Erik stared at Anisha a moment. He glanced behind at the river and saw a ferry pulling away from the dock.

"You came to Chandernagore?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and turned her eyes away. "After my engagement, it seemed like I was in need of a holiday."

Erik's heart was still hammering from the recollections of the Sultana. He had not once seen her face, which made him wary of all women he encountered. He found himself constantly staring women in the eye, which sated his fears but made for poor manners.

"You shouldn't be out here unescorted. If anyone knew—"

"They would know I am in the company of my cousin's guardian," she said before he could finish. "Are you worried about my virtues? Is that the prudish way of the Europeans?"

Erik forced a smile as he gazed at her. She stood with her hands behind her back and a coy smile adorning her face. She was everything he expected a goddess would be; fiercely beautiful and intoxicatingly perilous.

"I just think it would be for the best if you returned to the celebration."

"Will you join me?" Anisha asked.

"I was returning to the Inn," Erik answered. He spoke faster, which he knew was evident to her by her widening smile. "What are you doing here?"

Anisha walked toward him. "I was hoping to have a word with the genius designing my future home." Her eyes trailed back to the tent and the lights sparkling on the river. "It seemed worth a journey to Chandernagore."

"I haven't unpacked the plan as yet. I'm not even sure where the rest of my belongings are at the moment—"

"I see. Perhaps you would care to accompany me to the Kali festival for a while? Or do you need to check on the babes? Did the children suckle and retire early for the night?" Anisha asked.

Her condescending tone made Erik turn away. "Corinna is a good person," he said under his breath. "Your family is unkind to her."

"She is a half-breed," Anisha said with a shrug. "Her father abandoned his kinsmen long ago for the Brits. It's a family tradition with the Desai Family."

"She shouldn't be targeted because of her father's wrongdoings."

Erik heard Anisha's footsteps swish through the tall grass until they stopped directly behind him. "I didn't realize you were so fond of Corinna."

"Her father trusts me with her well-being." He paused and thought over her words. "How can she only be half-Indian if her mother is your aunt?"

Anisha sighed. "Her mother was adopted by my grandparents. She is really my father's cousin. Corinna's mother had a relationship with a man who was half-Dutch and half-Spanish and disgraced her family. She is more European than Indian. An orphan, if you will."

An orphan. A helpless orphan…

He thought of the Sultana again and of the children he had refused to murder who had been put to death. He could not protect them.

"Do you pity her?"

Erik shook his head but didn't turn to face Anisha. Though Corinna's complexion was olive and her eyes pure black, she had the sharp features of a Spaniard and the wide nose typical of the Dutch. She lacked the more exotic features of her cousins.

"There is nothing to pity. She's intelligent and pleasant. Any man should be fortunate to ask her father for her hand."

"It sounds like you have designs on her. Does her father know? Uncle Sanjeeve favors the Europeans, as you have undoubtedly noticed."

"He's been good to me. I won't say anything to dishonor him."

"Would a proposal to his half-breed daughter dishonor a Desai?" Anisha asked, raising a brow.

They stood in silence for a while. Each time Erik inhaled he caught her sweet perfume. She smelled of patchouli and oranges. It had been a long time since he had smelled anything so intoxicating.

It had been a long time since anything had aroused him. As a man of twenty he already felt jaded and cynical.

"I am here to keep her safe, not court her," he replied at last.

"Not interested in marriage yet?"

"Not yet."

Erik remembered the first time he had seen Anisha on the rooftop. For three years he had stood in the presence of a woman who had only been a voice behind a veil. That night on the terrace he had seen her face, an angel's face.

An angel who was claimed by another. Her father was a powerful man and her fiancé was establishing his name as well. Anisha was no less dangerous than the Sultana.

Still, he imagined what it would be like to grasp her hips as she lowered onto him, as she pleasured him the same way the woman had pleasured Omar the other night. He could see her lips tremble with each sensation, with each rapture of ecstasy as he explored every inch of her flesh.

Physically she was a goddess though she spoke with a forked tongue.

"I must be disturbing you, Monsieur Levesque. I thought you would enjoy the company, since you are a stranger in my country," Anisha said at last.

