him.”

  “Does that mean I’ve been washed clean of the suspicion of perfidy?” Ruel asked.

  “No, it means Pachtal didn’t follow us … this time.” She took off her coolie hat and slicker and dropped them on the stone floor before stepping closer to the fire. “Hello, Kartauk.”

  “Jane.” Kartauk nodded. “You’ve grown thinner since I last saw you. Are you well?”

  “Of course.” She didn’t look at Ruel as she addressed Kartauk. “He has something to ask of you.”