The Hope of Shridula Read Online Free Page B

she never stays to talk. Well, I suppose that's to be expected, is it not? She must be eager to get back to the others."
    "Lelee is quite adequate as a servant girl," Susanna said. "We have no need for any others."
    Servant girl! Miss Abigail stared at Susanna. Lelee had come to the clinic as a tiny child, and she, Miss Abigail, had taken her in. "Lelee is not to be treated as a servant," she insisted. "Oh, my, no! She is capable of so much more. Why, she can read. In English. I taught her myself."
    Dr. Cooper looked up and shot his wife a warning glance. Susanna pursed her lips and stabbed the needle into her stitchery.
    When the cook announced that dinner was ready, Dr. Cooper assisted Miss Abigail to her seat at the table. It was beautifully laid with a linen cloth, English porcelain dishes, and fine English cutlery. The doctor waited patiently while Miss Abigail arranged her sari and settled herself, then he moved on to seat his wife.
    "I do wish we could serve you a lovely roast of beef," he said as he sat down in his own chair. "But I fear that such a meal is not to be had in this wretched country. It is indeed a tragedy, is it not?"
    "I shouldn't think so," Miss Abigail replied. "We are in India, after all."
    " British India," Dr. Cooper corrected, as though he were talking to a schoolchild. "Rule of India is still in the hands of the Crown. Long live King George."
    "Long live King George," Susanna echoed.
    Miss Abigail said nothing.
    Roasted mutton with mint. Potatoes and onions and spinach. Baked bread with butter and jam. When all was served, Dr. Cooper recited grace, then picked up his fork and knife. Susanna did the same. Miss Abigail did not. In expert Indian style, she swiped her hand around her plate, grabbed up a generous bite of food, and lifted it expertly to her mouth.
    Susanna gasped out loud.
    "We are in India, are we not?" Miss Abigail said with a note of amusement.
    For some time, they ate in silence. Finally, Dr. Cooper said, "I have a matter of great importance to discuss with you, Miss Davidson. I do believe the time has come for you to leave India."
    "Whatever do you mean?"
    "Only that your work here is done."
    Miss Abigail started to protest, but Dr. Cooper held up his hand. "You have accomplished a great deal, madam. No one could expect more of you. You have earned the right to return home to England and live out your days in comfort."
    "Poppycock!" Miss Abigail exclaimed. "Why, I hardly remember England. India is my home, and I shall live out my days right here."
    "No need to make a hasty decision," Susanna said. "The wise course would be to think on it. If you were to go home—"
    "There is nothing to think on," Miss Abigail said. "I am at home. If that is why you invited me here this evening, then I greatly fear that you have wasted your hospitality."
    Miss Abigail dropped her bread onto her plate, swirled it through the leftover spinach and gravy, and popped it into her mouth. "Delicious," she said. "Though I might suggest that next time you add a hot pepper or two."
     

     
    On the walk back across the courtyard, Miss Abigail leaned heavily on Krishna's arm. Almost fifty years old, Krishna was, but in Miss Abigail's mind he was still the stringy little child she had taken in when he showed up at the clinic so badly burned. Except for the gray in his hair and his grown-man height, he didn't seem that much different from back then. Perhaps because his severely scarred face was wrinkle-free, giving him an ageless look.
    Krishna opened the door and walked Miss Abigail across the parlor to her bedchamber.
    "You made my bed for me," she said when she opened the door. "Really, my dear, you needn't care for me like an old woman."
    "I do not," Krishna said. "I care for you like a dear friend."
    To Abigail, Krishna was more than a friend. A son—that's how she thought of him. He had been with her since he was a child of seven years—eight, perhaps. Except for the time she sent him to Madras to attend