"Ravi has shown me around."

"I could show you more."

Erik laughed uncomfortably. He could still envision her on top of him. "That would not be wise. Your husband would not appreciate your offer."

Her fingers moved down his back like five little spiders crawling over his puckered scars. Erik shuddered and thought of the dagger, of the blade stained with his blood. His mind flashed with images of a Steel Jungle and a Garden of Death, to men hanging and children laughing.

"He's not my husband yet and he's not here to know."

Everything instinct warned him not to turn and face her, not to stare into her eyes, no matter what the color. Denial had issued his demise in Persia. Denial in India would save his life.

"You would know," he whispered.

"And so would you. Let me show you."

"You speak as though you despise Europeans and now…"

"Show me differently."

Erik turned and avoided her eyes. "I've seen enough of India for one night, Miss Patel. I must be going. I have a long day tomorrow with an old friend of mine. If you wish, I'll walk you to the celebration or back to where you are staying."

Anisha threaded her arm through his. "I think it is time I went to bed."

Corinna sat on the stairs with her face buried in her hands. She couldn't bear to face Ursula. She knew exactly what her companion would say if she walked into the room and saw tears streaming down her face.

Her tears fell faster and she sobbed harder as she attempted to understand what she had done to upset him so much.

Erik had treated her like a child. He had scolded her and sent her off to bed without explanation for his words and actions.

My business is my own, Erik had said.

Corinna hadn't meant to pry. Her father had told her very little about the man who would accompany her to Dareesh. On their way from London to Calcutta, Corinna had attempted to understand him. He had been sullen and silent the first few days. When he did speak, it was in one-word answers. Finally, just when he had started to seem comfortable with his surroundings, he met Anisha.

Anisha would never be interested in Monsieur Levesque. She was just like the rest of the Patels who turned their noses up at the British and Europeans in general. Ever since she was a small girl Corinna had known her Uncle Padir and her Aunt Sunila had felt prejudice againsther and her mother.

They were all the same.

Corinna closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn't help that she was curious about his scars. Anyone would have questioned why such a handsome man bore so many scars.

She scoffed at herself. How could she possibly find him handsome after he had been so cruel? He had berated and shamed her and still she found him attractive.

There was no use crying over him. He didn't care about her. Her attempts to catch his eye were all in vain. He was only interested in the exotic beauty.

Corinna slapped her hands on the wooden steps and rose to her feet.

"Forget him," she muttered to herself. "Let him love her as much as he wants. He'll never have her. Foolish dreams!"

With a sigh of disgust, she stood and composed herself. Behind her the front door to the Inn opened. She glanced back at the man and woman entering and felt her throat tighten.

Tomorrow she would ignore him.

Tomorrow she would still be hopelessly in love with him.

Erik walked Anisha back toward the Inn and closed storefronts in complete silence. The wind had started to blow harder and the air, which had cooled considerably, smelled like rain.

Erik searched the sky for lightning in an attempt to avoid Anisha's eyes. He was attracted to her in a way that was purely animalistic. There was nothing in his feelings for her that emanated from love. He only wanted to touch her.

Anisha held fast to his arm, her fingers gently massaging his forearm as they made their way to the same Inn he was staying at with Corinna and Ursula. She clung to him, standing so close that he could feel her breast against his arm with each step.

"How long are you staying here?" Anisha asked.

Erik led her up the stairs. "Several days, I suspect."

"When will you have the plans for my home done?"

"Soon."

"May I see what you have completed thus far?"

"I suppose. Nothing is finalized."

"Friday," she said. "Join me for supper so we may discuss them."

Erik glanced at her and then the door. He wondered if Corinna was still awake. "We'll see."

Anisha released his arm. "We certainly will," she replied.

Erik opened the door for her and glanced into the darkened hall. Corinna was walking to her room. She glanced back at him then at Anisha. Without a word she returned to her room.

Erik released Anisha's arm and made it to the first step just as Corinna slammed the bedroom door behind her.

"Looks like someone is up past her bedtime," Anish said. She walked up beside him and rested her hand on his arm. "Walk me to my room?"